Wandsworth Council chief exec resigns amid 6,500 missing votes on election day in Putney
6,500 votes were lost on election day in Putney - where Fleur Anderson retained her seat
PA/Wandsworth Council
The Chief Executive of a London council which oversaw a loss of over 6,500 votes on the night of the General Election has resigned.
Mike Jackson, who leads the Wandsworth and Richmond councils in South-West London, had come under fire after 6,558 missing votes were discovered in Putney weeks after election day - some 15 per cent of the original turnout.
Though the rediscovered votes did not affect the eventual outcome - where Labour's Fleur Anderson retained her seat - Wandsworth Council, the authority which oversaw voting in the Putney constituency, was forced to issue an apology.
Wandsworth Conservatives lambasted the "extremely concerning" vote loss, with one Tory councillor telling GB News the Labour-run council's quiet reissuing of updated results was "terrible for confidence in our democracy".
Wandsworth Council CEO Mike Jackson (inset) had come under fire
Wandsworth Council/Google/PA
The councillor in question, Conservative Peter Graham, said: "It's extremely concerning that the council knew the official declaration was wrong, failed to tell anyone and then hid a correction on its website.
"Trust in the electoral process matters. The lack of any public statement is worrying and basic questions are still unanswered. This shouldn't have been able to happen."
While Councillor Aled Richards-Jones, leader of the authority's opposition Conservative group, called the error a "fiasco" and called for "urgent clarification about how an error of this magnitude could have occurred".
And now, Jackson has announced he will be stepping aside in Autumn - with no mention of the election night oversight from him or the council itself.
MORE ELECTION CHAOS:
Labour's Fleur Anderson retained her Putney seat even after the reissue
PA
In a letter seen by GB News, Jackson said the decision had been made "with some sadness" on the grounds of "entirely personal, family reasons".
He said: "It has not been an easy decision to make. The role and work for Richmond and Wandsworth is hugely rewarding.
"It is a great privilege to be in a position of leadership in such a unique organisation, and with such an exciting future."
A statement released by Wandsworth Council praised Jackson for leading it to make "significant progress in creating a fairer, compassionate, more sustainable borough for all".
More than 6,500 votes were added to the original total - but the election night results stood unchanged
GB News
While council leader Simon Hogg said: "I know I echo the feelings of colleagues across the council as well as partners and residents in being grateful to Mike for all of his efforts."
In the aftermath of the reissuing of the votes, a spokesperson from Wandsworth Council said: "The Acting Returning Officer has apologised to all candidates and agents."
While an apology email at the time said "mini-count tables totals were not included in the final result".
The email reads: "These corrections have not changed the order of the result and have no discernible impact on each candidate's share of the vote.
"We have identified the spreadsheet error which only effects this constituency and have already put processes in place to ensure this can never happen again. We are very sorry that this has happened."
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