tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post7706914411497684970..comments2024-03-28T07:16:39.621+00:00Comments on Lallands Peat Worrier: Europe: through the looking glass Lallands Peat Worrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18276270498204697708noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-87572524509333654212014-05-12T10:10:18.310+01:002014-05-12T10:10:18.310+01:00Bob: 'As for the SNP's Eurosceptic past, c...Bob: 'As for the SNP's Eurosceptic past, can I make a plea for the rehabilitation of that term?'<br /><br />Oh indeed - I support that. Am not in great sympathy with the Bennite traditions but share Benn's distrust of the EU.<br /><br />Also to be fair the SNP didn't have a monopoly in wackos in the 70s. I can remember a Glasgow Tory using the slogan 'We are the People' - not so much a dog whistle as a foghorn - and Labour had its fair share of sinister characters. It could be said party candidates have become much blander these days but looking back, that's not such a bad thing maybe. <br /><br />Edwin Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05317173893948248954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-90952555575099756352014-05-12T08:12:08.449+01:002014-05-12T08:12:08.449+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bob Waughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13698190470561464487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-83454844425708828992014-05-12T08:12:07.374+01:002014-05-12T08:12:07.374+01:00"UKip seems not that different to the old pre..."UKip seems not that different to the old pre-Eck SNP, which could be pretty suspicious of the EU."<br />Up to a point, Lord Copper. In the 1970s some local election SNP candidates could go off the rails in an idiosyncratic way (though usually on lawn&order, not race, gender or sexuality as I recall) but most stuck to the script. Compare and constant UKIP, every second candidate for which has to have his/her opinions "explained" by Nigel. If The Newark bye-election is a chance for them, expect desperate efforts to silence their own candidate.<br /><br />As for the SNP's Eurosceptic past, can I make a plea for the rehabilitation of that term? Thanks to UKIP and the barking-mad faction of the Tories, it has become synonymous with Europhobic. There is a place for a political position that calls for a total overhaul of the EU, starting with the crazy single currency project, because Europe needs to co-operate more effectively in the modern world.Bob Waughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13698190470561464487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-41163416478420374642014-05-12T01:24:07.627+01:002014-05-12T01:24:07.627+01:00I wasn't encouraged to vote, but as I am an It...I wasn't encouraged to vote, but as I am an Italian national they reminded me that I had the option of partecipating to EU elections and informed me that if I desired I could register seperately for thrn.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11434456535536002213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-76259709022866302742014-05-11T18:59:51.336+01:002014-05-11T18:59:51.336+01:00The turnout question remains the big question in S...The turnout question remains the big question in Scottish politics. Nationalists are fond of saying the SNP achieved power in the face of a system designed to ensure that no one party would gain overall power, but whatever was envisioned, the one thing our Founding Fathers and Mothers did not foresee is that half the electorate would just not vote at all, as happened at that election.<br /><br />I think I will drop Labour this time and go Green as i have in the past. I now think also (regretfully), there is unlikely to be much of a tactical swing to the Greens from the SNP - you might as well go for that third seat, though there is the Tasmina factor which might result in some of the switherers deflecting at the last moment.<br /><br />The way things have gone, if the egregious Taz misses her shot here, she will be with UKip next Holyrood election (what in earth did you make of that poll which gave them 18% for the Euro election?). Funnily enough UKip seems not that different to the old pre-Eck SNP, which could be pretty suspicious of the EU. So much of our politics is skin deep, yet gets marketed as if it goes back to the broch builders.Edwin Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05317173893948248954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-30931684422040388922014-05-11T15:25:22.182+01:002014-05-11T15:25:22.182+01:00I can only make one comment that I'm reasonabl...I can only make one comment that I'm reasonably confident of: if the polls are in line with your graph above, there is no argument for tactically voting Green at all - doing so is only going to help UKIP by weakening the parties that are up against UKIP for that last seat.<br /><br />By all means, vote Green if you agree with their policies, but if your aim is to keep out UKIP voting Green isnt the way to go about it. Sorry Greens - some of you are quite nice.commentorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10321173541321374705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-82737908500042116252014-05-11T14:41:42.651+01:002014-05-11T14:41:42.651+01:00I note the point you make about turnout and its po...I note the point you make about turnout and its possible effect on the outcome and result.<br />I was surprised recently to discover that the Electoral Commission itself had, prior to the last Hoyrood election, hired a PR consultancy to encourage potential voters to actually go out and cast their vote in that election. I've no idea how much they spent. I've no idea how much they are spending to increase participation in the European elections, or for that matter if and how much they intend to spend on the independence referendum.<br />It's right and proper that the Electoral Commission do encourage participation, but given that there may be a link between voter turnout and the result I'd like to think that the effort put in to advocating participation was broadly similar from one election to another. I'd also like to think that targeting of a particular demographic, whether deliberate or accidental, wasn't a feature of any PR agency inspired advertising campaign.muddypawshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02705787157023015996noreply@blogger.com