The petty Glasgow Vs Edinburgh fight must end now

Do not get me wrong, there always has been a traditional "rivalry" of sorts between Scotland's two biggest cities. But these have always been light-hearted and nothing more a than a wee joke! What I'm talking about is something which has recently emerged with a vengeance! As you may have noticed, the Labour party used the slogan "anti-Glasgow" during the Glasgow North East by-election campaign, saying that Edinburgh was "ripping off Glasgow" and that the SNP Scottish Government did not like Glasgow! Well, for one thing, I don't see how the Glasgow rail link cancellation is the fault of the good folk of the city of Edinburgh! And to claim that Glasgow is being "ripped off" is completely unfounded, since Glasgow receives more government funding than any other place in the whole of Scotland!

Of course, the reason for Labour's "ripping off" claim is based on simply the fact that the Scottish Government is located in Edinburgh and that some how, because of this, they are "biased" towards Scotland's east coast and will do nothing for the West! So how true is this? Well, let's compare the two cities. Firstly, where does the money go:

Glasgow City Council :- £1,544,70 million

Edinburgh City Council :- £873.00 million

What about other East and West coast areas:

East Lothian Council :- £190.12 million

East Dunbartonshire Council :- £202.92 million

As these figures clearly show, the West of Scotland receives far more funding than the East, especially Glasgow!

But getting away from the facts and figures now, my main point is this: of course making statements to the deprived areas of Glasgow that the other big city, Edinburgh, is "ripping Glasgow off" is going to make people in these areas feel angry and build up resentment towards Edinburgh! What Labour is doing here is merely just making up excuses, and also a distraction, for the decades of neglect to these areas from the Labour party, something which, sadly, people are falling for!

All this is wrong. Playing the blame game between these cities is, and never will be, the right thing to do! We should all be proud that Scotland has two such great cities! Edinburgh - Scotland's wonderful and historic capital city, and Glasgow - the nations largest city and soon to be the proud host to the Commonwealth games!

What we need is for both the cities to work together, to ensure that the best possible outcome is reached for both Glaswegians and Edinburggers! Both cities are intensely proud, and there is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, but the way things are going, and the way the Labour cronies continue to encourage this, we will soon end up with a situation were all we have is constant sniping and accusations being thrown at each other! Scotland should not become divided like this, and Labour should stop it's campaign of east coast resentment now!

London's offerings will not dampen demands for Independence!

Labour's real leader in Scotland, Jim Murphy, today unveiled the London government's plans to devolve more power to the Scottish Parliament. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, at first glance aye! Powers over taxation, stamp duty, speed limits, drink driving limits, and most importantly, airguns, all being given to Scotland to legislate on! So, all is well then in the world of Scottish politics! London allows the Scots to add a few more powers to our collection of devolved matters, and now everyone is happy and the question of constitutional reform has now been settled? No chance!

You see, all this is just simply a reaction to the SNP government bringing forward its Independence referendum white paper on Monday next week. London Labour doesn't really wish to give the Scots Parliament more powers, but at the same time they do not wish to appear opposed to change, and so they believe that by doing this they will appease those who want change for Scotland!

So while it's good news that Scotland is getting more powers, it should not be forgotten that for London, it's a two way process, with some powers being given to Scotland, and some being taken back in return!! This includes the regulation of health care professionals, regulations on insolvency practitioners and regulation of the charity sector. Why do we allow this to happen? Why do we allow the government in London to take away powers from us? We shouldn't! But for as long as we remain in the union, this is the sort of disastrous process where London still holds all the power strings will continue to happen!

Giving Scotland a few more extra powers may be a step in the right direction, but until Scotland has the real powers of Independence, the problems that Scotland suffers can not and will not be properly dealt with, and taking powers back will not help either!

The real winner is apathy!

So Labour have won the Glasgow North East by-election, continuing Labour's 74 year rule over this area! Despite all the problems that make this the most socially deprived area in Western Europe, voters have stubbornly decided to stick with more of the same failed politics that has held Glasgow back! But on a turnout of less than 35%, it is fair to say that the real winner of this election is not Labour, but rather voter apathy! The fact that so few people turned out to cast their votes shows that people have lost faith in politics and, I feel, that is a disaster for democracy, as it shows that people believe that nothing will change and so feel it is not worth them voting! This is something which needs to change and that will only happen when we convince voters that to get change, you need to vote for change!

So I'll say well done to Willie Bain, I hope he'll work hard for the area, but I wouldn't read too much into this result as a feeling of the national mood!

GOOD LUCK DAVID!!!

Just a quick post tonight to say good luck to David Kerr and the SNP in tomorrows by-election in Glasgow North East! This will be a major election, and most likely the last one before next years general election! In David, the SNP has the best candidate to represent this seat and wont take his orders from the London Labour establishment either! He will be true voice for Glasgow and for Scotland! Despite the significance of this election however, it does look as if turnout will be low, but let me make it clear, no matter what folk might say about being disaffected with politics or politicians being only in it for themselves, there is never any excuse for not voting! It is your democratic right, which our ancestors fought hard to achieve, and to not vote is not only a betrayal to those who fought and died for the vote, but is an insult to themselves and to democracy, as they are not letting their voice be heard and calling for change! So I urge the people of Glasgow North East to not waste their vote by not voting, get off your backside and get out and vote! Wouldn't you feel better knowing you had actually voted than knowing you hadn't!

Too close to call!

With less than 48 hours to go now until the Glasgow North East by-election, you would perhaps expect me to give an indication of who i think will win, but I'm not going to! My reason? Well, to be honest, it's because I don't know who is going to win. While it looks as if Labour is probably still ahead, the SNP has actually closed the gap significantly over the past few weeks and, no matter what the media or the Labour party say, the SNP does still have a good chance of winning this seat!

A poll for the Telegraph a few weeks ago in the constituency showed that the gap between Labour and the SNP was indeed narrowing, and chances are that gap has narrowed even further since then. This is why I think that it is too close to call! Saying that, however, I would not be surprised if Labour manages to hold on to the seat, simply because their scare tactics and negativity throughout the entire campaign appears to have made an effect on the voters! Saying things like the SNP are "ripping off Glasgow" has scared voters into thinking that only by sticking with Labour will protect them, despite that fact that it is Glasgow City Council which is doing the damage by closing down schools and community centres! And it is the London Labour Government which has just announced the scrapping of the Glasgow to London rail link, despite them continuously attacking us for not building the airport rail link because of funding shortages!

So at this time I'm not going to call it, but a warning that Thursday could be a victory for fear over hope, should Labour hold on to this seat once again even after 74 years of domination!

McLeish: Labour is "in denial"!

