Looking like Labour have blown it with a lacklustre campaign and falling vote. Lib dems face losing loads of seats. SNP / Green coalition ( maybe informal)looks the likely bet. Gonna be interesting. SNP could even get an overall majority. Tory vote is reduced to its rump and Goldie is widely seen as the most capable leader after Salmond. Grey the labour leader is awful. Negative campaign and negative precsence in Holyrood. Lib Dems are now irrelevant

My local constituency is interesting (to me) Labour / SNP marginal

Sitting labour MSP – Malcolm Chisholm who is a good egg. Resigned government post over invasion of Iraq and made his opposition clear right from the beginning. Used to be a GP and has helped preserve the NHS in Scotland. Does not have a high place on the list so if he loese constituency vote he is out. (IIRC)

I haven’t voted labour except to vote for Chisholm since Iraq, I have voted Lib Dem in the past but no more.

SNP candidate will get in on the list anyway as she is high on it

Greens will get my list vote

No SSP candidate this time

I really feel unsure who to vote for

Well initially I wasn’t really interested, but I clicked on the thread anyway. Having read it, I find that my original conclusion was correct, ie, it isn’t very interesting. I did momentarily, get a little interested when I read this bit “so if he loses constituency vote he is out”, but then I realised that I don’t know who he is, and quite frankly couldn’t give a shit. I then continued to be bored throughout the rest of the post. I hope you find that useful.

I clicked on this hoping they’d be some scantily clad vile objectification of women.
In retrospect, this was a somewhat misplaced expectation.

I’m in a very marginal seat. Conservative vs SNP.
I mean WTF am I supposed to do with that vote?
Don’t really like the SNP but really cant bring myself to put an X in the con****t***s box. Previously I chose to spoil the first paper and voted green with my second vote.

contrary to ernie_lynch’s scathing critique, i found the op exhilarating, scintilating and very useful.

as a result, i will be probably be linking to it in other threads as the must read post of the day, in order that others may benefit.

I’m in the same ward as TJ and face the same conundrum: Have never voted for ‘Nats, but think they have done suprisingly well in government; have really shown up Labour in Scotland for the bunch of “Cooncilors pretending to be politicians” they really are…I mean, who in Scotland can name more than 2 people on the Labour front bench at Holyrood?

Ah well.

I thought to those interested in politics the national trends might be of interest. Lim Dems vote collapsing but the beneficiaries are the SNP not labour. Tory vote appears to have reached its irreducible minimum of around 10% of the vote.

We could well get a significant number of greens again -maybe as many as 7 or 8 msps. Lib Dems could end in 5th place below the greens. What influence will that have on them nationally?

One of the things that is seen is the electorate are more sophisticated than the anti PR people claim – despite a fairly confusing format people do understand how to use the two votes and do vote differently in the constituency and list votes.

Wales is moving in a different way with Labour making gains over the nationalists

TJ, are you sure Malcolm was a GP? he was a teacher at Broughton High School in the 1990s.

back to the thread,

I think its mainly down to the leaders of the party, Gray comes across really badly in everything he does and has nothing positive to say and regularly gets ripped by Eck at FMQ. The only thing that will save them is the fact that they are still believed to be the party of the people in the less affluent areas and the historical presence there, like Leith for example. Not that Im knocking it I live in the same constituency.

Tavish is a non entity really, and has been squeezed by the condem in at westminster.

Annabel is the best of the bunch but unfortunately for her is a conservative and is never going to do much in Scotland thanks to far too many legacy issues. Added to the fact that she and Alex have worked together on a some policies means she doesnt have much space to move in.

The greens generally come over ok and I think they will get a couple of more seats this time.

I dont really care much for Salmond, or some of his poicies like no council tax rise for 5 years WTF?, but he has manipulated the media really well and gets so much air time and with no strong opposition means I think they will have more seats this time.

I could have sworn he was a Doc but it doesn’t appear so.

The only reason I thought he was a teacher was because some of my friends were at that school.

FWIW I think he is a really good MSP and would be, no matter which party he was from.

On a side issue Margo MacDonald would get my vote every time, even for PM!! 😀

quality contribution from ernie, reaffirming a wide range of stereotypes.

I have to agree about Iain Grey – he really is a nonentity. It’s been interesting to observe the lack of detail being given on the BBC Scotland website since the polls took a turn for the worse for Labour, suggesting the Labour bias they’re often accused of may be true.

It’s been an interesting journey with the SNP – I wasn’t a ‘believer’ to begin with, and used to be hesitant about voting for them on the basis of what used to be fairly ropey economic policies. In that respect, I think John Swinney has been an overlooked in his contribution to the SNP; he may not have been a particularly good leader, but as the finance minister, he’s done an excellent job. The same would go for Nicola Sturgeon, although she gets more recognition for her efforts as health minister. Kenny McAskill’s also done a good job as Justice Minister, especially when he was taking all the heat for releasing Megrahi.

As a humorous aside, there’s a brilliant piece of comic writing by David Cameron on the BBC website at the moment http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-13155096

Have voted for Lib Dems before, never again, and hope they get totally stuffed though Edinburgh West has previously been pretty safe for Lib Dems with 14400 votes or so last time, with 2nd place to the Cons at 8000 odd. SNP and Labour were 3000 or so behind the Cons. Only a choice of those four parties this time round for Edinburgh West. If Lib Dem vote has completely collapsed it could be more closely run round this side of the city?

Lothian region vote presents more choice, with some inclination to go for Margo MacDonald.

Voting by post so will be sending it back soon.

That BBC link certainly had me laughing, my favourite bit:

“Mr Cameron called on the electorate to use their “peach-coloured” regional list ballot papers to vote Tory.

He said: “I urge people, whatever they do on the constituency vote, to vote Tory on the list because we will get more Conservatives and more common sense in the parliament.””

Sure Dave

I will be voting SNP on the basis of the good work that they have done with limited powers during the last parliament. Plus I like Salmond, seems like the most genuine politician out there, although that isnt saying much.

TJ I’m in the same ward as you too. I have always previously voted LD, but not this time. Green will get my vote, Tory definitely won’t. Aye, which leaves Labour or SNP. Neither float my boat to be honest, and I think that Cosla got it spot on about the main parties’ proposals – there’s nothing to chose between them.

I like Chisholm too and he’ll probably get my vote – I don’t think I can bring myself to support a Nationalist party (something I don’t believe in fundamentally) despite them doing a reasonable job since getting into power. I can’t stand Sturgeon either!!

Oh, and the AV referendum? I’m going for ‘Yes’ (partly to give the finger to the NoToAV arseholes who sent me the most awful propoganda in the post).

Any prospect of the left wing parties getting any MSP’s in? Or has Tommy and his ego put paid to any progress they might have made?

The left vote is badly split – rump of the SSP and a splinter group (solidarity??) plus Galloway is atanding as well for Respect (all IIRC) – and the rules were changed to increase the threshold. They might get a seat or two in Glasgow but they won’t get the 8 sets they won 8 years ago