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Do we need a GE2015 thread?

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  1. SRD
    Moderator

    Ian Murray said on twitter that he thought the Populous poll was Ashcroft.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  2. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Wilmington's Cow

    It was the fragrant Margaret Curran that you heard. Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, and apparently impervious to shame.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  3. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @SRD

    I think you are correct. Murray is energetic, his challenger listless.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  4. SRD
    Moderator

    @iwrats I like the bit in his campaign leaflet when he says that being an MP wad the first time in his life when he'd only had one job.

    He also claims to have held more surgeries than any other MP. Had no idea that such things were so competitive.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  5. Morningsider
    Member

    SNP manifesto:

    http://votesnp.com/docs/manifesto.pdf

    First one I've read with no mention of cycling.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  6. HankChief
    Member

    Apols for the twittering but had a couple of tweets with my SNP PPC for Edinburgh West that might interest. Join in if you want...

    @MichelleThomson: Great to be at launch of #SNP manifesto! #VoteSNP #GE15 http://t.co/FyhZzlzY6C

    @hank_chief: @MichelleThomson Disappointed there's no mention of #cycling.
    How committed is @theSNP to it's 10% journeys 2020 target? @DerekMackayMSP

    @MichelleThomson: @hank_chief @theSNP @DerekMackayMSP Completely committed. Largest ever investment in cycling and walking in Scotland of almost £36 million

    @hank_chief: @MichelleThomson @theSNP @DerekMackayMSP
    Tks. A good start but only c.2% of Transport budget, we still need a lot more funding. @POPScotland

    Posted 8 years ago #
  7. SRD
    Moderator

    Responses needed for study by UoE Business school on British politics and social media

    https://edinburghbusiness.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8xg9BmiaCTpFJYN

    Dear Participant,

    Thank you for taking time to visit this survey, which is part of a study headed by Dr Ben Marder at the University of Edinburgh Business School. This survey is being conducted to understand people's interactions with political parties through social media. This study is politically apathetic and is NOT funded in conjunction with any political party.

    50p will be donated on your behalf to a choice of one of three charities for each complete response.

    This survey is expected to last 12 minutes.

    By completing this survey you indicate that you understand the following:

    — It is not anticipated that you will experience any discomfort from answering the questions.

    — Any information you provide during the study will be treated with strict confidence and it will not be possible to identify individuals. The data will be collected and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998).

    — If you have any questions please contact the lead researcher, Dr Ben Marder (ben.marder@ed.ac.uk).

    — You may refuse to participate or withdraw from participation without evaluation at any time by closing the browser window.

    — This survey is for people of 18 years and above, who are eligible to vote in the forthcoming 2015 UK General Election, and who have a Facebook account.

    As researchers we cannot complete our work without your help. Thanks again for your time; it is very much appreciated.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  8. LaidBack
    Member

    'Massive snub' as tory peer is chosen for EU fisheries talks

    The Smith Commission promised to allow Scotland more involvement in talks but have sent Lord Rupert Ponsonby de Mauley instead (again). GE2015 isn't meant to be a rerun of last years debate but issues such as this raise questions.

    This story does not appear on the BBC at moment as far as I can tell. (By that I mean I haven't heard it on radio / tv).
    Although same story appeared last year. Plus ça change. Scotland 'snubbed' in EU fishing talks - 2014 version

    We know news management is alive and well!
    'Up here' we only get some of it of course. Last night the BBC news looked in on the SNP Manifesto. Robert Peston was at the new Forth Bridge that cost a fraction of London's Crossrail project. The £7.5bn potential 'black hole' was duly wheeled in. Compare and contrast with the £350bn of banknote printing which is of course 'different'.

    Meanwhile in Piers Morgan's fantasy land.... today's English Daily Mail has Nicola Sturgeon headlined as 'The Most Dangerous Woman in the World'. (I doubt the Scottish edition will be more measured). Have the FBI / MI6 been informed? Joking aside, this vilification of democratically elected politicians does worry me. They'll want her words spoken by an actress next (!)

    Huw Edwards, up a chimney, in the centre of Edinburgh!

    Posted 8 years ago #
  9. SRD
    Moderator

    "Lord Rupert Ponsonby de Mauley" are you sure this isn't a Private Eye pisstake?

    Posted 8 years ago #
  10. chdot
    Admin

  11. There are two aspects of the Nicola Sturgeon / SNP reaction down south that I find bizarre, but depressingly unsurprising.

    The first is that the SNP doing well is somehow a threat to democracy and the very fabric of our society. All of this worry and fear is bizarre, all of the 'SNP will hold Labour to ransom' and so on is just garbage. Their say will (arguably as there will be no formal coalition) be less than the Lib Dems with the Tories. And it seems to be forgetting that if they have a lot of seats then it's because people voted for them, and those people are entitled to have their voice heard in the parliament of the land, which is the system and the situation you fought tooth and nail to protect (first in the referendum on the voting system (remember that, our chance at PR?) and secondly on the Independence referendum. YOu can't then, a few years down the line, complain about people from a place you wanted to remain in the system having a stong voice almost precisely because of the system you wanted to retain. Or you can, but you're a muppet to do so.

