tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post7775095310904071999..comments2024-03-28T11:21:41.326+00:00Comments on SCOT goes POP!: Professional buffoon Ian Dunt thrills the nation with another vintage gaffe, as he suggests that a poll showing a surge in support for independence is bad news for Alex SalmondJames Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01516007141763230886noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-33309284380980708342015-01-09T12:37:42.473+00:002015-01-09T12:37:42.473+00:00Given Dunts recent comments on the attack in Paris...Given Dunts recent comments on the attack in Paris this mans name is one letter away in the alphabet from a true description of him. Forgive me if this has been pointed out before. He's just another Guardianista ----hole.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-59128665928064077632014-01-25T20:27:10.796+00:002014-01-25T20:27:10.796+00:00I believe the unionists are starting to get worrie...I believe the unionists are starting to get worried as they know the gap is progressively closing. Check out the archives 9/2 now 4/1.<br /><br /><a href="http://archive.is/www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/scottish-independence/referendum-outcome" rel="nofollow">Odds past and now.</a>cynicalHighlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06034325908473006163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-73733905514617196362014-01-24T18:28:35.015+00:002014-01-24T18:28:35.015+00:00I'm guessing the threat of indepdence will be ...I'm guessing the threat of indepdence will be making those against it feel more British. Calumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18298701198248993553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-11495863409529822922014-01-24T14:59:14.168+00:002014-01-24T14:59:14.168+00:00Sorry, Hamish, I did misunderstand you.
Sorry, Hamish, I did misunderstand you.<br />Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02872454975859620507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-86786235532721197412014-01-24T04:40:16.790+00:002014-01-24T04:40:16.790+00:00"Thankfully politics.co.uk is not a follower ...<i>"Thankfully politics.co.uk is not a follower of that approach and looking at a cross section of its content it is easy to see that it does not have any particular party allegiances."</i><br /><br />Well, they do claim impartiality, which is a much tougher standard than simply being non-aligned in a party political sense. It's perfectly possible to have no party allegiance and still be violently anti-independence, for example. I'm not a regular reader of the website, so I don't know whether they ever allow pro-independence commentary, but if their coverage of the subject consists solely of southern commentators like Dunt making constant digs about how unlikely or undesirable independence is, then self-evidently they do have a severe problem with political bias. Whether they're sufficiently self-aware to recognise that problem is a different matter, of course.James Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01516007141763230886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-19069531324455266062014-01-23T15:43:51.261+00:002014-01-23T15:43:51.261+00:00I don't find the reported shift away from a Sc...I don't find the reported shift away from a Scottish self-identity all that surprising. People may think of themselves as Scottish or non-Scottish along several different dimensions - ethnic, cultural, political, sporting, etc. - and these dimensions may correlate more or less closely.<br /><br />In recent years, particularly since the SNP came to power in 2007, Scottish identity has become much more politicised. It has become harder to think of yourself as Scottish without facing the independence issue. So it would not be surprising if some 'ethnic', 'cultural' or 'sporting' Scots have become more reluctant to call themselves Scottish tout court.Dennis Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-44463322619151253592014-01-23T15:30:03.811+00:002014-01-23T15:30:03.811+00:00Michael: I think you misunderstood me, I was refer...Michael: I think you misunderstood me, I was referring to the attack of the politics.co.uk website.<br />James: I suppose it sounds a bit arrogant for someone to claim true impartiality as I'm not aware of any sensible framework for measuring your "level of impartiality". You could subscribe to the self imposed framework that mainstream news channels work to, where they take impartiality to mean "giving the opinion that offends the fewest number of people". Resultingly they video lots of things but don't actually say anything. Thankfully politics.co.uk is not a follower of that approach and looking at a cross section of its content it is easy to see that it does not have any particular party allegiances. I'm not saying I agree with that article btw...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07782683881519914109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-6532451211352897612014-01-23T14:37:05.834+00:002014-01-23T14:37:05.834+00:00Hamish : If you're asking me whether I think t...Hamish : If you're asking me whether I think that Dunt's SNP-bashing and Salmond-bashing antics are inconsistent with his site's grandiose claims of impartiality, then you're damned right I do. Some journalists are perfectly capable of setting aside their own prejudices when writing news pieces - Dunt is demonstrably not. The idea that any journalist writing from an impartial and objective viewpoint could characterise a survey showing a 6-point rise in support for independence as bringing "fresh despair for Alex Salmond" is absurd beyond words (and please note the personalisation of the independence movement in that headline - one of the subtle biases picked up by the UWS report on broadcast news).