General election 2010: Wavertree Lib Dem tweets defeat
By Chris Bradley
The count in Wavertree has not begun yet but Lib Dem candidate Colin Eldridge has accepted defeat.
And he has called for an inquiry into how some polling stations ran out of ballot papers.
Mr Eldridge posted a tweet on Twitter saying: “Thank you to the thousands of people who voted for me in Wavertree. Unfortunately it looks like we haven’t quite made it.”
The Lib Dem candidate arrived at Liverpool Tennis Centre in Wavertree at 02:30 BST and spoke of his disappointment at the shortage of ballot papers in four polling stations Mr Eldridge claims were in the Lib Dems’ strongest areas.
Mr Eldridge has demanded an inquiry into how the polling stations ran out of ballot papers and is awaiting a response from the acting returning officer.
Mr Eldridge said: “It looks like a record amount of votes for the constituency but it looks like the results aren’t going to go our way.”
The acting returning officer, Colin Hilton, issued a statement that said: “Everybody who wanted to vote had the opportunity to do so.”
But Mr Eldridge said: “I know for a fact people didn’t get to vote who wanted to.”
Andrew Garnett, the Conservative candidate, said: “I have no comment on that. It is a matter for the city council.”
