Concern over elections control

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The role of the Scotland Office in the voting chaos at last year's elections, which saw more than 180,000 ballots spoiled, is also criticised in a report by Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee.

The hard-hitting analysis of what went wrong last May also calls for a review of the Electoral Commission's status.

"It is difficult to see the Electoral Commission as having added any value to this entire process," the report concludes.

The committee of MPs took evidence from Canadian elections expert Ron Gould who was appointed to draw up an independent review of the voting mayhem. It concluded that "voters were treated as an afterthought".

Asked by the committee whether he was comfortable that everybody who now serves in the Scottish Parliament deserves to be there, Mr Gould responded: "Frankly, no, I am not comfortable with that."

A high-profile aspect of his review was that responsibility for future Holyrood elections be transferred to the Scottish Government.

But the report states: "This is not necessary in order for elections to proceed smoothly in future.

"However, there may be a case for organisational changes on the ground in Scotland, including reformed structures of accountability."

Gould himself had claimed in evidence to the committee that much of the "reasoning" for this falls away if the Holyrood and council elections are "decoupled" and held on separate days.