Review of polling districts and polling places 2024

The council must divide its area into polling districts. It must also designate polling places for each district and review them every five years.

The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 changed the timing of the compulsory reviews. The next one must take place within a 16-month window starting on 1 October 2023 ending on 31 January 2025.

The review period began in Tower Hamlets on Monday 2 October 2023. A formal Notice of Review was published, inviting comments for 8 weeks until Friday 24 November 2023.

Due to the GLA polls in May 2024 and the possibility of a combined polls with a General Election, the review was halted and the status quo maintained for those polls. 

Following the conclusion of the General Election on 5 July 2024 the review will now start again for a period of six weeks subject to the following timetable.

The review is designed to see if the polling districts and polling places in the Parliamentary Constituencies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are arranged to suit the needs of voters and cover:

• the polling district boundaries within each ward in the borough
• the location of the polling places and stations in each polling district
• access to each polling station

This is not a review of the:

• borough ward boundaries or the 
• Parliamentary constituency boundaries

What does the review involve?

The review process began with a Notice of Review. It has now been revised and gives details of when and where to make comments or representations.

Any elector in the borough may make a representation in relation to the size and boundaries of polling districts and the location and suitability of polling places. 

The council also welcomes representations from

• any elected members in the area
• political representatives
• any person or body with expertise in access for persons with any type of disability.  

The (Acting) Returning Officers must respond for any constituency that falls wholly or partially within Tower Hamlets and their comments have been published on this page.

Acting Returning Officer’s (ARO) responses

• Initial letter - Newham ARO
• Initial letter - Tower Hamlets ARO
• Newham Council - ARO response
• Tower Hamlets Council - ARO response

What’s the difference between a polling district, place, and station?

• a polling district is a geographical sub-division of an electoral area, i.e., a UK Parliamentary constituency, a borough ward, or an electoral division.
• a polling place is a geographical area in which a polling station is located. However, as there is no legal definition of what a polling place is the geographical area could be defined as tightly as a particular building or as widely as the entire polling district
• a polling station is the actual area where the process of voting takes place. 

What does the council consider when conducting a review? 

• That all electors in a constituency in the local authority area have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances.
• As far is reasonable and practicable that every polling place is accessible to electors who are disabled.
• The Elections Act 2022 has introduced changes affecting the assistance to be made available to disabled voters namely:
  • Disabled voters will be able to choose anyone who is over 18 to accompany them in the polling station to help them vote, including carers who may not themselves be eligible to vote at the election.
  • Returning Officers must take all reasonable steps to provide support for disabled voters at polling stations.

What makes a suitable polling place? 

Location

• Locations should not be changed without good reason.
• Is it reasonably accessible within the polling district?
• Does it avoid barriers for the voter like steep hills, railway lines or major roads?
• Are there convenient transport links? 

Size

• Can it accommodate more than one polling station if required?
• If multiple polling stations are required, is the polling place big enough to accommodate all voters going into and out of the polling stations, even where there is a high turnout?
• Double polling stations in the same polling place are often used when there are high numbers of voters. 

Suitability

• Is the building readily available in the event of any unscheduled elections?
• Is there any possibility that the building may be demolished as part of a new development?
• Is the building accessible to those entitled to attend the polling place?
• Are there facilities for polling staff such as toilets, kitchen facilities, heating, lighting and suitable furniture? 

Documentation

• Notice of Review
• Terms of reference for the review 
• list of polling places
• Map showing polling station

Comments of the (Acting) Returning Officers 

There are two Parliamentary constituencies contained wholly in the Tower Hamlets Borough area following a review of Parliamentary Boundaries by the Boundary Commission for England namely Poplar & Limehouse and Bethnal Green & Stepney.  

The Acting Returning Officer for these two constituencies is Stephen Halsey, Chief Executive Officer of Tower Hamlets, who is a statutory consultee, and his response has been published on this web page.  

An additional constituency Stratford & Bow now lies partially in Tower Hamlets with three Tower Hamlets Borough Wards Bow East, Bow West and Bromley North falling into that constituency.  

The Acting Returning Officer for Stratford & Bow is Abi Gbago, Chief Executive of Newham Council who is also a statutory consultee and her response has been published on this web page.  

The council is obliged to publish the ARO’s comments within thirty days of receipt.

How can I respond? 

You can respond to the review in the following ways. 

By Email: PDReview2024@towerhamlets.gov.uk 

In writing to: 

Electoral Services
Room TH206
Town Hall
160 Whitechapel Road
London
E1 1BJ 

If you have any questions about the review, if you would like information in another format or would like support to respond please email PDReview2024@towerhamlets.gov.uk or call the electoral services team on 020 7364 0872.

What happens next? 

An initial report with recommendations will be presented to the council’s General Purposes Committee on Monday 2 December 2024.

A final decision on the recommendations will be made at Full Council on Wednesday 22 January 2025.

The council will publish the conclusions of the review no later than Friday 31 January 2025.