If I was Mr Leonard I'd not be too bothered about folk don't even dare go on the record for their briefings. He'll know fine who they are and he'll resign in due course the day after the election. Unless he's the only one left, which he might be at this rate.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
We need a Scottish Parliament election thread
(1355 posts)-
Posted 4 years ago #
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Maybe once Scottish Labour evaporates the SNP will split into left and right? Though the whipping in the SNP has been strong over this past period.
I can never tell which of them are left of centre and which are right. Except Mike Russell, he is right. Fat Alex had a faction that was allegedly leftish? But not in anything they did or said?
Posted 4 years ago # -
"allegedly leftish? But not in anything they did or said?"
Blairite light. Third way, Scotch recipe. Neoliberal with a dash of social conscience (e.g. not keen on waging wars) and "Wha's like us?" self-congratulatory Scottishness.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Not sure if Leonard is going to be happy with Sir Kerr's forthcoming statement on (another) Devo max idea. Richard Leonard has told SK to keep out of politics here as interventions at this stage only remind people that were lied to by 'the Vow'. (Author of that now pro Indy of course).
Something is going wrong in Scotland if you are a traditionalist and don't mind being told endlessly about how poorly business, health and education are being handled by ScotGov. Someone is to blame of course - but after 300 years of union I think we can't dump everything on Holyrood.
The new UK Government in Scotland HQ (admin in waiting?) have an often compliant media yet polling is still in majority for self governance.
Political failure by BJ and Sir Kerr means we need to do it ourselves as Scotland is not a priority as we failed to vote for Brexit and have many policies inconsistent with direction of travel in England. (Bike lanes excepted)
Number one is to get agreement on an EU deal as peoples of Europe have suffered jointly from CV-19. Real leadership is to show solidarity in crises. (ScotGov are blanked by UKGov in case you say start on the island.) Scotland is in very weak position as could be cut off from markets for produce with farmers and fisheries having to sell solely in GB. Big southern HQd supermarkets won't mind that at all of course. West coast producers may think about moving and landing catches in N Ireland as it's a unique EUUK country.Posted 4 years ago # -
It's odd but there seems to me not to be a left-right split in the SNP so much. Even what appeared at the outset to be socialist firebrands like Mhairi Black have dutifully toed the centre-right line. Her and Keith Brown and Michael Russel seem not to disagree hugely.
There are very deep divisions in the party, the main one being the fourth-wave feminist devolutionist faction versus the pro-independence faction. This split will spill out like the guts from a fish when the Sturgeon-Murrell-Lloyd-Evans inquiry concludes.
Posted 4 years ago # -
There was a Scottish Socialist Society which always a bit of a spin off from the 79 Group of leftist SNP folk. You did not need to be in the SNP to join. Apparently Susan Deacon and Sarah Boyack were both members. (Wiki says)
Posted 4 years ago # -
Also a new movement has been founded last week called Yes Alba (temporarily). Idea being to allow the independence movement to have a non party political membership organisation. Has been tried before - SIC and so on - but foundered for reasons. Obviously the SNP leadership not keen.
One of the ten committee members is known to me and a very good egg.
Posted 4 years ago # -
The notion that you don't *really* want independence unless you think the likes of AUOB - currently being arseholes to Gaelic Twitter - and the "minority rights are a niche middle class issue" gang are the noble uniters of the "movement" does not inspire me to get involved. There's clearly no place for me under that banner.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Must be bad if the guardian have spotted it.
Having met JC many times, her left wing ness is not obvious. Nor would I have suspected she was big mates with Fat Alex?
Posted 4 years ago # -
JC is an Edinburgh QC like many others? She is unlikely to be friends with Eck but certainly after the same thing.
Posted 4 years ago # -
The same thing?
jC for Queen?
Posted 4 years ago # -
Dancing Queen.
