wintonfan Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 havent the SSP all but merged into RISE, Colin Fox was deputy convener of the SSP, cat Boyd is determined to make her mark and I acutually think she will be a good MSP. Regarding Solidarity, they will always be on the fringes, I know and am good mates with a few of their activists and they are good people, Tommy is Tommy, the guy is like marmite, I think he is a okay bloke. a lot of people in the ssp crapped on him then again he did return the favour 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I had a look at their list today and as stated Jean Urquhart is top of the list in the Highlands, along with only one other candidate who looks like he's not much older than a sixth former. Presume he's the only other one who volunteered which doesn't really suggests that they have any strength in depth at all. Ad LIb switching political allegiances again? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivo den Bieman Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 It's a bit much to expect RISE to make any kind of breakthrough this time. Pretty obviously they are just putting down a marker this time and using these elections as a means of building profile and support. There are some good candidates being put forward and the alliance has made a promising start, only time will tell if it will build into something more longlasting than the SSP. Solidarity will soon disappear. It's not much more than the shattered fragment of the pre-Tommygate SSP that he and his few comrades are still clinging to. The party barely exists beyond a couple of postal districts in Glasgow. Radical leftism, particualrly in a neoliberal Scotland where trade unionism is in a steep decline in terms of membership / militancy /capability of action, where the majority of folk see no alternative to turbo-capitalism, is always going to be a minority sport. Political tatstes in Scotland are much more conservative (with a very small "c") than is widely reported. it's part of the reason why Labour clung on for so long, even into this century. A more enagegd and radical electorate would have kicked them into the sea fifteen-twenty years before they finally did. Nonetheless, the implosion / PASOKification of Labour is an opportunity for the more radical left to build. We'll see if they have the strategy to take the opportunity. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky88 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 It's a bit much to expect RISE to make any kind of breakthrough this time. Pretty obviously they are just putting down a marker this time and using these elections as a means of building profile and support. There are some good candidates being put forward and the alliance has made a promising start, only time will tell if it will build into something more longlasting than the SSP. Solidarity will soon disappear. It's not much more than the shattered fragment of the pre-Tommygate SSP that he and his few comrades are still clinging to. The party barely exists beyond a couple of postal districts in Glasgow. Radical leftism, particualrly in a neoliberal Scotland where trade unionism is in a steep decline in terms of membership / militancy /capability of action, where the majority of folk see no alternative to turbo-capitalism, is always going to be a minority sport. Political tatstes in Scotland are much more conservative (with a very small "c") than is widely reported. it's part of the reason why Labour clung on for so long, even into this century. A more enagegd and radical electorate would have kicked them into the sea fifteen-twenty years before they finally did. Nonetheless, the implosion / PASOKification of Labour is an opportunity for the more radical left to build. We'll see if they have the strategy to take the opportunity. Scotland can't be a conservative country. We voted in the left wing SNP. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad Lib Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Ad LIb switching political allegiances again? I've switched political allegiances precisely *once*. I have voted Lib Dem in every eligible election bar one, and have only been a member of one political party in my entire life. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad Lib Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Scotland can't be a conservative country. We voted in the SNP. On the contrary, QED. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUFC90 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 People even trying to claim that Scotland is a Tory country needs their head examined. Scotland doesn't vote Tory and they don't vote Labour either once realising they were Tories too. Unlucky. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I've switched political allegiances precisely *once*. I have voted Lib Dem in every eligible election bar one, and have only been a member of one political party in my entire life. You're fucking 12 years of age, so that's not an achievement. And that also doesn't include your flip-flopping between different forms of posturing libertarianism, and flip-flopping over Scottish independence; neither of which are changes of party, but are firm confirmations that you're a, posturing shitebag. Thanks for playing anyway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivo den Bieman Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) I would have thought it obvious that "conservative with a small c" referred to custom and habit rather than voting allegiance. The Tories have been in decline in Scotland since 1955, when they won half the Scottish seats at the General Election. Scots returned Labour majorities/ LibLab coalitions for 56 years until the rout of 2011 at Holyrood. Returning an ever less successful party with dutifully huge majorities for the best part of 60 years suggests a "conservative with a small c" electorate to me. I never claimed "Scotland is a Tory country" FFS Edited January 7, 2016 by Ivo den Bieman 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUFC90 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I would have thought it obvious that "conservative with a small c" referred to custom and habit rather than voting allegiance. The Tories have been in decline in Scotland since 1955, when they won half the Scottish seats at the General Election. Scots returned Labour majorities/ LibLab coalitions for 56 years until the rout of 2011 at Holyrood. Returning an ever less successful party with dutifully huge majorities for the best part of 60 years suggests a "conservative with a small c" electorate to me. I never claimed "Scotland is a Tory country" FFS Returning Labour MPs for 60 years doesn't in the slightest suggest that I'm afraid. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambie's Pigeon Feed Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Fair enough Menzel, surprised to hear that went on, I always picked up a vibe of concerted effort to promote equality between the sexes and never encountered anything like that. IDB excellent post, Labour are certainly PASOKing, if we can't vote Yes we can't elect a Syriza but Boyd and Fox would be excellent additions to the parliament and there was 6 socialists in the last so it can be done to some level. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivo den Bieman Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Returning Labour MPs for 60 years doesn't in the slightest suggest that I'm afraid. I don't think you really grasp what "conservative with a small c" means. Never mind. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim O'Grady Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Is RISE just pot luck or is it cleverly taken from the Shelley poem, Mask of Anarchy, Rise, like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number! Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you: Ye are manythey are few! Grimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Bully Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 People even trying to claim that Scotland is a Tory country needs their head examined. Scotland doesn't vote Tory and they don't vote Labour either once realising they were Tories too. Unlucky. Oh, FFS. Surely no-one is this thick? -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fotbawmad Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 People even trying to claim that Scotland is a Tory country needs their head examined. Scotland doesn't vote Tory and they don't vote Labour either once realising they were Tories too. Unlucky. It's more of an image problem the Tories have than anything else; rather than people not being receptive to their policies. Anyone who remembers Thatcher or can readily talk to people with first hand accounts of her will be put off voting Tory. The Tories would need a complete revamp or have to wait for a whole new generation of voters. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fide Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Is RISE just pot luck or is it cleverly taken from the Shelley poem, Mask of Anarchy, Rise, like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number! Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you: Ye are manythey are few! Grimbo I didn't realise that poem ended "Grimbo". Quite the anti-climax. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 It's more of an image problem the Tories have than anything else; rather than people not being receptive to their policies. Anyone who remembers Thatcher or can readily talk to people with first hand accounts of her will be put off voting Tory. The Tories would need a complete revamp or have to wait for a whole new generation of voters. At their lowest point under Thatcher the Conservatives won 24% of the vote in Scotland. If Ruth Davidson manages that in the Holyrood elections she'll be hailed as a political genius. They won't get that though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim O'Grady Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I didn't realise that poem ended "Grimbo". Quite the anti-climax. I blame the capitalist education system. Grimbo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky88 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 On the contrary, QED.whooooooosh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Apparently there's been a mass resignation from Tommy Sheridans Solidarity with several activists and regional organisers quitting. Could boost RISEs chances of taking a seat? Probably not but funny anyway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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