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Dave Coull
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A Culture of Electoral Fraud?How it's Done
by Donald Anderson
formerly senior SSP member
Electoral Fraud in the 1970s
In the mid 70’s I acted as a polling clerk in two municipal elections, two years running, in Glasgow. I was a mature student at Strathclyde, and a mature student friend of the same political persuasion was also a clerk at the next polling Station. I was at the Round Toll and he was further down Cowcaddens. The old tenements were still there and this was in the height of the Glasgow Clearances.
It soon became evident that all the staff were Labourites. One was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. The words “communist” and “Great” Britain obviously presented no problem to him. I immediately concentrated on him, talking to him about John MacLean and his international Socialism, being careful not to mention his stand on a Scottish Workers Republic and his persecution from the Great British State, the Labour Party and the CP of GB. I had to stifle myself when the Labourites joined in, even more ignorant of socialism, then the GB member.
I was one of them, a British Nationalist Labourite, they thought. So they laid into the SNP and I managed to bite my tongue. They showed me how to stuff the ballot boxes during the quiet spells, of which there were many. They stamped ballot papers and put their crosses next to the Labour candidate and shoved them into the box. If someone came in and their vote was already used, they just scored the next one off the electors roll with a ruler. The voter could hardly notice this, as the Roll would be upside down to them and they were usually confused as to procedure.
Towards closing time a (now deceased) cousin of mine, Sammy Halliday, came to vote, rather the worse for wear after his shift as foreman on the ashfelt and his shift in the pub afterwards. His dunkey jaikit, working claes and boots were covered in ashfelt. He immediately recognised me and dumped a broon paper parcel of ham ribs on my Elector’s roll, proclaiming to all and sundry. “Haw. That’s mah wee cousin. I’m votin’ for him. He’s SNP. Up the Scottish Socialist Republic.” Was I mortified? I can still picture the Pom Frits’ furious and helpless faces. There was nothing they could do about me. Usually, they are always running to the polis station with the pettiest of complaints about the SNP. When my cousin finally realised something was up, the clerks, rather unsportingly for Old Firm fans, refused his generous offer of a Skwerr Go Ootside. My own disappointment at their refusal to fight was soon dispelled when he offered me the ham ribs and telt me no’ to gie thae basturts ony. I took them hame tae the wife. I’m too good tae her.
My chum, at the next polling station, loudly declared his allegiance to an Independent Scotland at the end of the evening, and gave them some anatomical advice on stuffing their papers. Between the pair of us I reckon we outvoted the Labour Fiddlers Rally and the winner was the late Angus MacIntosh, SNP Cooncillor for Coocaddens. I tried to advise the SNP to get everyone to act as Polling Clerks each election and outvote the paid Labour Clerks. But, did they listen?
I’m 71 noo and they can go tae the polis if they like. Or better still, try and take it oot the nose. I’m still up for it.
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mairead
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Aventinian
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Re: A Culture of Electoral Fraud? | Dave Coull wrote: | | It soon became evident that all the staff were Labourites. One was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. The words “communist” and “Great” Britain obviously presented no problem to him. I immediately concentrated on him, talking to him about John MacLean and his international Socialism, being careful not to mention his stand on a Scottish Workers Republic and his persecution from the Great British State, the Labour Party and the CP of GB. I had to stifle myself when the Labourites joined in, even more ignorant of socialism, then the GB member. |
Ah, nationalist socialists. An amusing breed. Still, just another element of the petty tribalism endemic amongst the left.
That said, it doesn't take much knowledge to realise that Great Britain is a geographical term, not some sort of promotional adjective usage.
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Dave Coull
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| Aventinian wrote: | | Dave Coull wrote: | | It soon became evident that all the staff were Labourites. One was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. The words “communist” and “Great” Britain obviously presented no problem to him. I immediately concentrated on him, talking to him about John MacLean and his international Socialism, being careful not to mention his stand on a Scottish Workers Republic and his persecution from the Great British State, the Labour Party and the CP of GB. I had to stifle myself when the Labourites joined in, even more ignorant of socialism, then the GB member. |
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Actually, Aventinian, you were wrong in saying "Dave Coull wrote.....". Dave Coull did NOT write that. Donald Anderson did. Although Donald is a friend of mine, there are many things on which he and I do not exactly see eye to eye. For one thing, Donald is probably considerably more nationalist than me. For another thing, he is a marxist, and formerly a prominent member of the Scottish Socialist Party. I QUOTED what Donald had written on "mediawatch". If you can leave aside for a moment HOW he says it, the significant point to note is that Donald was an eye-witness to Labour election fraud in Glasgow in the 1970s, and there is no reason to doubt he is telling the truth about that. Together with many other instances of dubious practices by the Labour Party in Scotland over the years, such as in Monklands, Paisley, and Ayrshire for instance, that creates a suspicion that maybe the electoral records in Glenrothes "disappeared" because they could contain things which could be damaging to the Labour Party and to Gordon Brown. If there is a chance of that being the case, then such a suspected subversion of democracy should be a matter of concern to everybody, regardless of their politics, and not just in Scotland, but throughout the UK
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jamesieboy
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Dave - add West Dunbartonshire to your list at local govt elections.
I an 2 others have seen batches of 100 SNP votes going in the Labour pile.
Needless to say it didn't work the other way.
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