Henry McLeish may already be well known for speaking out against his, apparent, own party, but this latest one is one which Labour ought to closely listen too! McLeish, writing in Holyrood Magazine, has said that the Labour party has fallen into a "culture of Denial" and that the party is failing to offer any real alternatives to Independence for Scotland! Whilst saying this, McLeish has also said that Labour could be out of power for a generation!

Referring to the recent highly successful and optimistic SNP conference in Inverness, McLeish stated that it showed "the political distance the SNP has travelled in the past decade and, in sharp contrast, how little political progress Labour has made since the election defeat in 2007"! Now if Iain Gray doesn't think this undermines his leadership and the Labour party in general then, frankly, it ought too! McLeish also writes "Seeking to transform the sovereignty and authority of Westminster, the SNP has used nationality and identity as a new focus for political and social cohesion and promotes new aspirations of nationhood which transcend traditional social and economic issues and problems. Scottish Labour's combination of a culture of denial and a failure to understand the ethos of nationality and identity could prove disastrous and keep Labour out of power for a generation if left unchecked".

Now of course Labours response to all this was to be expected, stating that the referendum is just an "obsession" of the SNP, despite the fact that a recent poll showed that more than 60% want a referendum! So Labour ought to take heed from Henry McLeish, or they might just lose Scotland for ever! (but thank god for that, eh!)

Lib Dems back referendum!! (well, most of them at least)

Several Liberal Democrat Westminster candidates are to break party ranks and call out in favour of holding a referendum on Scottish Independence! This comes after Senior elected Lib Dems have called for a referendum to be held, such as John Farquar Munro (MSP for Caithness) and George Lyon (the Lib Dems sole Scottish MEP). Former leader Paddy Ashdown has also spoken out and said, quit rightly, that it is wrong for the Lib dems to oppose holding a referendum!

Now, if a few of his own elected members isn't enough to make Tavish think again, then perhaps today's opinion poll on the very subject will make him! A YouGov poll of 1, 556 people has found that 63% want a referendum on Independence for Scotland, compared to just 26% opposed! And the figure for Lib Dem voters wanting a referendum was a massive 65%, compared to only 28% opposed! So even the majority of Liberal Democrat voters disagree with their leader and want a referendum!

All this is piling more and more pressure on Tavish Scott to change his tune about letting the people of Scotland decide their constitutional future! So will Tavish change his mind? Well at their upcoming one day conference they will hold a meeting to discuss wether to change their policy. If they do, then we can expect the referendum, as planned, to be held on St Andrews Day next year!!
The next few weeks should be very interesting indeed!

Do not be fooled by Labour's election spin!

Today we witnessed the Labour party launch its campaign for the Glasgow North East by-election. Now, obviously you would expect me to criticize the lies and the misinformation that has been put out by Labour today, but allow me to focus particularly on the New Labour spin machine, something which I am certain will be out in full force throughout this by-election! Spin is something which Labour has always done at elections, and this one will be no different! I am in no doubt that Labour will try to present themselves as the "local champion" and the only party which will "make a difference to this constituency", despite the fact that its Labour which has represented this seat for the past 70 years! But this is what Labour will still do, they will present themselves as the party which will give this seat a "new chance" that will "transform the area", even though they've had 70 years to do so and have failed miserably! Labour will say they have a credible track record, well lets have a wee look at their track record in Glasgow North East, a seat which ranks as being the worst for Poverty, worst for deprivation, worst for poor health, worst for education standards, and worst for unemployment! In fact, a staggering 75% of children live below the poverty line! If Labour thinks that this is a good track record then it is definitely not the party to be given the job of continuing to represent this seat! Never before has the saying "Its time for change" been so relevant than this by-election! So please don't believe any of the spin being put out by Labour, its false and the people of Glasgow deserve better than this!!

John Smeaton to stand in Glasgow North-East

John Smeaton, the baggage handler who rose to fame after the Glasgow airport terrorist attack, has decided to stand as an independent candidate who is being sponsored by the Jury Team! He says that hes fed up with the "political elite" and is fed up with the way the MPs have fiddled with their expenses. Personally speaking, while he seams like an honest person, I don't think he is really up to the job of being an MP! He is certainly well known and liked, especially in the constituency, but could he really stand up in Parliament and take on the "big beasts" of Westminster? Glasgow north-east desperately needs an MP who is able to stand up and win the arguments and, sadly, I just don't think John Smeaton could do that! As for the by-election itself, it would be nice to have a date!

You can read more about this story here

Why 16 and 17 year old young adults deserve to vote on Independence!

For all those who don't know, the certain 16 year old constituent who contacted the MSP about lowering the voting age for next years Independence referendum just happens to be this blogger! Yes, I am Euan Purchase! I have to say, when i contacted Aileen Campbell I did not expect as much media and press coverage as has happened, but, now that the story is now making national headlines, I feel I should spell out the reasons for why I think 16 & 17 year olds deserve the vote and why, by speaking out against it, Labour and the rest of the unionist rabble have exposed their true undemocratic side!

Firstly, in a future Independent Scotland, it will be the 16 and 17 year olds who will be living the longest in it and deserve to decide what kind of Scotland they wish to live in, whether that be independent or not. It will be the 16 & 17 year olds who, in the future, could be running the government of an independent Scotland, so shouldn't they deserve to say what kind of government they wish to be running! But all those things aside, the most important argument, I feel, is that we can be trusted to pay taxes, to get married, and even to join the army, then surely it is right that we should be trusted to make a choice about who we elect to make these decisions on how much tax we have to pay and which wars we get sent in to fight!

It is said that the majority of 16 and 17 year olds support Independence. This may or may not be true, but either way, does this not prove that we are able to make that choice if we are able to hold a view on such an important issue? Yes, it does! To say that we are not old or mature enough to make these decisions is just nonsense! It is undermining to the intelligence of all 16 and 17 year olds and should stop now!

Of course, the folk who make these outrageous accusations happen to come from the ranks of none other than the Labour party! I guess I was not surprised to hear them speak out against lowering the voting age, after all, their probably shaking in the boots like hell and just the very thought of giving us the vote! I wonder how many Labour MSP's would lose their majorities if we had the ability to vote them out? Or I wonder by how much the chances of a yes vote in the referendum would increase?

But what this has all exposed is how blatantly undemocratic the views of the Labour monkeys are! They are happy to take our money and send us to fight in wars nobody wanted, yet when its comes to us expressing our views through the power of the ballot paper, their answer is an absolute and resolute NO, NO, NO!!! How can they possibly claim to be the champion of the ordinary person and yet deny us the very freedom which so many fought and died to achieve? The Labour party, years ago, used to campaign for every man and women to have the vote, why won't it continue what its forefathers campaigned so hard for and continue the democratic process by allowing 16 and 17 years old to vote, like everyone else over the age of 18!