Posted 4 years ago # -
I have had JC on an electric bike. She is E curious
Posted 4 years ago # -
All this talk of Alex Salmond returning to the SNP is causing some concern among a number of previously firm No but now indy-curious folks in my middle class Edinburgh bubble. They really don't like Eck's manner and him re-rising to prominence would put a good number of them back into the No box. Maybe the groundswell elsewhere is enough for that not to matter, but for everyone's sake and to make it a success I'd have thought you'd want as many people from as many social groups on board as possible.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@gembo, I knew JC before she was an MP, and indeed before she was a QC. I'd say left of centre, but strongly pro women's rights.
It's remarkable how some in the SNP seem to be alarmed at a bit of democracy within the party. Obviously not the kind of democracy they wanted...
Posted 4 years ago # -
Eck isn't a member of a political party at the moment, let alone a candidate or representative.
Lots of people object strongly to the current first minister. It's funny (to me) how people personalise these issues.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@crowriver this happened to me when I tried to challenge the hegemony of a family called W who sat on the board of Scotmid.
Hilariously the ballot paper came with a proviso that the usual alphabetical orde r on the ballot paper was superseded by names out of a hat the order (for the three places on the board) was
1. W
2. W
3. W
4. GemboWhat are the odds of that.
Eck belly had intel that the majority could be gained if he allowed Nicky to succeed him as women would vote for her. But would not vote for him.
He declined to accept this polling info.
I think if he had become King of Scotland we would have ended up being no worse off than we are now. But who knew that then?
I like Nicky’s sensible handling of Covid I would have thought she was also pro women?
Eck left before and became a racing correspondent. He has some deep flaws
Posted 4 years ago # -
@gembo, I'm sure NS is pro women's rights also. The differences in the SNP and various other parties seem to centre around existing sex based rights versus proposed gender based rights. Gender being something that one can self-identify as, sex being something determined by one's chromosomes at conception.
I'll not get into this further, as the issues surrounding this difference of viewpoint are notorious on the internet for all kinds of insults, acronyms and calling out type behaviours.
Posted 4 years ago # -
The chief exec of the SNP is about to give evidence to Holyrood's Sturgeon-Murrell-Lloyd-Evans inquiry.
Should be tasty.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Had a brief conversation with Mr Cole Hamilton this evening in my drive way, he was handing out an independence questionnaire under the guise of a covid questionnaire.
He asked what my priorities were for local government and I said local cycling facilities. He then asks my position on independence to which I replied with large ambivalence.
Posted 4 years ago # -
"MSPs bid to recall SNP chief Peter Murrell to Salmond inquiry"
His claims that he just makes the dinner, may not have washed...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-55247449
Posted 4 years ago # -
The BBC is incorrigible. It's a Sturgeon-Murrell-Lloyd-Evans inquiry, not a 'Salmond' inquiry.
Posted 4 years ago # -
"Scotland has far more drug deaths per Capita than any European Country"
Posted 4 years ago # -
Well it will be interesting to see what parties put in their manifestos (they all have something to say in that piece).
Posted 4 years ago # -
Nothing in the 2016 SNP manifesto, only:
"We will continue to support the range of police services,
including community policing, specialist support,
training, forensics services, ICT and criminal records,
serious and organised crime, drug enforcement and
counter terrorism. "Posted 4 years ago # -
The BBC is incorrigible. Those numbers aren't counted on the same basis so the comparison is impossible.
The obvious way to tackle drugs is to legalise them and then treat them as a public health issue. And the first minister should state an intention to do that and dare the Met to arrest her.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@IWRATS: I completely agree with your second point, but the NRS have consistently said that even accounting for the different definition and recording of drug deaths across Europe (and even the rest of the UK), Scotland still has a far higher rate than elsewhere.
Posted 4 years ago # -
That may well be true. I can imagine it is true.
The thing is what we do about it. My whole life has been blighted by their farcical 'war on drugs' and I'm relatively unscathed.
I do think it's time for Scot Gov to declare that they will act in the way that's best for Scotland's citizens and defy the Met and the Home Office to arrest them. The harm is entirely self-inflicted.
And these 'yeah but what are you going to do?' comparisons compound that harm by entrenching hopelessness.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@IWARTS: again, I completely agree.
Did you read Nick Cook’s article where he also said much the same thing? There are politicians in all parties who know what the right thing to do is. I don’t know who we get them all to speak together.
Posted 4 years ago #
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