Wellington to wait 11 months for polls as virus delays ‘costly’ by-election
Voters who requested a by-election to fill a vacant town council seat will have to wait nearly a year to go to the polls.
Frank Burns, one of three members representing the Haygate ward on Wellington Town Council, died in April. As required by law, the town council published a notice stating a by-election would be held if 10 registered electors requested it. Otherwise, a new member could have been co-opted by existing councillors.
Town clerk Karen Roper said a poll had been triggered but, because of restrictions put in place to fight the spread of coronavirus, it won’t take place until May 6, 2021, at the earliest. It is one of three council elections that have been delayed because of Covid-19.
Haygate is a three-member ward. At the last election, held on May 2 last year, all three sitting members – Labour members Councillors Burns and Graham Cook and Conservative John Alvey – were re-elected.
After Councillor Burns passed away, Wellington Town Council published a “notice of casual vacancy”, giving voters two weeks to petition Telford and Wrekin Council chief executive David Sidaway, who also acts as returning officer for elections within the borough.
In a remote meeting, Ms Roper told town councillors: “The 14-day notice period ended on May 18. An election has been called for the Haygate ward. This won’t take place now until, or not before, anyway, May 6, 2021.”
Notices formally declaring the election and inviting candidates to come forward will be published in March, she added.
Councillor Karen Tomlinson said: “I think it’s a bit of a shame we couldn’t co-opt anyone. Obviously, we’re in quite a bad economic situation and having a by-election is going to be a cost to the council.”
Councillor Joan Gorse agreed, and said she would have preferred to co-opt a member rather than wait for an election, “because the people of Haygate are going to have one less councillor to help them or answer their queries for, virtually, 12 months”.
Town mayor Anthony Lowe asked whether the decision could be reviewed at a later date, but Ms Roper said it could not.
Voters in Donnington were due to go to the polls on Thursday, April 2 this year, following the death of Councillor Liz Clare in January. She was one of two members representing Donnington on Telford and Wrekin Council, and also held a seat on the area’s parish council.
Households in Donnington were sent poll cards and the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties had all nominated candidates, but a follow-up message from Mr Sidaway explained that the elections had to be postponed to “prioritise the health of our residents and all staff and candidates involved”.
The Coronavirus Act, which became law shortly after, postponed all elections that were due to take place in 2020 until May 6, 2021.
