Official figures published today show that 88% of people in the South West have automatically been registered to vote following the move to Individual Electoral Registration in the summer.

Cabinet Office Minister Sam Gyimah said: "This is great news for the voters in the South West. Registering to vote is an important part of having your say in how the country is run.

"You can't vote in elections without being on the register - and it can even affect your ability to get credit.

“We have worked hard to make sure everyone remains registered, and I would like to urge those whose records have not matched to apply to be on the register when you get the letter from the council inviting you to do so.

"You can now apply online for the first time, or use the new paper forms."

IER replaces the old and outdated household registration system.

The Cabinet Office said: "Not only does this give people more control and ownership over the process, but increases the accuracy of the register – with the new system able to help verify that everyone on the register is who they say they are.

"Under the new system, an elector’s name and address is matched against existing government records and the results are then passed to Electoral Services Teams to complete the application.

"The 1-in-10 people not matched and those making new applications will need to provide additional information to be registered, but the government has made the process as simple as possible by launching a quick, easy and secure online application process.

"In fact, people can now register online in just three minutes by simply providing a name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number."

Since the launch of IER in June, more than two million people have registered to vote, with the vast majority using the new online service and reporting a satisfaction rate of over 90%.