The Old Crem 3,422 Posted February 18 8 hours ago, YoungWillz said: Not a lot of laughs as usual as he speaks in Glasgow. Looks like he's woken up to idea of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Took him long enough. Unfortunately he's congratulated Sarwar and Baillie for their tremendous leadership in Scotland. They are possibly two of the worst performers I have ever seen, still dug in to their belief that Labour have the divine right to seats in Scotland. If anything, if the rest of the country votes Labour, Scotland needs somebody else. What he doesn't understand is that Scotland doesn't need yesmen to London run Labour. We all remember how Labour First Ministers said yes to policies designed for Middle England being imposed on Scotland. Labour if it needs Scotland might get it by default. But what it needs to do imo is to have a design for Scotland different from the needs of Milton Keynes, Manchester or Swansea. And that means breaking from his idiotic clinging to a Union idea that what is best for those places is best for Scotland. Welcome to Glesca, how long will he spend here in Scotland? Bet he's out of the country in hours. The problem is giving Scotland special powers doesn’t often go down well electorally outside of Scotland. Remember the Tories found considerable success in 2015 campaigning on the fear of an SNP deal with Labour and people outside of Scotland don’t follow the polling figures enough to not believe that is possible again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sod's Law 372 Posted February 18 8 hours ago, YoungWillz said: Not a lot of laughs as usual as he speaks in Glasgow. Looks like he's woken up to idea of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Took him long enough. Unfortunately he's congratulated Sarwar and Baillie for their tremendous leadership in Scotland. They are possibly two of the worst performers I have ever seen, still dug in to their belief that Labour have the divine right to seats in Scotland. If anything, if the rest of the country votes Labour, Scotland needs somebody else. What he doesn't understand is that Scotland doesn't need yesmen to London run Labour. We all remember how Labour First Ministers said yes to policies designed for Middle England being imposed on Scotland. Labour if it needs Scotland might get it by default. But what it needs to do imo is to have a design for Scotland different from the needs of Milton Keynes, Manchester or Swansea. And that means breaking from his idiotic clinging to a Union idea that what is best for those places is best for Scotland. Welcome to Glesca, how long will he spend here in Scotland? Bet he's out of the country in hours. We need a proper federal system in this country in my opinion, just like Germany or Spain. Scotland has different needs from the rest of the UK, but so does the North of England from the south, and the West Country from the South East. Local government in this country is a confusing mess with different authorities having different responsibilities. What we have now contributes to a feeling that everywhere outside of London is 'left behind' and it's only becoming worse over time. I also wish we had the same voting system that you Scots use to elect your parliament, which I think is also used in Germany. In fact, can't we just import the German system and call it a day? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,253 Posted February 18 36 minutes ago, Windsor said: The bloke isn’t dying. Why is there a thread about him? Look at Page 1. The thread was made by someone who just wanted arguments all the time because he hit a cyclist with his car. He also got brutally glitterbombed a few months back. It's staggering he's still alive tbh. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windsor 2,210 Posted February 18 30 minutes ago, Sod's Law said: There's also a thread about Liz Truss. These threads only exist to give users a much-needed tirade against the figure in question. Or maybe to speculate on how soon sepsis will set in whenever they get a paper cut. In the immediate aftermath of Truss there was a reasonable argument that she could have died of embarrassment (suicide). We all underestimated the brass neck of the woman. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windsor 2,210 Posted February 18 32 minutes ago, Sod's Law said: There's also a thread about Liz Truss. These threads only exist to give users a much-needed tirade against the figure in question. Or maybe to speculate on how soon sepsis will set in whenever they get a paper cut. In the immediate aftermath of Truss there was a reasonable argument that she could have died of embarrassment (suicide). We all underestimated the brass neck of the woman. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 20,435 Posted February 18 25 minutes ago, The Old Crem said: The problem is giving Scotland special powers doesn’t often go down well electorally outside of Scotland. Remember the Tories found considerable success in 2015 campaigning on the fear of an SNP deal with Labour and people outside of Scotland don’t follow the polling figures enough to not believe that is possible again. Don't think I asked for Scotland to have special powers. Labour's issue and therefore Starmer's issue has always been delivering for those areas which used to vote Labour without question. The boot in the bawbags that Labour took in 2019 seems to have been disregarded in that respect - after all, they have been repeatedly kicked in their soft parts for years in Scotland. @Sod's Law is right. Been calling for federalism for years, jeez it used to be a stand point of the Liberals. Starmer's Labour Party will not win in Scottish Parliamentary elections unless it wins in England and shows it can deliver real change. Anyway, I'd quite like to give Labour Party a kicking on here, bit boring kicking the Tories forever. Starmer can deliver that at least. