Wednesday, May 5, 2021

A list of election endorsements from pro-independence blogs

One of the traditions of major elections is to collate the endorsements of various newspapers (most famously, it was "The Sun Wot Won It" for the Tories in 1992).  There's never been much need to do that for pro-independence blogs in the past, but this election is a bit different.  So here's a tentative list - updates, additions and corrections are welcome.  In some cases I've only included an endorsement on the regional list because I haven't seen an explicit constituency endorsement, although it may have been there and I've missed it (hence the call for corrections).  

Scot Goes Pop: SNP constituency, Alba list

Wee Ginger Dug: SNP constituency, SNP list

Wings Over Scotland: Alba list

Bella Caledonia: General support for SNP and Greens (which may imply SNP constituency, Green list, but I haven't seen that stated directly)

Craig Murray: Alba list

Barrhead Boy: Alba list

Random Public Journal: Alba list

Newsnet Scotland: SNP constituency, SNP list (unbelievers shall perish)

Peter A Bell: All parties are rubbish but I'm still engaged in a heated debate with myself

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You can catch up with Episode 7 of the Scot Goes Popcast, in which I speak with the Alba Party's Chris McEleny, HERE.

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Today I arrived at the conclusion of my own personal equivalent of "NaNoWriMo".  Over the last month and a bit, I've profiled all seventy-three constituencies and all eight regional lists for The National and the Sunday National.  I reckon that must come to around 45,000 words.  Here are the last few: Aberdeen South & North Kincardine, South Scotland (regional list), Dundee City West, Dundee City East, Paisley, Linlithgow, Greenock & Inverclyde and East Lothian.  And you can also read my piece in The National about the Eurovision and nuclear weapons questions from the Scot Goes Pop / Panelbase poll HERE.

38 comments:

  1. https://iamscottpolitics.blogspot.com/ : SNP constituency, Alba list

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  2. I'm endorsing Alba on the list:

    https://wildernessofpeace.wordpress.com/2021/03/26/time-to-be-brave/

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  3. You forgot ‘Yours for Scotland’ 😉

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  4. You forgot ‘Yours for Scotland’ 😉

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  5. It will be both Votes for SNP. I had thought of Alba but not after what I read on Wings.

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    1. A vote for the SNP in the List is a wasted vote. Look what happened in 2016- nearly 1 million wasted votes. It's not about personalities, it's a vote for Scotland. In 2011 the situation with Labour, and the SNP being the only independence party, made voting SNP 1 and 2 the most sensible thing to do. Doing that now is just crazy and plays into the hands of the unionists.

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  6. Well, two of my Iranian colleagues who have recently obtained British citizenship are both voting tomorrow for the first time.

    The bloke is voting SNP + Alba (says he wants no party to have full power), and the lady SNP + SNP (unsurprisingly given the appeal of SNP to women).

    Of course some would argue they are 'not Scottish cos they were not born here of a Scottish parent!' while arguing a vote for unionists can be justified, and that Stuart Campbell is more Scottish than my colleagues, even though they've both been here for a decade or so paying into the Scottish public services pot when he left 30 years ago by choice.

    Vote for a Yes party tomorrow and not for unionists as @cometoEngland wants, whatever that Yes party may be.

    Good luck to all.

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    1. You do love arguing against a straw man.

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    2. I am happy when I seem to have helped get some new folks voting Yes / for Yes parties.

      It does seem to really annoy unionists, which is something of a cherry on top.

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    3. I'd just point out that he (Campbell) didn't leave "30 years ago by choice" - if I recall correctly he left when he was a few days old. Pretty sure that's too young to have had a choice in the matter.

      His voting advice, well, that's a separate matter, and anyone who doesn't decide for themselves how to vote probably shouldn't have a vote.

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  7. I'm SNP - SNP here in the south of Scotland. I hope Joan wins her constituency, but her and colleagues got my list vote just as back up.

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  8. You can be sure the French will quickly recognise Scottish indy.

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  9. It won’t be a popular opinion here, but I’m in two minds with my constituency vote between the SNP and Labour (who I haven’t voted for since before the Indyref). I’ll probably end up deciding in the polling booth.

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    1. A vote for Labour is a vote for the union. If the UK and brexit is what you want, then that would make perfect sense.

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    2. He can make his own mind up. The calibre of the candidate is also an important issue, and there are constituencies where you may well want to vote against the SNP candidate because of their track record. You can of course vote for an indy party in the list. There are all sorts of calculations people make, and it is entirely up to them. It is also not your, or anybody's place, to tell people what their vote 'means', as you have no idea of their circumstances or preferences. Yes, people are complicated and don't conform to your simplicities and badgering.

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    3. If you vote for a unionist constituency candidate, you're voting against independence. If people are doing that knowingly, and because they want Scotland to remain part of the UK, that's fine.

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    4. Hi Ian. I agree; it's up to the individual, hence why I said it would make 'perfect sense' to vote labour if you backed the union. Thomas should vote with the heart. If he still feels attached to the union and is ok with Tory rule / brexit, then he can vote Lab/con/lib with good conscience.

      A vote for a pro-union candidate is a vote against iref2 / independence. No question about it. You endorse the manifesto of the candidate / party you vote for. You can't vote No in iref2 saying 'I was really voting yes but don't like the SNP'. That's not how things work, obviously.

      Each to their own, but I support indy, so will not rubber stamp anti-indy / English (HQ) party manifestos. Even if it meant holding my nose I would never endorse unionism.

