Lib-Dems accused of postal-vote hypocrisy

LIB-DEMS have been accused of hypocrisy after calling for a crackdown on postal voting while collecting voters completed forms.

At last week’s full meeting of Oldham Council, Lib-Dem councillor Brian Lord said postal voting is open to widescale abuse and called for a review.

However, residents have complained that they have been sent postal voting forms for the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-electon by the Lib-Dems and then asked to complete them and return them to the party’s headquarters.

At the meeting, Councillor Lord alerted fellow councillors to practices that involve multiple applications for votes from bedsits, and people handing in boxes of completed postal vote forms.

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

Councillors backed his call to press the Electoral Commission for a review.

Gwyneth Dawson, from Greenfield, said she was inundated with Lib-Dem election material at the last vote in May and is being similarly bombarded again, receiving three items in as many days.

She said: “They are pressing for your postal vote now. One said ‘because of the weather if you want a postal vote, fill out an application form and we will take it to save you going out in the snow’.

“They would have your address, date of birth and signature and you don’t know whose hands it is going into.”

Mrs Dawson has asked the council if the practice is legal and been told there’s nothing it can do to stop it.

Independent parish councillor Ken Hulme questioned if Councillor Lord had a sense of irony. Councillor Hulme has received e-mails from residents pointing out the practice and also questioning the legality.

He said: “Now it isn’t illegal for the Lib-Dems to solicit and collect postal voting forms — but is it within the spirit of Councillor Lord’s statement to Oldham Council? And is it good practice for a party claiming to be cleaning up local politics?”

Councillor Lord said: “I stand by what I said. The trouble is that as long as the system is in place and other people are using it we have to use it. We can’t sit back and let everyone else collect postal votes if we are not doing it. I would prefer it to be scrapped and have a level playing field.”




Candidates declared so far in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election:



Debbie Abrahams (Labour), Elwyn Watkins (Liberal Democrat), Kashif Ali (Conservative), Paul Nuttall (UKIP), Peter Allen (Green), Stephen Morris (English Democrats) and Nick Delves (Monster Raving Loony Party).