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Saturday, April 30, 2011
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WHAT A FIASCO! BY ALEX CAMPBELL
alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
MORE than 100 householders have been registered in the wrong ward, after an election blunder left them unable to vote for the councillor who will represent them. Candidates discovered the mistake while canvassing for Thursday’s historic Stoke-on-Trent City Council election. The affected residents live in part of London Road and should be represented by the new councillor for Boothen and Oakhill. But they have been put in the Springfields and Trent Vale ward. While they can vote in the Springfields ward, it means they will have no say over which politician represents them until the next local elections in 2015. Changes to the city’s electoral system mean every councillor will now serve the same four-year term of office. The number of councillors has been cut from 60 to 44, while the wards have increased from 20 to 37. Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Billington, who is trying to win Springfields and Trent Vale and discovered the mistake, said: “This is not acceptable. The council should have picked up on this before. “These are the most important elections in the council’s history and
Ward mix-up means residents can’t vote for their councillor these voters have been disenfranchised.” Now the blunder means candidates who lose by a small margin in the affected wards could mount some form of legal challenge. Mr Billington, pictured below, added: “If somebody loses by less than the number of voters registered in the wrong ward, they may contest the count, and it could be across two wards.” Community Voice candidate Karen Eardley, standing in Boothen and Oakhill, said: “People should be able to vote for the person who will be looking after them.” Affected voters today hit out at the council. Retired kiln placer Les Walker, aged 77, of London Road, said: “We are the victims of another council mistake.” Neighbour Kenneth Poole, aged 75, said: “I don’t know why the council bothered changing things. I will still vote, I think. “I’ll have a good look through the candidates’ leaflets.” The mistake has been found too late to make changes before Thursday’s vote.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council returning officer Paul Hackney said: “Around 115,000 properties have been re-assigned to new wards for the local elections, following changes to ward boundaries. “We are aware of a small number of discrepancies in the electoral register. “Our first priority has been to ensure that people who have registered and are eligible to vote, can vote. “The register for this election was published on March 1 and the register is updated annually to ensure it is as accurate as possible. “Discrepancies will be dealt with immediately after the election.” Candidates in Boothen and Oakhill are Karen Eardley, Community Voice; Dean Emery, Ukip; Tom Grocock, Lib Dem; Stephen Issard, BNP; and Andy Platt, Labour. Candidates for Springfields and Trent Vale are Jacqueline Barnes, Community Voice; Mik Bednarski, Ukip; Paul Billington, Lib Dem; and Sarah Hill, Labour.
Are you affected by the blunder? Email us at letters@thesentinel.co.uk
PARTY TIME!
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