Barnet Council chief executive steps down after mayoral election vote chaos

Barnet council’s chief executive has stepped down from his role days after an election day blunder saw voters wrongly being turned away from polling stations.

Andrew Travers is leaving the north London borough by “mutual agreement” following the problems at all of the north London borough’s 155 polling stations.

Many registered voters in Barnet – including Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis – lost the chance to vote in Thursday’s mayoral and London Assembly elections, after thousands of names were somehow left off the official electoral lists.

A council spokesman said: “Following the events during the morning of Thursday's elections, it has been decided, by mutual agreement, that Andrew Travers, chief executive, will leave the council.”

The mistake led to angry scenes at some polling stations on Thursday morning, with some residents branding it a “disgrace” and saying they felt disenfranchised.

Labour’s Andrew Dismore, who held onto his London Assembly seat for Barnet and Camden, launched a searing attack on Barnet council after his win was confirmed on Friday.

He said the “cock-up” came as a result of council cuts and showed that Barnet officials were “not in control, not in charge and not resourcing the council properly”.