The SNP will never quit. They might* decline, or collapse into insignificance** or they might*** go on to achieve their primary goal.

* who knows, it’s possible
** seems very unlikely. But far from impossible
*** who knows, far far more likely than collapsing into insignificance

My personal take is that the this/next year will see SNP membership reach its zenith. If it’s not there already. Whatever happens it seems likely that they’ll remain a potent and vocal force within the political scene.

I’m quite intrigued by what’s happening to Labour, and how much of an impact the SNP primary raison d’être will have on voter behaviour come the next election. Way too close to such an emotive event to take polling too seriously for me. My guess is, that the probability of another referendum within the next period of government at Holyrood will ultimately have a big impact.

epicsteve – Member
It would depend on the margin. If the gap had narrowed then there is no way it’d put it to bed. If it’s widened to say over 60% No then it might.

Phew, so they can put it to bed in approx 1/3 of all the local authorities. Unsurprisingly, not a single local authority had 60% or more saying yes. More of a chance that way (if you strip out the decided) then 😉

What’s the difference between East and west Dumbarton that the votes were so different?

What’s the difference between East and west Dumbarton that the votes were so different?

Why no go and see for yourself? Speak to the people there, you might just find out.

teamhurtmore – Member
epicsteve – Member
It would depend on the margin. If the gap had narrowed then there is no way it’d put it to bed. If it’s widened to say over 60% No then it might.
Phew, so they can put it to bed in approx 1/3 of all the local authorities. Unsurprisingly, not a single local authority had 60% or more saying yes. More of a chance that way (if you strip out the decided) then

What’s the difference between East and west Dumbarton that the votes were so different?West has more working class areas than East, which is top heavy with middle class areas.

i still find it amusing that people are peddaling the line that 55% was conclusive till the end of time! 😆

Of course [Sturgeon] also said that a NO would mean no change which we can all see was yet another blatant untruth

“No” was the answer. What was the question?

Sorry what was “your” question? Couldn’t answer as I couldn’t understand it. The use of NO in the section highlighted is self explanatory.

I don’t think it was that complicated. The people of Scotland answered “no”. What was the question? It was “Should Scotland be an independent country?”, wasn’t it? There was no promise not to change anything ever. So your bleating about the SNP (and others) wanting to change Scotland’s position within the UK despite a KB on the independence thing is misplaced, isn’t it?

i still find it amusing that people are pedalling the line that 55% was conclusive till the end of time!

Had the vote gone the other way, the Yes campaign would have said exactly that.

In practical terms, perhaps we really need to see if the Scottish Government actually use some of the powers that they already have and the ones that they are due to be given to make Scotland distinct from England, Wales and NI. If they don’t then why have devolution?

sadmadalan – Member
i still find it amusing that people are pedalling the line that 55% was conclusive till the end of time!
Had the vote gone the other way, the Yes campaign would have said exactly that.

In practical terms, perhaps we really need to see if the Scottish Government actually use some of the powers that they already have and the ones that they are due to be given to make Scotland distinct from England, Wales and NI. If they don’t then why have devolution?Can say what they like, doesn’t make it correct. If it was a Yes vote, there could well be reunification in the future.

Regards to using new powers, lets see what we get first, and if they are worthwhile using. The smith report isn’t law, it’s a list of recommendations, that has to go before an entirely new government.

In practical terms, perhaps we really need to see if the Scottish Government actually use some of the powers that they already have and the ones that they are due to be given to make Scotland distinct from England, Wales and NI. If they don’t then why

Depends if those powers are actually useful. Most of the public submissions to Smith wanted full control over tax and welfare, none of them wanted control over road signs. Smith recommended only some control of some taxes, and control of road signs.

So we can’t get rid of food banks, but we can tell people where they are.

@ben if you want to get rid of foodbanks make donating to charity fully tax deductible, if Scots really care about that issue you’ll raise ample funds to do so. Alternatively raise taxes/change tax bands to fund what you wish.

