Voters were turned away in Barnet and some people think it's a Tory conspiracy

Thursday's London mayoral election began with a flying start... as Barnet polling stations were given the wrong electoral register lists.

It is being reported that polling stations were given the lists of only newly registered voters, meaning that voters were routinely turned away.

Some residents were told that they could not vote without their polling card, others were told that they could not even with the document.

Arjun Mittra, a Labour councillor for East Finchley ward, told the Independent that the situation was a "logistical nightmare":

Out of the seven people who came to my polling station in the first 10 minutes, only one was able to vote.

They were very angry – I had one lady who was crying because she was so upset.

Others labelled it an "absolute shambles".

People have also been taking to Twitter to voice their anger at being denied the right to vote

And it's all a bit rife for parody now

Some people even think it's a Tory conspiracy...

...but it's almost certainly not that sophisticated

Barnet Borough Council has issued a statement saying it is aware of the problems

We are working to resolve this issue and the updated registers have been sent to all the polling stations, which we expect to be in place by 10am. In the meantime, people who have their polling cards with them are able to vote.

We are advising residents to bring their polling cards. If people were unable to vote this morning they are being advised to return if possible later before the stations close at 10pm. We apologise for the problems

Which is little help to those who cannot come back later

In short, it's all a bit chaotic

If you're a Barnet resident you stand your best chance of being able to vote by bringing your polling card and proof of ID.

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