Will Labour and or Lib Dems ever restore themselves in Scotland

[rob murray]

Will Labour and or Lib Dems ever restore themselves in Scotland, or is the game over for them, are they seen as poisoned now as the torys ? Has the scottish political landscape irrevocable changed, in that we will have a majority SNP presence at Holyrood and Westminster for a long time ? Purely out of interest, what do people think, how can labour and Lib Dems restore themselves ( accepting of course that Scotland has seen conservatives as a poisoned brand for years or will Ruth Davidson restore them so some creitibility at Hoyrood ) or is it now accepted majority electoral "wisdom" that ony the SNP truly have scotlands interests at heart so no other party does ? Are we effectively a one party nation ? Can that be a good thing ? As I said ...just interested in what people have to say..no loaded agenda !

[BetterTogether]

Well look at the rise and fall of other parties with Scotland who is to assume that the SNP long term will not make a complete hash of it and end up on the scrap pile. Maybe a new party will emerge to unseat them. As far as I can see so far their vote share from referendum to general election is down by 150,000 give or take a few.

[rob murray]

WIth respect, the only party that I can remember having a rise and spectacular fall was the SSP and they were a newish splinter group party. Never in a million years could I see Labour fall so spectaculary to practically a non party in Scotland, the LD@s ...the coalition and Tory involvement, for better or for worse, destroyed them so I could see that comming. SNP vote share from referendum to general election is down by 150,000 give or take a few...ok but this didnt stop them in a first past the post election creating a polictical tsunami, for a political balance to happen many more SNP voters would need to vote for other parties come next year.

[BetterTogether]

Disenchantment can do a lot to sway people's views Rob, when you view the SNPs track record on policies the reality is quite stark more failures than success at the moment they seem to do well at the ballot box and not so well in actually delivering anything of worth.
You're quite right there's been a change, how long it lasts is another matter.
At the moment the SNP are riding very high but unless they start to deliver real and definable change with the new powers they have they will fail.
I give them the next round of voting then they have 5 yrs to start improving things or losing votes hand over fist.
Ruth Davidson is a credible politician if the Labour Party and Lib Dems manage to re-engage the public with good policies based on the new powers then I think the SNP may well have a run for their money.

Countries seldom swing to far one way before rebalancing it's all how long they have before it happens.

[rob murray]

At this juncture, as its me and BT that are posting, its best to point out that neither of us are being ignorant nor self important, BT is responding to the thread I put up as he is the only respondent I am replying.

BT : theres been more than a change Im afraid....but agree that whatever happens the SNP will win majority in Holyrood next year and have to be judged then over their term in office...thats why I wanted FFA...it would give us all full accountability....as it stands no one really knows if having " the levers of power" would, under SNP hands / stewardship, lead to economic prosperity or not, if they have the powers then there are no excuses, as holding back on any power just gives the ability to make excuses. So give the powers and with power comes total responsibility and with responsibilities comes total judgement through the ballot box. That is why I want FFA with no strings attached ( no UK propping up "overarching fiscal whatever ), just to get on with things.

[BetterTogether]

Here's an interesting article that sums up a lot about the SNP quite well.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/analysis/1322184-essay-stephen-daisley-on-the-snp-and-the-politics-of-nationalism/

[rob murray]

Here's an interesting article that sums up a lot about the SNP quite well.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/analysis/1322184-essay-stephen-daisley-on-the-snp-and-the-politics-of-nationalism/

excellent piece but the ending has a real sting though !

[Kenn]

I am sure that given a not too long period folk will start to appreciate who and what they voted out of office.
It will take Labour a lot longer to recover after the monumental errors they inflicted on these islands, people have long memories and Maggie Thatcher's "Poll Tax, " is still reviled here in the north so how long will The Iraq War and the banking debacle be a source of indignation?
It's a shame but nationwide we have lost a lot of hard working, dedicated MPs and they have been replaced by many who have little or no experience of the corridors of power.

[squidge]

At this juncture, as its me and BT that are posting, its best to point out that neither of us are being ignorant nor self important, BT is responding to the thread I put up as he is the only respondent I am replying. .Lol! Ok ok I hold my hands up. I get it. Lol I'm sorry :)


i don't know what to say about Labour. I'm so disappointed in them. For a democracy to work it has to have an effective opposition. Labour haven't been that in Westminster or Holyrood for years. They HAVE to start listening to people. A week or so ago they were sending letters to members who posted they were thinking of or were supporting the SNP. These letters were to kick people out of the Labour Party. Why on earth were they not sitting down with them and finding out why Labour Party members were so disillusioned with them.

i want a strong opposition voice to ask questions and hold our government to account. It's important but you don't do that by abstaining on votes! I think they need a leader and quick.

I think the answer to your question Rob is they may very well do so. I think the lib-dens are all but finished but I think the Labour Party is recoverable. However it will be a long road. Hopefully we will see the Green Party take more seats. There is the potential for a left alliance party and the SSP have seen an increase in membership. So we should have an opposition. . Patrick Harvie is a likeable, trusted and effective politician and I hope we see more of him. The green candidates I have met through my role in WFI have been principled and knowledgeable and I would like to see more of them in Holyrood too.

The AMS does mean we will continue to send a mix of parties to Holyrood. Although the D'hondt method slightly favours the biggest party the more constituency seats the SNP get the less list seats they will take unless something very startling happens. We shall see - it's interesting times though.

[Tig]

In my very simplistic view of politics I think the way forward for any party is to have clear direction. Give the voters choice.

Does it really matter if Lib dems or Labour rebrand themselves to try and gain more support, or die a death? Perhaps it is time for change. Society is constantly changing and evolving. What would be unfortunate if all parties start to sound the same just to please to large portions of the electorate. Their wishy washy policys and then they may do as they please when in power as there was no clear direction when they started.

[rob murray]

In my very simplistic view of politics I think the way forward for any party is to have clear direction. Give the voters choice.

Does it really matter if Lib dems or Labour rebrand themselves to try and gain more support, or die a death? Perhaps it is time for change. Society is constantly changing and evolving. What would be unfortunate if all parties start to sound the same just to please to large portions of the electorate. Their wishy washy policys and then they may do as they please when in power as there was no clear direction when they started.

Does it really matter if Lib dems or Labour rebrand themselves to try and gain more support...yes, otherwise as things stand we have a one party nation which is very unhealthy, your right though, they all sound the same, ( SNP are all things to all people and only differ from the other main parties in their declared intentions to gain independance ) apart from the tories and greens, so Labour and LD's dont need to re brand ( thats just cosmetics ) but need to come up with policies that will engage the electorate and get out there and engage people.... ie us