For ages now it’s been nagging at us that there wasn’t a quick and easy reference point for all the opinion polls we’ve commissioned, listing all the subjects covered by each poll and linking to both our own analyses of the figures and the raw data tables for people who wanted to go delving in amongst the stats themselves.
So now there is – it’s here. (And in future you can easily locate it under “Polls” in the menu bar running across the top of the front page.) We’re off for a bit of a lie down.
We thought we might leave this here so that Scottish journalists could print it out and stick it on their monitors as a memory aid. It’s something they keep unaccountably forgetting for some reason.
You never know, it might just cheer them up a bit.
Joan McAlpine, SNP MSP for the South of Scotland, extensively documented at the weekend the obstructiveness of Labour councillors in Dumfries and Galloway, who in an attempt to score some SNP BAD points were refusing to inform their constituents about the Scottish Government’s £1500-per-household flood relief grants to help people cope after recent storms.
The councillors eventually backed down and informed hard-pressed householders and businesses of the help available, but today the issue was debated on the floor of the Holyrood chamber, and when Labour once again tried to make the issue party political, the Deputy First Minister ran out of patience.
We had a lot of requests for the footage, so there it is.
Despite what you may have read in the newspapers at the weekend (and then in the Daily Record a day later), Scotland was today rocked by the news that the SNP’s manifesto for this May’s general election in fact DOES contain a commitment to a second independence referendum within the term of the coming Scottish Parliament.
Who says so? Why, it’s Oliver Mundell, son of the only Conservative MP in Scotland and the Scottish Tory candidate for the Holyrood seat of Dumfriesshire, in a leaflet hitting the doorsteps of constituents in the Borders today.
As we noted on Tuesday, Scottish Labour’s opening election salvo for 2016 has been to blame the Scottish Government for unaffordable house prices.
Of the 450 most obvious flaws in that argument, not least the extraordinary efforts a 13-year Labour government went to to keep the housing bubble inflated, the one that caught our eye was that in the past three years we were regularly told of one thing that definitely WOULD bring prices down dramatically, but which Labour pathologically fought every step of the way.
If you’re primarily or solely contesting regional seats, and you’re chiefly (as seems to be the case) targeting people who are going to use their first vote for the SNP, “Vote for us so that we can provide strong opposition to the SNP” is a pretty weird pitch.
You’re basically asking people to use their second vote to cancel out their first. And that’s quite a tough angle to be trying to sell them. Just saying, like.
We suppose we shouldn’t technically be surprised that today’s newspapers carry no analysis whatsoever of Kezia Dugdale’s big speech yesterday detailing Scottish Labour’s first big election pledge – a £6000 handout to first-time home buyers.
After all, current polling suggests Scottish Labour have about as much chance of exerting any influence in the next Scottish Parliament as Lemmy has of posthumously winning the Eurovision Song Contest, so it doesn’t really matter if Kezia Dugdale promises every voter a free unicorn made of diamonds and glitter.
Still, if only for the mental exercise, it’s worth taking a look in detail.
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The Curious Fringes: “I don’t see any chains holding you down, Hatey. A solid 50% of the beef in these comments seems to…” Dec 31, 13:54
James Cheyne on The Fear Of The Briar: “A curious side question but still related to voting, Can the Snp stand Candidates for election south of the border,…” Dec 31, 13:50
100%Yes on The Fear Of The Briar: “If I had been one of these Westminster MP’s who lost their jobs last year. I certainly wouldn’t be happy…” Dec 31, 13:46
Captain Caveman on The Fear Of The Briar: “Hard to imagine any scenario where the Tories wouldn’t offer the same level of assistance for far less onerous terms,…” Dec 31, 13:40
sarah on The Fear Of The Briar: ““The independence movement needs someone to get behind..”. We need the activists of 2014 embodied as the necessary parliamentary mechanism.…” Dec 31, 13:38
Aidan on The Fear Of The Briar: “@RevStu I was pretty skeptical about your suggestion to make an offer of an independence referendum on terms where the…” Dec 31, 13:24
Mark Beggan on The Fear Of The Briar: “When it comes to Scottish independence I’m drawn to the old Indian story about ten men and an elephant. Another…” Dec 31, 13:03
Cynicus on The Fear Of The Briar: “David Beveridge says: 31 December, 2025 at 11:51 am “Hard to believe that once upon a time the SNP were…” Dec 31, 12:25
Morgatron on The Fear Of The Briar: “I read the headline this morning and thought the very same thing, but less eloquently than you Stu. The independance…” Dec 31, 12:21
Cynicus on The Curious Fringes: “Hatey McHateface says: 31 December, 2025 at 8:40 am “The Scots on the outside looked from WGD BTL to WOS…” Dec 31, 12:03
Heather McLean on The Fear Of The Briar: ““ But while the motivation of those in the independence industry – who need it to never happen in order…” Dec 31, 12:02
David Beveridge on The Fear Of The Briar: “Hard to believe that once upon a time the SNP were a means to an end and it was just…” Dec 31, 11:51
Captain Caveman on The Curious Fringes: “@Andy Ellis Well, Google characterises the term “far right” and its manifestations as follows: “… Far-right ideologies have historically included…” Dec 31, 11:49
sam on The Curious Fringes: “Northcode, guid wishes yersel. Perhaps you might like this poet? “Efter SPL filtered throu dizzens o Scots poems publish in…” Dec 31, 11:40
Southernbystander on The Curious Fringes: “Have had this argument before with friends about voting: is there not always a lesser of evils to choose from…” Dec 31, 11:18
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: ““…auld year’s day…” I’ve never heard of the last day of the year being called “auld year’s day”, Alf, or…” Dec 31, 11:11
Andy Ellis on The Curious Fringes: “Interesting new poll in The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-defence-pact-europe-trump-nato-russia-b2891548.html “A total of 55 per cent of British voters want a new UK/Europe…” Dec 31, 10:49
Southernbystander on The Curious Fringes: “A better term would be hard right. They are the equivalent of a proper hard left socialist party on the…” Dec 31, 10:46
Alf Baird on The Curious Fringes: “Tut tut, auld year’s day an oor colonizer aye canna resist dividin an de-basin the native fowk an thair ain…” Dec 31, 10:00
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “Here, whit a braw cauld an frosty stert tae the dey is theis mornyn. A fine dey tae end the…” Dec 31, 09:45
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: “The most wonderful thing about this kind of post from oor verra ain Northie is the crass ignorance it reveals.…” Dec 31, 09:37
diabloandco on The Curious Fringes: “A guid new year to wan and a’ – though I hae ma doots.” Dec 31, 09:26
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: ““start up your own blog performed solely in the medium of Scots language and see what traction that gains” Something…” Dec 31, 09:21
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: ““I was punished at School for speaking Scots, it is nice to see it being wrote down again. and I…” Dec 31, 09:11
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: “So Swinney and Rev Stu are in agreement then? I’d place my bets accordingly, although as the bookies also agree,…” Dec 31, 09:08
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “Well here we are at last, eh? The final day of the 25th year of the 21st century… and guid…” Dec 31, 09:00
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: ““used to speak north east Scots at home” But that’s not the authentic, ‘true’ Scots. If anybody ever attenpted to…” Dec 31, 08:59
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: “The Scots on the outside looked from WGD BTL to WOS BTL, and from WOS BTL to WGD BTL again,…” Dec 31, 08:40
Cynicus on The Curious Fringes: “Apologies to Mr. Ellis for misplaced posting intended for Prof Baird” Dec 31, 02:40
