VOTING

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Labour lost their one-seat majority as the Lib Dems took three seats. Labour now has 24 seats on the council, the Lib Dems 15, the Conservatives 11 with one Independent. The last time there was no overall control in Derby, the Lib Dems and Tories formed an alliance and the three political parties are now having separate talks. Labour could continue to control the council as a minority administration but it would need support from opposing members to push through any new policies. It is also possible for Labour to form an alliance with either of the other groups. When a similar situation arose in 2003, the Lib Dems suggested a three-way alliance involving all the parties. (Source: BBC News, May/06)

The Labour group has made a pact with the Tories to secure another year in charge. It will give three of the 10 positions on the cabinet to the Conservatives, who in return will not side with the Lib Dems in council votes. Labour's Chris Williamson will carry on as council leader saying,"You might call it an alliance but it quite clearly isn't. What we've reached is an accommodation to ensure Labour majority administration can be formed. It is a proposal that enables the city to move forward."

Conservative leader Philip Hickson added, "We have got seats on the cabinet, which we didn't have before and an agreement that at least half of our manifesto commitments will be looked at during the course of the year. We will also continue to be a vigorous and forceful opposition." Liberal Democrat Lucy Care, said the electorate had missed out in the pact. "They have lost a forward-looking manifesto," she said. "The people that voted Conservative will find that they have got a Labour council, which is going to push forward Labour policies. (source: BBC News, May/06)

A meeting of the full council, the first of the new administrative year, descended into a slanging match as it was confirmed that the Lib Dems would be frozen out of the council. The other two groups pushed through motions that excluded the Lib Dems from key positions in the council's scrutiny and overview commissions. It also provided an insight into how the council could operate over the next year as Labour and the Tories sided with one another on every vote.

Lib Dem leader Hilary Jones compared her Tory counterpart, Philip Hickson, to Judas Iscariot and the three cabinet posts to 30 pieces of silver. She said, "Councillor Williamson can boast that he is the man who lost overall control of the city council twice. Councillor Hickson told me on election night that to allow Labour to continue as a minority administration would be abhorrent. He is like Judas Iscariot."

Mr Williamson rejected a proposed Lib Dem amendment that would have involved the group in the cabinet saying, "Councillor Jones is indulging in a bout of sour grapes. It seems to me that the Lib Dems have demonstrated a desperation to obtain some sort of power. There is no way that my group will ever work with the Lib Dems." The changes mean seven Labour councillors will sit alongside three Tories on the key decision-making cabinet. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, May/06)

Police have been called in following allegations of voting irregularities. The inquiry is into the result in the Arboretum ward, where long-serving Labour councillor Abdul Rehman was displaced by Liberal Democrat Rehmat Khan. Mr Rehman wrote to the council's returning officer and solicitor, Michael Foote, shortly after the May 4 elections, outlining his concerns.

Mr Rehman's main concern was that he believed some of the postal votes were cast by a third party rather than the electors themselves. It is an offence for anybody other than the addressee to attempt to use a postal ballot form. Mr Khan polled 1,454 votes compared to Mr Rehman's 1,394 and Tory candidate Mohammed Yaqub's 540.

It is understood the council received an unusually high number of requests for postal voting cards in the 24 hours prior to the application deadline of April 18. Mr Rehman claimed one person turned up at a polling station on election day to deliver 200 postal vote polling cards.

Mr Khan said he was surprised to hear that police would be investigating. He said, "It's a very strange thing and I haven't got a clue what it can be about. As far as I was aware everything was fine. It's disappointing because I fought a hard campaign and was looking forward to getting on with being a councillor. I will help the police get to the bottom of it in any way I can." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, May/06)

Derby's postal election was labelled a 'shambles' after Tory councillor Richard Smalley and Labour councillor Alan Graves claimed hundreds of votes would not be counted because they have been returned without declaration of identity forms. Under election rules a ballot paper must be submitted with a signed declaration of identity form, including signatures of both the voter and a witness.

If that form has been completed incorrectly then the council must return it to the voter for correction so it can be resubmitted and included in the count. But if a ballot paper is sent without the accompanying declaration of identification it cannot be counted. Both councillors would like to see new ballot papers sent to people who fail to return the declaration of identity.

But Derby City Council returning officer, Michael Foote, said this is not possible. He said, "According to the law which governs the postal ballot we must return incorrectly filled-in declarations, but there is no obligation for us to return ballot papers sent to us without the declaration attached. Our hands are tied."

Derby City Council have claimed the postal vote has been a great success even though many votes were not counted and countless more papers were not even delivered to voters in time to be returned. A 'shambles' indeed.