As part of my reporting on the decline and fall of the Brownie Empire, I have to report that this week the good folk of Glasgow East (A labour strong hold of over 60 yrs .... the sort of constituency where they would vote for a Brick as the labour candidate) decided to vote for the Scottish National Party.
This has precipitated a round of calls from with in the Labour Party ranks, for Brown to reconsider his position, but typically, Brown has said he will listen to the voters, and that he is determined to take the "right decisions" for the country..... obviously resigning isn't one of them?
"That's my first and major interest, in getting on with the job." .... he sounds more and more like the rain man every day .... no matter what people say or do, he just carries on as though it never happened. I think that if he is sacked, he would still go to the office, unable to actually comprehend that he just isn't wanted anymore, and the new PM will have to steer him away with sad shakes of the head.
In Zoolander, Derek of that name, collects another persons prize because he's convinced that he can't have lost .... that he is still loved and wanted ... ring any bells?
Saturday, 26 July 2008
2 comments:
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I'd just like to say that Labour and their campaign in Glasgow East was a complete screw up from the start.
ReplyDeleteThe origional candidate decided not to bother standing, a wise decision as it turned out. The next candidate was forced into it, she was already a list MSP for the area. Altough she was a fine candidate, she had no backing from the Scottish Labour party.
Contrast that with the SNP, who swamped the area with activists and had party leader Alex Salmond vist a total of 8 times during the brief campaign.
Salmond then turned the campaign into an "us versus them in London" style campaign. Labour by that time were in total diseray in the constituancy.
On the day of the vote, senoir Labour politicians in the area were already blaming a poor turn out( false: it was down 2% on the last election), poor weather (false:sunny), the Glasgow trades holiday (they decided to have the election on that day for that very reason, go figure) and voter apathy due to rising mortgages in the area (false: the vast majority of houses are owned by the corrupt Labour led Glasgow City Council).
Labour knew they were going to be run close, but even then they were sure they would just scrape in. In the event Salmond and the SNP employed the usual tactics they use in Scottish by elections. This time backed with their record as a party in power.
The vote has been heralded as a vote of no confidence in Labour, whereas in my opinion it should be viewed as a wonderful peice of political ambush by a polititian in charge of a well run and ambitious party.
Even the BBC in Scotland have been forced into refering to the Westminster parliment as the national goverment, and the Edinburgh parliment as the Scottish parliment (not a goverment!). The SNP used this as an indication of Labour bias and influence in the BBC in Scotland.
All the time the SNP are running Scotland just like they said they would. So far they have fulfilled 15 manifesto promises, and on the two occassions they have been held up on their promise, they have come out in the press and explained why, and moreimportantly who was to blame. In both cases the Westminster goverment had blocked the reforms.
Now with Labour destined to suffer a horrendous defeat in the next UK elections, the SNP are rubbing their hands with glee. A Westminster goverment run by English Tories just plays right into the hands of the Nationalists. The calls for independence will start in earnest soon. And while the jury is still out on that issue, the majority of the Scottish public are seeing a party in power doing what they promised, and a national goverment they blame for rising costs and a reduced standard of living. After all the SNP in Scotland do not control the economy, thats done form London, and it is they who are getting the blame.
The victory by the SNP in Glasgow East is sure to be the first of many, and Brown who may be a fine chancellor, is now suffering death by a thousand cuts becasue of his inability to take control and sort out the UK's problems.
The revolution is happening in Scotland and it's on the tele!
kev
Well that's a comment and a bit Kev ....sure you got it all off your chest LOL?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument about the calls for Scottish Independence .... when new Labour brought in 'devolution' they thought they were 'buying Scotland' forever but as usual they didn't think it through.
The SNP only ever have to win one Independence' vote and its forever, whereas the unity parties have to win every time. What’s worse is that the New Labour analysts who came up with this cunning wheeze forgot that labour have only once ever won the popular vote in England (1945) and so will be wiped out if Scotland’s Labour MP’s are restricted to an independent Scotland.
All in all, Browns likely kicking in England (where I don’t know of even one person who wants him to stay – not even amongst those still willing to admit they will vote labour) combined with the strong chance that the SNP will win the popular Westminster vote in Scotland, could spell the end of Labour in England and Scotland both.
Of course there is much that could change between now and the general election but as it currently stands the Labour Party needs to face up to some bitter truths before it has a chance of salvaging its vote.