As for the 55% not being a concrete no, as many of us have said 50.1% would have been seen as a decisive Yes by the SNP and lead to permanent change. The SNP themselves said this was a one in a lifetime/generation event.

I see today Nicola Sturgeon is saying she wants to make Scotland business friendly, typically when a Tory down South says the same thing we interpret that as a translation into lower wages, poorer employment conditions/weaker legislation and tax breaks for business. Just curious how NS intends to actually deliver that. I strongly suspect the answer is just like any Tory government would with exactly those same tools.

Just an FYI, even before the referendum Scotland had the power to get rid of this stupid “no booze after 10pm” rule.
Powers can be used for evil too: It makes deciding to go to a party after the pub very difficult.

The problem is we are dealing with people with this level of concern for their voters

Selling the English NHS down the river to their mates.

Maybe it’s time the English revved up their political awareness instead of believing the mainstream media which is owned by these guys mates.

I see today Nicola Sturgeon is saying she wants to make Scotland business friendly, typically when a Tory down South says the same thing we interpret that as a translation into lower wages, poorer employment conditions/weaker legislation and tax breaks for business. Just curious how NS intends to actually deliver that. I strongly suspect the answer is just like any Tory government would with exactly those same tools.

This is what is happening at my workplace and others in the guise of becoming “competitive” with our competitors in Asia, the Middle East, China and Turkey.
MrsT works for a gov dept, voluntary severance has been announced for gov employees…… She hasn’t had a pay rise for a few yrs now!!!!
IMO how they administer what they have and what they are about to receive and deal with “world” issues will determine on how I would vote again if it the opportunity arises in my life time. Could say they are serving their apprenticeship or on probation…..

@epic no one is privatising the nhs, certainly not Labour, Lib Dems or the Tories. If you ask me if every service the nhs use and every function required to run a medical service needs to be carried out by a government employee then I’m going to tell you “no it doesn’t need to be”

😆 @ Clegg only getting £5k

Are the Glasgow foodbanks still having the rather unsavoury little turf war?

There was mention of ice cream vans in the article I read.

Edit, this is the one http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/social-justice-and-poverty/news/exclusive-foodbank-wars-erupt-in-glasgow

Need to look at this ice cream malarkey. New to me.

The problem is we are dealing with people with this level of concern for their voters

How did they receive that money, out of interest? Can’t be a straight bribe surely?

I wouldn’t do anything as vulgar as giving you money to spend on yourself. I’ll just give you money to spend on your political career so you can keep earning money. that’s totally different.

Well I’m pretty sure the hard nosed business men giving that sort of money expect something in return.

But even better is to look at the connections with the oil industry of the Lords who vote on oil issues.

If your local councillors did that, they’d be in jail.

So they are just party donations then? Rather than personal kickback?

Healthcare is big business and with an ageing population it’s getting bigger. 38 degrees is a political campaign group like all the others. I have no doubt there will be a long list of Labour Party MPs similarly funded.

Given the SNPs catalogue of lies over the NHS, that poster takes the McVities.

There was mention of ice cream vans in the article I read

The ice-cream war was about turf battles between gangs who used the ice cream vans as a distribution network.
Pretty sensationalist nonsense to refer to that in relation to a couple of food banks bad mouthing each other.

There was a great movie about the ice cream wars, one of my favourites. With Claire Grogan

Edit here you go, Comfort and Joy 8)

[video]http://youtu.be/FHMFooKZsFs[/video]

This thread is great! For the next referendum I don’t think we should have a Yes campaign, just let loose the unionist zoomers and let them do the job for us. I’m convinced some people on here are double-agents.

Yeah that worked last time didn’t it 🙄

Have no white paper this time either, having no answers to the EU or what currency would be used didn’t hurt last time did it?

p.s thanks for continuing to let us park nuclear subs and trident in Scotland 😉

So they are just party donations then? Rather than personal kickback?

it’s a party donation with a personal benefit to the individual. NB you can donate specifically to a constituency party as well as central party – I want to get molgrips elected in Rotherham so here’s fifty grand for his/her campaign…

Wowzers!
I still can’t believe the amount of people on here who still affiliate themselves to the mainstream parties.
Watch ‘the money masters’ 3.5-hours of educational awareness.

