Are YOU Voting for the Alba Party?

[BFTD]

22 hours ago, ICTChris said:

My unpopular opinion is that mandatory by-elections when someone changes party are a bad idea.

I'm kinda with you. Dumping one party for another should rightfully get you punted at the next (or in a recall, if folk feel that strongly that they've been duped) election, but a lot of folk don't seem to realise they're voting for a person, not a party. She's still Ash Regan; she hasn't had a brain transplant.

Incidentally, does she always look like she wants to speak to the manager, or do the press just choose very unfortunate pictures?

[Trogdor]

25 minutes ago, BFTD said:

I'm kinda with you. Dumping one party for another should rightfully get you punted at the next (or in a recall, if folk feel that strongly that they've been duped) election, but a lot of folk don't seem to realise they're voting for a person, not a party. She's still Ash Regan; she hasn't had a brain transplant.

Incidentally, does she always look like she wants to speak to the manager, or do the press just choose very unfortunate pictures?

Aye, we are a constituency democracy.

You vote for a constituency representative rather than a party. I accept in practical terms it's different (ie. some voters vote for party first irrespective of the candidate).

I think there is a credible argument if you are a list MSP you should step down. In the list vote you vote for party rather than an individual candidate. 

As for Ash Regan, I think that's just the way she looks. Even on her campaign materials she has that sort of simmering look.

[Thane of Cawdor]

4 hours ago, Trogdor said:

Aye, we are a constituency democracy.

You vote for a constituency representative rather than a party. I accept in practical terms it's different (ie. some voters vote for party first irrespective of the candidate).

I think there is a credible argument if you are a list MSP you should step down. In the list vote you vote for party rather than an individual candidate. 

As for Ash Regan, I think that's just the way she looks. Even on her campaign materials she has that sort of simmering look.

That may be the theory, but I strongly doubt it is the practice. The idea of a monkey with red/blue/yellow rosette being electable is closer to the truth. Occasionally there may be a personal bond between candidate and electors, e.g. Dennis Skinner, but he too, was dumped in 2019. Clearly, the policies that were presented to voters were much more important than the individual attached to these policies.

To take this argument to an improbable extreme, what happens if an incumbent MP, elected on a manifesto that includes a local issue of great significance to their voters, reneges on that position to adopt a diametrically opposing view. They no longer represent the interest of their electorate and should put their "personal popularity" to the test via a by-election.

[CarrbridgeSaintee]

Seeing Regan burst through the curtain after the announcement from Salmond was like watching Hulk Hogan switch from WWF to WCW or Chris Jericho from WCW to WWE.. what a pop he got.

She shouldn’t have a by election though, as no one else does.  It’d be madness.

Labour would possibly win it too, so it could be one less independence-minded MSP.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

 

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

6 minutes ago, Ziggy Sobotka said:

 

Please be Cherry or Ewing.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

2 minutes ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

Please be Cherry or Ewing.

Reckon it'll be some no mark though.

[ICTChris]

It'll be Angus MacNeil

[ICTChris]

Political parties announcing defectors like it's transfer deadline day.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

Yousaf's "no great loss" quip has completely rattled quite a few folk.

 

 

 

[welshbairn]

18 minutes ago, Ziggy Sobotka said:

Reckon it'll be some no mark though.

Neale Hanvey was teasing about it on GMS and I think it will be some councillor nobody's heard of.

[orfc]

8 minutes ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

Yousaf's "no great loss" quip has completely rattled quite a few folk.

 

 

 

It's not very statesmanlike is it, I'd say it shows useless is more rattled than anyone else : "I didn't want you on my team anyways!" And if she's no great loss, why was she a SNP minister this time last year?

After looking dignified over the Gaza issue, he's now reverted back to his usual mannerisms

[D Angelo Barksdale]

25 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

Political parties announcing defectors like it's transfer deadline day.

 

On 31/03/2021 at 17:31, Ziggy Sobotka said:

Will there be any more signings before the transfer window slams shut ?

'We're still looking at the lad from Midlothian Council, great pedigree and he's already apologised for his previous tweets'

 

[welshbairn]

13 minutes ago, orfc said:

It's not very statesmanlike is it, I'd say it shows useless is more rattled than anyone else : "I didn't want you on my team anyways!" And if she's no great loss, why was she a SNP minister this time last year?

 

For anyone who first became aware of her during the leadership campaign it should be self evident that she won't be any great loss to the SNP or even any value added to Alba. She's been an Alba member in all but name since she came a distant 3rd in the election, anyway

Edited October 30, 2023 by welshbairn

[Dunning1874]

24 minutes ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

Yousaf's "no great loss" quip has completely rattled quite a few folk.

 

 

 

Good laugh to see Regan being held up as an example of a principled individual for her GRA opposition, when her resignation letter was all about how the SNP have diverged too far from the platform they were elected on in 2021. What was in that manifesto she happily stood on then, I wonder?

[D Angelo Barksdale]

Regan is my MSP.

My mum and dad were part of a campaign to stop (yet more) student flats being thrown up. They got responses from the MP (Tommy Shepard) and all the local councillors from all parties with a number of them attending various community meetings about it.

Regan was the only one who never even bothered replying.

[carpetmonster]

1 hour ago, welshbairn said:

Neale Hanvey was teasing about it on GMS and I think it will be some councillor nobody's heard of.

Won't be Ed Miliband if Hanvey's getting excited about it then. 

[oneteaminglasgow]

I had no idea whatsoever that Ash Regan’s birth name isn’t ‘Ashten’ - she changed it to that when she was 15. I also can’t believe that Ash isn’t short for Ashley.

This isn’t really relevant to her pissing off to Alba, but aye. 

[carpetmonster]

7 minutes ago, oneteaminglasgow said:

I had no idea whatsoever that Ash Regan’s birth name isn’t ‘Ashten’ - she changed it to that when she was 15. I also can’t believe that Ash isn’t short for Ashley.

This isn’t really relevant to her pissing off to Alba, but aye. 

Vulnerable under-18s should in no way shape or form be allowed to self-ID under a different name. 

[MacDuffman]

On 29/10/2023 at 15:33, Trogdor said:

Aye, we are a constituency democracy.

You vote for a constituency representative rather than a party. I accept in practical terms it's different (ie. some voters vote for party first irrespective of the candidate).

I think there is a credible argument if you are a list MSP you should step down. In the list vote you vote for party rather than an individual candidate. 

As for Ash Regan, I think that's just the way she looks. Even on her campaign materials she has that sort of simmering look.

While some people may vote for a candidate, a lot of people vote for the Party. I'd be unhappy if my SNP candidate won then defected to Alba - as I didn't agree with their ideas, I didn't vote for their candidate or their party. I'd be even more incensed if they moved to the Tories. I suppose if enough people feel bad about it there should be a way to get a by-election.