Voting at Parish Meetings

Question

At a recent parish meeting the clerk counted the votes. The result was quite clear however it has come to light that. They way the it was counted was possibly wrong.

lets say for ease of numbers there where 40 people present

Vote for was 10

Abstentions 5

vote against was assumed to be 25 as there was a lot of people in a small room and difficult to count the show of hands.

Subsequently several people have come forward and said they did not raise their hands for any of the votes this may be because they weren't happy with the way things were conducted or their eligibility.

Is the vote still deemed t be valid?

Answer 1

Yes, it is. The decision of the person presiding at the meeting is final unless a poll is demanded. A poll can only be demanded before the conclusion of the meeting, and if demanded will result in a poll carried out in similar fashion to an election (the parish is likely to be charged for the cost). The question on the decision is settled by the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12 section 18 (2).