Saturday 5 May 2012

IF THIS IS LOSING... LET'S HAVE MORE OF IT

Aye.....what a day!


Firstly, I'd like to say congratulations to Labour and Johann Lamont. According to a friend of mine in England, who sent me a commiserations email, Labour won in Scotland. So that's good, isn't it? He was astounded when I sent him a copy of figures which the Rev Stu had taken the time and trouble to research. All the press, it seems, down his way (Yorkshire) was concentrating on the "fact" that Labour had taken Glasgow and handily defeated the SNPSo congratulations to Labour; they have this huge advantage in that the state broadcaster is on their side. The final figures, which I shamelessly lift from James at Scot Goes Pop are below. I see that the BBC may have been slightly mistaken in their conclusions:


SNP 424 (+61)
Labour 394 (+46)
Conservatives 115 (-28)
Liberal Democrats 71 (-95)
Greens 14 (+6)
SSP 1 (-)
Others 201 (+8)



*****
Willie Hague, Cameron's Foreign Minister (well, he's from Yorkshire too), was pointing out on Friday morning, that half way into a term (it's obviously slipped his sharp old mind that his government legislated to make this a 5 year term; either that or his arithmetic is faulty) it's not usual for a government to be punished, especially in hard times. I just wondered if Mr Hague would like to comment on the fact that our government is a year into its second term and won 61 new seats!


*****
Massive congratulations to the Dundee SNP who put up 16 candidates, won 16 seats, and will form the next administration. A lot of hard work, by a lot of people, went into that victory. I look forward to life getting better in Dundee, which is SNP administered at local and Scottish level, and with one of its two MLPs. 


*****
I believe that the Liberal Democrats were beaten by a man dressed as a polar bear in Liverpool, and by a man dressed as a penguin in Edinburgh. I don't mention this to poke fun or make cheap points. That's been done already. I'd just say that it emphasises the necessity for the Liberals to look at how on earth they are extricate themselves from this mess that the coalition has brought them to. It's no use saying that things will get better; I doubt that they will. Even if the coalition policies were to be the right ones for dealing with the economic meltdown, they aren't going to be showing any kind of result that people can feel in the next three years. So what to do now...


*****
Don't you just hate, and at the same time love, listening to politicians explaining away the woes of their defeats and spinning them as 'successes really'. Warsi and Alexander and some woman from Labour (who admittedly didn't have to do much of that) were particularly sickening and yet amusing with Dumblebum on BBC 24. Please note it is not the fault of David Cameron, or Nick Clegg that things went wrong, although it would have been down to their magnificent leadership had things gone right. Strangely, although it wouldn't have been the fault of Ed if Labour had lost, it's all down to his inspirational rescue of the party that Labour has done so well. Pfff.


*****
And on that subject Johann Lamont is safe for a while, which is good news for everyone, except presumably the Honourable Paul Martin who may (or may not) be the next Labour leader. Oh what a change from the dour face we had from hera year ago. She actually, maybe for the first time in the last few months, managed to crack a smile. I hardly recognised her. I wonder if she has yet unfollowed her ass of a Facebook friend who suggested that it would be nice of the FM's father would die?


*****

33 comments:

  1. Yes Prof Pongoo polled 444 votes beating the lib dems and the greens in Edinburgh lol..

    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/04/professor-pongoo-penguin-lib-dems-scotland_n_1477116.html

    listening to Willie Rennie on Pravda last night it looks like they're just going to sail off into oblivion. It's amazing that they'res no plan B because the Lib dems are going to be totally wiped out.

    Pravda Scotland had all the Unionists laughing and giggling at the SNP who were 'licking their wounds' after a hammering in Glasgow.
    Luckily the more that pravda reports their lies the more people vote for the SNP so hopefully they will continue up until the referendum in the same vein.

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  2. oops 'there's no plan B'.

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  3. Wiki pravda central in Glasgow needs shutdown as its news reporting gets more fictional by the day.

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  4. tris

    This result just shows the mountain you lot have got to climb to reach the promised land of 'Independence'.

    Me I am more then ever convinced separation will never happen. The snp had to do much better to show they have the support of 'ALL' the Scottish peoples.

    My belief is when the referendum result is announced it will be a massive rejection. The votes are just not there sure the snp can run a whelk stall get elected to captain a Darts team...

    But yer real power is gonna elude them nah! this is a epiphany moment for me and the absolute certainty of dying within one United Kingdom .

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  5. I think Monty, in England, the Liberals are truly important, and their demise will be a huge loss.

    It seems to me that Nick Clegg squandered the chance to do something with his party, just as Charlie Kennedy did, by hiding in a bottle when he should have been going for Blair's jugular over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    As for the BBC I think everyone is Scotland shold stop paying the licence fee and demand a proper service here.