We do have views about Scottish independence and our countries place in the world and we deserve the right to express those views through the ballot!

I'M BACK!!!

Hi all, long time to see! My computer is now back in action after a summer of being broke! Loads of things happening over the summer which I have been unable to blog about - not least the release of the Lockerbie bomber!

But I am now back and will be giving my usual rants about the goings on of politics in Scotland and why Scotland should regain its Independence, not to mention the run up to next years general election (if were lucky enough to have one)!

Should be good!

Temporarily away

Hi all, I know it's been a while since I last posted a blog, but it's not because I haven't wanted to or couldn't be bothered but rather my laptop has broken down and I still won't have it back for at least a couple more weeks yet, hence the reason why I'm posting this from someone else's computer. The problem appears to be with the main circuit board, at least according to the guy who's fixing it, and a new part needs to be ordered which apparently can only be ordered from the US, so it will take some time. I will be back as soon as possible and posting my latest ranting about the latest of what's going on in Scottish politics.

Until then, see you all soon!

Labour on course for oblivion!

After doing campaigning and working at the polling places today, it is clear that Labour are on course for the most devastating election defeat of all time! Very few, if any, actually voted for Labour today and I now strongly believe that the SNP will win the 3 seats and will win the popular vote!

With James Purnell now turning on Brown and the public now so furious with Labour that no one will ever vote for them again, it is now so obvious what the solution is and it is this - GORDON BROWN MUST RESIGN NOW & CALL AN ELECTION!!

His time is up. Our reputation to the rest of the world is now being damaged and the longer Scotland remains in the union with London and their corrupt politicians, the worse Scotland's situation will be.

Election will prove to be beginning of the end for Brown

It now seems there are literally cabinet ministers resigning every hour! And indeed there are! This has, without a doubt, been Gordon Brown's worst day ever as Prime Minister! Now there is a letter going about the Labour backbenchers calling for Brown to go and is believed to have been signed by as much as 100 Labour MPs! If this is true, and it's looking increasingly like it is, then this is truly the beginning of the end for the PM!



Tomorrows Euro election will nail the final nail in the coffin for Brown! Why? Because Labour is going to lose big, and I mean BIG!!! The latest opinion poll for the Euro vote put the SNP a massive 19 points ahead of Labour! SNP are now above 40%, for both Europe and Westminster! So what about the seats. Scotland has six euro seats (one less than last time) and the result is based on Proportional Representation. My prediction is this:

• SNP - Wins 3 seats and wins popular vote


• Labour - Will hold on to 2 seats but do very badly in popular vote


• Conservatives - Wins 1 seat and better and improved showing in popular vote


• Lib Dems - Loses their sole seat and are squeezed in popular vote

This prediction is actually quite a good one for Labour as it is perfectly possible Labour will only win one seat! And what about after the election? Well, we won't know the full result of the vote until Sunday evening as it will take days to count all the votes, but here is how things will likely appear to happen - An email is due to be sent on Friday around the Labour backbenchers calling on Brown to resign. Brown will resist this at first, but pressure will really intensify. On Monday, the Euro result will pile even more pressure on Brown. On Tuesday, I think we will begin to wonder if cabinet ministers are now willing to serve under Brown and I have a feeling that rumours of discontent among the cabinet will emerge. Wednesday will be a big day at Westminster as a vote is due to take place on whether there should be an immediate general election. The motion is being tabled by the SNP and Plaid Cymru and has the backing of the Tories and the Lib Dems and possibly several Labour MPs! It will probably not pass, but the vote will be very close so it will be seen as a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister!

My guess is that Brown now only has about two weeks left as PM! The public are outstandingly angry, the government's own backbenchers are angry and a Tory government now looks certain after the next election! The SNP looks set to win its targeted 2o seats at Westminster, possibly even making it a bigger party than the Lib Dems! Surely things cannot get any worse for Gordon Brown? But they can, and they will! We are looking at a dead PM walking! Not since Margaret Thatcher have we seen anything like this! The people of this country do not deserve a PM who has lost control and authority and a PM who, some, people feel sorry for! A strong Prime Minster is needed! But what this whole thing has revealed is that Westminster has no authority or control over Scotland and Independence is needed more than ever before! The case for independence makes sense. The only way Scotland can get away from all the London sleaze and corruption is by having an independent Scottish Parliament!

Voters tomorrow have a chance to vote for change, let's hope they do that by voting SNP! I'll have all the latest about the election tomorrow and the feeling from the polling places as well! So to everyone out there, good luck crushing Labour tomorrow!

IT'S ON!

Michael Martin has confirmed that he will indeed stand down as an MP. Not that this news is of any surprise, we all knew that he was going to do it, but now he has confirmed it, which now effectively means that the by-election is now 'officially' on!

He will step down as the MP on the same day as he resigns as Speaker - 21st June. This will give too options for Labour: Hold a quick, election in August OR slug it out and wait until September!

This is going to be a very interesting summer!

Labour chief whip spills the beans on early election!

Apparently it's been revealed that the Labour chief whip has stated that the new speaker will "only be in the position for a few weeks before the election is called"! So does this mean that we are now looking at an early autumn election then? Of course, he could have been referring to the Glasgow North East by-election, but who knows, he may well be talking about a general election!

Talking about the by-election, latest info about the likely candidates. SNP candidate looks likely to be Councillor Grant Thoms, which would make sense seeing as he represents a wide area of the constituency in the council. Labour candidate looks likely not to be Paul Martin (Michael's son) so looks as if it's going to be Willie Bain, Michael Martins election agent.

Whoever the candidates are and no matter how good it looks for the SNP, I'm not taking anything for granted! At the moment, I think the SNP is probably ahead, but we won't know for sure until the campaign is properly underway and the voting actually takes place. The state of Labour, both locally and nationally, being in such a dire state certainly helps us, as does the fact that a lot of the Labour council school closures are in the area!

Labour sources have admitted that they don't believe they will win this one, but they said that before Glenrothes! Saying that, however, the situation has changed dramatically since Glenrothes and things are more favourable towards the SNP this time!

SPEAKER WILL RESIGN ON 21st JUNE

Latest update: Michael Martin will resign on the 21st June and a new speaker will be elected on the 22nd June.

Talk of an interim speaker to serve until the next general election is being made. Possibilities for a replacement are Ann Widecombe (Conservative) and Vince Cable (Liberal Democrats).

It was a bit of an anti-climax to what has been one of the most historic days in politics and democracy! His speech was billed to be one of the great events, but instead it was all over in about 35 seconds!

