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How Labour can win in 2016

Posted on March 13, 2014 by

We’ve talked a bit today about a fascinating poll by Survation for the Daily Mail last month, whose findings got very little coverage in the media, perhaps because they revealed the rather off-message fact of how ineffectual two of the No campaign’s three great pillars of propaganda have been proving.

gleeclub1

But there was another interesting snippet in the results, which could confound the flurry of recent polls all showing the SNP with a commanding lead for the 2016 Holyrood election, regardless of whether it’s for an independent Scottish Parliament or a devolved one.

Survation asked its sample which of a list of politicians they trusted the most (cunningly dodging people’s tendency to say they don’t trust any politicians). Available options were the four main Scottish party leaders – no Patrick Harvie – the three UK leaders, Blair Jenkins of Yes Scotland and Alistair Darling of “Better Together”.

As usual, Alex Salmond topped the list with over 50% more votes than the nearest competitor, and a second question asking which was trusted the least saw David Cameron take the booby prize by an easy distance. No surprises there, then. But we did notice some interesting rankings among one particular section of the sample.

LABOUR SUPPORTERS ONLY
Which of the following political figures do you trust the most?

Ed Miliband: 36%
Alistair Darling: 24%
Nicola Sturgeon: 11%
Alex Salmond: 10%
David Cameron: 9%
Johann Lamont: 5%

Oh dear. Poor Johann. Somewhat astonishingly, the Scottish Labour “leader” was only half as trusted among Labour voters as Alex Salmond (a man she’s spent most of her political career angrily decrying as untrustworthy), less still than Nicola Sturgeon, and – incredibly – far less by her own party’s supporters than a Conservative old Etonian Prime Minister who won the overall “least trusted” poll in a canter.

So how can Scottish Labour turn around those stubborn polls? Simple – just somehow persuade Nicola Sturgeon to switch sides. If not, David Cameron might be at a loose end and up for a challenge if the Tories finally let rip and elect Boris Johnson leader, like they so obviously really really want to.

And failing that, and given Labour’s unfortunate dearth of talent willing to serve at Holyrood, just about anyone else in Scotland would be an improvement.

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89 to “How Labour can win in 2016”

  1. rab_the_doubter
    Ignored
    says:

    I’m astonished

  2. Doug Daniel
    Ignored
    says:

    To be honest, they could probably go into the election with NO leader and get a better result than with Lambo.

  3. orkers
    Ignored
    says:

    Darling 24%.

    Good grief!

  4. Keef
    Ignored
    says:

    I nominate David. Bowie. Can I have a seconded please.

    New theme song will be ‘Ashes to Ashes’.

  5. Croompenstein
    Ignored
    says:

    JoLa hair by Lego, Make up by Hammer really astonished at this btw where is Carwyn Jones?

  6. Croompenstein
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T any word on the Flipper-Naughtie love in

  7. Findlay Farquaharson
    Ignored
    says:

    could you imagine the horrible lamont as first minister with jackie baillie as deputy first minister. holy christ.

  8. Scotswoman
    Ignored
    says:

    These Labour voters are an avalanche waiting to happen – and there’s still 6 months left for it to come tumbling down….

  9. James dunne
    Ignored
    says:

    think to remember about the labour voters is they marched through the streets decrying Blair’s illegal war, but still voted labour back in. Its almost like they are Manchurian candidate programmed to place a little x in any box that says labour

  10. Alfresco Dent
    Ignored
    says:

    Come the revolution she’s on the dole. If she qualifies.

    It never fails to astonish me that she was a teacher! What kind of teacher? Anyone know? I’d imagine Woodwork or maybe drama. Yes, that’s it. Drama. Astonishing!

  11. Alfresco Dent
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Croompenstein

    “Hair by Lego”, pmsl.

  12. Alfresco Dent
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Findlay

    Sadly, yes. Putin would eat her, literally.

  13. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @Alfresco Dent –

    She did be teach the inglish@ me know coz am woz ther .

  14. Thomas William Dunlop
    Ignored
    says:

    JoLa looks like a mouldy conker in that picture

  15. galamcennalath
    Ignored
    says:

    Lamont was an English teacher according to Wikipedia

  16. Clootie
    Ignored
    says:

    Thanks a lot Findlay Farquaharson. I will have nightmares now. I cannot get the thought of that hell out of my mind.

