The Scottish Politics Thread

[tc27]

Definitely going according to the guys on Twitter who get the leaks.

Would not be surprised in Swinney ends up coming back as a caretaker.

[S/Lt_Phillips]

Salmond & the Alba party are pissed off that the rug has been pulled from under them and they can't be kingmakers any more. Back to being irrelevant.

The Courier is suggesting Jenny Gilruth could be in the frame, though I'm sure the opposition parties would immediately seize on the state of education in Scotland and her record as Education Secretary.

[Big D]

Salmond & the Alba party are pissed off that the rug has been pulled from under them and they can't be kingmakers any more. Back to being irrelevant.

The Courier is suggesting Jenny Gilruth could be in the frame, though I'm sure the opposition parties would immediately seize on the state of education in Scotland and her record as Education Secretary.

That's one of three problems the SNP have.

1. Some of the ministers are in charge of poorly performing areas.

2. The SNP MSPs cover a wide range of the political spectrum brought together under wanting independence.

3. They've allowed the Greens to be king or queen maker for the new FM.

[Paddington Bear]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

[inactionman]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

I'd say the same about Liz Truss. It's what happens when careerists within a party vote for whatever benefits them and their agenda, rather than the country.

Mind you, when Sturgeon went, it was realistically either him or a wee free with debatable views on certain social questions. No great option, and I'm not aware of any outstanding candidate who missed out.

[vball]

He is giving a statement at noon today. Could be about what he is having for lunch I suppose. Probably not.

[inactionman]

He is giving a statement at noon today. Could be about what he is having for lunch I suppose. Probably not.

Does he get to/will he propose or support a successor, a la wee nippie?

He seems to have slagged a lot of people off along the way.

[Lobby]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

I'd say the same about Liz Truss. It's what happens when careerists within a party vote for whatever benefits them and their agenda, rather than the country.

Mind you, when Sturgeon went, it was realistically either him or a wee free with debatable views on certain social questions. No great option, and I'm not aware of any outstanding candidate who missed out.

TBF to the Tory MPs, very few of them wanted Truss as their leader. She was third behind Sunak and Mordaunt until the final vote, and it was only because the lunatics who thought Badenoch might be a good choice switched their votes to Truss that she managed to squeak into 2nd place. It was the aged gammons who make up the party membership who foisted Truss on the Country.

[Slick]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

I'd say the same about Liz Truss. It's what happens when careerists within a party vote for whatever benefits them and their agenda, rather than the country.

Mind you, when Sturgeon went, it was realistically either him or a wee free with debatable views on certain social questions. No great option, and I'm not aware of any outstanding candidate who missed out.

TBF to the Tory MPs, very few of them wanted Truss as their leader. She was third behind Sunak and Mordaunt until the final vote, and it was only because the lunatics who thought Badenoch might be a good choice switched their votes to Truss that she managed to squeak into 2nd place. It was the aged gammons who make up the party membership who foisted Truss on the Country.

Because Nicola told them who to vote for. I suspect she thought she could pull the strings from behind him, until she imploded.

[tc27]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

I'd say the same about Liz Truss. It's what happens when careerists within a party vote for whatever benefits them and their agenda, rather than the country.

Mind you, when Sturgeon went, it was realistically either him or a wee free with debatable views on certain social questions. No great option, and I'm not aware of any outstanding candidate who missed out.

TBF to the Tory MPs, very few of them wanted Truss as their leader. She was third behind Sunak and Mordaunt until the final vote, and it was only because the lunatics who thought Badenoch might be a good choice switched their votes to Truss that she managed to squeak into 2nd place. It was the aged gammons who make up the party membership who foisted Truss on the Country.

Yeah Truss was a symptom of the collapse of mass participation in political parties leaving a rump of membership who vote for pretty strange reasons.

I think Humza got in because he was Sturgeons chosen successor and such was her popularity within the SNP that it carried a very obviously mediocre politician over the line.

The SNP (and Scottish nationalism as a movement) has being fortunate to have had two very astute political operators in succession as leader but I can't see any obvious heir to Salmond or Sturgeon now.

[Blackmac]

Salmond & the Alba party are pissed off that the rug has been pulled from under them and they can't be kingmakers any more. Back to being irrelevant.

The Courier is suggesting Jenny Gilruth could be in the frame, though I'm sure the opposition parties would immediately seize on the state of education in Scotland and her record as Education Secretary.

Gilruth won't last a week. She seems to be very arrogant, reacts very badly to criticism and appears to have a very short fuse.

