Labour MSPs havefuelledthe simmering tensions with the party at Westminster by blaming Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander for the Holyroodelectionfiascowhich disenfranchised more than 100,000 voters.

A secret report listing Labour MSPs' views onthepolldebacleclaimedAlexander's decision to use a single ballot paper for the parliament election was "confusing" and wrong.

It also suggested MSPs' concerns on the issue had been ignored by the wider Scottish party, which pushed ahead with its plan for one ballot paper.

The claims reveal the tensions between Labour at Holyrood and Westminster and point to the recriminations taking place behind the scenes after the party's loss to the SNP.

The blame game comes as the Electoral Commission, through Canadian expert Ron Gould, conducts an inquiry into last month's chaotic Holyrood election.

Itwilllookatwhytheelection encounteredproblemswithelectronic countingandpostalvoting,aswellas homing in on the embarrassment of the 140,000 ballots that were spoiled.

One of the reasons suggested for the high number of wasted votes was the decision by the Scottish secretary to push ahead with a single ballot paper for the Holyrood poll.

Votersinlastmonth'selectionwereaskedtovoteforaconstituency MSP and a regional list member on the samepaper,adecisionmany observersbelievecausedthe spoiled ballot chaos.

Now a secret report - entitled "Scottish Parliament Labour Group Submission To The Review Of The 2007ScottishElectionsByTheElectoralCommission"-hasalsocondemned Alexander's decision.

The document, which was compiled after seeking responses from Labour MSPs, pins the blame for the high number of rejected votes on the Scotland Office's support for the "confusing" ballot paper.

"We did not have the voter confusion with the Scottish parliament ballot in the first two elections. There should have been two separate ballots " it stated. Italsosuggestedthat LabourMSPs wantedtwoballots,ratherthanthe single piece of paper supported by the party at a national level: "The Labour group in previous discussions had taken this position and have proved to be correct in their instincts."

Sources in Scottish Labour last night downplayedthecontentofthe documentbysayingitwasmorea "collection of ideas" than a submission to the Electoral Commission review.

However, the Sunday Herald has established that the document was a "final"versionsentouttoMSPson Friday after they had made their views known internally.

Another view expressed in the report was anger at SNP leader Alex Salmond's decisiontoputhisnameonevery Holyrood ballot.

TheLabour"submission"also demanded that "only serious political parties or independents" should be allowed to stand on the regional list vote.

DuncanMcNeil,thechairofthe Labour group at Holyrood, said: "We attempted to identify some common themes by MSPs submitting ideas. It is not a submission, it is a collection of individual views."

A spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democratssaid:"Thisisanextraordinary position for the Labour party to take.Notonlywasthedecision ultimately taken by a Scottish Labour minister, but there was widespread consultation before the election, and if those were the instincts of the party, then why didn't they make them clear to the secretary of state."

AspokesmanfortheScottish secretary said he had "no comment" to make on the report.

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