Friday, September 30, 2005
Three excellent performances
There were three by-elections in Scotland yesterday: one for the Westminster parliament, one for the Scottish Parliament, and a local one in Fife. The Scottish National Party made strong advances in all three, even taking an impressive victory in Fife from third place.
The main British nationalist parties, Labour and Conservatives, can take some solace: Labour for managing to hold on to two seats, albeit with drastically reduced majorities, and the Conservatives because their vote did not get squeezed much, as is traditional when a 3rd- or 4th-placed party is clearly not going to challenge the encumbent. Of course there wasn't very much of a Tory vote to get squeezed in the first place, but at least they seem to have slowed the rot for the time being.
But the wee parties, the SSP, Scottish Green Party, LabDims, "independents" (sic) and UKIP all had absolute stinkers.
In fact, this may be the strongest sign yet (and there have been many) of the beginning of the end for the SSP and UKIP in Scotland: they are clearly both busted flushes. How much more will their few remaining members take before they all finally drift off to other parties?
Here's the numbers:
Livingston constituency
Westminster by-election
29 September 2005
(change from election 2005)
1. Labour 42% (-9%)
2. Scottish National Party 33% (+11%)
3. Liberal Democrats 15% (-1%)
4. Conservative and Unionist 7% (-3%)
5. Scottish Green Party 2% (-)
6. Scottish Socialist Party 1% (nc)
7. UKIP 0.4% (-)
8. "Independent" 0.2% (-)
9. Alliance for Change 0.1% (-)
10. Socialist Party of Great Britain 0.1% (-)
Turnout 39% (-20%)
LAB HOLD - swing from Labour to SNP of 10.2%
Glasgow Cathcart constituency
Scottish Parliamentary by-election
29 September 2005
(change from general election 2003)
1. Labour 38% (-2%)
2. Scottish National Party 22% (+6%)
3. Conservative and Unionist 15% (+2%)
4. Liberal Democrats 10% (+2%)
5. "Independent" Pat "Lazarus" Lally 6% (-)
6. Scottish Socialist Party 5% (-7%)
7. Scottish Green Party 4% (-)
8. "Independent" 0.4% (-)
9. United Kingdom Independence Party 0.4% (-)
Turnout 32% (-11%)
LAB HOLD - swing from Lab to SNP of 3.7%
Auchtertool and Burntisland East ward
Fife Council by-election
29 September 2005
(change from council elections 2003)
1. Scottish National Party 47% (+22%)
2. Labour 25% (-4%)
3. "Independent" 19% (-)
4. Liberal Democrats 5% (-11%)
5. Conservative and Unionist 4% (-)
Turnout 41% (-11%)
SNP GAIN FROM IND - swing from Labour to SNP of 13%
The LibDems had actually held the ward as recently as 2003, with 34% of the vote compared to their paltry 5% yesterday. A big collapse for the lap-dogs.
There have been 7 local by-elections in Scotland this year and the SNP have won 4 of them, all gains from other parties.
Congratulations to Cllr George Kay.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Agent provocateurs within SNP ranks during the 70's
Thank you for the kind messages I have received. I am still not remotely in blogging mood, but I have just received the following text from a trusted blogging colleague via email and I thought that it was worth publishing online, because my correspondent says that, for some reason, it was not published in the online edition of the Sunday Herald newspaper. I can't even be motivated to check that, or any other details out, but I'll take their word for it.
For my
Anyway, to the Sunday Herald story in hand. Here is the text as I received it:
Ho hum."Not available online (21st August)"
Government SNP files sealed for 50 years
Liam McDougall
Government files on the Scottish National Party have been sealed for 50 years. Fuelling accusations they contain evidence of a state backed “dirty tricks”campaign to thwart independence.
A series of documents dating from the mid-70’s created just as the party was about to suffer a catastrophic collapse in it’s vote- have been marked “closed or retained” because they are deemed too sensitive to release.
More than 30 files on the SNP created by Harold Wilson’s Labour administrationare held in the national Archives in Surrey, the main government repository of public records. But while most are open to the public, it has emerged that a number covering a crucial period in the party’s history have been withheld.
