Election separation plan unveiled

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/7869603.stm

Version 0 of 1.

New legislation which would see council and Scottish Parliament elections held on different days have been unveiled by the Holyrood government.

The proposed legislation came in the wake of the 2007 Scottish election fiasco, when more than 140,000 ballot papers were spoiled.

The public was asked to use three different voting systems in two different elections.

The next council ballot will now be delayed by a year, until 2012.

The measures, contained in the Scottish Local Government Elections Bill, were a key recommendation of the independent Gould review into the Scottish elections problems.

Scottish Parliamentary Business Minister Bruce Crawford, said: "Our councils do a vital job and it is right that elections to these bodies are given their proper place, rather than overshadowed by national elections on the same day.

"Holding the elections on different dates will help eliminate the voter confusion that was experienced in 2007 and give Scottish local government elections the prominence they deserve."

The Bill has to be passed by parliament before becoming law.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has continued to call for the power to direct Holyrood elections to be devolved to Scotland, but the UK Government is not persuaded.