Probe into ballot for Labour seat
COMPLAINTS have been lodged over the ballot which saw a London barrister chosen to defend Dr Brian Iddon's Bolton South-east seat at the next general election.
And Kevin Meagher, the man beaten into second place by winning candidate Yasmin Qureshi, wants a re-run of the election to replace Dr Iddon, who will step down before the next election.
Ms Qureshi, who would become the first Muslim woman in Parliament if elected, won 104 votes, in the ballot at the end of August, with Mr Meagher on 84.
But the Harper Green, Little Lever and Kearsley Labour Party branches complained to the regional office over alleged problems with the postal vote.
Dixon Green, and Farnworth and Kearsley Labour clubs have also complained.
Mr Meagher claims that because ballot papers went out a week late, some members who went on holiday may have been denied a vote.
Of the constituency's 242 members, Mr Meagher said 119 had applied for a postal vote, while at least another 10 were issued with an emergency postal vote. But he said 144 ballot papers were printed and wants to know what happened to the "spare" forms.
Mr Meagher said: "There are many unanswered questions about the selection process, particularly the way in which the postal vote was conducted.
"The system was, frankly, a disaster with ballot papers going out a week late, members being systematically missed off the list and more ballot papers produced than there were actual members. The whole thing was a mess."
Mr Meagher said he had been pursuing the matter internally for three months but that the party had been "sticking its head in the sand".
He said: "Members, other candidates and not least the voting public have a right to know that everything was transparent and in good order."
Jim Cottam, chairman of the party's Harper Green branch and treasurer of the Dixon Green Labour Club, said: "We are not happy with the way the postal ballot was run. There are four people I know of who did not get ballot papers."
A Labour Party spokesman said the regional officials would meet organisers of the ballot, including procedures secretary Cllr Ismael Ibrahim, later this week.
He said that if they had "major concerns" the matter would be passed to the party's National Executive Committee.
Ms Qureshi said the issue was an "internal party matter" and did not wish to comment.
8:26am Tuesday 4th December 2007
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Posted by: whisleblower no1, sunny bolton on 9:00am Tue 4 Dec 07
"Corruption in the labour party no cant be true"
If this is the case there should be heads rolling from the axe man and lets not forget the race card will still come out on this if proven to be true you watch and see how many come to the defence of the scandal to be.
There must also be very worried people out there very high up aswell.
"Corruption in the labour party no cant be true"
If this is the case there should be heads rolling from the axe man and lets not forget the race card will still come out on this if proven to be true you watch and see how many come to the defence of the scandal to be.
There must also be very worried people out there very high up aswell.
Posted by: Working Class Hero, Bolton on 10:02am Tue 4 Dec 07
The whole thing stinks! How can you have a process where there are more ballot papers than voters?!?!
The Labour Party has lost all its morality these days it seems.
There's obviously something in the allegations if the regional party is having an emergency meeting with the locals to investigate.
The whole thing stinks! How can you have a process where there are more ballot papers than voters?!?!
The Labour Party has lost all its morality these days it seems.
There's obviously something in the allegations if the regional party is having an emergency meeting with the locals to investigate.
Posted by: Sun Tzu, Bolton on 10:26am Tue 4 Dec 07
I've searched the net for the final result of this ballot but someone seems to have done a very good job of losing it.
Maybe someone out there can enlighten me.
104 for Qureshi, 84 for Meagher. I make that 188 of the 242, Which leaves 54. What happened to these votes? Did they all disappear or were there other candidates involved in the final vote?
If one way or another, these votes have been lost, then they potentially could have produced a different result.
I've searched the net for the final result of this ballot but someone seems to have done a very good job of losing it.
Maybe someone out there can enlighten me.
104 for Qureshi, 84 for Meagher. I make that 188 of the 242, Which leaves 54. What happened to these votes? Did they all disappear or were there other candidates involved in the final vote?
If one way or another, these votes have been lost, then they potentially could have produced a different result.
Posted by: Working Class Hero, Bolton on 10:26am Tue 4 Dec 07
242 members
144 ballot papers printed
119 postal voters
10 emergency postal voters
119+10=129
144-129= 15
So where are the 15 spare ballot papers?
