Congratulations to the SNP for securing just over 1,400,000 votes out of a possible 4,000,000 electorate. By my reckoning that’s 35% of the vote?
Further congratulations on securing 56 seats of the 650 seats in Parliament. So they have 8% of the seats whilst only getting a little under 5% of the votes – funny old game, British politics.
Congratulations on seizing the left-of-centre political ground from an absolute shambles of a Labour Party.
So why is the Labour Party a shambles? In my opinion, Tony Blair – aided and abetted by Gordon Brown – managed to out-conservative the Conservatives a couple of decades or so ago. Jettisoning the party’s socialist (left-of-centre) principles in order to become electable!
Then, whilst in power, de-regulating the city and the bonus boys, creating gods like Fred who, it is said, couldn’t actually grasp subprime asset-backed securities. Asset-backed, triple A-rated securities on mortgages that would never be paid, leading to the financial crisis that nearly brought down capitalism but did actually bring down a few banks and people who had become legends in their own minds. How could the dynamic duo top that, you might well ask? Help George to fabricate a story that Saddam had WMD so they could invade and bring peace and stability to the region?
So the Labour faithful who had had an alternative to the Tories now had Tory II. So, as we know, lots of them chose Nige’s mob or in Scotland they chose the SNP who, as I said, are left of centre and preaching the socialist economics of ending austerity, increasing public spending and stimulation of the economy by lowering CT. I just wished they liked the British, as I do like living in Inverness …
In summary then, the SNP achieved 56 seats by being politically astute and, err, by managing to keep Eck quiet until they had crossed the line in the early hours of May 8.
For me, the SNP don’t have a mandate from the electorate to have another debilitating referendum. Based on their election mandate as espoused by Nicola during the campaign, their platform was an end to austerity and more social justice. Of course, he couldn’t wait and was giving us the Scottish lion line early doors. I remember saying on Bloomberg that Better Together were fairer with the economic truths than Eck. I have to say Nicola led a brilliant political campaign and it’s a pity that Eck has now come up with a different mandate.
Undoubtedly we are in for a rough ride, let’s hope DC can devolve enough power to keep Scotland in the Union.
I have just returned from trips to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Malaysia and now Kazakhstan. As always, I was trying to keep Orion at the top table of international recruitment businesses. There is always the Groundhog Day question: “Why are you headquartered in Inverness?” I simply reply: “Why not? I can walk to the office, the rush hour lasts 15 minutes and Scotland’s a great place.”
Anyway……