The race has been run, and now the problem seems to be that there is no clear winner. When the Scottish Parliament election began with the polls giving the impression that the SNP were likely to make a killing, it was clear that the New Labour tactic of raising the spectre of fear of unemploment, uncertainty, higher taxes and all the other emotional pressures, was failing.
Now the electorate have to cope with what is a hung parliament because not only did the inroduction of a new voting system and the money saving ploy of holding two different elections on the same day, plus putting two different ballots on one paper, but it is highly likely that it will be a minority government
with the SNP in charge.
The matter of running the Scottish Parliamentary elections is the responsibility of the London Government via the Scottish Secretary. The fiasco that has further alienated the Scottish electorate will not be allowed to fade. There is already talk of legal challenges in a couple of cases where individuals believe they are in some way disenfranchised differently from the 140,000 plus whose papers were rejected. If a recount is countenanced then it will of necessity have to be a total recount; in other words a re-run of the election, because everyone who cast their vote has a legitimate complaint. It cannot be right to choose between victims.
The basic question that must be answered by Mr. Alexander is 'Why was the advice of Arbuthnott and others ignored?'
