THE voting arrangements for a Sheppey ward are being investigated by the Electoral Commission.

The move comes after Sheerness West councillors Steve Worrall (Lab) and Angela Harrison (Lab) complained to the commission that Swale Borough Council was deliberately marginalising Labour voters by closing a polling station.

The inquiry will only be the second one carried out by the commission, an independent body established by Parliament, since it was formed two years ago. Previously various government departments were involved in these inquiries.

The investigation was set in motion after the councillors organised a petition signed by 30 residents of Sheerness West, calling for the polling station to be reinstated.

Commission spokeswoman Gemma Crosland said its staff would check that all the signatures against the borough’s electoral roll before consulting the interested parties in the dispute. She could not say how long the inquiry would take.

The dispute began after the Conservative-controlled council decided to close the polling station at the Fredom Centre in St George’s Avenue as part of a review of some polling districts. The closure would leave polling stations at Rose Street School and West Minster School.

Council leader Cllr Andrew Bowles (Cons) said it would be unfair to keep three polling station in Sheerness West because the recent boundary review had reduced the number of ward councillors from three to two.

The move would bring the ward into line with other two-member wards in the borough and he thought it unfair to let Sheerness West retain three voting centres.