tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post5935076313560322219..comments2023-12-20T19:39:29.865+00:00Comments on Munguin's Republic: Most influential political voices in BritainMunguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16475165830302054002noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-71614627489222661172015-04-10T21:42:50.093+01:002015-04-10T21:42:50.093+01:00Brand is a hypocrite of the first order. Most peop...Brand is a hypocrite of the first order. Most people - and include every single party leader - involved in politics are. Why people think he is influential beats me. The only ones on there who I think have any real influence are Boris, Nicola and Nigel (believe it or not). However, they are still all hypocrites.<br /><br />Milliband 1 & 2 I don't rate, and as for Clegg the biggest influence he has is persuading people to vote anyone else but Lib Dem. I bet the Monster Raving Loony Party (no, not UKIP) will poll more votes somewhere.<br /><br />Tris, while I agree with your comment about some of the unionists stirring up the referendum, so are some of the nationalists. As for Patrick Harvie and the rest of the Greens, the SNP need to distance themselves rapidly. Most of their policies are at odds with the SNP in my view. The SNP don't need them. Find for Referendums, but not for parliamentary elections.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-19693164922755047542015-04-10T11:45:34.143+01:002015-04-10T11:45:34.143+01:00I think you pretty well summed it up, Douglas, Bru...I think you pretty well summed it up, Douglas, Bruce, Jim.<br /><br />An Ashcroft poll on the day after the referendum showed that enough people had been convinced by the word of the prime minister, deputy prime minister, leader of HM official opposition and an ex prime minister to change the vote from Yes to No. One poll does not give us an unquestionable solution, but Ashcroft's polls tend to be more reliable than most others because of the numbers he polls, unheeding of the cost, as he is able to be.<br /><br />It seems to me that no political movement simply stops because it suffers one defeat. The Liberals will, I am sure, still favour and fight for PR in elections. Despite being rejected at most elections, UKIP continues to operate.<br /><br />A joeyed referendum on independence was unlikely to stop people who believe in self rule believing in self rule.<br /><br />I say joeyed because a vow was made and then almost immediately broken by Cameron with his EVEL plans, which immediately put the Labour Party against the Scottish devo plus they had just vowed. The idea that they would lose power in England even if they had power in the UK was a step far too far for them. Cameron had lied and duped them, and Gordon Brown had been a patsy.<br /><br />The Smith Commission was a joke. It had a few weeks to read tens of thousands of detailed submissions. Someone worked out that if it worked 8 hours a day, it would have 10 seconds for each submission. <br /><br />It reported not to Scotland, but to the London cabinet. Iain Duncan Smith and Tessy May put objections in and Smith had to remove what offended them. Then it faced the wrath of the House of Lords steeped in the 19th century. Scottish lords saw their titles and £300 a day disappearing.<br /><br />Nicola Sturgeon has moved on though. She has accepted the result. She just wants to see us get devo-super plus as guaranteed by Brown. <br /><br />That she will not rule out another referendum is hardly surprising. Firstly because the SNP's end goal always will be independence. Secondly because as Nicola says over and over again, it is not she who will demand another referendum or not... it is the Scottish people, at a ballot box.<br /><br />The comments about NI politics show that the writer doesn't understand either NI or Scotland. That we have our own preferred source of information is hardly surprising. Do not conservatives have the Telegraph and Labour have the Guardian? Do not the middle and working classes have different publications? What is so strange that we should have the National, or Wings or Bella to put out point of view whilst the unionists have their press and blogs? Surely that is a natural thing. or would they prefer that we all read the Telegraph?<br /><br />That there is Secret Service involvement is hardly surprising. I would find it odd were there not. The rules on Civil Service neutrality and Royal neutrality were torn up, why wouldn't they get the spooks in. They used them to cover up top people's sexual predications, why not independence movements?<br /><br />It seems that from what I read of the debates, the unionist parties continued to try to relive the referendum campaign. Not Nicola or Patrick.<br /><br />The article itself seems to be good enough reason for us to have people writing on the subject who actually know something about it. <br /><br />This guy sounds a bit like me trying to write about the situation in Hungary!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-50928292998165412512015-04-10T09:30:11.029+01:002015-04-10T09:30:11.029+01:00here was my somewhat belated response. I blame my ...here was my somewhat belated response. I blame my keyboard rather than my brain for the spelling errors both here and before. But I would say that wouldn't I?<br /><br /><i>Fasccinating that John McDermott should use an imperialist expression about his northern fellow citizens. It is beyond insult for a presumeably well paid member of the metropolitan elite to describe current Scottish politics as "tribal". This anthropological approach to journalism does him no favours as the serious journalist he is. Does he expect us to be getting the spears out next?