The 2015 General Election Megathread

[aussieh]

it is in the UK. Businesses are recovering and investing and employment figures are rapidly improving. Compare us to other European countries and our economy is in a far better shape. Just because Nicola, Ed and the left wing media can't begin to give the Tory party any credit, doesn't mean that it isn't happening.

Yes, of course well done the Tories for looking after London and the home counties.

[dobmisterdobster]

Did anyone else watch Panorama with the American political stats guy?

[freddiemac]

Dougies full of his own self importance, and a lazy ..........

so that makes it ok to vote in a bampot to embarrass the whole of scotland at Westminster,cringeworthy.

[luckydug]

it is in the UK. Businesses are recovering and investing and employment figures are rapidly improving. Compare us to other European countries and our economy is in a far better shape. Just because Nicola, Ed and the left wing media can't begin to give the Tory party any credit, doesn't mean that it isn't happening.

 

OK David.

Isn't there a West Ham/Aston Villa website you can brainwash.

[Boris]

so that makes it ok to vote in a bampot to embarrass the whole of scotland at Westminster,cringeworthy.

Is Eric Joyce standing again?

[Psychedelicropcircle]

it is in the UK. Businesses are recovering and investing and employment figures are rapidly improving. Compare us to other European countries and our economy is in a far better shape. Just because Nicola, Ed and the left wing media can't begin to give the Tory party any credit, doesn't mean that it isn't happening.

let the99% bow down and worship the 1%. thank you for buying off WM politicians and fronting yourselves as clever people that will leave the uk if you have to pay more tax. growth is being made on low wages and the gov topping up folks rent/ lowering taxes for people able to pay. <this is not the free market at work.

[luckydug]

so that makes it ok to vote in a bampot to embarrass the whole of scotland at Westminster,cringeworthy.

 

You think she is a bampot. More importantly the majority of the electorate think she is a breath of fresh air who will help sweep away the old boys network.

[Boris]

it is in the UK. Businesses are recovering and investing and employment figures are rapidly improving. Compare us to other European countries and our economy is in a far better shape. Just because Nicola, Ed and the left wing media can't begin to give the Tory party any credit, doesn't mean that it isn't happening.

It may well be happening, but like the trickle down effect, it's a trickle, and as such, ineffective.

 

Your average punter isn't seeing the benefit, imo.

[Rand Paul's Ray Bans]

Tory propaganda

 

the left wing media

 

[freddiemac]

Dougies full of his own self importance, and a lazy ..........

so that makes it ok to vote in a bampot to embarrass the whole of scotland at Westminster,cringeworthy.

still find it difficult to understand why the Scottish electorate are so desperate to elect an unproven, negative and dangerous set of MP's to parliament under the SNP banner. Just a few months ago, we rightly sent the pro independence crowd back to their bolt holes to think again, and now they have broken cover with their new nasty 'if you don't vote for us you are betraying Scotland' type of MP.

No clue of how they are going to budget for anything, anti NATO, pro NATO, anti NATO again, pro NATO but anti nuclear and various other changes of policy that appear to be written on the back of an envelope.

Yep, Labour under Jim Murphy are sleepwalking into one of the most humiliating ever disasters in history and the Lib Dems are just about invisible in Scotland, and we still have the shadow of Thatcher causing, in my opinion, the best Scottish politician we have, to be disregarded totally, but for those who worship wee Jimmie Kranky and her party, what is the main policy that makes you want to vote this Nationalist lot into a position where they will back up the very party that they are seeking to defeat?

Still hopeful that the electorate will come to some form of sense and deny Sturgeon her dream of destroying the UK. SNP have had power in Scotland for years and they have shown nothing but contemp for Scotland and its people.

cool post malinga ,got to agree with everything you say .May I add that all my workmates and social friends keep thinking the same as you ,why vote snp.the one thing I would give them great credit for though is their publicity machine,it was miles ahead of better together during Indy.with the conclusion that the final result was much closer than it should have been . When you look at how clueless and financially illiterate they are in just about every department,they should have been blown out of the water long time ago. 1400 less teachers,nhs spending going up less than the English for the last 5 years,140,000 college places cut ,colleges cut from 37 to 20,police scotland an expensive failure ,throwing millions at prestwick airport the list goes on.