His resignation will be at the start of the summer holidays which will mean that the Glasgow North East by-election will be held during the summer months.

BREAKING NEWS: LABOUR PARTY CONSTITUENCY OFFICE TOLD TO PREPARE FOR BY-ELECTION!

Latest update: The Labour party constituency office in Glasgow North East has been told to prepare for a by-election during the summer months!

This effectively confirms that there will be a by-election during the summer in Glasgow North East!

He was a decent man but it is about time Michael Martin stood down and allow someone new to take over. Now it will be up to the people of Glasgow North East to have their say what they think of this out of date and out of touch Labour government! It will be a very interesting summer!

BREAKING NEWS: SPEAKER TO RESIGN!

Just hearing that that the Speaker Maichael Martin is now going to resign this afternoon!

Sky News says that he will make a statement toParliament this afternoon where he will announce that is is to stand down!

Still not heard if wether he will stand down as an MP as well, but will report back with further information and comment later!

By-election in Glasgow North East?

After watching the Speaker Michael Martins abysmal performance in the Commons yesterday, it is now looking increasingly likely that the Speaker will not only stand down from the Speakership but will resign as the MP for Glasgow North East as well! This would, obviously, trigger yet another likely devastating by-election for Labour!

Glasgow North East is just right next door to Glasgow East, now held by John Mason (Hooray!), and we all know that the last thing Gordon Brown wants now is another by-election defeat in a Labour heartland, and with the decision of whether a vote of no confidence on the speaker is to held or not now entrusted upon the Prime Minister, I'm not sure he will really want to hold a vote.

A vote of no confidence is urgently needed and I think over the coming days we will see various MP's demanding that the PM holds the vote. Of course, it's equally likely that the Speaker will use the threat of triggering a by-election as a way of hopefully persuading the PM not to hold the vote!

Whatever Gordon Brown decides to do, one thing is for certain, and that is that the next few days will be very interesting indeed and the likelihood of a by-election in Glasgow North East will increase dramatically! In the words of one MP, "We are looking at a dead Speaker walking!"

Major poll boost for SNP

An extraordinary poll has been produced for the next Westminster election which has given a previously unthinkable boost to the SNP! The poll puts the SNP at 38%, compared to Labour who are in a dire state at just 27%! Crucially, this poll is for Westminster, and the fact that the SNP has such a huge lead over Labour for the next general election is hugely significant! If repeated at the next election, the SNP would win 37 Westminster seats! Labour, however, would hold on to just 12 seats! The Lib Dems would have 8 seats and the Tories would have 2 seats.

Remember, just about 1 month ago, Labour had a massive 10 point lead over the SNP for Westminster! Now, after what has been probably Gordon Browns worst few weeks as Prime Minister yet, the SNP has now completely overturned that lead and are on course to become Scotland's biggest party at Westminster, making it not just the SNP's best ever poll for Westminster, but also Labour's worst ever polling result in Scotland ever!

Also, thought I would mention the news that a vote of no confidence is to be held against the Speaker Michael Martin tomorrow in the House of Commons! Personally, I think he should go as he has been speaker for just too long now and is too out of touch! And while were at it, why not call an election, Mr Brown, or are you to scared of the electorate?

Enough is enough! It's time for fundamental change!

It's been some week, hasn't it! Politicians from every party have been found out for squandering our cash! A mortgage that was already paid off, bookcases, moats, trouser pressers, and even horse manure are all just some of the things our elected representatives have claiming expenses for! So far, the MP who has been found to be the countries most expensive politician is Eric Joyce, the Labour MP for Falkirk, who claimed a grand total of £187, 334 of taxpayers money! What's interesting is that, out of the top 50 most expensive MPs, a staggering 42 of them are all Labour!! It's interesting as, just last year, Gordon Brown stated at his party conference that the Labour party was a party of "moral values" and a "drive for social reform"! Well, nothing could be further from the truth, and the voters know it! Take one constituent from the Speaker Micheal Martin's constituency, who said, she will "never, never vote Labour again"! Remember, it used to be that this was a place that people would vote for a monkey with a red rosette!

But what's happening here is not just a bad time for Labour, instead, what we are witnessing is something very much historical happening! Ever since 1921, the two main parties have been the Conservatives and the Labour party, with Tweedledum and Tweedledee switching from opposition to government several time over that 50 - 60 years! Now, that could all be about to change! Take a recent opinion poll, for example. Labour was put at just 17%, making neck and neck with the UK Independence Party and only three points ahead of the Liberal Democrats! As for the Scottish sample of that poll, Labour was at just 21%, it's lowest ever level in Scotland, with the SNP a massive 19 points ahead of Labour on 40%! Think about it, just a few years ago, a poll like this in Scotland would have been simple unthinkable, but then so was the thought of Labour MPs squandering taxpayers money, like spending £16, 000 on a mortgage already paid off!

What these polls represent is a real desire for, not just any old change of government like we've had over the past 50 - 60 years, but real fundamental change, with a desire for politics to tread on to uncharted ground, with not even just a completely new wrath of MPs, but a desire for a new agenda and a new party of government! We had our first taste of new governance in 2007 when Scotland voted in the SNP for the first time in history! Now, at Westminster, people are just becoming sick and tired of the old political class that has become out of touch and out of time! It is now being seriously suggested that the Labour party could follow the same path as the Liberals did in 1921 by becoming just the third largest party and not having any real chance of being in government for at least 50 years! In a way, it's not really that surprising that Labour should be punished in this way. It is the Labour party that has made democracy in this country a joke and a mockery!

When Labour became New Labour in the 90's, they effectively gave up and abandoned the very thing that the Labour party was set up to do, to help the non-privileged and to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor! People are now asking themselves, what is the point of the Labour party? What do they honestly stand for? What record can Labour claim for the past 12 years? Well, I'll tell you what Labour's record is:-

• 1 in every 4 children living in poverty
• Pensioner poverty increasing by 20, 000 people, making the total number of pensioners in poverty 200, 000
• A deregulated market economy that has led us into the worst recession since the 1930's
• A centralised and part privatised NHS, which is not even worthy of the name
• An illegal war in Iraq
• Thousands of students in huge debt after leaving college and University
• Rising inflation, food prices and, of course, taxes
• Spending £25 billion to replace Trident (think what that money could have bought)
• Closure and reduction of vital services - such as the Post office
• Introduction ID cards (a total waste of money)
• A £1 billion cut in Scotland's budget meaning cuts in Schools and hospitals

What sort of record is this? And the Labour party is "Proud" of this record! It's a disgrace! People are just fed up! Fundamental change is needed as it is the only way the trust between the public and their elected representatives can be brought back! We have two elections in the next 12 months, the European election in less than 3 weeks time and the General election next year. I have a feeling that it will be in these elections that Labour is given the biggest kicking of its life and effectively killed off for many, many years to come! The current political system that has existed for the past 50 - 60 years is about to come to an end and, as a result, Democracy in this country is about to change! We will be the witnesses to history and it will be us that make it happen and I urge every person reading this to make it happen and vote for fundamental change! Of course, that comes with a warning! DO NOT vote for the fascist and racist views of the BNP! Take a lesson from history, where, in the Weimar republic of Germany in the 1920s and 30s, during a time of depression and political upheaval, many voters became fed up and turned to the Nazis! Think of the consequences of that and how NOT casting your vote for the BNP can stop that from being repeated! Fundamental change can happen in other forms and other parties! Of course, the best fundamental change we can create is by voting for Independence and giving ourselves that chance to run our own affairs and create a better system! After all, we can't do any worse than at the moment!