  17. Alan Mackintosh
    Ignored
    says:

    She may have been an English teacher according to Wikipdia, but what about according to her pupils

  18. Jim Watson
    Ignored
    says:

    I saw Iain Gray walking up Buchanan Street last week and I could not even be bothered to take out my headphones to ask him where the oil fund money will come from! Labour in Scotland/Scottish Labour are such a busted flush…

  19. dramfineday
    Ignored
    says:

    Anent Jola, hardly a surprise, the party types like great orators and pontificators(hence Broon) and ideas people, full of blue sky and wee wee. She was put there by the the unions, not the members, as a “great fighter” (stair heed rammy mk2) to stop the first minister. Roaring, screeching and unable to improvise, there is no appeal to thinking people (which, thank god, are most of us).

  20. Findlay Farquaharson
    Ignored
    says:

    only under a quarter of labour voters trust darling while over a fifth of labour voters trust mr salmond and miss sturgeon, truly astonishing or wot?

  21. Oneironaut
    Ignored
    says:

    Poor Johann. It must hurt to be voted LESS trustworthy than David Cameron!

    Good public meeting in Kilwinning tonight though. Events like that make me feel certain we’re going to win this! 😀

  22. stonefree
    Ignored
    says:

    “What kind of teacher?”

    Someone mentioned on one of the blogs she was a supply teacher,obviously not a very good one

  23. donnywho
    Ignored
    says:

    Ha somebody out there must have been taught by her, nicknames, stories, creative writing, general bumf would be welcome! Anything to fill the the space she inhabits at FMQ.
    Go on fill us in, if she has bequithed you the talent to write!

  24. Murray McCallum
    Ignored
    says:

    To be fair, Johann Lamont’s score is maybe low because so many people don’t know who she is. Maybe a kind of “stranger danger” effect?

    http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2013/dec/disaster-lamont-41-do-not-know-who-she

  25. gordoz
    Ignored
    says:

    Come on Rev –

    Can wings not start a joint campaign with Eaun
    McCatacomb to promote wordsmith James Kelly as the heir apparent to JoLa.

  26. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    I just had a Bill Hicks-type ‘moment’, looking at the picture up-top, and it’s a sick joke involving Curran, Lamont, and Gordon’s empty socket, but it shall remain naught more than a passing, horrible thought…maybe Frankie Boyle would go with it?

  27. cynicalHighlander
    Ignored
    says:

    @stonefree

    Supplies must of been in dire straits then.

  28. Oneironaut
    Ignored
    says:

    @Ian Brotherhood
    I’m quite good with Photoshop… Maybe an amusing poster for the night out? Just a thought! 😉

  29. donnywho
    Ignored
    says:

    An Idea, Why not crowd buy the Herald on Sunday, not pro but balanced. Hard too ignore the bottom line for struggling broadsheets. If suporting the pro camp brings in the punters others may follow!
    They may ignore our ideas but a drowning accountant will clutch at circulation!

  30. donnywho
    Ignored
    says:

    Brotherhood why not photoshop JoLo into a model….. would go viral and Highlight her inner Beauty LOL

  31. Chris Cairns
    Ignored
    says:

    @Thomas William Dunlop
    I’m so used to the wit on here I often take it for granted but I have to say you had me giggling like a toked up Michael Bentine with that one – superb!

  32. X_Sticks
    Ignored
    says:

    Croompenstein says:

    “O/T any word on the Flipper-Naughtie love in”

    According to this tweet there will be a video in due course:

    Tods Murray LLP ?@TodsMurray · 2h
    We’ll have the event video and exclusive @togetherdarling interview on http://thinkandtalkwithtods.com – click ‘follow’ at the site #darlingnaughtie

    James dunne says:

    “Its almost like they are Manchurian candidate programmed to place a little x in any box that says labour”

    There won’t be a box marked ‘labour’ on the referendum ballot paper 🙂

  33. David McCann
    Ignored
    says:

    Well at least Duncan McNeil likes her! If desk thumping ever becomes an Olympic sport, he is in line for a gold medal!

  34. caz-m
    Ignored
    says:

    Just heard on the This Week show on the BBC that Nick Clegg is actually half Dutch.

    So should he not really be called Nick Clogg.

    Ok am away!!

  35. heedtracker
    Ignored
    says:

    Johann Lamont: 5% and the Krankies used to be swingers! Great post Rev, just got asked what am I laughing at. Plus, who on earth would want to swing with the Krankies?

  36. hetty
    Ignored
    says:

    Constitution? Changes? What constitution?

    Sad to see Gordy making even more a fool of himself, still he will escape to Englandshire either way. I cannot abide folk who condemn the young to zero hours, few prospects and massive debt if they dare to aspire to a degree in the first place, nevermind prescrition charges and a three tier system regards NHS, should there be a no vote.