After watching that, you might be more aware why ‘Scotland’ were manipulated using ‘mass mainstream media’ as a means to voting No.

Edit here you go, Comfort and Joy.

TA for that. Might give that a watch.

They cleary take their Ice Cream seriously in Glasgow.

Wowzers!
I still can’t believe the amount of people on here who still affiliate themselves to the mainstream parties.
Watch ‘the money masters’ 3.5-hours of educational awareness.

Agreed. I’ll not vote SNP again next time out.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/columnists/power-over-income-tax-only-will-doom-scotland-to-a-downward-spiral.25879072

I still can’t believe the amount of people on here who still affiliate themselves to the mainstream parties.
Watch ‘the money masters’ 3.5-hours of educational awareness.

After watching that, you might be more aware why ‘Scotland’ were manipulated using ‘mass mainstream media’ as a means to voting No.
That’s the beauty of democracy, you can vote for who you want. I prefer to focus on the main parties as they are ones who can actually influence something rather than just a niche protest vote.

Do they make the trains run on time?

@ben, they = the major political parties ? No as its not a priority in the UK like it is in Germany, France or Switzerland unfortunately. I can vouch for that after commuting/using public transport for 30 years in various countries

By the way has there been any commentary on the Oil price and the impact on Scotland, had they voted Yes a $65 price would have been a major issue ? Russia is projected to enter a significant period of recession now, inflation at 10% as their currency collapses and the state oil company Rosneft needs a $50bn loan. A snapshot of the exposure an independent Scotland would have had to the price of oil

jambalaya – Member
By the way has there been any commentary on the Oil price and the impact on Scotland, had they voted Yes a $65 price would have been a major issue ? Russia is projected to enter a significant period of recession now, inflation at 10% as their currency collapses and the state oil company Rosneft needs a $50bn loan. A snapshot of the exposure an independent Scotland would have had to the price of oil

political games, the oil price will go back up when the handbags with the russians has stopped.

If anything handbags would lead to an increase in the price of oil.

Still two mature industries – one which is driven by volatile pricing outside your control – and another largely owned by foreigners is a great base to build from.

That’s the beauty of being ‘ignorant’ thinking you live in a democracy.
We are ruled by elitists, whom control the governments.
You obviously haven’t done your homework.

teamhurtmore – Member
If anything handbags would lead to an increase in the price of oil.

Still two mature industries – one which is driven by volatile pricing outside your control – and another largely owned by foreigners is a great base to build from.It’s an irrelevant argument for me anyhow, as I’m not particularly concerned about the continuation of burning stuff for fuel and profit!

But i doubt there anything surer than that oil price will rise and it will rise above the previous high. Call me cynical but i’d wager the price is getting artificial reduced(don’t ask me the specifics, just strikes me as incredibly convenient that it’s gong down and hurting the russians at the moment.).

seosamh77 – Member

But i doubt there anything surer than that oil price will rise and it will rise above the previous high.

In the long term, leaving it in the ground is almost certainly going to increase the value, it won’t go off and it means we’ll still have the resource when other sources have run out. So strategically, letting other people sell of an irreplacable resource for cheap today is a good thing. But it doesn’t help the balance books tomorrow.

The question o’course is how long will the oil price stay low.

The only thing that can mess with that, is an end to the dinosaur-based economy, otherwise prices will rise as scarcity increases. So, hands up everyone who thinks we’ll get off the fossil fuel addiction before the absolute last minute (if then).

“political games, the oil price will go back up when the handbags with the russians has stopped.”

well, great, but in the meantime you still have to deal with less tax revenue and you can’t predict the peaks and troughs and other people control what happens.