Just like a semi decent striker faced with an open goal, Nick Clegg coolly slammed the ball into the back of the net last night. He probably couldn’t believe his luck when talk of the debates was first suggested. He would take centre stage on an equal footing with the two main parties in British politics.
And having been given the chance, he did not pass it up. The Lib Dems no doubt agonised for days over which tactics they should employ, but Clegg pulled them off masterfully. Having said that, Brown and Cameron didn’t do all that badly, it’s just that Clegg did better.
He looked relaxed, down to earth with his hands in his pockets, but probably most importantly – believable. And that seems to be resonating in the latest polls with the Lib Dems gaining significant ground on Labour. In fact, Political Betting is suggesting that they might have overtaken them tonight.
Of course, if someone is winning, then someone inevitably has to be losing out. And the fear for the parties that were not involved in last night’s debate is that it might be them. But after saying that the SNP was irrelevant, Clegg might have actually given the SNP a boost. People, I don’t imagine, will like to hear someone calling their governing party irrelevant.
But does Scotland matter to anybody anymore? Just about half the questions last night started with, “This question is about issues that are devolved in Scotland,” which essentially meant it is irrelevant to Scotland.
If the Tories get into Downing Street which thankfully is looking less and less likely, there will be even less people around who care about Scotland.
So use your vote wisely on May 6th!
Friday, 16 April 2010
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Money, Money, Money
After three days of campaigning, there is little doubt what this election is going to be fought on.
How to tackle the deficit.
The Tories will cut services.
Labour will increase taxes.
The Lib Dems will do something in between.
That is the long and short of it, so please do not let the parties bang on about the same thing for the next 27 days. We want the public engaged, not sick of hearing the same things over and over again.
How to tackle the deficit.
The Tories will cut services.
Labour will increase taxes.
The Lib Dems will do something in between.
That is the long and short of it, so please do not let the parties bang on about the same thing for the next 27 days. We want the public engaged, not sick of hearing the same things over and over again.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Democracy Day
In a desperate attempt to appeal to the Lib Dems, Gordon Brown has set out plans for a “Democracy Day.”
This will see Britain having a say on which voting system they would want future Westminster elections to use. It would also see the possibility of an elected House of Lords.
But still there is no referendum on Scottish independence.
Why I hear you ask! Because apparently it isn’t the right time, according to Labour, because of the economic downturn.
There are two striking points that come from this.
Firstly, if Labour is to be believed, we are on our way out of the economic downturn.
Secondly, if they are not to be believed and in actual fact we are still in the middle of an economic downturn, how is it possible to hold referenda on a host of other important constitutional things and not Scottish independence?
I would ask Gordon Brown, but judging by today’s performance, he doesn’t take too kindly to members of the public asking him anything!
This will see Britain having a say on which voting system they would want future Westminster elections to use. It would also see the possibility of an elected House of Lords.
But still there is no referendum on Scottish independence.
Why I hear you ask! Because apparently it isn’t the right time, according to Labour, because of the economic downturn.
There are two striking points that come from this.
Firstly, if Labour is to be believed, we are on our way out of the economic downturn.
Secondly, if they are not to be believed and in actual fact we are still in the middle of an economic downturn, how is it possible to hold referenda on a host of other important constitutional things and not Scottish independence?
I would ask Gordon Brown, but judging by today’s performance, he doesn’t take too kindly to members of the public asking him anything!
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
And they're off! (again!!)
So the election campaign has officially started. Although we all know that it has been unofficially being going on for the best part of three years. Ever since Brown stalled over the decision to go to the polls way back in 2007.
And what three years it has been! Despite announcing over 100 times (according to BBC Radio 5) that he has conquered over boom and bust, Gordon Brown was at the helm when we delved into the worst recession for almost 100 years.
At least we did enjoy a bit of cross party consensus in that three years. Just a shame it was a consensus on how to manipulate the MP expenses system to the detriment of the taxpayer, many of whom were in the process of being made redundant at the time.
So exactly who are we to trust with our vote in the forthcoming election? Well, we will get a glimpse in the upcoming “Leadership Debates”. Although not all the leaders are taking place and many of the issues they will be discussing are devolved in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament.
We could look at the latest ratings, which have Brown on –28, Cameron on +17 and unbelievably Clegg on +31.
Indeed this election could potentially be the beginning of something really big for the Lib Dems, despite my previous blog! Clegg’s popularity seems to keep growing and growing and that is even before he has taken to the stage in equal billing with Brown and Cameron. Vince Cable, their treasury spokesman, was one of the few people who came out of this recession with increased credibility. And they could be on the verge of holding the key to power in this general election should the Tories or Labour fall short of an overall majority. Although I think they will still do well to secure 16 MPs in Scotland.
