Clegg ‘keeping an open mind’ over poll station law

THE Government could yet legislate to stop a repeat of the voting chaos in 2010 when thousands of voters were locked out of polling stations, Nick Clegg has said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he would prefer to resolve the problems without resorting to legislation but said he was willing to do so if necessary.

Mr Clegg experienced problems first hand when hundreds of people in his Sheffield Hallam constituency were stopped from casting their vote despite being in a queue when polls closed at 10pm. Similar problems were experienced in several other constituencies.

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A week after a House of Lords committee said the law needs to be changed so that anyone queuing at 10pm can vote, but Mr Clegg has repeatedly insisted legislation is not necessary and blamed poor organisation by officials.

Quizzed by Peers yesterday, Mr Clegg said: “I’d rather not immediately lurch to using the Statute Book to deal with a problem which I think is principally administrative in nature and if it’s necessary to change legislation there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.

“There’s nothing ideological about it. I just think this is a problem which can and must be fixed by working with returning officers practically to ensure they and their staff do a better job than appeared to be the case in a number of polling stations.”

He added: “I desperately want this never to happen again. It’s got to be fixed, it’s just a question of means rather than ends. I’m keeping an open mind on that.”