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[bold]Why was the disgraceful 'Hitler?Salmond' comparison not in your report?[/bold]

It will be interesting to see if Gazza Brown promotes sleekit Alexander in the wake of the voting fiasco. A good manager would say to an employee unwilling to take responsibility - "You're fired!" In spite of an unopposed run for PM, I think Brown is finding he really does not have many friends at Westminster. So he has to cling to his favourites.

Jigger, Ayr This is how the BBC reported it: "proportional representation gave Germany Adolf Hitler and in Scotland to a lesser degree we've had the member for Banff and Buchan". (Ann Moffat, Labour MP for East Lothian, House of Commons, 23rd May, 2007) http://news.bbc.co.u k/1/hi/scotland/6685 279.stm It does seem odd that the Herald chose to ignore the remark! Ann Moffat then tried to wriggle off the hook by saying she was referring to the voting system, not individuals; odd, then, that she chose to mention Hitler and then the member for Banff and Buchan, who we all know to be our First Minister, Alex Salmond. If anyone is any doubt about the implications of what she said, or what she intended to be taken as her meaning, they might want to watch the following: http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=kA771gLgw EA Why is it that voting for the SNP means that we have to put up with allusions to Nazis? What is it about Ann Moffat, and people like her, that makes her/them think that comparisons of this sort are either reasonable or a sensible contribution to our democracy. These kinds of analogies are so wide of the mark! I often wonder if those who make these comments realise how offensive their comments are. Perhaps they do and they just don't care!

"There must have been parties who won, who should not have won." I agree, for 50 years of ruining Scotland there are far too many Labour MSP's, something's afoot and you do well to point it out...

The Herald is to be congratulated for not parroting the Labour smear and innuendo brigade. We have seen enough of that on post boards in the last few days, and certainly don't need a reputable paper joining in on the excuse that they are "simply reporting" the "news". That is exactly what the smearers are depending on. Had she really been compairing the results of the Scottish election with elections in other European countries she would have had plenty of scope and examples to chose from since minority or coalition government under proportional representation is the norm throughout Europe, and indeed, throughout the States in Germany today. It is only the Westminster dinosaurs who think there is anything unusual or strange about it. They're aw oot o' step but oor Jock. Or in this case, oor Hooray Henries. Nasty little people with nasty little minds - but dangerous. Make no mistake, they're dangerous. I seem to recall that the Nazis used exactly the same tactic. Of course, in these days all the bad guys were Jewish. And today............... ?

Thing is, the American observers agreed with the suggestion that there were people elected who shouldn't have been, and vice versa. They were explicit in saying that the Greens had lost out, definitely. And that loss is probably equally to Labour and the Nats, in case anyone thinks it's an election-swinging impact.

Ted - If I remember correctly, I think the Americans were talking only about the number of votes - not the seats. The Greens [bold]may[/bold] have picked up one extra seat in the Highlands & Islands or Mid Scotland & Fife, but it would've taken a huge proportion of rejected ballots assigned to them to achieve the extra MSP. Their vote simply got squeezed by the 'Big Four' parties. Which is not to excuse the balls-up that occurred.

Why was the disgraceful 'Hitler?Salmond' comparison not in your report? Bercause it is always there in Labour's whisper machine, like the sectarian vote lies, both ends to the middle.

Ann Moffat must not be allowed to worm her way out of this we all know what she meant Gordon Brown should make her say sorry to the Banff & Buchan MP and all the people who voted for him at the last general election by her action she is saying they are Nazi followers shame on HER

Anne Moffat is a typical Labour female MP. As with Helen Liddle before her she does not have the brains to be anything other than a "yes sir, no sir whatever you say sir" sycophant. She is now following Brown's orders to slag off the SNP at any opportunity, unfortunately she does not have the mental capacity to do it in an inoffensive way, but only in the manner of a bull in a china shop. What else can you expect from an intellectual pigmy who hawks herself round Westminster looking for promotion like some celebrity obsessed Big Brother trollope. She should apologise, but she won't because a) she does not understand what she said and b) even if she does she has no decency. No wonder the Labour Party is losing members at such a rate when they have to put up with these imbeciles representing them.

Well, maybe instead of whining about it on here - where no self-respecting politician [sic] would ever be seen, why don't we all spend twenty minutes writing to Anne Moffat, Gordon Brown, the Speaker of the House, and our own MPs and demanding a full and sincere retraction and apology? Let's just take a few minutes' break from writing here and write on the ole word processor instead. What do you say?

And, yes, before you ask, the bit about "self-respecting politician" was a joke.

"MPs debate Scottish voting ‘fiasco’ in Commons" This headline could also apply to those faceless lobby fodder Scottish Labour MP's happy to pick up a salary to vote through bills on English issues.

Little Miss Moffat's puerile slur on Alex Salmond got me to thinking. She is surely confusing the [italic]First[/italic] Minister with the [italic]Prime[/italic] Minister. After all, did Herr Hitler not manufacture an incident with Poland, thereby setting the stage for Blitzkrieg and invasion? And, did Mr Blair not manufacture a dodgy dossier about Iraq, thereby setting the stage for Shock & Awe and invasion? In fact. listening to little Miss Muppet's gaffe on the BBC news feed, I could have sworn it was George Foulkes in drag.

Don't forget that all parties are culpable for the Scottish parliamentary election ballot papers debacle.. was it not a collective and unanimous decision by all parties to have a combined ballot paper instead of two. This is undoubtedly at the root of the problem and is the principal cause for voter confusion, so if blame is getting levelled out - it should be apportioned across the political divide - yes, that includes the Nats! Perhaps, instead of indulging in posturing all parties should get their act together, to ensure such a chaotic shambles doesn't happen again. I for one, would dump the STV voting system (for the local council elections) straight in the bin, not convinced that it has or will yield any tangible benefits.

I totally agree with Mike Simpson, the election was a farcical mess and the SNP were in full agreement for the combined ballot, so they can't get out of it. It was hardly the result the Nats were expecting and being a minority Government they are effectively stymied and reliant on their opponents. Four years of hapless Alex will ensure a Labour victory next time.

A: the ballot papers weren't too difficult to understand B: a few breakdowns do not a fiasco make C: why people chose to mark their papers in an invalid way despite clear instructions is very much their own affair; or perhaps they just didn't like any of the parties or persons on offer D: further investigation will cost alot of time and money and will tell us nothing new E: marking the Scottish Office 4 out of 10 for their competence shows much improvement on their everyday modus operandi. Take a pat on the back and you can have your summer holiday now.