Similarly, Alex Salmond is hoping his SNP MPs are the ones holding the key to power. However, getting to his target of 20 SNP MPs would be nothing short of a minor miracle.
The next 4 weeks are certainly going to be interesting and you can discuss it all at Our Scotland.
And what three years it has been! Despite announcing over 100 times (according to BBC Radio 5) that he has conquered over boom and bust, Gordon Brown was at the helm when we delved into the worst recession for almost 100 years.
At least we did enjoy a bit of cross party consensus in that three years. Just a shame it was a consensus on how to manipulate the MP expenses system to the detriment of the taxpayer, many of whom were in the process of being made redundant at the time.
So exactly who are we to trust with our vote in the forthcoming election? Well, we will get a glimpse in the upcoming “Leadership Debates”. Although not all the leaders are taking place and many of the issues they will be discussing are devolved in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament.
We could look at the latest ratings, which have Brown on –28, Cameron on +17 and unbelievably Clegg on +31.
Indeed this election could potentially be the beginning of something really big for the Lib Dems, despite my previous blog! Clegg’s popularity seems to keep growing and growing and that is even before he has taken to the stage in equal billing with Brown and Cameron. Vince Cable, their treasury spokesman, was one of the few people who came out of this recession with increased credibility. And they could be on the verge of holding the key to power in this general election should the Tories or Labour fall short of an overall majority. Although I think they will still do well to secure 16 MPs in Scotland.
Similarly, Alex Salmond is hoping his SNP MPs are the ones holding the key to power. However, getting to his target of 20 SNP MPs would be nothing short of a minor miracle.
The next 4 weeks are certainly going to be interesting and you can discuss it all at Our Scotland.
Friday, 5 March 2010
Lib Dems Dreaming
I think Tavish Scott, leader of the Scottish Democrats, is going to be a wee bit disappointed come election night. Despite opinion polls saying that the Lib Dems might be onto a bit of a hiding, Scott is claiming that they will win a quarter of the Scottish seats at Westminster.
He must be drinking the same tonic as Alex Salmond, who recently set the SNP an unlikely target of 20 MPs.
But looking closer at Tavish’s claim, he says they will retain all of their current seats whilst gaining Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh South, South Aberdeen and North Glasgow.
There are some seats they currently hold that are dead certs. In that category you would include Charles Kennedy in Ross, Skye and Lochaber, Alistair Carmichael in Orkney and Shetland, Menzies Campbell in Fife North East, Malcolm Bruce in Gordon and John Thurso in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
Then there are others that they will probably hold like Michael Moore in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Alan Reid in Argyll and Bute and Robert Smith in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.
But then we come onto some interesting seats. In Edinburgh West, John Barrett holds a massive lead over the Tories of 30%. However, Barrett is stepping down at the election, being replaced by Michael Crockart. I would still expect the Lib Dems to easily hold this.
Then it is on to Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. I think the name of the constituency may have been shorter if they had simply named everyone living in the constituency! Danny Alexander wrestled this seat from Labour in 2005 with a quite sizeable majority. But will he be able to hold onto it?
Similarly, Jo Swinson came from nowhere to take East Dunbartonshire from the Labour Party in 2005. Will she be able to convince people to give her another term in Westmnister?
Finally we have Dunfermline and West Fife. The Lib Dems were trounced by Labour here in the previous elections. However following the death of Rachael Squire, the Lib Dems overturned a 27% deficit to take the seat with a slender majority in the by-election. This seat will therefore be under severe pressure come election time.
Onto the seats he thinks he might win:
Edinburgh North and Leith – Labour currently hold a small 5% lead over the Lib Dems. However in the previous elections, Labour had a majority of 25%. The question therefore is, did the Lib Dems vote peak in this seat in 2005?
Edinburgh South – There is less than a 1% difference between Labour and the Lib Dems in this one, so this is probably their best chance in Scotland of gaining a seat.
Aberdeen South – Given the Lib Dems are involved in running the council and all the associated aggro that goes with this, do they really expect to trump Labour? The lead may only be 3%, but it might as well be 100%.
Finally in North Glasgow – Labour won 60% of the vote here in 2001. Need I say anymore?
The reality is, people in Scotland are going to look at the situation and see the prospect of a Tory government at Westminster. Poll tax and other horrific memories of the previous Tory administration come flooding back and therefore the Scottish people will vote tactically to ensure as few Tory MPs get elected in Scotland as possible. This may mean some people voting for a Labour candidate to ensure they give the Tories a good run for their money (or Lord Ashcroft’s money!). As a consequence, other parties share of the vote is going to be squeezed and talk of Lib Dems winning 16 seats or the SNP winning 20 is talk that should be reserved for fantasy land.
