Could the Conservatives become Scotland's 2nd biggest party?

[Im_Rodger]

With the downfall of Labour more evident each and every day I have pondered the possibility of the Conservatives becoming official opposition to the SNP.

In the most recent poll it has seen the Conservatives match Labour in the amount of support. Looking back a good few weeks and it has viewed the Conservatives to have polled better than Labour.

Opinions? Also my days of digging at the SNP are over. They are just too big a force to be messing with at the moment. However I'm very happy to dig at the Labour branch office very much so.

[MONKMAN]

The catastrophic demise of Labour is truly amazing, but they'll still finish second.

[1320Lichtie]

No. Not a chance.

[Peppino Impastato]

It doesn't really matter even if it did happen it would only be for one parliament. It wouldn't really be of much consequence just symbolic, though it would be funny.

[Mr Bairn]

I give them a fighting chance but I still think when all is said and done Labour will do the business.

 

 

There's still an element of folk out there that will end up voting Labour on polling day. You didn't notice it so much last year because it was a FPTP election but Labour still beat the Tories by some 10% in the popular vote

 

 

I don't think they'll be 10% ahead but expect 3-5% difference in votes

 

My back of a fag packet calculation is:

 

SNP 78

Labour 23

Conservatives 16

Greens 6

Lib Dems 3

[TonMan]

Nah, I still don't think it'll happen. It could, which is pretty disastrous for Labour in itself, but I think enough people will opt for Labour to stop it from happening. I also still see the Tories struggling to break that 20% barrier, which they'll probably need. I don't really think there's been enough involving them for a significant increase in support, and the Westminster lot's antics is surely only more likely to turn people off them.

 

I hope it doesn't, too. As funny as it'd be to see Labour getting shafted again, Davidson and co will become ridiculously smug and overconfident if they become the official opposition, and they'll annoyingly probably start to argue that they're on the rise, have garnered support etc, even if it's not all that much. They'd be really insufferable, so I think we should all hope it doesn't end up that way.

[lichtgilphead]

I give them a fighting chance but I still think when all is said and done Labour will do the business.

 

 

There's still an element of folk out there that will end up voting Labour on polling day. You didn't notice it so much last year because it was a FPTP election but Labour still beat the Tories by some 10% in the popular vote

 

 

I don't think they'll be 10% ahead but expect 3-5% difference in votes

 

My back of a fag packet calculation is:

 

SNP 78

Labour 23

Conservatives 16

Greens 6

Lib Dems 3

 

Another laughable prediction.

 

Bairn can't even get the total to add up to 129     

[dogmc]

The fact that it's even a debatable topic shows just how disastrous it was for slab to hug tories ukip lib Dems n orange order during referendum. Fact is there is very little between the ideology of labour lib Dem tories n ukip these days. It's actually unhealthy for the snp that they have no credible opposition but the idea that people are either conned or brainwashed into voting snp is nonsense. The unionist parties conspired to lie horribly during referendum campaign taking what was only 30 odd % support for independence (roughly what it had been for guts of 3 decades ) to there or thereabouts 50% now. ....in 18 months.....that's a catastrophic failure for the ongoing unionist campaign despite an enormous campaign by tabloid and bbc media

It's actually horrible to see what labour have become these days....when guys like tristram hunt are representative of the PLP. ..and have the utter cheek to call themselves 'moderate' you would imagine keir hardie is spinning hard enough in his grave to negate gravity

[invergowrie arab]

1. There is no official opposition

2. The Tories won't come second

3. It's hilarious to see Labour genuinely surprised and wrong footed that their best pals in indyref and the Westminster election are now gunning for them.

Kez and Labour so used to getting hauners to attack the SNP over the past 5 years they are cutting a very isolated figure.

They still have enough latent support to collapse barely breathing over the line with about 4 seats more than the Tories though.

[Fide]

What gets me is Scottish Labour's absolute and complete inability to recognise what's happening in Scotland.  They're the political equivalent of the band on the Titanic, sticking manfully to their task, even as the waves lap around their ears.

