MP Puts the Voter First
Friday 21st December 2007
Des Browne MP has underlined his commitment to put Scottish voters first as The Scotland Office has launched a public consultation on recommendations arising from the review of May’s Scottish Parliament elections.
In a written statement to the House of Commons, Scottish Secretary Des Browne MP called for feedback from as many voters as possible on proposals contained in the report by independent expert Ron Gould.
Des Browne said:
"In my oral statement to the House on 23 October, when Mr Gould published his report, I accepted immediately the five core recommendations which, taken together, will have a direct beneficial impact on the experience of voters at future elections to the Scottish Parliament.”
“I confirmed to the House that a number of other recommendations in the report would require wide- ranging consultation with outside interests, including those responsible for the administrative conduct of elections in Scotland. At the same time, I stressed the importance of engaging with voters in these matters and will be seeking through the consultation exercise to reach as many as possible by both formal and informal means.”
The consultation invites views on three other issues highlighted by the Gould report including the arrangement of party names and descriptions on the ballot papers; the overnight counting of ballots; and the creation of a post of Chief Returning Officer for Scotland.
The consultation exercise will run to early March 2008 and ministers hope to publish a formal response to the Gould Report, taking full account of views submitted during the consultation process, shortly after.
