General Election fury as hundreds could miss out on vote due to postal ballot delays

Furious Scots have complained that their "right to vote has been stolen" due to postal ballot chaos. Many people who have applied for general election postal votes have not yet received them.

They now fear they will not be able to vote as they have headed off on holiday and have not been allowed to change their voting arrangements.

Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was criticised for calling the general election for July 4, when most Scottish schools have already broken up for the summer. John Swinney said Sunak's choice of date showed "contempt" for Scotland.

It comes after councils raised concerns about delays in sending out postal vote forms. Bearsden woman June Paterson said she was "very angry" that her "right to vote has been stolen".

The 60-year-old City of Glasgow College hairdressing lecturer went on holiday to Crete yesterday but had still not received her postal vote. This was despite her applying on June 18.

She said: "I phoned on Wednesday and was told that the first batch of postal votes went out on Monday and the second batch would go out on Friday.

"I left at noon on Thursday and am away for two weeks. I won't get back until July 11. My right to vote has been stolen and I am very angry. I am aware of other people who have already received their postal vote."

Bridget Graham, an English teacher from Thornliebank, headed on holiday to France on Wednesday. The 39-year-old and her husband had not yet received their postal ballots despite applying at the start of June.

She told the Record: "When the election was called we knew we were going to be away in France so we applied for a postal vote on June 6. But we didn't receive them.

"I phoned the valuation joint board on Monday and they said our ballots would be sent out in the second batch. I told them we were leaving on Wednesday and asked if we could have a proxy vote instead, but we were told no. We are both politically engaged people and can't believe we won't get the chance to vote."

She also said she is particularly worried because East Renfrewshire is a marginal seat, with the SNP, Labour and the Tories all competing. Voting packs are due to arrive by Saturday at the latest.

The UK deadline to apply for a postal vote was June 19. Anyone who is a long-term postal voter or applied before 7 June should have received their ballot last week. Those who applied after this date could be part of a second batch.

Labour candidate for East Renfrewshire Blair McDougall said: “In a seat like East Renfrewshire which is highly marginal which could be won by a handful of votes, it is deeply frustrating to find yourself talking to people who say they will vote for you but cannot because they haven’t received their postal vote.

“I know this is an unexpected election, but we need the postal service to step up to the plate because this is not people’s faults.”

Some local authorities have already reported concerns about postal vote delays. Western Isles Council said it had received a high number of calls from residents waiting for their postal ballots and said it was caused by "national disruption".

Fife Council told the BBC there had been Royal Mail delays. But Royal Mail said it had investigated but "found no issues" within the network.

Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute Joint Valuation Board and Renfrewshire Joint Valuation Board were approached for comment.

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