Scottish Parliament & Local Government elections on 3rd May

[T_i_B]

It's that time of year again when I feel the need to do a thread about the coming elections. This year we have elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and also some local government elections on 3rd May.

If you want to comment on the likely results of these elections for the SNP, Labour the Tories or anyone else please feel free to do so here. You can also comment on what's up for election round your neck of the woods and what your local parties are like here if you wish.

And on that note I should point out that a chap who used to post on DU many moons ago as UKNick is standing as a Lib Dem on my council! And knowing that ward, he really should win as well.

http://www.nickbarlow.com/blog/?p=131

And I will have to have a rant about Colchester Borough council at some point on this thread. I must admit that one of my best friends (NOT Nick Barlow!) was also considering running for the council and if that had come to pass, I would have dipped my toe into the murky world of organized politics to lend a hand.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. Good luck to UKNick

I don't think I ever crossed his path on DU but I hope he does well.

In regards to the Scottish elections, I think talk of breaking the union will count against the SNP's electoral chances as May draws near. They do seem likely of emerging as the largest party but they may not get into power, at least not outright. There could be a minority government, either SNP or Lib-Lab.

According to opinion polls over 40% of Scots "would like independence" but only about 32% favour breaking the political union with the rest of the UK, which does indicate that poll questions need to be made more explanatory. It could mean that some respondents equate "Scottish independence" with greater autonomy rather than as a separate national state. If my conjecture is true it may mean that Scottish nationalists have overestimated the desire for Scottish independence as they seek it.

Unfortunately I haven't kept note of the finer politics of the Welsh Assembly but I don't anticipate a 'nationalist earthquake.' Plaid Cymru seem to be at their weakest when discussing the independence issue, and I don't think anyone not least the Welsh know whether Plaid stand for greater autonomy or for a full-withdrawal from the UK. I don't think Plaid are quite sure either.

[T_i_B]

2. Nick should win

Castle ward is a fairly safe Lib Dem ward. Electorally speaking the interesting thing about that ward is that it's where the Greens do best. They came 2nd there last time and I can remember seeing quite a few Green party posters in windows down in the Dutch quarter. The reason for their success seems to be their staunch opposition to the council's flagship policy of knocking down the bus station and replacing it with a visual arts facility and of course their conservationist tendencies, which I can imagine going down very well in the oldest part of the oldest town in Britain.

On that note I would also add that I have recently received a Green party leaflet through my door, for the 1st time since 1992! Having caught one of their number in Chelmsford distributing MIHOP literature recently though, I'm a tad wary of them.

Oh, and Nick was on DU in 2001/2002. I can certainly remember his posts very well, but I'm not sure that more recent UK DUers will be aware of him unless they've come across his blog.

[UKNick]

22. Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Blimey, my login still works... I would have thought my account would have disappeared down the memory hole by now!

Anyway, thanks for the mention T_i_B - I've seen your comments on the blog, and just about remembered you from here, though I thought you lived in Chelmsford, or have you moved in the past five years?

Still, before we get bogged down in the personal, the campaign is going well though I make no predictions as I hate offering hostages to fortune. I was thinking of promising a full, no-holds-barred account of campaiging in an English local election for when it was all over, but that would probably be rather boring and so I'll let you stick with your illusions of how glamorous it is.

I'm a bit annoyed that I have to go to the count next Thursday night - the psephological geek in me wants to sit at home and watch the results from Scotland and Wales which could be fascinating. Scottish local results will be interesting to look at too, as they're using STV for the first time, so Labour will lose a hell of a lot of council seats there.

Anyway, I've got to go and play around with some leaflet designs...

[T_i_B]

23. I moved to Colchester last year Nick!

so if you saw an odd looking bloke in a Sheffield Wednesday beanie hat making his way about the town centre that was probably me!

And yes, I think that any account of the campaign may well be best saved until after May 3rd. As someone who isn't involved with any party, I may have a slightly different perspective on how it's shaping up though. Until then, see you down the Fat Cat!

[LeftishBrit]

3. Good luck to UKNick

I joined DU in 2004, so haven't come across him; but sounds reasonable from the blog!

