Another leadership contest?
So Jack McConnell is off. The outgoing Scottish Labour leader has been expected to go sometime since the party's bruising encounter at the election a couple of months ago. So as Labour north of the border comes to terms with the SNP being in charge they find themselves looking for a new boss in Edinburgh.
Whoever it is, they have a tough brief. The SNP are riding high in the polls, and Alex Salmond is working hard to push forward his long term agenda of moving the country towards a referendum on independence.
But will there be a fight for the job? Don't put money on a contest. It's not certain, but the most likely outcome is that Wendy Alexander - yes, the sister of a certain Douglas Alexander, one of Gordon Brown's staunchest cabinet allies - will become the Scottish Labour leader unopposed.
Does it matter outside Scotland? Yes, if only for this reason. One of the things that could hold Gordon Brown back from calling an autumn election is Labour's unpopularity in his home country at the moment. If the polls in Scotland don't shift, going for a ballot in a few months could mean him presiding over the loss of dozens of seats in his own back yard.
The opposition parties delighted in embarrassing Gordon Brown when the Lib Dems pulled off a victory in Labour's Dunfermline stronghold, right near his constituency, not so long ago. Losing a good number of seats to the SNP at a general election would be a much bigger political humiliation.
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Comments
With Scots abundant in the Westminster village you would think there would be a glut of quality politicians in Scotland, you would be wrong; the replacement for Jack McConnell as Labour Leader is proof if proof be needed of what I say.
Wendy Alexander, the Jargon Junkie with her delivery referred to colloquially as 'Wendy Speak' will be a major asset, unfortunately for the Labour Party this major asset will be for the SNP.
Margaret Curran does not present a voter friendly persona and remains unconvincing in her statements.
Deputy Leader Cathy Jamieson would also seem a worthwhile candidate although she lacks that all important requirement of 21st century politician that of charisma.
Andy Kerr was for a long time in the shadow of Jack McConnell, whether or not he is capable will be for him to prove as he was merely seen as one of Jack's puppets when operating as health minister.
You may think I paint a bleak picture, it is not a painting it is a photograph; Jack McConnell remained in office long enough to muster a rag-bag coalition to oppose the SNP, an achievement he could not realise as First Minister. This was an act of revenge in response to his ousting from Bute House, this coalition delivered its response yesterday and Jack McConnell resigned today.
This says more about the vindictiveness of Jack McConnell than I could commit to print.
I suspect that many Scots who'd vote for SNP in the Scottish elections would vote Labour for Westminster. They're not daft - they're not keen on independence and they've got Labour over a barrel.
The Tories would reduce Scottish influence in Westminster (the West Lothian question) and cut public spending north of the border - both of which would galvanise support in England.
Scots would vote tactically for Labour.
O/T about recent reports:
I tried posting a note of complaint about the John Redwood report and bias against the Conservatives on Laura Kunnesburg鈥檚 blog - My message was ignored.
I have complained about Laura鈥檚 bias previously and logged a complaint with the 91热爆. The last notable instance was the boundary commission report where Laura claimed that the reduction in Labour鈥檚 notional majority from 66 to 48 was a 鈥渃hange in political direction, without a vote being cast鈥. It was still a Labour majority 鈥 how could this be a change in direction? More importantly she neglected to say that the boundaries made the electoral system fairer and that Labour got 55% of the seats with just 35% of the vote in 2005. Labour even under the new boundaries would be massively overly represented in terms of the numbers of votes per seat with the other parties.
In reference to the John Redwood report, I think this is a very serious and potentially damaging event for the 91热爆. I think a full broadcast apology should be made to John Redwood (Without the singing footage) and the Conservative Party.
As other people have commented previously you didn鈥檛 show 1980鈥檚 footage of Neil Kinnock falling into the sea or Gordon Brown picking his nose and eating it just a few months ago, when the Prime Minister is announcing something. So why was it necessary to do this with John Redwood?
I also think that the 91热爆 uses biased words in reference to the Conservative party and MP鈥檚 derived from that party.
With ordinary Scots voters dying of E-coli and Alex Salmond spouting on about Scottish Independence he'll soon find out that playing politics instead of running the country can be a costly mistake.
Ask folk in New Orleans how they felt being ignored by George W Bush.
Ask David Cameron's flooded constituents when they saw him sunning himself in Rwanda.
Ask the Scots being poisoned while Salmond lives his ego trip.
Alex Salmond pestered and smooched his way into power. He's looking very strong at the moment but, really, he's at his weakest. The Labour Party didn't do so well and is looking for a new leader but, again, they're at their strongest. Wendy Alexander seems to have a grasp of the issues and knows when to do nothing. All I see is the ground turning to sand under Alex Salmond and his being outflanked with ease. He's clever but Wendy is smarter.
