Westminster Voting Intentions

[beyond our ken]

Surely you mean, "As opposed to Bluto, Roddy or Chingford which collectively only have one R in them.", no?

Or, more succinctly, "As opposed to Bluto, Roddy or Chingford which collectively only contain one R."

Just trying to be helpful.

I think you know what I meant, or at least i hoped you would.

If not, things are much worse than I thought

[Guest TPAFKATS]

Is David Cameron a constituency mp in Oxfordshire? If so, I wonder why he never raised the issue of child abuse in Oxford until this week?

[beyond our ken]

Is David Cameron a constituency mp in Oxfordshire? If so, I wonder why he never raised the issue of child abuse in Oxford until this week?

Is David Cameron a constituency mp in Oxfordshire? If so, I wonder why he never raised the issue of child abuse in Oxford until this week?

and since no stone will be left unturned and there is a committment to hold all child abusers to account, can we expect that any accused of wrongdoing in the findings of the historical child abuse inquiry will be prosecuted-even if they turn out to be tory grandees?

[Stuart Dickson]

and since no stone will be left unturned and there is a committment to hold all child abusers to account, can we expect that any accused of wrongdoing in the findings of the historical child abuse inquiry will be prosecuted-even if they turn out to be tory grandees?

I would hope so but that's down to the police and the courts. MPs make the laws , if they have been broken then you'd hope the police will act, gather sufficient evidence to bring about criminal charges and to convince a jury of guilt. And then finally you'd hope that an appropriate sentence be handed out to those found guilty.

[Guest TPAFKATS]

I would hope so but that's down to the police and the courts. MPs make the laws , if they have been broken then you'd hope the police will act, gather sufficient evidence to bring about criminal charges and to convince a jury of guilt. And then finally you'd hope that an appropriate sentence be handed out to those found guilty.

Careful now.

With your head that far in the sand, you are in danger of a buggering from a passing Lord, judge or MP.

[thepaisleypanda]

I see the Natsi website "Wings Over Scotland" and their Stormtroopers are back in the news today.

The site is still endorsed by the SNP

Wrong again - Show me evidence?

[RickMcD]

I would hope so but that's down to the police and the courts. MPs make the laws , if they have been broken then you'd hope the police will act, gather sufficient evidence to bring about criminal charges and to convince a jury of guilt. And then finally you'd hope that an appropriate sentence be handed out to those found guilty.

I don't mind them getting a fair trial as long as they hang 'em high afterwards.

[FTOF]

Isn't it great to see the LabCon alliance shitting their right wing undies at the prospect of an SNP whitewash in May.

[BuddieinEK]

So Ed says "it's me or him"!

Thanks Ed. That makes it simple.

At a local level my SNP politicians are the best by a country mile. However, a vote for thrm WILL be manipulated into a further campaign for independence and either another waste of millions or worse still, a step towards separation. I cannnot risk my vote for a politician being abused and misused in such a manner.

[salmonbuddie]

It's not a 'further' campaign for independence, the ongoing campaign for independence is the very reason the SNP exists. It's quite sad that you can see the best person is the SNP candidate but you're happy to settle for second (or third, fourth or fifth) best.

[oaksoft]

So Ed says "it's me or him"!

Thanks Ed. That makes it simple.

At a local level my SNP politicians are the best by a country mile. However, a vote for thrm WILL be manipulated into a further campaign for independence and either another waste of millions or worse still, a step towards separation. I cannnot risk my vote for a politician being abused and misused in such a manner.

Abused and misused?

You REALLY want to use language like that?

A national landslide for the SNP would be the clearest possible indication that people want another referendum.

Just 6 months after the last one, I don't see how it's possible to come to any other conclusion.

It's hardly to put them in government down south.

It's called democracy. It's a shame that No voters can't shed themselves of their rage over independence and see that.

Vote for whoever you like for whatever reason you like.

Don't kid yourself however that these SNP politicians won't fight for independence only if you vote for them.

They'll push for it regardless.

Edited March 8, 2015 by oaksoft

[Stuart Dickson]

So Ed says "it's me or him"!

Thanks Ed. That makes it simple.

At a local level my SNP politicians are the best by a country mile. However, a vote for thrm WILL be manipulated into a further campaign for independence and either another waste of millions or worse still, a step towards separation. I cannnot risk my vote for a politician being abused and misused in such a manner.

I don't know your candidate s Brian, but in the most general of terms I'd venture that the best candidate in your area is far more likely to be from the Lib Dems or from the Conservatives. The reason? They've got no chance of winning in Central Scotland, yet they'll stand anyway.

