GB-wide voting intentions (19th-20th February 2025):
Reform UK 26% (+1)
Labour 25% (-1)
Conservatives 22% (-)
Liberal Democrats 12% (-)
Greens 7% (-1)
SNP 3% (+1)
Labour 25% (-1)
Conservatives 22% (-)
Liberal Democrats 12% (-)
Greens 7% (-1)
SNP 3% (+1)
This is another landmark for Reform UK - it's their highest ever vote share in a Techne poll, and the first time they've ever been in the outright lead with Techne, although they held a joint lead once before. As someone pointed out in the comments section yesterday, every pollster that has conducted a poll this month is now showing a Reform lead, with the sole exception of Opinium.
We must of course spare a thought this morning for Stuart Campbell, who had arguably his worst day yesterday since his legal defeat to Kezia Dugdale several years ago. He somehow managed to convince himself that Reform were going to come out in favour of an indyref - which is just about the most improbable story you can ever imagine, right up there with "Netanyahu voluntarily hands over East Jerusalem to new Palestinian state". But Campbell got all excited about it and wrote a lengthy blogpost convincing his devotees that it was really happening - only for Reform to utterly predictably slap him down about five seconds later, and for good measure mock the Tories for being stupid enough to believe something they read on Wings.
Campbell may be a disreputable figure, but he is also intelligent, so how on earth did he manage to make such a fool of himself by falling for such an obviously bogus story? I suspect it's our old friend Wishful Thinking once again. Campbell is increasingly making very little secret of his support and admiration for Donald Trump, and he's therefore gagging to come out in support of MAGA's de facto UK sister party. The Narnia twist of Reform backing an indyref would have given him a readymade excuse for doing it. I suspect he'll still do it anyway, but his stated reasoning will have to be a lot more convoluted - and thus highly entertaining.
In truth, the Reform surge could actually help to bring about independence, but in an indirect way. Somewhat more plausible than Reform backing an indyref would be a Reform government scrapping devolution - and that would be very likely to produce a big majority for independence. Even if they don't go that far, a Reform government taking Scotland out of the ECHR would probably be enough to drive many liberal No voters to Yes.
* * *
As you may have seen, the BBC have shamefully removed a documentary about Gaza from the iPlayer under heavy pressure from the Israel lobby, including direct pressure from the far-right Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely. Hopefully this will be an example of the 'Streisand effect' whereby the documentary actually ends up being seen by more people as a result of the attempts to conceal it than it otherwise would have been. The whole programme can be seen in the tweet below, so please retweet it if you have a Twitter account.
BBC documentary about GAZA. This is a good piece. After publishing, immediately Israel attacked and forced BBC to take it down. They also took down it from YouTube as well. This is highest quality version we have. Keep sharing. pic.twitter.com/ErmiXV7QBH
— Furkan Gözükara (@GozukaraFurkan) February 21, 2025
England is, by and large, a right wing country.
ReplyDeleteAberdeenshire is a right-wing shire. No by and large about it. It is far more right-wing than Buckinghamshire.
DeleteAye the scotch are much worst than the Saxons.
DeleteThe uisge beatha is worse than the Sassenach?
DeleteApologies for the continued intermittent hacking problems on Wings. Someone is *really* determined to take the site down.
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/SandPatterson/status/1893233598548869437
ReplyDeleteHahahahahaha.
DeleteWell, in a sense he's right that I'm "too stupid", because I don't have the technical know-how to do it. But he's picked up the odd few thousand enemies over the years, so I dare say one or two of them have hacking skills.
Stu’s been reusing passwords, like he reuses that polling chart with the perfect flat line for Yes, forever and ever.
DeleteIt was an idle thought provoker set in train by a renowned journalist, Neil Drysdale.
ReplyDeleteWhat else is there to talk about to do with Independence?
Your sweetie wife tales?
Looking forward to the more convoluted version of his master plan to make Scotland the bastion of Trumpy “populism.”
DeleteMad cuts across the board, right? That’ll get it right up us!
How about a UK crackdown on DEIS. The S is for Scots.
The Greens are the future hope of Scottish politics. It is clear that the traditional parties have run out of ideas and are tainted by their own failures (yes, including the SNP).
