'Skulduggery' allegation after voters fail to turn out for by-election

A FORMER Minehead town councillor who unsuccessfully tried to reclaim his seat in a by-election which attracted possibly the country’s lowest-ever turnout, is calling on the Electoral Commission to lobby for a change in the law.
Tony Berry is a past-chairman of Minehead Conservative Association and also formerly the finance chairman of Minehead Town Council.
His defeat in a town council by-election in October has exposed a loophole in English electoral law which he claimed allowed for the result of a local election to be manipulated to the disadvantage of candidates who were not rich.
Mr Berry stood as an Independent candidate in the by-election, which was won by a 19-vote majority by a Conservative candidate in a poll which attracted just 233 votes out of 3,165 eligible voters - a meagre turnout of only seven per cent.
He blamed town council ‘skulduggery’ for the poor voter turnout, as the council failed to issue polling notices, failed to publish notices of election in the ward, failed to advertise the election in local newspapers, and failed to use its website to advertise the by-election.
Mr Berry said the decision not to issue polling cards was taken by the town council clerk - whose husband was agent for the Conservative candidate - and who failed even to notify him of the decision.
The result was that many voters either did not know the by-election was taking place, or thought they could not vote without a polling card and stayed at home.
Now, Mr Berry has been horrified to discover that there is no statutory public organisation which can investigate and ensure local elections are run fairly.
Local electoral procedures can only be challenged by those rich enough to be able to go to court and use the judicial processes.
Mr Berry has raised his concerns about the conduct of the by-election with both the Electoral Commission and the Audit Commission, and he has received confirmation that the town council breached Electoral Commission guidance in several respects in its conduct of the October by-election.
He is now calling on the Electoral Commission to lobby for it to be given statutory powers to investigate electoral skulduggery and to be able to re-run elections where wrongdoing is proven.
Mr Berry said: “I am not casting any aspersions on the successful candidate in this by-election, but I have no doubt the result would have been greatly different had more people come out to vote.
“I only found out by accident two days before the by-election that polling cards had not been sent out, despite it being normal practice to do so, which did not leave me much time to get around 3,000 people to tell them they could still vote and where to vote.
“I do not want the by-election re-run. What has happened is history now. But I do want to see fairness in local elections and it should not matter whether you are rich or poor, if something underhand goes on then there should be an authority which can put matters right.
“I think most people would have believed, like me, that the Electoral Commission was created to ensure that all elections are carried out fairly, so I was extremely surprised to find it is a watchdog without any teeth at all and they can only offer ‘advice and guidance’ on local elections.”
Mr Berry has also written to Minehead’s mayor, Councillor Simon Stokes, asking him as a matter of urgency to ensure the council adopts a formal set of procedures for running elections to include all the guidance points issued by the Electoral Commission.

• Our photograph shows Tony Berry studying some of the correspondence from the Electoral Commission. Photo submitted.

'Deadly' Dudley romps to election victory

VOTERS in Alcombe gave a resounding expression of support for The Post columnist ‘Deadly’ Dudley (pictured) when they elected him as their district councillor last night.
Dudley Seale, who stood for the Conservatives, won more than twice as many votes as all the other candidates added together.
In a four-way by-election contest for the Alcombe East seat on West Somerset Council, Councillor Seale took 263 votes to claim almost 60 per cent of the polling.
He succeeded former Conservative Mayor of Minehead and Alcombe Nick Messarra, who stood down in February for family and business reasons.
Councillor Seale was already a Minehead town councillor, having won a seat in the full elections which were held in May of last year.
The other candidates were Independent Sandra Slade, who came second with 103 votes, Labour’s Ron Bridle, who was third with 42 votes, and Liberal Democrat Tony Bowden, who was fourth with 35 votes.
There was a healthy 41.3 per cent turnout for the poll, and only two ballot papers were spoiled.

Our man 'Deadly' Dudley chosen for by-election challenge

THE Post columnist Dudley Seale has been chosen to fight the Alcombe East by-election for a seat on West Somerset Council.
Mr Seale, who is also a Minehead town councillor, will stand for the Conservatives.
He is one of four candidates contesting the vacancy created when former Minehead and Alcombe Mayor Nick Messarra stood down last month.
The others are Tony Bowden (Lib Dem), who has made several unsuccessful attempts at winning a seat in Watchet, Ron Bridlefor the Labour Party, and retired Minehead Town Council employee Sandra Slade, who is standing as an Independent with town and district Councillor Terry Venner acting as her agent.
The by-election will b e held on Thursday, May 1, and anybody living in the ward who is registered to vote will receive a poll card in the weeks running up to the ballot.
Polling will take place at St Michael’s Church, Alcombe, between 7 am and 10 pm, and the count will take place at the church immediately after the close of the poll.
Anybody wishing to have a postal or proxy vote must apply by 5 pm on Wednesday, April 23.
To register for a postal or proxy vote contact Electoral Services Officer Elisa Day on 01984 635272.
A vacancy in the ward for the town council will be decided by co-opting a candidate, possibly as early as next week, after nobody called for a by-election to be held.

Former Mayor stands down to concentrate on business

THE former Mayor of Minehead and Alcombe, Councillor Nick Messarra (pictured, left), has resigned from both the district and town councils.
Councillor Messarra officially stepped down on Friday, after several weeks agonising over the decision.
He had represented the Alcombe East ward as a Conservative councillor on both West Somerset Council and Minehead Town Council since 1999.
Councillor Messarra told The Post: “I have been thinking about this for quite a long time and I am really sad to be standing down as I love helping the town and the people who live and work here.
“But I have to concentrate more on my business, which is taking me all over the country at times, and I am finding it harder and harder to find the time for council duties.
“I also have a young family who are growing up and need me to spend more time with them, which adds to the time pressures on me.
“Being a councillor can be a full-time job just in itself and I am full of admiration for anybody who manages to do it well.
“I have always tried to do everything to the best of my abilities and so I think it is better that I stand down now and let somebody else take over.
“It has really been an honour to serve the public and I have enjoyed being able to achieve lots of things for them, whether it has been the small projects like getting a bus shelter or a seat, or the grander scale of pulling in millions of pounds of investment money from Europe.
“At the end of the day I have helped to make a difference to the quality of life for many, many people, and I am proud of that.”
Councillor Messarra said a highpoint was when he served a term of office as Mayor of Minehead and Alcombe.
He also held the economic development and business liaison portfolio on the district council for four years, and was previously a commissioner for finance.
Before serving on the council, he was chairman of Minehead Chamber of Commerce and Trade for eight years, and he was also a founder-member of Minehead Lions Club.
As a councillor, he was branded the ‘people’s champion’ because of his tendency to cut through red tape in order to make sure community projects were carried out without undue delay.
A by-election is now likely to be held for the district and town council vacancies, which could take place during April.