Labour caught red-handed over voter registration claims

2.06.25pm GMT Wed 22nd Feb 2006

Lambeth Lib Dem Councillor Charles Anglin is encouraging local people to register to vote

Labour's attempts to play the race card backfired when their shameful record on electoral registration in Lambeth was exposed after they were caught out misleading voters.

Lambeth Lib Dem leader Cllr Peter Truesdale said: "When they ran the council until May 2002, Lambeth Labour cut the number of door-to-door registration canvasses from four to one, and when setting the 2002/03 budget they cut funding for door-to-door voter registration by £24,000".

This was a crucial issue, as it meant that Labour had failed to encourage enough people to register to vote, including people from black and ethnic minority groups.

Labour resorted to lying when they claimed that the Lib Dems had refused to carry out extra steps to encourage people to register, including people from black and ethnic minority groups. But the truth is that the Lib Dem led council made sure a canvass was undertaken between October and mid-November 2005, with a wide range of extra initiatives to encourage voter registration:

• Registration forms were sent to all 130,000 Lambeth households in August 2005 and reminder forms in mid-September were not sent to properties that had not returned a form (82,000).

• Door-to-door canvassing of properties which had not responded (65,000) took place from the 10th October to mid-November.

• But the Lib Dem led administration knew that more had to be done to encourage different groups to register. Copying successful methods from elsewhere in London, at the end of January letters and voter registration forms were circulated via over 270 black and ethnic minority faith groups and places of worship.

Other activities included:

• distributing a bookmark with deadline details via Lambeth libraries,

• taking part in the London-wide Voter Registration Awareness Campaign, and

• advertising in the February edition of 'Lambeth Life', which is delivered to tens of thousands of Lambeth residents.

On top of the council activity, Lambeth Liberal Democrats have also been working hard, knocking on doors, encouraging people to register to vote.

Cllr Peter Truesdale added: "To register to vote in Lambeth visit www.lambeth.gov.uk, contact your local Lib Dem Councillor or call the Electoral Services Helpline on 020 7926 2144."

Note to editors:

1. In August 2005, there were 203,071 names on the register. When the new register was published on 1st December 2005 there were 205,232 names on the register. (During the canvass period until mid-November 33,762 names were deleted from the Register and 35,932 new names were added.)

2. There are not over 30,000 people who have failed to get on the electoral register, as has been claimed. The 2001 Census (from the Office of National Statistics) calculate that there are around 211,000 people aged 18 or over in Lambeth. As of 9.00am on 21st February 2006 there were 207,000 people on Lambeth's electoral register.

3. A survey of wards with large black and ethnic minority populations in Lambeth shows that the rate of registration is similar to wards with a predominantly white population.

4. And the Labour party's record in Lambeth? When they ran Lambeth between 1998 and 2002 they cut the number of door-to-door canvasses from four to one, and when setting the 2002/03 budget they cut funding for door-to-door voter registration by £24,000!