Category: Bidston

A Brief Message about the elections and the result

Firstly a quick thank you to my wife, people I spoke to, those who signed my nomination papers, those who voted including myself. However, the questions now to ask are “What next?”. Well candidates and agents in this election will be busy this month will be busy filling out an election expenditure form. Guidance is … Continue reading “A Brief Message about the elections and the result”

Firstly a quick thank you to my wife, people I spoke to, those who signed my nomination papers, those who voted including myself.

However, the questions now to ask are “What next?”. Well candidates and agents in this election will be busy this month will be busy filling out an election expenditure form.

Guidance is here and covering complex issues such as spending reductions in places with two elections for councillor on the same day (eg Greasby/Frankby/Irby) and other advice regarding election bureaucracy.

This form needs to be filled out, along with a declaration from the election agent and candidate.

Copies of these are then open to public inspection (and copies can be made), which show not just the spending but the source of the money. In the past I’ve had a look through other candidates and agents’ spending to see what they’ve done. Sometimes it’s more interesting to see what they’ve forgot to declare (or maybe deliberately forgot to declare) as political parties (well aware of this means to see what the others are up to) have been known to provide as little information as possible.

There are legal penalties for getting it wrong, but convictions are rare.

Following my question to Cllr Ian Lewis at the Council meeting of the 13th December 2010, I will quote what he said:-

“A person may also, of course, be offered gifts and hospitality, when seeking election, and we shall therefore publish the election expense return submitted by each elected member.”

His full answer can be read here.

I thank Cllr Lewis for his comprehensive answer and know from what is said to me by the people know that the public welcome a new era of openness and accountability at Wirral Council as opposed to the previous Labour-led administration’s desire to keep the public in the dark and stitch things up behind closed doors.

My wife Cllr. Brace holds slightly different views on things as she represents her community but we usually agree. Just like the Lib Dems and the Tories we sometimes disagree on how to go forward. Yet, we still stay together!

The one constant in politics is change. Political reform has to happen. Yet, Wirral Council also needs to live up to its legal responsibilities when it comes to democracy.

Labour will spend the next few years condemning the Liberal Democrats and Tories for doing what they’re elected to do. Yet Liberal Democrats believe in a plural form of politics, where we work together with other parties combining the best of both worlds.

The public trust in politicians over the MP expenses scandal is still lingering in the public’s mind. This scepticism and trust has done harm to democracy. Yet it was Labour MPs who were put in prison. It was a Labour MP Phil Woolas that was convicted of lying about the Lib Dem candidate and lost his seat.

I saw the hope with which the country greeted a Labour government in 1997. However if they ever wish to govern the country or Wirral Council again they will have to prove they have changed as a party.

Based on their literature I would say the first step they need to take is to tell the public the truth and stop treating their own residents with little or no respect.

What next for voting reform?

After people overwhelmingly on Wirral and the UK voted no to voting reform I have had brief conversations with one who who voted No and why they did so.

I won’t name names but I’ll call them person A:-

Person A: I voted No, because I was told AV will cost extra money.

Myself: This is true, the referendum cost an estimate of £82 million with a further £9 million set aside for voter education. However this £91 million is spent whether its implemented or not and before you cast your ballot.

Person A: Oh I didn’t know that, I thought they were referring to increased costs of counting.

Myself: It won’t cost anymore to count AV because in the majority of elections the candidate gets over 50% of the vote, therefore it’ll cost the same amount to count as under first past the post.

Person A: But what about electronic counting machines?

Myself: They would never have been needed, a piece of paper and pen or pencil is all that’s required and this is also required under FPTP.

Person A: Oh I didn’t realise that, thanks for telling me.

In Wirral the estimated increased cost for the AV referendum will be £319,141 (about £3/vote counted). This would cover things like printing of ballot papers, counting of ballot papers, Counting Officer fee, postage etc. However due to the local election on the same day many costs were shared.

The same polling station staff were used for both. The same ballot boxes were used. Postal voters were sent both ballots together etc. All this money spent on the referendum is refunded to Wirral Council by central government.

The Returning Officer fee Steve Maddox used to get was on top of his six-figure salary. So I would expect that Bill Norman, this year’s returning officer has got a lot of extra money for being Returning Officer and Counting Officer for the referendum.

Result – Bidston & St. James

Here is my further post on the result for Bidston & St. James.

The number of ballots counted in this election did not match the number of votes cast.

