tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post4820454665775104028..comments2024-03-25T12:55:40.911+00:00Comments on Caron's Musings: Can we have some common sense on Holyrood election dates, please?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04988201531739344840noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-56731004746463068902010-07-07T13:09:25.546+01:002010-07-07T13:09:25.546+01:00Do I see a problem, yes I do. And so did the Torie...Do I see a problem, yes I do. And so did the Tories and the Lib Dems up to now. But now that you have changed tack in the middle of the race it becomes a more complex question in 2007 than what is proposed in 2011. Why is it more complex? You are asking Scots voters to understand something which they had not hitherto done, in 2007 it was the STV local elections and in this case a referendum, horses for courses really.<br />As per the Gould Report are the Lib Dems putting their desire to succeed in this referendum before the interests of the respective electorates? I think you are and that has nothing to do with petty political point scoring. The grown up solution is already there it’s called the Gould Report, something that the Tories and the Lib Dems were fully behind when it was a stick to beat the “Alex Salmond for First Minister” drum, a bit like you are still doing.Munguinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475165830302054002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-36841442789901125682010-07-07T12:03:55.114+01:002010-07-07T12:03:55.114+01:00The simplest and most obvious solution, though I&#...The simplest and most obvious solution, though I've yet to see it suggested, is to amend the Scotland act so that the Scottish Parliament elected in May 2011 sits for 5 years. ie: make the term a fixed 5 years instead of 4.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-82975517553379927172010-07-07T11:35:34.916+01:002010-07-07T11:35:34.916+01:00There were specific issues in 2007 which were much...There were specific issues in 2007 which were much more complex than a simple question. Do you really see a problem with the AV Referendum?<br /><br />I think the calls for an apology were more to do with the design of the ballot paper than anything else - which could have been avoided. That and the Alex Salmond for First Minister issue.<br /><br />I agree there are issues for 2015 but don't we want to sit down like grown ups and work out a grown up solution rather than indulge in petty political point scoring?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04988201531739344840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-30465556814779786822010-07-07T11:17:29.455+01:002010-07-07T11:17:29.455+01:00Yes common sense should prevail. Perhaps the commo...Yes common sense should prevail. Perhaps the common sense advocated by Ron Gould in his report on the fiasco of having the STV local elections and the Holyrood elections on the same day in 2007 that saw almost 150,000 wasted votes.<br /><br />Both the Tories and Liberal Democrats said Des Browne's predecessor at the Scotland Office, Douglas Alexander, should issue an apology for the problems. <br /><br />David Mundell, the shadow Scottish Secretary, said: "This is an election that saw more than 146,000 rejected ballots as a result of a catalogue of avoidable errors, failures of oversight and a fragmented approach to the management of the elections." <br /><br />Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen added: "Organising the Scottish Parliament elections was one of the few significant tasks that the generously resourced Scotland Office has had to do over the last few years and yet the majority of the failures highlighted in this report were its remit." <br /><br />And now the Lib Dems want to do that all over again. And not one but twice!Munguinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475165830302054002noreply@blogger.com