The fourth and final by-election result for this week was released a few hours ago, and it's impossible to deny that it's a very good one for the Liberal Democrats. By the same token, it can't be denied that the Lib Dems have been polling fairly poorly in many other recent by-elections, which speaks to the factor that is both their greatest strength and their most serious weakness - ie. they're becoming ever more ghettoised in specific geographical pockets, which pays handsome dividends in first-past-the-post elections and even in STV by-elections, but which will make it very hard for them to get back to the type of broad national strength they had in the days of Jim Wallace, before they made hardline British Nationalism such a key part of their identity and branding.
Fort William & Ardnamurchan by-election result on first preference votes (21st November 2024):
SNP 25.5% (-8.0)
Greens 6.0% (-3.6)
Labour 4.5% (n/a)
Conservatives 4.4% (-5.7)
Scottish Libertarian Party 0.6% (n/a)
"and it's impossible to deny that it's a very good one for the Liberal Democrats"
ReplyDeleteWell, what was good for the LibDems was Andrew Baxter standing for them instead of being an Independent. Well-known and liked in the area.
Yes, that's the only post election analysis worth mentioning here, tbh. The Baxter factor is massive, locally.
DeleteAs resident of area I confirm that personalities are more important than silly parties than make silly promises thzn only silly people's believe.
DeleteYeah I'd almost go as far, not seriously but it would probably bring better services, if we could ban national parties from local elections. More power to the local heroes.
DeleteTwo comments:
ReplyDelete1. Declan - take note - Fort William SNP DOWN 8.0
2. Fort William - it's no suprise that its home to a lot of Britnats/English/House Jocks considering its name. A town based on a fort to colonise Scotland named after an English king.
Lovely to see such deep knowledge of the demographics of the town of Fort William. As we all know, the origin of any town's name determines how people vote hu dreds of years later. Just look at Dumbarton.
Delete6.56pm -
Delete“as we all know”
you may think that I don’t.
Not a bad result for SNP as they are now second.
ReplyDeleteGenuinely impressed by John Swinneys leadership.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you.
DeleteThere’s no doubt he’s steadied the ship, and I believe has given us real grounds for optimism going forward.
Is a ship a vehicle? I ask because I am always reading that the SNP is the only vehicle for independence. Should we now say the SNP is the only ship for independence. If that is the case where do we say it is sailing from - Oban?
Deletegenuinely impressed by zelenskys leadership
Deletehe is like the wise oarsmen steering us through scylla and charybdis with axe filling his ears, ignoring the siren call of unrealism and radical nationalism
Deletegenuinely impressed by phillippe clements stewardship of the greatest - its the same club - club in the world
DeleteJohn Swinney's a good clever hard working nice man, leader? no
DeletePhilipe Clement's a good manager and nice man, Rangers fans? barely human
DeleteWeekly Alba Update:
ReplyDeleteI hope this message finds you well. As we continue our work towards Scotland’s independence, I wanted to share some key updates from this week.
The Scottish Court of Session has made a crucial decision to allow a judicial review challenge against the UK and Scottish Governments' move to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners. This case, brought by Peter and Florence Fanning with the support of the Govan Law Centre, now has a “real prospect of success.”
The next hearing will take place on December 4th.This development highlights the importance of standing up for vulnerable groups in our society, as we strive towards a fair, free and prosperous independent Scotland.
This Saturday, 23rd November, marks an ALBA Party Day of Action. Across the country, members will be taking to their local communities to spread the message that Scottish pensioners should not be living in fuel poverty in a land of energy plenty. Your Local Authority Campaign Units (LACUs) will be in touch with specific plans for your area. This is a fantastic opportunity to engage with voters and build momentum, so please join us if you can.
ALBA Party members were recently asked to vote on the proposal to retain the current National Executive until our rescheduled Party Conference in March 2025. The result of this vote was 94% of members backing the proposition.
Our next National Council will take place after National Conference and accordingly the current members of the various party committees will continue in their roles until that next National Council is held and elections take place.
The Constitution Working Group meeting scheduled for 1st December has been postponed. An update on its work to date will be shared at the party Conference in March..
Finally, I would like to congratulate Nick Durie and his team for their efforts in the Maryhill by-election, managing to beat both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates. Having campaigned with Nick, and in other recent by-elections, there is no doubt that chapping doors and engaging with voters is key to success for ALBA and to our ultimate goal of regaining our independence, because “Scotland is a country, not a county”.
Yours for Scotland,
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
ALBA Party Chair
As I predicted, a 90%+ North Korean-style vote in favour of a North Korean-style proposal in which only one 'acceptable' option was presented. Alba is not in a good place at the moment.
DeleteTotal
DeleteSo that’s 9.4 out of 10 voted?!
DeleteKim Jong McEleny
DeleteScottish Libertarian Party 😂
ReplyDeleteWhen a central government shafts local government, everyone notices.
ReplyDeleteThe British will always band together no matter which party they call themselves
ReplyDeleteLabour's Jackie Baillie is only occupying a seat in Holyrood because the Tories in Dumbarton put her there