It appears most of the contenders I listed for the leadership of the Scottish branch of the Labour Party have decided not to touch the poisoned chalice. However a couple of ‘brave’ souls have stepped out of the melee and announced their candidacy.
The first is Neil Findlay. When I heard the name I thought “Who?” Of course google, being a best friend, came to the rescue with an image of the said Neil Finday. I didn’t recognise him but it’s stated he is the current health spokesman in the Scottish Parliament.
Next to express their desire for promotion was Sarah Boyack. I did recognise her - she’s been around quite some time but has been more or less silent since she left the first Labour coalition cabinet.
The past few days the media has been buzzing with the news that ‘the big gun’ Jim Murphy has put forward his candidacy. Fear and scorn are a few of the emotions drifting around social networks. Andrew has a legal slant on Mr Murphy’s expectations. Whilst reading the comments I happened across this link. Tommy Ball is a member of the SSP but he’s done his homework and his assessment of Mr Murphy won’t be pleasant breakfast reading for the Eastwood MP.
However, a week is a long time in politics. Next week is sure to bring more interesting facts and opinions from and of the candidates. I was tempted to say “I cannae wait,” but that would be a downright lie. I can wait. It’s somewhat satisfying to watch the slow destruction of Scottish Labour. I doubt if any will be honourable enough to fall on their swords gracefully though.
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So the Scottish Labour Party Gala Dinner went well then …
• Miliband was booed and heckled by a substantial crowd, and this in central Glasgow, the very heartland of Labour Scotland
• Anas Sarwar gives up as debuty and throws in the towel
• and to crown it all, two polls from Ipsos Mori and YouGov show a dramatic fall in support for Labour throughout Scotland; they will be lucky to win ten seats.
All of which poses several interesting problems for Labour:-
• For Miliband to win the General Election he needs to retain all of the current Scottish Labour seats, if that number drops to anything like ten, or below, then he is sunk.
• Jim Murphy has promised to seek election as an MSP if elected leader. Will he stand down as an MP, and which current Labour MSP with a ‘safe’ seat will give it up for him?
• Now that Sarwar has stood down there is the distinct possibility that two Westminster MPs could end up as leader and deputy, or will the two contests be ‘fixed’ to ensure at least one MSP? (Perhaps after all there is a grain of truth in what Lamont was saying)
The Scottish Labour Party’s future just gets bleaker and bleaker.
Subrosa- slabs demise had been anything BUT "slow!"
Never have i witnessed a political party ANYWHERE implode with such rapidity- even the destruction of the lub- dims was slower...
You would think getting their arses handed to them in the referendum would have calmed all the wee Nats down and taught them a lesson about getting carried away with their own publicity (and what their own media and rigged polls are telling them).
Fools never learn.
Lamont and Sarwar were never going to survive their poor performance. It is right they are going and it is right that Labour is developing a fresh strategy which will include new leadership. Only the SNP cult followers want to sell this as bad news.
Far as I can see from down south, it doesn't matter who they pick. One poll this morning gave the SNP 52% so it looks like Scottish Labour is in for a thrashing.
This is good for Scotland as it's the only way I can see for you to get further devolution from the Westminster lot who, let's face it, are not great at keeping promises.
I have a feeling they could do a deal with Cameron to not vote on issues that don't England in exchange for devolution in Scotland. Seems a reasonable solution to the West Lothian Question to me...
Slab "develop fresh strategy" William??
I doubt if the cretins could develop a spool of film!!
Haha! Dream on dunshine! Haha!
Seems as if it was a jolly feast JRB. :D
I heard Murphy contributed a bag of food to the food bank set up outside. Condescending sprang to mind.
Dunwerkin, apologies for the thoughtless adjective. Eight years isn’t slow, you’re right.
Oh William. You do bring a smile to my face in the morning. :D
Dioclese, the SNP MPs have never voted on English only issues, it’s Labour who don’t want it because they’ll lose influence and perhaps MPs.
