‘Winter vote may be a logistical nightmare’
December election means facing short days, bad weather and no venues for counts, authorities say
A DECEMBER election will be an administrative and logistical nightmare, local authorities have warned, as parties will be forced to contend with a new electoral roll and the weather means people are inclined to stay indoors.
After Boris Johnson announced he would give MPS more time to debate his Brexit deal if they agreed to an election on Dec 12, many raised concerns about the practicalities of holding a campaign in the winter.
Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, cited the challenges a December election would present compared with preparing for one in May, where councils can book polling stations and count venues “months or even years in advance”.
“With a December election though, many venues would already be hired out for Christmas events from parties to pantomime rehearsals,” he said.
Mr Stanyon cited one council whose first and second choice of count venue had already been booked up throughout December and added that villages would be hit hardest as there may only be one hall “which may already be booked solid”. Another problem for councils will be the requirement to use two versions of Britain’s register of voters, as they are duty bound to update their electoral registers annually in or- der to reflect eligible voters in the area.
As a result of the December election, local authorities will be forced to send out polling cards to voters using the old register while running the election using the new register, which will cause problems for those canvassing on the doorstep and those working in polling stations tasked with ticking names off against the new list.
The gloomy weather in December could also affect turnout, as low temperatures affect older voters who make up some of the Tory’s key demographics, while the fewer hours of daylight mean party volunteers are less likely to knock on as many doors campaigning.
Stephen Kerr, MP for Stirling, said he had doubts about a December election in the run-up to Christmas.
“We have tried the patience of people so much this year as a political group at Westminster, to put a general election into the Christmas month I think would be a push too far,” he told Radio 4’s World At One.
The Tories have historically not fared well in December elections, with the last one held in 1923 resulting in Stanley Baldwin, the Tory PM, having his majority wiped out.
However, one bonus for the Tories, is that by holding an election during university holidays, students may have only registered to vote where their accommodation is, but returned to their families for the Christmas holidays, and may therefore be unable to vote.
The Conservatives are still haunted by the 2017 election, which saw Canterbury end 100 years of voting Tory by electing Labour’s Rosie Duffield as MP.
The long queues of students outside polling booths at Kent University was said to have contributed to the 20 per cent increase in the share of the vote that won the seat.
Prof Sir John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said the other danger of a December election for the Tories was the message they would be fighting the campaign on.
“The challenge is that an early December election implies they are going to fight, not on the basis of Brexit having been delivered [already], but on promising to deliver Brexit in a way that Theresa May [did] back in 2017.”