    Then there's Nicola herself, and let's face it the blatant sexism around her. Notwithstanding the Sun's Miley Cyrus spin and cartoon with Ed as Bond with his scantily clad three Bond girls, she gets described as scary and aggressive and dangerous. Quite frankly I think part of that is simply because she's a woman who believes in something and is intelligent enough to put it across. I really wasn't a fan of Sturgeon in the past, but I think she's coming out of this with a lot of credit (and due credit) while the media resort to tired old steretyping...

    Posted 8 years ago #
  12. kaputnik
    Moderator

    The English press attacking Sturgeon and the SNP achieves very little, it's howling at the moon to an electorate in England who can't vote in a way that would alter the SNP's vote. If anything it probably has the opposite effect from the intended by hardening resolve amongst many people who will see it as tamperference from down south.

    The Scottish parish editions of the English papers are probably a little more measured than their parent publications, but not really that much more.

    What I can't understand from either the press or the politicals who are desperate for people not to vote SNP is that they don't appear to have asked themselves the following exam question; "where has all the support for the SNP come from?"

    Undoubtedly some has come from either people who never voted before, but a majority will be swinging from previous Labour and Lib Dem voters. These are people who are expressing discontent with the latter 2 parties and sympathy with the SNP. They're saying to their former party of preference " I think you've let me down, I don't think I want to vote for you any more, we don't stand for the same things, I'm not angry I'm dissapointed, I think we should see other people" etc. By taking the combative approach of "if you vote SNP you are destroying the union / irresponsible / dangerous / unleashing the dogs of war / causing the apocalypse" they are basically attacking their own previously loyal voters who may have swung back if they were given a more conciliatory approach. You aren't going to win them back with insults to their intelligence and threats to their motives.

    My Labour candidate, incumbent Sheila Gilmore, did an interview when she said "this isn't the Referendum Mark II". That would be correct, it's not; although it's still very fresh in many people's mind, she might have been better not to mention the war at all. Ruth Davidson though went full on Basil Fawlty and decided to spoil that sentiment by wandering the streets yesterday with a crowd of grinning folks waving "No Thanks" placards. I suppose that doesn't matter as all Ruth realistically has to do is keep the ~16% of Scotland which still loyally votes Conservative on side and maybe grab a few Blue-lib votes in the progress in the hope of hanging on to at least 1 seat.

    Poor Jim "Saviour of the Union" Murphy seems a bit out of kilter. He seems like the man that was hired to fight the traditional Anti-Allicsammin campaign and seems completely neutered by the fact Salmin has kept a low profile up in Gordon and in his place there's an intelligent and popular woman who he can't play the smugface-card on. From what I've seen of the campaign (through a lot of leaflets delivered with the junk mail, we're on 6 now) it's more aimed at disaster limitation; trying to hang on to people still voting Labour rather than winning back "lost" votes.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  13. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Another thought.

    Whomever though Michael Gove surrounded by a crowd of loons in Nicola Sturgeon cardboard cutout masks standing infront of a massive poster of Alicsammin was anything other than a terrible idea deserves a promotion within the Tory campaign for publicly exposing it for what it really is.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  14. crowriver
    Member

    The newspapers are preparing for a coup, and Labour is doing nothing to stop them
    ADAM RAMSAY 6 April 2015

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/adam-ramsay/newspapers-are-preparing-for-coup-and-labour-is-doing-nothing-to-stop-them

    Posted 8 years ago #
  15. wee folding bike
    Member

    I'm not sure what Labour can do. They are forked (in the chess meaning of it).

    They don't seem to have any hope of winning in Scotland.

    If they say yes now to support from the SNP then they risk losing seats in England.

    If they act like they will not accept support and then do accept it after May 7th then they can be in government. There might be longterm implications but from Ed's point of view why would be care? At least it would be one term in government rather than a leadership election in the autumn.

    Fun, isn't it?

    Posted 8 years ago #
  16. wingpig
    Member

    I personally received a personal letter from Gordon actual Brown yesterday personally with my name on, albeit slightly misaligned with the rest of the text. It escaped the daily recycling-pile harvest of electionspam by hiding inside a normal-looking envelope and using a bank-statement-like font for the address. You'd think that if they can use a computer to add an individual's name and address that they could also adjust the wording to suit the constituency, such as by using their own candidate's name too, or listing some of the things their local candidate has delivered.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  17. wee folding bike
    Member

    I suspect they're going to pull Gordon out in a few days so he can make a promise of some kind.

