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May 2011 Election


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Since Labour and the SNP have pretty much launched their campaigns, with Labour offering a "living wage" and stuff like GARL, and the SNP offering a variety of stuff (same "living wage", phase out prescription charges, council tax cuts, scrap GARL), we're actually going to have two very different parties going for the polls, that differ in more than just independence vs. the Union.

The SNP are making cuts in things like Police forces and pointless projects like the Rail Link and no more money for trams, and are offering to keep council tax frozen and continue phasing out prescription charges. Meanwhile, Labour propose to (as far as I can see), keep and fund all of the big projects, while instead raising council tax to cover.

So there we have it, two big parties with significantly different visions. Since we have a Unionist Politics thread, why not a dedicated Scottish one as well?

Edited to add a "no change" option.

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When i logged on this evening,i was hoping for another politics thread and we havent had a vote in ages:rolleyes:

And when was the last time we had a poll about the upcoming Scottish election?:unsure:

Edited to add, I can't recall the last time we had a Scottish poll, and the Cameron etc. thread seems more suited to Westminster politics.

Edited again, I'm afraid I can't fill in much info about what the Lib Dems and Tories have to offer. Although they've had their conference, I can't really recall anything they said about Scotland with regard to possible policies, so anyone who knows, feel free to inform us all!

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Vote goes to SNP.

Above average for the Parliment - not bad considering they are a minority. I would have prefered to say above competant though but I'm arguing semantics. Let's just say they didn't do harm, the sky didn't fall in and Salmond didn't eat the first borns, which labour were predicting.

My vote (although not used in the last four years) hasn't changed, nor will it. I've voted at every election I could have since I was 18, and the SNP has had every vote. I'm proud to say that.

After independence, I would prob be a floating voter, possibly looking at the actual candidate. I truly despise labour, but I can see that they have genuine people working for them as do every party.

I would have a look at the tory party if they re-invented themselves, but would never vote for them in a million years at the moment.

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I'm unconvinced Alex Salmond and SNP have done anything really special in their last term. The only thing that comes to mind straight off is freeing the Lockerbie bomber! It's a bit of a toy town parliament anyway, and in a time of cuts do we need as many SMPs?

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I think I'll vote Labour at the election though that's not set in stone. I couldn't vote in the last Scottish election but voted Labour in the General Election.

Think the SNP have been fine, no complaints about them in government, the only things that puts me off them is Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. It seems a little pathetic to be put off by a party based on the fact I simply dislike two of the predominant politicians but there is just something I don't like about them.

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I think I'll vote Labour at the election though that's not set in stone. I couldn't vote in the last Scottish election but voted Labour in the General Election.

Think the SNP have been fine, no complaints about them in government, the only things that puts me off them is Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. It seems a little pathetic to be put off by a party based on the fact I simply dislike two of the predominant politicians but there is just something I don't like about them.

Two words...Iain Gray. Do you know who he is? Do you have a view on him? If Salmond puts you off the SNP, does Iain Gray not put you off life?

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The only thing I would have liked from the SNP government is a referendum, with devo max as a secondary question.

First stop devolution, secondary step full fiscal powers....

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Two words...Iain Gray. Do you know who he is? Do you have a view on him? If Salmond puts you off the SNP, does Iain Gray not put you off life?

Never had a problem with him. Prefer him to Wendy Alexander, though I would have preferred it if Jack McConnell had stayed as Scottish Labour Leader.

Out of interest what was that song the SNP people were singing at their conference at the end?

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Never had a problem with him. Prefer him to Wendy Alexander, though I would have preferred it if Jack McConnell had stayed as Scottish Labour Leader.

Out of interest what was that song the SNP people were singing at their conference at the end?

Seriously? You can honestly see him as First Minister without cringing?

Wouldn't vote the SNP while they pursue the ridiculous policy of freezing Council Tax for another 2 further years, ludicrous decision at a time when public services are taking a big hit.

I have to disagree with you I'm afraid Stuart. I think that making some cuts to curb the overspend is sensible, and I also think that trying to ease the individual burden on people is very much a good thing. By keeping tax frozen, it means that hopefully people have a bit of extra cash in their pocket, which they will spend and hopefully it will stimulate the economy. Asking us to pay more tax for the same services is quite frankly, bonkers. Its not as if we're going to get any extra for our money, we're still going to have to make cuts, so it means we're going to be paying more, for less.

People pay enough tax, I'd rather there was more money in circulation.

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Yes. I think he is considerably more statesman like than Alex Salmond.

Seriously? Based on what? :eek:

Edited to add, I'm not having a go here, its just that I have never heard anyone articulate that point of view before, I'm just shocked!

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Labour (Iain Gray)

Are you trying the reverse of the SNP Party List slogan "SNP Alex Salmond for First Minister" 4 years ago? :P

Anyway as for the poll...

Vote goes to Lib Dems.

SNP performance in Government has been solid if occasionally a little populist.

Since 2007 my political persuasion has shifted even further away from the Authoritarian Labour Party, and has shifted slightly towards the Tories (I was more sceptical of Cameron when he was appointed than I am now), substantially towards the Lib Dems (because of Nick Clegg and David Laws' political persuasion of pro-market & strong civil liberties agenda) and a little towards the SNP because they've shown themselves more competent than the most prominent Scottish alternative.

I can't see my vote making a difference, though. Glasgow Anniesland is a safe Labour seat and both Lib Dems and Tories are pretty likely to get a seat each no matter what on the list vote, no worse and no better.

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Seriously? Based on what? :eek:

Edited to add, I'm not having a go here, its just that I have never heard anyone articulate that point of view before, I'm just shocked!

Based simply on what he seems like as a person, absolutely nothing to do with politics. I don't know much about Scottish politics so I can't pretend anything I am saying has anything to do with politics. I switch off Newsnight before that twenty minute section about Scottish politics comes along.

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This will be the first election in which I am eligible to vote. A special moment. In honour of this I'm going to w**k in the voting cubicle and toss my jizz soaked ballot paper into the ballot box to think about who will potentially give me the best deal in years to come. Screw party politics and all this "Oh I'm working class/middle class" or "I don't like this guy" or "My dad voted for this party", I'm voting out of pure self-interest.

I voted "Average - Meh" in the second question. I have nothing to judge them against, I didn't really have a focus on politics during the pre-SNP administration.

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I have to disagree with you I'm afraid Stuart. I think that making some cuts to curb the overspend is sensible, and I also think that trying to ease the individual burden on people is very much a good thing. By keeping tax frozen, it means that hopefully people have a bit of extra cash in their pocket, which they will spend and hopefully it will stimulate the economy. Asking us to pay more tax for the same services is quite frankly, bonkers. Its not as if we're going to get any extra for our money, we're still going to have to make cuts, so it means we're going to be paying more, for less.

People pay enough tax, I'd rather there was more money in circulation.

The SNP should scrap the free prescriptions thing too. Pensioners, kids and long term sick, ie cancer patients should be free but people like me should pay 5 or 6 quid. It would save some cash.

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The SNP should scrap the free prescriptions thing too. Pensioners, kids and long term sick, ie cancer patients should be free but people like me should pay 5 or 6 quid. It would save some cash.

I heard someone from the SNP on the news (Sturgeon I think), and she was saying that in fact, once you'd made all the exemptions because of fairness, effectively, it was going to cost more to administer the charges than it would actually bring in. Its a clever bit of politics actually, reduce the charges a bit and give out more exemptions so that is no longer a viable scheme, and then phase them out, leaving "socialist" Iain Gray in the wonderful position of having to be the one to bring back prescription charges! :D

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