We've got what it takes!

SNP on course to win Euro elections!

This will knock the whole MP's expenses saga off the front pages, or at least it should! If not then I'll just be happy if it actually just gets a mention! To be honest, this story was actually in a newspaper so at least it has been mentioned! So what's so big about this story that I believe it should be the main headline grabbing story! Well, it's yet another poll, but not just any poll, an opinion poll for the European election!!!! Oh, the drama! Stop the Press! Call the Palace immediately, quick!!



Actually it is a good poll, for the SNP anyway. The SNP stands for euro voting intentions at 37%, giving us a massive 17 point lead over Labour, who are stuck at just 25%! In fact, Labour, in Scotland, are now only two points ahead of the Tories, who are at 23%! Meanwhile, Tavish Scott's ego party (or for those who care, Liberal Democrats) are pushed right down to a mere 8%! How would this result in seats then:



SNP :- 3 seats

Labour :- 2 seats

Tories :- 1 seat

Lib Dems :- 0 seats



This would result in SNP candidates Ian Hudgeton, Alyn Smith and Aileen McLeod all becoming Scotland's super three MEP's! But one question still remains, will the turnout go beyond 25%!

SNP surges ahead of Labour in wake of budget

It was only a few weeks ago that Iain Gray told delegates at his Scottish Liebour conference in Dundee (now a fully SNP city) that apparently "Scottish Labour is back"! Oh, how wrong he was!! Today, only about a month later, the SNP has proved once more that not only is Labour in Scotland NOT back but it's now in a worse and dire state than it ever has been before! Seriously, it's just getting embarrassing for them now! And to give you an idea of just how sad a state they're in, have a look at who voter's wanted as First Minister. Alex Salmond leads once again on 37%, a massive 19 points ahead of Iain Gray who is not only in third place (behind Annabel Goldie who is Second on 10%) but is actually only got the support of just 7% of those polled!! That's lower than what Wendy Alexander got!! So great progress Iain, what an achievement! You've actually succeeded in becoming less popular than your predecessor, Alexander the not so great! Think about though, managing to become less popular than Wendy Alexander is definitely an achievement and Iain Gray deserves our congratulations for doing so! Or perhaps not!

In terms of Holyrood voting intentions, in the constituency vote the SNP leads over Labour by 7 points and in the regional vote the SNP leads by 9 points! What this poll actually shows, if you look closely into the results, you actually find that the SNP is actually more popular among Labour voters than Labour is! As for Westminster, both SNP and Labour are neck-and-neck with Labour on 32% and SNP on 30%! This to me says that the SNP is becoming closer to achieving our 20 seat target at Westminster! One seat to watch: Dundee West, a seat now certain to go SNP at the next election! So for Labour it's a sorry state of affairs but, in the end of the day, does anyone really feel sorry for them? Nah, didn't think so!

Labour party is sinking in sleaze!

Well, the story of the "smear campaign" emails appears not to be letting up, which personally I think is great as it allows myself and many other bloggers to talk about the absolutely dire situation in which the Labour party appears to have entrenched itself! It's now becoming a weekly habit, with yet another story of sleaze coming out constantly. It used to be that it was tales of "Cash for honours" when it was Tony Blair, which certainly caused him a bit of bother, to say the least, then Gordon Brown came to power with a "pledge" to end the evil Bogey monster that is spin!! But, just like the story of his life, he broke that promise with devastating consequences, for him anyway! First there was expenses. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate that expenses are important for MP's who live in Places like Shetland, but how can an MP who lives in London be able to claim expenses for 3 different homes, not to mention all the essential perks that just have to come with those homes such as the 42" widescreen plasma screen HD TV!! Oh, and let's not forget the £300 expenses claims for, wait for it, PLANT POTS!!! Yes, your read it correctly. That's Jacqui Smith for you! And what about the Chancellor Alistair Darling? Well he's claimed expenses for 4 homes, despite the fact that his official home at 11 Downing Street is Rent Free! And for some reason one of the homes he claimed expenses claims for was in the Western Isles! I don't get it, what would an MP who represents an Edinburgh constituency need a home in the Western Isles for? Oh, that's right, it's a "holiday home"!! Well that makes perfect sense now why it would require taxpayers money to pay for it!



Seriously, Labour is sinking in sleaze. Another recent example of this was Jacqui Smith's husband. Yet another expenses claim, though not for a house this time. Instead they claimed taxpayers cash for pornographic movies, or should I say "added features"! This is a disgrace, and what's even more disgraceful is that the money claimed has not been asked to be paid back to the taxpayer! This week, we've had the latest "Big" story with the "Blog-gate affair"! Gordon Brown claims that he did not know about it, but how on earth could he possibly not know about it when he is his closest advisor whom he spends more time with than his wife, Sarah Brown! It's all a bit of a mystery to me, but what it does show is that if the Labour government can't even control it's own advisers, then how can it possibly control the country, especially at a time of recession, one which Labour created!! The end of the New Labour project is near!

The power of blogs

If anyone out there has ever doubted the power political blogs have then please switch on your TV and watch the news. Recent emails sent from none other than 10 Downing Street have been uncovered which show that one of Gordon Browns closest advisers attempted to launch a 'smear campaign' against the Tories. It is hugely embarrassing for Brown but I'm not going to say anymore about it as it was actually a fellow political blogger who managed to uncover the emails and has announced that he will make the emails public on his blog from tomorrow (12th April). He's been on the TV telling the news reporters all about his find and the story has even made it as the main news headline! The very fact that it was a blog which discovered these emails just goes to show how powerful blogs and there bloggers are! This particular blogger is known for being controversial but is very good and I congratulate him on his find! Personally, I'm eagerly looking forward to the emails becoming public tomorrow. You can find the blog on http://www.order-order.com/

Is Dundee about to become Scotland's first totally SNP city?

