Voters across Penrith were eligible to vote last Thursday 28th November in a referendum on the town council’s Neighbourhood Plan on the day turnout across the town was just 10% with some polling station receiving just 23 votes and a total of 467 votes cast across Penrith on the day at polling stations and less than half the 2165 supplied postal votes returned with just 907 received resulting in 1374 votes cast in total from the 13,509 eligible to vote.
Evolve Penrith has this week called on Westmorland and Furness Council to Investigate Claims some voters did not receive voting papers ahead of the Penrith Neighbourhood Plan Referendum.
Evolve Penrith raise the concerns after residents reached out to Evolve Penrith, both via social media and direct communication, reporting that they did not receive any voting papers and were therefore unaware of the referendum or unable to cast their vote.
Residents have also placed comments on the Westmorland and Furness Council Facebook post on the referendum result about voting paperwork issues within minutes of the council posting the results.
In a statement by Evolve Penrith they group said “While we understand that the distribution of voting papers was managed by an external provider and do not question the efforts of the council’s elections team, it appears there may have been issues in the delivery process. Coupled with limited wider publicity regarding the referendum, this may have contributed to some residents being unaware of the vote or believing they were unable to vote due to having no voting papers.”
“As the ‘No Campaign’ Evolve Penrith fully acknowledges our role in the lack of wider public promotion. However, given the disparity in resources and the apparent ability of the town council to use public funds to promote a ‘Yes’ vote and not have to follow the same rules Evolve Penrith had to for the Referendum, we chose to conserve our limited financial resources for other projects.”
Evolve Penrith have request that the issue of voters not receiving their voting papers is investigated by Westmorland and Furness Council before the councils Cabinet progresses with the formal adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan and also request that these findings are included in the report to the council’s Cabinet regarding the referendum and the plan’s adoption.
The group has said they are not looking to overturn the referendum result in anyway with the calls for an investigation in the issues but wish to ensure that any issues identified are addressed for future referendums and parish polls as they are currently supporting a group of residents planning to call a parish meeting in 2025, which may result in a parish poll regarding the future of the town council.
Evolve Penrith Calls for Investigation into Referendum Voting Paper Issues
Evolve Penrith has extended its thanks to the Elections Team at Westmorland and Furness Council for their professional handling of the Penrith Neighbourhood Plan Referendum and the transparent sharing of information during the count process and results announcement.
However, concerns have arisen following the referendum, held on 28th November 2024, which saw historically low voter turnout. Multiple residents have reached out to us and also posting comment’s on various social media posts including those of Westmorland and Furness Council, reporting that they were unaware of the referendum and more concerning did not receive their voting papers ahead of the referendum vote.
While Evolve Penrith has no intention of challenging the referendum results with the low turnout even voting Yes speaking volumes, we believe it is vital for the issue of voting papers not been received by voters to be investigated to prevent similar problems in future referendums or parish polls and understand the scale of the issue and its effect on the referendum turnout.
If you are a registered voter in Penrith and did not receive your voting papers of the Penrith Neighbourhood Plan referendum on the 28th November 2024, Evolve Penrith are encourage people to inform Westmorland and Furness Council's Elections Team. You can:
Email: elections2@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Call: 0300 373 3300 (ask for Elections in the Eden area)
Then select "Add to Home Screen"
