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Row over plan for 'uncosted quango' to run elections



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Published Date: 27 August 2008
By David Maddox
THE Electoral Commission in Scotland is recommending setting up a new management board to run elections following last year's voting debacle.



But it has been accused of trying to set up a quango instead of going for a single Scottish returning officer, and attacked for failing to cost the proposal.

The commission's report, published today, has also been criticised for failing to l
ook at whether Scottish elections should be run from Holyrood.

Ron Gould, the Canadian expert brought in to look at what went wrong, recommended the creation of a chief returning officer for Scotland.

Instead, the commission has suggested a Scottish electoral management board with 47 members – 32 returning officers, most of them council chief executives, and 15 regional electoral registration officers.

The new organisation, which is uncosted, would have its own staff, meet regularly and internally select its convener. The convener would have "power of direction", which means he or she could force councils to organise elections in a certain way.

Defending the proposal, John McCormick, the electoral commissioner for Scotland, said: "The problem was that the Gould report did not say what support structure should be in place for the chief returning officer, or describe the role."

He added that legislation required for a chief returning officer could not be in place until after 2011, but this suggestion could be implemented before the 2009 European elections.

The Scottish Government expressed disappointment that the Electoral Commission had failed to tackle the issue of which parliament controlled elections.

A spokeswoman added: "This could be a complex and cumbersome management response, which deals with the symptoms rather than offering a clear and democratic solution."

The Scottish Conservatives' deputy leader, Murdo Fraser, said: "I have doubts over whether such a large new quango is needed. The proposals are uncosted and likely to lead to an unnecessarily unwieldy reorganisation."

The Scotland Office has welcomed the proposals.





The full article contains 323 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 26 August 2008 11:38 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Edward,

27/08/2008 00:44:06
'The Scotland Office has welcomed the proposals'
Well that about says it all!
No doubt there will be Labour place men somewhere involved, if the Scotland office welcome something by the Electoral Commission in Scotland
2

Jwil,

27/08/2008 00:44:43
Someone wants to feather a nest.

If the Scotland Office has welcomed the proposal you can be sure they are behind it. Did the proposal really come from the Electoral Commmission?


What will the membership be ? Labour placemen?
3

Jwil,

27/08/2008 00:45:51
Someone has sussed it out before me. But only by a whisker.
4

Guga II,

Rockall 27/08/2008 02:38:31
Not only should that Unionist anachronism, "The Scotland Office" be scrapped, but Scotland should run its own elections.
5

Wisnaeme,

27/08/2008 02:53:15
Uh huh, Edward post#1.

..,and so say all of us. Difficult to think otherwise. Besides, I'd be calling my self a gullible fool to believe or trust anything the Scottish Office spews out. Especially when they've said they'd welcome the proposal.Cosy little get together was it? aye weel, ah suppose it's within Westmidden's rules to oversee planning proposals, Scottish for the use.Now that they have little else by way of important functions to deliberate apon. Ah smell a westmidden rat, so ah do.

6

Soosider,

Glasgow 27/08/2008 04:05:54
Unbelievably arrogant and self serving, it does leave more than a suspicion that this is to do with "placemen".
The Gould report was very clear as to the causes of the election shambles, it was the Scottish Office and Westminster failing to process the various pieces of legislation timeously, it was the Scottish Office and Westminster failing to make decisions in a timescale that allowed Returning Officers any questions. The same people then come up with a proposal for an uncosted quango, however the same pieces of legislation and decisions would still be required to be completed by the same people that made a mess of it last time. What happened to the Gould recommendation that the Councils and Holyrood should be responsible for organising their own elections, seemed a more straightforward solution than this gravy train for placemen
7

8/10 Cats,

27/08/2008 06:45:57
Who's getting the sandwhiches and refreshments in then? Shall we adjourn to the lovely restraunt around the corner to further discuss this weighty matter?

These questions must surely be at the top of the agenda for any public sector worker. Why the people reward the uneducated, smelly, morons that can't get jobs in the real world with cushty admin "roles" is beyond my comprehension.
8

Linda,

Edinburgh 27/08/2008 06:49:21
Agreed the Scottish elections should be run by Holyrood and the electoral commission answerable to Scottish Parliament not Gordon Brown.

The 32 returning officers currently have different methods of working and this must end.

Also marked up register should be electronic and online rather than done by hand to avoid double voting by some second home owners and some students.



















9

Climate change is a fraud,

27/08/2008 07:46:36
The whole thing is a con, a Lib-Lab-SNP-Con!

Vote UKIP in Glenrothes!
10

MacGillicuddy,

27/08/2008 08:02:55
#9
Nae chance.
We don't "do" UKIP-BNP in Scotland!
11

MacGillicuddy,

27/08/2008 08:04:05
If the proposals have been welcomed by the current Liebour Scotland office at Westmonster they must be useless.
12

W U Merchant,

Aberdeen 27/08/2008 08:48:00
10

I agree. Rabid right wing nationalism is promoted well enough at present.
13

Alan B,

27/08/2008 09:17:42
#W U Merchant

Completely agree we do not need ukip when we have the rabid right wing nationalism of labour. We must end this extremist british nationalism.
14

The Spook in Leith,

27/08/2008 09:19:52
#12

Where abouts ? or are you just posting a sweeping statement coz it sounds good ?