      However, that's me, and I've never told anyone how to vote. I've only ever said how I plan to vote and why.

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    5. Even wings agrees that a vote for a unionist candidate is a rock solid endorsement of unionism. I quote...

      https://wingsoverscotland.com/traitors-gate/#more-129528

      You can’t vote for evil and then wash your hands of responsibility for what evil does

      Now I'd very much disagree on unionists being inherently evil - that is a very strong word and should not be used lightly - but he's very clear that if you vote for a unionist, you can't wash your hands of that. You voted for unionism. End of.

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    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    7. I was really voting yes but don't like the SNP'. That's not how things work, obviously.

      Except that is how it works for some people. Polling shows us that. Some people will vote for Labour/LD even (to a very small extent Conservatives) but would vote Yes in a future referendum. Some people would also vote for the SNP but vote no.

      As the SNP have very clear in stating especially over the last week, this election is not a indyref, its a vote for who you want to lead the country through the pandemic; if you think the SNP/Nicola Sturgeon are not the people to do this then you should not vote for them.

      You could also support independence but think that there should not be a referendum in the term of this parliament, again it would be a bit silly to vote for a party that wants to hold a referendum in the next couple of years.

      What Wings thinks is irrelevant to a persons view he is just once person his opinion is no greater than anyone else's. You obviously hold his opinions in high regard hence the fact that you mention him in the majority of your posts, but (going by his own figures) the majority of people in Scotland do not visit his site and potentially have their views influenced by his.

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    8. If you vote for a party, take collective responsibility for what they do. That's how democracy works.

      Erm, Wings isn't 'just one person'. It is a website with various contributors and regular commenters, a number of whom visit this blog. It's mentioned above in James blog list, so it's not me that's brought it up on this article; James did. And you.

      I do find the main author Campbell useful for predictions; if he claims something, the truth is generally the opposite. For example, when he said he had insider info that Sturgeon had broken the code and would need to resign, I became very confident she'd done nothing wrong and would be completely cleared.

      This is after all a man that e.g. thinks disabled loos (classified as 'mixed sex use') are a scourge of society and dangerous for women. That or he's deliberately trying to dog whistle.

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    9. Adam Connelly
      11:17 AM (30 minutes ago)
      to me

      I agree, so if you are person who does not support the holding a referendum in the period of the next parliament you should not vote for the SNP as you would be agreeing with them holding one during the first half of the parliament. This, of course, does not mean that you support the union or brexit etc, it just means you do not agree with the SNPs idea of the timing of a referendum.



      Wings does have other people who contribute, but you never single them out with the majority of your posts (unless they to live in southern England). I find it a tad strange why you post so much about a man who you think has such little influence on Scottish politics on a Scottish politics blog.



      The fact that I rasied Wings in this thread does not change the fact that majority of your posts refer to Stuart Campbell/Wings

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    10. @Scottish Skier:

      "You endorse the manifesto of the candidate / party you vote for"

      Yes, sadly that means voting SNP will be claimed by Sturgeon and the current leadership as endorsement of the GRA and Hate Crime Bill. I vehemently do not endorse either of those pieces of legislation, and as a paying SNP member I am appalled at them having been passed, and the manner in which the SNP leadership are treating the party membership - bloody Pete Wishart has more of the SNP membership on block on social media than he does Unionists.

      So, yes, I am voting SNP at least on the constituency, because what's the alternative for independence, but I really don't like the current SNP leadership, attitude, or direction.

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  10. You are wrong about Barrhead Boy . I have been following his blog since he started. Although he has a bone to pick wi8th the SNP he has endorsed SNP 1 and Alba 2 since the formation of the Alba party. As has Iain Lawson from Yours For Scotland.

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    1. I don't think that makes me "wrong" - I made clear in the blogpost that all I was saying was that I hadn't seen an explicit endorsement with my own eyes. That didn't mean it wasn't there.

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    2. Sorry James- I stand corrected.

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  11. Talking Up Scotland should be on your list

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    1. I'd have to know who John is endorsing to put it on the list. I had a look before I wrote the post, and I couldn't see any clear endorsement.

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    2. I read his site every day and John at Talking Up Scotland used his postal vote very early on at the campaign start and it was SNP 1 & 2.
      Alba was only days old at that point if I remember correctly.

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    3. John has his reservations about Alba but he has said he'd like to see Alex Salmond and Kenny MacAskill in Holyrood to liven things up.

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  12. It's a shame we have to wait an extra day for the results. Good job we have the hilarity of Labour losing Hartlepool to tide us over

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  13. Whatever your politics get out and vote or STFU

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  14. SNP 1 in Moray. I will give Ricard Lochhead the benefit of the doubt.

    There are SNP candidates I couldn't stomach voting for though as I think they are Yoons dressed up as Scot Nats who have alternative agendas that spell nothing but ill for Scotland.I feel sorry for folk who have such venomous reptilian creatures in their constituencies.

    Alba 2 on the lists. For Scotland first and last.

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  15. SNP1 SNP 2 for me in Stirling
    Ally

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  16. Barrhead Boy was SNP1 last time I checked?

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  17. SNP/Alba

    No Alba MSPs no independence.

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  18. "She [Nicola Sturgeon} also refused to rule out a coalition with the Greens.

    “I am not ruling out anything at the moment,” she said, before clarifying that this did not apply to the Tories and Alex Salmond’s Alba."

    Daily Record

    Voting for ALBA is essential if Scotland is to regain its independence. Don't let the SNP obfuscate any more.

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