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Old Crem 3,422 Posted February 18 3 minutes ago, YoungWillz said: Don't think I asked for Scotland to have special powers. Labour's issue and therefore Starmer's issue has always been delivering for those areas which used to vote Labour without question. The boot in the bawbags that Labour took in 2019 seems to have been disregarded in that respect - after all, they have been repeatedly kicked in their soft parts for years in Scotland. @Sod's Law is right. Been calling for federalism for years, jeez it used to be a stand point of the Liberals. Starmer's Labour Party will not win in Scottish Parliamentary elections unless it wins in England and shows it can deliver real change. Anyway, I'd quite like to give Labour Party a kicking on here, bit boring kicking the Tories forever. Starmer can deliver that at least. I think the issue is partly that a lot of Scottish ex labour seats seem less interested in culture war politics than their English equivalents. Scottish ex Labour working class seats pretty much all voted remain in the EU by 55% or more while the English equivalents voted leave by massive majorities. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,253 Posted February 18 26 minutes ago, The Old Crem said: I think the issue is partly that a lot of Scottish ex labour seats seem less interested in culture war politics than their English equivalents. Scottish ex Labour working class seats pretty much all voted remain in the EU by 55% or more while the English equivalents voted leave by massive majorities. Sources for your info please. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windsor 2,210 Posted February 18 32 minutes ago, The Old Crem said: I think the issue is partly that a lot of Scottish ex labour seats seem less interested in culture war politics than their English equivalents. Scottish ex Labour working class seats pretty much all voted remain in the EU by 55% or more while the English equivalents voted leave by massive majorities. We were doing culture wars here before the rest of the world knew how electorally advantageous they are. The greatest of all culture wars has seen the vast majority of the Scottish population try to rationalise their political voice at the ballot box over the choice of one word: Yes or No. You can’t criticise nationalist policy (any nationalist policy mind) without being labelled an yoon. You can’t criticise any Unionist party without being labelled a Snat. If you support minimum prising for alcohol you probably also support terrorists in Israel. If you support any other party except for Green or SNP you must be a Tory. It’s pretty pathetic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 20,435 Posted July 5 And so, the time to start kicking Labour has begun. Phew! His speech as PM almost had a religious quality. That is a speech that could have been delivered by my granddad who was a minister. It felt almost inspiring, and yet it was, in essence, platitudes. Let's see. How long will it be before we are at him? I'm giving him until October, if I can haud my wheesht. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim Up North 3,688 Posted July 5 My hope is that he has been a man hamstrung by the fear of saying something wrong and now with the large majority secured we will see a different person. Maybe… 12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy 1,657 Posted July 5 Another PM who’s a Smiths fan, hopefully gaining Morrissey/Marr’s seal of approval more than a previous incumbent. Aztec Camera and Orange Juice also on Starmer’s playlist, which gets mine. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sod's Law 372 Posted July 5 5 hours ago, Grim Up North said: My hope is that he has been a man hamstrung by the fear of saying something wrong and now with the large majority secured we will see a different person. Maybe… ITV News was saying this morning that his huge majority should give him more power to do some things not in the manifesto without facing much meaningful opposition, and as the situation in the country gradually improves, he might have a little more wiggle room to be bolder later on. So if you didn't find his manifesto that inspiring, watch this space. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toast 15,752 Posted July 5 7 hours ago, Grim Up North said: My hope is that he has been a man hamstrung by the fear of saying something wrong and now with the large majority secured we will see a different person. Maybe… I think so. He's been very cautious not to make any bold statements that might alienate voters. He's largely avoided commitment on issues on which people are divided. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prussianblue 898 Posted July 5 This has been Andrew Marr's argument, that Starmer's instincts and beliefs are more radical than has been portrayed and he will likely drive a lot of change given the chance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,253 Posted July 5 Well, he's already killed off the Rwanda policy, so it's a spirited start. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sly Ronnie 835 Posted July 6 18 hours ago, harrymcnallysblueandwhitearmy said: Another PM who’s a Smiths fan, hopefully gaining Morrissey/Marr’s seal of approval more than a previous incumbent. Aztec Camera and Orange Juice also on Starmer’s playlist, which gets mine. Rip it up and start again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites