Green Party councillors for Mid Suffolk remain very concerned that mistakes may remain in the published nominations for parish, town and possibly district elections on May 4th. This follows corrections to the District nominations published on April 5th . (EADT 6/4/23)
Consultation with parish clerks and local councillors and investigation of the detail suggested that glaring errors remain, and wholly misleading descriptions of political affiliations. Perhaps the clearest example is a candidate described as Liberal Democrat on a District nomination list and a ‘Local Conservative’ on a parish list. Councillors also found that at least one parish - Elmswell - was missing entirely.
Green Party councillors are dismayed that the democratic process has been disrupted by these mistakes and are investigating and collating information to get errors corrected and questions answered. Councillors are advising parish and town councillors, and clerks, to check that the published Statement of Persons Nominated includes all the people successfully submitted by the due date of April 4th.
We are asking in addition that they verify that any Description (political party) published is as submitted, and that nothing has been added, noting that most nominees stand for parish councils without a political label.
Group leader Andy Mellen said: “It is vital that the public have complete confidence in the political process at all levels, and that includes town and parish councils. We are working to restore that trust, and welcome that Council staff are striving to rectify errors and re-publish the nomination lists as soon as possible.”
