WOULD you like an explanation as to why the count at Thurrock descended into an absolute shambles? Yes, so would we.
You can appreciate that all media outlets were under pressure on an election night. YourThurrock were working for ITV Merdian, so we were keeping them updated and updated and updated.
They and many other people couldn’t understand it. Why had every other count in the south-east finished hour and Thurrock were still dawdling. The perception was that it was utter utter incompetence by the management.
The media centre did ask for an explanation but were giving a curt reply that: “We are getting ahead with the count”
The fault didn’t lie with the media officers who provided an excellent service.
Excuse No 1: Local and National Ballot Papers in the same box.
Well true but the same applied to many many polling stations and constituencies.
Excuse No 2: Geographic area
Yes. Purfleet is quite a drive. Stifford Clays has quite a few speed bumps and Aveley is a few time zones away.
Meanwhile local elections in Harlow and Brentwood and Ongar where many polling stations are down the leafy lanes managed to get their count finished by 2am in the morning. Thurrock finished after midday on the friday afternoon.
Excuse No 3: Staffing
Sources close to YourThurrock were very surprised at the number of staff allocated to work on the count. Staff with years of experience working on counts had their input dismissed by senior officers. The advice given was that if you have such low numbers you will end up paying twice as much if it goes on and on and on. They were proven right.
Communications
It was only by friday afternoon, fifteen hours after we had all arrived that Interim Chief Executive Bob Coomber admitted: “We haven’t covered ourselves in glory”
When the Apache’s came over the hill, the Lone Ranger said:” They are coming for us.” Tonto is alleged to have remarked: “What’s all this we Paleface”
Political Fallout
Thurrock MP, Jackie Doyle-Price said: ”
She said: “I think its a shambles, I’ve no idea why its taken so long.
“The polling stations were badly run, I saw 50 people queuing at a Chafford Hundred polling station.”
Losing candidate, Carl Morris said: “Its an absolute fiasco.”
“It would have been a lot quicker to have two ballot boxes, one for the council elections, and one for the general, but this doesn’t seem to have filtered down to the returning officer or the chief executive.
Conclusion
The whole fiasco brings back into focus that come monday, the spotlight returns on Thurrock Council. The Audit Commission will no doubt put the Election Fiasco on their list of Things to Do list along with Planning Committee, Vote of No Confidence etc etc.
In the light of the visit of overseas election observers to these shores over the past few weeks, it wouldn’t be a surprise and it would be something of a humiliation if you had UN election observers with diaries that read: Nicaragua, Zimbabwe and erm Thurrock.
If I was a Nicaraguan or Zimbabwean election official, I would be deeply offended to have been bracketed in the same light as the incompetent individuals who were responsible for the fiasco that occurred in Thurrock. Constituencies in the wilds of Cornwall and North Yorkshire declared their election results before the dimwits in Thurrock. Or maybe the problem was due to there being a lack of council officials who could actually count?
I know it must have been extremely frustrating for the media to have to wait so long for the results and obviously tempers were beginning to get a little frayed. However, for the vast amount of people who went to bed on election night not needing to know the result, then in all honesty does it really matter if we get the result at midnight or 12 hours later?
There is a school of thought that says why do we need to even open the ballot boxes on the night? Why not wait until the following day at 9 O’clock, when people have had a decent night’s sleep and mistakes are less likely to be made.
Almost bound to be another election within 12 months – have lessons been learnt? I doubt it..
i just saw on the news that places in Havering still haven’t been counted so perhaps not as bad as others
I totally agree.
As its such a farce why not have it like the Eurovision Song contest results, it would be much more fun.