If you look at the current crop of Scottish politicians Ruth Davidson is without doubt the best leader in Scotland. Similarly before her Annabel Goldie was miles ahead of Salmond Scott and Gray. Even going back over the years at constituency level I watched Phil Gallie battle hard against a Labour Executive when it came to saving his local football club and trying to get the kind of facilities that really would have benefited the local community and local business.

More recently we have an example of the SNP executive killing off a supporters bid for St Mirren FC and as a result killing off a project that could have been massively beneficial to the Paisley community on the say so of some low level SNP candidate

[BuddieinEK]

Abused and misused?

You REALLY want to use language like that?

A national landslide for the SNP would be the clearest possible indication that people want another referendum.

Just 6 months after the last one, I don't see how it's possible to come to any other conclusion.

It's hardly to put them in government down south.

It's called democracy. It's a shame that No voters can't shed themselves of their rage over independence and see that.

Vote for whoever you like for whatever reason you like.

Don't kid yourself however that these SNP politicians won't fight for independence only if you vote for them.

They'll push for it regardless.

The leader of SNP herself personally assured me that this general election was absolutely nothing to do with a vote for independence.

Was she lying to me then? You seem to know best.

[Tam M]

I don't think it is a vote for another referendum. As a member of the SNP I don't have any desire for another vote on the Union anytime soon.

What I do feel is that the SNP are best placed to give Scotland a bigger voice in Westminster. If the SNP and Greens can take substantial MPs to Westminster it will help the UK as a whole to be governed more fairly and not just in the interests of London.

Voting SNP in the General Election is not a signal for another referendum, it's just about Scotland having a voice. I have serious doubt Scottish Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems etc can provide that. Can you imagine Keiza at Westminster? She can't survive QT without being ripped apart.

A referendum on independence is a choice for the Scottish people. If the SNP or Greens decide to put that in manifesto for the Holyrood election in 16, then is when everyone including myself has a decision to make.

That's my view anyway.

Edited March 8, 2015 by Tam M

[RickMcD]

The leader of SNP herself personally assured me that this general election was absolutely nothing to do with a vote for independence.

Was she lying to me then? You seem to know best.

You're arguing with the same Oaky boy who got his last voting prediction wrong by the greatest margin ever recorded in the history of the free world. Don't waste your time.

[Stuart Dickson]

I don't think it is a vote for another referendum. As a member of the SNP I don't have any desire for another vote on the Union anytime soon.

What I do feel is that the SNP are best placed to give Scotland a bigger voice in Westminster. If the SNP and Greens can take substantial MPs to Westminster it will help the UK as a whole to be governed more fairly and not just in the interests of London.

Voting SNP in the General Election is not a signal for another referendum, it's just about Scotland having a voice. I have serious doubt Scottish Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems etc can provide that. Can you imagine Keiza at Westminster? She can't survive QT without being ripped apart.

A referendum on independence is a choice for the Scottish people. If the SNP or Greens decide to put that in manifesto for the Holyrood election in 16, then is when everyone including myself has a decision to make.

That's my view anyway.

For all Keiza struggled she still came out Question Time better than HamzaYousaf. Of course Ruth Davidson and Danny Alexander wiped the floor with the pair of them Edited March 8, 2015 by Stuart Dickson

[Stuart Dickson]

You're arguing with the same Oaky boy who got his last voting prediction wrong by the greatest margin ever recorded in the history of the free world. Don't waste your time.

In fairness Rick I think a strong vote for the SNP will be used by the SNP to get again push their separatist agenda. After all it is their sole reason for existing. It's the danger that those ex Labour voters considering voting SNP should be taking into account.

Don't get me wrong I'm confident that if there was another referendum the outcome would be exactly the same but in the meantime we'll see a shiteload of taxpayers money being pissed away on White Papers and public consultations that will never be published, and we'll have to suffer all that uncertainty holding back the Scottish economy yet again.

[Tam M]

For all Keiza struggled she still came out Question Time better than HamzaYousaf. Of course Ruth Davidson and Danny Alexander wiped the floor with the pair of them

I thought Huzma done well, but I openly admit I watched it with SNP specs on. I was very impressed with Ruth however.

[Stuart Dickson]

I thought Huzma done well, but I openly admit I watched it with SNP specs on. I was very impressed with Ruth however.

His performance reminded me of the one Richard Nixon gave on TV back in the 60's. The one that saw Nixon being overtaken in the polls for the first time by John F Kennedy the 1960 election. Back then the sight of Nixon sweating profusely on National TV had the effect of making him look decidedly shifty and untrustworthy. For me Yousaf's dripping wet face for most of the show had a similar effect. I did check it wasn't just me too and I have to say even my sister who is a confirmed SNP voter thought it was extremely off putting. He also managed to get himself so muddled during one answer that he said that the SNP would work with the Tories on an issue by issue basis before back tracking and joking that was his ministerial career over. I don't think he did very well at all.

