Haringey piloting PR for the general election?

Question: How many votes do you get in the general election?

Answer: Three, if you live in Haringey.

But giving people three votes isn't part of some exciting experiment with proportional representation. It's a cock-up.

Some of the general election ballot papers sent out to postal voters in Hornsey and Wood Green are very clearly marked across the top with VOTE FOR NO MORE THAN THREE CANDIDATES. Whoops. Might be a welcome instruction for indecisive voters, but it isn't going to help us with an accurate election result.

I don't know how many voters are affected yet (my own postal ballot paper correctly told me to vote for just one candidate), but what I do know is that it is already causing confusion. Haringey are aware of the problem, but not sure yet exactly what they are proposing to do.

Just as a reminder, while you do get to mark three crosses on the ballot paper for the local elections, please do make sure you only mark the one cross on any general election ballot paper.

Let's hope this can get sorted and it doesn't cause chaos with the election...

Whittington A&E campaign success!

I have been on a blogging break for a couple of months - partly as I had my wedding in March and largely as the election campaign has been keeping me busy!

But some good news that has spurred me back into blogging. Today the proposed closure of Whittington Hospital's Accident and Emergency department has been scrapped - good news indeed.

I've previously blogged about the lunacy of closing Whittington's A&E and Lynne Featherstone's campaign to stop the closure, so am naturally delighted that it's off the cards for now. We'll have to remain vigilant, as once these sort of threats come up once you can never be sure when they might rear their ugly head again. Not least as the announcement seems to have come as a complete surprise to NHS London.

The timing of the announcement, exactly a week before the election, might cause a wry smile. But, for now, it's relief for local residents and congratulations to everyone involved in campaigning to save Whittington A&E - local residents and politicians alike. There has been a huge Lib Dem campaign since the threat emerged and the photo shows local Lib Dems supported by the Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Health Norman Lamb.

From left to right, you can see Lib Dem candidates Jo Shaw (Holborn and St Pancras), Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey and Wood Green, of course!), Bridget Fox (Islington South and Finsbury) and Rhodri Jamieson-Ball (Islington North). - with Norman in the middle.