Four files from the Home Office, the department responsible for national security, have been closed under the 30 year rule. One, however headed Scottish National Party: General from 1974-1976 has had it’s contents sealed for 50 years- a decision that can only be taken by the Lord Chancellor and a special advisory committee when a file contains especially sensitive information.
Another retained file which was closed in the 1970’s is entitled North Sea Oil: Scottish National Party.
The revelation that the government is holding secret files on the SNP last night sparked a major political row, with the party leadership in Westminster and veteran party members demanding the real release of the documents.
It will also add fuel to long held suspicions that Harold Wilson, under pressure from major SNP gains in the 1974 general elections, sanctioned the use of agent provocateurs to infiltrate and discredit the party.
Many nationalists active during the period have for decades laid the blame for the almost cataclysmic disintegration of the party’s vote over the following years on the activities on the intelligence services.
Nationalist MSP Christine Grahame , who has been an SNP member for 35 years andwhose office discovered the sealed files, said “It is frankly outrageous that the state is withholding these documents. I am certain their reasons for doing so will be connected to a long suspected dirty tricks campaign which was waged against the party by British unionists who were frankly in a panic about the rise of the SNP.”
Alex Salmond the SNP leader said: “One asks what the government has to hide in withholding the files. It does lead to the suspicion that the then Labour government was up to no good. They have no business keeping files on democratic political parties. I suppose it just tells you how paranoid the Labour government of the 1970’s and perhaps it’s Tory predecessor were.
”Rumours about agent provocateurs within nationalist ranks in the 1970’s haveraged for decades. It has been claimed that one such figure was Major Frederick Boothby, an ultra-nationalist who set up the 1320 Club - named after the date of the Declaration of Abroath. Boothby who began recruiting young men to the extremist cause in the 1970’s, published a magazine which contained instructions for bomb making and began a terror group called the Army of Provisional Government, giving himself the code number 01 and the nom de gurre, Clydesdale.
Adam Busby, the founder of the Scottish National Liberation Army, was another recruited by Boothby in the 1970’s. Busby too, it is claimed, was working forSpecial Branch.
It is known that government and police agents were used within the trade union movement in the 1970’s and nationalists believe, similar tactics were employed to stop any further gains by the SNP. By the end of the two general elections in1974, the nationalists had 11 MP’s and 30% of all votes cast in Scotland.
Labour, meanwhile, had just scraped a workable majority and the party in Scotland had suffered a major split.
In 1979- only five years later the SNP vote in the general election collapsedand the party spent a decade in the political wilderness.
Last night, however, political opponents accused the SNP of “ paranoia”. A Labour Party spokesman said “The SNP appears totally paranoid. All the evidence shows they are absolutely no threat whatever to the British state.
”A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said “This is a typical knee-jerk response from a party that refuses to accept that it has lost the argument and continues to hold a minority view.
”A spokeswoman for the national archives said she could not discuss why specific files had been closed, but added that documents were generally withheld because they contain sensitive information about national security or because they contained individual’s personal details.
”A spokesman for the department of constitutional affairs, formerly the Lord Chancellor’s department said, all requests under new freedom of information lawsto open files would be “considered” but that sensitive files would remain closed.
I particulartly liked the wee bit from the Tory spokesman about "minority views". It's the way you tell 'em.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Yet another wonderful SNP by-election victory
There was a very impressive result for the Scottish National Party in the Falkirk Council by-election held on Thursday. It confirms (again) the collapse of the Scottish Socialist Party, and the on-going crisis within the Tories, and has a stunning swing from Labour to SNP of over 24%.
There have been only 6 council by-elections in Scotland during 2005, and the SNP have won 3 of them (Borders, North Lanarkshire, and Falkirk) - all three being gains. For the record, the other 3 were - Lab and Con both held a seat, and LD gained one from Lab.
For people with only vague knowledge of Scottish geography - Falkirk is next-door to West Lothian (of the as yet unanswered West Lothian Question), where we are due a very tight Lab-SNP Livingston by-election this autumn, due to Robin Cook’s death.