<br /><br /><br />If there is a better example of London centricity to be found in the national broadsheets, as opposed to the comic book tabloids, it would be hard to comprehend just how far away our journalist is from what is going on in Scotland. Indeed, if there were 'Two Tribes' going to war, which there just isn't, he has joined the apathetic and unengaged one.<br /><br /><br />For the interesting thing that has happened is that people, voters dare I say it, have become engaged as never before. When one presumption, such as the charm of the unity of the UK becomes a subject on the streets, a lot of other assumptions become less persuasive too. This might not sit comfortably with London, but it is none the less true.</i><br />douglas clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11422060678908705962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-7454650938749895282015-04-10T08:13:32.619+01:002015-04-10T08:13:32.619+01:00That'll be the FT, trying to rewrite history, ...That'll be the FT, trying to rewrite history, then. Not only are the "45", feeling betrayed but, a sizable amount of no voters are too. The vow, so easily, brushed aside in the article, promised real powers for Scotland. Not the ability to change traffic signs, and useless tax varying powers.<br />We know the referendum was lost but, they, the FT and other unionist organisations, are still fighting it.<br />To compare Scottish politics, with Northern Ireland is risible, unless you are referring to certain football clubs and all that shite.jimnarlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02231790902689695587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-75455869860879910992015-04-10T07:31:41.595+01:002015-04-10T07:31:41.595+01:00Douglas
The problem with these articles is that t...Douglas<br /><br />The problem with these articles is that the 45 are often put across as tribal nationalists and nutters. They always fail to point out that many voted for YES because they want change and believe that our system of government serves the very few at the cost of the many. And they wonder why so many are not giving up anymore or going back in their box. <br /><br />BruceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-56060851909095109882015-04-10T05:16:53.729+01:002015-04-10T05:16:53.729+01:00Sorry about the spelling errors in my commentary. ...Sorry about the spelling errors in my commentary. Hopefully our 'tribe' will get past that ;-(<br />douglas clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11422060678908705962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-89103694918224397672015-04-10T05:13:07.058+01:002015-04-10T05:13:07.058+01:00I hope this works, I have a subscription to the FT...I hope this works, I have a subscription to the FT and am thus not subjet to their paywall. However copying and pasting, I have no idea whether it will work or not. Antwat:<br /><br /><i>The Scottish National party could, after all, wield power in an independent state. It just happens to be the state from which it wants to secede. Less than a year after the referendum in which Scots voted against independence, the SNP is projected to win more than 40 of Scotland’s 59 seats at the British general election. Such a bloc would make it the most formidable nationalist group since Charles Parnell’s Irish Parliamentary party of the 1880s. And since neither the Conservative nor the Labour party is forecast to win an overall majority at the polls on May 7, the new SNP MPs could be the most troublesome Westminster Scots since the Lords who took the then nascent union to within four votes of dissolution in 1713.<br /><br />In Scotland, the referendum is only over in an official sense. The union victory in September’s vote has turned into an ersatz triumph for the nationalists. Try as it might, Labour cannot shift the frame of the election away from that of the referendum. In this sense, Scottish politics is more and more Northern Irish in character: all other policy issues are subordinate to those constitutional. Following the referendum, the two sides increasingly resemble tribes, complete with their own imaginaries, preferred media and versions of contemporary history.<br /><br />This tribalism is more pronounced among those Scots who voted Yes in September. The “45” – the self-description given by thwarted “Yessers” after their share of the electorate – feels betrayed. Although data from the Scottish Social Attitudes survey show that No voters rejected independence for reasons of British identity or economic self-interest, the central narrative of the Yes side is that Scotland was somehow duped. At best, this means believing the falsehood that the union was saved by “the Vow” of more devolution, signed just before the referendum by David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband. At worse, this means believing conspiracy theories; last month a think tank head alleged that MI5 encouraged the No vote.</i><br /><br />I leave it to others to analyse this.douglas clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11422060678908705962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-65539796466646995432015-04-09T23:26:18.526+01:002015-04-09T23:26:18.526+01:00Thanks CH.Thanks CH.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-59150615573993393602015-04-09T22:31:55.342+01:002015-04-09T22:31:55.342+01:00Exclusive interview: Alex Salmond on Scottish inde...<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej8A59jBkBg#t=258" rel="nofollow">Exclusive interview: Alex Salmond on Scottish independence and the General Election</a><br /><br /><i>Former first minister Alex Salmond speaks to Michael Gray from CommonSpace.scot about the independence referendum, the General Election, and a range of other political issues.