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English Constitution Party candidate, Grahan Moore, lodged the parliamentary election petition following the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in May.
The vote was held after ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury stood down following a conviction for punching a constituent, and was won by Reform UK candidate Sarah Pochin.
Mr Moore came last out of 15 candidates after receiving 50 votes, which he said was ‘statistical impossibility’ after having received the same number of votes when standing in the Tooting by-election in 2016.
In a judgement handed down today, Tuesday, the petition was dismissed, and Mr Moore has been ordered to pay costs for Ms Pochin and the acting returning officer Stephen Young.
The legal challenge was initially made against Cheshire Constabulary and Royal Mail and requested that the election was declared void and an independent recount conducted.
The cases against the police and mail service were dismissed earlier this year, but senior judges ruled a trial of the petition should still go ahead, with Ms Pochin and Mr Young as respondents.
Mr Moore represented himself at the court hearing in Chester and claimed that he had seen an estimated 116 votes cast for him at the election count, suggesting alleged fraud could have been carried out by Labour despite the fact the party lost the seat.
“I was the only one that had exactly 50 votes and exactly 50 votes in 2016, both of those counts were run by, in effect, Labour people in high Labour areas,” he told the court.
“Marxism comes into it.”
But the judges, who viewed video footage from the count and heard from deputy returning officer Penny Housley, ruled Mr Moore was “mistaken in his belief” that he had seen more votes.
As part of his petition, Mr Moore also claimed a full recount had not been held when it was revealed how close the votes were, but bundles were recounted.
However, the judges found a full recount had taken place.
They also ruled they were satisfied there was no act or omission by the returning officer or any other person in breach of their official duties in connection with the election.
The judgment stated: “There was no ‘sleight of hand’ and there was no chaotic scene at the count. The count, and all parts thereof, was properly observable by the candidates and their counting agents.”
Mr Justice Bryan and Mr Justice Spencer, who noted in the judgment that £35,000 had been raised for Mr Moore through a GoFundMe account, assessed Mr Young’s costs as £45,000 and Ms Pochin’s costs as £30,000.
Election petitions can be lodged by candidates or electors but guidance from the Electoral Commission warns there are “costs attached” and independent legal advice is recommended.