He must be drinking the same tonic as Alex Salmond, who recently set the SNP an unlikely target of 20 MPs.
But looking closer at Tavish’s claim, he says they will retain all of their current seats whilst gaining Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh South, South Aberdeen and North Glasgow.
There are some seats they currently hold that are dead certs. In that category you would include Charles Kennedy in Ross, Skye and Lochaber, Alistair Carmichael in Orkney and Shetland, Menzies Campbell in Fife North East, Malcolm Bruce in Gordon and John Thurso in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
Then there are others that they will probably hold like Michael Moore in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Alan Reid in Argyll and Bute and Robert Smith in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.
But then we come onto some interesting seats. In Edinburgh West, John Barrett holds a massive lead over the Tories of 30%. However, Barrett is stepping down at the election, being replaced by Michael Crockart. I would still expect the Lib Dems to easily hold this.
Then it is on to Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. I think the name of the constituency may have been shorter if they had simply named everyone living in the constituency! Danny Alexander wrestled this seat from Labour in 2005 with a quite sizeable majority. But will he be able to hold onto it?
Similarly, Jo Swinson came from nowhere to take East Dunbartonshire from the Labour Party in 2005. Will she be able to convince people to give her another term in Westmnister?
Finally we have Dunfermline and West Fife. The Lib Dems were trounced by Labour here in the previous elections. However following the death of Rachael Squire, the Lib Dems overturned a 27% deficit to take the seat with a slender majority in the by-election. This seat will therefore be under severe pressure come election time.
Onto the seats he thinks he might win:
Edinburgh North and Leith – Labour currently hold a small 5% lead over the Lib Dems. However in the previous elections, Labour had a majority of 25%. The question therefore is, did the Lib Dems vote peak in this seat in 2005?
Edinburgh South – There is less than a 1% difference between Labour and the Lib Dems in this one, so this is probably their best chance in Scotland of gaining a seat.
Aberdeen South – Given the Lib Dems are involved in running the council and all the associated aggro that goes with this, do they really expect to trump Labour? The lead may only be 3%, but it might as well be 100%.
Finally in North Glasgow – Labour won 60% of the vote here in 2001. Need I say anymore?
The reality is, people in Scotland are going to look at the situation and see the prospect of a Tory government at Westminster. Poll tax and other horrific memories of the previous Tory administration come flooding back and therefore the Scottish people will vote tactically to ensure as few Tory MPs get elected in Scotland as possible. This may mean some people voting for a Labour candidate to ensure they give the Tories a good run for their money (or Lord Ashcroft’s money!). As a consequence, other parties share of the vote is going to be squeezed and talk of Lib Dems winning 16 seats or the SNP winning 20 is talk that should be reserved for fantasy land.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Hot Air
I was seeking opinion in the office this week about what people thought of the Nicola Sturgeon debacle. The overwhelming majority of people, regardless of political opinion, thought that she was a competent politician who could be trusted and in no way should she resign
This reinforced my thought that this whole thing has been blown out of all proportion. Of course opposition parties are going to try to gain political capital wherever they can, but come on.
This country is barely limping out of the worst economic crisis it has encountered in the last eighty years and there may be another crisis just around the corner. We face a tough choice between two different approaches to get the economy back on track. We have a government who seems to be delaying taking forward an independence referendum until they have 129 SNP MSPs.
In short, we have serious issues that are worthy of time and debate.
However, we find ourselves again embroiled in an utterly futile spat. Yet again, I find all this cross party fighting just to score cheap points off one another thoroughly demoralising. It is why people turn off from politics.
How is this going to benefit me? How is this going to get me back in work? If I am in work, how is this going to reduce the amount of tax I have to pay? How is this going to cut my energy bills? How is this going to put food on the table, so I can feed my kids?
Nicola Sturgeon may not have showed the greatest judgement when it came to defending a convicted criminal, but when it really mattered to most of us, she showed impeccable judgement. Her handling of the Swine Flu outbreak helped to keep a calm lid on things, when the media and others were doing their best to whip up a frenzy.
So how about this for an idea? Why don’t MSPs concentrate on making Scotland a better place? And here is the big idea! Why don’t they work together to make this happen? After all, that is what we elect them for.
Why don’t they look at introducing measures to increase the life expectancy of Scottish people, which is currently the lowest in Europe? Why don’t they collectively look at reducing Scottish dependency on alcohol? Why don’t they try and deal with the 600,000 people currently on disability benefits? Why don’t they discuss ways to boost the Scottish economy? Why…….?
That would be a much better way to spend their collective time, rather than discussing whether an MSP should write a letter in support of one of their constituents.