    How can anyone sell their soul like that and sleep at night?

  37. heedtracker
    Ignored
    says:

    “How can anyone sell their soul like that and sleep at night?” Ken Livingstone said interesting things about Bob Crow on Newsnight England and how people like Crow were actually working class and socialist and proud of it. New Labour top dogs are all graduates that have never known a hard days work in their lives, so look at them now and how they enrich themselves the way only tories used to.

  38. Rod Robertson
    Ignored
    says:

    Ian Brotherhood ,when is the Wings Glasgow drinky poos and is it still ib Mcgills in Hope St?

  39. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @Rod Robertson –

    Yes, it’s on, but it’s not at McGinn’s.

    It’s in The Counting House, St. Vincent Place/George Square, on Friday April 4th, from 7.30.

    Hope to see you there.

    Cheers.

  40. Gary
    Ignored
    says:

    Is it just me or do Mr Carmichael and Mrs Lamont bear an uncanny resemblance?

  41. Graeme McAllan
    Ignored
    says:

    This what happens when you’ve been genetically programmed 😉

  42. Graeme McAllan
    Ignored
    says:

    Where did the word “is” go?

    Oh, here it “is” 😉

  43. Calgacus MacAndrews
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T – I see that the man that was keeping out of the debate is bumping his gums again:-

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-26567029

    Just in case we were too stupid to have noticed we had a ‘major life decision’ to make in September.

  44. Roll_On_2014
    Ignored
    says:

    OT – Breaking News:

    Tony Benn has just popped his cloggs.

  45. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    “JoLa hair by Lego, Make up by Hammer really astonished at this btw where is Carwyn Jones?”

    Yea thanks for that croompenstien
    las time you said that (“hair by Lego” Im pretty sure it was you?)
    I am now officially banned from the Dunfermline Tesco thanks to you,
    after reading that comment the last time you made it I was in the supermarket with the wife and noticed a Lego advert and saw what you meant, well to say I made a scene would be like the Leslie Nielson clip I put up recently
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSjK2Oqrgic
    my wife hates you btw 🙁

  46. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    “Where did the word “is” go?

    Oh, here it “is” ;)”

    Ah know,
    its murdur when ye lose yer is. 🙂

  47. scottish_skier
    Ignored
    says:

    @Calgacus. From that link.

    “Mr Cameron will urge voters to listen to business leaders and others who have warned independence could be damaging.”

    http://archive.is/onNiu

    “That voters vote against the positions taken by the captains of industry is so common that it almost amounts to a sociological law.”

    Aye. Hard for a millionaire Eton Tory born with a silver spoon in his mouth to get that though.

  48. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    StevieMcB

    Oh please by all that is holy please tell me thats what Cameron said
    dont vote yes without listening to people WHORE not political?

    What is he planning to pay for us all to have a good time down the docks? 🙂

  49. Alba4Eva
    Ignored
    says:

    …is 5% no just a wee thing though?

  50. Croompenstein
    Ignored
    says:

    Apparently Cameron is coming to Edinburgh to open their conference with another shite speech. I wonder if he’ll talk to any ‘ordinary’ voters (ordinary being not Tory) and RIP Tony Benn deid (wasn’t Tony complicit in the burying of the McCrone report)

  51. Croompenstein
    Ignored
    says:

    @john king LOL apparently the ‘Lego’ hairdo is easy to maintain (according to my Mrs) JoLa also gets her eyes from that eagle eye action man he had a wee slider on the back of his heid that gave him slidy eyes, stay away from the toy dept John and tell your wife I’m sorry 🙂

  52. bunter
    Ignored
    says:

    Today, a Millionnaire who doesn’t live hear will appeal to Scots to listen to other millionnaires who don’t live here, and who have absolutely no connections to the Tories and the city of London, to vote NO.

  53. Dorothy Devine
    Ignored
    says:

    Alfresco Dent ,should you be joining us on the 4th of April , watch out for a sonsy wummin’ wie a handbag aimed at your heid!
    Drama teacher indeed!

  54. caz-m
    Ignored
    says:

    David Cameron will have the lights dimmed and have a torchlight shining up his face, all scary and creepy and try to frighten anyone who will take him serious and say,

    “This referendum is a major life decision – and you don’t make one of those without getting all the information you can.

    You wouldn’t buy a house without getting a survey done. You wouldn’t choose a car without an MOT.

    And you shouldn’t make a decision about changing your nation – forever – without knowing in full what the consequences may be.”

