Dear Ealing Council,

I just thought I should let you know there’s a parliamentary by-election on, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Yours,

A. Geek

The most likely explanation, of course, is that the council’s electoral administration department are completely snowed under – not surprising given the absurdly short timescale to which they are being made to work. No doubt wary of the challenge from the Liberal Democrats, Labour have called a quick by-election – although the council in Ealing had a week’s more notice than in Sedgefield.

It’s interesting to note from the notice of the concurrent Ealing Council by-election that the deadline for nominations was Friday 22nd June – almost a week before the writ for the parliamentary by-election had been moved. What a bizarre democracy we live in where a council by-election takes longer than a parliamentary one.