Non-delivery of postal votes means some electoral results could be challenged

The Scottish school holidays fall earlier than in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Malcolm Burr, the convener of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, called for a “major review” of the postal vote system after the election.

“There have been and remain issues with both suppliers and with Royal Mail across Scotland which the electoral community are dealing with as best we can,” he said.

The contests in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and Mid Fife, North East Fife and Dunfermline and Dollar are all run by Fife Council, who said there had been “national issues with the printing and delivery of some postal votes”.

Niki Hutchison, 45, who lives in Edinburgh East and Musselburgh with her husband and two children, said that none of the members of her household who had applied had yet had their postal votes arrive.

Her parents, who live in Edinburgh West, have also not received their votes.

“There are a lot of things that don’t seem to be working in the UK right now, so this just feels like an example of another one,” Mrs Hutchison said.

Edinburgh City Council said it had dispatched all postal votes “as soon as the legal timeframe allowed” and that an emergency facility has been opened at the city chambers to allow voters to pick up their ballots, ahead of the Scottish school holidays, which begin next week.

In Fife, the council will be open on Saturday for voters to collect their ballot and fill it out in a private booth, enabling them to cast it immediately.

Surprise

In east London’s Stratford and Bow constituency, voter Emily Hewertson said that Tower Hamlets Council had blamed the “surprise” of the election for her postal vote not arriving before Tuesday, when she left the country on holiday.

“I don’t really agree as everyone knew an election was due at some point this year and their own website said it would arrive 10 days before polling day and other councils have managed to get theirs out on time, including my parents,” she said.

“I did my part by meeting the deadline to apply for a postal vote, so it’s a shame they couldn’t do there’s and now I’m being denied my right to have a say which is wholly undemocratic.”

Tower Hamlets Council has been approached for comment.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is standing for re-election in Chingford and Woodford Green, said that his prospective seat had also been affected and that both Royal Mail and local councils needed to take action.

“We are demanding they act immediately,” he said.

Other seats where postal voters have not received ballots include Dulwich and West Norwood, Oxford East, Glastonbury and Somerton, and Rutland and Stamford.

Voters in Glastonbury and Somerton reported being sent to a library in Frome to pick up their ballot, rather than it being sent to them in the post.

A Somerset Council spokesman said that voters who had not received their postal ballot by Friday could apply for a replacement to be issued.

Oxford City Council and Southwark Council said they had dispatched their ballot papers on time and they were not responsible for the delays.

The Conservatives are the party most likely to lose votes because of the delays, Prof Sir John Curtice, Britain’s most eminent polling expert, suggested.