    He forgot to add that Trident is coming up for renewal, also HS2 needs paid for, Oh, and Boris still has a few more plans in the pipeline for London.

    So don’t go Scotland, because we need your money, how else would we fund all these Great British projects.

  55. Clootie
    Ignored
    says:

    Com’n – be fair. How can you have an elite ruling class without the sheep. Just say bah! and get back in your place.

  56. Mealer
    Ignored
    says:

    55 percent of Labour supporters picked someone other than a Labour politician.One in twenty trust the “Scottish Labour Leader” most.I think this tells us a lot about a big chunk ofLabour voters attitudes.They only put their cross next to Labour because they always have.And their fathers before them.The fact is,though,that LABOUR won’t appear on the referendum ballot.They will have to make a conscious choice between YES and NO.

  57. Albalha
    Ignored
    says:

    Rather poetic that Tony Benn knocks Cameron and his Scottish extravaganza off the top news spot.

  58. caz-m
    Ignored
    says:

    BBC Scotland GMS back to their “Warning” shit again.

    “Today, David Cameron will warn Scots that…”

    That statement alone should be enough to make you vote YES.

  59. Albalha
    Ignored
    says:

    Good to hear D Canavan on the wireless re Tony Benn.

  60. Brian Powell
    Ignored
    says:

    Just to mention, there is another very good analysis of the GERs information on Newsnet Scotand, if anyone hasn’t seen it.

  61. caz-m
    Ignored
    says:

    I wonder if the newsreaders on GMS read Wings?

    Because they have suddenly dropped the “Warning” word from their David Cameron piece on the 8.30am bulletin.

    A small victory for us, I would say.

  62. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    Is Cameron really coming to Scotland again?

    He’s like one of those relatives you can’t stand – bad enough having to endure them every other Christmas, but then they start turning up three, four times a year, inviting themselves to stay for weekends etc.

  63. galamcennalath
    Ignored
    says:

    Tony Benn was energy minister and at the centre of suppressing the McCrone Report. His actions are, in part, the reason why we are having our Independence Referendum now and not 30 years ago!

  64. gordoz
    Ignored
    says:

    Cameron comes North again (oh Im not really involved; I cant vote; but I can stir it a bit)

    No debate with Alex Salmond –

    Press / BBC will stay quiet say nothing !

    Useless bunch of State collaborators

  65. caz-m
    Ignored
    says:

    Nothing much changes in UK politics and how they see Scotland.

    In the 1970s the Labour government was skint, so they decided that it would be a great idea to lie through their teeth (aided by Tony Benn and Dennis Healey) to the people of Scotland and tell them that North Sea Oil wasn’t worth bothering about because it would be running out in a couple of years.

    That was the line taken on the run-up to the 1979 referendum.

    And today, in 2014, we have a skint Tory government and surprise surprise, they are saying exactly the same thing.

  66. Silverytay
    Ignored
    says:

    galamcennalath
    30 years ago we would never have needed to hold a referendum as we were being told all we had top do was elect a majority of Scottish m.p,s who supported independence to westminster .

  67. dmw42
    Ignored
    says:

    So independence would be like buying a house, or a car!

    Whisky, Tango, Foxtrot?

    This guy really is from the planet Zannussi.

    On another point, remember all those OBR reports that Scotland would be fecked in 50 years?

    The House of Commons Treasury Committee has just recommended that OBR should only produce its 50-year Fiscal Sustainability Report twice per Parliamentary cycle. Why?

    Because the Committee has found that projecting the path of public finances over a 50-year period is a highly uncertain and difficult exercise!

    And another one bites the dust…

  68. Ivan Ayedia
    Ignored
    says:

    These percentages are just “wee things”

  69. ronnie anderson
    Ignored
    says:

    Alfresco Dent, Ah think wiz rite 1st time on JoLo,

    a Woodwork Drama Teacher,sums up Slab ( PUPPETS )

    she should’ve sprinkled some Glitter on them jist tae

    brighten them up a bitty,

    Coompenstein, diz Lego dey Glitter hair,JoLo only rented

    that Mo wig n the lease is up.

  70. Robert Peffers
    Ignored
    says:

    So the man who refuses to take part in the referendum debate and who refuses to request that the EU explain their ruling on The Kingdom of Scotland’s and Kingdom of England’s situation in the EU after they disunite the United Kingdom is once again becoming involved in the debate he claims is only for the people of Scotland to decide. There’s a word for that … “HYPOCRITE”. Not to mention that when he refers to “The Family of Nations that is the United Kingdom” he conveniently forgets that phrase actually describes how Westminster has already separated the only two nations, (Kingdoms), that legally form the United Kingdom into four countries but retained the Westminster Parliament as the de facto Parliament of the Country of England for itself

  71. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    “Because they have suddenly dropped the “Warning” word from their David Cameron piece on the 8.30am bulletin.