8 years???
I was thinking more in terms of 8 weeks!!
Anyway, couldn't have happened to a nicer crowd of dimwits, cretins, and tenth raters who would gladly sell their nation doon the Swannee for an ounce of English geld....
"Dream on dunshine"
I assume this is meant to be the Queen's English but I've no idea what it means.
"You do bring a smile to my face in the morning"
Just think for a minute, SR. Over two million Scots voted No. All bar four areas completely rejected independence yet now this mysterious poll claims the Labour Party would have only 4 MP's in Scotland. Just read that aloud for a minute - the Labour Party would have 4 MP's in Scotland. It's simply not credible. It's actually hysterical. It reminds me of the Yessers I was meeting on referendum day who were convinced they were going to get 70%+ of the vote. It was mental.
There is simply no way on God's earth that the Labour Party is only going to have 4 MP's in Scotland. Not a chance.
"Dream on dunshine"
I assume this is meant to be the Queen's English but I've no idea what it means.
"You do bring a smile to my face in the morning"
Just think for a minute, SR. Over two million Scots voted No. All bar four areas completely rejected independence yet now this mysterious poll claims the Labour Party would have only 4 MP's in Scotland. Just read that aloud for a minute - the Labour Party would have 4 MP's in Scotland. It's simply not credible. It's actually hysterical. It reminds me of the Yessers I was meeting on referendum day who were convinced they were going to get 70%+ of the vote. It was mental.
There is simply no way on God's earth that the Labour Party is only going to have 4 MP's in Scotland. Not a chance.
Lets be clear about this folks!
There will NEVER be another referendum on independence.
Thats a given.
Only reason Cameron give us one in the first place was because he thought that we would only get circa 30% of the vote, as the polls were indicating at the time.
However, as the polls got up to nearer 45%, london panicked, and offered the Scots “major new powers.”
The Scots, for reasons most of us fail to comprehend, voted for the status quo, thus giving up the right to becoming the 15th wealthiest country on the planet!
Mindboggling!!
And if you poor deluded souls think for one nanosecond that “significant new powers” will be given to our “pretendy parliament” (controlling not one ha”penny of our own resources), then you definitely need to be looked at by a psychiatrist!!
We are now well and truly “back in our little box” and no amount of shouting “we wiz robbed” will alter the fact that london will continue to shaft us for evermore.
The fact the SNP have quadrupled their membership is neither here nor there, from a london viewpoint. All it means, locally, is that SLAB will die a painful death at the ballot boxes here, to the SNP’s advantage.
The only way ANY progress will happen is if Scotland decides to grow a backbone and go down the Irish route of freedom.
General Post Office, Glasgow, anyone??
A thoroughly contemptible comment.
We never lost, we came a close second.
And here's the rub, the winner played politics and as a result is now in intensive care; while we played for the people and by continuing to do so we will gain in speed,stamina and experience. And above all we have the will to win.
To correct the misinterpretations above:
We Won,
i.e. the majority of those resident in Scotland at the time who voted, voted to remain part of the UK, therefore we won, we being the majority of those resident in Scotland at the time.
We won't go into why so many others who consider themselves scottish were disallowed from voting.
It's curious isn't it that the only areas where the numpties won, were also the areas where electoral fraud is alleged to have happened.
Wonder what the results would be with much tighter rules on postal votes to combat the ballot stuffing in certain english constituencies and how that would have affected the Yes vote?
Personally I'm glad there is unlikely to be another neverendum for a generation, the political navel gazers have been indulged enough, some of us have to pay a fortune in taxes already, only to watch the arch-centralisers in edinburgh make a complete arse of everything they are responsible for.
May I remind you that they have neen running NHS scotland for a while now, its outcomes are worse than in NHS England, despite higher spending.
AND they want to be responsible for more areas of my life so they can make a complete
&*** of them too.
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