Postal votes not counted after late delivery

Brighton and Hove Council is asking why the postal votes were delivered too late to be counted

More than 1,400 postal votes for elections to Brighton and Hove City Council were not counted after Royal Mail failed to deliver them on time.

Polling stations closed at 22:00 BST on 4 May, bringing to an end the time people could vote.

Royal Mail delivered 1,423 postal ballots at 08:00 the following morning.

Will Tuckley, interim chief executive and returning officer for Brighton & Hove City Council, has called on Royal Mail bosses to finalise their investigation.

He said the votes which were delivered too late to be counted made up 4.6% of those issued and recieved.

In a strongly worded letter to Royal Mail bosses several weeks ago, the deputy returning officer, Michael Appleford, said: “We would like this matter investigated and for the importance of delivering election mail reiterated to the local teams.

“We are extremely disappointed with the service we have received from the Gatwick and Hove operational teams.

“We have also raised this issue with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Electoral Commission.”

Mr Tuckley is calling on Royal Mail to complete its investigation and confirm when they received the postal votes which they delivered late.

He said: "It is possible that these postal votes were placed in post boxes across the city on polling day and therefore would not have been received by the deadline.

"However, we need certainty. "

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Our investigation is currently ongoing.

"We will be updating Brighton and Hove City Council with our findings as soon as it is concluded.”