Electoral Commission gets nomination paperwork wrong – UPDATED

Via Andrew Kennedy’s Voting and Boating blog comes this warning from a Returning Officer:

Oops.

UPDATE: Or rather, not quite oops. Because here is the official response from the Electoral Commission, disputing the key point:

There is no requirement in law for the consent to include a date alongside the witness signature. The form is prescribed in law and the form provided in the election rules does not include an option for the witness to date their signature. However, the prescribed form, just like the form we have produced, clearly asks the witness to state that the candidate has signed the form in their presence. This is accomplished by the witness signing the form. The signature and details of the witness are sufficient for the consent to meet the legal requirements.