[Nookie Bear]

It may well be happening, but like the trickle down effect, it's a trickle, and as such, ineffective.

 

Your average punter isn't seeing the benefit, imo.

Yep. My company announced "better than expected" results....earnings per share higher than analysts predicted blah blag...

 

Of course, no pay rises or bonuses for us, even though business is booming.

 

The recession gave the larger companies the perfect excuse to keep wages low and pressure high because you're supposed to be grateful to have a job.

[freddiemac]

Is Eric Joyce standing again?

I see where you are coming from.but I won't tell him what you said about him!

[jambo1185]

Amazing gif RPRB. Cracking up here. How i feel whenever i come into this thread

[manaliveits105]

Jimmy Crankie admits she likes David Beckham - boo

[Victorian]

We need more of the Jimmy Krankie patter. Cracking stuff.

 

The big question is.. how and through what does Kezia Dugdale breath while ranting?

[freddiemac]

Voters in ruk now moving towards Tory at the thought of a Labour snp alliance.seems like Tories mocking ed in the pocket of salmond threats are now paying dividends. But who does Nicola really want to win?

[Rand Paul's Ray Bans]

Voters in ruk now moving towards Tory at the thought of a Labour snp alliance.seems like Tories mocking ed in the pocket of salmond threats are now paying dividends. But who does Nicola really want to win?

 

Manny Pacquiao?

[Gorgiewave]

Voters in ruk now moving towards Tory at the thought of a Labour snp alliance.seems like Tories mocking ed in the pocket of salmond threats are now paying dividends. But who does Nicola really want to win?

 

Everything that is not the SNP or Scottish is horrible, terrible, alien, frightening and HORRIBLE. The world is big and bad and scary and complicated. We want to hide from the world in oor wee corner of mediocrity.

[Psychedelicropcircle]

Those adverts you hear on the radio at the end when they go through the T&C's rapid.....this is dugdales future!

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

 

Bring on the tears and snotters from the ballot box!

[aussieh]

so that makes it ok to vote in a bampot to embarrass the whole of scotland at Westminster,cringeworthy.

Embarrass Scotland, that happened last Sept.

[aussieh]

Everything that is not the SNP or Scottish is horrible, terrible, alien, frightening and HORRIBLE. The world is big and bad and scary and complicated. We want to hide from the world in oor wee corner of mediocrity.

That will be the no voters.

[aussieh]

Voters in ruk now moving towards Tory at the thought of a Labour snp alliance.seems like Tories mocking ed in the pocket of salmond threats are now paying dividends. But who does Nicola really want to win?

Thatll be the present rheteric, kicking in.

[The Mighty Thor]

The vote was always going to swing towards a tory win. There's no credible alternative in rUK.

Good to see the grievance and grudge politics of the tory party working an absolute treat.

There'll be plenty time to repent at our leisure over the next 5 years.

[aussieh]

If or When the prob 45 SNP MPs are sidelined as GK put it, what does that tell you about Scottish votes?.

We're just window shoppers, and to England we're a nothing, Britain is just a window dressing for the world. We all know they really mean England.

One other thing, does anyone think if Labour were in Government during the Indyref the Tories would have gave a frogs fat arse?

[RosscoC]

Couldn't agree with it more, myself. Labour does need to reinvigorate itself in Scotland. And there is a golden chance to do so in 2016 at Holyrood with a stronger team. Whatever may happen at the end of this it's a chance to set out a vision to counter the SNP.

 

But at the same time the article is just superb. We can't use old values and contexts long gone to define and set our future and how we relate to politics. Compassion, fairness and ambition for the next generation should be the corner stones of the next 10 years, not the slide we can see on both sides of grudge and grievance.

Good luck with that.

[JamboX2]

Good luck with that.

