The SNP is the natural home for the people - like you James - who originally left us for Alba. We lost a lot of good members to Alba and at the time I could appreciate their loyalty to Alex Salmond, but when Alex passed away the main reason for being a member of Alba went with him. I'm being honest when I say that we could do with a Kenny McAskill being back inside the SNP, but that is a consideration for Kenny after the dust from all of this has settled.
Alba's gone. But the need for a more "fundamentalist" rival to the SNP remains. For as long as the SNP has the pro-indy vote all wrapped up, the only thing on the menu will be devolution.
anon 1251- Well you wont join the snp and be in the sidelines as usual. Those of us in the snp are just as frustrated that there are still Scots unwilling to take the first step of voting for independence parties. In that respect ALBA has also to take some blame.
It is admirable that the SNP hasn’t (in recent years) resorted to expulsion of members. The Independence movement must be a broad Kirk, and the party claiming to represent it should be likewise. I cannot however rejoin the SNP until someone can offer a viable route to reversing the 2018 amendments to the construction which gave Affiliated Groups places on the NEC, and broke the principle of democracy shared equally among all members. Regardless of what saccharine words were used at the time (diversity, inclusivity, outreach) the true purpose was to concentrate power in the hands of a clique of glacial gradualist. The Affiliated Groups owed their positions to the leaders of that faction, and their votes were in the bag. I realise that this doesn’t come even close to the shenanigans perpetrated at Alba, but why should I devote my time, money and effort to the SNP if I don’t see a way to return it to being a truly democratic vehicle to independence?
YouGov, Pro / Anti Trump, field work 8th March, sample population 2,222. Excluding don’t knows & neutral. British public Net 68% Anti Trump, which is massive. All political parties are Anti Trump except Reform UK Even Tories voters are Net 52% Anti Trump, which is more significant than at first glance. Reform UK voters are Net 32% Pro Trump.
Reform UK voters really are a bunch of odd balls. Cocooned in a bubble of GB News, and the Daily Heil. Farage’s optimum position, and ultimate grift would be permanent opposition. Where Reform UK has taken control of local councils in England, the results have been poor. They promised massive savings to residents through their Department of Local Government Efficiency (a knock off of Elon Musk’s DOGE) and delivered zilch. Local government budgets never recovered from the 2008 crash, and their Facebook echo chambers where they fantasised about tens of thousands of woke, non-jobs just waiting to be slashed were only ever a figment of their fevered imaginations.
Under Swinney the SNP will win the Holyrood election but the next 4 years will look like the past 4 years but things getting gradually grimmer. Any chance John of young Scots actually getting a council house ect.
The SNP is the natural home for the people - like you James - who originally left us for Alba. We lost a lot of good members to Alba and at the time I could appreciate their loyalty to Alex Salmond, but when Alex passed away the main reason for being a member of Alba went with him. I'm being honest when I say that we could do with a Kenny McAskill being back inside the SNP, but that is a consideration for Kenny after the dust from all of this has settled.
ReplyDeleteI think some hi heidyins have done a runner.
ReplyDeleteWon't make any difference if Swinney remains leader of the SNP.
ReplyDeleteAlba's gone. But the need for a more "fundamentalist" rival to the SNP remains. For as long as the SNP has the pro-indy vote all wrapped up, the only thing on the menu will be devolution.
Deleteanon 1251- Well you wont join the snp and be in the sidelines as usual. Those of us in the snp are just as frustrated that there are still Scots unwilling to take the first step of voting for independence parties. In that respect ALBA has also to take some blame.
DeleteProject Fear 2.0 will feature the financial irregularities of AUOB, Alba and the SNP plus the ferry fiasco.
ReplyDeleteAh the ferry fiasco. Good one. Toddle off back to the Daily Heil.
DeleteSaw one of the new ferries on the Clyde at the weekend doing its familiarity trials.
DeleteAh, AUOB. I miss them. Whatever happened to finish them off?
DeleteIt is admirable that the SNP hasn’t (in recent years) resorted to expulsion of members. The Independence movement must be a broad Kirk, and the party claiming to represent it should be likewise.
ReplyDeleteI cannot however rejoin the SNP until someone can offer a viable route to reversing the 2018 amendments to the construction which gave Affiliated Groups places on the NEC, and broke the principle of democracy shared equally among all members.
Regardless of what saccharine words were used at the time (diversity, inclusivity, outreach) the true purpose was to concentrate power in the hands of a clique of glacial gradualist. The Affiliated Groups owed their positions to the leaders of that faction, and their votes were in the bag.
I realise that this doesn’t come even close to the shenanigans perpetrated at Alba, but why should I devote my time, money and effort to the SNP if I don’t see a way to return it to being a truly democratic vehicle to independence?
A fair complaint but you're not going to be able to change anything for the better from outwith the party.
DeleteYouGov, Pro / Anti Trump, field work 8th March, sample population 2,222.
ReplyDeleteExcluding don’t knows & neutral.
British public Net 68% Anti Trump, which is massive.
All political parties are Anti Trump except Reform UK
Even Tories voters are Net 52% Anti Trump, which is more significant than at first glance.
Reform UK voters are Net 32% Pro Trump.
Reform UK voters really are a bunch of odd balls. Cocooned in a bubble of GB News, and the Daily Heil.
Farage’s optimum position, and ultimate grift would be permanent opposition. Where Reform UK has taken control of local councils in England, the results have been poor. They promised massive savings to residents through their Department of Local Government Efficiency (a knock off of Elon Musk’s DOGE) and delivered zilch. Local government budgets never recovered from the 2008 crash, and their Facebook echo chambers where they fantasised about tens of thousands of woke, non-jobs just waiting to be slashed were only ever a figment of their fevered imaginations.
Alba tross.
ReplyDeleteUnder Swinney the SNP will win the Holyrood election but the next 4 years will look like the past 4 years but things getting gradually grimmer. Any chance John of young Scots actually getting a council house ect.
ReplyDeleteYoung Scots will turn grey and find they've become old Brits at this rate. 11 wasted years and we've only just begun.
DeleteMaybe they want their own house /flat rather than a cooncil one.
DeleteI've got a good job, the system works
ReplyDelete- the battlecry of the SNP staffer
if the election result isn't to swinney's liking, will he put his black redactor pen through the result so we can't read it
ReplyDeleteMaybe the SNP will achieve a world first and demand a recount to try to *lose* a seat, in the awful chance it's the dreaded number 65.
Delete