ReplyDeleteReform are nothing more than an anti establishment protest group. They will appear popular until the establishment decides to show up who Farage really is. A rich, old phoney.
The Scottish Greens are popular with us younger people and becoming more so. Climate change and identity politics are what we care about. The rights of trans people are a measure of a functioning society and at the moment we are failing them. I want to live in a Scotland where everyone has the same rights and is treated with respect.
I will not vote for the SNP after they tore up the Bute House agreement and sided with the right wingers. I want Scotland to be independent but I want a fair society more.
the greens are a malthusian death cult which would like to see everyone dead, preferrably sodomised to death
Deletethey are commissars for the trans-cult and the extremes of identity politics, woke neo-puritans, harvey the potato-head rainbow john knox telling us we are all damned and slater his half-witted canadian prop with as much intellect as a wooden doll
- and ... the biggest laff is ... tranny medicine is NOT CARBON NEUTRAL
Anon at 1243 Seems to me you are just mixing it. Probably a wee Britnat.
DeleteAnon at 12.43 is a low level troll. He is possibly on here because he can’t get on to his beloved WOS. Ironic that I T man The Fake Rev can’t keep his own site secure. Delicious irony. Please send him more money to let him employ someone that knows what he is doing. That will allow the rev to focus on his cut and paste nonsense and continue his gender bashing. The frothers love it.
DeleteWhich Green government in Scotland passed a law, or even a bill?
DeleteThe only reason there are any green issues ever passed in Scotland is because the SNP supported them
So go ahead and vote Green while the rest of Scotland, Labour, Tory, Lib Dem and Reform who are the absolute enemies of all green issues outvote you become the government and your wee Green protest party dies
Without the SNP in government there is no Green party
I'd agree regarding the UK Greens but the Scottish Greens have been captured by a minority group with extremist and basically dishonest views on gender ID. The expulsion of Andy Wightman a man truly working for the rights of Scots. Until they accept women have a right to private spaces and rape victims should be allowed to insist interviews only with women and children should not be on puberty blockers I'll never trust them.
ReplyDeleteDitto
DeleteI need to know what gender you are and political views before agreeing or not.
DeleteThe Khmer Vert are the most intolerant force in Scottish politics. Comrade Slater and Pol Pat reside over a hate filled cult of virtue signalling, middle class vanguardists who have reached the zenith of their popular appeal.
DeleteThe Byres Rouge wish to return Caledonia to the Year Zero.* We must be like the Bar-Ox...
Delete*Fine if we don't want to bothered with Romans, pan-Goidhels and pan-Brits, richt eneuch...
Anon 2.01 a Middle Class cliché-monger
DeleteIt's true that the Scots Greens are popular with young voters. Trouble is, voters who are middle aged and over generally hate them. The "electoral calculus" of the above is clear, given who actually can be relied upon to vote rather than sign online petitions (e.g. see post-Brexit vote).
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with the Greens protest party is they're never grateful to the SNP for giving them a platform and a voice in Scotland's politics, cast your minds back just a little bit when they were nothing, and get real there's never going to be a Trans minority government riding their bikes up and down Scotland wrecking the economy, the voters will never stand for it
ReplyDeleteNo SNP no Greens, they'll just fade away
Unfortunately, they have a pool of sympathetic & even enthusiastic voters who like their niche policies and neglect to punish them for their extreme £ wastefulness in government when - surprise, surprise - Scots Green Ministers mess things up over & over.
DeleteIt is always someone else's fault that the world doesn't conform to how they think it should be, whether that's (in their collective mind) a workable bottle return scheme, no-one gaming gender self ID to cheat the system, or oil & gas jobs magically reappearing (& in greater number) as renewable energy ones.
The Greens are not as progressive as SNP.
ReplyDeleteThe Greens are not as competent as the SNP, nor do they have as much common sense as the SNP. Which is saying a lot.
ReplyDeleteAt least the greens aren’t red or blue.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn’t be too sure about Scot’s being too upset about loss of devolved government, Scots are very good at accepting any crap that is thrown at them. Quite a supine bunch tbh.
ReplyDeleteCareful with that inverted comma, Eugene.
Delete