A REFORM candidate who took the district council to the High Court over a contested election result has had her case struck out on a technicality.
Elizabeth Williams, who tied in a dead heat with Green candidate Hannah Robson back at May’s county council elections, launched a legal challenge claiming the process had been open to fraud.
Mr Justice Martin Spencer, however, dismissed her petition at the Divisional Court in London on October 17, ruling it had been submitted 24 hours too late.
Any petition challenging the outcome should have been presented by May 22, and Mrs Williams’ petition was filed on May 23 and therefore outside the statutory time limit.
She now faces what she calls a ‘ruinous’ £19,000 legal bill.
After several recounts and a rare, but not unprecedented, dead heat of 899 votes each, the winning candidate for the Littletons division was decided by picking a name out of a box as provided for under Local Election Rules 2006.
Deputy returning officer, Vic Allison (left) about to draw a name out of a black box, watched by Elizabeth Williams (centre). Picture by Lise Evans
Mrs Williams had argued that she had not been allowed time to seek independent legal advice at the May 1 count and was not able to witness the entire process before a name was drawn.
The ruling, she said “did not judge the validity of the election and did not confirm due process had been followed” as it “related to a timing deadline technicality only”.
She said the legal costs she has to pay were “punishment of my whistleblowing and voters’ rights to a free election”, describing them as “unjust, unfair and disproportionate”.
She added she did not consider this matter ‘put to rest’.
The count was staged by Wychavon District Council on behalf of the county council.
A spokesperson from Wychavon said: “We were more than prepared to challenge this petition at trial, as it is totally without foundation, being based on a mixture of false claims and distorted truths.
“That’s why we opposed the petition on technical grounds to bring this matter to a swift conclusion and minimise the risk of a hefty financial burden on the taxpayer.
The decision also brought much consolation to Coun Robson, who has had legal proceedings questioning the legitimacy of her win hanging over her head for many months.
Speaking after the ruling, she said: “I’m relieved this matter has now been brought to a close. I’m grateful to my legal team and to everyone who supported me through this process.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to work hard for our community and focusing on the issues that really matter, from protecting local services to tackling the climate crisis.”
The judges noted that during the hearing, two of the legal cases cited by Mrs Williams in her defence did not appear to exist, commenting that these “may have been an invention and a hallucination of AI.”
Mrs Williams admitted to using AI and cited a lack of time to fact-check. “I respect the judge’s inclusion of that in the judgment as a reminder of the dangers of AI and accuracy,” she added.
