We would like to thank everyone in London who completed a Polls Apart survey
when they went to vote. Particular thanks go to members of Scope’s London
Partnership Committee, the Campaign’s Network and the staff of the London
Community Team.
The ramped access to the polling station was very steep – appropriate for barrels of beer maybe but not people – going down the ramp I felt very unsafe and getting out independently was impossible.”
Polls Apart 2005 volunteer, Tooting
Polls Apart: London (Word Document 69KB)
Results from London were very positive on a number of counts. 97% of respondents lived within a mile of their polling station compared to 84% UK wide. Distance to the polling station can be a major access barrier so these findings are very encouraging.
The attitudes of polling station staff towards disabled voters and the way staff provide support to vote can make a huge difference to a disabled person’s experience of voting. It was very positive that 96% of polling station staff were helpful and friendly in London.
74% of polling station in London had low-level ballot booths compared to
68% nationwide. Low-level ballot booths guarantee privacy for wheelchair users
and disabled and older voters who may need to sit down to vote and are one
of the simplest ways to improve access.
Greater London performed well in relation to other regions of the UK however 66% of polling stations still failed the Polls Apart basic access test.
59% of polling stations in the London had level access, compared to 60% UK wide. This prompts serious questions about the extent to which service providers are complying with the October 2004 Disability Discrimination Act duties. To make matters worse many disabled people reported that many buildings did have ramps or accessible entrances but that these were locked away or not used.
This year has seen an increase in the use of poorly designed and unsafe ramps suggesting that temporary ramps are widely being used as an inappropriate alternative to permanent access adjustments. In London 31% of ramps were inappropriately designed. Though this is better than the overall UK results the fact that over a third of ramps used at polling stations in London were inappropriate or dangerous needs to be addressed immediately.
Also of concern was the provision made for voters with visual and other impairments. Only 65% of polling stations in London had a large print notice of the ballot paper on display while only 54% provided a tactile voting device. This is compared to nationwide figures of 70% and 68% respectively. These are both legal requirements under the Representation of the People Act and failure to comply is not only breaking the law but also means voters with visual and coordination impairments cannot mark their ballot paper independently and therefore cannot cast their vote in secret.
Whichever way we look at it access to polling stations in London is still poor. 66% of polling stations in the region failed our basic access test. This means that many disabled people in London would have found it difficult or impossible to vote at the General Election 2005.
The UK wide Polls Apart 2005 evaluation results were very disappointing revealing
that the number of accessible polling stations has only improved by 1% since
2001. Though Greater London performed better in many areas than the nationwide
average it is clear that significant improvements are still needed before
all disabled people have equal access to the voting process.
