Sir – For a democracy to function and for the result to be considered legitimate, the electorate must be able to take part. With Police and Crime Commissioners elected on turnouts of 15 per cent, people have rightly questioned what legitimacy they now have.
It is therefore with even greater concern, though no great surprise, that I view the Carfax by-election for Oxford City Council, with a record low turnout of 8.6 per cent.
Three-quarters of the ward’s electorate are students. With students absent for the holidays, this election was triggered by Labour supporters in great haste to maximise their chances of winning. They are perfectly within their rights to do this and I congratulate Alex Hollingsworth on his victory among the remaining electorate.
Nevertheless Liberal Democrats believe that everyone should be able to vote and that every vote should count. With three-quarters of the Carfax electorate disenfranchised Mr Hollingsworth was elected by 3.8 per cent of the available vote. He may well have won with the students present; it is shameful they didn’t get the chance to have their say.
Mark Mann, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats Oxford East
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