I attended the opening of the postal votes this morning. I am obliged by the Representation of the people act to not reveal details of everything I saw, however I will explain what is reasonable to do so in the form of a process overview. (The secrecy aspects are given further down.)

I had previously been informed by letter that I was able to attend the opening of the postal votes with a colleague without notice, although I was the only candidate who bothered to do so. The checking was carried out in the Leeds Electoral office. I thought I hadn’t been to the building before but quickly realised it was familiar-it also housed the Registrar’s office and Karen and I were married there in 1994!

Gail and her team made me welcome and explained clearly what they were doing & why. There were three participants sat along a large table, with myself on the other side.

In deference to me being the only observer, the Elmfield Ballot box was dealt with first. As postal votes arrived each day, they were placed into the box which had a slit for the purpose. The seals were broken, the envelopes double-checked that they were for Elmfield, counted and the total recorded ensuring that there were not more returned than sent out.

The envelopes were then divided into three heaps and the team slitted them all open with a letter opener. Inside each envelope there should have been another envelope (Envelope A) with the ballot paper inside, along with the declaration form loose in the outer envelope (envelope B). Each declaration was checked that it was correctly filled in and that the serial number matched the number also printed on envelope A. In the event that there was no declaration to be found (or the ballot paper was outside the envelope) the other envelope was checked & the papers transposed to be correct.

Any casualties of the slitting process were repaired with sellotape and after checking any queries on declarations, they moved on to the next stage.

Now the ballot envelopes were opened, the ballot papers extracted and the serial number checked against the envelope number. If there was a mismatch it was put to one side as apparently people in the same house sometimes mix up the envelopes.

Once the ballot papers had been extracted (and any mismatched ones were reunited,) they were counted (for quantity only), the total recorded and they were sealed up again in the ballot box. They will be taken to the count tomorrow night where they will be checked for spoilt papers and sorted accordingly along with the polling station ones.

Seal is a bit of a misnomer as the process doesn’t involve the use of wax and tapers. “Cable tie” is a more accurate description of how the box gets secured shut!

The process was then repeated for the Central Ward postal votes and it was all sorted out in less than an hour.

My thanks to Gail and her team for an informative and enlightening visit. Their handling of the papers was very pragmatic and fair, they certainly made every effort to ensure that as many votes as possible were included, whereas a “jobsworth” approach would have possibly have led to some being discarded for trivial reasons.

Out of curiosity, I also asked if it was a matter of public record who had petitioned for the By-Elections (it is). If twenty electors from each ward write in requesting it then it has to be held. I was shown the file although I did not actually recognise any specific names so cannot tell which political party instigated it (although I had been informed that the Independents were not intending to, putting all of their efforts into the City Council elections in June). The by-election would normally have coincided with a City Council election but apparently this cannot be done if there is also a European election as well.

I did ask one other question. A parish Council will be created if 10% of the electorate petition for it but was there a similar procedure for dissolution? I was informed no, there is no mechanism for abolishing a parish or town council once created.

These days, anyone can request a postal vote and indeed we all voted by post last month for the City Council and European elections.

The political parties like the postal vote system- their declining membership of non-activists are less and less inclined to make the effort and having the papers arrive at home rather than having to travel to a polling station increases the chance of getting a tick in the right box, particularly if the activists go round and “help” them fill in the complicated forms.

I don’t agree with giving postal votes for everybody by default. This can lead to far too much potential for abuse and whilst it is still a secret ballot via the post, people can feel under pressure to fill in the forms the way others recommend.

With polling stations, a voter knows that he or she can look at the ballot paper, decide who to vote for and put a cross in the box unobserved by others.

I can vividly recall my first vote. I was a student in Coventry in 1976/77, I was 18 and proudly took my polling card to the rather run down hall where the shabby looking wooden booths & the battered black box were. I used my pencil, showed the back of the ballot paper to the presiding officer ensuring that the election mark was clearly visible (made by some glorified stapler/punch device), dropped it in the box then immediately thought

“Is that it?”.

I was somewhat underwhelmed afterwards and certainly didn’t think I’d be standing for Public Office 28 years later as a “pillock of the community”, in the words of John Shuttleworth, the versatile singer/songwriter from Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

There is a considerable amount of election law that candidates (indeed everyone) must abide by, designed to preserve the sanctity of the British electoral system. They boil down to what are called corrupt and illegal practices.

