HL Deb 16 July 2001 vol 626 c107WA
Lord Greaves

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will seek to ensure, following errors in some of the recent elections in Manchester, Guildford, Luton, Stockport, Northampton and Hendon, that returning officers place the correct party logos on ballot papers, whether by allowing party agents to proof-read the ballot papers or by other means. [HL172]

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Responsibility for supplying to the returning officer the correct party logo for a ballot paper rests with the candidate respresenting the registered political party concerned. It is the returning officer's responsibility to ensure that ballot papers are correctly printed from the information he has received. The Government believe it would be wrong to confuse these clear responsibilities by, for example, giving election agents a role in checking ballot paper proofs.