Alex played Rome and failed. Bye, bye Alex.
No to Munin.. I vote tactically to cut the labour parties throat.
I would even vote for Al Qaeda if I thought they would beat Labour because I hate the Labour party as much as it and its supporters hate Britain and people like myself.
As for the independance referendum, Goldie is wrong to align the Tories with the rest of the Labour, Liberal cabal in refusing to have one and Michael Forsyth is right lets get it on.
It just shows the lack of talent in the Labour Party in Scotland that Wendy Alexander can become leader unopposed.
She is a major vote loser for Labour - her own election agent couldn't be bothered voting for her.
Her period as an MSP has been one disaster after another and unless she has someone beside her who is politically astute - because this is one of the quality's she lacks - we could see Labour losing even more seats and votes next time
What seems the biggest shame about this is that while the Labour Party in Edinburgh doesn't have many good people to choose from as leader, Gordon Brown's Cabinet in London has a glut of able and talented Scottish politicians. Why have none of these decided to give their service to the Scottish Parliament? You can only assume it is the instinctive centralism these people adhere to that prevents them leaving Westminster behind.
Why no mention of Wales by the 91热爆 recently? Labour is at least as unpopular here as it is in Scotland (31% in the last assembly elections) and I would suggest has just one really safe seat left outside the Valleys (Wrexham). They certainly should be very jumpy about their other seats in Clwyd, and the ones in Pembrokeshire and southern Glamorgan - and all of them fall, that could be 8 or 9 seats lost at an election.
Couple that with a loss of 15-20 seats in Scotland (which looks possible and is fewer than recent polls have predicted) a much stronger showing than expected for Cameron across the south of England (which, given Labour's complete lack of a grassroots after last May's anihiliation of their council base, the floods, FMD and now nerves about the City, is quite possible) and suddenly the electoral maths isn't so good for Brown.
I've posted before that I don't think Brown will go for an October election - although I'm hoping he will, because as I have also said before, I don't like him and I think he'd lose it - and the ongoing confusion in Scotland just adds to my belief.
Dear me, the posters here are obvously from planet Zanussi, certainly not got a scooby about what is going on in Scotland!
"Does it matter outside Scotland? Yes, if only for this reason."
That and the fact you'll have to find somewhere else to put your Trident missiles when Labour inevitably produce another London controlled puppet leader. Labour can spin their election defeat as being the result of their party being unappealing to the electorate. In reality, the Scottish people are finally waking up to the fact that we can govern ourselves better than we can be governed by London.
I don't expect the London based journalists to ever understand this shift in attitudes but Brian Taylor's blog is certainly more representative of Scottish political reality.
#5 Charles E Hardwidge: I hope this is a likely picture.
Wow. That was a shock. Thanks.
It's just my personal opinion. I just want to see people be the best of the very best and do well. No need to be arrogant or selfish, just a focus on quality, teamwork, and the long-term. Be happy, neh?
It's all about money. If the SNP are to make headway they have to spend it in Glasgow and less in Edinburgh. Hence the school closures there. But if Labour continue with their Glasgow - centric policy they'll keep being in trouble everywhere else.
Also how long will the English fund better social services in Scotland than in England. And why should teachers be on better conditions in Scotland?
Ludicrous for Laura and others to take the recent polls in Scotland as good predictors of the way respondants would vote, even in a national Parliamentary General Election to be held tomorrow.
People who voted SNP, or who half intended to, in their recent local parliamentary election will declare their supprt for the scunner Salmond when asked - just a sort of "Whoopee!" noise which reinforces their scottishness.
In a UK Parliamentary Election they will vote on other issues, and, however contradictorilly, will vote for Gordon Brown and Labour, partly out of their innate conservatism.
Much of Scotland used to be Tory voting, largely for reason of that factor.
To no 5
Alex salmond is the best thing to happen to scotland since the 1707 act of union. As for wendy alexander even her own husband backs indpendence for scotland. The sooner that the rest of the world realises that scotland is heading for indepndence the better............
Alex is doing a splendid job for the Scottish Government and the Scottish people as a whole.
The case for greater fiscal and political autonomy get stronger by the day.
As for the referendum it is a matter of time, and I believe that Alex vision for Scotland is an admirable one.
This is the dawn of a new era in Scotland and the Unionist parties have to realise that he face of Scottish politics have changed.
It is time to have a Scottish High Commission in London, Brussels, New York , Tokyo, Beijing and Moscow.
It is time for Scotland to take its place on the world stage.
As an Englishman who simply wants England to be reborn as a political entity, I am overjoyed at canny Alex Salmonds political moves so far.
All of the mainstream political parties in Scotland have been forced to march to the SNP tune - incremental steps towards self-determination.
If only we English had nationalist politicians of the same calibre!
Come on England.
Wake up from your not-so-golden slumbers.