General Election 2017: Keele University Students 'Turned Away' From Voting In Crucial Marginal

Labour candidate condemns 'shambles and chaos'
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Hundreds of university students have reportedly been turned away from voting in a crucial Labour/Tory marginal.

Tellers were using an out-of-date register at polling stations for the Newcastle Under Lyme seat, meaning newly-registered Keele University students were not able to vote.

The university’s history department tweeted the numbers turned away were in the hundreds.

100s of newly-registered voters turned away in marginal Newcastle u. L. See below for advice! #Vote2017 @e_horsfall pic.twitter.com/EycdQGgGok

— Keele History (@KeeleHistory) June 8, 2017

Labour’s Paul Farrelly, who is hoping students will help him defend his majority of just 650 against the Tories, condemned the situation as “chaos” and said he would complain to the Electoral Commission on Friday, regardless of the outcome.

Paul Farrelly (pictured in the House of Commons) called the situation 'chaos'
Paul Farrelly (pictured in the House of Commons) called the situation 'chaos'
PA Archive/PA Images

He said:

“The Electoral Services Department here in Newcastle is a shambles and there is chaos, which is denying people votes on a scale unprecedented in my 30 years fighting and organising elections.

“We have spent the past week fire fighting on over scores of postal votes, which have not arrived, and we not only have lots of registration applications that have not been processed, but people – including students – being turned away when they are indeed registered.

“Each passing hour is not only spoiling election day, but just adding to the issues for complaint, which I will be referring tomorrow to the Electoral Commission and other bodies for an independent, outside investigation.”

The local Labour party urged anyone turned away to return and make tellers ring the council to confirm they are on the register.

Jonathan Price, 21, was not able to vote and told The Independent: “It could actually make the difference here.”

History lecturer Ben Anderson told The Guardian: “The polling officers have been doing their best to sort that out but there’s clearly an issue.

“There were a number there holding their polling cards so I am sure there were genuine because the assumption is that they registered too late.”

The council tweeted that those who could not vote had not completed the whole registration process.

The Council has looked into issues raised as a result of problems being experienced by students at Keele University who have tried to vote.

— Newcastle-u-Lyme BC (@NewsNBC) June 8, 2017

Our understanding is that people have not fully completed the registration process and therefore are not registered to vote.

— Newcastle-u-Lyme BC (@NewsNBC) June 8, 2017

By the closing hours of the election, the polling stations apparently had received updated registers and people who were turned away were urged to go back.

Just heard from my daughter in Newcastle-under-Lyme that new polling lists have been sent to polling stations in area. Go back and vote

— Mary Peridot (@realperidot54) June 8, 2017

Polls shut at 10pm but anyone queueing before then can still vote.

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