Labour beaten in poll re-run after vote scandal

Anthony Butcher · 30-07-2005, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Labour suffered a heavy defeat yesterday in the re-run of two council elections caused by its members' widespread vote rigging at the original count.

Having taken all six seats in the Aston and Bordesley Green wards of Birmingham city council in last year's election, Labour was stripped of them when it emerged that councillors and party members had conducted a "massive, systematic and organised" vote rigging exercise.

In the re-run, Labour won only one seat, with the Liberal Democrats taking all three in Aston and the pro-Kashmir People's Justice Party winning two in Bordesley Green.

The Liberal Democrats said the result vindicated their decision to submit a petition that led to an independent inquiry by Richard Mawrey, QC, a High Court judge, who found Labour guilty of widespread fraud that would "disgrace a banana republic". The six councillors were suspended.

Ayoub Khan, a newly elected Liberal Democrat councillor in Aston, said: "This has been a very long battle for us as the petition took 12 months to come to court and to succeed."

Abdul Aziz, who also won in Aston, said: "This was a clean fight and we have taken all three seats. The vote totally vindicates the Liberal Democrats' stance. Labour lost here because they have neglected the inner cities to such an extent that the people of Aston are just fed up with them."

Abdul Khalique, the third winning candidate, said: "People did not like the fraud and Labour has paid for that."

The results do not change the balance of power on the council, which is ruled by a Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition. Labour now has 46 seats, the Conservatives 39 and the Liberal Democrats 31.

Sir Albert Bore, the leader of the Labour group, declined to say whether the fraud inquiry had contributed to the defeats. He said: "Of course it is disappointing to lose seats but we see them as being on loan."

mkpdavies · 30-07-2005, 12:23 PM

Labour lite instead of Labour. Whoopie doo.

30-07-2005, 12:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
mkpdavies Uber Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Woking Posts: 30,803	Labour lite instead of Labour. Whoopie doo. __________________ http://brits4ronpaul.blogspot.com/ http://wokinglibertarians.blogspot.com/ http://lpuk.org My ignore list Labour, Blue Labour, Lib Dems

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