PRESSURE was last night mounting on Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils following a damning report into the handling of May’s elections.

An independent review published this week has highlighted a string of blunders.

There are now calls to ensure the catalogue of failures – which included residents not receiving 2,035 postal votes or more than 2,250 polling cards – are not repeated. But last night a South Oxfordshire spokesman refused to give that assurance.

David Buckle, chief executive at Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils, acted as returning officer for elections in both districts in May.

He was also returning officer last year when thousands of voters in the Vale were sent polling cards with the wrong polling station. Jenny Hannaby, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition at the Vale, said: “First time you can forgive, but second time is unacceptable. Whatever the failings of the printers and postal company, the responsibility is with David Buckle as the returning officer.”

The report had highlighted problems with a printer taken on to produce polling cards and postal votes.

Former Lib Dem leader of the Vale Tony de Vere added: “A number of people felt aggrieved as they were disenfranchised.”

Meanwhile, Wantage and Didcot MP Ed Vaizey said the election had been a “disgrace”, adding: “I hope both leaders will decide appropriate action to make sure this does not happen again.”

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood said she was “shocked” by the report.

Both councils will hold special scrutiny meeting on Thursday to discuss the findings.

Henley Town Council has unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Buckle. Henley Residents Group member Jennifer Wood, a Henley South district councillor and Henley town councillor, said Mr Buckle should resign as returning officer.

She said: “This was a shambles. Mr Buckle has let all of us down.”

But SODC leader Ann Ducker did not blame Mr Buckle and said printing firm Paragon Group UK Ltd would compensate the council.

She said: “I don’t think if you had a different returning officer you could have done a better job.

“But the committee must come to its own conclusions.”

Paragon spokesman Lindsey Davies said some of the problems the firm faced were “unavoidable”.

She said: “We are working to address the provision of specialised electoral print.”

Mr Buckle last night refused to comment.

Last night South Oxfordshire District Council – which along with Vale of White Horse District Council had wrongly assured voters days before the election all postal votes would be delivered on time – refused to give any details about when staff became aware of the printing problems.