Especially for you...

... Alex Salmond, this one's for you.

It pleases me somewhat to think that this is in some way retribution for this. It's not, it's because the SNP-controlled local council is widely reviled. In a bizarre parochial way, I'm more delighted by this Fife by-election result than I am with the US election result.

Of course, the American peoples' choice is a big event. Mr Obama is a young man and is fairly new to the political scene (certainly here in Europe probably not many people had heard of him 18 months ago). And there's the obvious question of his ethnicity. If I was a big cynic, I'd say the financial crisis helped a long way into getting the Democrats' nominee elected. But whatever, let's just wish the President-elect well and hope he can live up to at least some of the weight expectations now on his shoulders.

But more importantly, let's get back to gloating at the Labour hold in Glenrothes. Normally that result wouldn't be news. Labour retains safe seat in former mining community. And? But after Glasgow East, a seemingly impossibly safe Labour seat, fell to the Nats in the summer, the Glenrothes campaign suddenly looked much more interesting (more so because it's bang next door to Gordon Brown's Kirkcaldy patch).

Well guess what Alex, some Labour seats still are safe. Looks like you still have some lessons to learn in politics. Is the honeymoon now over? Was there ever any honeymoon? In case you hadn't already guessed, I'm no big fan of the Nats. Don't go assuming that I'm a Labour die-hard though, because you'd be mistaken. The previous two Holyrood governments had their faults. But the current administration is busily 'cking up the whole wee country.

[Now Lis gets on her soapbox]

Let's look at their massively unclever but amusingly populist measure of freezing council tax. Yes, great move, well done. So what has happened since the Nats froze council tax? Households all over Scotland are paying the same council tax they did 18 months ago. OK, good. But councils all over Scotland are faced with huge budget shortfalls. My home council is £20m short this year. That means in order to balance the books, they are cutting services left, right and centre. Grants to voluntary organisations, often the providers of essential services that go a long way to "top-up" anything the council lays on, have been wiped. This means important services to the local population are or will be withdrawn or severely restricted. And folks' jobs are very much in the balance. Great work, Alex.

And I just cannot believe they approved the Trump golf course. 'ckers.

Underage voters?!

It seems the Scottish Nationalists have invented another "populist" idea to lower the voting age to 16. I would wager it's just another fight to pick with Westminster (because any legislation altering the voting age must be decided in the UK parliament). When this crackpot idea falls flat, the Nationalists can whine about Westminster foiling their clever policies.

Sorry teenies, but most 16 and 17 year-olds are just not clued up enough to vote. Of course, most people over the age of 18 aren't clued up enough to vote either, but the law says they are allowed to so we just have to put up with it. When I become Supreme World Leader, anyone who bases their political and world views on what The Sun or The Daily Mail says will be stripped of their civic rights.

Heheheh.

Elected representative?

Here's a question to ponder: why is that fat (and getting fatter) little Nationalist MSP for Gordon, and also MP for Banff & Buchan? Because he has made it very clear he won't be heading down to Westminster very often, being as he's prancing about as First Minister in Bute House now. So, while his constituents in Gordon have their elected representative, it would appear the residents of Banff & Buchan don't. And why he is still claiming his full MP's salary for the Banff & Buchan seat? That's actually quite a good wheeze, getting paid for a job you are quite openly not doing. Maybe he's cleverer than I thought...

No, he isn't. He is swindling tax payers and his constituents. Would the good people of Banff & Buchan have elected him at the last general election if they'd known he would be so quick to abandon his duty to represent them at Westminster once he got his Holyrood seat? Hmmm, maybe the good people of Banff & Buchan are stupid and would indeed have elected him anyway. I certainly wouldn't appoint anyone to a job if I knew they were going to abandon their post two years' into the contract, but continue to expect a wage.

Stand down and let there be a by-election so that your Westminster constituency can be represented, Mr Salmond. You're depriving them of something everyone else has and it's not fair.

The SNP question

Saw the result of an ICM/Scotsman poll on scotsman.com today. If the SNP's planned referendum on Scottish independence were held now, only 35% of voters would answer 'yes' to this question (this is the wording the nationalists want): "The Scottish Parliament should negotiate a new settlement with the British government so that Scotland becomes a sovereign and independent state. Do you agree, 'yes' or 'no'?".

But the loonies aren't loosing heart:

A spokesman said: "The circumstance in which an independence referendum will be won is by the SNP building trust and credibility in government, and delivering solid achievement. That positive process will move support towards the independence position."

Yeah, right. Difficult to see exactly how they'll manage to build "trust and credibility in government" or deliver any "solid achievement" in what will probably be a minority government with unionist opposition parties determinedly dogging their every move in order to paint them as incapable of running even devolved government. Four years of inertia is undoubtedly not a good thing for Scotland. Shame.

Full article.

No SNP-Lib Dem coalition

So the Lib Dems won't be jumping into bed with either the SNP or Labour. Where does this leave the Holyrood parliament? Looks like a minority government made up of the loony nationalists and two greenies. The greenies should be ashamed of themselves.

At least the Lib Dems haven't compromised themselves this time. The allure of having a share in power has not overcome their fundamental opposition to an independence referendum. Good.

Salmond

Just had to add this. Just seen that little teletubby on Reporting Scotland. He's so self-important he flew down to Edinburgh in a helicopter after looking pleased with himself when the Aberdeen constituency result was returned and he was elected. Not very green is it teletubby man? Of course, I spotted McConnell using the same ultra-environmentally friendly means of transport the other week too... >:-|

But it's not all bad

At least that prat Sheridan didn't get in.

Scottish parliament results

This:

Party			+/-	Tot
After 122 of 129 seats declared
SNP			+20	45
LAB			-5	43
LD			-1	16
CON			-1	15
Others			-13	3

could mean that smarmy little man will be Scotland's next First Minister. [Cringing]

Of course, what smarmy little man fails to have understood is that people didn't vote FOR him, but AGAINST Labour. Dimwit. Still, can't blame people for voting against Labour...

See also scandal and uproar at the shambles surrounding the new STV voting system and the new vote counting machines and the record numbers of spoiled ballots (some estimates put the total at 100 000)...

Scotland will soon be voting

Don't vote for those silly Nationalists! See David Aaronovitch's column in The Times. Of course, my sense of civic duty didn't kick in soon enough for me to sort out a postal or proxy vote. Still, when I contemplate the choice I think I might have had to spoil my ballot paper...

I just hope that Scottish voters, who understandably are not best pleased with Labour, don't regret their choice to punish Blair by probably voting for the SNP. That said, it would seem none of the other parties want to be in a coalition with the loony nationalists (not surprised meself). They all prefer to carry on the great tradition of selling their voters down the river and hopping into bed with Labour. :-\

As a related aside, I have a question for Alex Salmond. Explain to me, Mr Salmond, why it is that you have so little faith/interest/whatever in the national parliament of your country that you prefer to mix with the plague-bearing Westminster MPs and hold a UK parliamentary seat rather than represent your electorate in their "national" parliament at Holyrood? Surely you have no business down south, you should be working for Scots in Scotland, running Scottish affairs in Edinburgh and not bothering with the unionist nonsense of the London Houses of Commons? Maybe MPs get more money than MSPs...