Did you read the article?

 

It's not about Labour at all. It's about the change in Scotland we are about to go through.

[JamboX2]

If or When the prob 45 SNP MPs are sidelined as GK put it, what does that tell you about Scottish votes?.

We're just window shoppers, and to England we're a nothing, Britain is just a window dressing for the world. We all know they really mean England.

One other thing, does anyone think if Labour were in Government during the Indyref the Tories would have gave a frogs fat arse?

It's not that they're an irrelevance. It's that they've already played their hand and they haven't made it hard for Labour to make them take the SNP seriously. They've made it harder for the selves post election - they've committed to backing Labour into power, they've a manifesto very similar to Labours and they aren't holding the independence threat over the UK. In a way their decisions on how to run this campaign has marginalised their influence.

 

Salmond wouldn't have thrown his cards down like this. He'd have said he'd work with whoever to get the best for Scotland and more powers. If that meant Cameron by minority it'd be Cameron by minority. Much like Nigel Dodds and the DUP have said they'll work with anyone.

 

The SNP will be influential. Sturgeon is right that even if they back a Queens Speech they can still influence policy on an issue by issue basis. But to say they've Labour over a barrel is wrong and ignores reality.

 

They're on course to be the biggest party in Scotland. They will be an influential voice. The third party normally is. But it doesn't necessarily follow that they're going to be as influential as is being made out. The narrative they will is coming from the SNP and the Tories and the two are fuelling the animosity on both sides of the border.

 

The party will be as influential as any third party usually is. It's not that Scotland doesn't matter, it's more how the SNP use their influence and work for their constituents which counts after this vote. Not the beginning of a story of "och, we're irrelevant know, nae ones listening".

[RosscoC]

Did you read the article?

 

It's not about Labour at all. It's about the change in Scotland we are about to go through.

Yes.

 

Of course it's about Labour and already romanticising their inevitable return.

 

It was a nice wee refresh of sixth year history/1st politics undergrad, I'll give you that.

[Thunderstruck]

Embarrass Scotland, that happened last Sept.

Indeed.

 

 

The failure of some to accept the settled will of the Scottish electorate in a properly constituted democratic process.

[TheMaganator]

It's not that they're an irrelevance. It's that they've already played their hand and they haven't made it hard for Labour to make them take the SNP seriously. They've made it harder for the selves post election - they've committed to backing Labour into power, they've a manifesto very similar to Labours and they aren't holding the independence threat over the UK. In a way their decisions on how to run this campaign has marginalised their influence.

 

Salmond wouldn't have thrown his cards down like this. He'd have said he'd work with whoever to get the best for Scotland and more powers. If that meant Cameron by minority it'd be Cameron by minority. Much like Nigel Dodds and the DUP have said they'll work with anyone.

 

The SNP will be influential. Sturgeon is right that even if they back a Queens Speech they can still influence policy on an issue by issue basis. But to say they've Labour over a barrel is wrong and ignores reality.

 

They're on course to be the biggest party in Scotland. They will be an influential voice. The third party normally is. But it doesn't necessarily follow that they're going to be as influential as is being made out. The narrative they will is coming from the SNP and the Tories and the two are fuelling the animosity on both sides of the border.

 

The party will be as influential as any third party usually is. It's not that Scotland doesn't matter, it's more how the SNP use their influence and work for their constituents which counts after this vote. Not the beginning of a story of "och, we're irrelevant know, nae ones listening".

In terms of having influence they've shot themselves in the foot. No doubt about that.

 

In terms of paving the way for the narrative of 'wir no being listened to, Scotland is treated badly' they're still bang on course.

 

Which is what they wanted. The grievance narrative to give them the excuse for a referendum in the 2016 manifesto.

[Boris]

In terms of having influence they've shot themselves in the foot. No doubt about that.

 

In terms of paving the way for the narrative of 'wir no being listened to, Scotland is treated badly' they're still bang on course.

 

Which is what they wanted. The grievance narrative to give them the excuse for a referendum in the 2016 manifesto.

