Liberal Democrats celebrate success in Birmingham but worry about potential wrongdoing
June 13, 2004 12:00 AM
With the final result in Birmingham being declared on Sunday evening, the Liberal Democrats appear to be one of the biggest gainers across Birmingham. In Hodge Hill Constituency alone, four Liberal Democrats were elected Councillors Neil Eustace, Barbara Jackson, Carol Jones and Tariq Khan. The Liberal Democrats now have 28 seats on Birmingham City Council, which is a net gain of four and beat the Conservative Party in votes cast across the City.
Councillor John Hemming, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council has concerns about a number of the results. Councillor Hemming said "The sheer scale of complaints means something is going badly wrong.The Liberal Democrats may have not won up to 15 seats because of postal voting fraud. People are saying that Labour have done well in Birmingham and this city has bucked the national trend."
"Several of my councillors and candidates are unhappy and feel cheated. Some have come to me and asked why we are even bothering to play fair. I have had to tell them that someone has to make a stand. So a legal challenge will be started, funded by people within the community. We will be looking at challenges in Bordesley Green, Nechells, Soho, Hodge Hill, Aston and possibly Ladywood once I have had a proper look at the figures."
The controversy surrounding postal votes is not new, two years ago an inquiry looked into how hundreds of votes were allegedly cast in the names of people who were either abroad, dead or in prison. Councillor Hemming again led the action, which was rejected by the High Court due to a legal technicality. Then, the allegations centred on the wards of Aston, Nechells, Small Heath, Sparkhill and Washwood Heath.
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