Why Labour shouldn't cry foul

[Scottish_Republican]

Apart from actually organising this election, I thought it might be interesting for some of you to know how close to majority, the number of spoilt papers were. Unless otherwise specified, the first person is Labour, and the second SNP -

Glasgow Shettleston
Frank McAveety - Labour - 7,574
John McLaughlin - SNP - 4,693

Majority - 2,881
Spoilt Papers -2,035

Aberdeen Central
Lewis MacDonald - 7,232
Karen Shirron - 6,850

Majority - 382
Spoilt papers - 776

Airdrie and Shotts
Karen Whitefield - 11907
Sophia Coyle - 10,461

Majority - 1,446
Spoilt - 1,536

Dumbarton
Jackie Baillie - 11,635
Graeme McCormick - 10,024

Majority - 1,611
Spoilt - 1,014

East Kilbride
Andrew Kerr - 15,334
Linda Fabiani - 13,362

Maj - 1,972
Spoilt - 1,033

Eastwood

Kenneth MacIntosh - 15,077
Jackson Carlaw (Conservative) - 14,186

Maj - 891
Spoilt - 990

Edinburgh Central
Lab - 9155
LDs - 7962
SNP - 7496

Maj - 1193
Diff between LDs and SNP - 466
(Two added = 1659)
Spoilt - 1,501

Cunningham North, 1,015 spoilt, SNP maj 48

Edinburgh North
Malcolm Chisholm - 11,020
LD - 8576
SNP - 8044

Maj - 2,444
(diff between SNP & LDs - 532)
Spoilt 1,536

Falkirk East

Lab maj - 1,872
Spoilt - 1,019

Glasgow Kelvin

Pauline McNeill - 7,875
Sandra White - 6,668

Maj - 1,207
Spoilt - 1,195

Glasgow Maryhill

Lab Maj - 2,310
Spoilt - 1,877

Glasgow Pollok

Spoilt - 2,106
(Clear Labour majority)

Linlithgow
Mary Mulligan - 12,715
Fiona Hyslop - 11,565

Maj - 1,150
Spoilt - 1,722

Midlothian
Rhona Brankin - 10,671
Colin Beattie - 8,969

Maj - 1702
Spoilt - 1,649

[McDink]

WHAT is the point your trying to make here exactly? That all the spoilt votes were for second closest party?!?

[Scottish_Republican]

Originally Posted by McDink

WHAT is the point your trying to make here exactly? That all the spoilt votes were for second closest party?!?

Not quite, I am not making that assumption at all.

However, in complaining that they LOST certain seats due to spoilt ballots (like Cunninghame North), the Labour party should be honest enough to entertain the opposite possibility in certain areas.

[McDink]

I'D have thought that the total number of spoilt votes, would have been in some ways, proportional to the total number of votes cast for each party, unless of course ALL Labour voters in Cunninghame North can't fill out a ballot paper correctly?!?

[Scottish_Republican]

There is also the question of which ballots were spoilt by the voters themselves.

[yok_finney]

(making history)

Charles Thomson was active in colonial resistance against Britain for decades. Although Pennsylvania conservatives kept him from being elected a delegate to the Continental Congress, Thomson was chosen as its secretary in 1774, continuing until the federal government came to power in 1789. Thomson faithfully recorded the decisions that shaped the government. He was Secretary of the entire pre-constitutional Continental Congresses from 1774 to 1789. On July 4, 1776 the original declaration of Independence was signed by only two people, Charles Thomson as Secretary and John Hancock as President of the Continental Congress.

year 2007

A hitherto unknown SNP candidate from Inverness called Dave Thompson squeezed through as the last candidate on the last list in the last region. After more than two million voters had had their say, after a protracted 18-hour count, after all that shoe leather, cash, and effort, it all came down to one seat. By the smallest possible margin, the Nationalists had won.