</i><br /><br />cynicalHighlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06034325908473006163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-59183571733223668922015-04-09T22:26:54.217+01:002015-04-09T22:26:54.217+01:00Oooopsw.....Oooopsw.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-5415960078292371112015-04-09T22:26:38.591+01:002015-04-09T22:26:38.591+01:00YouGov / Times: Of those who watched / followed Tu...YouGov / Times: Of those who watched / followed Tuesday's debate, who won:<br /><br />56% Sturgeon<br />14% Davidson<br />13% Murphy<br />1% RennieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-61021883010283909112015-04-09T22:20:26.547+01:002015-04-09T22:20:26.547+01:00It seems that the debates have done the SNP no har...It seems that the debates have done the SNP no harm at all.<br /><br />BREAKING: New poll for the Times by Yougov has:<br /><br />SNP 49% (+3)<br />Lab 25% (-4)<br />Con 18% (+2)<br />LD 4% (+1)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-18062844854644328552015-04-09T21:47:50.949+01:002015-04-09T21:47:50.949+01:00Hahahaha.......(I don't do text short hand, ap...Hahahaha.......(I don't do text short hand, apart from ffs, for politeness)jimnarlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02231790902689695587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-16006359537353311592015-04-09T21:26:18.185+01:002015-04-09T21:26:18.185+01:00No point in resisting... It's not good for you...No point in resisting... It's not good for you!!!<br /><br />This is off topic but I just read it and wanted to share it...<br /><br />It's from a student who was a contemporary of (part of) Murphy's academic career... Hilarious.<br /><br />As someone who knew Jim Murphy in my student days at Strathclyde University (from where, unlike Murphy, I actually graduated), I feel that I should bring a little balance to the portrayals of him. <br /><br />You might think he's just an unprincipled, self-seeking, corrupt, ultra-Blairite, crypto-Tory, warmongering, pro-market, virulently pro-Zionist, Unionist/British nationalist scumbag, but that really would be a bit unfair. <br /><br />He's also a cynical, back-stabbing, sell-yer-granny, Stalinoid machine politician with all the personal warmth of a dead eel and all the charisma of a table leg. <br /><br />Hope that helps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-1446521698539417352015-04-09T20:36:12.680+01:002015-04-09T20:36:12.680+01:00It's the invisible strings, from the Red Ed ma...It's the invisible strings, from the Red Ed marionette.<br /><br />Sorry, couldn't resist.jimnarlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02231790902689695587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-15309451632040493732015-04-09T20:20:39.895+01:002015-04-09T20:20:39.895+01:00Hmmmm
You DO have a point. Maybe Willie Rennie tw...Hmmmm<br /><br />You DO have a point. Maybe Willie Rennie tweets a lot?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-47707754802377451362015-04-09T20:19:56.772+01:002015-04-09T20:19:56.772+01:00Well, as I said, it's not that they are popula...Well, as I said, it's not that they are popular, it's just that lots of people are talking about them. it could be that they are saying "bloody idiot"... but in fairness that might be true of all of them.<br /><br />He camera wore out from all the selfies...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-23212014495110905932015-04-09T20:18:34.243+01:002015-04-09T20:18:34.243+01:00Nah, the Muppets were cute.Nah, the Muppets were cute.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-52971370053679625102015-04-09T20:13:42.762+01:002015-04-09T20:13:42.762+01:00Just making sure your name fits ... lol ... but yo...Just making sure your name fits ... lol ... but you do have a point ;) Weegiewarblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03565353275583070868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-88839964827009065562015-04-09T20:12:09.986+01:002015-04-09T20:12:09.986+01:00Scary that Bojo is at third ....
But, My BIG QUE...Scary that Bojo is at third .... <br /><br />But, My BIG QUESTION is ... who's nicked Nicola's camera?Weegiewarblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03565353275583070868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-87412368043106376922015-04-09T20:12:08.996+01:002015-04-09T20:12:08.996+01:00Nick Clegg friends?Nick Clegg friends?cynicalHighlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06034325908473006163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-73175792785297132262015-04-09T19:20:17.496+01:002015-04-09T19:20:17.496+01:00I'm sure it's just a mistake in translatio...I'm sure it's just a mistake in translation doesn't everyone say David err err Ed fairforfochennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-27142935108890415662015-04-09T19:14:17.194+01:002015-04-09T19:14:17.194+01:00I thought he was a Muppet.I thought he was a Muppet.jimnarlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02231790902689695587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-61776240527082710352015-04-09T19:06:06.642+01:002015-04-09T19:06:06.642+01:00LOL...
Is that the one with the voice of the Myst...LOL...<br /><br />Is that the one with the voice of the Mysterons?<br /><br />Captain Scarlet at your service...<br /><br />:)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092475090824666694.post-59830186766313794232015-04-09T18:53:57.535+01:002015-04-09T18:53:57.535+01:00Well David Milband is at International Rescue now ...Well David Milband is at International Rescue now and the Thunderbirds have been revamped on ITV (shown last Saturday) so maybe that's put him back on the agenda :-) <br /><br />FAB. Off Tracey Islandpanda pawsnoreply@blogger.com