§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknishasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many spoilt ballot papers there were for each relevant constituency in the Greater London area, and for Greater London as a whole, for (a) the London Assembly elections 2000; (b) the European Parliament elections 1999; (c) the borough council elections 1998; and (d) the general election 1997; both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total votes cast. [HL2431]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonThe number of rejected ballot papers in each of the Greater London Assembly constituencies in the election of constituency members and the percentage of the total ballot papers issued is given in the table:
57WA
Number of rejected papers Percentage of ballot papers issued Barnet & Camden 8,743 6.47 Bexley & Bromley 10,246 6.94 Brent & Harrow 12,760 11.58 City & East 18,853 16.02 Croydon & Sutton 10,370 8.00
Number of rejected papers Percentage of ballot papers issued Ealing & Hillingdon 10,962 8.38 Enfield and Haringey 12,105 10.16 Greenwich & Lewisham 10,676 10.11 Havering & Redbridge 9,386 7.93 Lambeth & Southwark 10,560 9.47 Merton & Wandsworth 7,752 6.34 North East 17,271 12.81 South West 10,728 7.30 West Central 11,290 9.58 Total 161,972 9.27 The number of rejected ballot papers in each of the Greater London Assembly constituencies in the election of the additional members and the percentage of the total ballot papers issued is given in the table:
Number of rejected papers Percentage of ballot papers issued Barnet & Camden 6,630 4.91 Bexley & Bromley 6,369 4.31 Brent & Harrow 6,496 5.90 City & East 8,050 6.84 Croydon & Sutton 6,111 4.71 Ealing & Hillingdon 6,771 5.18 Enfield and Haringey 6,281 5.27 Greenwich & Lewisham 4,981 4.72 Havering & Redbridge 6,381 5.39 Lambeth & Southwark 5,168 4.63 Merton & Wandsworth 6,980 5.70 North East 6,789 5.03 South West 5,542 3.77 West Central 5,593 4.74 Total 88,142 5.04 These figures reflect the fact that a large number of voters decided to leave parts of their ballot papers blank.
For the European parliamentary elections in 1999 London was a single region. There were 4,320 spoilt ballot papers representing 0.38 per cent of all ballot papers issued.
Figures for local elections are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The number of rejected ballot papers in each constituency in Greater London at the 1997 general election and the percentage of the total ballot papers issued is given in the table:
58WA
Constituency Number of rejected papers Percentage of papers issued Barking 41 0.12 Battersea 85 0.18 Beckenham 59 0.11 Bethnal Green & Bow 226 0.50 Bexleyheath & Crayford 42 0.09 Brent East 96 0.27 Brent North 101 0.26
Constituency Number of rejected papers Percentage of papers issued Brent South 134 0.39 Brentford & Isleworth 91 0.16 Bromley & Chislehurst 63 0.12 Camberwell & Peckham 125 0.44 Carshalton & Wallington 32 0.07 Chingford & Woodford Green 63 0.14 Chipping Barnet 67 0.13 Cities of London & Westminster 109 0.27 Croydon Central 55 0.10 Croydon North 94 0.18 Croydon South 71 0.13 Dagenham 34 0.09 Dulwich & West Norwood 20 0.04 Ealing North 121 0.22 Ealing, Acton & Shepherd's Bush 199 0.41 Ealing, Southall 245 0.45 East Ham 271 0.67 Edmonton 78 0.17 Eltham 73 0.17 Enfield, North 63 0.13 Enfield, Southgate 77 0.17 Erith & Thamesmead 56 0.13 Feltham & Heston 81 0.17 Finchley & Golders Green 99 0.20 Greenwich & Woolwich 86 0 21 Hackney North & Stoke Newington 178 0.55 Hackney South & Shoreditch 182 0.54 Hammersmith & Fulham 138 0.25 Hampstead & Highgate 94 0.21 Harrow East 113 0.20 Harrow West 100 0.19 Hayes & Harlington 51 0.12 Hendon 76 0.15 Holborn & St. Pancras 160 0.42 Hornchurch 50 0.11 Hornsey & Wood Green 133 0.26 Ilford North 78 0.16 Ilford South 134 0.27 Islington North 124 0.34 Islington South & Finsbury 136 0.38 Kensington & Chelsea 123 0.33 Kingston & Surbiton 58 0.10 Lewisham East 91 0.24 Lewisham West 81 0.22 Lewisham Deptford 135 0.40 Leyton & Wanstead 117 0.30 Mitcham & Morden 61 0.13 North Southwark & Bermondsey 106 0.26 Old Bexley & Sidcup 45 0.09 Orpington 75 0.12 Poplar & Canning Town 134 0.34 Putney 60 0.14 Regent's Park & Kensington North 120 0.25 Romford 56 0.13 Ruislip-Northwood 73 0.16 Streatham 156 0.35 Sutton & Cheam 54 0.11 Tooting 94 0.20 Tottenham 123 0.33 Twickenham 94 0.16 Upminster 34 0.08 Uxbridge 39 0.09 Vauxhall 226 0.58 Walthamstow 122 0.30 West Ham 99 0.29 Wimbledon 52 0.11 Total rejected ballot papers 7,232 0.22