 | 'In the first of its kind in the Borders and just third time in Scotland, the postal by-election presented encouraging results and was dubbed a 'rousing success' with 65.8 per cent of the electorate turning out to vote.' Borders Telegraph, 8 th November 2002. |  |
There was a by-election for the Earlston, Gordon & District ward of Scottish Borders Council on the 7 th of November 2002 following the death of Lib Dem Cllr Jim Nairn, who was elected as an Independent in 1995.
Earlston, Gordon & District is in the new Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Lib Dem Michael Moore MP). It is split between the Roxburgh & Berwickshire Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Lib Dem Euan Robson MSP) and the Tweedale, Ettrick & Lauderdale Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Lib Dem Jeremy Purves MSP).
Tory gain from Liberal Democrat. Swing: 16.3 % from Liberal Democrat to Conservative.
| 29 th July 2004 all postal ballot By-election Turnout 65.8 % (+ 3.7 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles S. Browne |  |
Conservative | 992 | 57.7 % | + 24.1 % |
| Barbara Wright |  |
Liberal Democrat | 570 | 33.2 % | - 8.5 % |
| David Cox |  |
Scottish National Party | 157 | 9.1 % | - 4.0 % |
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat | |
Conservative majority | 422 | 24.5 % | |
| 6 th May 1999 Turnout 62.1 % (+ 19.0 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr James Nairn | |
Liberal Democrat | 680 | 41.7 % | + 12.3 % / - 28.9 % |
| Miles S. Browne | |
Conservative | 547 | 33.6 % | (+33.6 %) |
| Gwen S. Ross-Williams | |
Scottish National Party | 213 | 13.1 % | (+ 13.1 %) |
| John Douglas |  |
Independent | 189 | 11.6 % | (+ 11.6 %) |
| Liberal Democrat | |
Liberal Democrat majority | 133 | 8.1 % | |
At some point between the 1995 and 1999 Cllr Nairn joined the Liberal Democrats
| 6 th April 1995 Turnout 43.1 % | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Nairn | |
Independent | 415 | 70.6 % | |
| Colin McGrath | |
Liberal Democrat | 173 | 29.4 % | |
| Independent win |
| Independent majority | 242 | 41.2 % | |
A ROW is brewing in the Borders Liberal-Democrat camp as councillors fail to agree on whether to make a bid to oust Council Leader Drew Tulley from power.
Councillor Norman Pender has proposed a vote of no confidence in Councillor Tulley - to be debated at next Wednesday's full meeting of Scottish Borders Council.
But while the Party members at local authority and Central Government level continue to meet on a daily basis, not all Lib-Dems are in favour of the motion.
Galashiels Councillor Bill Lamb has made it clear that he will not support it and stressed that he had not spoken to anyone who agreed with the idea.
He said: 'To be truthful Councillor Pender is riding on an ego trip going back several years to his famous victory with the lady riders and I think that's still high on his agenda.
'But, I for one, will not be supporting it.
'It doesn't have any substance. Just take a look around. Who would replace him? There isn't an immediate answer that springs to mind.
'Our problem is that we have been confronted with a number of senior councillors who are ill. Bob Jack, Jim Nairn and Oliver Angus, are to name but three, and they all have a lot of experience.
'We really are running a tight ship,' he added.
Councillor Pender refuted Councillor Lamb's claims that his motion was purely for 'sensationalism' and pressed for 'unity' in the Lib-Dem quarters.
He said: 'Nothing could be further from the truth. I am trying to sort this out so that we have some sort of decent local government in place for the new Council when it comes into power in 2003. And if we join together I am confident that we can pull this off.'
Councillor Pender admitted that numbers for and against the vote of no confidence were 'delicately balanced,' but felt that it was Independent members 'like Alastair Hewat and Riddle Dumble, who were 'keeping him in power.'
Councillor Pender added: 'This is not a personal vendetta.
'Councillor Tulley is a hard worker and he puts in a lot of hours,' he said. 'I just feel that it is time to end this partnership.
'His style of management and people skills and the way he controls the Council have a lot to be desired. It's time for a change.
'People in the Borders have lost confidence in him and he should do the honourable thing.'
With new Chief Executive David Hume due to start on Friday, Councillor Pender believed this was the ideal time to bring in a new Leader.
Opposition Party Leader David Parker has been calling for the Leader to resign for the last fortnight and is backing the Lib-Dem motion.
'There is no question that we will be supporting the motion of no confidence against Councillor Tulley. It has been our belief for sometime that we need a new Leader to move forward and rebuild the trust between the electorate and the Council,' he said.
'We need to draw a line to a number of issues and one way of doing this is to remove Councillor Tulley from his leadership.
He added: 'We need to start to listen to what the public want and stop this short-sighted panic policy decision and think about the effect the decision will have on the Borders. We also need to tighten up stringently on our financial management.'
Councillor Tulley refused to comment, other than to say: 'I will make my comments known on March 6.'
Councillor Pender's second motion for an immediate review of the Council's Executive/Scrutiny Cabinet model will also be discussed next Wednesday.
THE forthcoming by-election in Earlston, Gordon and District, to be held on November 7, has been thrown into confusion after Don Foster, a senior Liberal-Democrat MP, claimed that 'all postal ballots were susceptible to fraud.'
It was also claimed that postal voting undermines the integrity of elections and contributes to electoral abuse and vote rigging.
The November by-election, following the death of Councillor Jim Nairn, will be the first in the Borders to be conducted entirely by post.
Returning Officer David Hume confirmed last week that the Scottish Executive had issued a Parliamentary order authorising the holding of a postal by-election.
It will be only the third postal by-election ever held in Scotland.