    A small victory for us, I would say.”

    Nope sorry to burst yer baw there caz-m but wee sweetie Katriona Shearer couldn’t help herself and came out with the “warning” again @ 09.00 but you know trying to put myself in the shoes of an undecided voter the “warning” sounds micron thin and totally patronising,
    So carry on that man.

    Btw where are all the drama teachers when you need them. 🙂

  72. jon esquierdo
    Ignored
    says:

    Johann Lamont is not blessed with brains and is married to archie from Glasgow cooncil who is of similar intellegence ken him that boat yon bit o grun Fur a fortune for the Glasgow airport rail link and then tried to blame it on the SNP.

  73. john king
    Ignored
    says:

    I was thinking about the perennial comment from BT and Labour MP’s that Scotland would be selfish to refuse to share the bounty from the North Sea with the rest of the UK,

    Hands up anyone who doesnt think that if North Sea oil didn’t exist and the shale oil discovered (in massive quantities) in England, an English home rule movement would gain traction to detach itself from Scotland given the long held belief we’re subsidised by England? why do you think Cameron’s paddling like crazy with fracking,
    and the love bombing of English local authorities?

    No?
    thought not!

  74. Desimond
    Ignored
    says:

    I think the key word here is “Labour Supporters”. Most Labour voters are oblivious to who is in charge. I reckon you could poll most of them on the Westminster front bench and Holyrood and they wouldnt know who most folk are.

    Lamont, says it all. The last of a dying breed hopefully although in saying that, I dont know what will come next after the PPE SPAD brigade and the Self-Protecting Glasgow Labour Cabal. Self Self Self seems to be the Labour way and can it really change as we all hope?

  75. an_obersver
    Ignored
    says:

    I keep reading about how ineffective the No campaign is yet despite this apparent ineffectiveness it still retains a healthy lead over a Yes campaign that has made little headway.

  76. liz
    Ignored
    says:

    Re voting labour – for some it is like a religion or supporting a team.

    Thus they will stick by them through thick and thin.

    They have been brought up to believe that only Lab can save them.

    A Lab supporting freind of mine who I have been debating with for years – too long in fact – as I could supply facts and figures and she could not – said ‘there is no alternative’.

    The only time she didn’t vote for them was when TB took us to Iraq, then she voted for the SSP.

    The only hope for these folk is LFI.

  77. HandandShrimp
    Ignored
    says:

    an_obersver

    If you are happy with No campaign that is great. Nothing to stop you saying you are content with it.

  78. FatCandy
    Ignored
    says:

    Flabbergasted. Totally flabbergasted.

  79. desimond
    Ignored
    says:

    @An_Observer

    Thats a fine point very well made.

    Did you make the same point before the last Holyrood Elections per chance?

  80. Alex Beveridge
    Ignored
    says:

    Just as well “call me Dave” is a millionaire, because after the 18th, September, he is going to be known as the Prime Minister who “lost” Scotland, and then subsequently unemployed, well an ex- P.M. Knowing the tory party, shortly after, with their penchant for long knives, he will be replaced with Boris, he of the “better a pound spent in Croydon than in Strathclyde” comment. I still thing a good billboard for the Yes campaign would be of Boris and Nigel warmly embracing, with the slogan, “Vote No, and get these two”.

  81. an_observer
    Ignored
    says:

    @desimond

    No.

  82. Fiona
    Ignored
    says:

    an_observer says:
    14 March, 2014 at 12:07 pm
    @desimond

    No.

    Interesting. What is the substantive difference which makes you do so now?

  83. The Rough Bounds
    Ignored
    says:

    An_obersver (!)

    Am I the only one to notice that ‘observer’ is spelt wrongly?

  84. The Rough Bounds
    Ignored
    says:

    Check out an_obersver at 10.53 am. You’ll see that he has mis-spelt it.

  85. an_observer
    Ignored
    says:

    @Fiona

    What’s more interesting is that you’re using the performance of the SNP in a general election three years ago as a precedent for this two-question referendum despite it being claimed here that the Yes campaign is more than simply the SNP.

  86. Robert Henderson
    Ignored
    says:

    I see Auld Bob Huffers and Puffers is getting over excited yet again. This is quite unnecessary because Scotchland ill be voting to hold tight to her English nurse in a few months time



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