Tuesday, May 19, 2009

By-election fever? Blah.

So my theory that the Speaker was not necessarily toast lasted all of twelve hours. Somehow, in spite of the speculation that the SNP could be in with a real chance, I can't quite muster the same enthusiasm for another Scottish by-election that I could last year. The early indications are that the poll might take place in September - four months from now. The general election is (at most) now only eleven-and-a-half months away. Hardly seems worth the effort - and yet experience tells us that by-elections right on the eve of a general election are the most vital of the lot. Look no further than Govan 1973, Darlington 1983, or Greenwich 1987. Perhaps that's what's making me so queasy at the prospect - the outcome of a typically mad-as-a-bucket-of-frogs by-election campaign really could be a game changer for the outcome of the whole general election in Scotland.
at

3 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 19, 2009 at 3:55 PM

    September ? Ach i might not even be in Scotland then. Good grief i was hoping the by-election might be in August coz im away for the whole month of July.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alan SmartMay 19, 2009 at 8:17 PM

    Assume no by election until Martin has actually resigned as an MP. Look closley at what he has said in this regard, Look at what Brown said tonight when aked on this specific point

    ReplyDelete
  3. James KellyMay 20, 2009 at 12:15 AM

    The reason I was assuming a by-election this afternoon was that Martin's spokesman had apparently confirmed he was resigning as an MP. However, what we heard tonight on Newsnight about Lord Foulkes' 'advice' does cast a completely different complexion on the situation.

    If the Speaker has been taking the advice of Foulkes so seriously, no wonder he got himself into such a pickle.

    ReplyDelete