The Scottish Politics thread

Power, it’s all about power, forgetting that its should be about responsibility.

Scotland looks to have been fucked over, like the rest of us, but the government there have managed even worse. No wonder they voted themselves back in.

Can only get worse.

I disagree with almost all of that.

Might be about power, ok. But I don't feel fucked over, I don't feel we have done worse than the uk as a whole and certainly not the respective governments. (Yeah yeah I know, because it is all paid for personally by three or four posters on here).

There is a bit of a shitstorm just now. They will suffer for it. It is more personality collapse than anything else, and a build-up of issues that needs resolved. If they opposition was any better, they would really suffer.



Sometimes it feels like people on here don't realise that the SNP haven't lost an election in Scotland since 2003. And even then, they had more members in parliament than either of the two opposition parties have now. They've won the last 4 Holyrood elections, the last 3 Westminster ones (amongst Scottish parties), and every election at every level since 2010. They are not some brexit-sprung flash in the pan that hasn't worked out as a brief trial of alternative politics. They are a mainstream party that has been in power for a long time. And for the most of that time, they have performed better than any other UK-wide party, which is why they keep getting re-elected.

Might be time for a change, that's possibly fair. But the other two have shit all to offer that's any better, which is why they are that far behind.
 
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Guess that settles that then.

Think the opposition parties could well have shot themselves in the foot, there’s no denying Yousaf had been on the back foot for a little while. This gives the SNP a chance to reset and steady the ship a bit going into an election. I think Swinney and Forbes if she returns to a prominent position have the profiles to make it more difficult for Labour in particular.
That’s the impression I get regardless of my own views.
 
Think the opposition parties could well have shot themselves in the foot, there’s no denying Yousaf had been on the back foot for a little while. This gives the SNP a chance to reset and steady the ship a bit going into an election. I think Swinney and Forbes if she returns to a prominent position have the profiles to make it more difficult for Labour in particular.
That’s the impression I get regardless of my own views.

I don't think labour ever had a chance. And they famn well knew it. It was all hollow bravado for headlines, to help their cause in England. Sarwar's regular namedropping of Stramer though all this and his proclamations that the whole UK is ready to embrace labour in both parliaments were hardly subtle.

An election would have changed nothing, and would have revealed that their reported lauded strength isn't maybe all it is shouted to be up here, and with that questions would come elsewhere too.

Imo, there are only two ways there is a meaningful change in parliament, and by that I mean the snp replaced as the governing party.
- Another pro-independence party emerges as a credible contender, that the 45-ish% can suport instead of the snp, but still maintain a pro-independence majority.
- Labour or Lib-dems adopt a more 'scotland focused' stance, shed the grovelling to head office (a bit like the Greens), and open up to at the very least being neutral to independence and giving their members individual positions on it. Which would then see them go up on strength of policy and ability rather than the fact they a slightly more palatable non-tory unionist party.

Otherwise, there will always be enough core support for the snp based on independence alone, before any additional greys and layers come into it, to keep them the significantly biggest party.

Neither are likely to happen, and the public are unlikely to turn their back on independence, so this will be us for the forseeable.

Or, until independence actually happens, and then all bets are off for all parties up here, and some serious redefining will have to happen for pretty much all.
 
Think the opposition parties could well have shot themselves in the foot, there’s no denying Yousaf had been on the back foot for a little while. This gives the SNP a chance to reset and steady the ship a bit going into an election. I think Swinney and Forbes if she returns to a prominent position have the profiles to make it more difficult for Labour in particular.
That’s the impression I get regardless of my own views.

The other ironic possible outcome of an election, could funnily enough have been that those votes the SNP would have lost to Labour, could actually have seen them win an outright majority!

Sounds absurd (for peoplethat don't understand the mechanics of our voting system), but that could well have been a real possibility.
 
Swinney it is then.

'He said he would attempt to bridge divides and seek “common ground” with opposition parties.

“I will always seek, with respect and courtesy, to persuade people of the case for independence.

"All I ask of those that oppose that vision, is that they also act with the same courtesy and respect.

“That means independence is not a reason for them to refuse to work with us to build the economy, support jobs and improve the health service.”

Sounds like he will put it on the back burner for now and focus on the immediate issues, which is good to hear.

 

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