Scottish Election 6 weeks away.

1. We did last time, so probably will again
fullfact.org/scotland/ask-full-fact-who-paying-scottish-referendum/

2. Fair request. I hope there will also be an explanation of how much money will remain in Scotland since we wouldn't have to pay anything into the central UK pot any more.

1. We did last time, so probably will again
fullfact.org/scotland/ask-full-fact-who-paying-scottish-referendum/

2. Fair request. I hope there will also be an explanation of how much money will remain in Scotland since we wouldn't have to pay anything into the central UK pot any more.

Morning Alegrias!

I’ve just read in the Sunday newspaper that Nicola Sturgeon has rebuffed Boris’ suggestion to work more closely together to pull the UK up from the devastating effects of the pandemic. She has called it a ‘supposedly clever manoeuvre’.

As Scotland is severely split down the middle over support for the SNP how do you feel about her statement? Surely 50% of the electorate in Scotland must now be feeling disenfranchised by her vision for the future? Would it not be best to work with Boris for a couple of years, until Indy2 anyway, for the good of the WHOLE of Scotland?

Yes Nicola how about actually working for the benefit of Scotland instead of against it.

Morning Urmstongran! I can't find anything like that online. Can you post a link or screenshot please?

Sorry for repeating myself earlier ?

Aw, I found it! The Sunday Mail, who'd have guessed!

Full political assessment will be given after breakfast ?

Alegrias1

Morning Urmstongran! I can't find anything like that online. Can you post a link or screenshot please?

Sorry for repeating myself earlier ?

The story is from the DM so make of that what you will. Here’s the bit which explains how they constructed the story. Easy to be taken in if you want to be.

But in a televised statement being delivered as the letter was being emailed to her, Ms Sturgeon criticised the Prime Minister for resisting a new referendum. She said: ‘I hear about Boris Johnson refusing to give in to these demands. And what supposedly clever manoeuvres Westminster might be planning. All of this treats voters in Scotland as if they simply don’t matter – like they are just a sideshow. But voters are not a sideshow. You – not me or Boris Johnson – are the people who matter.’

Btw I hear BJs visits to Scotland during the campaign really helped Ross. What do you mean he didn’t visit? . He loves the Union of course he went ......didn’t he?

Cross posts

Ooh well the U.K. was divided over Brexit wasn’t it? No one suggested working together then - no it was hardline or nothing. 50% of us feel disenfranchised by that.

vegansrock

Ooh well the U.K. was divided over Brexit wasn’t it? No one suggested working together then - no it was hardline or nothing. 50% of us feel disenfranchised by that.

As in ‘you lost get over it’ ?

I think BJ visited a fishing community in Orkney before Brexit - he wouldn’t dare visit now. Didn’t he go to a vaccination centre for a photo opp for an hour or so?

Haha suzie woozie well the independence lobby won in Scotland didn't they - get over it England

It seems to me then that Scotland is about to suffer a double dose of disenfranchisement. Brexit and Indy2. Just piles on the upset for some up there.

I’m looking forward to how the circle will be squared of not being distracted by holding an independence referendum with calling a GE early with an 81 seat majority. Lots of ???needed.

Urmstongran

It seems to me then that Scotland is about to suffer a double dose of disenfranchisement. Brexit and Indy2. Just piles on the upset for some up there.

Oh dear - whereas down here all is hunky dory

Yet only because SNP + Greens joined together. Voters from all the other parties combined actually form the greater majority in fact. So Indy2 not going to be a shoo in. I’ll stick my neck out and say I think the referendum (if it’s legally allowed) will deliver a ‘stay together’ result.

I hope so anyway. ?

I'm not sure where this 'severely split' idea came from. Didn't Alegrias tell us that the Greens also support independence?

As I see it the SNP and the Greens hold a pretty respectable majority.

@ vegansrock & suziewoozie ?. Clearly the numbers needed to express the 'will of the people' are very elastic...

No I agree sw that Brexit scars have fissured the political landscape even in England. However, at least here were not about to put ourselves through another potentially seismic referendum. Although of course the result will have ripple effects for us for years too.

We need to lovebomb Scotland! I’d hate for them to leave the Union.

"Voters from all the other parties combined actually form the greater majority"

Oh, the irony, the irony...:-)

No MaizieD not elastic at all. More Scots voted in total for the other parties than SNP and the Greens.

The road ahead will be very interesting up there.

You referring to Brexit?

Urmstongran

No I agree sw that Brexit scars have fissured the political landscape even in England. However, at least here were not about to put ourselves through another potentially seismic referendum. Although of course the result will have ripple effects for us for years too.

We need to lovebomb Scotland! I’d hate for them to leave the Union.

But you’ll support an early GE? Anyway there won’t be Indy2 because has said so and so as we all know, that must be true.

Johnson has said so

Backed legally by the Supreme Court though sw.

No need for another GE any time soon surely? Boris has the majority he needs to crack on,

Oh, so much to say….

Thanks suzie for the info. The Mail saying that Nicola had rebuffed something that hadn’t even been offered at the time she was speaking. She’s good, but she’s not psychic.

Unionists can squirm all they like trying to say there’s no mandate for a referendum. Independence supporting parties got a majority of seats in the Parliament. 72 seats out of 129. Difficult to say what proportion of votes they got because of the two ways of voting, but between SNP and Green together it was probably in the high forties. So yes, absolutely true to say that more people voted for the other parties, but since I have no idea what the constitutional views of most of the minority parties are, we’ll stick by the rules of the game and say that the number of seats is what counts. It was an election, not a referendum. (22 parties took part in the election, plus a handful of independents.)

Johnson with his usual attention to detail was talking about how the vaccine rollout went from Gretna to John O’Groats. Wonder what the people of Orkney and Shetland thought of that. Mind you at least he managed to avoid getting the name of the leader of the Scottish Tories wrong this time. He called him Moray Ross earlier in the campaign.

Anyone who’s been paying attention will have heard Sturgeon say on several occasions that there won’t be a referendum until we’re well over COVID so any suggestions that the SNP want one asap is malicious and we just see through it, honestly.

And don’t be lovebombing us, really. It would feel quite unpleasant and it won’t work.