This reinforced my thought that this whole thing has been blown out of all proportion. Of course opposition parties are going to try to gain political capital wherever they can, but come on.
This country is barely limping out of the worst economic crisis it has encountered in the last eighty years and there may be another crisis just around the corner. We face a tough choice between two different approaches to get the economy back on track. We have a government who seems to be delaying taking forward an independence referendum until they have 129 SNP MSPs.
In short, we have serious issues that are worthy of time and debate.
However, we find ourselves again embroiled in an utterly futile spat. Yet again, I find all this cross party fighting just to score cheap points off one another thoroughly demoralising. It is why people turn off from politics.
How is this going to benefit me? How is this going to get me back in work? If I am in work, how is this going to reduce the amount of tax I have to pay? How is this going to cut my energy bills? How is this going to put food on the table, so I can feed my kids?
Nicola Sturgeon may not have showed the greatest judgement when it came to defending a convicted criminal, but when it really mattered to most of us, she showed impeccable judgement. Her handling of the Swine Flu outbreak helped to keep a calm lid on things, when the media and others were doing their best to whip up a frenzy.
So how about this for an idea? Why don’t MSPs concentrate on making Scotland a better place? And here is the big idea! Why don’t they work together to make this happen? After all, that is what we elect them for.
Why don’t they look at introducing measures to increase the life expectancy of Scottish people, which is currently the lowest in Europe? Why don’t they collectively look at reducing Scottish dependency on alcohol? Why don’t they try and deal with the 600,000 people currently on disability benefits? Why don’t they discuss ways to boost the Scottish economy? Why…….?
That would be a much better way to spend their collective time, rather than discussing whether an MSP should write a letter in support of one of their constituents.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Edging Closer
The closer we get to the election, the more exciting things are getting!
The situation is changing on a daily basis. One day, the Labour Party come away from the Chilcot enquiry feeling like victors, then the next, three Labour MPs are being prosecuted for alleged dodgy expenses.
Meanwhile the Tories are riding a crest of a wave. Yes, they are the saviours of the economy. They have the tough measures necessary to sort everything out. Wait a minute, the polls don’t like that you say? Retreat!
Over at Lib Dem HQ, they have issued everyone in their party with Vince Cable masks. His is the only Lib Dem face to be seen on TV, which is good news for them as he is the about the only one that is listened to.
The SNP are too busy lunching to have any time for TV.
A couple of developments in Scottish seats, could provide a little added interest. Nigel Griffiths has had enough of the House of Commons and all it has to offer, in favour of a “once in a lifetime job offer.” The wafer thin majority he enjoyed over the Lib Dems in Edinburgh South could well be put to the test.
Of course, Jim Devine had already shelved any ideas he had of defending his Livingston seat. Now the Crown Prosecution Service has put the final nail in by charging Devine and three others with falsely claiming parliamentary expense. However, Labour had a 30% lead in Livingston, so it would be a huge ask for anyone to pull that back.
Finally Cathy Jamieson has secured the Labour nomination for Kilmarnock and Louden. Margaret Curran is fighting Glasgow East again and there is talk of Wendy Alexander possibly standing in West Dunbartonshire. A mass exodus of high profile figures from the Scottish Parliament.
Is that a reflection of Iain Gray’s leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland?
The situation is changing on a daily basis. One day, the Labour Party come away from the Chilcot enquiry feeling like victors, then the next, three Labour MPs are being prosecuted for alleged dodgy expenses.
Meanwhile the Tories are riding a crest of a wave. Yes, they are the saviours of the economy. They have the tough measures necessary to sort everything out. Wait a minute, the polls don’t like that you say? Retreat!
Over at Lib Dem HQ, they have issued everyone in their party with Vince Cable masks. His is the only Lib Dem face to be seen on TV, which is good news for them as he is the about the only one that is listened to.
The SNP are too busy lunching to have any time for TV.
A couple of developments in Scottish seats, could provide a little added interest. Nigel Griffiths has had enough of the House of Commons and all it has to offer, in favour of a “once in a lifetime job offer.” The wafer thin majority he enjoyed over the Lib Dems in Edinburgh South could well be put to the test.
Of course, Jim Devine had already shelved any ideas he had of defending his Livingston seat. Now the Crown Prosecution Service has put the final nail in by charging Devine and three others with falsely claiming parliamentary expense. However, Labour had a 30% lead in Livingston, so it would be a huge ask for anyone to pull that back.
Finally Cathy Jamieson has secured the Labour nomination for Kilmarnock and Louden. Margaret Curran is fighting Glasgow East again and there is talk of Wendy Alexander possibly standing in West Dunbartonshire. A mass exodus of high profile figures from the Scottish Parliament.
Is that a reflection of Iain Gray’s leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland?
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