WISHART PUSHES FOR ELECTIONS TRANSFER.

WISHART PUSHES FOR ELECTIONS TRANSFER.

SNP Constitutional Affairs spokesperson, Pete Wishart MP, will this evening (Monday) put the case for the transfer of responsibility for elections to the Scottish Parliament. The SNP has tabled an amendment to the Political Parties and Elections Bill.
Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Wishart said:

“Nobody will forget the complete hash the Scotland Office made of the 2007 elections, and they should be relieved of their responsibilities altogether.

“The interests of voters must be at the heart of this process, which is why responsibility and accountability have to go together. That is why the Gould Report recommended, and the Scottish Parliament voted, that responsibility for Scottish elections should transfer to Holyrood.
“MSPs are accountable through the Scottish elections, which is clearly why they should also have responsibility for running them.
“My amendment would support the vote taken in the Scottish Parliament and the view of Ron Gould that Scottish elections must be the preserve of the Scottish Parliament.
”There is no good reason for Westminster to remain in charge of Scottish elections other than a predictable knee jerk reaction to hold on to powers at any cost.

“The challenge for Labour and Conservative MPs is to support their MSP colleagues in supporting this transfer.”