After the stunning by-election victory in Dundee's Maryfield ward last week, negotiations are already under way to secure an overall majority in the council and therefore take over control of it! As it stands, the decisions rests with the one Independent councillor who if he agrees to support the SNP will make Dundee the first SNP city in Scotland, with both the Holyrood seats and one of the Westminster seats being held by the SNP. It's almost amazing to think that it was only just a few years ago when Labour dominated Dundee and, as a result, failed it which is why so many Dundonians have turned to the SNP. So hopefully the Independent councillor will see the light as the Labour party has no mandate or credibility to rule over a city which no longer wants them!

Don't believe the "Gray" man of Scottish politics

Iain Gray decided to use his party conference and his conference broadcast to, yet again, do down Scotland and the Scottish people. No surprise there then! Iain Gray used the slogan "a better future", but what may seem a better future for the cronies of the Scottish Labour party may not exactly be what the people of Scotland would consider a better future! But let's have a look closer, shall we. What exactly is Iain Gray's idea of a "better future"? Well, imagine that you were Iain Gray (scary, I know, but just give it a try, even if it's unbearable!) and you are trying to think up "new" ideas for Labour to present to the people. Well, firstly, stating that Westminster is right to impose a £500 million cut to the Scottish budget has got to be top of the agenda, oh, and defending Westminster for holding onto the £400m council benefit, after all, it doesn't really matter if the money rightfully belongs to Scotland, does it? Secondly, voting against free school meals is vitally important, I mean, young kids don't really notice, do they? Third, stop the scrapping of the council tax and replacing it with a Local Income Tax, even if it is fairer and would make the vast majority better off! And while you're at it, why not continue to raise the council tax at the same time! Fourth, back your faithful commander & chief and dear leader, Gordon Brown, at all times, especially with plans to privatise the Post Office, and always follow orders from London, after all, we don't want to be "cut off from London", now do we? When asked what Labour would do differently from the SNP and what possible better alternatives you might have, just remember to always say "Were working on it"! Oh, and maybe and on to the end of that "Stop asking us to come up with policies"! Lastly, and most importantly, do not let Scotland gain her Independence!! Say lines such as "cut off" and "isolation" to try and convince the people to think that this is an accurate description of independence. Treat the Scottish people with contempt, stop any referendum coming forward! Tell Scotland that we cannot possible have the intelligence to run our own affairs and Scotland could not possibly handle the recession, even if it was London which got us into it in the first place! As First Minister you must continuously do down Scotland and its people, so to stop them gaining any real self confidence!

So, back into reality now and thankfully leaving the somewhat strange and quirky mind of Iain Gray, do you think that his idea of a better future is a good one? You decide, as I trust you to make the right decision!
Personally, I don't think I really like Mr Gray's idea of a "better future"!

Who are the most undemocratic parties in Parliament?

The answer is simple: Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives! Why? Because the feeble, childish and absolutely anti-Scottish opposition parties have voted against letting the people of Scotland decide their own nations future!! It is ludicrous, or at least it should be, that even the thought of our own elected public servants can claim that a referendum is unnecessary and therefore vote against it? In these times of economic difficulties Independence is now more necessary than ever before so that Scotland can make it's own decisions and drive itself forward out of the recession! Now while today's vote is not binding, meaning that, thankfully, the SNP government can still bring forward the referendum bill next year, it shows that we do have a battle on our hands to ensure that when the bill is brought forward we have the majority needed for it to pass, a majority I'm certain can be made!

For the opposition to be so stubbornly against the referendum also shows that they are afraid of going to the Scottish people, possibly frightened that the Scots might even vote YES for Independence, perish the thought! One thing is for certain, the people of Scotland will never forgive these "rouge" Labour, Lib Dem and Tory MSP's!

SNP another step closer to referendum

The prospects of the people of Scotland being given the chance to vote on their countries future has moved yet another step closer today after Liberal Democrat MSP John Farquhar Munro broke ranks with his party leader to call for an independence referendum! He must be brave, as it was only a few day's ago that his so called "great leader" denied that his party would support a referendum. It was during a BBC interview that he revealed his thoughts and actually said "the sooner a vote was held the better". He said that the debate on independence had gone on long enough and it was time to settle it in a straight forward Yes or No question. Speaking on the Good morning Scotland programme, he said "I think the sooner it happens, the better, so we establish a position - clear the air as it were - and we find out whether we are going to go ahead with an independent Scotland or whether the status quo will remain." Now that, to me, sounds like a fantastic step forward! How can Tavish now not let the Scottish people decide when even his own backbenchers are calling for the vote to go ahead? I think recently, more and more people have been speaking out in favour of holding the referendum and in favour of independence, so it's been becoming increasingly harder for the opposition to speak out against, especially when even opinion polls begin to show a rise in support for Scotland gaining independence. It's coming, and it could be arriving a lot sooner than many of us think!

New cigarette laws to be welcomed

The new laws for retailers about where cigarettes are placed in the shop and the banning of cigarette vending machines are most certainly to be welcomed. Personally, I think it's about time they were put out of sight from prying eyes. Vulnerable young people who see cigarettes behind counters are much more likely to want to buy them. By placing them under the counter, out of sight, we have a better chance of stopping people from taking up smoking in the first place. And the banning of the vending machines is particularly good, as what's to stop children from buying them from them. Recent years have seen a rise in the number of young people starting smoking so we need to try and do everything we can to put a halt to it. The reply from the Tobacco companies was not at all surprising, saying that the government is "penalising them" and taking "unnecessary action", I mean they would say that, wouldn't they, being the people responsible for the deaths of millions of people around the globe! Why people even start smoking is completely beyond me. It's time that we came up with a new campaign to discourage, not just children, but adults as well, from smoking. They are all sending themselves to a very gradual and painful death, at a much younger age than they would of if they hadn't began smoking! To me, cigarettes are simply death on a stick! A slower version of suicide!

Is Labour finally DEAD?

It's an unusual question, I know. Just a matter of a few years ago, no one would even have thought about asking this question. But a new poll has shown that the Labour party could be suffering a very painful death indeed! The poll, carried out by the Times, gave the SNP a massive 23% lead over Labour!! Unbelievable, but very true!! The poll even put Labour in third place, behind the Tories! What's even more astonishing is that this was a Westminster poll! If this were to be repeated at the next general election, Labour would only have one Scottish MP - Tom Clarke! So, if Labour are dying, somebody better dig their grave quick, after all we don't want the old Labour bogeyman coming back to haunt us, now do we!!

Never trust a UK minister!

