Students skewed it, says ex-lord Mayor

Former Lord Mayor of Canterbury George Metcalfe has railed against the power of students to influence the election result in the city. Cllr Metcalfe, who stood down from the mayoralty last month, complained in a letter to the Times that the effect was to “skew” the result. The Conservative said: “Students should be allowed to vote — either directly or by postal votes — only from their homes or other permanent address. “It is wrong for those who temporarily live and study in a university city such as Canterbury, where we have some 40,000 students, to decide the political climate that we, as a traditionally Conservative constituency, have maintained for more than 100 years. “Our students will eventually go home, but we who live here will be skewed for years by their choice of vote. Sir Julian Brazier and Nick Clegg were both defeated by their student populations in Canterbury and Sheffield Hallam.” However, his comments have been met with derision. Michael Prowse, writing in today’s Gazette described them as “childish and churlish”.

Letters, page 18-19

Cllr George Metcalfe