 

To be fair, the Tories are whipping up anti-Scotch feeling south of the border in an attempt to out UKIP UKIP.  Labour, while not saying it in the same tone, are still disregarding the (potential) will of the electorate in Scotland.  Both these things say to me, and no doubt to quite a lot of the electorate here, is "it's our ball, and you're not playing".  Which is quite pathetic.

 

If anything stokes and fuels what you call grievance, then it is the actions of these two parties.

 

Yes, the SNP wants an independent Scotland, but it is the Labour party and more obviously the Conservatives, who are doing their best to wreck the Union.  The SNP don't have to agitate for it.  These two are doing a fine job all by themselves because they are so out of touch with the Scottish electorate that it's obscene.

[Nookie Bear]

Embarrass Scotland, that happened last Sept.

 

 

That will be the no voters.

 

Yep, definitely over it and moving on.

[Boris]

The grievance narrative to give them the excuse for a referendum in the 2016 manifesto.

 

And if the Scottish electorate do not want another referendum then they will give the SNP short shrift.  As you are so confident of this, surely this must actually be a good thing as it will defeat the SNP?

 

Or do you sense a shifting of opinion and in fact the momentum toward independence is growing?

Edited April 28, 2015 by Boris

[aussieh]

In terms of having influence they've shot themselves in the foot. No doubt about that.

 

In terms of paving the way for the narrative of 'wir no being listened to, Scotland is treated badly' they're still bang on course.

 

Which is what they wanted. The grievance narrative to give them the excuse for a referendum in the 2016 manifesto.

Bit rich coming fae a Tory, considering the mantra down south.

[aussieh]

Yep, definitely over it and moving on.

Never said I was, and never will I be, but thats a different battle Nookie.

[aussieh]

Indeed.

 

 

The failure of some to accept the settled will of the Scottish electorate in a properly constituted democratic process.

I telt yae bifore the Scots vote it aye.

[Nookie Bear]

I telt yae bifore the Scots vote it aye.

 

?

[doctor jambo]

In terms of having influence they've shot themselves in the foot. No doubt about that.

 

In terms of paving the way for the narrative of 'wir no being listened to, Scotland is treated badly' they're still bang on course.

 

Which is what they wanted. The grievance narrative to give them the excuse for a referendum in the 2016 manifesto.

 

Wrong on so many levels.

What they have done is turn labour from a guaranteed majority in Scotland into a complete irrelevance, and guaranteed SNP control in this country for years to come.

They have BECOME labour

Many would now vote SNP regardless of what was in their manifesto, or who stood for them

They are now the establishment party, the big fish.

Labour in Scotland are now as relevant as the Lib dems or the Tories- they will take one seat

[jack D and coke]

That's why we're Better Together. I'd have loved to have seen the Scottish Government (Scottish GDP: 248bn pounds) bailing out RBS (bailout: 46bn pounds). 18.5% of the national wealth to bail out a bank. As the UK (GDP: 2.7 trillion pounds), 1.7% of GDP went to saving RBS. What has the RBS bailout got to do with the SNP? Anti-banker champion of the little person, Alex Salmond, was egging them on to fatally take over ABN "for Scotland".

 

Oh You!

 

Treat like with like.

 

In an independent Scotland WOULD RBS have been in a position to act like it did?

 

Also remember their may well have been an oilfund running for years in this hypothetical independent Scotland. So it may well have been loose change.

Surely we're not going down this road again? Scotland had approximately 7% of RBS business and this is the only part we would have been responsible for. This has been done to death.

 

France bailed out Belgian banks etc and the likes of RBS and Barclays received billions from the U.S. federal reserve. It would not have been Scotland's problem for their business in other parts of the world just like the UK wasn't responsible for bailing out their American business etc. To still be suggesting Scottish taxpayers alone would've been responsible for bailing out bad business all over the planet is ludicrous. It doesn't work like that.

[Boris]

Surely we're not going down this road again? Scotland had approximately 7% of RBS business and this is the only part we would have been responsible for. This has been done to death.

