This summer’s elections across Great Britain must go ahead as planned

Democracy is not some optional pastime to be indulged if people have nothing else to do, argues John Rentoul

Nicola Sturgeon must face the voters without further delay (AFP via Getty)

The plan is that every eligible elector in England, Scotland and Wales should have the chance to use their vote in May, many of them more than once. There are elections postponed from last year, for the London mayor and assembly, other councils and mayors across England, and the Scottish parliament; plus this year’s elections for the Welsh assembly, more English councils and mayors, and police and crime commissioners. (Northern Ireland has to wait until next year when it has assembly elections).

This is being billed as the biggest UK electoral test between general elections, but what should matter is not the number of elections held or the number of electors eligible to take part – what matters is the democratic principle. 

That’s why I am opposed to the idea of postponing the May elections because of coronavirus. I don’t think they should have been postponed last year. The US has just held a full set of elections – and run-off elections in Georgia – while observing social distancing rules. 

Democracy is too important to be put off just because it might require a bit of extra administration. We already allow postal votes in British law (or absentee ballots as they call them in the US); it is only in Northern Ireland that you have to give a reason for requesting one. 

I accept that no one knows what the situation will be by April, and I can understand why Boris Johnson is careful about predicting a big easing of the restrictions, as he has been burnt by his optimism so many times over the past year. But it seems likely that all of the vulnerable population will have been vaccinated by then, as well as many of those in priority jobs such as teachers, police, supermarket staff and even polling station staff. 

It may be that new variants or unforeseen problems force a new lockdown, which is why it is sensible to make plans for a possible short postponement, but I agree with the reported view of the prime minister, which is that the elections should go ahead as planned if at all possible. 

Democracy is not some optional pastime to be indulged if people have nothing else to do. I know that Nicola Sturgeon, Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham are all highly likely to have been re-elected if their elections had gone ahead last year, but that’s not the point. Suppose that they wouldn’t have been: it would have been quite wrong to keep them in office against the wishes of the people. 

Yours,

John Rentoul

Chief political commentator