General Election 2015: Weekend Vote Call After 'Disastrous' Election Queues

Voters faced long queues outside polling stations beyond the 10pm deadline on election night, prompting calls for votes to continue all week and into the weekend in future elections.

Members of the public were waiting in line to cast their ballot in areas including Pudsey in West Yorkshire, Leeds city centre and Preston as new rules meant anyone queuing up before the polls officially closed was still entitled to vote.

At around 11.30pm, Preston City Council said: "The last box has arrived! The delay was due to queues at polling stations.Tokens were given to ensure all who arrived on time could vote."


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The Yorkshire Post reported queues of several hundred people at the Trinity Church polling booth in Leeds city centre shortly before the ballot closed, while the city council said it had reassigned staff from other stations to the Pudsey constituency to deal with long queues.

A spokesman said: "It has been busy but we are asking people to be patient. We have not heard of any major problems. There were some people we redirected from quieter areas but in terms of sending emergency help, that is not correct."

Some voters in the area were turning away rather than waiting, BBC Look North reported.

Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee said the queues, including in Lewes, East Sussex, showed polling should be open longer.

Others thought the queues were a good sign. Kieran Turner tweeted: "Well done, people of Pudsey. Queues at a polling station is something to be proud of."

Jane O'Hara, who listed herself as from Leeds/Bradford, said: "Twenty-minute queues still at 9.45pm in our local polling station, for what is a marginal seat. Exciting times."