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The General Election 2015 Thread


Oddquine

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Seeing as the various indy threads were mostly amalgamated into one, thought I'd start the GE one as CTO means us to continue. :smile:

 

Been thinking of starting it since the Unionist parties began their GE campaign on 19th September but now that it has all ramped up nicely and the POOR MUST CONTINUE TO PAY DOWN THE BORROWING, NO FAIR TO ENGLAND IF YOU DON'T ALL VOTE UNIONIST, SNP BAD, SNP BAD and SNP BAD etc slogans of all Unionist parties  are in full swing....time to flex my two typing fingers. 

 

I will get 100% serious in the fullness of the next 69 or so days........but to start us off with a comment on the Vote SNP get Labour/Vote SNP get Tory/ Vote Labour get SNP/Vote Tory, get SNP/ Vote UKIP get Labour/Vote UKIP, get Tory/Vote UKIP, get Labour and SNP  crapiola......is the Wee Ginger Dug

 

https://weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/vote-snp-get-dettol/

 

 

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I will be voting for what is best for Scotland regardless of how other parties would like me to vote. The way I see it Tories are for nobody but the rich. Labour are for nobody but themselves. Ukip is a dangerous vote as they ostracise a large portion of the country's population. Greens are too engrossed in the environment that they cant see the wood for the trees. Lib-Dem haven't a clue what their identity is and will bed anyone who offers them a little power. That only leaves the party who are doing a fantastic job of running Scotland.

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It should be a great run-up. The referendum seemed to go on forever. But 69 days of politics is fine by me. There's a budget to come plus TV 'leader' debates - will be interesting. I hope the folk that voted in the referendum continue to be stimulated enough to vote in 9 weeks time.

 

My predictions for the seats in our locality:

 

Orkney & Shetland - Lib Dems

Western Isles - SNP

Moray - SNP

Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross - SNP

Ross, Syke & Lochaber - Lib Dems

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey - SNP

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I will be voting for what is best for Scotland regardless of how other parties would like me to vote. The way I see it Tories are for nobody but the rich. Labour are for nobody but themselves. Ukip is a dangerous vote as they ostracise a large portion of the country's population. Greens are too engrossed in the environment that they cant see the wood for the trees. Lib-Dem haven't a clue what their identity is and will bed anyone who offers them a little power. That only leaves the party who are doing a fantastic job of running Scotland.

Spot on Alex

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Jesus Wept! Westminster are still fighting the referendum within the GE campaign.....seen their latest way to waste our money?

From the Daily Fail.........https://archive.today/fyqh4#selection-1077.0-1129.65

Union flag to be plastered across Scottish bridges and roads with message 'Funded by UK government' to counter independence

    Provocative Treasury move to put Union Flag on all state-funded projects
    Roads, flood defences and broadband hubs will all be branded with logo
    Plan drawn up to hammer home the benefits of Scotland remaining in UK
    Logo is also similar to one used on foreign aid funded by Britain


"Under the plan, any firm who wins a UK government contract will have to agree to display the logo on the finished work."

 "The Treasury says that there is £466billion of new projects in the pipeline, which the Government is helping to fund using public money."


Be intrigued to see how much of that comes to Scotland as direct UK input in the first place......and how long is the pipeline.......one year, two years, twenty years, fity years?  The idea is almost reminiscent of the VOW....remember that one.......just sign this bit of paper now, because I might have a delivery for you at some point later on..but this time its to persuade us to vote for a Union Party, (preferably Tory and Danny Alexander and friends, of course), and not the SNP.   Wonder how well the "vote for the Union and you never know what you will get, but we promise a share of the £466 billion, that your taxes go towards funding, incidentally,though we're not telling you how much of it you'll get, or on what Westminster will spend it, as we can't actually do very much about any capital infrastructure spending in Scotland on devolved issues......but  we do most faithfully promise you that if you vote for us, you will get a share of that money, over heaven knows how many years, when we find something we can spend it on" will play out.......bearing in mind how Westminster managed to reduce the promised FFA/HomeRule/Devo-Max/As Near Independence As Dammit VOW to Devo-SFA (and I'm not alluding to Scottish Football).  I do hope that, given the list of expensive projects in the pipeline for London and the South (like HS2), and the £200 billion cost of Trident in the pipeline, the Scottish voters have more sense than to believe they will keep their word this time...or any time.

