By Phil Briscoe, Managing Director
Yesterday (Thursday 12th March) the Electoral Commission recommended that the May elections be postponed until the autumn, in the face of the impacts from the spread of coronavirus. However, Constitution Minister, Chloe Smith MP, rejected the calls and insisted that work is continuing to facilitate them in May, “…while being guided by the evidence and the latest advice from medical experts.”
The Electoral Commission stated that it has “..become clear that the risks are so significant as to raise serious concerns about the polls continuing to their current timetable.”
So what are the risks, and what are the key dates in deciding whether we go to the polls or not?
Electors across England and Wales are due to vote on 7th May, just 55 days away – and there will be elections for 1,469 council seats in 118 local authorities, 8 directly elected mayors, 40 police and crime commissioners and the Greater London Assembly, which means every voter in England and Wales will have a chance to vote.
The Electoral Commission argues that the risk of infection will prohibit participation in the elections. Candidates and campaigners may be deterred from delivering leaflets, knocking on doors and talking to voters, who themselves are likely to be more cautious about opening doors to strangers – and that is if the candidates (of which there will be several thousand) can get themselves nominated by asking 10 people to sign their papers. On election day itself, will millions of people want to troop into a polling station and queue up with strangers? And for those who may be infected with the virus and self-isolating at home, they are unlikely to venture to the polling stations on the day. Similarly, those who are unaware they are infected will pose a significant risk to others. To facilitate the elections, councils rely on thousands of staff to manage polling stations and count the votes – volunteers could well be in short supply and any compulsion to make staff work (especially those who are usually non-public facing) could easily see the unions being called in.
For the Government, postponing an election is never done lightly – terms in office are due to expire, new authorities await their elected members to start work, and many candidates have already invested a great deal of time in money in preparing for the date in May. Only once since the Second World War have UK local elections been postponed – in 2001, when the impact of the foot and mouth disease saw travel restrictions and difficulties across the country. However, even then, the elections were only postponed by one month. Accepting advice that elections should be moved by several months would be a dramatic step.
The election timetable is already underway and local authorities and returning officers around the country are making preparations for their busiest day of the year. Nominations for the elections close on the 8th April and most crucially, councils are due to publish the notice of election, essentially the starting gun on the whole process, by Tuesday 31st March. It would be highly unlikely to see changes after this point, which means the Government has just 18 days to stick with their preparation for elections, or heed the calls from the Electoral Commission and postpone the polls to a later date.
The spread of coronavirus and events over the next few days will dictate what happens next, but the likely forecasts for that spread, coupled with the wider picture of cancellations to sporting events, social gatherings, the suspension of the football league and even Disneyland closing its doors, suggests very strongly that these elections are unlikely to go ahead in May.
What do you think? Should the elections take place on Thursday 7th May or be postponed?
If you want to discuss how the moving electoral timetable might impact your projects this year, please get in touch at[email protected]