Falkirk Council
Result - Herbertshire Ward By -election
11 August 2005
1. SNP 63% (+27%)
2. Lab 33% (-22%)
3. Con 3% (-8%)
4. SSP 2% (-)
Turnout: 46%
SNP GAIN from Labour
We are also due another fascinating council by-election in Fife soon. The Liberal Democrats got absolutely gubbed last time, falling from 1st to 4th place, with a 17% swing against them. The Labour vote has also yo-yoed from 1st place on 54% in 1999 to 3rd spot on 21% in a 2001 by-election.
In contrast, the SNP have a very solid, consistent base of 25% to 29% in the ward.
Could this be yet another SNP by-election victory in the making? Time will tell. Here was the state of the parties last time:
Fife Council
Auchtertool & Burntisland East Ward
May 2003
1. Ind 30%
2. Lab 29%
3. SNP 25%
4. LibDem 17%
Turnout 52%
INDEPENDENT GAIN from Liberal Democrats
If the Conservatives and SSP (and others?) also put up candidates, as seems likely, then we could have a real cracker there. Chickens seem to be very eager to flock home to roost at the moment. And certain blue and red varieties of chicken cannot seem to resist parading their death-wish in public.
I'll have much more on the Livingston By-election soon, I'm sure. But as a little whettener for your appetites, here is the result from Livingston Constituency (which has slightly different boundaries) in the Scottish Parliament General Election 2003:
Livingston Constituency
Result - Holyrood General Election
First Past The Post
May 2003
1. Lab 44%
2. SNP 32%
3. Con 9%
4. LD 9%
5. SSP 5%
6. Scottish Peoples Alliance 1%
Livingston Constituency
Result - Holyrood General Election
Regional Vote
May 2003
1. Lab 34%
2. SNP 25%
3. Ind (Margo MacDonald, former SNP) 9%
4. Con 8%
5. Scottish Green Party 6%
6. LD 6%
7. SSP 5%
(followed by ten other candidates, including UKIP at 0.39%)
(stats courtesy: http://www.alba.org.uk/scot03results/lr08.html)
Those statistics are not at all bright for the Laberals.
This one is really for Labour to lose - their choice of candidate is fundamental. Don’t forget that from September onwards we will be properly into the run-up to the Scottish Parliament General Election 2007 - a completely different ballgame to the recent Westminster general election - and in that contest the LibDems, Labour and SSP are all “on the back-foot” (the SSP especially are in profound difficulties), with the SNP and Scottish Greens looking in strong positions to progress (remember, the LibLab Scottish Government has a majority of just 2… yes, that’s right: two). Therefore, will the voters of Livingston vote along Holyrood or Westminster lines? I reckon the former - and that is very good news for the SNP.
And, for the record, here was the result under the new Westminster boundaries in May:
Livingston Constituency
Result - Westminster General Election
May 2005
1. Lab 51%
2. SNP 22%
3. LD 15%
4. Con 10%
5. SSP 2%
Turnout: 58%
LAB HOLD
(stats courtesy: http://www.alba.org.uk/ge05/rlivingston.html)
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Note - if anyone knows the correct spelling of "whettener", I would be delighted to hear from you.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
New Post at Scottish Political Blogs Review
Monday, July 18, 2005
Inaugural Weekly Roundup of Scottish Political Blogs
Curious Hamster has published our first roundup of the best posts written by Scottish political bloggers during the last seven days. It is wonderful to see this project up and running, and it just wouldn't have happened just now without Garry's enthusiasm.
GO THERE NOW AND HAVE A WEE LOOK. YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO READ MY RAMBLINGS BELOW AFTERWARDS!
In case you are wondering, our definition of a "Scottish political blogger" is a Scot, or anyone living in Scotland, who writes blog posts regarding politics - not just "Scottish politics", but ANY politics: worldwide, European, UK, Scottish, local council, galactic, universal, microscopical, tangential, etc, etc. The thought also occurred to me that we really ought to lay the field open to any non-Scots who may happen to blog about Scotland in a political context, so if you spot any good posts, please let us know. "Good" can mean anything you like - well-written, astute, thought-provoking, infuriating, funny... occasionally even all of those things.