242 members
144 ballot papers printed
119 postal voters
10 emergency postal voters
119+10=129
144-129= 15
So where are the 15 spare ballot papers?
Posted by: Breightmetblogger, bolton on 10:50am Tue 4 Dec 07
[quote][bold]Sun Tzu[/bold] wrote:
I've searched the net for the final result of this ballot but someone seems to have done a very good job of losing it. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me. 104 for Qureshi, 84 for Meagher. I make that 188 of the 242, Which leaves 54. What happened to these votes? Did they all disappear or were there other candidates involved in the final vote? If one way or another, these votes have been lost, then they potentially could have produced a different result.[/quote] The vote is done on a STV system (PR) There were a few other candidates in this contest - including someone called Phil Collins I think! I would hazzard a guess that the 'mising' 54 were for the others.
Sun Tzu wrote:
I've searched the net for the final result of this ballot but someone seems to have done a very good job of losing it. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me. 104 for Qureshi, 84 for Meagher. I make that 188 of the 242, Which leaves 54. What happened to these votes? Did they all disappear or were there other candidates involved in the final vote? If one way or another, these votes have been lost, then they potentially could have produced a different result.
The vote is done on a STV system (PR) There were a few other candidates in this contest - including someone called Phil Collins I think! I would hazzard a guess that the 'mising' 54 were for the others.
Posted by: Sun Tzu, Bolton on 11:15am Tue 4 Dec 07
[quote][bold]Breightmetblogger[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]Sun Tzu[/bold] wrote:
I've searched the net for the final result of this ballot but someone seems to have done a very good job of losing it. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me. 104 for Qureshi, 84 for Meagher. I make that 188 of the 242, Which leaves 54. What happened to these votes? Did they all disappear or were there other candidates involved in the final vote? If one way or another, these votes have been lost, then they potentially could have produced a different result.[/quote] The vote is done on a STV system (PR) There were a few other candidates in this contest - including someone called Phil Collins I think! I would hazzard a guess that the 'mising' 54 were for the others.[/quote] If that is the case then shouldn't the 54 votes have been transfered to the next preference?
If run properly this way of voting asks voters to list candidates in preferrence and should lead to a point where one candidate has a majority but this clearly isn't the case here.
I would like to see a full breakdown of how the voting went, but it's either never been published or it's conveniently disappered.
So much for transparent politics.
Breightmetblogger wrote:
Sun Tzu wrote:
I've searched the net for the final result of this ballot but someone seems to have done a very good job of losing it. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me. 104 for Qureshi, 84 for Meagher. I make that 188 of the 242, Which leaves 54. What happened to these votes? Did they all disappear or were there other candidates involved in the final vote? If one way or another, these votes have been lost, then they potentially could have produced a different result.
The vote is done on a STV system (PR) There were a few other candidates in this contest - including someone called Phil Collins I think! I would hazzard a guess that the 'mising' 54 were for the others.
If that is the case then shouldn't the 54 votes have been transfered to the next preference?
If run properly this way of voting asks voters to list candidates in preferrence and should lead to a point where one candidate has a majority but this clearly isn't the case here.
I would like to see a full breakdown of how the voting went, but it's either never been published or it's conveniently disappered.
So much for transparent politics.
Posted by: Working Class Hero, Bolton on 11:24am Tue 4 Dec 07
Transparency?! This from a once proud party that has been reduced to hiding donations and breaking the law! Nothing surprises me about today's New Labour party.
The only way to prove to teh electorate that nothing underhand went on here with the postal votes is to rerun it and let the Town Hall conduct it.
Transparency?! This from a once proud party that has been reduced to hiding donations and breaking the law! Nothing surprises me about today's New Labour party.
The only way to prove to teh electorate that nothing underhand went on here with the postal votes is to rerun it and let the Town Hall conduct it.
Posted by: Working Class Hero, Bolton on 11:26am Tue 4 Dec 07
After all the messing about over Wetherspoons its clear that Labour literally can't organise a p*** up in a brewery!
After all the messing about over Wetherspoons its clear that Labour literally can't organise a p*** up in a brewery!