But the whole idea is going to be interesting in Scotland, seeing as the majority of state-funded projects are not directly funded from Westminster, but are funded via the Block Grant....and the Block Grant is just some of our own taxes returned, so we are funding most, if not all, of it ourselves via the Scottish Government Block Grant, Local Government and PPI deals.    I can see trouble ahead with that idea.  But given they appear to have money to piddle up against Hadrian's Wall, wouldn't they be better cutting back on some of the austerity......then we can buy our own flags or plaques if we want to bum up the profligacy of Westminster.

 

Westminster really do need to think things through, though......twitter hashtags are just an open invitation to the Scottish sense of humour and swearie power....and those produced by, on behalf of or prompted by Westminster, even more so. Following on from NuLabour's  #MyFutureScotland fiasco, #FundedbyUKGovernment is here and being given laldy with the hashtag being appended  to everything from photos of Ravenscraig (no more) via a graphic of some UK tax avoiders, Tony Blair and the Iraq War, Westminster paedophile dossiers, the aircraftless aircraft carrier, Trident and the sleeping £300 a day Lords, plus IDS's £39 breakfast, Jim Murphy's 2 Cans of Irn Bru and the half a million quid for HoC champagne. Really liked the tweet which said it shouldn't be #fundedbyukgovernment  anyway but  #subsidisedbychina! Twitter users are having a lot of fun.......and  I'll get some good window posters from among their offerings!

Edited by Oddquine
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It should be a great run-up. The referendum seemed to go on forever. But 69 days of politics is fine by me. There's a budget to come plus TV 'leader' debates - will be interesting. I hope the folk that voted in the referendum continue to be stimulated enough to vote in 9 weeks time.

 

My predictions for the seats in our locality:

 

Orkney & Shetland - Lib Dems

Western Isles - SNP

Moray - SNP

Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross - SNP

Ross, Syke & Lochaber - Lib Dems

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey - SNP

You reall think the people will choose a turncoat tory?

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Charles Kennedy is not a 'turncoat Tory'.  I have it on good authority that he hates the coalition and was against it from the start.

 

If any of the LibDems do keep their seats in Scotland, one would presume that he would be the most likely to do so.  As we all know, up here people vote more on the person than the party (most of the time) and seemingly as your local MP, he's one of the better ones.

Edited by Renegade
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I can see Charles Kennedy being returned.  Given he has only voted in 30% of divisions in Westminster, (and did a bit of rebelling against the coalition party line), and has only spoken in 15 debates and asked 5 written questions in the last year, mostly on defence, the EU and Highland issues, all important to Scotland, he must be spending a lot of time dealing direct with his constituents...and that is the key to garnering a personal following, as it is amazing how many vote for useless MPs/MSPs/councillors because they feel they know them personally.  It will help him as well that he has not been reported ad nauseam in the media, over the referendum and since, bad-mouthing pro-indy voters.

 

Do wish, though, that Labour (Scottish Branch) would get round to arguing the case for voting  Labour for Westminster, (over and above the "Vote SNP get anyone but Labour" and "SNP BAD" mantras) and stop continually fighting the GE on devolved policies only appropriate to the 2016 Scottish election.....or is it just that they don't understand the difference.....or hope we don't?

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One could be excused for not realising there was actually going to be a General Election in May.  Despite the fact that there is a potential for a radical shift from previous voting patterns resulting in the potential of having the largest party having major problems in forming a credible Government, discussion and media coverage all seems pretty low key. It is as though none of the parties want to peak too early in the race or, if I am being cynical, don't want other parties to have too much time to pick holes in their arguments.

 

Scottish Labour have certainly dug a hole for themselves by trying to be as independent as possible from the UK party whilst apparently opposing Scotland being independent from the UK.  Focusing on support for labour in Westminster is what they should be focused on but that means making a case for Ed Milliband as Prime Minister which, one has to admit, is not an easy sell.

 

In any case, if Labour do lose seats in Scotland (which seems highly likely) it will be to  the SNP.  The SNP will support a Labour administration at Westminster - but at a price.  Labour supporters in Scotland may well feel that they are better off voting SNP on the basis that it will make no difference to the ability of Milliband to form a Labour Government but an agreement with the SNP would likely result in greater benefit to Scotland than a majority Labour administration.

