Archive for Election law
Joint tickets: how the Cooperative Party has ended up helping Nigel Farage
UKIP’s Nigel Farage is having fun in the media speculating about joint UKIP-Tory or UKIP-Labour candidates at the next general election. I suspect that, as with touted defections, the more publicity there is the less likely it is to happen – as when serious behind the scenes talks are happening, publicity is not wanted. It’s [...]
Labour candidate pleads guilty to electoral fraud
The Birmingham Mail reports: Gurcharan Bedi appeared before Birmingham Crown Court and pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a nomination paper on March 28 last year relating to a bogus address. The 58-year-old of Henwood Road, Wolverhampton, also admitted supplying false information on February 29. Bedi withdrew as Labour’s candidate in Spring Vale [...]
6th person now charged in Derby election fraud case
As I mentioned a few days ago, the prosecution over the 2012 Derby elections is finally in court. The net is also widening with a sixth person now charged: A 41-year-old man has been charged with perverting the course of justice and is due to appear at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on 2 May. The [...]
Ban on political TV adverts survives in knife edge 9-8 court vote
An Electoral Reform Society press release reports: The Electoral Reform Society has welcomed news that the ban on paid political broadcast advertising is to remain in place following a knife edge 9-8 vote at the European Court of Human Rights. The Society had warned that lifting the ban would escalate the current ‘arms race’ on [...]
Derby election fraud case finally reaches court
Back in May 2012, the Liberal Democrat team in Arboretum ward, Derby complained of dodgy-looking activity on polling day. It’s now finally come to court: FOUR women and a man have appeared in court as part of an investigation into allegations of fraud during elections in Derby last year… Tameena Ali and Samra Ali, both of [...]
How many postal votes arrive too late?
Something rarely talked about with postal voting is the number of people who miss out on having their vote cast because the Royal Mail loses or delays the delivery of the ballot paper back to the Returning Officer. It isn’t a number that can be measured directly, but one figure is gathered but then ignored [...]
Consultation kicks off on moving 2014 local elections to be same day as Euro elections
We already know the 2014 European elections are likely to be moved to late May, and now the government has started consulting on delaying the planned early May 2014 local elections to be on the same day as the European Parliament elections. That has become the pattern in recent cycles with the local elections in [...]
The women who voted before women had the vote
Over in the Daily Telegraph, Professor Sarah Richardson has been writing about her discovery of some further evidence about women voting in British elections rather earlier than the simple history of female suffrage allows for: Occasionally, just occasionally, you encounter a document that radically changes your view of the past. This happened to me very [...]
Plans advance to change date of next European Parliament elections
The Permanent Representatives Committee has endorsed a draft Council decision bringing forward the period of the next European Parliament's elections.
Election timetable: May 2013 local elections
Tuesday, 26 March Last day for publication of notice of election Friday, 5 April Last day for submission of nomination papers (noon) Tuesday, 9 April Publication of statement of people nominated (noon) Wednesday, 10 April Last day for withdrawal of candidates (noon) Last day for appointment of election agents (noon) Wednesday, 17 April Last day [...]