15

The Spook in Leith,

27/08/2008 09:21:28
#13

I agree and well said, We must end this extremist british nationalism and it is evident on this forum judging from poster like him from Aberdeen
16

Joe,

Leslie 27/08/2008 09:22:40
#10..We don't do Thatcher-loving SNP either!
17

Alan B,

27/08/2008 09:26:43
#Joe

Are you we saying we only do thather loving labour. Had her round to tea lately.

18

The Spook in Leith,

27/08/2008 09:44:55
Who was that old lady in front of number 10 with Gordon Brown for all the world to see ? Some how i can,t see this old far# standing in front of Bute House, you see that is the difference between the 2 households, one invites dictators and the other dose not.
19

Miss H,

27/08/2008 10:00:49
Here we go again. The Electoral Commission love to make things more complicated just for the sake of it. We do need to increase resources allocated to elections but that should go directly to councils not to another quango.
20

MacGillicuddy,

27/08/2008 10:12:28
#12
So you are self-publicist as well!
21

W U Merchant,

Aberdeen 27/08/2008 10:29:03
The nationalists are saying that, as Brown invited Thatcher to Downing Street, it's OK for Salmond to praise her economic policies. Illogical, don't you think? Brown is wrong. Salmond is wrong.
22

donald,

glasgow 27/08/2008 10:57:56
Will the boy wonder in Ben Dover Hoose, London, England and Welsh Traitor, Knell Kinnockio, be allowed near a ballot box?
23

Mikey,

27/08/2008 10:59:31
Mr/s Merchant, please cite the piece where Salmond praised Thatcher's economic policies! Either cite or shut up and stop lying like a Liebore candidate!
24

Conan the Librarian™,

27/08/2008 11:09:00
23
Just what I was going to say Mikey.
Salmond criticised Thatcher, the Scotsman put a huge spin on the story and he ends up praising her.

But he's no had her round for tea though eh?
25

Guga II,

Rockall 27/08/2008 11:10:45
#21 Merchant Banker.

Why don't you try actually reading what wee Eck said, rather than making up lies?
26

John S,

27/08/2008 11:12:21
Aye Gordon and Margaret go back a long way.
One of Mr Brown's "biggest and earliest political memories" was of an occasion in 1983 when the then-prime minister invited him into her office in the Commons to discuss over "a tumbler of whisky" a speech he had made.Guardian Sept 13 2007
Gordon Brown said Margaret Thatcher,knew something about how to run an economy.Telgraph 26 Apr 2005
Brown heaps praise on Thatcher: FT-Sept 4 2007
Brown: I'm a conviction politician like Thatcher. Independent Sept 5, 2007
Thatcher visits Brown for tea at No 10. Guardian Sept 13 2007
Brown: I want Lady Thatcher portrait to hang in No 10. Mail Online 15 Sept 2007
All smiles at no 10: tinyurl.com/5lxd78
27

Ron S,

Edinburgh 27/08/2008 11:25:58
#8 Linda
How do second home owners get a a second vote?
There's a box on the (Edinburgh) electoral registration form I filled in the other day which specifically says second homes don't count. Do not all forms have this box?
28

Raymond Thomas Brooke,

Leven England 27/08/2008 11:28:53
as usual deviating from the point by introducing Brown and Thatcher into the subject. Irrespective whether Westminster is involved or not if Independence is the goal ,and I support this,the quango would still be there with all usual snouts in the trough of public money simply because that is what those people do under the pretext of "serving" the people
29

MacGillicuddy,

27/08/2008 11:47:52
#16

Think you got the wrong party Joe. It's Liebour that adopted her policies, it's Liebour that has round to tea and it's Liebour that showers her with gifts.
As for the SNP, the upcoming by-election in your neck of the woods will show exactly what the electorate of Glenrothes want!!
30

stracathro,

27/08/2008 14:08:53
#8 linda

i agree & i think it is unbelievable that scotland is NOT ALLOWED to take control of our own elections.

why is westminster continually getting away with this?
31

Miss H,

27/08/2008 14:16:21
28 There is no need to have a quango at all. In administrative terms it could all go under the COSLA umbrella and they could work with Scottish Gov't officials in terms of arrangements for particular elections. The infrastructure is already there.
32

Climate change is a fraud,

27/08/2008 15:01:48
We need a change in Glenrothes. UKIP will certainly make a difference.

VOTE FOR CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN, VOTE UKIP!
33

Jock Politicaljunkie,

Glasgow 27/08/2008 16:33:56

#33, at 15:01:48,

Mr UKIP, just how many posters on this rather sparse thread do you think actually reside in Glenrothes?
Quite possibly NONE.
Therefore you are wasting your time posting this irrelevant UKIP rubbish but are bugging the pants off us all.


34

MacGillicuddy,

27/08/2008 17:57:53
#33
Of course a change is needed, which is why the SNP will take the seat. Glenrothes folk are too sensible to have anything to do with your UKIP-BNP.
35

stracathro,

27/08/2008 22:06:25
#33 climate fraudster
the discussion is about the electoral commission in scotland.
ukip mannie - you are dull & boring, take a hike.
36

An Beal Bacht,

28/08/2008 03:58:59
"The Scottish Government expressed disappointment that the Electoral Commission had failed to tackle the issue of which parliament controlled elections.

The Scotland Office has welcomed the proposals."


The SO should be renamed the Colonial Office.

 

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