The influence the fake-Greens have gained makes a mockery of the electoral & parliamentary system. Is there a case to be made for removing the second ballot paper so that a single vote covers both constituency and list choices? It would stop this tactical use of second votes for a party that is SNP in all but name, which the system was not designed to cope with (and other parties could in theory exploit it).
Voters shouldn't be able to second guess themselves. Voting for two parties makes no sense, unless we're going to move to a properly proportional system.
You are absolutely right that Nicola's comment on Sarah Smith's revelations is inadequate.
The truth is that, for a variety of reasons, the SNP get away with highly dubious conduct which needs to be more effectively challenged. Until that happens Nicola will feel little pressure to tackle the worst aspects of Scottish nationalism.
I think that the abuse of Sarah Smith needs to be seen in the context of Alex Salmond's deliberate use of BBC journalists as a punch bag in 2014. At the time few of us understood the Trumpian tactics of distract, deceive and divide and Salmond's approach almost worked. Although his politics were odious they did succeed in making the SNP our dominant party and Nicola Sturgeon owes a lot to them and him. She thus bears a responsibility to try to undo the damage that has been done and this should start with acknowledgement of the quality of the journalism that Sarah and others at the BBC have produced over the years and the removal of the stigma of the accusation of systematic bias.
She will need to feel under pressure to do this and that can only come from the one party the SNP really fear and hate - Labour. I understand Anas Sarwar's reluctance to campaign on issues like this and his desire to push issues like health, education and the economy to the fore. Experience has shown however that the lies of nationalism have to be confronted head on.
So this is benign nationalism? I have always been wary of nationalism having studied German and the history behind Hitler's rise. When I hear about the cries of traitor, go back to England, etc. and worse, it confirms for me that all nationalism can turn nasty even though not all nationalists are to blame. For generations my family have lived on the West Coast and some have even ended up living happily in England. I considered myself a proud Scot, particularly when I lived abroad, but also a European and Internationalist. I am also someone who won't vote for Independence, despite the ghastly Government in place just now. There is so much magical thinking and arrogance behind Scottish Independence. Keep up the good work of trying to hold this government to account.
Good piece. The only useful conteer-strategy is a combination of mockery (authoritarians hate being laughed at) and facts (authoritarians think they should be the sole source of facts).
These are a feature of this short film (4 mins) about the Ferguson Ferry Fiasco - watch and weep!
The influence the fake-Greens have gained makes a mockery of the electoral & parliamentary system. Is there a case to be made for removing the second ballot paper so that a single vote covers both constituency and list choices? It would stop this tactical use of second votes for a party that is SNP in all but name, which the system was not designed to cope with (and other parties could in theory exploit it).
Voters shouldn't be able to second guess themselves. Voting for two parties makes no sense, unless we're going to move to a properly proportional system.
You are absolutely right that Nicola's comment on Sarah Smith's revelations is inadequate.
The truth is that, for a variety of reasons, the SNP get away with highly dubious conduct which needs to be more effectively challenged. Until that happens Nicola will feel little pressure to tackle the worst aspects of Scottish nationalism.
I think that the abuse of Sarah Smith needs to be seen in the context of Alex Salmond's deliberate use of BBC journalists as a punch bag in 2014. At the time few of us understood the Trumpian tactics of distract, deceive and divide and Salmond's approach almost worked. Although his politics were odious they did succeed in making the SNP our dominant party and Nicola Sturgeon owes a lot to them and him. She thus bears a responsibility to try to undo the damage that has been done and this should start with acknowledgement of the quality of the journalism that Sarah and others at the BBC have produced over the years and the removal of the stigma of the accusation of systematic bias.
She will need to feel under pressure to do this and that can only come from the one party the SNP really fear and hate - Labour. I understand Anas Sarwar's reluctance to campaign on issues like this and his desire to push issues like health, education and the economy to the fore. Experience has shown however that the lies of nationalism have to be confronted head on.
So this is benign nationalism? I have always been wary of nationalism having studied German and the history behind Hitler's rise. When I hear about the cries of traitor, go back to England, etc. and worse, it confirms for me that all nationalism can turn nasty even though not all nationalists are to blame. For generations my family have lived on the West Coast and some have even ended up living happily in England. I considered myself a proud Scot, particularly when I lived abroad, but also a European and Internationalist. I am also someone who won't vote for Independence, despite the ghastly Government in place just now. There is so much magical thinking and arrogance behind Scottish Independence. Keep up the good work of trying to hold this government to account.
Good piece. The only useful conteer-strategy is a combination of mockery (authoritarians hate being laughed at) and facts (authoritarians think they should be the sole source of facts).
These are a feature of this short film (4 mins) about the Ferguson Ferry Fiasco - watch and weep!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b0KFD9BM_4