Lawmakers as lawbreakers
4 April 2011
Three of the major political parties are ignoring the law about erecting election posters on trunk roads in Scotland.
In spite of the well-known, long-standing policy from Transport Scotland that no election signage is allowed on trunk roads in Scotland, the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democratic Parties have already broken this policy in the current election campaign.
Scotland Transerv inspectors have already identified illegal signage within the Trunk Road network, and they have contacted the parties involved to request them to remove election signage from the trunk road in Wick, where a by-election is being held on Thursday, 7th May 2011.
It is not uncommon for the major parties to breach these regulations. In April 2010 the Liberal Democrats had to take down illegally placed posters on the trunk road through Newtonmore, the electoral area of Danny Alexander, M.P., the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
It seems that in Transerv’s experience, the SNP are more law-abiding than the other major parties.
This public display of lack of conscience only adds to the public’s disgust and distrust of politicians who make and then break their own laws, as well as being to the disadvantage of other Parties and the electoral process.
Some councils have had long-standing bans in place, and others have implemented a ban on using council property only recently. Political parties seem to have themselves to blame as they do not follow regulations, and some of them are too slow to take down their posters after an election. It is another manifestation of the need of Christian goodwill in our society.