Here is a key sentence from the article:
"Labour supporters stand accused of packing the electoral roll at the last minute with relatives living overseas or simply inventing phantom voters."Notice that it seems from this to be (just?) Labour again. If that turns out to be accurate it won't be a surprise as the party has form on this; and it was always realised by some canny folk that it was to facilitate this that "postal votes for all" were introduced. There was no other, valid, reason to do so.
The fact that it is happening in marginal seats, when (as research has shown) very few people outside of political party members even know if their constituency is marginal, strongly suggests that it is party machines in the various areas would have been behind the alleged fraud.
The method is to use Bangladeshi and similar ethnic minority names as "phantom voters", as they probably will not be investigated owing to ethnic sensitivities. Therefore it is not, in and of itself, an issue created by such folk, just because it looks that way, though some might (or might not) have been involved in some of the cases. It definitely isn't all, anyway, as a close reading of that article reveals.
Oh, and do read this shocking account of a journalist's literally violent experience when trying to speak to a candidate in Bow, East London, in regard to this issue. As he writes, concerning his attackers:
"He [the journalist's rescuer] also maintained that he saw at least two of the attackers run into the candidate's house."It really is about time that the postal votes for all option were to be removed, so that those who still qualify will be of a manageable number to be checked out in all cases. Perhaps the closing date for applications should be made several weeks sooner as well, to ensure there is ample time for officials to check the validity of last-minute applications.
Beyond that, if these cases are proven, it might mean that this week's election will have to be re-run a few weeks hence, after all the postal vote applications have been checked for validity, with no more applications being accepted in the meantime. If it turns out that it is one party either mostly or entirely behind the fraud, then that party and all its candidates should be disqualified as a sanction, plus any fines, jail sentences and whatever else is deemed suitable punishment.
Wouldn't that be interesting? It would mean there could then be a possibility of a House of Commons with no Labour members at all...
Glenrothes anybody?
ReplyDeleteAnd in the meantime flights are, again, affected by dust, so the military votes might not arrive.
"Notice that it seems from this to be (just?) Labour again"
ReplyDeleteDon't let the facts get in the way of your arguments/smears.
Perhaps you should look at the linked document below - and if you do you will notice that no party would appear to be able to claim a monopoly of virtue in this regard. If there were any conclusions to be drawn it owuld appear that the Lib Dems appear to be found guilty rather more often than the other parties.
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03667.pdf
Yes, Mrs Rigby, it is an interesting piece of timing, that,a nd there seems to be no current reason (if indeed there ever was one) for a ban...
ReplyDeleteTory Boys: thanks for being useful for once :-)
That recent document (of which I have taken a copy to update my files) shows clearly that it is an issue predominantly of the Left, including Respect I notice.
It once again demonstrates that, although individuals in any part of the political spectrum can act badly, for institutionalised corruption one need look only to the Left, who after all facilitated this (despite warnings from the Electoral Commission and others) deliberately without proper safeguards.
That too is a matter of public record.
I think you will find that some of more serious cases which were prosecuted were of Tories and also to be fair to Respect (something that I do throught clench teethed) you will find that most if not all the references are to complaints being made by Respect.
ReplyDeleteAlthough no one of any sense supports voter fraud - some care does need to be taken not to throw the baby out with the bath water. There are problems with voter turnout and voters not being registered that also need to be addressed - and in this day and age why should attendance at a polling station be necessary for all apart from predominantly Tory expatriots(sic).
And if you think that the Tories don't go bad and practice a little bit of voter fraud - perhaps we could talk about Westminster Council.
So you think the LibDems are on the Left - I think you will find where they are on the political spectrum is dependent on where they are looking for votes, apart from dear old Vince who they will ignore should this be necessary.