We don't have any council elections in Oxford this year: city council elections in 2008; county council not till 2009. As regards Greens, we are one of the few councils to have a significant Green minority, which is mostly quite good, and doesn't go in for conspiracy-stuff. My university psychologist colleague, Mike Woodin, who died terribly young last year, was the first Green councillor and helped to build up the party. Overall, the City council is split fairly equally between Labour and Lib Dems, and is inclined to have good ideas but not to be very clever about how to implement them (if you REALLY want to hear about our crazy wheelie bin saga, let me know any time!) The County Council is currently Tory, and has been pretty inefficient since time immemorial.

[T_i_B]

4. Oh feel free to rant about wheelie bins

No better place for it then threads about local government! We don't have wheelie bins round this neck of the woods and I for one wish that we did as I don't especially like leaving black plastic bags out where the rats and foxes can get them.

[LeftishBrit]

5. You can have rats and smells WITH wheelie bins; if they only get collected once every 2 weeks

http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/display.var.1251370.0.0.php?act=complaint&cid=128173

Here is some of the saga. Jean Fooks, our council leader, survived a vote of no-confidence from the city council, because of her somewhat rigid demands (sorting out the rubbish into several different types of bins is a good idea in principle, but can be very confusing to some elderly people) and because of the insistence on bi-weekly rather than weekly collections, which has led to the food-waste in particular becoming very smelly and attracting rats.

Like much in local politics, it became a very emotive issue for those involved on all sides!

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. I love our bi-weekly bin collections

(OK, I just think they're the best decision I've seen made by a council that I've lived in - perhaps 'love' is too strong a word). They've also made our council one of the top in the country for recycling. They also gave us a free composting bin, into which all vegetable food waste can go - which means there's very little food waste in the rubbish bins. I don't know how confused elderly people get - but frankly those who aren't elderly are whingeing layabouts who can't be bothered to lift a finger to help the environment. Pah. Yes, an emotive issue.

[LeftishBrit]

7. Actually, in my own case, my problem has been in trying to get any bins at all

Despite the general complaints about rigid imposition of policies, flat-dwellers (or maybe just those in my area) seem to have been left out of getting the bins.

I have to admit that as someone who doesn't have a garden, I'd be a bit concerned about having to store food-waste in my flat for 2 weeks at a time; but I would really like the bins for paper, bottles, etc. I'm sure they will come!

I'm not against the policies on principle, but, as with most things, the City council aren't that effective at implementing them. Still, they are Brains of Britain compared with our County Council.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. A bit different for flats, I suppose

Actually, I probably do keep my vegetable-only waste indoors for 2 weeks at a time, without a smell - it is meat and fish waste that has to be got outside quickly. But as a flat-dweller, telling you to compost it won't help; and perhaps mixing all food waste in together will end up with the smelly stage starting earlier.

[T_i_B]

9. Councillor Fooks?

Blimey! You've got to feel sorry for anyone with a surname as bad as that, regardless of their politics.

[LeftishBrit]

10. That's her!

Well, one of my fellow researchers in child development is called Mike Fluck. It must take courage to work in schools with a name like that!

While on the subject of unfortunate names, there is a secondary school in Oxford called Cheney School. You'd think that they could change it to something nicer like Dracula School or something.

[non sociopath skin]

11. I once came across an American called Willie Shook!

What a Scottish council leader he would have made!!! :evilgrin:

The Skin

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. My sister-in-law's surname is 'Cock'

Her professional emails regularly get rejected as spam.

[non sociopath skin]

13. And ex-colleague of mine is called Trebillcock.

Guess that's a 200% virility upgrade on your sister-in-law. Mu!

Spoilsport bugger pronounces it "Treble - co" though!

The Skin

[Anarcho-Socialist]

14. I got my "Official Poll Card" through the letterbox last week

I didn't realise that it had been so long since I last voted for my town and district councillors.

I'm planning to split my votes between Independent, Labour and Lib Dems.

[Ken Burch]

15. In the Scottish Elections, how well does it look like the Scottish Socialist Party will do?

They are the most left-wing grouping at Holyrood, and had a horrible split in their ranks last year based on how loyal SSP members felt towards their then-leader, Tommy Sheridan, who faced several damning allegations about his personal life. Sheridan ended up leaving the SSP and forming his own grouping, Solidarity.

I'd be in the anti-Sheridan faction myself, and continue to vote SSP, especially since Solidarity looks to be Tommy's one-man show.

Which group seems to be more popular?

