tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8500025938065809262.post7210273643351561183..comments2023-11-29T19:57:51.001-08:00Comments on Not a Village in Westminster: Scottish Conservatives?Not a Village in Westminsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06062118291841981671noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8500025938065809262.post-1791748413981496182008-10-28T06:51:00.000-07:002008-10-28T06:51:00.000-07:00An excellent post, well-argued but balanced. Bala...An excellent post, well-argued but balanced. Balance is so rare in politics.<BR/><BR/>I'm no Tory - far from it - but we could do with a stronger party of the right.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for following my blog. I have linked to you.CalumCarrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18069686044236255387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8500025938065809262.post-4107064483830509202008-10-28T03:04:00.000-07:002008-10-28T03:04:00.000-07:00Yeah, it's a fascinating situation. The Westminst...Yeah, it's a fascinating situation. The Westminster polling reflects the fact that Scots are aware that the SNP are rather pointless at Westminster, and in turn that the Conservatives are not the main opposition at Holyrood.<BR/><BR/>If Scotland could forget Thatcher then the Tories would be in a position to become, potentially, a key player in the Scottish Parliament - minority government by the SNP gives them leeway, but there would be potential for more. <BR/><BR/>Furthermore, the Tories in Scotland can argue, due to PR voting systems, that they are represented all over Scotland - from the urban hubs such as Glasgow and Edinburgh to the rural heartlands of the borders. This contrasts with the Conservative party's standings in England, where they are much more geographically limited, albeit partly due to the voting system.<BR/><BR/>All of the potential is there, but Thatcher's legacy still holds it back. It will be interesting over the next few years to see if they can overcome this - Cameron's views towards Scotland don't bode well for the Scottish Conservatives' chances though.Not a Village in Westminsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062118291841981671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8500025938065809262.post-74232255654571665412008-10-27T14:27:00.000-07:002008-10-27T14:27:00.000-07:00A very interesting, varied and complete yet concis...A very interesting, varied and complete yet concise read. It's always been an intriguing issue for me - that of the Scottish Conservatives having quite a positive attitude, a popular leader and a range of reasonable opposition policies, yet being unable to progress in Scotland due to the issues outlined in this post.<BR/><BR/>Wouldn't things be interesting if the Scottish people were to forget Thatcher?<BR/><BR/>Note that the <A HREF="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article5014906.ece" REL="nofollow">recent poll</A> has the UK Conservatives sitting at 20% in Scotland - the highest since...!? However, the Scottish Conservatives are sat at 16% (Regional) and 14% (Constituency) - virtually unchanged over the <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/briefings-07/SB07-21.pdf" REL="nofollow">last 10 years</A> (see page 5).<BR/><BR/>Wouldn't it be interesting indeed!Drew Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10867111650027955339noreply@blogger.com