Glenrothes by-election

Indeed, the only complaint I ever made to the PPC was over a full page article in the English edition of the Daily Fascist Mail which said "Will We Let this Scot Ruin Our Green and Pleasant Land". It was an article purporting that Broon had implemented a policy effectively negating the greenbelts. It was, of course, bollocks - in fact it was a different department, with an English minister, and what it said was that there may be cases where greenbelt policies could be relaxed. Funnily enough, the story did not appear in their Scottish edition.

This is one of the reasons I stick to Scottish papers, I have to admit. As for the Times, it's easy to spot the Scottish edition only stories because the font and layout tend to be very slightly different. Most notable on a Sunday, IMHO. Buy the Herald instead!
 
I have to say I only get the Herald. I flirted with the Scotsman once, in about 1994. I read the Telegraph intermittently while I was in England, and it was OK on the whole, but there's nothing quite like the Herald's letters page. Especially when you know about 25% of the writers.

Went to a local agricultural show this afternoon, partly to help man the SNP tent. The first thing that got said to me was, gearing up for Glenrothes, then? I remarked that now I understood why the party had been so keen to abolish the bridge tolls - so that we could get to Glenrothes more easily.

Nobody expects it to be a pushover at all. There is a LibDem presence there, so the protest vote won't go all one way. We're quietly hopeful though.

Rolfe.
 
gtc said:
Out of interest, how different are the Scottish editions of the Guardian and the Times?

I have read that Scotland has one of the most competitive newspaper markets given that you get the full suite of London papers plus the Scottish ones.
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I don't think the Grauniad does a Scottish edition. Even the TV listings are for England in it and you have to check the regional variations for the times when or programmes differ. I keep forgetting this until River City comes on....
 
I bought the Scottish edition of the Independent on Wednesday because of that opinion poll headline (and what with the Herald having decided not to run the story at all....).

Beechgrove Garden? Never heard of it.

Rolfe.
 
As the only reader here of the West Highland Free Press..............


(beurla? De as a tha seo, an "beurla"?)
 
Architect said:
As the only reader here of the West Highland Free Press..............


(beurla? De as a tha seo, an "beurla"?)
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Possibly, although my Grandma once sent me a copy of the Oban Times and the comics page of the Sunday Post. It took me a while to work out that (unlike Biffa Bacon in The Viz) they weren't making fun of the Broons accents.
 
Architect said:
As the only reader here of the West Highland Free Press..............


(beurla? De as a tha seo, an "beurla"?)
Click to expand...


Isn't that under the iron control of arch-unionist Brian Wilson?

I was surprised to learn that in his youth Brian was an SNP member, and to quote Alex Salmond, the author of such inflammatory nonsense that if he did that now it would be my regrettable duty to throw him out of the party."

Rolfe.
 
Bump. Apparently Gordon wants the by-election to be on 6th November. Why, I have no idea.

Two and a half months since the death of the MP. So much for the paramount importance of the constituency having a representative. Probably not so paramount if it looks as if it will be an SNP MP maybe....

I heard a LibDem on the radio today declaring that his party were campaigning to win, and expected to win.

Oh well, that's that then....

I've had, so far, one begging letter, two emails telling me where the SNP constituency election HQ is (with the suggestion that I get my sorry bahookie there as soon as and as often as possible) and one phone call to say, tonight's branch meeting is off, see you in Markinch.

Personally, I think Brown is reversing the usual by-election rule of having it in the most clement weather window as possible to make campaigning pleasanter. Thinking being, perhaps, that if nobody is going to turn up to campaign for Labour anyway, then it won't make any difference to them, and a bit of icy chill, freezing rain and pitch darkness might just cool the SNP juggernaut's ardour.

Rolfe.
 
Another little bump, as the by-election has now been officially called for 6th November. Not quite 3 months since the MP died. You know, it's so important not to leave the constituency without a representative.

Apparently Gordon thinks everything is peachy because Labour got a boost from their Annual Conference. Um, whose Annual Conference is scheduled for 16th - 19th October, again...? Oh, but the brand new fifth wheel Secretary of State for Scotland has stated lugubriously that of course Labour are the underdogs.... that'll be their 10,000 majority, then....

Oh, and in other news, there is apparently going to be no Motherwell and Wishaw by-election after all. Apparently Gordon is so scared of losing that seat to the SNP (you know, the safe one held by the previous First Minister) that he's bottled it entirely and found some strange ruse to avoid Wee Joke having to resign his seat. Tripling the SNP's Holyrood majority is obviously something he'd rather avoid.

Rolfe.
 
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Call me mad and stick a prize begonia down the front of me trousers but the 6th of November?

I have visions of party big wigs, security and naughty kids with bangers. This should be interesting.
 
Fair point.

Whose idea was it to import that English tradition anyway? The firework merchants?

Rolfe.
 
Bump. I know everyone is otherwise engaged right now, but there are other elections, you know.

One of the Scottish papers today aparently carried a cartoon of a US newsreader opening the news programme by saying, "And now we go direct to Scotland for our regular coverage of the Glenrothes by-election."

Some day....

Rolfe.

(Gross superstition here. I changed my avatar to an SNP logo before 3rd May 2007, and again before Glasgow East. So this is either wearing the lucky socks, or tempting fate, or a completely free gesture, merely demonstrating my party allegience, depending on your point of view.)
 
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Have there been any recent polls for Glenrothes? I can't recall seeing any.
 
Rolfe said:
Bump. I know everyone is otherwise engaged right now, but there are other elections, you know.

One of the Scottish papers today aparently carried a cartoon of a US newsreader opening the news programme by saying, "And now we go direct to Scotland for our regular coverage of the Glenrothes by-election."

Some day....

Rolfe.

(Gross superstition here. I changed my avatar to an SNP logo before 3rd May 2007, and again before Glasgow East. So this is either wearing the lucky socks, or tempting fate, or a completely free gesture, merely demonstrating my party allegience, depending on your point of view.)
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Us English socialists are just so unsuperstitious.

Nogbad said:
Have there been any recent polls for Glenrothes? I can't recall seeing any.
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They are probably hoping we all now love Gordon, even though he forgot to ask the banks to pass on the interest cuts to the mortgagee/taxpayer.
 
Nogbad said:
Have there been any recent polls for Glenrothes? I can't recall seeing any.
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No. But the bookies have the SNP at odds-on. And the tone of the emails I'm getting from "Alex Salmond" (I don't imagine he actually writes them himself!) is more positive than the equivalent ones I was getting in the days before Glasgow East. So I'm taking the "too close to call" rhetoric in the newspapers with a bit of a pinch of salt.

I haven't been able to make it to Glenrothes myself, due to a combination of work and pre-existing personal committments. In hindsight, I should probably have gone there instead of to Perth for the SNP conference. However, I'm told the SNP campaign is well organised and well staffed to the point where people are having to queue to be allocated work. I understand over 5,000 individuals have signed on to help at various times (plus those who didn't bother signing the list). The Labour campaign, in contrast, is said to be poorly supported, with people having to be brought up from England, and many helpers apparently being shy of contact with the voters.

It's a different sort of constituency from Glasgow East. The Fife electorate are extremely left-wing to the point where many used to vote Communist. Why that makes them cling on to the Labour of today I have no idea, but tribal loyalties (as Harriet Harman put it) die hard. The majority to be overturned is less than in Glasgow (10,000 as opposed to, I think, 13,000), and I think it can be done.

Labour is trying to portray itself as the underdog (that 10,000 majority notwithstanding) and Gordon Brown as the single-handed saviour of civilisation, but I don't think it's really connecting.

Rolfe.
 
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