Today leading Liberal Democrat Mark Oaten MP (Shadow Home Secretary) will be shown streets in ‘marginal’ West Dorset where voters have vanished by local Lib Dem Justine McGuinness. In parts of West Dorset, including Dorchester, Bridport or Sherborne, nearly one in 10 houses is not listed on the electoral roll. On the street with the most vanishing voters, North Allington in Bridport, the figure rises to one in every four houses.
West Dorset is one of the most marginal seats in the UK. Sitting MP, front-bencher Oliver Letwin, has a ‘waffer-thin’ majority of 1,141. The Lib Dems only need a 1.7% swing to take West Dorset at the next General Election.
West Dorset has had no boundary changes. However, following changes introduced by the Government and the Conservative controlled District Council’s decision to cut the budget for encouraging people to register, the roll has fallen. Over 3,300 addresses occupied by voters on the electoral roll in 2004 do not appear on the 2005 register. Those homes housed over 5,000 voters, who now are unable to vote.
West Dorset’s Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson, Justine McGuinness said: “Homes do not simply disappear on this scale. I am sure there are plenty of tax payers living in these houses, yet their names seem to have vanished from the register of voters. This is a disgrace in a modern democracy.
“In West Dorset at the next General Election every vote will count. This is one of the most marginal seats in the county. I would urge anyone who wants to vote at the next General Election and at the County Council elections in May to check that they are registered to vote. If you are not on the register there is still time to get a vote.”
The electoral roll is not just used for elections it is also used by finance companies for credit checks. People not on the register may find it difficult to take out loans and may find other credit applications refused. Only people named on the register can vote at elections, but it is not to late as the district council does update the roll every month.
Comparing the register of electors in 2004 to the current roll in January 2005, over 8.4% of the homes in West Dorset have vanished from the register of voters. In Bridport this figure is as high as 12.2%.