 

I truly believe now they CAN'T change.  SNPbad is all they have.

 

 However, their only saving grace is how toxic the Tories are viewed in Scotland. That, I think, will allow Slab to finish a ball-hair ahead of them in May.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

Part me of wants this to happen just so I can see how the SNP would do against an actual opposition party and not the perma-failure that Scottish Labour have become.

[invergowrie arab]

The Tories wouldn't be any less useless.

Ruthie has a personable way about her but of you are backed up by utter morons (Alex Johnston), 19th century loonballs (Liz Smith) and outright zoomed (Murdo Fraser) you are on a hiding to nothing.

[Gordon EF]

With the downfall of Labour more evident each and every day I have pondered the possibility of the Conservatives becoming official opposition to the SNP.

In the most recent poll it has seen the Conservatives match Labour in the amount of support. Looking back a good few weeks and it has viewed the Conservatives to have polled better than Labour.

Opinions? Also my days of digging at the SNP are over. They are just too big a force to be messing with at the moment. However I'm very happy to dig at the Labour branch office very much so.

 

Honestly, who really gives a f**k. They're both diddy parties.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

It's the idea that the Tories can actually attack the SNP from an ideological perspective. Labour seem too focused on attacking the SNP for the sake of it when they agree with most of their bloody policies. At least the Tories actually disagree with them.

[Scary Bear]

It wouldn't surprise me. Labour are a shambles, so if you are a proud supporter of the union then the Tories are the only show in town.

The Tories are the most credible opposition. The Lid Dems are just awful. The fact they have Wullie Rennie as leader says it all. Then there's Labour. Slim pickings from a unionist perspective.

[Im_Rodger]

It wouldn't surprise me. Labour are a shambles, so if you are a proud supporter of the union then the Tories are the only show in town.

The Tories are the most credible opposition. The Lid Dems are just awful. The fact they have Wullie Rennie as leader says it all. Then there's Labour. Slim pickings from a unionist perspective.

Yeah this is how I feel as a no voter. No other political party represents my views.

[invergowrie arab]

I agree, the SNP do need a proper opposition. Labour are fuckin useless to the point the SNP just keep getting bigger and bigger. I mean they've been in power for 9 years now, the bookies odds are 1/16 on anther SNP majority, despite the parliament seating formula designed to prevent majority governments! Labour are dead in Scotland. The left wing are going to the SNP, only the hanger onners are still voting labour. Others including No voters are obviously working their way to the Tories.

I support the SNP as I want independence, but I don't agree with all their policies, I find myself agreeing with a lot of Tory policies but I'm right of centre so I could easily make a manifesto made up of what I like from the SNP and Tory manifestos. Labours I'd take f**k all from and the Greens can go f**k themselves as well - Global Warming is a natural occurrence!

Absolute retard found.

[AsimButtHitsASix]

Global Warming is a natural occurrence!

This was the forum equivalent of Morton v QotS the other night. Good first half then fell away at the end

[Wee Willie]

...I support the SNP as I want independence, but I don't agree with all their policies, I find myself agreeing with a lot of Tory policies but I'm right of centre so I could easily make a manifesto made up of what I like from the SNP and Tory manifestos...

 

You are as far right as I am tae the left but we agree on one particular policy.

That's guid enough for me.

[Fide]

Is SNPBad better or worse than ToryBad?

The Tories gained just under 500,000 Scottish votes last year. That is just a few hundred thousand short of their peak popularity when the ruled the entire country. Thats not my definition of toxic. BTW That vote is an increase of almost 150,000 in the last 10 years or so.

You are not paying attention.

 

In a historically low Labour vote last year, the Tories would inevitably pick up some of the deferential vote.  That said, they consistently remain around the 15% mark in Scotland or thereabouts.

To suggest there's any rise in Tory popularity would suggest you're not paying attention.