11 may 2011, luck of the draw

One more quick election story, from bury, in a corner of which I was brought up. With 25 seats of the 51-seat council, the labour party were on the verge of an unlikely breakthrough in this previously conservative seat, and had polled very well in ramsbottom. After three recounts, the two leading candidates both had 1,822 votes, and so they drew straws (or actually cable ties). The labour candidate won, giving labour both the seat and the council, alongside seven others in greater manchester, including jim mcmahon in oldham, the youngest council leader in the uk. Last year in stockport, where I now live, there was also a tie, which was decided by the chief executive picking a voting slip. I am reminded of a chat with a good friend in frankfurt, who worked in the development part of the german government, going around young democracies with help and experience. His particular area was the annual budget, where he stressed the importance of explaining things in advance, being clear and transparent, and rolling things out in a regular cycle over the year and so forth - except for britain, for which he had huge admiration, "you just stick 1,001 surprises in an old briefcase and throw everything into one afternoon - but it seems to work".