The local council elections which took place earlier this year were described as 'a total shambles from beginning to end' by Councillor Chris Bartrum. The Town Council had written to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services asking for an explanation as to why the elections had been so poorly organised. The reply, from Alan McLaughlin, was described as as a 'load of waffle' by Councillor Bartrum. He said that a fire was blamed but no- one in the Town Council had heard about a fire before. He said:?"No-one is taking responsibility." Councillor Bartrum added that the clerk at the count added up the figures incorrectly, then made the wrong announcement as to who had been elected and the invitation to the County count arrived the day after the count had taken place. Councillor Jane Roberts added that her daughter's postal vote, which she had applied for in plenty of time, arrived on the day of the election. She was not at home on the day of the election, which was why she had applied for a postal vote, so she could not vote. Councillor Roberts added:?"It was not a snap election, they had four years to plan for it. And the date of the next has already been agreed. We must ask the returning officer, Neil Pringle, if the lessons have been learned and ask for evidence that systems will be in place to make sure it does not go wrong again." The Mayor of Ross, Councillor Derek Bedford, said that the Clerk will write a reply. "Someone could have challenged this election, it was an appalling situation," he added.
