SCOTLAND NOW HAS A UKIP MEMBER TO NOT BOTHER REPRESENTING US

There's something you never thought you'd see:
Nigel without a fag and a pint!

I imagine that the majority of Scots will be disappointed that there is now a Ukip member (not) representing them in the European parliament.

Some people are delighted, of course. Possibly some of the people who voted for them, but even a proportion of them must be aware that their protest vote has actually produced a representative from a party which doesn't actually believe in anything about Scotland and has no policies for the country. Indeed until recently it was their policy to scrap Holyrood until someone pointed out that Scots law was different from English law and there really was a need to a parliament in Edinburgh (otherwise a lot of important parliamentary time would be wasted discussing law in jockland).

Is the result surprising? Not really. 

The BBC seems to have been having a love affair with Farage over the last few years. For a man leading a party with no MPs, he seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time on Dumblebum’s Question Time. 

Of course he’s good telly. A bit like Nick Griffin (ha ha ha ha*), he pulls the audience in. And the BBC seems uninterested in providing a balanced coverage of anything these days, commercially based as is it. So wall to wall Farage stories gave the party prominence it didn't really deserve. 

I wonder what Nick will do after next May?
House of Lords? International banking?
Write a book "How I wrecked the Libdems"?

The fact that the Deputy Prime Minister of the UK appeared in two television debates with the man will have raised his profile too. Not surprisingly for a man with apparently no political principles, Clegg lost badly against Farage who has very firmly fixed ideas. Now we await the UK Prime Minister's debate with Farage. Cameron will also almost undoubtedly lose to Farage. 

Is it a blow to Alex Salmond and the SNP? Well, although the Tories Murdo Fraser thinks so, I doubt it. It's certainly a disappointment that they didn't win the third seat, although they came close.

I’d say to murdo that it was a blow to us all, but probably mostly to the Liberals, who have been wiped out in Scotland (and only have one seat in the UK). 

It’s a blow to Scotland in that Ukip MEPs have a reputation for not turning up for work, so instead of its derisory 6 MEPs, Scotland will effectively now have only 5 representatives in Brussels. 

And across the UK it is a blow to every party because Ukip came first, pushing them all back a place (or, in the case of the Liberals, several).

Fraser, whom you would have thought should have known better, tweeted to the effect that the result disproved the theory that Scotland had a different political culture from the UK. 

Politicians should probably avoid tweeting late at night

I’m not sure how he arrived at this conclusion based on the result of the Euro election (on a small turnout), where UKIP won 10% of the vote in Scotland and 30% in the UK, and came in in 1^st place in the UK, but 4th in Scotland. Maybe maths isn't a Tory strong point.

Fraser must also be aware that while the UK elected his party to government (albeit in coalition) and polls indicate that it will do so again, albeit with a different partner) Scotland elected them (even with the benefit of PR) to be the 3^rd party in Holyrood far behind the opposition Labour party in numbers. There is, so fa,r no indication that that situation will change, solid as it has been since the first days of the parliament.

And while both governing parties in the UK had disappointing results after 4 years of government, the governing party in Scotland, after 7 years of incumbency, saw their vote hold up and indeed, came in first.

No. I don't see one political culture across the UK there Murdo. What is it you’re on?

There is a really amusing piece on the Euro results by Wee Ginger Dug which had me rolling about laughing at the ungodly hour of 6 this morning.

I wonder if there is anyone, except Griffin himself,
who feels sorry for him.

* Nick Griffin lost his seat, as did the other BNP member. Still, when Mr Griffin goes to the Job Centre on Tuesday he will doubtless be able to avail himself of some unpaid work stacking shelves at Poundland thanks to another right wing freak, Iain Duncan Smurf.

RANDOM RAMBLINGS AND PROVOCATIVE PICTURES

At an evening event on Friday May 16th organised and hosted by West Highland College UHI (Fort William) Dave Thompson MSP (Yes) debated with Charles Kennedy MP (No)on whether Scotland should be an independent country. 

Mr. Kennedy represents Ross, Skye and Lochaber at Westminster and Mr Thompson Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch at Holyrood.

