Councillors have delivered a withering assessment on a Government pilot programme which would have allowed Redcar and Cleveland residents the chance to vote on a weekend.
The extended plans, which were delivered by four councils in elections last year, would have seen five ‘voting hubs’ set up for use the weekend before polling day in scheduled local and parish council elections in the borough in May 2027.
But they were rejected when put to a vote of Redcar and Cleveland council members at a recent meeting with a majority voting against.
Any costs associated with the trial scheme would have been met by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Council leader Alec Brown was supportive of the proposal involving planned hubs in Redcar, South Bank, Loftus, Skelton and Guisborough and available for any registered voter to use, and said it would “increase democracy”.
He later posted on Facebook stating he was “shocked” at some councillors’ stance and although it was not a “silver bullet to increase turnouts it would have made it easier for working people to vote”.
Several council members spoke against participation. including veteran independent councillor Steve Kay.
He said: “Why are we letting the Government use us in an experiment, we should avoid it.
“Why don’t we have Christmas for three or four days before the 25th of December?”
Former council leader Sue Jeffrey said she did not believe it would increase participation.
She said: “All it does is give people with a ballot paper the chance to go to another polling station for a couple of days.
“It is almost like putting the cart before the horse.
“There are lots of other things we could be doing if we had the resources, we are being given the resources to do this, but not for the bread and butter.”
Independent councillor Dr Tristan Learoyd said the fact some people did not vote had nothing to do with polling station hours
He said: “You look at the choice that is in front of you and it is basically the same.
“Four established parties and one that is reconstituted from another.”
Cllr Learoyd said the system was “rotten”, adding: “Opening up a couple of days more at a ballot box isn’t going to make a blind bit of difference.”
Independent Councillor Philip Thomson said, regardless of funding, council officers did not have an “abundance of free time”.
He said:“ This pilot scheme does not really address the concerns we have as an already stretched authority.
“The resources we already have should not be stretched further in an attempt to support this pilot which does not really have merit.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Glyn Nightingale said: “There are better ways of ensuring our democracy is more vibrant and more people vote and we ensure higher turnout at elections.
“With this particular proposal I have serious reservations and I’m totally unconvinced.”
Independent councillor Steve Martin said: “I think the exercise is totally pointless myself.
“On polling day stations are open for 12 hours.
“The reason people aren’t voting is that they don’t believe politicians and they don’t believe councillors, they are sick of lies.”
Cabinet member for resources, Labour’s Chris Massey said there was no risk involved to the council and it was “worth a go”.
A report for councillors said it was a “nationally significant initiative”.
It said: “The proposed pilot would allow voting to take place over additional days, reducing barriers to participation and enabling electors to choose a time that better suits their individual circumstances.
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“It would also permit voters to attend an alternative designated voting venue rather than being restricted to their allocated polling station, helping to make the voting process more accessible, convenient and responsive to the needs of modern electors, while maintaining the integrity and security of the electoral process.”
The report described how voting activity would be updated immediately across all locations with electronic registers safeguarding against the risk of “double voting” where a person voted at multiple hubs or by also voting at their elected polling station on election day.
In 2023 local elections in Redcar and Cleveland, the average turnout across all wards was 31.03 per cent and as low as 15.83 per cent in the ward with the lowest turnout.