So, government papers revealing how UK ministers attempted to stop Scotland getting its oil and Independence have been discovered through a Freedom of Information request! It isn't the first time this has happened, but perhaps this all just goes to show how frightened they were of the prospect of Scotland becoming a successful and Independent nation that they would even go as far as not only changing the north sea territorial lines - determining who the oil belonged to - but to even attempt to try and break up Scotland in the process! The previously secret papers revealed how UK government ministers were asked to back campaigns for Orkney and Shetland to become Independent, not for the good of the people, but for the benefit of the greedy, selfish and manipulative British government! The rise in support for the SNP and for Independence led to strategists in Whitehall secretly devising plans to stop Scotland laying claim to North Sea Oil! The papers, written in 1975 by Sir David Walker, also said that, and I quote, "Progress towards devolution should be delayed for as long as possible"! And this was despite a referendum on devolution being part of the Labour parties manifesto commitments at the time! The government advisers also suggested the boundaries of Scotland's coastal waters should be redrawn and a new sector created to "neutralise" Scotland's claim to the oil! Once it gets to the point where UK ministers were once happy to manipulate the people of Orkney and Shetland just to stop the SNP and Independence for Scotland, you have to wonder, what are they secretly planning right now? There are still between 25 and 30 billion barrels of oil which could still be recovered over the next 40 years, more than enough, as I'm sure UK ministers know, for Scotland to become an extremely successful and wealthy Independent nation. If they were happy to manipulate people back then, clearly, they would still be happy to do the same to us today! After all, "It's still Scotland's Oil", and they know it!

Bashir Ahmad - a rolemodel for many who will be deeply missed

I've just heard the shocking news that Scotland's first Asian MSP, Bashir Ahmad, has died. This news will come as a real shock especially for Scotland's Asian community as he was a role model for many of them and many young Asians were inspired to follow in his footsteps.

I send my deepest sympathy's and condolences to his family & friends. He was a fantastic MSP and great campaigner for Scotland's Independence who will always be remembered and sadly missed.

Budget passed - eventually

Great news to hear that the budget has been passed. I was surprised to hear that even Labour had voted for it as well. No dought this will put the SNP in a strong position, perhaps even at the next election as it will be difficult for Labour to criticise spending plans, as they voted for those spending plans. Once again, I am disappointed with the media for their coverage of the budget being passed. For one thing, it wasn't the main story, and secondly they didn't even mention one thing that is inside the budget! They seemed to be more interested with the budget being voted down than when it is passed, and when it is eventually passed they fail to mention one thing that the budget be doing! So for those of you who were wondering what's in the budget, here is the fantastic list of what is going to be delivered by the SNP:

- Help for households to beat the credit crunch, providing extra funding for councils to freeze the Council Tax for another year.
- Another cut in the cost of single prescriptions from April, down from £5 to £4... with 12-month pre-payment certificates cut by £10 to £38.
- Business rates for 120,000 small businesses will be abolished, helping shops and local firms cut costs and protect jobs in these tough times.
- £230 million of accelerated infrastructure spending to keep the Scottish economy moving and support 4,700 jobs. - Extra funds to help train 1,000 additional police officers, to put more bobbies on the beat and improve safety on our streets.
- £15 million to help provide home insulation for 90,000 homes - targeted on those most in need. - £16 million to recruit 18,500 new apprentices. PLUS: - - £300 million more for the NHS. - £70 million more to invest in affordable housing. - £60 million more for town centre renewal. - £40 million more in funding for free personal care for the elderly.
- A total of £1.8 billion in additional expenditure - securing a total of 35,000 jobs!

Sounds good, eh! Back soon.

Budget set to be fast tracked

Many of us will be giving a sigh of relief after hearing the news that the second budget now looks all but certain to be passed by parliament. It's great to see all the parties, except Labour, working together to produce an even better budget. But, Labour now just seems adamant to keep refusing even the possibility of contemplating supporting the budget! And why is this? Well, my guess is as good as yours, but one possible reason is that the budget includes policies which have been proposed by other parties, so won't support it just for that reason, even if they originally supported that particular policy anyway! Well, whatever the reason one thing is for certain, Scottish Labour is the loser and the voters are definitely not liking them for this. A poll conducted by the Sunday Times showed that not only does the SNP have huge support over the budget – with all the other parties on negative ratings – but that the SNP would extend its Scottish Parliament lead over Labour to six points, compared to 1 point in the May 2007 election. In terms of who is the best person to make the right decisions in tough economic times, both Alex Salmond & Gordon Brown were at 33%. And what about who would make best First Minister, well that's an obvious one! Salmond was at 35% and Iain Gray was at 15%.

So, with the SNP government at such a strong position, it's hardly surprising that the opposition don't want an election. The budget will be passed tomorrow, so don't expect too many big surprises.

BREAKING NEWS: Budget voted down!

There has been shock and turmoil today after the Scottish Governments budget was voted down in parliament. The votes eventually came down to this - the SNP, Tories and Margo MacDonald voting for the budget and Labour, Lib Dems and Greens voting against! This created a tie vote of 64 - 64 meaning the Presiding Officer had to cast a vote and, with convention, voted for the status quo! First of all, lets be clear, no one seriously expected Labour to vote for the budget, nor the Lib Dems, but the way that the opposition have acted is, frankly, childish! They have been playing party politics and in a time of economic crisis and recession this is not the time to be creating unnecessary problems which could escalate into an even bigger crisis and put even more people's jobs on the line!

My guess now is that over the course of the next couple of weeks there will be discussions to win the support of the Greens and, depending on how quickly the Greens decide to support it, a second budget will be presented and will be passed.

The people of Scotland will not take kindly to the way the opposition have acted and will remember this the next time they go to the ballot! I think it's time all the parties got their act together and worked in the Scottish national interest and vote in favour of this budget!

A guid Burns night tae ye

Hi all, good see that Burns night is a success this year, especially since it's the Bards 250th birthday. Anyway, here's an extract of a letter Burns sent to Mrs Dunlop in 1790:

Alas, I have often said to myself what are the boasted advantages which my country reaps from a certain Union that counterbalance the annihilation of her Independence, and even her name!

Never a truer word spoken!

Obama gets off to a smashing start

What happened in Washington was historic. The inauguration of the first ever black president has undoughtably caused a sensation, and already he has made a great start by reversing some of the Bush legacy. The closure of Guantanamo Bay and secret prisons are a fantastic move, due to their breech of humans rights and not to mention breaking several other laws. I have a feeling that Barack Obama is going to make a good President and has already restored Americas reputation to the rest of the world.

Poll puts SNP on course to beat Labour!

