Postpone May elections now

A bumper set of elections is due to be held on 6th May this year.

In Horsham we have County Council elections, the election for a Police and Crime Commissioner, and a byelection in Trafalgar ward.

The Government insists the elections should go ahead, but many senior council staff across the country are concerned about the feasibility and safety of holding the elections.

They are reporting difficulties in hiring venues big enough to conduct votecounting safely, in recruiting staff to run polling stations, and to conduct the count itself.

Council CEOs and Council Leaders are asking the Government to consider these issues and make decisions urgently on whether the elections should go ahead as normal, whether there should be all-postal ballots, or whether they should be postponed.

They say that the worst scenario is to continue planning for an election on 6th May and to postpone at the last minute.

However, the Government is deaf to their arguments. Instead, the Constitution Minister has written to all political parties, telling them to stop using volunteers to deliver leaflets, due to concerns about the danger of spreading the Covid virus.

The Government has decreed that they can only use Royal Mail or commercial companies for delivery. This is discriminatory, in that only large, well-funded parties or individuals can afford to do this.

Meanwhile the risk remains that these elections - for important roles in our communities - go ahead, with minimal information reaching electors. This will inevitably mean a low turnout and is clearly not good for democracy.

Our councils are already spending money and effort in planning for elections on 6th May. Surely, the sensible thing is for the Government to postpone the elections now, rather than be forced into yet another U-turn at the last minute?

More information is available about the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) survey of local authorities involved in the forthcoming elections in England. Their report ‘Free, fair and safe: 2021 local elections’ can be found here https://bit.ly/3pHVIhx

MORWEN MILLSON Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Horsham Riverside