Unfortunately some spoilt ballot papers (for example people voting for more than one candidate) were added to some candidate’s totals.

I am therefore unable to say whether my own vote was counted. I did raise this very issue with the Returning Officer last year. His view was that last year about fifty votes in Bidston & St. James didn’t appear on the list of people who had voted, because counting staff hadn’t bothered to properly record them.

The problem I have, is that although I, my agent, the Labour candidate & agent and others are well aware what the result of the vote should’ve been, the problem is that the difference in votes between 2nd, 3rd and 4th place amounts to amounts of votes that can change in a recount (or as above those that are not properly recorded).

We only have to look at the Oxton recount to see how a large number of votes changed after being recounted. Sadly, Wirral Council decided not to recount the totals and never properly accounted for the missing ballot papers.

Some may say, what does it matter if my vote is counted or not? However I am personally concerned when things “don’t add up”.

Currently Harry Smith is no longer a councillor, as after a result is declared it is at least four days before this happens.

Our own prediction of the result made before the count based on the views of hundreds of Bidston & St. James voters is as follows:-

Labour 1st 71.9% +-5% (Actual declared result 79.4%)
Lib Dem 2nd 17.7% +-5% (Actual declared result 5.62%)
Conservative 3rd 5.2% +-5% (Actual declared result 9.98%)
UKIP 4th 5.2 % +-5% (Actual declared result 4.99%)

As you can see from the above, we agree with the Conservative and UKIP result. Labour’s total was (sadly) inflated by spoilt ballot papers.

The mystery as to why the Lib Dem result was so widely different to what it should be can be explained by a number of factors:-

1) When the votes are divided up to be counted counters are handed out pieces of paper with 25 on in a party’s colour – eg red Labour, blue Tory, white spoilt ballot papers, yellow Lib Dem, purple UKIP.

No yellow 25s were initially handed out to counters. This was raised by myself as candidate as to why the Lib Dem votes weren’t being counted.

2) The counters soon ran out of 25s so 25s from different parties were used. This meant each candidates total was a mixture of colours and instead of using seperate trays, one tray was used for Labour, the Conservative and UKIP votes were put in a second tray with the Lib Dem votes hidden from view behind a ballot box.

3) Obvious spoilt ballot papers weren’t adjudicated by the candidates and agents.

4) Something happened in the last fortnight leading up to the election in which a number of lies were told about the Lib Dem candidate in order to persuade some Lib Dem voters not to vote. My wife falls into this category as a paid canvasser came to her door to tell her things about her husband that she knew weren’t true.

However, it remains to be seen what happens next. As candidate I could file an election petition and possibly get a recount of all votes cast. Although a recount may change the position of the 2nd/3rd and 4th place candidates, I am quite happy to concede that although his tally was inflated more voters voted for Harry Smith.

The point does need to be made that Labour campaign breached election law at least once (possibly more than once!), but would the people of Bidston & St. James tolerate the by-election that would result from a successful legal challenge?

I will need to obtain further information from Wirral Council as to what happened at the count and why there is the potential that my own vote wasn’t counted before proceeding further.

Alternative Vote Referendum Count – Wallasey Town Hall 6th May 2011

The AV Referendum Count started at 4pm on the 6th May. A select few were there to observe the proceedings, Cllr Bridson, Cllr Clements, Cllr McCubbin, Cllr Steve Williams, Ann Davies.

The Leader of the Council (Cllr Jeff Green) and Deputy Leader of the Council (Cllr Lesley Rennie) came by for a short time to watch it happening in the Civic Hall.

In addition there were some members of the media. The count was done for the whole of Wirral (approximately 103,000 ballot papers). The spoilt ballot papers had to be adjudicated by the counting agents present. However despite the count being finished about 6pm the result is not yet declared.

Bill Norman is awaiting authorisation from Manchester as all North West results will be declared at the same time. Pictures are below!

Whilst we await the result here is the interesting list of people allowed by law to be present at the count (which is something that seemed to confuse some Wirral Council employees under instructions to turn people away!)

the Counting Officer and his staff
the Chief Counting Officer
the Regional Counting Officer
referendum agents
counting agents
Commission representatives
accredited observers
any other person permitted by you, as Counting Officer, to attend

Of course strangely this means the police don’t have a specific entitlement in law to be there, there was one rather bored looking police officer though.

AV Referendum Count
AV Referendum Count