    After all he's a part time back bencher who isn't standing again so he's got a lot of influence.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  18. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Well we've had Major and Blair doing their bit to "help", so unless they can re-animate Thatcher, Broon is the only logical option for wheeling out another former prime minister.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  19. Of course we all know that Maggie, as one of the legion of undead, could pop back up anytime.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  20. PS
    Member

    The first is that the SNP doing well is somehow a threat to democracy and the very fabric of our society.

    I don't believe those who are stoking the flames of this really think that. Instead it is simply a strategy (or is it a tactic?) from the Conservative election team to push Johnny English to vote Conservative rather than Labour (because he wouldn't want someone with interests other than his own at heart holding sway over the government, now would he?).

    "Tactical genius" George Osborne, Lynton Crosby or whoever it is probably thinks that if a side effect is that the SNP wipe Labour out in Scotland as well, then that's all well and good (and, I would suggest, just desserts for Labour's consistent "othering" of the Conservatives in Scotland over the past few decades).

    The fact that a) it's a "wrong" thing to do and b) it's a dumb thing to do for anyone who claims to be a unionist is being overlooked in favour of the short term selfish effort to stay in power. It seems to be gaining traction down south, so we can expect plenty more of it.

    The English press attacking Sturgeon and the SNP achieves very little, it's howling at the moon to an electorate in England who can't vote in a way that would alter the SNP's vote. If anything it probably has the opposite effect from the intended by hardening resolve amongst many people who will see it as tamperference from down south.

    See above - influence over the SNP's vote is not the English press's chief concern here. The purpose is to convince English voters to vote Conservative. If it also means that there are no Labour MPs returned from Scotland then that's jolly funny too [press baron laughs up sleeve].

    Posted 8 years ago #
  21. SRD
    Moderator

  22. chdot
    Admin

    "

    Gordon Brown has accused David Cameron of stirring up English nationalism to try to win the election.

    And the former PM said the SNP was misleading people over its offer to back a Labour-led administration.

    Mr Brown told a gathering in Fife: "The only way they can win is to build resentment in Scotland of the English and resentment in England of Scots."

    "

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32424738

    Posted 8 years ago #
  23. chdot
    Admin

    "

    James Cook (@BBCJamesCook)
    22/04/2015 18:25
    From Holyrood to Hollywood. I'm starting a new job as Los Angeles Correspondent for BBC News later this summer. Exciting!

    "

    Posted 8 years ago #
  24. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Just been to a Question Time style event at Napier on energy supply.

    Last minute stand-in Alison Johnston of the Greens spanked the boys' backsides for them. The very clued-up audience frightened me and I know a little bit about the subject.

    Whoever we elect in May, God help us if they don't put their minds to electricity, and quickly.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  25. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Toryparty shock and horror at video of Alecsammin quipping that he'll be writing the next Labour government budget. It's cunningly cut and faded out, just as 'Sammin reaches into his top pocket and says "I'll just check my top pocket", of course referring to the Toryparty poster of 'Sammin with a tiny Millibot in his top pocket.

    This is of course concrete evidence of the looming spectre of 'Sammin as the next chancellor.

    We must of course bear in mind that it is only a Tory coalition (with the Libdems) that has the bigger party very much in the driving seat. Any Labour coalition with an equalish sized SNP bloc would of course have Alecsammin calling the shots and Ed and Ed reduced to tea and biscuit duty.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  26. LaidBack
    Member

    Even Gordzilla couldn't save Tesco in Kirkcaldy.
    I hear they have a £6bn 'black hole' - nothing to worry about of course. Their share price went up today on this news apparently...

    Posted 8 years ago #
  27. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @LaidBack

    £6bn is as naught to the tear in the universe's very fiscal fabric that will open up if we send the wrong people to sit on the green leather sofas.

    Anybody see the clip of Digby Jones calling for a change to the electoral system? I like him - once randomly wound up drinking and cycling with him and he was charming and funny - but if he's calling for PR it's pretty much like Scotty proposing to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow to save the Enterprise.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  28. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    I like to keep a close eye on our political hagiography. Remember Jim Murphy and his low-viewpoint shots with imperial purple background? Well Ms Sturgeon now qualifies for the low viewpoint in the Telegraph;

    http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03256/sturgeon_1_3256436b.jpg

    Background needs work though - that's not how you spell 'psychotic splittist harlot'.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  29. Stickman
    Member

    It's all getting exceedingly strange.

    Last night's highlight for me was Evan Davis trolling Nigel Farage by asking his views on Paddington (the bear, not the train station).

    Posted 8 years ago #
  30. chdot
    Admin

    He was actually asking about Paddington Bear - the movie, which was even odder.

    ED clearly liked it, NF hadn't seen it.

    Odd indeed.

    Later in the program was a discussion that included 4 people with different views of some aspects of immigration. All, in different ways, actually refused to believe what some of the others were saying about personal experiences - not just their 'opinions'.

    Enlightening in a not very helpful way!

    Posted 8 years ago #

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