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Scottish Parliament election

Election 07 graphic

Turnout up - helicopter down

  • Brian Taylor
  • 3 May 07, 11:09 PM

The polls have closed - and amid the miasma of uncertainty, one fact.

A helicopter has had problems collecting ballot boxes from Barra, meaning that the count in the Western Isles will be delayed.

That is of course a key contest between Labour and the SNP - plus its contribution to the regional list count.

Other gossip? Turnout looks to be up - perhaps well up - on 2003.

Bright sunshine and a fascinating contest seem to have drawn the voters out. There was talk of queues in urban seats.

Turnout could be around 60 per cent, perhaps even higher.

Early talk? Labour strategists insist their core vote in working class areas and among pensioners is pretty solid. But they’re fretting a bit more about "aspirational" areas.

Comments   Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 11:13 PM on 03 May 2007,
  • Michael Wright wrote:

I've seen a couple of people say on the show tonight that because of the new electronic counting system it will take twice as long to count the votes.

Why is this the case? I thought if anything it would speed up the process.

There he is! I thought you'd nodded off.

Well, I voted slap bang in the centre of Glasgow at the City Chambers and there wasn't a queue in sight, but maybe everyone had voted by then.

Do people really think that voters come out to vote if the weather's nice?

I did, however, have a nice young man from the Scottish Labour Party call me at home to ask if I had voted today. Shame I already had and not for him.

Cheek!

  • 3.
  • At 11:42 PM on 03 May 2007,
  • Eduard Canard wrote:

There were loads of people voting at my local polling station in Aberdeen around 6.30pm, far more than I've seen in the past. Maybe the poor turnout in Glasgow has something to do with the fact that a rusty bike frame would win if it had the Labour banner slung across it.

  • 4.
  • At 11:52 PM on 03 May 2007,
  • Col wrote:

Oh..the turnout's up alright! Local polling station was completely jam-packed earlier; never seen that before. Usually dribs-and-drabs, not today - something's afoot ;)

Maybe Barra should send their ballot boxes by rocket to Stornoway...

  • 6.
  • At 12:06 AM on 04 May 2007,
  • David Devlin wrote:

There was a queue where I voted in Greenock, first time I have ever seen that!

  • 7.
  • At 12:13 AM on 04 May 2007,
  • Garve Scott-Lodge wrote:

Apparently the helicopter is stuck in Inverness due to fog. Given that we've had fog each morning and evening here for the last few days you'd have thought they would have had the sense to have the helicopter in the Western Isle earlier today.

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