Transfer of responsibility to Scotland rejected
By Paul Hutcheon, Scottish Political Editor

MINISTERS in the Scotland Office were partly to blame for last year's botched Holyrood election, according to a committee dominated by Labour MPs.

The Scottish Affairs select committee also stated that the Electoral Commission "did not do enough" to flag up problems with the poll.

However, the group of MPs declined to back the transfer of responsibility for elections from Westminster to Holyrood.

The committee had launched an inquiry into the disastrous Scottish parliament poll last May in which around 140,000 votes were rejected. A subsequent investigation by Canadian elections expert Ron Gould pointed the finger at the Scotland Office and other authorities for the fiasco, while also concluding that political parties contributed to the confusion.

The Westminster select committee's probe mirrors many of the Gould inquiry's findings and lays the blame on delayed decision-making and poor administration. Its report finds that the Scotland Office, which at the time of the Holyrood election was run by Labour minister Douglas Alexander, was partly to blame for the chaotic election count.

"There were failings on the part of the Scotland Office, where lengthy delays disrupted election planning and led to weak contingency arrangements," the report states. "It is clear to us that there were significant delays in ministerial decision-making in the run- up to the Scottish parliament elections. It may be that these delays were the result of a desire to allow the consultation process to run its full course.

"Nevertheless, ministers in the Scotland Office must realise that excessive delays will have serious consequences for the smooth running of an election."

MPs also stated that the Electoral Commission did not do well enough ahead of the poll.

"Failures on the part of the Electoral Commission meant that warning signs were not acted on. We are particularly disappointed that the Electoral Commission did not raise concerns about the level of spoiled ballots in the pilot study.

"There is little value in establishing an independent. Electoral Commission if it fails to act robustly to warn government of potential problems with the electoral system."

But the committee did not back the SNP government's wish to transferthe power of organising Holyrood elections from Westminster to Edinburgh. MPs instead concluded that administrative change and better leadership were key to ensuring future elections were successful.

"The proposal to establish a chief returning officer for Scotland as a single point of accountability deserves further consideration, although its creation would have implications for the way in which elections are run across the UK. What is important is that there should be a clear line of accountability for each aspect of election planning and organisation," said the report.

Mohammad Sarwar, the select committee chairman and Labour MP for Glasgow Central, said of the report: "This is an opportunity for the Scotland Office to make lasting changes to restore confidence in the voting process and we would like to see them co-ordinating their actions with other government departments, as the May 3 problems are unlikely to be unique to Scotland.

"We also wish to see more effective working practices established with the Electoral Commission, who we think failed to give voters enough warning about the potential ballot problems."