Corrupt practices include making false declarations and attempting to influence voters by bribery, treating (providing food, drink or entertainment) and undue influence, i.e. threats, violence, duress. Corrupt practices can lead to a fine or up to 12 months imprisonment along with a five year disqualification from voting & holding public office.

Illegal practices include false statements about the personal character or conduct of other candidates, paying to display posters, omitting the “printed and published” on electoral material (oops- maybe I’d better put it at the top of the Blog to be on the safe side!), pays for taxis to transport voters, uses a school premises as a committee room and goes on TV or Radio to influence voting outside of acceptable arrangements.

Whilst candidates don’t go to prison for illegal practices, they can be fined and disqualified for voting for five years, although they can still hold public office. So it is OK for elected officials to be illegal as long as they are not corrupt…!

I have been careful to stay out of the quagmire of rubbishing my opponents during this campaign as I don’t regard it as at all constructive. I want people to vote for me on the basis of being a decent sort who is community minded & wanting to put something back into Morley and I have tried hard to convey this. I’m actually rather modest and a smidge on the shy side so trumpet blowing and public exposure via letters to the editor is the exception rather than the rule. I am human of course, I do like to be acknowledged for a job well done rather than be taken for granted but squirm when over-praised and welcome a sincere thank you over an insincere fawning any day.

I have played the Independent card strongly in my campaign, particularly when it comes to attendance. In the Morley Town Council Annual report 2003/4, for the first time, individual Councillor attendance figures are published for the Full Council and the various Committees. It isn’t a statutory requirement to do this, it was decided after the 2002/3 report came out that it would be included. I crunched the numbers and came up with stats about how well the various parties attend. However I decided that quoting specific percentages would require substantiation of the methodology so I simply distilled the message down to nine of the top ten attenders are independent. I show the actual spreadsheet here which makes the case visually (blue are Conservative, Red are Labour, independents have white background).

Of course, a Councillor could have a superb attendance record then not actually participate in the meetings but the converse does not apply- if you are not there in the first place you can’t participate.at all.

Tomorrow is polling day. I’ve got the day off (apart from needing to go to a meeting at work) and ready to engage with the electorate. It will be a long day, the polls open at 8am and close at 9pm, followed by the count in the Town Hall.

Just to enliven the page slightly, here are colour versions of the leaflet photos.

No letters in the Morley Advertiser today, or anything heard back from the Editor. Perhaps he adopts the philosophy of the Admiral Jackie Fisher, “Never apologise, never explain”. Instead, here is a scan of a letter from another independent last week also accusing labour of electioneering. (The sham letter, not the rubbish in postbox one).

BT update- I have had an email telling me they have passed my query onto the relevant department.

I forgot to mention that letters turned up over the weekend from the election office with regard to Polling Agents and Counting Agents. Traditionally, small green pass cards were printed admitting the bearer accordingly and sent to the Candidate or their Agent for distribution. On this occasion, they have actually sent letters to all of the people I named to the addresses given. Had I known this, I wouldn’t have put c/o Morley Town Hall for various councillors as I have made unnecessary work for the Town Council office. (I had their addresses somewhere on file but it would have required a bit of hunting around).

For the count, I can bring myself, a guest (Karen, of course) and just one Counting Agent. I picked a name of one of my helpers who has given the most constructive campaign advice. Polling Agents have the authority to enter the polling station, talk to the presiding officer and satisfy themselves that procedures are being correctly followed. Their main purpose is to detect “personation”, i.e. that electors are who they say they are. (A dictionary definition is “To assume the identity of, with intent to deceive”)

Whilst the elections office have sent information on what a teller can or can’t do, they don’t say a lot about the scrutiny aspects of Polling Agents, other than that their duties are prescribed in the Representation of the People Acts.

I also note that the Department at the City Council have apparently changed names: Letters last month were headed “Department of Legal Services Elections and Registration Section” but now say “Legal and Democratic Services Electoral registration and Elections”.

The BNP have apparently put out three leaflets, of which I have copies of two of them. Initially, their first leaflet was A4 which mostly attacked Labour for their poor track record of attendance. The scans are slightly cropped but you should get the jist of what they are saying.

The A5 leaflet raises various local issues.