Also, could I request that if you see any worthwhile posts by other types of Scottish bloggers (ie. mainly "personal" bloggers) which happen to be on a political theme, then those are also eligible to be considered for our weekly roundup, so let us know about any such gems.
In summary, we are trying to be as inclusive as possible. And that includes the authors of the roundups, so if you want a go, just let us know.
Suggestions for next week's roundup to - spbreview [AT] gmail [DOT] com - and, yes, you are allowed to blow your own trumpet and recommend a good post you have written yourself! If we missed out any cracking posts that are slightly older, then please let us know, and we may link to them anyway.
We have not decided who is going to write next week's roundup yet, but if you volunteer sharpish, it could even be you!
A final thought: one of the posts linked to this week is Ken MacLeod's saying - "If we don't blog about trivia then the terrorists have won." I think that that hits the nail bang on the head. Personally, I would go further and say that if what the terrorists really despise is our liberalism, democracy and freedom of conscience, then the best way to repulse the wee shits is to become yet more liberal, democratic, tolerant and free-spirited... not less.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Hamster seeks tasty morsels
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Garry (AKA Curious Hamster), who has joined me at Scottish Political Blogs Review. We are looking for other contributors to the group blog too, and ideas/suggestions/criticism (preferably of the constructive variety).
Garry is going to do our very first review of Scottish Political Blogs. If you have written something of note, or read something good by a Scot or someone living in Scotland, then drop Garry a comment at SPBR. If you leave a comment here I will forward suggestions to Garry.
I am currently on a long holiday, but I will be checking epost, comments and my Shoutbox. I will be back in action in August, unless struck by the muse before then. dickson_s (AT) hotmail (DOT) com
I bumped into Andrew Marr, BBC Political Correspondent, at the airport. I conducted a micro interview, consisting of one question - something like: "Do you ever read any Scottish political blogs... or UK political blogs?" He answered something to the effect of: "No. I know I really should, but there is just so much to read... " Followed by vague waffle from me to the effect that some of them are quite good, and blah, blah...
It's funny how you become incoherent when placed in front of a "celeb". Mind you, many would perhaps say that I am not usually very coherent at the best of times.
I thought that it was jolly decent of him to spare/waste his time conversing with an average punter, during his "down-time", so thanks Mr Marr. The BBC has gone up a notch in my esteem, admittedly from a very low base. Incidentally, I found him browsing the "Scottish Books" section of the bookshop - clearly a man of taste and discretion. And on the gossipy side of things: he is absolutely tiny. He seemed to bring out motherly instincts in my beloved, presumably due to his compact proportions and elf-like features.
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UPDATE:
I forgot to say: if anybody out there would like to publish an article or two, then feel free to do so here at Independence blog. It is easier and quicker than setting up your own blog. Just contact me and we can arrange it. My only criterion is that you are a supporter of Scottish independence; but you can write about anything you like. You do not need to be a member of the SNP.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Today, we are all Londoners.
Nous sommes tous, en cet instant, londoniens.
Bertrand Delanoë
Mayor of Paris
Thursday, 7th of July, 2005
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
You Win Some - You Lose Some
Firstly, hearty congratulations to our neighbours in England on their successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
Secondly:
Courtesy of The Great Architect (via, via, via)
Thirdly, some reporting from Nouveau-Parisian Kate Bartleby:
This one is going to run and run. Fourthly, a comment from Justin:... The CLO at the Australian Embassy mentioned to me once that the Olympics were the worst possible thing that could have happened to SMEs (Ed. - small to medium sized enterprises) in Sydney...
... The Athens Olympics was a financial disaster for the Greek taxpayer. The bills are still coming in but they cost at least £4.8billion, double the estimate. This culminated in the Greek government having its credit rating downgraded as its fiscal deficit spiralled to over 5% of GDP...
... Consider this: I knew the announcement had been made because several of the apartments in my courtyard had applause burst out of the open windows. That’s French people, clapping that London got the games. This is not a country known for being magnanimous losers (or even magnanimous winners.) They’re pleased London won because they want to inflict the games on London. That’s not magnanimity, that’s Schadenfreude...