Posted by: Tubby Scruff, Alderley Edge on 12:32pm Tue 4 Dec 07
Just watch for Qureshi start issuing law suits on how this breaches her human rights and throwing her toys from beneath her sari over this fiasco.
Just watch for Qureshi start issuing law suits on how this breaches her human rights and throwing her toys from beneath her sari over this fiasco.
Posted by: Sunfun, Astley Bridge on 4:46pm Tue 4 Dec 07
This is alarming, for the labour party both nationally and locally. I feel that there are people in the party who should have a very long hard look at them self. The problem with all three major political party’s, is they don’t know when or how to tell the elder statesmen when it’s time to call it a day. It is not beyond reasonable reasoning that if a political party is holding such an important internal election, an outside body {such as “The Electoral Reform Society”} be brought in to oversee the vote.
This is alarming, for the labour party both nationally and locally. I feel that there are people in the party who should have a very long hard look at them self. The problem with all three major political party’s, is they don’t know when or how to tell the elder statesmen when it’s time to call it a day. It is not beyond reasonable reasoning that if a political party is holding such an important internal election, an outside body {such as “The Electoral Reform Society”} be brought in to oversee the vote.
Posted by: Working Class Hero, Bolton on 5:10pm Tue 4 Dec 07
Amen to that Brother! How can you have a fair process whenthe guy running it is one of the members? Its like having Cliff Morris in charge of postal votes at the local elections.
Amen to that Brother! How can you have a fair process whenthe guy running it is one of the members? Its like having Cliff Morris in charge of postal votes at the local elections.
Posted by: Jose_T, Little Lever on 11:43pm Tue 4 Dec 07
Well, Well, Well...
Kevin it appears is just a poor failure.
Lets be real even if those "extra 15 votes" went to failing Kev, he would still would have lost by 5 votes.
I mean this is the same Kevin that has been missing from Bolton since August, He has not been serving his role as Chair of the constituencey and has not been at constituencey meetings since August.
Add to that, he gave many of us the impression that he was a resident of Little Lever when in reality his real home is in Sheffield, where it appear he has been hiding.
Well, Well, Well...
Kevin it appears is just a poor failure.
Lets be real even if those "extra 15 votes" went to failing Kev, he would still would have lost by 5 votes.
I mean this is the same Kevin that has been missing from Bolton since August, He has not been serving his role as Chair of the constituencey and has not been at constituencey meetings since August.
Add to that, he gave many of us the impression that he was a resident of Little Lever when in reality his real home is in Sheffield, where it appear he has been hiding.
Posted by: Jose_T, Bolton on 11:55pm Tue 4 Dec 07
[quote][bold]Working Class Hero[/bold] wrote:
Amen to that Brother! How can you have a fair process whenthe guy running it is one of the members? Its like having Cliff Morris in charge of postal votes at the local elections.[/quote] I think you need a little reminder that this was an internal selction within the Labour party and therefore only a member could have overseen the selection and not Andy Morgan.
This is not the same as a multi party election like the local elections, in which Cliff Morris or any party affliated member of any one political parties rightly could not oversee the election.
Working Class Hero wrote:
Amen to that Brother! How can you have a fair process whenthe guy running it is one of the members? Its like having Cliff Morris in charge of postal votes at the local elections.
I think you need a little reminder that this was an internal selction within the Labour party and therefore only a member could have overseen the selection and not Andy Morgan.
This is not the same as a multi party election like the local elections, in which Cliff Morris or any party affliated member of any one political parties rightly could not oversee the election.
Posted by: wakeupandsmelltheros
es, Deane on 12:52am Wed 5 Dec 07
Jose_T: what has Andy Morgan got to do with anything? I just wish the Tories would select him, that would give the Labour party something to worry about. I for one, having never voted Tory before, would vote for Andy and a lot of my mates have said the same. None of this Labour lot deserve a chance. They are all in it for themselves. At least Andy seems to a speak a lot of sense. [italic][bold]COME ON CONSERVATIVES SELECT ANDY AND THEN THE FIGHT CAN REALLY BEGIN.[/bold][/italic]
Jose_T: what has Andy Morgan got to do with anything? I just wish the Tories would select him, that would give the Labour party something to worry about. I for one, having never voted Tory before, would vote for Andy and a lot of my mates have said the same. None of this Labour lot deserve a chance. They are all in it for themselves. At least Andy seems to a speak a lot of sense.