Their third leaflet is folded A4 and bears a passing resemblance to my own, featuring a pencil graphic of the Town Hall inside and a back cover similar to my back cover. If they have been inspired to this style by seeing mine, then people often say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

There is also an anti-BNP leaflet doing the rounds. This is a triple folded leaflet that alleges that the BNP are not nice people. It mentions Alex Sobel, a Labour activist who came to his door on Sunday night to advise me that he would be voting Labour, unsurprisingly. His partner said this was the third leaflet she has received from me which were all the same, although I did point out that this was leaflet number two which she accepted when she looked inside. I’m not surprised that we will have done a smattering of double-leafleting & missed out others, without a meticulous micro-managed leaflet regime it is easy to overlap rounds & miss out places along the way.

I was passed details of how to leaflet Elmfield based on eight well established rounds and have copies of the Ward boundaries but there are quirks- the High Street buildings vary between being in Elmfield and Central Wards for no discernable reason.

I developed a personal etiquette for leafleting that I based on how I would expect others to deal with me. Firstly, walk on paths, not grass. Don’t walk in front of windows unless it is the only way to get to the letterbox. Push the leaflet fully in so that it is not showing externally. If it is a glass door, ensure it falls inside rather than hangs obviously against the glass. Lift the flap, lift the inner flap (gingerly if barking is heard) and push the leaflet through, preferably without letting the flaps bang or the knocker rattle. If folding of the leaflet is necessary due to small letterboxes or particularly rigid bristles, fold it in a way that the main message is visible. Try not to scrunch it, although sometimes it is unavoidable. Discourage your small boys from enthusiastic shouting whilst leafleting. Close the gate, or leave it as you found it. Be polite to anyone who engages you but if they want to talk at length, ask if you can come back at their convenience.

I had heard stories of offensive and rude behaviour towards election leafleters in the past but I have to say that everyone I have met and talked to (however briefly) in Elmfield has been fine, other than two small boys who greeted me with “Hello Mr. Fat Man” in a smart residential street.

I met one character on Sunday night who I chatted to for a couple of minutes, glad of the break. He was very friendly and I had seen him around the town, complete with Father Christmas beard and large dog. He was apparently disappointed that he lived on the wrong side of the road and wouldn’t be able to vote. I’m rather fond of eccentrics (or at least harmless ones) as I often find that they have an interesting story to tell, in their own good time, of why they choose alternative lifestyles. The Town Council already has an interesting selection of characters and people with a passion for something are irreplaceable.

I received an interesting email over the weekend which I reproduce below.

Ian

I found your blog ‘charming’ and very informative. Everybody is talking about how to make our democracy more participative[?] and you are doing something about it.

Whether you win or lose, a suitably edited version of your diary and experience would make a very interesting national newspaper supplement story or even local Morley one. It makes a good speech to students too about the reality of our community life. It brings it alive. It is a good idea for a televison programme but too late for this candidature.

I like your philosophy.

Good luck!

Gerald Hartup

Director, Liberty and Law

Unit 384, 78 Marylebone High Street

London W1U 5AP

Thanks, Gerald, for your kind words and for letting me reproduce them here.

Well, all the leaflets have been distributed, bar the ones Judith’s Husband is generously doing for me in the Rein Road area. He knows that the deadline is Wednesday evening and will do it at his own pace. He tells me he isn’t a mornings person hence 7am meet-ups did not appeal!

I mentioned the irrepressible Judith Elliott early on in the blog, expecting to only have a local audience. As the readership has expanded somewhat let me inform the world that Judith is known to everyone in Morley, is very community minded and involved in all sorts of different things. She was the Mayor of Morley 2002/2003 and was originally a Member of the Conservative Party but has now declared independence. She also managed to win a seat on Leeds City Council last month as a “Morley Borough Independent”.serving Morley South, a former Labour stronghold. I am delighted that Judith is backing me in my campaign, as are many of the other independents (and a Tory!) who have shown their support by taking to the streets.

Here are a few photos taken yesterday to give a flavour of campaigning.

Election fever has finally hit Morley as two flats in Elmfield Court on Bridge Street have put up “VOTE LABOUR” signs in their windows. Of course, the Labour candidate lives in this area and is the Secretary of the Residents Association so she is bound to have considerable local support. Although not shown very clearly in this picture as it is just in shot,, the block on the right has a Union Jack hanging out of an upstairs window on first floor level although I don’t know if that is a political statement or a legacy of the football!

The second photo shows a Grey sign on a typical telegraph pole, just to show what they look like. I have received a reply from BT about getting permission to put up signs- it said they were very busy and would reply to my query as soon as they were able to do so. I will, of course, remove the signs if formally requested to do so which I fully intend to do after Thursday anyway, it is one of my election pledges.

