The Strange Death Of Labour Scotland [Sic]

[Guest flumax]

http://gu.com/p/48278/sbl thought I should share

[King Of Paisley]

Tom Clarke comes across as a disgusting individual. Was almost Stalinesque in that St Paddy's Hall about how he has served the local community and struck me as 'You WILL vote Labour after all I have done for you'.

Sadly, I expect the drunken fool to be re-elected but on a diminished majority.

[MacWalka]

Already a thread on this.

[Flure]

[Padre Andrew]

Please, somebody, put that quote on a video loop.

I couldn't tire of watching it.

[giblet]

Mike Small on Bellacaledonia nails. it.

By Mike Small

This morning Scotland is a pariah state, disenfranchised, with a proscribed party on the verge of a landslide victory. You think the union survives that?

Ed Miliband last night effectively cut Jim Murphy loose by declaring he’d rather see a Tory government in power than accept the support of a party he shares much in common with.

By saying: “If the price of having a Labour government is a coalition or a deal with the SNP then it is not going to happen” he may be playing hard-ball to appease swithering southern voters, but he’s given the death-knell to Scottish Labour, probably after ruthlessly assessing they were near-death anyway.

He’s also colluded in sending out a signal to Scotland. It’s received loud and clear.

The problem is that the democratic ‘crisis’ we’ve been hearing shrill hysterical whining about for the last few weeks isn’t the real crisis we are faced with. England has no democratic crisis, being able to ALWAYS elect the government it wants.

The real democratic crisis we are facing is: what happens if the polls are right and Scotland elects 59 SNP MPs and faces another Tory government? That takes us into very new and potentially very dangerous territory. This would be a crisis of legitimacy like no other we’ve seen before. It’s unclear that the slow-footed unionists would have the nous to cope, or even that the temperate and measured SNP would know how to act.

A parlour game of ‘Who would be the Secretary of State for Scotland in a Tory free country?’ last week elicited ‘Annabel Goldie’ and ‘Michael Forsyth’. But it’s no laughing matter.

The message couldn’t be any clearer. From the days (not so long ago) when Ross Kemp and John Barrowman pleaded for us to stay are far behind, and Scotland is being edged out of the political process day by day. There’s an incredible sense that we don’t belong here any more.

To put it simply: how we vote won’t matter.

This is an English election now.

[Clyde1998]

[Padre Andrew]

An 'irrelevant' nation?

[Big Dod]

Did he really write that? Holy shit

[RenfrewBlue]

He did indeed. Then again he's a moron who gets into slanging matches with Limmy so we shouldn't expect too much from Duncan.

[Maq]

To be fair to Dunc, the point he is making (I think), is that in a UK election, it's all done by constituency, so the 'countries' don't really matter

I can see why Labour would push this - that national boundaries are an arbitrary line in a UK election, seeing as they could 'lose' Scotland, or even get wiped out. It fits their narrative to look at seats across the whole UK, and not break it down into countries.

All that said, Dunc is a total ersehole

[Flora MaDonald]

Anyone seen this?

http://wingsoverscotland.com/your-friends-and-neighbours/#more-70689

[exile]

To be fair to Dunc, the point he is making (I think), is that in a UK election, it's all done by constituency, so the 'countries' don't really matter

Fair enough. So why does his avatar say "Scottish Labour" and not just Labour (with a red rose)?

[Maq]

Fair enough. So why does his avatar say "Scottish Labour" and not just Labour (with a red rose)?

Good point, why do they even think they need a "Scottish Labour" party? If they love the union so much, they should just be honest, it's the UK Labour Party

[exile]

Here is follow-up to the John Harris video on Coatbridge

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2015/may/08/general-election-charting-snp-political-earthquake-scotland-video#comments

[Guest flumax]

Here is follow-up to the John Harris video on Coatbridge

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2015/may/08/general-election-charting-snp-political-earthquake-scotland-video#comments

Poor bloke. Seems miserable for having to go back to England.

[EddardStark]

I don't think Labour are dead. They need to operate in Scotland as an independent party with its own manifesto which aims to reclaim left of centre policies. Once they do that they will start to recover, starting in next years election,

[northernscum]

I don't think Labour are dead. They need to operate in Scotland as an independent party with its own manifesto which aims to reclaim left of centre policies. Once they do that they will start to recover, starting in next years election,

What do you think the chances of the UK Labour party allowing Scottish Labour to go it alone are? Absolutely zero IMO. Scottish Labour are tied to the UK party, the UK party are/were desperately trying to fight two opposing elections in two countries at the same time, and bollocksed up both of them.

The Tories won by dismissing the "lost cause" of Scotland and concentrating all their efforts on England. The only way Labour can return to Scotland in any meaningful way is when we become independent.

[EddardStark]

What do you think the chances of the UK Labour party allowing Scottish Labour to go it alone are? Absolutely zero IMO. Scottish Labour are tied to the UK party, the UK party are/were desperately trying to fight two opposing elections in two countries at the same time, and bollocksed up both of them.

The Tories won by dismissing the "lost cause" of Scotland and concentrating all their efforts on England. The only way Labour can return to Scotland in any meaningful way is when we become independent.

Labour have to fight on a number of grounds in England. In the North to win voters back from UKIP and in the Midlands/ Home Counties and South to attract aspirational soft Tories who voted labour in Blair's time.. I think the move towards a more federal constitution will make an independent labour party in Scotland a reality.

[virus-with-shoes]

I don't think Labour are dead. They need to operate in Scotland as an independent party with its own manifesto which aims to reclaim left of centre policies. Once they do that they will start to recover, starting in next years election,

Judging by the clueless bitterness of the wee "cut and paste" labour guy in that video, they are as good as dead.

I've no doubt they will come out in the next few weeks and insist they are going to listen to the Scottish people and offer a positive vision for change in Scotland.

Then, in about 8 months time, they'll be back to "SNP - BAAADDDD"

[exile]

UK Labour expel member for supporting SNP on social media

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/30/labour-party-expels-glasgow-member-snp-support-social-media

[aaid]

It's this guy so it's that surprising but a PR disaster for Labour.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jamieross/a-scottish-nationalist-has-tricked-jim-murphy-with-a-plot-to

[Dillinger]

It's this guy so it's that surprising but a PR disaster for Labour.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jamieross/a-scottish-nationalist-has-tricked-jim-murphy-with-a-plot-to

He sounds like a loony.

Still, spectacular bit of PR omnishambles from the Scottish branch office.

[Bzzzz]

I don't think Labour are dead. They need to operate in Scotland as an independent party with its own manifesto which aims to reclaim left of centre policies. Once they do that they will start to recover, starting in next years election,

Labour are completely and utterly dead and buried and deservedly so. They deserted the voters and their core values for the shiny. Their pockets were being lined nicely for decades and voter apathy and blind faith let them away with it. Now the electorate has woken up and see how labour betrayed them and their nation. They're finished and good riddance. Now to get rid of the rest of the "Scottish" unionists...

[exile]

He sounds like a loony.

Still, spectacular bit of PR omnishambles from the Scottish branch office.

Or as per buzzfeed it was a SNP supporter scam?

But the letter was not from the Scottish branch office but directed from Labour UK HQ

Having said all that does anyone know if any Labour members were ever disciplined ro kicked out for advocating tactical voting?

Edited May 31, 2015 by exile