Also, are parties to New Labour's left likely to gain ground in the local government elections? I hope the protest vote doesn't go all to the Tories again, as they really don't deserve it.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. I don't know about the Scottish elections

In the English local elections, both the Greens and Respect think they'll pick up more seats in the areas where they have some popularity, but neither are truly a national party. I think the betting is on Labour losing some seats to the Lib Dems and Tories, but the Lib Dems losing about the same amount to the Tories in the south, so that the Lib Dems have roughly no net change in seats (I don't know what it would do to council control).

There's a worry how the BNP will do - so far it doesn't seem to have had quite the media coverage it did last year (whether that's because the other parties have decided talking up the BNP threat was a mistake, or because the BNP surge has peaked, I don't know). But they're putting up more candidates than before - and it's worrying that in 'polite society', more people think it's acceptable to stand as a BNP candidate.

[T_i_B]

17. As I think I've mentioned...

...the Greens are quite strong round Colchester and have candidates for every ward on the district council. However, I'm not sure that the Greens will be quite so strong nationally though.

One interesting thing about local politics that I have so fair failed to mention on this thread is that 2 Labour councillors on Colchester council have taken part in Wife Swap and should be on a TV screen near you in the near future. Not a good idea if you ask me.

http://www.essexcountystandard.co.uk/news/ecslocalnews/display.var.1244122.0.colchester_julie_swaps_tim_for_tv.php


As to Scottish elections, what we really need is a DUer in Scotland to tell us what's going on IMO. No use a sassenach like me commenting too much on it given how little I know.

[Greeby]

18. People still vote for Respect?

I thought they'd pick somene who will actually show up to work a majority of the time :eyes:

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. They gained 13 council seats in 2006

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2006/locals/html/region_99999.stm

[SweetLeftFoot]

31. Tommy

You fail to mention that Tommy, representing himself, beat those allegations in court, defeating Murdoch's lawyers.

I work as a journalist in Scotland, and I can't see the Trots getting anyone back.

Tommy will get back in Glasgow though.

I can't say the Trots will be missed either.

I'm hoping for more Greens myself.

[T_i_B]

20. One thing I'm sure you've noticed...

...is the stuff all over the Daily Mail (not to mention the Telegraph) about weekly waste collections. It seems to be the new hobby horse of the RW press, just in time for the local elections! So as a kick I'll post details of that campaign which you may or may not agree with and about which some political parties may or may not be bullshitting in their leaflets.

http://www.weeklywaste.com/

As a side note, the woman running this campaign is called Doretta Cocks and a few weeks ago, they had a debate on GMTV between her and the aforementioned councillor Fooks. You can make your own jokes about that!

[LeftishBrit]

21. I couldn't make a joke better than the real thing...

except to suggest that Fooks might wish to arrange a debate on her home ground in Oxford, perhaps on Titup Hall Drive or Crotch Crescent (we really do have streets with those names!)

Also, that "weeklywaste.com" sounds like a good site name for anything to do with the Daily Mail.

On a somewhat different note, I have just learned that one of our Oxfordshire councillors - Larry Sanders of the Green Party - is the brother of Bernie Sanders. It's a small world.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. Local government poll prediction from the University of Plymouth

on Newsnight last night, based on recent local by-election results:

Local election experts at the University of Plymouth predicted the party would come a distant third behind the Tories and the Liberal Democrats in a result even worse than that achieved by Michael Foot in 1982, its previous nadir.

They forecast Labour would achieve only 24 per cent of the vote, with the LibDems a strong second on 29 per cent and the Tories well ahead on 38 per cent.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23394088-details/Blair+'to+announce+next+week+when+he+will+stand+down'/article.do

Which they thought would translate to Labour losing 500 council seats, Tories gaining 330, Lib Dems 110, and others gaining 60 (including BNP? :scared:)

And Newsnight is collecting election leaflet gaffes:

the Oxford Liberal Democrat pamphlet appealing for "help in seeing a strong Tory challenge" which has had the word "defeated" rather hurriedly appended in pen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/6597927.stm

[T_i_B]

25. Oxford Lib Dem's yet again?

They don't come across as being the very best that party has to offer do they?

And in reply to LeftishBrit councillor Fooks was being interviewed by GMTV on a street in Oxford where they had been reporting on problems with rubbish collection and she did not come across especially well. At one point she was claiming that there wasn't a problem despite the fact that there were bags of rubbish and wheelie bins all over the road in the background. Suffice to say that I wasn't overly impressed.