The fourth photo is a scan of a campaign rosette. I had looked into getting rosettes when I decided to stand but the internet sites generally wanted too much notice. I asked around the independents and other than bright green ones, there wasn’t really anything suitable. However, I was tipped off that there was a rosette manufacturer in East Ardsley who could make them quite quickly. Their premises are an aladdin’s cave of rosettery with racks of colourful ribbons & a delightful little corner forming an ad-hoc showroom for all of the different styles available. Their premises are also an aladdin’s cave of dispensing machines that you generally find in public toilets! I decided on a traditional two colour design using the nearest colour to grey and the darkest purple. The lettering is a shade on the small side but normally rosette centres say such things as “Third place” and “best of breed” being the province of agricultural and gymkhana events. They were surprisingly inexpensive, they only cost me a grand total of 79p plus VAT each so I have treated myself to a box of ten.

The fifth photo is of someone who would definitely vote for me if he was old enough to do so and wore the rosette with pride (until the novelty wore off, of course). He helped deliver leaflets without complaint although he sometimes needed help with some of the more difficult letterboxes & awkward gates. Thank you David for being so supportive of your Dad! David has been interested in the Town Hall and the Councillors for a couple of years now and loves to attend the functions, particularly if there is a Buffet that he can discreetly visit and graze at. He also enjoys sitting in the Mayors seat in the Council Chamber, sitting in the Magistrates seat in the Borough court and going into the cells in the former police station, although he finds that a bit scary. Mind you I don’t blame him, so do I!

Saturday was comparatively relaxed, just swimming, shopping, Kid’s club and lewisham Gala to fit in. I took a few colourful shots of the French market in Morley in order to keep the Town Council Website topical (www.morley.gov.uk). A nice relaxing glass or two of 10 year old port at home last night whilst watching the making of A.I., 2 for £5 in Morley Market & perfectly legit…

I also watched Bo-Selecta! 3 and have to say that the novelty has worn off, I probably won’t keep an eye out for it.

I have been passed some leaflets posted by “the opposition” which I will scan and put up here. First off is the Labour leaflet, rather grubby because it was found near some bins.

This morning, I was leafleting from 7am to 1:40pm, although I did give Terry some help later in the morning. We had a grand total of nine people helping today, including Karen (my Wife), David (my son) and a well known local Conservative who has been very supportive but drew the line at delivering green leaflets for Terry and the Morley Borough Independents! We also fitted in coffee at Morrisons Cafe, Coffee at Puccinos (see the gallery at www.merciacinema.org.uk to find out about our new Restaurant in morley), a visit to the Rugby Club Gala and a visit to our tame car dealer to look at replacing our aging 2nd car. Karen is now out delivering leaflets on the Scotchman Lane round which is particularly long and thin and needs a car. This is very nice of her as she has been equally busy with housework/childcare but knows I have very sore feet!

I posted up on the Libertarian Alliance Forum that I was doing a blog and have received some words of encouragement from people who made the effort to come here and take a look. Thanks guys!

The rest of the laminated signs have gone up. I could have put up three times as many if I had been obsessive about it but I have tried to ensure that they will be in view to most people in the ward at some point by car, bus or on foot.. A couple have already disappeared but I don’t think it is a conspiracy as the ones near my Labour opponent’s address all still seem to be in-situ. The removed ones have been done by children or grouches, I imagine. This evening I saw a teenage ASBO in the making rocking an illuminated roadsign so that it was swinging several feet, presumably with the intention of bringing it down. Apart from the mindless vandalism aspect, he also stood a good chance of electrocuting himself. needless to say he had scarpered before anything could be done but I’ll report it to the Highways as it is now looking rather crooked and could be a hazard.

My letter about a community Diary wasn’t published yesterday, however there were a lot of letters this week so hopefully it has been held over until Wednesday. More importantly, the Morley observer has published the biographies again, but has appeared to have done three of the six candidates a disservice. It left out Jean lancaster’s photo, it left out my photo and for the Labour candidate standing in central Ward, it simply says “no details were provided”. Details obviously were provided as they appeared in the Advertiser on Wednesday. I will query this with the editor, although I am of the view that happenings that look like conspiracy are often down simply to incompetence and the Morley papers have demonstrated a lot of that recently in the style of the Grauniad which they probably put down to being short staffed.

I enclose the reprint here (over two jpegs) and last weeks sports centre petition story.

Here are the details of my second leaflet being delivered this weekend.The back page is identical to the first leaflet.

This includes a personal message and some election pledges, which one of my supporters has described as “quirky”!