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!!