Politics British Politicians To Face Criminal Investigation Over Scottish Referendum

In a television interview with the BBC just four days before the referendum John McTernan, a former adviser to Tony Blair said, “It’s important to remember that about a fifth of the electorate, that will be about a quarter of the total turn-out, have voted already. They have voted by postal vote. Those postal votes are running very strongly towards ‘no’. There is a whole bank of votes in.”

 

EDINBURGH, October 04 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – Police in Scotland will formally investigate allegations that anti-Scottish independence campaigners breached electoral law during the referendum held on September 18.

“We can confirm that Crown counsel has instructed Police Scotland to commence an investigation into alleged breaches of Schedule 7, Paragraph 7, of the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013,” a statement issued on Saturday by the Crown Office, Scotland’s prosecution service reads.

The allegations relate to comments made by Ruth Davidson, a Member of the Scottish Parliament and leader of the Scottish Conservatives, in which she appeared to know the general results of postal votes arising from “sample opening” of ballot boxes.

Postal vote opening sessions are permitted before the formal poll is conducted to verify signatures and dates of birth against records held by the local Returning Officer. Agents for the two campaigns were allowed to monitor these sessions, but it is a criminal offense, punishable with up to a year’s imprisonment if found guilty, to communicate any information witnessed during the sample opening sessions.

In a television interview with the BBC shortly after the formal poll closed Davidson said “we’ve been incredibly encouraged by the results [of the postal vote],” implying the Scottish Conservative leader knew the outcome of the postal votes before the first formal results had been announced.

In another BBC interview just four days before the referendum John McTernan, a former adviser to Tony Blair said, “It’s important to remember that about a fifth of the electorate, that will be about a quarter of the total turn-out, have voted already. They have voted by postal vote. Those postal votes are running very strongly towards ‘no’. There is a whole bank of votes in.”

McTernan told RIA Novosti he had not been contacted by Police adding, “No reason to believe free speech is a crime.”

According to The Herald newspaper, Davidson has been contacted by Police with the paper quoting a Conservative Party source who said there was, “no suggestion she was accused of doing anything wrong at this stage.”

The independence referendum, which took place on September 18, saw a turnout of 84.59 percent. Scotland has chosen to stay in the United Kingdom with 44.7 percent of Scots having voted in support of independence and 55.3 percent having voted against.

Russian Observers Suspect ‘Special’ Voting Technologies in Scotland

Russian observers have suspicions over the “special” voting technologies used during the Scottish independence referendum.

Topic: Scotland on the Eve of Independence Referendum

EDINBURGH, September 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russian observers have suspicions over the “special” voting technologies used during the Scottish independence referendum and expect the announcement of results that will either confirm or disprove their suspicions.

“The absence of lines at voting offices could indicate the use of special voting technologies. About 20 percent vote in advance, via post. From our experience, we know that in 2012 Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney during presidential elections in early [stages of the] voting. That is, he won prior to the day of the election. Whether this technology was used during the referendum, we will know when the votes have been counted,” Igor Borisov, the chairman of the Council of the Russian Public Institute of Election Law and the head of the Russian observation mission, told RIA Novosti.

“If the organizers of the referendum announce the results of the postal votes separately from the results received on the day of the election, then it will be possible to assess how great the influence of technologies on the vote was,” he added.

Borisov noted that voter turnout is very high. According to members of the polling offices, by 10-11 a.m. BST (09:00-10:00 GMT) as many people came to vote as there were during the European Parliament elections in spring.

“At the same time, I cannot say that people wait to vote. I haven’t noticed anything like that. Although, there are lines of two-three people to take to the ballot,” Borisov said.

The Russian observation mission arrived in Edinburgh yesterday evening, comprising four specialists to monitor the Scottish independence referendum. Russian representatives will also monitor the vote count.

Why Musicians Will Be Disappointed Today That Scotland Voted ‘No”

 
 
David Maclean
 
 

David Maclean is the drummer and producer for Django Django. He grew up in Edinburgh, Fife and The Highlands
 
Although I would’ve voted ‘Yes’ if I still lived in Scotland – I’m now in London – I was always of the belief that the way people were galvanised to become active about politics in Scotland during the Referendum was so important and something that has to keep going. Not just in Scotland but across the rest of Britain: it’s a time for change and if Scotland can achieve that as part of Britain, that’s good.You’d be hard pressed to find anyone voting – or supporting – ‘No’ yesterday in the music industry.

 

From Honeyblood to Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and Björk to Belle & Sebastian, the only person who seemed to express support for a ‘No’ was David Bowie.

 

I suspect it has something to do with creative people being quite open-minded and having a good vision. Whether you’re a musician, writer or film-maker, you have to use your imagination to picture what you’re trying to achieve and it takes vision to see a political and social construct changing. It means the status quo alters and you take a risk. Creative people are quite good at taking risks both in their work and in their own life because they don’t always know where the pay packet is coming from. I think they’re more willing for change. Also a creative person’s psyche makes them aware of injustice and often vocal about fighting against it.

 

Austerity in Scotland hit people hard, particularly things like youth clubs and libraries; the sense that community was being dismantled is very difficult for a socialist country like Scotland to accept. But in a way it is fertile ground for the creation of art and music if you have something to fight against. Would people make great music if they were all funded properly and comfortable? Probably not. You need to have something to battle against.
 
Also musicians usually have a problem with authority and strictures will only restrict your creative output. How will the music landscape in Scotland change now the votes has come through? Maybe people will make angrier music. If you had two timelines and you looked back on a ‘yes’ and ‘no’, the music would probably be different. But thing I’m sure of is that music in Scotland will be fine. It’s embedded in our culture and our psyche and I think music is in safe hands no matter where the nations go. Music scenes will come and go regardless of politics. You won’t see Django Django making a nationalist metal or screamo record any time soon but it does influence our thinking.

 

There is a kinship between Scottish people in the music industry. We all draw towards each other with a sense of camaraderie and a shared bond. I’ve been following Stuart Braithwaite, Limmy and Alex Kapranos’ tweets and Steve Mason always has a good outlook on it.

 

But it’s never “Gung ho! Freedom! Let’s run off into the sunset!” It’s much more of a skeptical hope. Everybody understands that politics and politicians can be tricky. Just by becoming independent doesn’t mean it’s all going to be roses. People are aware of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. I didn’t begrudge David Bowie or anyone who voted ‘No’ and, actually, part of me did want the country to vote ‘No’ so we could change Britain together. There’s definitely value in that.