Scottish Parliamentary Elections May 2021

[HTG]

11 minutes ago, Burning Barns said:

In my experience, the people who make up ALBA are seasoned campaigners for independence, many of whom were SNP stalwarts who served the party for decades.  

From what I've seen, a lot of them are seasoned campaigners at slaughtering Nicola Sturgeon. Plus they're the party of choice for Wings. There are far too many total arseholes in that ALBA gang to go anywhere near it. They can get in the bin. Aye, there will be decent people in there but I'll be voting SNP or Green on the list.

[GordonS]

1 hour ago, Burning Barns said:

That's great, however it doesn't change the fact that there is a sizeable unionist contingent within the Green Party base.  

There is no guarantee that they wouldn't enter into an electoral marriage of convenience with Labour at some point, rather than the SNP.  

Your problem with the Greens is that, though they strongly support independence and always have done, and they campaigned for independence in the referendum, you feel, based on no evidence, that the people who vote for them aren't independence-y enough?

Wouldn't it be a good thing if they were persuading people into the independence camp, something that Alba are never going to do?

[paul-r-cfc]

It will absolutely make my week if Alba pick up zero seats.

[BigDoddyKane]

I prefer Greens to SNP or Alba. I wouldnt vote for SNP/Alba 

[Baxter Parp]

8 hours ago, ayrmad said:

Surely that won't happen under oor Nicola. 

Plenty of Tory arseholes in the borders, LibDems in the H&I.

[mac.i]

He didn't manage the whole weekend even with his social media boycott.

Will the branch office be looking for a new manager before he even sets foot in the Scottish Parliament or is "Murray" going to deny all knowledge of that Douglas bloke....

[sparky88]

8 hours ago, Burning Barns said:

In my experience, the people who make up ALBA are seasoned campaigners for independence, many of whom were SNP stalwarts who served the party for decades.  

That probably says more about the SNP than Alba.

[Guest Bob Mahelp]

I won't vote for Alba, but part of me feels that it would do the SNP good to have Salmond back in parliament.

The party needs a re-organisation from top to bottom, or this could well be the last time we see an SNP government in Holyrood for a while. They've become far too complacent, and have also become overly reliant on the opposition being piss poor. 

There needs to be a shake up, and as unacceptable as Salmond is, he could well be the catalyst for it. 

[SANTAN]

9 hours ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

Appreciate the reply but for me id rather not vote for a party with some of the people who make up Alba. Had a look at the green manifesto, dont agree with all of it but some good points in it. 

Is this another earth shattering post that shows you don't have to support every single policy to support a party at an election? 

Intriguing how many people think this is the case, a lot of people had very different views when it came to voting for Conservatives. 

That's two posters in the past 2 pages who have said they'll vote for a party even though they don't support every aspect...

Brave posts guys but you'll probably have a bunch of people disagreeing, after all this place is always consistent and by choosing to vote for the Greens you actually wholeheartedly endorse every aspect of their policy, be it their recent stance on Covid and the slow easing of lockdown or just general green issues. You don't get to pick and choose the things that matter most to you. 

[Baxter Parp]

11 minutes ago, Bob Mahelp said:

I won't vote for Alba, but part of me feels that it would do the SNP good to have Salmond back in parliament.

Salmond being the most distrusted politician in Scotland.

[MONKMAN]

Postal votes complete and sent off this morning.
2 votes in Glasgow Southside for Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon, of the Scottish National Party. 

2 regional votes going to the Scottish Greens, for the main man P.Harvie. 

[renton]

5 minutes ago, Stormzy said:

Is this another earth shattering post that shows you don't have to support every single policy to support a party at an election? 

Intriguing how many people think this is the case, a lot of people had very different views when it came to voting for Conservatives. 

That's two posters in the past 2 pages who have said they'll vote for a party even though they don't support every aspect...

Brave posts guys but you'll probably have a bunch of people disagreeing, after all this place is always consistent and by choosing to vote for the Greens you actually wholeheartedly endorse every aspect of their policy, be it their recent stance on Covid and the slow easing of lockdown or just general green issues. You don't get to pick and choose the things that matter most to you. 

While all parties are a mix of instincts and policy options that can straddle a wide expanse of the political spectrum, Tory policies always tend to the venal, the selfish and myopic. Certainly in the last 40 years. There isn't a Tory exclusive policy that won't mark you out as a c**t, alas. It's just their worldview.

[SANTAN]

2 minutes ago, renton said:

While all parties are a mix of instincts and policy options that can straddle a wide expanse of the political spectrum, Tory policies always tend to the venal, the selfish and myopic. Certainly in the last 40 years. There isn't a Tory exclusive policy that won't mark you out as a c**t, alas. It's just their worldview.

I'd say the single constitutional issue we have at the moment isn't so easy to classify as goodies versus baddies. 

You can't make a sincere argument that voting to remain in the UK is overall a selfish, myopic or venal position. You'd probably have an easier time doing so relating to Green policy and their approach to dealing with Covid and the support for a slow easing of lockdown. 

