Following the polling station debacle at last year’s general election, with long queues and several residents prevented from voting, the Council revised the arrangements for Highbury West ward, to prevent it happening again.
Our experience from the referendum on 5 May, however, suggests they have still not got things right. This time they made residents from around Benwell and Bryantwood Roads head all the way to Aubert Court Community Centre to vote, which is a fair walk up a steep hill and then not particularly easy to find.
Older voters in particular said they had been discouraged by the hill and would think twice about voting there again.When the Council consulted on changing the polling stations, Aubert Court was not even mentioned.
Whatever their reasons for choosing it, there are surely better alternatives available, and at a time when we should be encouraging participation in elections, we would urge the Council to find a more suitable site for next year’s London elections.
