Eyes down for election outcome

THE EAGERLY awaited Law Society election results were due to be announced on Monday, the day of the count.

Politically minded lawyers will have noted the comparisons between the Law Society poll and the trifling affair of the Tory leadership battle.

Parallels even extend to right-wing claims on the day of the Westminster count that the Tory establishment was rigging the poll by intimidating voters into voting for their man.

As The Lawyer went to press, the Law Society's own panel of scrutineers announced that it would invite an Electoral Reform Society candidate to observe the count.

Panel chair Dudley Lewis, an experienced returning officer, says he felt "slightly insulted" at claims that he was incapable of overseeing a fair election. But he adds: "The election must be seen to be open and fair."