On another note, here's an example of a Labour gaffe that's been all over the blogosphere in the past few days.

http://www.libdemvoice.org/are-labour-faking-photos-in-bristol-717.html

[LeftishBrit]

26. They are well-meaning but not terribly competent...

It somehow seems appropriate that they should end up involved in a debate as to whether a load of old rubbish is a fook-up or merely a cock-up.

[T_i_B]

28. "a debate as to whether a load of old rubbish is a fook-up or merely a cock-up."

This could get messy! :P

[UKNick]

27. Others

If those gain and loss figures include Scotland, I'd guess that a majority of the others would be SNP gains - Labour will lose a lot of Council seats in Scotland because of the switch to STV and I think the SNP have been quite under-represented on a lot of local councils.

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. Poll predicts SNP to win 7 more seats than Labour; SNP-Lib Dem coalition with majority of 1!

The YouGov survey, the largest conducted during the campaign, gives the Scottish National Party its most convincing lead yet, with an eight-point gap in the first-past-the-post constituency vote and a five-point margin in the 'top-up' section.

Despite high-profile campaigning by Labour's London heavyweights and repeated claims that their opponents' sums don't add up, the SNP is on track to win 47 seats in the 129-seat Scottish Parliament, seven more than Labour. The Liberal Democrats would have 18 MSPs, the Conservatives 18, the Greens five and other parties one.
...
Repeated pleas from both Tony Blair and McConnell not to give the Prime Minister a final 'kicking' appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

The upsurge in SNP support is not mirrored by backing for independence. Instead, the election is an opportunity for the voters to voice unhappiness with those in power. Under one third of the people surveyed were in favour of Scotland becoming an independent country.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,2068118,00.html

If I were a Labour tactician, I'd never mention Blair and 'a final kicking' together. It's a red rag to a bull.

Interesting that it's finely balanced as to whether this would get a majority for a SNP-Lib Dem coalition - would this mean the Greens would have to come in too?

[Greeby]

30. A TOON for these elections from Brian Adcock

:evilgrin:

[non sociopath skin]

32. Thought it was rather unfunny, actually.

Do we now assume that being pro-English = being anti-Scottish.

Hope we're not buying into the Tory right's agenda ...

The Skin

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. It was a strange remark of Brown's

He apparently said (I can't find the direct quote, but there are a lot of references to it) that one of his favourite football moments was Gascoigne scoring against Scotland in Euro '96. I can see that looks anti-Scottish.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

34. It was an impressive goal

Maradonna scoring his second goal against England in 1986 is the most impressive goal ever in my opinion. I can say that without being anti-English

[non sociopath skin]

35. Ah, that explains it.

Nice one, Gord. :eyes:

The Skin

[stormymonday]

38. Politicians jumping on the sports band wagon make me cringe.

Most of their 'faux' fan comments on the subject are just embarrassing. There is the odd exception such as John Major, who for all his faults is clearly a genuine cricket lover, but most of the rest would be best advised sticking to politics.

[TheBaldyMan]

37. Salmond's pro-English credentials are stronger than New Labour's

the SNP abstains from voting on English only issues in Parliament. Unlike many faithful Blairites who helped introduce care fees for the elderly.

The government over-rode an attempt by the Scottish Parliament to exempt English and Welsh students from paying fees when attending Scottish universities.

Who would you say was pro-English in both of those cases?

[muriel_volestrangler]

36. Final Scottish polls look neck and neck for Labour and SNP

Too close to call

The SNP is still ahead - by 2 per cent on the constituency vote and 1 per cent on the regional vote - but only just. This would leave just one seat between the two main parties if the poll results are translated into votes tomorrow.

The SNP would have 43 seats to Labour's 42, with the Liberal Democrats on 23, the Conservatives on 17, the Greens with one and the others three.

ICM found that support for the SNP has remained largely static since The Scotsman's last poll, conducted at the start of the five-week campaign, while Labour's support has grown.
...
One interesting factor, however, is the extraordinary difference in the way men and women vote for the Liberal Democrats.

The party enjoys the support of 20 per cent of women in Scotland, but only 10 per cent of men, something Mr Stephen has been very well aware of, which is why he has been pushing so hard on his children and families agenda.