    How on earth anyone can believe the crap that they call news is incredible. It's sad to think that once upon a time they were renowned for the accuracy of their news... but maybe, on reflection, that was always a myth.

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  6. LOL CH. I see they couldn't find a photo of Ruth.

    I'd love to hear Willie Rennie ex[plain his party's success. I see Caron has been quiet on the subject!

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  7. Niko pet, you just go on believing that if you want... We understand.

    Uncle England will look after you, don't worry. Mr Cameron will be grateful for your resistance to change.

    I dunno ...

    :)

    Never mind matey...we still like you ... even though you have the same policies as Camergoon.

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  8. Monty... I don't think they even had a plan A.... It's all down to the English Liberal party. Willie doesn't count. He had to get Nick up to campaign in Fife...

    I don't think it helped much.

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  9. I think she is scouring the shops for penguins.

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  10. How pathetic was it seeing Lamont, Matheson and Sarwar grinning from ear to ear at the announcement yesterday in Glasgow? "YES!! We've only lost one seat!!!!" It just shows you the sort of ambition of the leaders of that party that managing to avoid a disaster is seen as a massive victory. They were absolutely keeching their pants that they were going to lose. It's just a shame the SNP allowed themselves to think they could become the largest party, allowing the media and Labour to present a narrative that the SNP have been "held at bay".

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  11. Comparing last year's list vote with Thursday's local elections, @scottishlabour are UP 5.2% while @theSNP are DOWN 11.3%. Tell me who won?

    hattip Michael Kearns

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  12. Braveheart:

    The correct comparison, as is the convention and has been for ever is to compare like with like, ie the last COUNCIL ELECTIONS, that shows very clearly the SNP have won and increased their vote. To do otherwise smacks of pretty desperate straw grasping propaganda the stuff that BBC Pravda Scotland are now famous for, along with their unionist lackeys.

    You can read all the details on the following site:

    http://tiny.cc/bzqudw


    Please do register and contribute your views you will be made most welcome.

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  13. The SNP won, sweetheart.

    Largest share of the first-choice votes, largest number of elected councillors, largest increase in vote over 2007 and largest increase in elected councillors since 2007.

    Comparing a council election run on STV to a Holyrood election run on d'Hondt is comparing apples with moon rocks. And not just because of the different electoral systems. The only valid basis for comparison is the equivalent election in 2007, and picking anything else is a sign of desperation. (And yes that includes the BBC, counting Labour holds as wins if the sitting councillor resigned the Labour whip in anger over being deselected only weeks before the poll.)

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  14. Labour did better than anyone expected in regaining a majority in Glasgow, and increasing our vote.

    We fought what in all frankness was a 'holding action' campaign - and found we held greater appeal than thought.

    For once, after a bad couple of years - Scottish Labour can begin to claim that we are turning the corner.

    But there remains much work to be done (not least selling Johann Lamont to the wider Scots electorate).

    As for the SNP? Well they will be rightly pleased to have made gains, but surely Scottish Labours vote increase has irritate them? It has cost them the chance of taking overall control of some of their target councils.
    For the SNP, it demonstrates that they still have serious work to do in the west coast if they want to finally escape the stereotype of 'east coast party'.

    Just my views on the Scottish results.
    To finish, the Scots Tories did take votes off of the LibDems in Aberdeenshire (increasing their vote there) ... does that mean the LibDem MP for West Aberdeenshire needs to worry come 2015 GE?

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  15. tris:

    Caron has written a blog post on the subject of the election but it's on Liberal Democrat Voice not on her own blog.

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  16. We know basic arithmetic is not Labour and friend or the BBC's strong point some pretty pictures for them.

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  17. @CH,

    comparing last year's list vote with Thursday's local elections, Scottish Labour are UP 5.2% while the SNP are DOWN 11.3%. That's basic arithmetic.

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  18. Doug... Nice to see you here again.

    Yes, I agree it was a mistake to give the impression that we thought we could take Glasgow.

    I'm not sure why the Glaswegians vote labour; it's not that it's ever done them any good. There are some of the poorest people in Europe in tat city. I've seen far more squalor there than in Albania or even Romania, and a good few places in Africa.

    But there must be some reason. Perhaps that little insight we got of disabled youngsters being threatened with the sack if their councillor mothers didn't vote with the party may provide a clue to the "loyalty" of city to people who treat them like shit.

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  19. Braveheart, if you compare the list vote for parliament of a year ago with the council vote of Thursday, and are happy with the result, you carry on, and pat yourself on the back.

    Meanwhile the rest of us will laugh like drains.

    You can compare them with the French presidential tomorrow and let us know how that works out. it's every bit as relevant.

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  20. LOL keyboard... long time no see....

    Bang on. Honestly clutching at straws or what!!!!

    If you compare the result with the isle of man elections in 1932 you'll probably find you've done really well... Jeeeeeez....

