General election depend in chaos as police take ballots over ‘fraud’
Police officers have swooped on an election count in Scotland over three cases of alleged ballot fraud.
Scottish police rushed to Emirates Arena in Glasgow, where they reportedly seized three ballot papers.
Election officials had earlier told journalists there were four papers which were a concern, including one in the Glasgow West constituency.
The paper in question was seen being removed by officers wearing gloves and placed in a clear evidence bag.
At 11:20pm it emerged that Police Scotland had also requested the removal of two other papers of the original four.
It is thought these were votes in the Glasgow South-West constituency. No further details have yet been given.
Scottish police rushed to Emirates Arena in Glasgow , where they reportedly seized three ballot papers
The first paper was seen being removed by officers wearing gloves and placed in a clear evidence bag
It comes after the 10pm exit poll predicted the Scottish National Party’s share of the vote will plummet, with the party expected to return just 10 seats – compared to 48 in 2019.
It follows months of turmoil in the ruling Scottish party, with alleged corruption and the resignations of First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.
Current leader John Swinney has been fighting to hold the SNP together after the arrests of several high-profile members and former members, including Ms Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell.
Speaking after the exit poll. Ms Sturgeon said the election results may take Scottish independence ‘off the immediate agenda’ for the incoming government, but it would be ‘foolish’ to think the issue has gone away.
Speaking on ITV, the former first minister said: ‘A lot of the people – if not the majority of people – who in this election have shifted from the SNP to Labour, they still believe in independence, they haven’t shifted their opinion on independence.
‘So it might take the issue off of the immediate agenda for Keir Starmer, but it would be – I think – foolish to suggest that the independence question has gone away.’
‘This is not a good night for the SNP on these numbers,’ she added.
‘I think there will be a question about whether there was enough in the campaign to give out, effectively, a USP to the SNP in an election that was about getting the Tories out and replacing them with Labour.’
At 11:20pm it emerged that Police Scotland had also requested the removal of two other papers of the original four
Officers were seen standing over one of the counting tables as ballots were tallied up
A total of three ballot papers from two Glasgow constituencies were confiscated, it is understood
She added: ‘This is at the grimmer end of the expectations for the SNP if the exit poll is right and, from what I’ve said earlier on, I expect it will be.
‘This is seismic for Labour. There’s no getting away from that, it’s a massive achievement for Keir Starmer.
‘I think it will be interesting as the night progresses to see the extent this is driven by the Tory collapse as opposed to a Labour surge.’
The first result in Scotland is expected to be Rutherglen, which could declare at 1am.
Speaking on ITV, the former Scottish first minister said she believed the results of the exit poll would turn out to be ‘broadly right’.
The SNP’s campaign centred around calls for talks on another independence referendum if the party won a majority of seats at the election.
But despite the exit poll result, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes told the BBC: ‘I would strongly caution anybody against dismissing the robust, resilient and significant number of people in this country that support independence and the next Labour government will have to contend with that, we’ll have to listen to Scottish voters because even over the last few months – which have been difficult – that support for independence has remained strong.’
But she added the party would need to ‘listen to the voices of voters’.
The SNP would also ‘set out our agenda to regain and rebuild the trust of the voters across Scotland’, she said.
While the party’s campaign chief, Stewart Hosie, described the poll as ‘stark’ but insisted it was ‘just an exit poll’.
‘In the next few hours, we’ll see how accurate or otherwise it is,’ he told the PA news agency.
Asked what such a result could mean for the SNP, Mr Hosie said he was not concerned.
‘In 2005, I think we were down to five or six MPs and we went on to win the Holyrood election in 2007,’ he said.
‘In 2010, I think we returned six and went on to win a majority in Holyrood in 2011.
‘So I’m not worried about what this means for the SNP, but clearly if this result or something like it comes to pass, it tells us that the overriding motivation for almost everybody in this election was simply to get the Tories out and people appear to have decided that a vote for Labour is the way to do that.’
Former first minister and Alba Party leader Alex Salmond said the SNP’s potential collapse was ‘not because of independence’.
‘How could it be? The SNP did not even campaign on it,’ he said.
‘In reality, the support for independence is strong. It is the SNP who are weak. The independence case must now find new vehicles to move forward.’
Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