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=676172007

Strange about the sex divide for the Lib Dems. 'Real men don't vote Lib Dem'?

[T_i_B]

39. Well....today's polling day!

As per usual for me, I got into the polling station nice and early. And as is usual for me I won't say who I voted for other then that I think I voted for the best candidate on the best platform in my ward.

That said, I would expect the Tories to take overall control of my local council. :-(

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. My ward is on its year off in the electoral cycle, so no vote for me

I'm interested in how the STV voting in Scotland goes - with 3 or 4 councillors per ward, it seems. One thing that caught my eye in the BBC explanation, though:

Your council ballot paper will list all the candidates - in alphabetical order. That is, they will not be set out by party block.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6567527.stm

I bet that will confuse many people, and they'll complain about it - "I couldn't find where all the Tory candidates were" and so on. If they have party symbols by each name, it wouldn't be too bad, I suppose - anyone know if they're doing that?

Anyway, I'm an STV supporter - I'd definitely like it in English local elections too (as it is, we have 2 or 3 councillors per ward, so going to 3 or 4 wouldn't be that big a difference in ward size, or how strong a link you have with them). I'd like to see it in parliamentary elections too, but it'll take very special circumstances to get Labour or the Tories to agree to that.

[T_i_B]

43. Elections marred by vote problems

Give me paper ballots & first past the post any day!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6622379.stm

Scotland's parliamentary elections have been hit by major problems with many counts suspended and an unprecedented number of spoilt ballots recorded.
There are fears the national figure for spoilt ballots could exceed 100,000.

Seven counts have been suspended across Scotland because of major problems with the new electronic system.

A statement from the Scotland Office said DRS, the company responsible for the counting machines, must investigate the delays.

[Henny Penny]

51. First past the post is a ludicrous system ...

stv leads to much fairer representation so you can see why Labour might not be fans.

There is ample evidence that the first stv election in Scotland was very badly organised from the off (by the scottish office??) and its a wonder even more votes weren't spoilt.

Now if I was a cynic ;-) I'd be thinking ....mmmm

[T_i_B]

52. Well you don't get these problems with paper ballots and FPTP!

All the more reason to give PR a wide berth if you ask me.

[muriel_volestrangler]

53. How many problems have there been with the STV part?

There was some talk of the machines not transmitting their data at one stage - so that delayed the count. But all the problems with the 'spoiled ballots' (which haven't yet been described in enough details for us to know if this was actually a problem, or just people deciding not to vote in one part of the election) have been on the FPTP/regional list election for the parliament.

[Dutch]

54. How many problems were there with the AMS (not FPTP) ballots at the last two Scottish elections?

Well, a few, but nothing on this scale, probably because:

1. The introduction of e-counting for this election, done specifically because of STV being used for the local government elections.

2. At previous elections AMS used two seperate ballot papers, both very similar to FPTP ballots: this time it was replaced with a single ballot requiring two votes in the right places, the main justification being that the machines would be able to count them faster.

3. The inroduction of preferential alongside definitive ballots is bound to cause confusion, but this confusion wont neccesarily manifest itself on the preferential ballot- especially when the definitive ballot has been changed in such a way that people are effectively facing a new way of voting there too.

[muriel_volestrangler]

55. But those aren't problems of the STV system in itself

they're problems of mixing systems in the same vote (part of AMS is effectively FPTP, for the constituency election). There may be a case for keeping the constituency and regional votes on separate ballots (but remember that it doesn't require 2 votes; people might choose to vote in only one part), or holding STV votes at a different time from the AMS one; but some seem to want get rid of STV because of the apparent problems with the AMS vote (TiB seems to be one of them, but maybe I'm reading too much into what he said). These aren't fundamental problems with STV, though - only things like people placing several crosses on an STV paper are definite STV problems - and possibly placing one cross on an STV ballot (because that might well be someone who hasn't realised they can place further candidates behind that choice).

Again, e-counting did cause a delay in some places - which may mean its 'advantage' has disappeared; but has it actually caused any 'permanent' problems? I haven't heard of any.

[T_i_B]

56. I think you are painting my views with too fine a brush

(beats being accused of using a broad brush doesn't it?)

Basically, I'm opposed to PR, I think it causes more problems then it solves and is advocated by the likes of the Lib Dem's for purely selfish reasons (i.e it's the only way they think they can obtain power).