[C T]

The SNP over the past year or two have really made me look like a right dick, something I can achieve all on my own no bother at all.

Used to love sitting in pubs, telling my mates down here that the SNP politicians were just so much better than the dross down here.

Nothing like the bunch of nonces all from the same two schools with no life experience that they were stuck with.

[Paddington Bear]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

I'd say the same about Liz Truss. It's what happens when careerists within a party vote for whatever benefits them and their agenda, rather than the country.

Mind you, when Sturgeon went, it was realistically either him or a wee free with debatable views on certain social questions. No great option, and I'm not aware of any outstanding candidate who missed out.

Liz Truss is the best comparator, but as others have said most of her colleagues did not vote for her, she was nowhere near a majority of them

[westport]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

You can say that about ALL politicians of ALL parties and has been like that for years and years and years

[inactionman]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

I'd say the same about Liz Truss. It's what happens when careerists within a party vote for whatever benefits them and their agenda, rather than the country.

Mind you, when Sturgeon went, it was realistically either him or a wee free with debatable views on certain social questions. No great option, and I'm not aware of any outstanding candidate who missed out.

Liz Truss is the best comparator, but as others have said most of her colleagues did not vote for her, she was nowhere near a majority of them

She barely featured in early ballot rounds, god knows how the tory system's so broken she wheedled her way to the top.

And, in other news, Humza has now resigned. Don't let door hit you on way out.

[Slick]

Torn by this.

Delighted he has gone because he is genuinely fucking useless and managed a decent amount of damage in his short time.

Hoping a successor doesn’t bring a bounce back for the genuinely fucking useless wider government

[Slick]

Talk of Swinney coming back just sums up a government that needs to move away for a while

[Big D]

I do believe that he is a decent man who just isn't cut out for front line politics.

IMO the lack of quality alternatives in the SNP is a failure of Salmond and Sturgeon who thrived on a cult of personality. No forward planning on who might come next beyond Sturgeon taking over.

It is a failure in politics in general.

[Biffer]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

You can say that about ALL politicians of ALL parties and has been like that for years and years and years

The 'they're all the same' line plays right into the hands of the incomptent fuckers and you shouldn't but into it. There are competent politicians about but they get sidelined by making the public believe they're as corrupt as the really venal ones.

[Paddington Bear]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

You can say that about ALL politicians of ALL parties and has been like that for years and years and years

No you can’t. He is uniquely shit

[Blackmac]

I do believe that he is a decent man who just isn't cut out for front line politics.

IMO the lack of quality alternatives in the SNP is a failure of Salmond and Sturgeon who thrived on a cult of personality. No forward planning on who might come next beyond Sturgeon taking over.

It is a failure in politics in general.

I just think he is a grifter who saw the Independence movement as a sure way of gaining power and prestige. I think he would sell his kids for advancement. The attack on the nursery in Dundee was just an early sign of what he is about. I also think he is weak and dangerously influenced by his wife.

[Blackmac]

I think my greatest fear for the Scottish Parliament was that it would be populated by over ambitious town councillors who were totally out of their depth. I struggle to see any of them from any party that don't fit that description.

[Biffer]

I do believe that he is a decent man who just isn't cut out for front line politics.

IMO the lack of quality alternatives in the SNP is a failure of Salmond and Sturgeon who thrived on a cult of personality. No forward planning on who might come next beyond Sturgeon taking over.

It is a failure in politics in general.

I just think he is a grifter who saw the Independence movement as a sure way of gaining power and prestige. I think he would sell his kids for advancement. The attack on the nursery in Dundee was just an early sign of what he is about. I also think he is weak and dangerously influenced by his wife.

That's exactly what I mean when I said (somewhere up thread) the SNP has been taken over by that Glasgow political set that used to substantially be members of the Labour party.

[Slick]

Politics aside, who on earth ever considered Yousaf to be anywhere near the calibre required to run a country?

You can say that about ALL politicians of ALL parties and has been like that for years and years and years

No you can’t. He is uniquely shit

Easy, he’s our only FM in a decade not to get arrested

[Blackmac]

I do believe that he is a decent man who just isn't cut out for front line politics.

IMO the lack of quality alternatives in the SNP is a failure of Salmond and Sturgeon who thrived on a cult of personality. No forward planning on who might come next beyond Sturgeon taking over.

It is a failure in politics in general.

I just think he is a grifter who saw the Independence movement as a sure way of gaining power and prestige. I think he would sell his kids for advancement. The attack on the nursery in Dundee was just an early sign of what he is about. I also think he is weak and dangerously influenced by his wife.

