‘Swat teams’ prevent East Lancs polling station problems (From Lancashire Telegraph)

LABOUR PLANNED THIS... CRIMINAL PARTY

People could have gone earlier. No point turning up at 9.30 then being narked cos there's a queue.

There are some reports of people queuing for over 2 hours to get into a polling station and then having the doors closed on them so it's not just turning up late that is the problem - we should also respect the facts that people work different shifts/hours and may even have several jobs.
The polling stations in question clearly did not have adequate resources (especially the one which ran out of voting slips !) to cope with demand. IMO we should be questioning in this day and age of electronic communications why we even need to go to a polling station to cast a vote.
The voting system in this country needs a drastic overhaul from top to bottom including investigate alternatives to postal voting too because that has also has serious problems. What example are we setting to other non-democratic countries when we can't even get our own "house" in order ?!!

blackpooldonkey wrote:
People could have gone earlier. No point turning up at 9.30 then being narked cos there's a queue.

how many never voted due to the most incompetent **** ups you could possibly imagine up and down the country? Then I also wonder how, exactly can the election results even be legal nor valid as thousands were unable to vote. Democracy in action in the UK?

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If nothing else the fact people could not vote due to the most profoundly pathetic excuses that should not be occuring around such a major decision making process for the whole country belies and perhaps brings a sign of things to come. People WANTED to vote they could not do so. Then to read, see and hear on the news last night police had been called in at some polling stations as a consequence. Due to a **** up at a most basic level. But hearing the police became involved or were called should be sending alarm signals out to the nation purely because we live in a democratic country but because people could not vote as is their RIGHT to do so, they were called in.

I think you are totally missing the point behind all of it. And WHY people were unable to vote. BTW, are you and 'tazdevil' related being from 'Kendal'. I hear they make shortbread up there but also nice 'mint'.

tazdevil is right - also people trying to vote earlier in the day and being told to come back later "when it should be quiet"!

What's the solution then ... IMO hopefully in those constituencies (fortunately not apparently W&L) where these problems occured there will be a re-election/by-elect
ion called and very quickly. That is IMO the only way presently to ensure that a proper democratic count can be made and would allow those unable to vote in yesterdays election to be able to cast a vote as well as allowing those constituencies a short amount of time to rectify some of the fundamental issues affecting their polling stations - MPs elected in those constituencies should NOT in my opinion be allowed to take their seats in the Commons until such a re-election has taken place. I think there will be a flurry of legal challenges in those constituencies and reading some other sites today there seems to be precedent for such challenges. Perhaps therefore also a temporary extension of polling station closure times up to a maximum of midnight on polling day in such instances in future (at the discretion of the returning officer and local police) would be a sensible and relatively simple workaround until a better method of voting is in place. What matters more people being able to express their vote and their democratic right or getting a quick result for the media ?? I suggest not the latter !!
P.S. Ben - thanks.
PPS - Davidoff : as far as I know I'm not related to BlackpoolDonkey !! lol :) - we're both from Kendal as it's in the "old" county of Westmorland and is the hometown for this newspaper !! How's the weather in n/a ??