Call for vote review

Oldham Council reports by Marina Berry and Karen Doherty

COUNCILLOR Brian Lord called for a crackdown on postal voting in elections which he said is open to widescale abuse.

He highlighted concern that in some households a single person is able to control the votes of a whole family, and said far more people were registered at some addresses than the property could possibly hold.

Calling for a review of the postal voting system, Councillor Lord alerted his fellow councillors to practices which involve „multiple applications for votes from bedsits, and people handing in crisp boxes of completed postal vote forms‰ clearly caused alarm bells to ring.

He said: „Our election system is based on the idea of one person, one vote,‰ and suggested people who applied for a postal vote should provide evidence of their identity and address to the council in person.

He said only those who were physically unable to get to a polling station should get a postal vote.

Councillors agreed to call on the support of Oldham‚s MPs for a change in the system to introduce a set of eligibility criteria for postal votes, and to press the Electoral Commission for a review.


Street litter at top of pile

A WAR on litter has seen the number of the borough’s 4,000 streets considered to be litter-strewn fall from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. StreetScene teams now remove 8,000 tonnes each year. Plans by waste bosses to analyse household rubbish will help to improve Oldham’s recycling rates. Details of waste will remain confidential. 


OLDHAM Council’s failed case against kitchens boss Vance Miller has seen safeguards put in place which Councillor Rod Blyth said would prevent a repeat.


A £1.7 million scheme is planned to replace outdated boilers which heat 1,400 First Choice homes Cash is coming from European funding and British Gas.