Charlie Kennedy

At the event billed as a Referendum Information Evening in Fort William students, staff and members of the public heard a friendly and good natured debate between the two elected representatives. After the opening remarks by Messrs. Thompson and Kennedy there was an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.

Although the MSP and MP agreed upon many things on the night they, of course, diverged on the question of independence.

Dave Thomson

At the end of the evening the college conducted a secret poll of attendees asking how they would vote in the referendum in September. The results were:

• 63 Yes
• 25 No
• 2 undecided

This was a very convincing win for Yes which we hope will be replicated in the real referendum.
**********

The only way to keep Farage out in Scotland, is to vote SNP. The polls show that the Greens won't make it and the Liberals are finished. The last seat could go either to Ukip or the SNP. Let's make sure it is not Ukip.

**********

Munguin's mates, Shona Robison and Humza Yousaf
in Dundee last night

Are you trying to stir up trouble Mr Kelly?
Would this suit your ends? What exactly are your ends?
Do you know any Scottish people?

That's the Tories for you.. soiling their "strides"...
Jeez, who's called trousers "strides" in the last 80 years?

500+ in Galashiels last night for Nicola

Dear old Nick got involved, which was a bit of a mistake
Especially as he was promising to guarantee stuff.
Why don't you get out a pledge board, Nick, you know
like you did with the student fees...?

Well, it's a long afternoon with no one to talk to.

Much more... infact every fibre of his being
(except a debate with the First Minister)
Do jellyfish have "fibre"?

Hmm, you work for the BBC?

Hilarious. Imagine the daft bat doesn't know how to spell where she comes from...
Try again Karen and choose a place you know. West Kensington maybe?

So grassroots you could feed it to George Osborne's horses.

Where were the Labour MPs fighting against this?
Respecting the traditions of Westminster?
Why can they shout over every other speech and not that one?

Exactly. 

This is important. It REALLY isn't about England. It's about SCOTLAND.

IDI AMIN LESS OFFENSIVE THAN NICK GRIFFIN?

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, has been invited to attend a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by the Queen. Each year British MEPs are entitled to two tickets to one of the Queen’s three garden parties at Buckingham Palace. A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace confirmed that an invitation had been issued this year. She said that Mr Griffin was eligible to nominate himself and the Palace would not discriminate against democratically elected representatives.

His possible attendance plunges the palace into fresh controversy over its attitude to Griffin, who has been convicted of distributing material likely to incite racial hatred.

Mr Griffin is invited is in his capacity as a North West of England MEP and has provoked concern that other MEPs would boycott the event. Other MEPs and opponents of the far-right party warned that Mr Griffin’s invitation “utterly compromised” the Queen and risked politicising the annual event.

Claude Moraes, a Labour MEP for London, said that the move “deeply politicises and embarrasses the Queen”. “She has been forced into an extremely difficult situation. I would expect some people to boycott the party. If people knew about this it would clearly spoil the occasion for a lot of them. “It has utterly compromised the Queen and she is made to feel that she has to make a political decision.”

Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP who trounced Mr Griffin in his bid for the seat of Barking and Dagenham, said: “It sickens me that Nick Griffin uses his elected position to gain access to the Royal garden party.”

How terrible that her Majesty should be forced meet a person elected by some her subjects. I am not a supporter of the BNP but let’s review some of the people the Queen has met in the past: Robert Mugabe, Idi Amin, The Shah of Persia and Nicolae Ceausescu. None of them was elected and they had all committed far worse crimes than incitement to racial hatred. So why did she meet them? It must have been politically motivated and she was told to by the PM/Government at the time because it was politically expedient.

Nick Griffin may be a revolting character but he was elected by the people. If in these times of Dunkirk spirit and us all tightening our belts, we can still afford to have garden parties then it is HMs job to invite MEPs and what is more it is their job to go. But the best solution of all would be to save the money and not have garden parties state dinners banquets etc etc etc. Maybe if as David Cameron says its going to change the country for ever we can’t afford the Queen!