The two previous postal by-elections, in Stirling and Aberdeenshire, have resulted in much improved levels of voting.
In Aberdeenshire, where a postal ballot and an ordinary by-election were carried out at the same time in two different wards, the percentage of votes returned in the postal ballot was almost twice that for the traditional by-election.
Mr Hume said: 'The turnout in the Earlston, Gordon and District Ward was over 62 per cent at the combined Council and Parliamentary elections in May, 1999.
'It will be interesting to see if that level of voting is maintained as a result of holding a postal by-election.
'This is a good opportunity to try out a postal ballot to see how it works in practice. I have every confidence that it will prove to be popular with the great majority of voters and although it cannot be adopted for the next combined elections in May next year, I personally think it will prove to be a success.'
Ballot papers will be issued to all of the 2600 electors in the ward by post on October 25, 2002. Voters will have around 10 days in which to cast their vote and arrange its return. Ballot papers must be returned in the official reply-paid envelope, provided with the ballot paper.
To be accepted for the count, ballot papers have to be received at Council Headquarters, in Newtown St Boswells, by not later than 9 a.m. on Friday, November 8.
Officials stress that voters don't have to wait until the end of the period to vote.
'To make sure your vote counts, make your mark and return the ballot paper as soon as you can after receiving it,' said Mr Hume.
Questioning the decision to hold a postal ballot, local Conservative spokesman Derek Brownlee, said: 'It seems unbelievable that just as the Liberals on SBC are pushing for an all postal ballot for Earlston,their own Party leaders are cutting the ground from under their feet. If there are genuine concerns about the integrity of all postal elections then why are we having one in Earlston?'
Responding to the claims, Scottish Borders Council Leader John Scott said: 'Any ballot is susceptible to fraud. However, part of our drive to be innovative is to look at new ways of increasing the turnout.
'At a recent election in Aberdeenshire there was a 33 per cent reponse to the traditional method of voting, while over 60 per cent responded to the postal option. We are striving to get more people to stand for election and encourage more people to vote.'
GALASHIELS bus driver David Cox is looking for a return ticket into local government after signalling his intentions to stand in the Scottish Borders Council by-election in Earlston, Gordon and District on November 7.
The 'Border Telegraph' can exclusively reveal that the 42-year-old father of four will represent the SNP.
Mr Cox, who lives in Innerleithen, was the youngest councillor to be elected to the Borders Regional Council in 1994.
Speaking to the 'Telegraph' he said: 'I am looking to continue the good work done in the past by Jim Nairn. It is time to get back into politics as there are a few things needing done.'
Councillor Riddle Dumble has been elected Leader of the Independents on SBC. Full story on page two.
INNERLEITHEN resident David Cox is looking for a return ticket into local government after signalling his intentions to stand in the Scottish Borders Council by-election in Earlston, Gordon and District on November 7.
The 42-year-old father of four will represent the SNP.
Mr Cox, a bus driver based in Galashiels, was the youngest councillor to be elected to the Borders Regional Council in 1994.
Speaking to the 'Peeblesshire News' he said: 'I am looking to continue the good work done in the past by Jim Nairn. It is time to get back into politics as there are a few things needing done.'
It will be a three-cornered fight. The other contestants are Miles Browne, from Gordon (Conservative) and Barbara Wright, Melrose (Scottish Liberal-Democrat).
SCOTTISH Conservative and Unionist Party candidate Miles Browne has been elected to serve as councillor for the Earlston, Gordon and District Ward, writes Lynsey Thomson.
In the first of its kind in the Borders and just third time in Scotland, the postal by-election presented encouraging results and was dubbed a 'rousing success' with 65.8 per cent of the electorate turning out to vote.
Mr Browne won a majority of the votes with 992 opting in favour of the local Conservative candidate over Liberal-Democrat Barbara Wright and SNP candidate David Cox.
Mrs Wright received 570 votes with Mr Cox third on 157.
Mr Browne regarded his canvassing as instrumental in his success with his local roots also giving him the edge over the other campaigners.
'I am very pleased everybody has been very nice to me, not only in voting, but also when we were canvassing.
'I think going round canvassing has been very beneficial. It's where you get the feel of what people are thinking about and so you can take these things forward.
'I think that being a local person, I have the voters interests at heart. The other two were people from outwith the area and who, if they had been elected, would vote with their Parties when the time came.'
Returning Officer David Hume announced the results on Friday morning, and showed his delight at the turn-out. 'I am extremely pleased in the way that the ballot has gone and is testimony to the staff running it.'
However, he also revealed there was still work to be done in assessing thoroughly the success of the postal voting.
'For us the work doesn't stop here. I will be drawing on information we will be gathering from three groups, the electorate through a questionnaire, the staff who have been involved in administering and running the election, and the political parties and try to gather together their views and opinions of how they think the system has gone.'
He added: 'I believe that postal voting offers the possibility of improving the democratic mandate. I think it is important to find the best way of allowing people to exercise their franchise and encouraging as many people as possible to do so.'
Principal Officer of the Electoral Commission in Scotland, Douglas Wands has worked together with Mr Hume and his colleagues through this unique by-election.
He said: 'The Electoral Commission have been here to oversee the election because we provide an evaluation report to the Scottish Executive.
'I think it's an impressive turnout in a local by-election.
'Over 60 per cent, I think that has got to be welcomed and we have been delighted with the way proceedings have taken place.'
He added: 'It certainly seems that a lot of the voters have responded to the system. They like the ability to return their votes by post.
'For what we have seen from the three elections in Scotland, Stirling, Aberdeenshire and now in the Borders is that it does significantly increase turnout to levels over 60 per cent, which has got to be good for democracy as a whole.'
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