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  21. Rolfe... welcome to Munguin's Republic and thanks for that hilarious post...

    Can't really add to it, so I won't try.

    Don't be a stranger. :)

    Apples to Moon Rocks ha ha ha ha ha love it.

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  22. Erm Dean....do I take it that you have become a Labour supporter... what with all the "we"?

    OK... the first thing you need to do is sell Johann Lamont. You're right about that. Try the Barras...

    OK, joking apart. Holding after 5 years out of government in Scotland and 2 years out of government in the UK is pathetic.

    You... and by that I mean labour, should have been making in Scotland, the kind of gains "you" made in England and in Wales.

    OK, I'll accept that even if Alex Salmond went on a drunken rampage defiling maidens and pillaging pensioners' sheltered housing, he would hardly be likely to be as unpopular as Lord Snotty and his incompetent crew, but really, after 5 years the SNP should NOT have been able to take more seats in the council elections that "you" (Sorry I can't get used to YOU being Labour.

    Still, if you and niko want to go around patting yourselves on the back and saying "didn't we do well"...carry on.

    If I found myself in Labour's situation, I'd be tearing my hair out... given that the BBC and the 3 main newspapers were 100% behind Labour, they did pathetically.

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  23. Thanks Doug... I'll go read it. I didn't know she posted elsewhere.

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  24. LOL LOL LOL CH... Even Labour couldn't argue with that.... Thanks for providing.

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  25. LOL I just saw your comment about penguins.... CH. Ha ha... :)

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  26. Just when you thought even Labour wouldn't argue...there's BH

    OK Braveheart. You guys were brilliant. You can sit back on your laurels and soon Johann will be the First Ministress and the Honourable Paul can be her Boot Boy.

    (Actually in a parallel universe I'd love to see that just for a couple of weeks. First crisis... 'Oh Ed, whit am ah gonnae dae?')

    So yeah...well done Labour or whatever... yawn.

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  27. If you haven't, please join the Scottish Independence Convention. Thanks.

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  28. I believe the polar bear beat the Tories in the election for Mayor of Liverpool Tris and not the Lib Dems. Hence the joke making the rounds that the penguin and the polar bear are in coalition talks but are poles apart!

    By all rights the SNP should have got the kicking in this election as its is usual for a sitting government to get one in mid term locals, as the Tories and Lib Dems know this time and as Labour knew last time. But instead the SNP did well, although, not as well as it would have liked. It did not give the Labour party a mauling. But they now have two years to get that right. And it’s usual for the SNP to take two steps forward and then one back. Witness Glasgow East followed by Glenrothes, the English general election followed by Holyrood elections and now this local election followed by the Independence referendum. The latter is the one they need to get right. Getting everything their own way at this point might have set a dangerous precedent and put expectations at an even more unrealistic place. We have learned that we can’t take the voters for granted and sometimes a slap in the face is the best of tonics.

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  29. Good summation, Munguin.

    Sorry about the bear and the penguin mix up. I hadn't heard the funny about it.

    Hilarious.

    Truth is SNP won, no matter if Cllr Braveheart wants to compare the result with the Mongolian elections of 1352, compared with which the Labour party made sweeping gains.

    I'd have to be fair and congratulate them on their results in the English and Welsh elections where they gave the coalition a right drubbing!

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  30. Munguin.. Glenrothes had the mysterious 6,000 postal votes for Labour and the list went mysteriously missing.
    Glasgow is reported to have had a 25% postal vote for Labour which will probably go missing as well.
    Vote early and vote often as they say.

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  31. Ahhhh Monty.... not the old postal vote scam, surely.

    If you can't win fair, win anyway.

    I'm always surprised than no one did anything about that. Was anyone punished for leaving confidential election material in a black bag in a corridor, right next to the rubbish?

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  32. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2146939/Darling-hosts-secret-summit-kill-Scottish-independence-Edinburgh-home.html

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/unionist-campaign-calls-on-blair-to-embrace-its-cause.17641581

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/darling-says-blair-will-fight-scots-breakaway-7769669.html

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  33. Thanks Diln, and welcome to Munguin's Republic...

    Blair... lol lol lol... that will do their side a pile of good.

    Brown has some followers in his own constituency, but he was a terrible prime minister and I don't think he'll cut much ice with Scots.

    Kennedy from the Liberals is more popular I suppose, but the Liberals are hardly this month's flavour...

    And although Annabel Goldie is personally popular...she's a Tory.

    Nuff said.

    Blair is a murdering war criminal. We should not forget that. These people who live in a politics bubble think that because he once had the top job, that people will bow and scrape before him. Scots are not, by and large like that. He's a bloke; he used to be prime minister. he killed hundreds of thousands of people for something that didn't exist... he lied in the process. Who cares what he thinks....?

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