Hi all, I start of first off all by commenting on how it looks as if a few of the predictions I made for 2009 look set not to come to be, such as George Osborne being replaced and Gordon Brown calling an early election! I suppose it just goes to prove that 2009 is set to be a very unpredictable year. So why is it unlikely that Brown will call an election? Well, it's the obvious answer - the polls are beginning to go against Labour again. First of all in terms of UK polling, the Tories now have 45% while Labour are down to just 32%! If repeated at an election Labour would be trumped! Now, what about here in Scotland? Well, the poll for Scotland 2 polls were released at the weekend. The two combined made some very interesting reading. Both the SNP and Labour are put on 30% making it 'head to head'. What was really interesting however is that the poll put the Tories on 24% in Scotland! I know, it's a shock! The Lib Dems are really in a dire state as they are placed on just 12%. The two individual polls went like this:

YOUGOV POLL FOR SUNDAY TIMES

Conservatives - 28%
Labour - 28%
SNP - 27%
Lib Dems - 14%

COM RES POLL FOR INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
SNP - 33%
Labour - 31%
Conservatives - 12%

Personally, I don't feel that the first poll is an accurate reflection of actual voter feeling in Scotland where as the second poll does look much more accurate! However, what this simply shows is that only the SNP can beat Labour in Scotland in a general election! Feel free to leave comments.
Also, looking forward to the Inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow! You can catch it live on BBC One from 4pm. Come back for a round up of the day's historic events in the post tomorrow.

Labour must admit it is no longer a left wing party

Well, many people thought they would never see the day! But now we can now truly say with complete honesty that New Labour is no longer the party of the working class! Why? Because it has emerged that the UK London Labour government has spent over £5 million on legal fees to fight against the claims of sick miners! A Labour government fighting "against" the miners! Many miners thought they would never see the day, but now they can see the Labour party for what it really is - a party which is more interested in having power and would rather pay lawyers to block claims, than pay compensation to miners left with industrial injuries!
So what are the miners asking for? Well, As many as 1,000 former miners are suffering from coal miners knee, Osteoarthritis, and chronic lung disease from dust inhalation, and what they are calling for is compensation. A reasonable claim I would have thought. But not Labour! These miners were not included in previous compensation schemes and are being forced to take their battle to the courts. This is disgraceful what Labour is doing and should be stopped immediately! They should give the miners they compensation which they deserve and the last thing we need is a lengthty legal court battle! Action needs to happen now, or some of these miners who are suffering from these injuries will have died by the end of such a legal battle! And, surely, after acting like this, Labour should admit that it is no longer a party of the left!

Further info on this can be found at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/12/government-miners-compensation-costs

The "Official" Predictions for 2009

Hi all. Now that were now all back to our usual routines again I thought I would offer some predictions for the year ahead. 2009 is certainly going to be an interesting year, there's no dought about that, but what exactly are the things that are going to make it interesting? Well, we are now 5 days into the new year and over those past five days I have been looking at what other people have been predicting, what the newspapers are predicting, what news presenters on the TV have been predicting and what various different websites and blogs have been predicting. Now, your probably wondering why I've done this. Well, I did it so that I could bring together all the different predictions which have been made to make some predictions which (hopefully) could happen! So here they are, the "official" predictions for 2009:

1. UK wide opinion polls over the next few months will continue to show a slow and steady rise for Labour which will eventually lead to Gordon Brown calling a snap general election in either May or June. He may try to hold it at the same time as the European elections. Labour will just very narrowly hold onto power at Westminster, but without a majority which will mean Brown will have to try and go into what will be difficult negotiations with the Lib Dems to form a coalition but it's likely that even with the Lib Dems they may be still just short of a majority which will mean they will have to try and get agreements with the SNP & Plaid Cymru who will have both increased their number of seats (with the SNP possibly doubling their seats).

2. Although there will be difficulties in getting it through, the SNP will succeed in getting the Local Income Tax being passed in the Scottish Parliament thanks to support from the Liberal Democrats. There will be relief in the public that the hated council tax is being rid off, however Westminster will try to stop it happening by refusing to give Scotland the council tax benefits back which will cause a huge political row between Holyrood and Westminster.

3. Sticking with the Scottish Government, the SNP will manage to get its budget through parliament, however their is likely to concessions gained for Labour this time. This success for the SNP will lead to some changes in the cabinet but unlikely for their to be many new faces or big surprises.

4. Going over to the US now, Barack Obama will be faced with some very tough decisions as to handle with the state of the economy. It's most likely that the rest of the world, with some countries now on their knees, waiting eagerly to find out what he intends to do. I suspect that the secret service will also have it's job cut out as the try to protect him from assassination attempts (all of which I hope do not succeed)!

5. Coming back, the Tories will begin a big reshuffle of their opposition front bench which will see George Osborne being replaced by Dominic Grieve (previously Shadow Home Secretary). A surprise, I know, but I think that's what's most likely to happen

6. By the next Labour conference, Labour will be at their lowest poll showings for years as they slip below 30% as the true scale of Gordon Browns mishandling of the economy becomes clear and more and more people lose their jobs and realise how much national debt has to be paid off through higher taxes!

7. Back in Scotland, there will be another big by-election, this time for Holyrood, up in the Highland's, so it will be a Lib Dem seat. The SNP could, despite Glenrothes, expect to do very well in this!

8. Homecoming Scotland will be as success but perhaps not quite as big as some would have liked with not as many tourists coming to see Scotland as the economic problems begin to bite

9. Labour will begin rise in the polls again as we begin to approach 2010 but will remain far behind the Conservatives. By this time Nick Clegg will have stepped down as leader of the Liberal Democrats after what has been a difficult year for him and his party. Meanwhile, here in Scotland, the SNP will still be leading in the opinion polls and Alex Salmond will have now begun the campaign for the Independence referendum in 2010. Jim Murphy will still be Scottish Secretary but will be told to try his best not to steal the limelight away from Iain Gray.

So there we have it! Feel free, of course, to comment and let me know what you think and feel free to add your own predictions for 2009 as well!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy new year everyone! I trust you all had a nice Christmas & Hogmanay. 2008 has been a rather strange year! It was the year that saw the crash of the economy, the rise & fall of fuel and food prices, the disappearance of many well-known high street stores, victory for the SNP in several elections (including a certain by-election in the east end of Glasgow) with just one Labour win, the downfall of Wendy Alexander, the Prime Minister claiming he's "saved the world", the historic election of Barack Obama as the first ever black US President, one of the wettest summer's on record, and the biggest pre-Christmas sales ever! But, despite all the economic gloom and an inconvenient incident in Fife, I think 2008 has been a very good year and I certainly look forward to 2009! And for those who are thinking about calling a general election, all I can say is "Bring it on"!

Have a guid 2009! Let's hope it's a good one!

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