Straw 'unable' to stop vote changes
Author: Local Government Chronicle - Sep 18, 2009
Justice Secretary Jack Straw has spoken out against some councils’ plans to delay election counts until the following morning, but conceded that he has no authority to block the proposals.
Mr Straw said election night drama was was “a vital part of our political heritage”, but added it would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in how local returning officers operated.
His comments came after the news that as many as one in four local authorities were considering abandoning the traditional through-the-night counts in favour of starting the next day.
Calls to retain the overnight system have been backed by 50% of voters in a poll commissioned by the Local Government Association, with 22% supporting delayed counts.
Many fear that a change in method would dampen the impact of a forthcoming general election likely to be the closest in decades.
Mr Straw was responding to an appeal from Conservative Party chairman Eric Pickles to fight for the traditional system.
He said: “Whatever my personal preference, as the Secretary of State with sponsoring responsibility for election law, I must not improperly seek to interfere with the capacity of the Electoral Commission to give advice as they think appropriate.”
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