 

Whilst they are currently nowhere in the polls, the Lib Dems may yet emerge as king makers again.  They have been roundly vilified for getting into bed with the Tories but unfairly so in my book.  Had they not done so and another election was held, we could have ended up with a majority Tory administration where the impact of austerity measures would have been far more hard hitting.  Worse still, we could have ended up with a majority Labour Government with a spending agenda which would have made the debt position far worse.  In truth, the Lib Dems have been a moderating influence on the Tories and whilst they have gone along with a lot of policy which may have been quite at odds with their manifesto, they have done so as the cost of blocking more extreme Tory ideas and of getting some of their own manifesto priorities onto the statute book.  Coalition politics is about compromise and the junior members of a coalition clearly have to compromise more than the biggest partner.  I think history will conclude that the Lib Dems have done a pretty good job of moderating the right wing zeal of certain sections of the Tory party.  They would have done exactly the same had Labour got in at the last election.  I reckon that as the election progresses people will increasing recognise that and will appreciate that having a strong lib Dem presence in the next parliament will good for political stability in this country.

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There's still a budget on 18th March to come (which will be full of 'bribes'), but after that there will only be 7 weeks until the General Election, when I'm sure the 'real' campaign will kick-off.

It's going to be fascinating. I agree about your 'momentum' analogy - there's a lot to be said about 'peaking' at the right time. From a position of approx. 35%, the 'YES' campaign incredibly came within a whisker of creating a seismic change in UK/Scottish politics but, arguably peaked 7-10 days too early in the referendum! 

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Charles Kennedy is not a 'turncoat Tory'.  I have it on good authority that he hates the coalition and was against it from the start.

 

If any of the LibDems do keep their seats in Scotland, one would presume that he would be the most likely to do so.  As we all know, up here people vote more on the person than the party (most of the time) and seemingly as your local MP, he's one of the better ones.

 

I expect that Charles Kennedy will retain his seat and certainly hope he does. An honest politician and a decent man.. One other Lib Dem who will keep his seat is Alastair Carmichael in Orkney and Shetland where they have been returning Liberals since Joe Grimmond was a lad. Personally, much less happy to see the Scottish Secretary back in Westminster than Charlie but struggling to think of any other safe Lib Dems with the possible exception of Menzies Campbell in North East Fife and I'm not so sure of that.

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Whilst they are currently nowhere in the polls, the Lib Dems may yet emerge as king makers again.  They have been roundly vilified for getting into bed with the Tories but unfairly so in my book.  Had they not done so and another election was held, we could have ended up with a majority Tory administration where the impact of austerity measures would have been far more hard hitting.  Worse still, we could have ended up with a majority Labour Government with a spending agenda which would have made the debt position far worse.  In truth, the Lib Dems have been a moderating influence on the Tories and whilst they have gone along with a lot of policy which may have been quite at odds with their manifesto, they have done so as the cost of blocking more extreme Tory ideas and of getting some of their own manifesto priorities onto the statute book.  Coalition politics is about compromise and the junior members of a coalition clearly have to compromise more than the biggest partner.  I think history will conclude that the Lib Dems have done a pretty good job of moderating the right wing zeal of certain sections of the Tory party.  They would have done exactly the same had Labour got in at the last election.  I reckon that as the election progresses people will increasing recognise that and will appreciate that having a strong lib Dem presence in the next parliament will good for political stability in this country.

 

The level of LibDem representation will depend on the voters in England..and they don't at the moment seem too keen on a party which is keeping the nasty party in power and which promised to get rid of tuition fees then dumping them with bills for £9000 a year, given that the only way they can get out of paying it is to take a job which brings in less income than they would expect if they got one using their degrees. I can see the Greens doing better there as an alternative to UKIP for the unaligned or disgruntled voter.

 

If the LibDems blocked the most extreme Tory ideas, I shudder to think what they might have been, given the results of the ones they marched through the Aye lobby to support.  With the best will in the world, the way to stop the enacting of poor policies is to refuse to support them at all..not support them and then tell the media how much they didn't like doing it, but it could have been worse if they hadn't been there...when they have no idea just how bad it will turn out to be.and will never find out because they won't be affected. 

 

The only MPs I have any time for are those who don't vote to protect the possibility of career elevation to Government, but those who vote with a nod to giving a toss about the consequences to their constituents....all their constituents and not just those who voted for them and think the same as them. I like the Dennis Skinner/Charles Kennedy types and loathe the Ian Duncan Smith/Jim Murphy/Danny Alexander ones (did try and find a Tory who rebelled to vote for something to benefit the hoi-polloi.....but failed).

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What's the odds of Charles becoming leader again?  I think they will need a leader in Parliament and I think Clegg's seat is vulnerable to say the least.  As you say, an honest politician and a decent man.

The next one for leader of the Lib Dems will surely be 'Danny Boy' if he keeps his seat!