 

France bailed out Belgian banks etc and the likes of RBS and Barclays received billions from the U.S. federal reserve. It would not have been Scotland's problem for their business in other parts of the world just like the UK wasn't responsible for bailing out their American business etc. To still be suggesting Scottish taxpayers alone would've been responsible for bailing out bad business all over the planet is ludicrous. It doesn't work like that.

 

Thank you.  Matter closed!

[ToadKiller Dog]

The SNP won't go down the grievence raising road if the Tory party hold onto power , that would only appeal to their hardcore support , they need to win over the soft No voters .

I think some of the Brit Nats are blinded by their own dislike of the SNP to accept they are a bit smarter than that .

The SNP will adopt the out opposition the Labour Party tactic ( which won't be hard as labour will be in a mess after blowing an election they should have walked , I expect a defeted labour to move rightward ) .

The SNP will be able to argue from a social democratic position ( even if truth be that they support the deregulated market as much as anybody else ) .

The test for the SNP will be how they control the new members who might be less pragmatic than the leadership .

[jambos are go!]

Surely we're not going down this road again? Scotland had approximately 7% of RBS business and this is the only part we would have been responsible for. This has been done to death.

 

France bailed out Belgian banks etc and the likes of RBS and Barclays received billions from the U.S. federal reserve. It would not have been Scotland's problem for their business in other parts of the world just like the UK wasn't responsible for bailing out their American business etc. To still be suggesting Scottish taxpayers alone would've been responsible for bailing out bad business all over the planet is ludicrous. It doesn't work like that.

Try telling that to a Greek. And its great non austerity party now in power.

[Boris]

Try telling that to a Greek. And its great non austerity party now in power.

 

Nice show of solidarity there with the international working class community.  Good to see traditional labour values alive and well.

[jack D and coke]

Try telling that to a Greek. And its great non austerity party now in power.

Why do I need to tell that to a Greek? Are you comparing our economy with theirs? Why not do a real Alistair Darling and bring Somalia or some tinpot South American country into it while your at it?

[aussieh]

?

[freddiemac]

Thatll be the present rheteric, kicking in.

????

[XB52]

The Record have their latest Survation poll out, the gap has grown by 6 points since their last one, SNP at 51%

[jambo1185]

The SNP won't go down the grievence raising road if the Tory party hold onto power , that would only appeal to their hardcore support , they need to win over the soft No voters .

I think some of the Brit Nats are blinded by their own dislike of the SNP to accept they are a bit smarter than that .

The SNP will adopt the out opposition the Labour Party tactic ( which won't be hard as labour will be in a mess after blowing an election they should have walked , I expect a defeted labour to move rightward ) .

The SNP will be able to argue from a social democratic position ( even if truth be that they support the deregulated market as much as anybody else ) .

The test for the SNP will be how they control the new members who might be less pragmatic than the leadership .

 

Good post. SNPs genius is that despite not being now, or ever in the past, a socialist party, they seem to have convinced everyone that they are even (to quote that brilliant Daisley piece) "without once venturing beyond the low-tax, pro-business, neoliberal centre ground".

 

Take them lightly at your peril - they are clever and their MPs, no matter how young, inexperienced, na?ve or whatever words you want to use, will be well trained, well prepped, and guided on every question, statement and speech they are to make, and every decision to be taken. Sadly only Davidson seems to "get it", in terms of what the SNP 'threat' is and how best to handle it, and she's being trampled over by Crosby (who she hates) who is directing the English campaign.

Edited April 28, 2015 by jambo1185

[2NaFish]

I don't get the bum sooking of the daisley piece. It largely read like just another labour voter who didn't get the fact that they're reviled and was confused that his sense of entitlement wasn't being met. And its that sense of entitlement that means they're reviled. Sure it was couched in powerful schmaltz but, rather than seek to understand the issue with labour, it was just self pitying and a microcosm of the problem.

Edited April 28, 2015 by 2NaFish