<br /><br />Alasdair : I take an interest in the Moreno data because we know it correlates to a reasonable extent with voting intention. Those who say they are "Scottish not British" or "more Scottish than British" are far more likely to be open to voting Yes, so obviously the more of them there are the better.James Kellynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-62213542528463007462014-01-23T14:11:25.049+00:002014-01-23T14:11:25.049+00:00Hamish, you've got James's point completel...Hamish, you've got James's point completely wrong. James is quite right to say it's misguided to ask someone who manages a survey to comment on the survey as if they were independent of it. There are very simple and straightforward reasons for not doing that. Curtice is of course a noted expert in this field and his analyses of other polls and surveys provides valuable commentary on the subject. But asking him to analyse his own survey critically is never going to yield useful information. At the very least there will always be the suggestion that such an analysis is compromised by the proximity of the work to the person carrying out the assessment. Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02872454975859620507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-40165812290265043882014-01-23T11:49:09.579+00:002014-01-23T11:49:09.579+00:00I don’t understand why you attribute so much weigh...I don’t understand why you attribute so much weight to the Merono data. The question is a useful enquiry as to how people might reconcile their duel identies, but only that matter. Ask your self this: who when on foreign holiday answers a question as to their their identity or origin with: ‘I am more Scottish than British’. I don’t mean to attack the Merono question or data. It is useful in coming to an understanding of the complexities surropunding Scottish/British identity. However, it is most certainly not itself an identity question, nor even a surrogate for an identity question (however much the polling community seems to accept it as such).<br /><br />Of much greater interest, is that the Scottish Social Attitudes forced choice identity question result is much more closely in line with the identity results from the Census. In regard to that data, I wonder that you say that there is a ‘long-term trend away from Scottishness’. Taking the results from that forced choice identity question from 1999 to 2011 the changes are within or around the margin of error for a poll that size. There is certainly a reduction those claiming a in Scottish identity in 2012-13 data sets (which incidently brings it more in line with the Census result), but this is offset by an increase in those claiming a British identity that is substantially out of line with the Census data.<br /><br />Remember, in the game of polling poker the Census is the Royal Flush! It is an enquiry of every household and and evey living sole. Its data and results, therefore, are more authoratitive then even elections. It would, therefore, be nothing short of ridiculous were anyone to question the Census data on the basis that it doesn’t agree with a poll. Further, I think that for reasons of his obvious vested interest we may cast a jaundiced eye on Curtice’s critic of the Census identity question as being leading – it is certainly no more leading that his forced choice identity or Merono questions. So, unless there is reliable data that points to there having been a substantial shift in opinion in the period between the 27th of March 2011 and the period of the Scottish Social Attitudes fieldwork (and I know of no such data) we must ask some serious questions of the Scottish Social Attitudes survey methodology. In particular, we must ask whether their sampling (I believe that it is a stratified, clustered sample) is skewed toward persons with a British identity.<br />Alasdair Stirlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01282612686734280239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-25618178272536136882014-01-23T10:52:50.241+00:002014-01-23T10:52:50.241+00:00War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is str...War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. An increase is a decrease.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-7870633201576949732014-01-23T10:16:54.654+00:002014-01-23T10:16:54.654+00:00Apologies I picked you up incorrectly.Apologies I picked you up incorrectly.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04565579919684172507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-78147238482766289552014-01-23T10:14:39.029+00:002014-01-23T10:14:39.029+00:00"A pro-independence blog by James Kelly - vot..."A pro-independence blog by James Kelly - voted one of Scotland's top 10 political websites"<br /><br />Hardly claiming to be an 'Independent voice"?<br /><br />Is this the best you can come up with?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04565579919684172507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930120922627919768.post-58350055167601685642014-01-23T08:53:14.175+00:002014-01-23T08:53:14.175+00:00You seem to be saying that if you dare to offer a ...You seem to be saying that if you dare to offer a divisive opinion on political matters then you should not claim to be an "independent voice...with no political affiliation" - that's rather like saying a judge should not be allowed to give his opinion on a legal matter unless he admits to having a biased perspective. Quite perverseAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07782683881519914109noreply@blogger.com