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What's the odds of Charles becoming leader again?  I think they will need a leader in Parliament and I think Clegg's seat is vulnerable to say the least.  As you say, an honest politician and a decent man.

The next one for leader of the Lib Dems will surely be 'Danny Boy' if he keeps his seat!

 

 

Rather see Michael Moore getting it myself, if he keeps his seat. Don't like Danny Alexander..never have.....do like Michael Moore. If we had Independence, I could bring myself to vote Scottish LibDem if  Michael Moore was leader,,,,but would find it as hard to vote for a party led by Danny Alexander as some people found it to vote YES because of Alex Salmond. I suppose it's a trust thing.

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Charles Kennedy is not a 'turncoat Tory'.  I have it on good authority that he hates the coalition and was against it from the start.

 

If any of the LibDems do keep their seats in Scotland, one would presume that he would be the most likely to do so.  As we all know, up here people vote more on the person than the party (most of the time) and seemingly as your local MP, he's one of the better ones.

Sorry, my mistake, my reading isnt so good. I thought you had Lib Dems (ie Fanny Alexander) getting back into power in Inverness, Nairn, Badneaoch and Strathspey. So yeah, hopefully he gets the dunt at the Election :)

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What's the odds of Charles becoming leader again?  I think they will need a leader in Parliament and I think Clegg's seat is vulnerable to say the least.  As you say, an honest politician and a decent man.

The next one for leader of the Lib Dems will surely be 'Danny Boy' if he keeps his seat!

 

 

That surely, and in my view deservedly, has to be a very big IF....

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http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/tory-contract-kick-us-out-in-5-years.html

 

Not a pro-indy site, for those of you who won't read one on principle..in fact not even one by a Scotsman in Scotland.  :wink:  Written last November, but still as appropriate now.....the opening paragraphs

 

In 2010 David Cameron and the Tories unveiled a 16 point "contract" with the electorate which stated "if we don't deliver our side of the bargain, kick us out in five years".

If you search for this "contract" on the Tory website, all you get is a desperate plea for you to tell them your salary and give them your email list so that they can send you targeted political spam. This suggests that they Tories have realised how badly they have failed to deliver their side of the bargain, but rather than accept that they should now be kicked out by the electorate, they've decided to hide the contract and hope that everyone has completely forgotten about it.

Here's my annotated version of this Tory "contract".

 

I do hope some of you who voted him in on the strength of this contract  will do as you are told..and vote to kick him out in May. 

 

The latest Lord Ashcroft Poll

https://www.politicshome.com/party-politics/articles/story/snp-set-rout-labour-scotland

 

I hope the SNP hasn't peaked too soon.

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What's the odds of Charles becoming leader again?  I think they will need a leader in Parliament and I think Clegg's seat is vulnerable to say the least.  As you say, an honest politician and a decent man.

The next one for leader of the Lib Dems will surely be 'Danny Boy' if he keeps his seat!

 

 

That surely, and in my view deservedly, has to be a very big IF....

 

Just to clarify I hope he will lose his seat!  :scotland:

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I think theres a few things working here. Lib Dems will be punished for getting into bed with the wrong partners. Those living north of the border have shown for years they dont want or need a Tory government and current austerity rules are not helping that cause. Mostly though I think that the failings of Labour in Scotland are down to yesterday politics. The Scottish electorate have seen how Labour ran the country and they have seen how SNP run the country. Labour cannot admit that they didn't do a good job. They dont have a plan for the future and continue to harp on about what has gone by than by what can be. The modern day electorate takes more interest and is bored by the yesterday politics preferring instead a more visionary attitude to the happenings within the country. Labour, Lib Dem take note.....the betterment of the future country is more important than petty bickering on what has been and gone.

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All this carry on about the TV debates is a bit strange.  I've no idea what Cameron is playing at.  He must know that refusing to take part in the debates looks bad and will cost him votes and one must also assume he realises that if they go ahead without him, it will provide the opportunity for everyone else to trash Tory policies with no come back from him.  To add insult to injury he is proposing that there be a single 7 leader debate before the election campaign proper begins and before the Tory manifesto is published! 

 

One of the proposed debates is a head to head with Ed Milliband which one would have thought he would relish, after all, this would be a straight debate between the only 2 contenders to be PM after the election.  Cameron must know that not participating will do significant damage to his credibility.  One can only assume that privately he fears that a poor showing in the debates will do even more damage.  Perhaps he has a very much higher opinion of Milliband's debating abilities than he would lead us to believe.

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