Entire Kent council forced into re-election after clerical error

A paperwork blunder is set to cost taxpayers nearly £4,500 after it was discovered that an entire local council would have to undergo re-election.

Voters chose who they wanted for Birchington Parish Council (BPC) in Thanet, Kent, in May 2023 but the authority was incorrectly elected due to an error in the way the ballot was administered,

Following the resignations within BPC’s ranks, Thanet District Council (TDC) has said it has “no discretion” but to hold an election for its 10 seats.

TDC leader Rick Everitt said: “These are unhappy circumstances but, unfortunately, the legal advice we’ve received is that we have to do what we’re advised by officers.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a decision was taken “in error” before the 2023 election to delete the north and south ward names from the parish ward boundaries – effectively electing the council en masse in one ward.

Legally, the parish is meant to have two wards – Birchington North with four councillors, and Birchington South with six – corresponding to the TDC wards of the same name.

But the mistake was not spotted and no queries were raised.

So, when BPC chairman Marcel Pooke resigned from his position in September, it triggered the need to re-elect the whole council as it was impossible to know in which ward the vacancy had arisen.

District councillors met this week and decided to force a new election, using the ward names properly this time around.

The estimated cost of holding the election will be £4,400, the TDC report said.

It is not yet known when the election will be held but it usually comes several weeks after an official notice of election is released, which has yet to occur.

Nick Blankley, BPC’s new chairman, said he feels “disappointed” by the turn of events.

He said he felt a raft of new councillors being elected could disrupt “a range of things that are in process”, including the setting out of the council’s budget, adding that “the people of Birchington would not be any better off than they are now”.