Originally Posted by One Londoner

The returning officer must be and must be seen to be above such things. All candidates must be treated equally. Any who break the rules must be dealt with exactly the same regardless of how mighty they may be within the party structure.

Of course, any returning officer who acts according to this ethos will not last long in UKIP (eg Craig Mackinlay [2004 NEC election] and myself [2003 MEP list election]). :cry: