Opposition unites in condemnation of election shambles

Inquiry uncovers catalogue of administrative errors

In an unprecedented move, three opposition parties have united to condemn Hounslow Council’s handling of last year’s General Election.

Liberal Democrats, Independent Community Group and Green Party formed a cross party review group after an inquiry was launched into the administration procedures employed by Hounslow Council in the lead up to the May 2005 general elections. An independent report, commissioned by Hounslow’s Asst. Chief Executive Terry Welsh, highlighted a number of flaws in the electoral process which left a large number of Hounslow residents unable to vote.

The findings in John Turner’s report published in December 2005, prompted the three parties to hold a joint press conference on 16th January 2006, to voice their concerns about the “election shambles”.

Speaking on behalf of the Independent Community Group, Phil Andrews said “Hounslow’s blunder meant that hundreds of local people who live, work and pay their taxes here were denied the most fundamental of rights – to have a say in who represents their constituency and who governs their country.”

The labour run Council stands accused of a catalogue of errors which stem mainly from the fact that staff employed to carrying out canvassing (in this case meaning to confirm details were correct on the register to vote forms) were predominantly temporary staff with little or no training.

The true extent of the situation was discovered too late when a number of Hounslow residents, mostly Irish, who were eligible to vote had not received their polling cards. Postal voters had received polling station cards and vice versa. According to Hounslow Council, there was insufficient time left to issue the affected residents with a correct polling card resulting in a large number being unable to vote in the election.

“This might not have been quite so bad had somebody somewhere been prepared to accept responsibility. The fact that nobody really has would suggest that the political leadership in this borough fails to appreciate the seriousness of what has happened and inspires no confidence that all the necessary measures will be put into place to ensure that there is no repeat of this fiasco at the local elections in May 2006.” said Phil Andrews.

However, a number of the omissions could have been because residents marked their nationality with a “G” notation meaning that they were citizens of the European Union and therefore unable to vote in the UK. This could explain why a large number of those affected were of Irish origin. The cross party review group believes that it is these points which should have been clarified by the administrative team.

Green Party’s Tom Beaton said “For the individuals affected, the feelings of outrage are, understandably, immense. And that such very basic errors could be made shows a lack of proper respect for the voters of Hounslow."

Andrew Dakers, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson for Brentford & Isleworth said “At a time when our troops are giving their lives in Iraq trying to establish democracy, it is a disgrace that Hounslow Council could not run an election properly. The impact was that hundreds of members of our community – some voting for the first time – were denied the right to vote.”

He went onto to say “There are still many questions that have never been answered about the quality of electoral administration in Hounslow in the run up to the General Election. Whilst we have confidence in the new elections team, the Chief Executive and Council Executive must now be held accountable for what has unfolded on their watch.”

In a letter to Hounslow Council Chief Executive Mark Gilks, Andrew Dakers called for immediate action to be taken to check the quality of the electoral register at a street level and for minimum standards and improvement targets to be established.

Leader of Hounslow Council, Colin Ellar will be presenting an overview of the John Turner report to Council officials next week.

January 19, 2006