VOTING

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The idea of a nine-member cabinet with the UKIP councillor holding the balance of power is both innovative and interesting. But, of course, the power-crazed Socialist councillors will not consider it. Theirs is elected dictatorship in keeping with their counterparts in Westminster!

Am I the only one who hopes that Derby City Council remains "hung" for the foreseeable future? Look at the record:

A 48% increase in council tax in just six years;

Quad;

Lack of a permanent green filter arrow from Market Street to Kedleston Road;

University parking;

Garbage collections reduced to once a fortnight;

Riverlights;

Garbage dumped in Green Lane;

Flooding in central Derby;

Gridlock whenever snow falls in the city centre.

Mind you, the city council is mighty swift at finding excuses or someone else to blame! Oh, and what's the betting that once Margaret Beckett approves charges, by weight, for any "unsorted" garbage, that means anything in your black wheelie bin, the rampant Socialists on the city council will be first in line to impose charges destined to increase above the rate of inflation every year. Colin Clark

About three million people will not be able to vote in the forthcoming general election because they are not on the electoral register, according to MPs. Those most likely to miss out are young people or those from ethnic minorities, a report by two MPs committees found. It said urgent changes, such as fines for unregistered voters, should be considered to boost turnout. It also called for measures to cut fraud, such as individual, rather than household, registration. A new national electoral roll, based on locally-maintained registers, should also be created, it said. But it said incentives to register, such as £20 council tax rebate, were likely to be seen as "gimmicks".

The number of eligible voters absent from the register has increased in recent decades to about three million, said the report. Figures for the 2001 general election suggest 29% of people aged between 18 and 24, and 19% of black voters were not on the electoral roll. The government has looked at ways of boosting voter turnout, which fell to 59% in the last general election in 2001. But trial all-postal ballots in four English regions were hit by delays and some fraud allegations. The Electoral Commission later recommended they should not be used in UK elections, but said it was too early to say whether fraud increased. The report was drawn up by two committees scrutinising the work of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA).

It said that, with the growth of postal voting, there was a strong case to tighten up fraud protection by requiring voters to register themselves as individuals, rather than as households. And some say young people in shared accommodation miss out because no one acts as head of the household to fill in the form. But individual registration should be treated carefully as 12% of voters disappeared from the electoral roll in Northern Ireland when it was introduced in 2002, it said. The Labour chairman of the ODPM committee, Andrew Bennett said it should be quickly introduced as it could "dramatically reduce the chances of fraud".

But Liberal Democrat MP Alan Beith, who chairs the DCA committee, said it should be delayed "until measures likely to increase registration have been put in place and proved effective." Fines for those who do not register should be considered, but could be expensive and difficult to enforce, the report found. But tax rebate incentives risked undermining the integrity of the system, MPs said. Instead they called for "imaginative campaigns" to boost interest. Shadow Constitutional Affairs Secretary Oliver Heald said the current electoral roll system was inadequate.

At least six of the officials responsible for the chaos which left hundreds unable to vote have collected substantial bonuses for their work on polling day. Returning officers in Liverpool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Islington, Milton Keynes, Lewisham and Runnymede, Surrey, have accepted payments averaging £12,000 each in addition to their normal six-figure salaries. All six were severely criticised for "unacceptable" mismanagement which left hundreds of voters still queuing outside polling stations as they closed at 10pm during last month's general election. Many people were denied their votes.

Jenny Watson, chair of the independent watchdog, the Electoral Commission, said that the returning officers "did not properly plan for, or react to, polling day problems. That is unacceptable. People in these areas were badly let down." Every returning officer, normally the local council chief executive, is entitled to collect a separate fee for his election work in addition to his usual salary. The amount varies depending on the size of the council, but can be as much as £25,000 per election. The returning officer in Liverpool, Colin Hilton, was paid £14,000 for his work on the election, in addition to his normal salary of £217,000 a year.

At least five polling stations in the city experienced long queues, with large numbers of voters turned away. The council has been unable to provide a precise estimate of how many lost their votes. Islington's returning officer, John Foster, has collected £13,800 for his work on the election, in addition to his normal salary of £210,000 a year. Dozens of people in Islington were turned away from a polling station after Mr Foster failed to organise enough staff and to respond to a build-up of queues. The chief executive of Newcastle City Council, Barry Rowland, was paid £9,880 for his returning officer duties, on top of his normal salary of £150,000 a year.

Problems were reported at three polling stations in Newcastle and a small number of people lost their votes. Paul Turrell, Runnymede borough council's chief executive, was paid at least £6,000 on top of his usual salary of around £130,000. Dozens of people in the Runnymede and Weybridge constituency were denied their right to vote after queues built up at a polling station in Oatlands. The returning officer in Milton Keynes, John Moffoot, collected £13,000, though long queues built up at a polling station in Wolverton.

Lewisham's returning officer, Barry Quirk, took around £14,000. Lewisham saw heavy queues, though voters were allowed to cast their votes after the deadline, and the borough has experienced repeated problems with elections in the past. In the 2004 London mayoral poll it ran out of ballot papers after only taking enough for 37 per cent of the electorate. Of the eleven returning officers whose elections were criticised by the Electoral Commission, only three, in Sheffield, Birmingham, and Hackney, have agreed to give up their payments.

Another, Manchester's Sir Howard Bernstein, said he was "considering" whether to take his £19,000 returning officer bonus after at least 300 voters were turned away from two polling stations in the Withington constituency. Sir Howard's normal salary is £199,000 a year. A spokesman for a returning officer whose election was singled out by the Electoral Commission, Julia Cleary of Newcastle-under-Lyme, refused to tell The Sunday Telegraph whether she had taken returning officer fees.

Some of the returning officers blamed "unprecedented" turnout for the problems. In fact, turnout at this year's general election, although higher than in the previous two, was the third-lowest since 1945. According to the Electoral Commission, at least 1,200 people lost their votes on May 6. The figure is likely to be a substantial underestimate because it is based on estimates provided by returning officers themselves and does not include Liverpool. Police had to be called in at least four places and voters staged sit-ins in protest at being denied their rights.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said, "The voting chaos on general election night was a national embarrassment that should be answered by grovelling apologies, not financial rewards. No returning officer who turned away a single registered voter should dream of accepting a bonus when public confidence and public services are under threat." John Turner, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said, "It is just another aspect of elections where we need to ask whether it is fit for purpose and appropriate in the modern age." (Source: Daily Telegraph, Jun/10)

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