New woman takes the helm for constituency's Lib Dems

FORMER Sedgemoor district councillor Marilyn Wallace (pictured) has taken over as chairman of Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency Liberal Democrats.
Mrs Wallace succeeds Janice Beasley, who lives in Cannington and who had been chairman for the past three years.
She was elected at the branch’s annual meeting of Bridgwater and West Somerset LibDems held in Nether Stowey.
Mrs Wallace, who lives in Chedzoy, said: “This will be an exciting and busy year as there will be both county council and European elections.
“We must also be prepared for a General Election when it comes.
“I am looking forward to working with our Parliamentary candidate Theo Butt Philip, our members, and supporters, and hope to encourage new people to join us in our social and campaigning events.”
Mr Butt Philip said: “Marilyn has been involved in the Lib Dems locally for many years as both an activist and a district councillor.
“Her experience will be invaluable.
“I would also like to pay tribute to Janice Beasley for the sterling work she has done as chairman for the last year.
“She has been a great source of strength and support to me and to the whole of the Bridgwater and West Somerset Liberal Democrats.”

'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.