England's auldest rivals, France and Scotland, heartily clapping at London's victory. Mmmm... did they just win? ... or did they just lose?Sit back and watch the chaos. The international embarrassment. The financial corruption. The overruns. The tantrums. The recriminations and backbiting.
It's going to rock.
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POLL
I have now removed the inaugural Independence blog poll from the sidebar.
The final results were:
Would a London Olympics in 2012 benefit the Scottish economy?.
- Yep. It would be gazillions of our tax money very wisely invested - 40 votes - 26%
- No. Please, please, please let Paris get it. They just love throwing good money down the drain - 112 votes - 74%
The Cro Magnon Parliament
In what was understood to be a worldwide first for a football club, Celtic blazed the trail earlier this year by granting a blogger a press pass. Nae bad for the stifling conservatism that usually hampers the Scottish Establishment. But the uber-manifestation of that retarding establishment - our wee pretendy parliament - does not even know what "a blog" is.
Tom Findlay of Online Parliamentarian blog is keen, for his sins, to report on the spasms of the arm-waving brigade at Dumbiedykes. Goodness knows why: the inmates of The Numptorium are not waving, but drowning.
Tom has posted on his application for a press pass before, but now he has asked me to have a look at his latest post:
Tom and I have had our differences in the past, but I really do wish him all the best in his attempt to please the apparatus of the pseudo-state. I will not be joining him in his efforts to gain accreditation - reporting on the liblab deckchair shuffling as the Raj in Chief, Jockosaurus kirkaldyanus nyaffus D., steers the Scottish economy onto an iceberg from the London navigation centre seems such a depressing occupation.... I telephoned and spoke with a Senior Media Officer about my application. During this conversation he accused me of doctoring the form, and then I discovered that he didn't know what a weblog was. I was also a bit shocked that he really didn't want to know what one was. This was the chap who would write the paper that recommended my weblog be refused accreditation...
... Why did they put me through such a horrible experience and treat me like a second class nobody? Only to knock me down... It's such a rotten ordeal for nothin'.
Any comments on this would be most welcome.......
I can't see the wood for the trees, but I think this stinks.......
But perhaps other Scottish political bloggers should team up with Tom? As a group we have the ability to break one of the most damaging closed shops in the country - Scottish political journalism. Or will the buggers at Holyrood just force us to join the NUJ - the trade union for first-class nobodies.
And a bit of actual reporting from the Scottish Parliament would be lovely, as we bloggers are primarily self-appointed, unpaid columnists who provide the occasional useful link or two. Well, that is what I do - you may consider your own blog to be of a higher station. On that topic, I note that Freedom and Whisky, The Aardvark Blog, Naked Blog, Random Burblings, Superchimp en français, Croila and Bloomfield (and others) have been doing some actual reporting from the Edinburgh G8 demos - from rather different perspectives.
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STYLE NOTE: The blogger who has never mixed a metaphor may cast the first stone.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Scots Want Paris to Host the Olympics
The International Olympic Committee announces the city which will host the Olympic Games in 2012 on Wednesday morning. You can see the announcement live on Eurosport in the middle of the night (03:30) if you are dead keen.
Independence blog has been running its inaugural opinion poll on the topic of the Paris bid versus London bid, with the following being the result thus far:
Making the rather large assumption that it is mainly Scots that responded to the poll led me to the sweeping title for this post, but the exercise is by no means scientific, so you can interpret the results any way you like. Food for thought though, isn't it?Would a London Olympics in 2012 benefit the Scottish economy?
- Yep. It would be gazillions of our tax money very wisely invested - 40 votes - 28%
- No. Please, please, please let Paris get it. They just love throwing good money down the drain - 103 votes - 72%
I will leave the voting open for a couple more days - you will find it in the sidebar - but then I may remove the Pollhost box because it comes with really annoying popup ads. I knew this when I put it up, but I didn't think they were too bad - certainly far less annoying than the infuriating Bravenet service which I tried out a few months ago. I've changed my mind.
