There is a convention that elections in Britain take place on a Thursday, but there is nothing set in stone that says this has to be the case. Like so much that has developed within the country’s unwritten constitution and political system, a habit simply became the norm. Sunday (a favoured polling day in much of continental Europe) was avoided because in places such as the Western Isles, members and supporters of the Lord’s Day Observance Society would refuse to take part. And holding the election on a Thursday means that the count can be finished by the early hours of Friday morning, or Friday afternoon in those places that only count the following day; then everyone in principle can go off and have a restful weekend. As far as British general elections go, the last non-Thursday poll was way back in 1931, when the election was held on Tuesday, 27th October. The notable post-World War I election of December 1918 was actually held on a Saturday. That was incidentally the first time women were able to exercise their vote and to stand for Parliament.
The reason for these ruminations is that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea — which was one of the last places in London to delay its election counts until Friday – has announced that the by-election it has called in Colville ward (a Labour marginal over the Liberal Democrats) is going to be held on Wednesday 22 July. Rumour has it that the reason from this departure from custom is that someone important in the electoral process is due to go on holiday the following day. Well, it’s as good a reason as any for setting a precedent in this sometimes Alice in Wonderland political setup of ours.
