Salt n Vinegar

What's up? Is it a vampire or something? Only comes out at night?

Sometimes it is healthy when a party rep doesn't blindly follow party policy. Scottish Labour is opposed to nukes. JB is against her Scottish party's policy on Nukes. I wouldn't give her the froth off my pint.

Right, that's it, off to bed. There may not be many forum members this will apply to, but this is for anyone not planning to vote. Please just make the effort and do it. For democracy to work, folk need to take part. Don't leave it to others, in Scotland or elsewhere, to determine your future. It's as much your responsibility as it is anyone else's. Don't dodge it. I (almost) don't care who you vote for, just make your voice heard. That's it. See ya.

There are good uns and bad uns everywhere. Why, in my time I've even known a couple of Labour Councillors that I would seriously consider sending for a loaf.

Damn... who let him out of the carbonite?

Gordon Brown's fist "clunking" is not an image I'm not keen on, tbh....he must be sitting too near the table

I'm sure that the French fishermen, so renowned for their restraint, will take one look at the representatives of Her Most Britannic Majesty's Royal Navy and respond in a calm, considered manner.

Bet365 can't make its mind up between an overall majority or no overall majority - both are 17/20.

Anyone know when the last opinion poll is going to come out? There's time yet, surely?

Jesus H! Even the most poorly prepared candidate for any job interview at the very least ought to be ready to have an answer to "tell me, why do you want this job?"

A belter of an article by George Monbiot in the Guardian... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/05/united-kingdom-westminster-independence-union-democracy Two good ones - First, about BoJo - "Though he anointed himself "minister for the union" and claimed that "wild horses" would not prevent him from visiting Scotland before tomorrow’s elections, last month he dropped his plans to do so. He has labelled devolution a “disaster” and Tony Blair's biggest mistake. His Internal Market Act wrenches back devolved powers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. He has launched a challenge before the supreme court to two Holyrood Bills (on children’s rights and local government) designed to enhance the welfare of the Scottish people. He intervenes only to suppress. " and then "I don’t believe England will address its manifold corruptions while our leaders can carry on like colonial viceroys, governing the four nations with ever decreasing consent. As the former nations of the UK embrace meaningful democracy, our preposterous, antiquated system will become ever harder to justify. It seems to me that political regeneration is impossible without the breakup of the union. We will begin to be good only when we stop trying to be great." Nice.

One bloke I used to work with had a great expression, that sums up my feelings about the 'character' of the Tory party today. It goes something like 'at a fundraising dinner with business owners, if all Tory candidates were laid end to end, nobody would be in the least bit surprised...'

The only surprising thing about that story is that - IF it is true - anybody who has been paying attention would be in the least bit surprised. I'm not saying it's true...

Don't worry. The SNP could win 75 seats and the Greens 10 seats and some unionists would claim it wasn't a "big enough" mandate for another referendum.

Sky have just reported on 3 polls... 2 showing an SNP majority, giving them 68 seats (The Herald) or 66 seats (The Courier), and another showing the worse SNP result since 2007 with only 59 seats (The Scotsman) ... can't say it adds much to the credibility of the polling processes!

With 70 out of 73? I suppose it is possible that each of the 70 seats won might have had a tiny FPTP majority vote, but I think that's stretching it. It is certainly the case that our present PR system makes it hard to sort out what folk really want. You only have to look at the interminable debates about where independence supporting folk should put their List vote in many regions to see the issues. It's why I find elections so fascinating. Things will always be interesting as long as we don't know if people are actually voting for a party or to stop another one. My hope is for an absolutely huge turnout as that at least partly removes one of the debating points about 'what the people think and want'. If there is a healthy majority for pro-independence parties in seats (and votes?) it will be fascinating to hear Dross, Sarwar and Rennie tell the electorate that they are right and the electorate are wrong.

It would be a bit bizarre for a party to stand for election with independence the main plank of its manifesto and for that party to win 70 out of 73 seats (as per the earlier suggestion), but for that party to be unable to carry the day in an independence referendum. I realise that the Scottish electorate can be a bit truculent and contrary on occasion but really...

Good luck selling that! As far as I know, the UK is the only European country that uses FPTP to elect its Parliament. Belarus is scarcely democratic at all and France has a two round system. All the other 40 odd use some form of PR, the vast majority using Party Lists.

Of course that is an opinion to which you are entitled, but I am curious about why folk think that PR is essential for the Scottish Parliament but FPTP is essential for Westminster. Care to enlighten me?

Coming up to 9.00am on the day before the Election. Must be nearly time for the "Nichola Sturgeon is an Illuminati Lizard person" or Boris 'considering free puppy and 54 inch plasma tv for every Scottish household' breaking news.

Verging on nomination for 'post of the day'....

Curses. You are correct. They get some. Mind you, to be even thought of as only a third as popular as the Greens might just embarrass even someone with as hard a neck a Rennie. To be fair, his response last night about the Royal Yacht was good, but deserves the same praise as being against sending weans up chimneys... it was bleedin' obvious.

No Labour or Libdem constituencies? Rennie on the dole? I might open a new bottle of malt... Aw damn... He is on the list. Maybe next time...

Right on cue, The Guardian...https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/04/internal-polling-suggests-labour-heading-for-defeat-in-hartlepool-byelection "Labour sources said they were in “huge trouble” in Hartlepool and also in danger of losing control of Sunderland and Durham councils for the first time in half a century. " Aye, some fightback by Starmer.

Poor Willie. His answer to Brexit taking Scotland ot of the EU is to try to convince the UK electorate to rejoin it. The only thing less likely than that is a UK Labour government in the next 20 years.