Fun And Political Games

The General Election 2019 is hotting up

This Was The First Headline on Story On This URL

and with it, the BBC political game playing has apparently also stepped up.

They offered a public say on the Scottish Nationalists Party via its Have Your Say (HYS) forum, after it launched its election manifesto with a speech by its leader, Nicola Sturgeon .... this with the headline Nicola Sturgeon pledges to 'protect Scotland from Tories'.

Headline And image Altered On Same Link

However an hour or so later, the same link opened a new image and headline .... toning down the anti 'Tory' headline to the anodyne SNP vote 'will send clear message on indyref2'

This appears to be because some public commentors on the BBC HYS forums, pointed out how they thought that some of the SNP's language was hate inciting or racist, when they talked about the Tory Party, and how they thought it was thinly disguised shorthand for the English (as the large number of Scottish Tories are never mentioned or acknowledged). They also referenced Ms Sturgeon's performance during a grilling by TV political interviewer Andrew Neal, in which her lack of substance on many of her parties policies had been exposed.

Some people also mentioned how strange it was, that after Jeremy Corbyn's similar interview with Mr Neal, the BBC had not opened a HYS forum, whilst its was obviously going to open a HYS after Prime Minister Mr Johnson's interview with Mr Neal (in fact Johnson has so far failed to agree a pre-election interview with Mr Neil). Some pointed out that they thought that the BBC was now so institutionally pro Labour Party, that it just protected Corbyn from public criticism automatically.

We shall see the truth of that assertion soon enough if Mr Johnson submits to the interview ... but apart from the changing of the headline and image on the story, the other striking aspect of this story was that her claims were subject to such public ridicule.

Firstly: Her public claims that the SNP 'speaks for Scotland', while admitting to Mr Neal to only having the support of about one fifth of the population, were mocked by many Scottish posters, who said that in both the Independence Referendum, and last General Election in 2017, the SNP had not won a majority of the popular votes cast.

Even when compared to each other, the SNP under Ms Sturgeon, won around 977,568 votes (757,949  of her fellow citizens voted Tory, and 717,007 for the Labour Party, and 179,061 for the Liberals), in the 2017 General Election, while 1,018,322 Scots voted to exit the EU in the Brexit Vote of a year earlier. 1,661,191 Scottish voted to remain in the EU.

Secondly: The SNP's domestic failures, in an economy they have run for over a decade, took a hammering:

• NHS waiting times have gone up in Scotland despite the SNP making it 'illegal'.
• The new children's hospital in Edinburgh which is empty and costing a fortune every month after massive build issues.
• Deaths in hospitals.
• The expansion of Prestwick airport, which is another white elephant.
• Running a budget deficit despite higher taxes.

The SNP Plan Has A Few Flaws ......

Then finally: There were her inconsistencies over the realities of gaining independence and joining the EU:

1. The promise that the independence referendum had been a once on a generation event, i.e. every 30 to 40 years, not just 3 years. 
2. The fact that the SNP want to be independent from the UK, just so that they can join the greater political and fiscal union of the EU.
3. How she could not explain how Scotland will build a budget surplus, to satisfy EU membership whilst running a budget deficit. Scotland is running a deficit of 7% of GDP which exceeds EU membership levels (The UK equivalent deficit stands at 1.1% of GDP).
4. How Scotland could retain the around 60% of its trade with the UK, whilst expanding the 20% of trade with the EU, whilst in neither union. 
5. How the idea that they can continue using the British pound sterling (£), while waiting to join the EU/Euro was going to come about.
6. Denying that there will have to be a hard border between Scotland and the UK after independence, and even when they join the EU (immigrants to the UK via Scotland will force that).
7. Why they are trying to make a policy ensuring the UK abandons the Trident project, when they expect to be leaving the UK. A policy which will ensure the work will be transferred to either Belfast or Plymouth, costing many Scottish jobs.
8. How they will safeguard other military establishments not also being closed in Scotland.
9. Not admitting that Scotland's control its borders, trade deals, and fishing waters will in fact be EU controlled.

The last of these points also threw up the final irony, of a Sturgeon voting for a foreign empire to control Scottish fishing.

Of course none of these points are new, except possibly the domestic failures of the SNP ... but as the BBC is presumably against Scottish Independence (as it ends them north of the wall), as well as institutionally anti-Tory, it was apparently considered fair game to lead with the SNP story with an anti-Tory headline, and then open up the SNP to a public comment .... only the ferocity of the comments about the SNP being anti-English, apparently then forced the headlines to surreptitiously be changed.

Mr Corbyn, however, was spared the public slagging off on a HYS forum after an equally poor interview with Mr Neal .... Just two weeks to go ..... we all fervently hope.