The one idea I actually have any time for is seperation of the executive and the legislature, much like you have in the US with the White House and Congress. Simon Jenkins is actually kinda making this case in the grauniad today but I must warn you that the below article is a bit muddled and for every bit that Jenkins gets right there's a bit that he gets wrong.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2075239,00.html

[Henny Penny]

59. well...

"Basically, I'm opposed to PR, I think it causes more problems then it solves and is advocated by the likes of the Lib Dem's for purely selfish reasons (i.e it's the only way they think they can obtain power).

err... very selfish reasons??? Lib Dems were perfectly right to say hey wait a minute... we got 25% of the vote and yet we have only 5% of the seats for example...

The very selfish motivation of "the only way we can obtain (or in the case of the current govt.) retain power is the Labour party's motivation. (And doubtless the Tories' too).

[T_i_B]

60. If you look at British political history...

...you will see that Labour went from fringe party to government under first-past-the-post in the first quarter of this century.

Now if the Labour party could do it then it really is a cop-out to say that it's not possible under FPTP. A cop-out the the Liberal party only embraced after their support collapsed from the 1920's onwards.

[Henny Penny]

61. Of course it took two world wars to cement this change...

perhaps there's a better way???

[T_i_B]

62. Actually no

Labour were well ahead of the Liberal rump by 1939. By 1951 you could get the entire parliamentary Liberal party into the back of a taxi.

[Henny Penny]

63. WWI led to a lot of disenchanted working class soldiers

returning to a society that was ripe for change giving Ramsay McDonald a bit of a leg up so to speak.

Similarly WWII gave Clem Attlee a massive boost.

The pressures that led to those wars were required to dislodge one of your two parties to make way for a new one. The British system can only accommodate two parties and very often there is very little to chose between those two parties.

The time has long passed for a bit of democratization.

[Dutch]

57. Fair points. And it is the mix of systems I have particular problem with-

-just as most of the problems encountered are not intrinsic to STV itself, they're not intrinsic to AMS, either, as the lack of similar problems in previous elections suggests. Even the 1 ballot-2 vote AMS ballot isn't a problem in itself: it works reasonably well in Germany and NZ, where the ballot papers are much clearer about the differing functions of the two votes, and where other completely different systems aren't thrown into the mix.

However, whilst e-counting may only have produced delay this time, to me it remains highly suspect- it isn't intrinsic to STV, but the ponderous complexity of STV counting means that e-counting, and in the future possibly e-voting, are likely to go hand in hand with it.

But my main feeling is that it was madness to introduce a fourth (and third proportional) electoral system into the Scottish electoral calendar.

[Henny Penny]

58. We have stv and paper ballots over here...

yes it takes a while to count them, but in return for your efforts you get a very representative parliament and thoroughly transparent process.

We never have a situation where 2/3 of voters vote against a govt which is then returned with a comfortable working majority for example.

I cannot believe that people in Britain have put up with that situation for so long.

[TheBaldyMan]

41. constituency polling SNP 35% Lab 30% LD 15% Other 7%

apparently BBC Scotland don't think it's worth noting the tories' share!

btw the reason the figures dont add up to 100% is because there are parties that count in their own right not 'other'.

on edit: the electronic ballot scannering system seem to have resulted in a 4.5% ballot spoilage rate, also enough postal ballots have gone astray to cause concern.

[Greeby]

42. Tories are raking in the big numbers in England

:eyes:

[T_i_B]

44. Well, OK news from round here

UKNick fought off a strong challenge from the Greens to become a borough councillor and the Tories have failed to gain the 1 seat needed to take overall control of Colchester council! My own ward stayed Lib Dem unsuprisingly.

Looks like Cameron's Tories have a long way to go yet.

[UKNick]

45. As you were

Full results for Colchester here: http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/colchestercouncilelection (I'm in Castle Ward) - in the end, we stayed on the same number of seats, as did the Tories while the independents gained one and Labour lost one. It all came down to Wivenhoe, in the end - we elected the youngest ever councillor in Colchester's history in Cross and then Labour held on in Quay by 2 votes after several recounts to stop the Tories taking overall control.

T_i_B, Christ Church has been close between us and the Tories for a while and we've had to fight hard to hold on to it for the last couple of years, not helped by the 4x4-driving Green candidate being active in the ward too.