[renton]

1 minute ago, Stormzy said:

I'd say the single constitutional issue we have at the moment isn't so easy to classify as goodies versus baddies. 

You can't make a sincere argument that voting to remain in the UK is overall a selfish, myopic or venal position. You'd probably have an easier time doing so relating to Green policy and their approach to dealing with Covid and the support for a slow easing of lockdown. 

Except or course there are other ways of expressing your constitutional preference, either by another party - Labour, or the Lib Dems - or simply by voting No in a referendum. Yet you choose the Tories.

[SANTAN]

Just now, Pato said:

There isn't a human cost to doing this with the greens and there is a human cost to doing this with conservatives.

Both the posters that have said they're voting Green have argued otherwise regarding the impact of lockdown over in the Coronavirus thread. 

They sincerely believe that slow easing of lockdown has a significant human cost. They also are happy enough to vote for that party even though they disagree with that specific argument. 

Human cost aside the initial point made was that it was impossible to pick and choose policy and that your vote is therefore 100% support of party policy. Now regarding human cost, is this the human cost you've previously shown links to austerity and life expectancy? 

[SANTAN]

2 minutes ago, renton said:

Except or course there are other ways of expressing your constitutional preference, either by another party - Labour, or the Lib Dems - or simply by voting No in a referendum. Yet you choose the Tories.

So before we move on can we clarify that it is possible to vote for a party without supporting all of their policy or is that not the case? 

To the second point you've shifted onto discussing, I've chosen Tories in a constituency that would literally put the SNP ahead of them if they were to win, which is fundamentally opposed to one of the things I am most passionate about. I'm presuming if you lived in a seat that the Tories were close to winning you would vote tactically for the party that would keep them out? Fair enough if you wouldn't.

[GordonS]

32 minutes ago, Bob Mahelp said:

I won't vote for Alba, but part of me feels that it would do the SNP good to have Salmond back in parliament.

The party needs a re-organisation from top to bottom, or this could well be the last time we see an SNP government in Holyrood for a while. They've become far too complacent, and have also become overly reliant on the opposition being piss poor. 

There needs to be a shake up, and as unacceptable as Salmond is, he could well be the catalyst for it. 

You think the public being reminded regularly that the SNP were led by a man who they dislike more than Boris Johnson and who two-thirds of them don't even think is fit to be an MSP is a good thing? 

To me, Alba supporters are people so unwilling to see past their own extreme desire for independence at any cost that they refuse to accept what the electorate actually thinks of their leader.

[SANTAN]

3 minutes ago, Pato said:

Yes.

No comment on the idea that the posters I'm referring to have argued about the human cost of extended lockdown? Surely that's noteworthy to the point I initially brought up over hypocrisy? 

Regarding the austerity stuff as I've mentioned previously I only voted for the Tories at the Theresa May elections onwards. I never voted for the Conservatives when they were madly promoting austerity and I've never agreed with it in principle. Also is it not pretty much acknowledged that in the immediate aftermath of an Indy vote there would likely be austerity level economics for the next 10 years or so? (That could be a reach) I'd be interested to see the human cost of Indy Scotland over remaining in the UK if that was even possible!

[Genuine Hibs Fan]

3 minutes ago, Stormzy said:

No comment on the idea that the posters I'm referring to have argued about the human cost of extended lockdown? Surely that's noteworthy to the point I initially brought up over hypocrisy? 

Regarding the austerity stuff as I've mentioned previously I only voted for the Tories at the Theresa May elections onwards. I never voted for the Conservatives when they were madly promoting austerity and I've never agreed with it in principle. Also is it not pretty much acknowledged that in the immediate aftermath of an Indy vote there would likely be austerity level economics for the next 10 years or so? (That could be a reach) I'd be interested to see the human cost of Indy Scotland over remaining in the UK if that was even possible!

Where are you getting the idea that austerity ended when Theresa May entered office?

[renton]

Just now, Stormzy said:

So before we move on can we clarify that it is possible to vote for a party without supporting all of their policy or is that not the case? 

To the second point you've shifted onto discussing, I've chosen Tories in a constituency that would literally put the SNP ahead of them if they were to win, which is fundamentally opposed to one of the things I am most passionate about. I'm presuming if you lived in a seat that the Tories were close to winning you would vote tactically for the party that would keep them out? Fair enough if you wouldn't.

To your first point, yes you can however supporting any part of Tory exclusive policy would mark you out as a c**t.

As to the second point, no. I'd vote for the party I believed in. It's the only to affect change in the long term.

On the assumption that you vote Tory because you are pissing yourself terrified because ONLY THE TORIES CAN STOP THE SNP HERE then you are being taken for a ride. The Tories have weaponised the constitutional question to keep them competitive. 

There is still a debate over whether there can be another referendum while the UK Government is implacably hostile to the idea. And even if there is another, you still have the opportunity to vote in accordance with your passionate beliefs in that referendum. So why not take the time, look at the party manifestos and choose the party that in a wider sense reflects your views. It won't change much this election, but next one?

And if you still end up at the end of that choosing, regressive, selfish, privileged, bigoted entrenchment, then, well, f**k you.