The Perthshire polling district with ONE voter

The polling station in Amulree will set out a ballot box for one solitary voter at next year's General Election

By Kathryn Anderson Local Democracy Reporter

December 11 2023, 6:27pm

Amulree Hall's polling station may be unique. Image: Google Street View.

A tiny Perthshire hamlet has claimed a place on the political map with possibly the smallest polling district in the UK.

When next year’s General Election rolls around, one solitary voter at Amulree Hall will have an entire ballot box to themselves.

The solo effort has emerged following a change in the way constituency boundaries are divided up.

And while Amulree Hall will be open on the day anyway to accept votes in the neighbouring constituency, it did prompt one councillor to propose a radical cost-cutting solution.

Strathtay Conservative councillor Ian James asked: “Would we have to legally open Amulree Hall for just one voter?

Councillor Ian James at his desk in the Perth and Kinross council chambers — Councillor Ian James posed the question on the Amulree polling station.

“Could we not just chap on their door and hand over their voting form?”

Is Amulree’s solo polling station unique?

Perth and Kinross councillors learned of the Amulree anomaly in a meeting to discuss a review of parliamentary polling districts and polling stations

Following recommendations from the Boundary Commission for Scotland, Perth and Kinross will now be split across three UK Parliamentary Constituencies.

These are Angus and Perthshire Glens; Perth and Kinross-shire, and Stirling and Strathallan.

Amulree Hall’s one-voter district falls within Strathearn/Ward Six.

Amulree white church set against heather-covered hills — Amulree boasts stunning scenery, a polling station and widely scattered voters.

Election manager Scott Walker said: “We do have to have a polling district for that one voter. That’s the law.”

However, councillors were told the Amulree Hall polling station also contains the register for a second district, which has 102 electors. It falls within Strathtay/Ward Five.

Both are currently in the Perth and North Perthshire UK parliamentary constituency.

Strathearn SNP councillor Stewart Donaldson said the one-voter district had not been a focus until now.

“I will say it’s never been an area where we’ve got involved in significant campaigning at election time,” he said.

A spokesman for Electoral Commission Scotland said: “Councils are responsible for setting polling districts rather than the Commission so we don’t have information on sizes.

“However, I have been aware of some rural ones in the past with very small numbers (single digit) of electors so I can’t say whether the situation in Perth and Kinross is unique.”