I'm just glad that the long campaign is over and that the Greens were left looking silly after shipping in activists from all over to try and beat me. For all those thinking that the Green 'presence' in the ward was so strong, remember that posters don't vote...

Right, how do I go about abusing my power now...? ;)

[Anarcho-Socialist]

46. Well done

I hope you'll serve well. :-)

[LeftishBrit]

47. Congratulations!!!

[T_i_B]

48. "remember that posters don't vote"

Well just as well for you as I didn't see any Lib Dem posters in your ward! Still, the people who put up the posters vote and the Greens are only 200 votes behind you. I expect they will be on your back for a while to come.

And yes, Christchurch did look very marginal and I'm suprised the Tories didn't break through, but pleased as I'm not a fan of some of their pet projects such as the VAF. (I'm also suprised that they didn't do better in Stanway but hey, what do I know?)

2 votes in it in Wivenhoe eh? Wonder if that means more campaigning about getting the May Fair on?

Anyway, congratulations to you Cllr Nick! :bounce:

[UKNick]

49. I was a national target

Castle Ward was actually one of the Green's targets nationally - they had a horde of people out on the streets yesterday, who'd come in from all around to help out (not quite sure how they reconcile that with their 'act locally' ethos...) and we were running a very short-handed campaign having put most of our resources into the other wards to (successfully) stop the Tories taking overall control of the Council.

Much as I might like them to, the Greens won't go away, but that's two years in a row when they've been telling all and sundry that they were going to thrash us and win Castle yet failed to do so.

[T_i_B]

50. I'm not suprised to hear you were a national target

which is why I mentioned the whole Green Party business at the first available opportunity. And we'll have the full force of the Tories at the next local elections in Colchester next time as well I suppose (although not so much for them in Castle).

[Anarcho-Socialist]

64. BBC reporting that Salmond has been elected as First Minister

Tories abstained, Labour voted for their own leader, and Lib Dems voted for Salmond.

I think this case of affairs is probably for the best.

A pro-union majority means no referendum for independence.
The SNP find out what being in government is really like.
We'll finally find out whether the SNP are social democratic or neoliberal.
The Lib Dems will regain their identity in opposition
Labour will have the opportunity to carve out a less-Blairist but more social democratic message in opposition (whether they take this opportunity is up to them).
Maybe the Marxist Left (SSP, Solidarity) will actually learn from their divisive mistakes (though I am not confident of this, attempts to unite the politically-conscious working class usually fall prey to vanity and ego on behalf of political personalities).

[Peter Dow]

65. 48 Members of the Scottish Parliament defy Queen's summons.

The Scotsman: Snub for Queen as 48 MSPs miss her speech.

From Scottish Republican News -

The fanfare which heralded the Queen's entrance to the Scottish Parliament rang hollow as 48 Members of the Scottish Parliament stayed away. 1st July 2009.

The 10th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament reconvening in 1999 was marked by an event at Holyrood to which Queen Elizabeth was invited and more importantly for the cause of the democratic right of the Scottish people to elect our own head of state, there appears to have been a partly organised, partly spontaneous boycott, snub or mass stay-away by 48 Members of the Scottish Parliament in total being absent from the occasion of the Queen's address to parliament on 1st July 2009.

48 out of the 129 MSPS, 37% of MSPs - which under some republican constitutions would be enough to defend an elected president in office where a 2/3 majority of parliament was required under the constitution to remove an impeached president - did not attend on the Queen to attempt to surrender the sovereignty of the Scottish nation to Queen Elizabeth, did not sit there as traitors while the rights of the people of Scotland were defied by Elizabeth Windsor, imposed on us Scots as head of state.

So it was an encouraging day for Scottish republicans and to mark the event, I have called the Scottish Republican Roll of Honour 2009.

I require further information to complete the roll in detail which I intend to write to MSPs to seek - in particular, which members who did not attend are republicans, and which are not.

Quote: Christine Grahame M.S.P.

I'm a republican, plain and simple as that. I had no intention of being there and I made my position clear before the event. I don't want to be seen as a hypocrite because I don't believe in the aristocracy running our country.

Peter Dow's Scottish National Standard Bearer website
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[Dutch]

66. I like your avatar. n/t

[fedsron2us]

67. Swap you one old Queen for one Scottish UK Prime Minister

[Nihil]

68. We'll even throw in a bunch of useless Scottish UK MPs