The Courier: Taking you to the heart of Tayside and Fife
Mystery of missing by-election records
EXCLUSIVE: By Steve Bargeton, political editor
THE ONLY official record of who voted in a Westminster by-election that rocked the political world has mysteriously gone missing placing a question mark over the result.
In a surprise result in November last year, Labour won the Glenrothes by-election with a 6737 majority over the SNP.
All the major parties, including Labour on election night itself, had predicted that the nationalists would narrowly win the seat, which borders Prime Minister Gordon’s Brown’s constituency.
The Labour victory sent shockwaves through the SNP and was the catalyst for a revival of Labour’s fortunes nationally.
In December the SNP in Glenrothes applied to the sheriff court to obtain a copy of the marked electoral register—on which officials in polling stations score out voters as they register to vote. It is the official record of who presented themselves to vote.
Candidates and their agents are allowed to see a copy of the register, which records only who voted and not how they voted.
However, after repeated requests for the document last month, Councillor John Beare, the convener of the SNP Central Fife constituency, has been told that it has gone missing.
Mr Beare said he was told renovation work has been carried out at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court and that some documentation had been removed for confidential waste disposal.
Under the present electoral arrangements, certain papers including voting papers and a copy of the marked electoral register are to be kept by the sheriff clerk for that electoral area for a year after an election.
It does seem rather odd doesn't it?
And not a word in the Nationals? Very odd?
Next they will be trying to tell us that electronic voting is the way ahead!
Err? No! Electronic voting cannot be trusted.
Politicians: Taking us all to the cleaners
The Courier: Taking you to the heart of Tayside and Fife
Sphere: Related Content
No comments:
Post a Comment