Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

The first-past-the-post system—particularly the single-Member first-past-the-post system—is the simplest, which is why we tend not to get many spoilt ballots. We shall have to wait for the review into what happened north of the border, but it is clear that problems can arise with the more complicated electoral systems, particularly if more than one system is in operation on the same day. Having looked at the ballots in Poole borough, where we have three-member wards elected in the whole council election, I am still surprised that some people do not understand that they have to vote three times. Some people might deliberately vote just once, if, for example, there is only one Labour candidate, but these systems can cause a degree of confusion.