iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

www.scotcourts.gov.uk/media/z1zpyp...

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Parliament website very promptly updated

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

This is a good read on the Dungeness lifeboat & RNLI, with some harrowing accounts of Channel rescues.

Cover of Lifeboat at the End of the World, by Dominic Gregory

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

The Greens amendment to set up an independent inquiry.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

This would be preferable to an inquiry limited to the Murrell scandal/SNP, but the legal regulation of political parties and party finance law, are reserved matters, so any recommendations for law reform would depend on their being political will to do that at Westminster.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Electoral Commission has published its annual data on electoral fraud for 2025. Total of 2 convictions, one for supplying false info when registering to vote; one for personation in relation to a postal vote. www.electoralcommission.org.uk/research-rep...

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

A letter from Pete Wishart (a former chair) to current chair of Scottish Affairs Committee urging it not to start an inquiry into SNP governance/finance re Murrell scandal. As he says, this is outside the scope of the committee's functions.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

EC is authorised to scrutinise SNP's handling of its publicly-funded policy development grants. Press statement last week to The National said those grants seem to have been audited properly, no obvious evidence of fraud.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Writs moved today for both Aberdeen & Broughty Ferry and Dundee South by-elections, but not Makerfield.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Burnham's team say the PCC legislation, Police Reform & Social Responsibility Act 2011, s67 would disqualify him as mayor if he wins by-election. I'm looking for the SI that applies that section to mayor/PCCs ...so that he would be required to resign as mayor immediately.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Here is Erskine May on the rule that mayors with PCC functions are disqualified as MPs. The 2016 Act it mentions does not directly disqualify. It says Secretary of State 'shall by order' apply the bar on PCCs being MPs to mayor/PCCs.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

It's good that the Commission is doing more of this. But widespread misunderstanding of the limits of its statutory powers mean quite a lot of replies are of the type 'it's not our job to regulate this, try Ofcom' etc

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The Electoral Commission was more visibly active on X at these elections, trying to counter conspiracy theories about pencils & answering other concerns

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The Electoral Management Board for Scotland took the decision to hold the count during the day. The EMB'S direction & reasons are here www.emb.scot/news/article...

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

It could be caught by the electoral offence of bribery. The sign up form asks about voting intention. That arguably shows that use of the lottery free gift encompasses an intention to induce voters to support Reform as payback for financial support (or the lottery hope of it) for utility bills.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

From David Torrance on X - Mandelson 'struck out' as Privy Counsellor on Tuesday

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Commonwealth citizen voting rights are an anomaly. Reform's condemnation of them is all too predictable and racism-inflected. Political pushback should look at the model in Scotland & Wales: From 2020/21, all residents of any nationality with leave to remain can vote in all devolved elections.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Electoral Commission has responded to a complaint from James Cleverly about so-called 'family voting'. Unhelpfully, EC says 'family voting is an offence'. It's not a legal term. The relevant statutory offences don't use the phrase, which is politically loaded & imprecise in exploitable ways.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Important point from @matthewengland.bsky.social (on X) that Democracy Observers are using a looser definition of so-called 'family voting' than the terms used by Ballot Secrecy Act 2023. Their report could capture conduct that is not criminal, like queueing voters conversing on ballot options.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Asked 'when Gov is going to issue a new Strategy & Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission', minister answers without confirming expressly any plans to do so. May be a hint that Gov position is shifting to consider repeal of controversial power to direct EC's priorities in Elections Act 2022.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Automatic voter registration - steps towards it 'to be explored in the coming years', Gov says, 'when parliamentary time allows' for relevant legislation. Reforming the electoral registration regime to reach the missing millions (8m on one estimate) should be a higher priority.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Christmas as 'that often troublesome festival', from Margaret Oliphant's Hester (1833)

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Savoy Centre concrete sign surviving demolition of Sauchiehall St M&S next door

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Minister confirming that voter ID law will be reformed to permit use of bank cards issued by UK-regulated banks.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Same question put to MHCLG elections minister about equal access to fundraising for candidates on universal credit

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Q: Are people on universal credit entitled to raise funds to stand for election? A: it's treated as capital for UC purposes & may affect eligibility if total exceeds £6K

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Digital ID policy includes plans to include it in list of accepted forms of voter ID.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Q: Will Gov consider removing the Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission? [To restore its independence, as urged by Labour in opposition] A: The Tory authored version will indeed be removed & then replaced with one matching this Gov's priorities for the Commission.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

He was confronted with this last week, during HoL debate on absent voting Bill, a couple of days before he was shuffled out of ministerial post.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Electoral Commission continues to object to the SPS regime as a risk to its independence. Letter from EC Chair to Speaker, Feb 2025 www.electoralcommission.org.uk/letter-mr-sp...

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Confirmation Govt plans to keep & use the power to set a Strategy & Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission, despite vocally opposing this reform during passage of Elections Act 2022

Text of tweet by Lord Rennard on Government's plan to impose a Strategy & Policy Statement on Electoral Commission

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Bradshaw v UK - ECtHR finds no violation of A3P1 right to free elections: steps UK Gov took to minimise risks of Russian interference were adequate. hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion…

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Here's Chair of Electoral Commission warning about the state of disrepair of the body of election law. Commission and Association of Electoral Administrators have urged often that consolidation be prioritised. Model plans made in joint Law Commissions report (2020) haven't been progressed.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

There's a Westminster Hall debate on this petition this afternoon. Maybe it will feed into Gov's policy choices for its upcoming strategy on electoral law reform. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

Screenshot of a webpage for a Parliamentary e-petition entitled 'Tighten the rules on political donations'

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Gov has no plans to change citizenship rules for voting in UK Parl, NI Assembly, local elections in Eng & NI, or PCC elections. No intention to follow the model of a residence-based franchise already implemented in Scotland & Wales for devolved elections.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

It would be interesting to see this SNP legal advice that is reported as having persuaded the party not to implement similar affirmative measures for selecting female MSP candidates for 2026.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Devolution & election law: UK Gov plans to drop voting age to 16 will cover NI Assembly & local elections. That will standardise voting age at 16 for all reserved & devolved elections across 4 nations. Gov won't seek legislative consent motion, elections being an excepted matter under NI Act 1998

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Written Parliamentary question on countering AI risks to UK elections

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Gov is considering digital IDs as part of its review of voter ID law & policy questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Gov 'does not hold data' on how many people have been subject to disqualification orders under new Elections Act 2022 rules barring those convicted of offences involving intimidation of candidates, campaigners or MPs from standing for election for 5 years.

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Electoral Commission is in dialogue with Government about practical implementation of lowering the voting age for Parliamentary elections to 16. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Government will publish plans for electoral law reform before the summer recess. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

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Heather Green @votingrules.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

ECtHR refuses interim measures to suspend effect of Romanian Constitutional Court decision annulling 1st round of presidential election. Request outside scope of interim measures: no imminent risk of irreparable harm to electoral rights.

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