Polls apart

However, as far as a damage limitation exercise goes, they are unlikely to appease all those who were denied their democratic right to vote on May 6 because of poor planning on the council's part.

Yet, while chief executive John Mothersole's decision to forfeit his returning officer's fee is an honourable one, it still does not excuse the arbitrary nature of the decision-making on the night of the election – with some polling stations discriminating between students and local residents.

This was unacceptable, especially given every voter's right to be treated as an equal. And, while such chaotic scenes may be expected in emerging democracies, there was no justification for a supposedly advanced democracy, like Britain, to be living in the past when it comes to the planning of elections. Indeed, the country has certainly lost the right to lecture others on such matters.

Given the last minute surge in people registering to vote after the first TV leaders' debate, it was obvious that there was going to be an above average turnout involving students.

Why, therefore, have so few councils had the wisdom to locate a polling station on each university campus?

That would be a practical first step to restoring the public's broken trust in the democratic process.