We're almost done with the politics stuff, viewers. Normal WoSblog service will be resumed shortly, but first I thought I might as well share with you an email I received this morning.
Back on Monday, when uncertainty still ruled as to who'd be forming the next government, the website 38 Degrees invited its users to send emergency emails to Labour MPs, urging them not to block any potential "progressive alliance" by vowing to vote against electoral reform, as many threatened to.
The momentum behind a Lib-Lab coalition seems at the time of writing to be slipping away, as one braindead Labour MP or grandee after another comes out to argue against it in front of an eager media. If Labour's 1983 election manifesto was the longest suicide note in history, today's collected BBC News interviews could be among the shortest.
Because here's what happens if Labour retards like David Blunkett, John Reid, Tom Harris and Wee Dougie Alexander scupper this agreement.
1. That the Tories hadn’t offered the Lib Dems anything on electoral reform. The sudden, desperate and resentful least-possible offer of a referendum on the absolutely useless AV (which does almost nothing for the Lib Dems) was a panic reaction to Brown’s game-changing resignation.
At least, it’s statistically probable that you do. The majority – 53% – of votes cast by the British electorate last Thursday were worthless, because they were cast for candidates who didn’t win, and are therefore simply thrown in the bin by the First Past The Post electoral system.
So if you were one of the thousands of people locked out of polling stations across the country on Thursday night, don’t fret too much. Your vote would probably have been completely ignored anyway.
Because the aim was a hung parliament, and we got just about the hung-est parliament possible. The Tories need the Lib Dems to form a majority, Labour needs nearly everyone to form a majority, and the smallest parties could yet have the crucial say. Wow, that's hung. But what now?
I haven't been to bed yet. I may be cranky. But with over 90% of results in, it's not really possible to draw any conclusions from last night's election other than (a) almost everyone in Britain is a pathetic, brainless cretin, and (b) everything about our "democracy" is a sick black joke at our expense.
With just two days until an election that could mark either one of the greatest days in British political history or one of the blackest, we're all a bit nervous about the future. But one thing that's great for easing tension is free cash, and that's what appears to be on offer from Stan James this week.
The terrifying image above is Ladbrokes' predicted map of the UK come Friday morning. (You can find much more detail on it here.) It makes a few questionable assertions and contradicts itself in a number of places (eg Glasgow East), but where's the money?
So the debates are over. We've heard at great length from three right-wing politicians, offering us three slightly different flavours of right-wing policies. No alternative voices were permitted.
And the really troubling thing about this election is that that means NOBODY is speaking for the majority of the British population. It almost certainly means that nobody is speaking for you. Which, you might think, is a pretty odd way to be running a supposed democracy.
Mark Beggan on Progressing To Oblivion: “Angus Robertson is epitome of what a greedy self-righteous prick, who gets away with stealing from the school tuck shop…” Jul 19, 16:06
Andrew F on These Words Are My Own: “Hatey, that’s one of your worst efforts ever. We’ll see, but Sturgeon can’t keep running from this one. She’s already…” Jul 19, 15:52
Nicky T Naquetti on Progressing To Oblivion: “Let’s be fair here…. Translating “Boku No Piku” into Indonesian isn’t cheap.” Jul 19, 15:40
Dan on These Words Are My Own: “Franchise Fanny jist loves taking the divisive cheap shots, and knocking Scots for not having the moral and political cojones*,…” Jul 19, 15:33
sam on These Words Are My Own: “Andy, “to face such a veto down”. How do you envisage doing that?. Scotland is of strategic importance to England.…” Jul 19, 14:17
DavidT on These Words Are My Own: “Perhaps the £58,735 worth of items were dropped from the indictment as part of a deal where he agreed not…” Jul 19, 14:00
Alf Baird on These Words Are My Own: “You seem to be getting closer to the realisation (always delayed for the native intellectuals and bourgeoisie, according to Fanon)…” Jul 19, 13:58
Northcode on These Words Are My Own: “The issue here isn’t sentiment, passion or the level of frustration people feel. It’s the constitutional architecture. A majority can’t…” Jul 19, 13:27
Aidan on These Words Are My Own: “@Northcode – I am not NOW saying that, I’ve pointed that out from the beginning. There is no formal hierarchy…” Jul 19, 13:19
Mark Beggan on These Words Are My Own: ““If wishes were horses, beggars would ride” wise words my Granny used to say.” Jul 19, 12:50
Andy Ellis on These Words Are My Own: “What if the constitutional structure itself prevents a majority from being actionable? They always refuse to engage with that question……” Jul 19, 12:40
Mark Beggan on These Words Are My Own: ““If the political will were truly manifest” “native Scottish perceptual matter” “worldview in the particular is perversely constrained” “Turn on,…” Jul 19, 12:17
Andy Ellis on These Words Are My Own: “@Alf Where is this “plebiscitary election policy”, Andy? You sound like Believe in Scotland who in 2024 promised such an…” Jul 19, 11:56
Mark Beggan on These Words Are My Own: “There is nothing as sad as a stupid Scot who refuses to accept defeat. They turn on their own, blaming…” Jul 19, 11:54
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: “Some Scots got confused when asked if Scotland should leave a non-existent union.” Jul 19, 11:49
TURABDIN on These Words Are My Own: “@AndyEllis If the political will were truly manifest nothing could seriously prevent the restoration of national sovereignty & independence. The…” Jul 19, 11:46
Mark Beggan on These Words Are My Own: “It wasn’t just the referendum some Scots lost over ten years ago.” Jul 19, 11:38
Alf Baird on These Words Are My Own: ““Hence we come back to the required democratic mandate for Indy, and the best way to get that – a…” Jul 19, 11:25
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: ““Westminster would have simply shrugged its shoulders and handed the Scots the ‘deeds to Scotland’?” Why would it? It’s not…” Jul 19, 11:21
crazycat on These Words Are My Own: “At the time of his sentencing, when there was discussion about how he managed to qualify for legal aid despite…” Jul 19, 11:14
Hatey McHateface on These Words Are My Own: “And, they’re off. Sun’s shining outside. That won’t last forever. This pointless argument will. Andy already has the win on…” Jul 19, 11:02
paul on These Words Are My Own: “I would be delighted to see the documentation of this transaction. If you’re spending that much money on pens, hairdryers…” Jul 19, 10:53
paul on These Words Are My Own: “…which doesn’t go that far these days in that london. The portugese property looks like one of her husband’s more…” Jul 19, 10:33
paul on These Words Are My Own: “…and its cherished legal system is viewed as an opt in option by the colonialists” Jul 19, 10:26
Tenruh on These Words Are My Own: “See Nicola managed to attend the Glasgow Gay March yesterday. Wonder what stopped her attending any Independence marches when she…” Jul 19, 10:26
Northcode on These Words Are My Own: “AI Dan. You’re now saying geographic separation is the “most important” criterion, but Resolution 1541 doesn’t describe any hierarchy of…” Jul 19, 10:14
Northcode on These Words Are My Own: “Unionists (colonialists if preferred… same thing) frequently tell us in this place that: “There is no route to independence that…” Jul 19, 10:03
paul on These Words Are My Own: “Scotland is not a country, it is a colony. It cannot develop outside its colonialists’ interest. The deeds to its…” Jul 19, 10:03
Captain Caveman on These Words Are My Own: “Bronze medal in theory, but in reality, yes, “first loser”. Ach. Great game of footy tho, and awesome to see…” Jul 19, 10:01
Aidan on These Words Are My Own: “I never said that geographic separation is the ONLY criteria, but that it is the most restrictive and most important…” Jul 19, 09:52