COME ON CONSERVATIVES SELECT ANDY AND THEN THE FIGHT CAN REALLY BEGIN. Posted by: David, Bolton on 7:03am Wed 5 Dec 07
Yesterday I spoke with a friend who is a Labour Party Member and was also present at the selection process and [bold]WAS[/bold] a Kevin supporter.
It seems to him that Kevin (who claimed to live in Bolton but has now disappeared back to his home in Sheffield) and certain Labour Party Members (esp. Jim Cottam) are throwing their toys out of their prams, NOT because they lost but because an Asian FEMALE candidate from London won.
Atleast the Tories have fielded Asian candidates for Bolton South East.
I hope the Asians who vote in huge numbers for the Labour Party (especially in Bolton South East) now realise that they are acceptable to the Labour Party as voters ONLY and NOT Parliamentary Candidates.
Yesterday I spoke with a friend who is a Labour Party Member and was also present at the selection process and
WAS a Kevin supporter.
It seems to him that Kevin (who claimed to live in Bolton but has now disappeared back to his home in Sheffield) and certain Labour Party Members (esp. Jim Cottam) are throwing their toys out of their prams, NOT because they lost but because an Asian FEMALE candidate from London won.
Atleast the Tories have fielded Asian candidates for Bolton South East.
I hope the Asians who vote in huge numbers for the Labour Party (especially in Bolton South East) now realise that they are acceptable to the Labour Party as voters ONLY and NOT Parliamentary Candidates.
Posted by: Frank Owen, Bolton on 10:25am Wed 5 Dec 07
No use trying to blacken meagher's name - at least he had the bottle to go public with this sorry tale of political corruption.
Everyone knows the whole things stinks. Its the talk of the town and people will nto forget. This is not about racism, this is about a Labour party that is so out of touch that they think they can treat the electorate like fools with their procedures which belong in a banana republic!
I have never voted Tory in my 56 years, but I would rather see them in than a politically correct carpetbager like Qureshi. Come on Andy Morgan - stand!
No use trying to blacken meagher's name - at least he had the bottle to go public with this sorry tale of political corruption.
Everyone knows the whole things stinks. Its the talk of the town and people will nto forget. This is not about racism, this is about a Labour party that is so out of touch that they think they can treat the electorate like fools with their procedures which belong in a banana republic!
I have never voted Tory in my 56 years, but I would rather see them in than a politically correct carpetbager like Qureshi. Come on Andy Morgan - stand!
Posted by: who is who on the bn blog, lost on 11:54am Wed 5 Dec 07
This is a sorry state of affairs and i would have to agree with some of these posts step up onto the podium Andy Morgan, your Labour Party are awaiting the new leader.
Get a grip of yourselfs as much as i dont agree with some of the procedures within the Labour Party i will never support a
b loody tory ever and you out there that are members should remember this where's your LOYALTY to the party if Kevin Meagher, has got the bottle to make a stand he needs a pat on the back in my books.
It takes some guts to do what he has done this could be political suicide then again it could be what is needed to srt out all the underhandness that goes on within a party ever party has been there at one time or another and the asians are very worried as they have a member who had over seen the entire selections who's worried then.
This is a sorry state of affairs and i would have to agree with some of these posts step up onto the podium Andy Morgan, your Labour Party are awaiting the new leader.
Get a grip of yourselfs as much as i dont agree with some of the procedures within the Labour Party i will never support a
b loody tory ever and you out there that are members should remember this where's your LOYALTY to the party if Kevin Meagher, has got the bottle to make a stand he needs a pat on the back in my books.
It takes some guts to do what he has done this could be political suicide then again it could be what is needed to srt out all the underhandness that goes on within a party ever party has been there at one time or another and the asians are very worried as they have a member who had over seen the entire selections who's worried then.
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