Following news that Sir Howard Bernstein, Manchester City Council's Returning Officer for the recent General Election, has given a fifth of his bonus fee for helping to run the election to the Lord Mayor's charity, John Leech has criticised his decision saying it should go towards benefiting locals affected by the polling fiasco.
On the day of the election, Mr Leech, the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington, had at least 200 voters in his constituency unable to cast their ballots at Ladybarn Community Centre. Commenting, Mr Leech said:
"All those affected by the polling fiasco were of course living in the area surrounding the polling stations; therefore I firmly believe this £4,000 should go towards the local community, so those who were unable to vote can benefit from an investment into their local area and hence feel compensated in some way."
Withington was the worst-affected constituency in Manchester, and Sir Howard has come in for further criticism following the release of a report highlighting the issues that arose in the run up to and on the day of the election on May 6th. Mr Leech remarked:
"The report highlights a significant number of issues that could easily have been avoided. There were staffing problems, IT system failures and a clear lack of contingency planning in case these things went wrong".
Mr Leech added:
"The report also says that the Electoral Services Unit comprises 'a small team', whilst also acknowledging that 'an increased turnout had been anticipated'. It is therefore beyond me why the Returning Officer did not hire more staff."
Mr Leech also went on to criticise Sir Howard's decision to hold on to £16,000 of his bonus fee in light of the findings of this report:
"It is not fair for at least 200 people to have been unable to vote, and then have the Returning Officer decide he deserves a £16,000 bonus. The Returning Officer for Sheffield City Council gave up his entire £20,000 fee due to problems faced by voters in Sheffield. Sir Howard Bernstein should do the right thing and follow suit".
Notes to Editors:
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1) The BBC News report highlighting those voters unable to cast their ballots can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8663423.stm
2) John Mothersole, Chief Executive and Returning Officer for Sheffield City Council, gave up his £20,000 fee as outlined in this BBC New report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8674891.stm
3) John Leech MP was also interviewed by the BBC on the voting chaos: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8671840.stm
4) John Leech MP also proposed the first Early Day Motion (EDM) after the election, about the inability of people to vote: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40915
5) Attracting 42 signatures, the text of the EDM is as follows:
"INABILITY OF PEOPLE TO VOTE ON POLLING DAY
Leech, John 25.05.2010
That this House notes with concern that a significant number of electors around the country were turned away from polling stations on 6 May 2010, denying them the right to vote even though they turned up before the close of poll; welcomes the Electoral Commission's recent report that a change in the law should be introduced so that everyone turning up before the close of poll should be afforded the opportunity to vote; further welcomes its recommendation that local authorities review the number of polling districts and polling stations as well as contingency arrangements in the event of future problems; notes with particular concern that confusion over eligibility to vote in either election was a significant factor in delaying the voting process; calls on the Government to make changes in the law to avoid multiple elections taking place on the same day in future; and further calls on local authorities to take note of the Electoral Commission's recommendations, and carry out a review of polling districts and the number of polling stations available for people to cast their vote."
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