Dougdale for me seems like a nice person and potentially a decent politician. However the party she stands for makes her unelectable in my eyes. How can you go into an election campaign expecting to win when your rhetoric is that you are going to end hardship and suffering in the UK by raising taxes and taking more money off the electorate, your businesses and from investors.

Alexander came off third worst in my opinion. He had some decent lines particularly the one where he answered Dugdales call for a Labour majority with the answer "...cause that worked so well the last time." He also made his case quite well for stating that the Lib Dems would be the best party to moderate and sanitize the effect of either a Labour or Conservative government.

[Stuart Dickson]

There you have it folks, vote Tory.

The very Tories that said we'd be deficit free this very year.

I wonder if the proven lying bigot would like to clarify how much more debt we're accumulating because of the Tories failed policies since they came into power.

This should be fun knowing his past record with figures.

Yet another defamatory / libellous post to add to the collection....

Anyway to answer your question

The size of Scotland's public spending deficit has risen, according to the latest Scottish government estimates.

The figure, including a geographical share of North Sea oil income, rose to more than £12bn in 2012-13.

George Osborne just met his full-year borrowing target in 2013-14, with the UK deficit falling to the lowest level since the beginning of the financial crisis as economic recovery boosted tax receipts.

Government borrowing fell to £107.7bn in the fiscal year to the end of March 2014 from £115.1bn a year earlier, scraping in just below the £107.8bn target outlined by the Treasury's independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), in last month's budget.

Links to the relevant articles are as follows

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-26541575

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/apr/23/uk-deficit-lowest-financial-crisis-osborne-budget

Simply put the UK Conservative / Lib Dem coalition government reduced the overall budget deficit by £7.4Bn DESPITE the fact that the SNP led Scottish Government managed to INCREASE their annual budget deficit by £3.5Bn to £12.058 Bn per annum.

If only John Swinney was as good as George Osbourne perhaps the country would be in far better financial health with less need for austerity.

Edited to add: Of course the SNP told us during their referendum campaign that the first thing they would do if Scotland became Independent would be to INCREASE borrowing significantly.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/snp-will-borrow-billions-to-end-austerity-says-swinney.24490040

Edited March 9, 2015 by Stuart Dickson

[Stuart Dickson]

Seeing as you replied to my comment that I hadn't included any quotes how did you know they were aimed at you? :

But seeing as you answered I did notice you excluded the quote from the guardian regarding the deficit increase of £47.7bn for the year 2013\2014 never mind the extra for this year or the next 3 years that Gideon said we'd be deficit free.

Oh dear - once again a Natsi is proving that they don't understand terms surrounding the economy.

The Labour quote that you refer to doesn't refer to a "deficit increase" at all. It related to Osbournes initial projections from 2010 where he claimed that by 2013 the size of the annual budget deficit would be reduced to £60Bn. His initial projections in 2010 didn't and couldn't have taken into account the economic meltdown we've seen in the Eurozone since then. No matter how you look at it though the UK Coalition Government has massively reduced the UK's annual budget deficit year on year whilst the Labour opposition was insisting that the government was reducing the deficit too quickly, and whilst the SNP actually let the deficit INCREASE in Scotland and pledged to BORROW EVEN MORE if the country voted for Independence.

The idea that a supporter or a member of either the Labour Party or the SNP should criticise the Coalition Government on their performance in running the economy is utterly laughable especially as the UK is now widely regarded to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

[RickMcD]

The first bit is like blaming a child for you giving them too much pocket money.

It is easy to grow an economy quickly on the back of borrowed money.

Are you saying it's better to let things stagnate?

[oaksoft]

The leader of SNP herself personally assured me that this general election was absolutely nothing to do with a vote for independence.

Was she lying to me then? You seem to know best.

If you are going to talk like a prick then you can talk to someone else.

[bluto]

If you are going to talk like a prick then you can talk to someone else.

Talk...?

Talk!?

I need to get a more modern app.

Div....?

[RickMcD]

Not at all. All I am saying is that my dog could probably grow the economy if it could borrow lots of money. It doesn't mean that you are intelligent or especially good at your job.

I was asking a genuine question but perhaps I should have what should the government have done? Let the economy stagnate like others and watch the Euro become a mockery of a currency due to the extreme hubris of a Franco/ German alliance which is letting Europe go to hell in a handcart rather than lose face? Do you think a Labour/Lib Dem alliance would have done differently? Has Labour not consistently over the decades been the party that threw cash at problems and of course their favourite causes? I don't like this Tory Government ( The Lib Dems are a minor irritation) but I'm glad they have been in charge of the economy over the last few years.