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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Penlington-Pennington Denbighshire vote mix-up reversed | Penlington-Pennington Denbighshire vote mix-up reversed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A council election result has been reversed to favour a Labour candidate whose votes were wrongly given to a Conservative with a similar name. | A council election result has been reversed to favour a Labour candidate whose votes were wrongly given to a Conservative with a similar name. |
| Tory Allan Pennington polled 580 votes to win a Prestatyn North seat in Denbighshire last year, while Labour's Paul Penlington secured 366. | Tory Allan Pennington polled 580 votes to win a Prestatyn North seat in Denbighshire last year, while Labour's Paul Penlington secured 366. |
| The Labour hopeful petitioned the High Court to have the result overturned. | The Labour hopeful petitioned the High Court to have the result overturned. |
| It ordered a recount which gave Mr Penlington 606 votes to Tory rival's 341. | It ordered a recount which gave Mr Penlington 606 votes to Tory rival's 341. |
| The recount took place in secrecy in front of a court official, and the result was formally announced on Wednesday. | The recount took place in secrecy in front of a court official, and the result was formally announced on Wednesday. |
| Mr Penlington said: "I'm really pleased that after 10 months of waiting, I can finally take up my seat on Denbighshire council." | |
| The college lecturer added that he found it "very frustrating" at not being able to serve his constituents as a county councillor. | The college lecturer added that he found it "very frustrating" at not being able to serve his constituents as a county councillor. |
| "There are quite a few major issues that I want to get my teeth into," he said. | "There are quite a few major issues that I want to get my teeth into," he said. |
| Human error was blamed for the mix-up during the council elections in May 2012. | Human error was blamed for the mix-up during the council elections in May 2012. |
| Denbighshire council admitted at the time that the result would have been reversed if the votes had been correctly allocated. | Denbighshire council admitted at the time that the result would have been reversed if the votes had been correctly allocated. |
| Speaking after the court ruling, Mohammed Mehmet, Denbighshire's chief executive, said: "Once this mistake came to our attention, we acted immediately. We have tightened our procedures further to make sure this kind of mistake is avoided in future". | |
| A special two-judge election court officially accepted the result which will take formal effect in seven days. | A special two-judge election court officially accepted the result which will take formal effect in seven days. |
| Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London with Mrs Justice Slade, said: "I am sorry it has taken so long; it's been eight months or so but that can't be helped." | Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London with Mrs Justice Slade, said: "I am sorry it has taken so long; it's been eight months or so but that can't be helped." |
| The legal costs of the case are likely to exceed £20,000. | The legal costs of the case are likely to exceed £20,000. |
| Labour became the biggest party in Denbighshire in the May 2012 election, although the county is controlled by an independent-led coalition. | Labour became the biggest party in Denbighshire in the May 2012 election, although the county is controlled by an independent-led coalition. |