That's exactly what I mean when I said (somewhere up thread) the SNP has been taken over by that Glasgow political set that used to substantially be members of the Labour party.

Yep, spot on. He's just staked his colours to the best possible political bandwagon.

[Blackmac]

You can say that about ALL politicians of ALL parties and has been like that for years and years and years

No you can’t. He is uniquely shit

Easy, he’s our only FM in a decade not to get arrested

fair point.

[Big D]

You can say that about ALL politicians of ALL parties and has been like that for years and years and years

No you can’t. He is uniquely shit

Easy, he’s our only FM in a decade not to get arrested

He did get a fixed penalty for DWI when justice secretary though.

[Slick]

No you can’t. He is uniquely shit

Easy, he’s our only FM in a decade not to get arrested

He did get a fixed penalty for DWI when justice secretary though.

Fucking hell, true

[westport]

Cheers easy

[Blackmac]

Hilarious watching all the Nat SMP's throwing Swinney under the bus when not one of them want to touch it with a barge pole.

[Biffer]

Cheers easy

Henry McLeish has been getting that for 23 years now and I don't see many people screaming about that.

[tc27]

Cheers easy

Henry McLeish has been getting that for 23 years now and I don't see many people screaming about that.

Apparantly this was made up. Its just 2k a year from retirement age.

[inactionman]

The government have won the no confidence vote.

All SNP and greens voted 'nay', everyone else with a brain and a functioning set of eyes and ears voted 'aye' but to no avail.

[SaintK]

I'm really confused that the SNP are going backwards to Swinney.
Isn't he a failed leader with close association with discredited old guard? Same old, same old!!!

[David in Gwent]

If the SNP actually wanted to get Indy over the line, they would elect Kate, but they won't.

People are yearning for some good old fashioned family values and less of the what the SNP have provided over the last few years.

It's been remarkably sad to watch the shitshow of the SNP over the last few years, the people of Scotland deserved better.

[Slick]

I'm really confused that the SNP are going backwards to Swinney.
Isn't he a failed leader with close association with discredited old guard? Same old, same old!!!

I suspect they just want someone to take the fall over the next few months and Swinney, genuinely decent chap that he is, is the man. Then Kate can come in and start fresh.

I think they have just given up on the GE. If they are really putting him in as the future leader then they are more fucked up than I thought.

[S/Lt_Phillips]

So it's Swinney then. A man who has not exactly ben a success in his former roles (in charge of Finance during the referendum (which was largely lost because of weak financial credibility), then managed to dodge a highly damning report into the standard of education during his tenure due to huge delays in the report's delivery then being magically moved to deputy FM to protect him). He might be a nice man, put a effecive politician he is not.

But he's acceptable to the Greens (in a way that Forbes will never be), so the SNP will still have an effective majority. Looks to me like the Green tail continues to wag the SNP dog, even without the Bute House Agreement.

[Big D]

So it's Swinney then. A man who has not exactly ben a success in his former roles (in charge of Finance during the referendum (which was largely lost because of weak financial credibility), then managed to dodge a highly damning report into the standard of education during his tenure due to huge delays in the report's delivery then being magically moved to deputy FM to protect him). He might be a nice man, put a effecive politician he is not.

But he's acceptable to the Greens (in a way that Forbes will never be), so the SNP will still have an effective majority. Looks to me like the Green tail continues to wag the SNP dog, even without the Bute House Agreement.

It is exactly that. An appointment to appease 6 MSPs rather than try and take the country forward.

Failed as leader and 13 months ago was standing down. Now we're meant to beleive he's the one to take the country forward. He is a lame duck and really a sign that the SNP haven't brought anyone though to senior roles that the party see as capable of stepping up.

They hypocritical nature of the views on Forbes religion lead beliefs v any criticism of Yousaf over the last year being labelled racist or bigoted by the SNP fan club on twitter too is startling. Especially given Forbes fronted up and voted with her views (wrong as they are IMO) and didn't hide behind not voting at all.

[Big D]

If the SNP do take an unlikely (IMO) big loss at the GE then ge goes and we are onto a third unelected FM to go with the two unelected PMs. Democracy eh!

And yes I know we vote for parties not people but Johnson and Sturgeon (and Salmond before) had a cult like following.

[tc27]

Objectively I think Swinney is much more convincing than Yusaf and will probaly help stop the SNP slide. Perhaps a bit naive of the opposition partied to expedite his downfall

The GE will be really interesting. So many finely balanced seats in Scotland.