Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the incorrect election result declarations in three wards of the London Borough of Newham in May, what assessment they have made of the requirement to list election candidates on ballot papers in alphabetical order of commonly used surnames whilst requiring the results to be declared in order of legal surnames.

To assist electors, candidates are allowed to use commonly used names on the ballot paper. The Electoral Commission’s guidance sets out that a declaration of result should include both a candidate’s full name and their commonly used name.