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Tactical voting 2021: The basics

Tactical voting 2021: The basics

The SNP are a MINORITY party that wins because the anti-Nationalist opposition vote is split three ways. Of the 73 constituency seats in the Scottish Parliament Elections, 59 are currently held by the SNP. That’s an astonishing 81% of seats from just 46.5% of the vote. 

Talk about not getting the government you vote for!

But how will tactical voting help? First we need to discard the two sets of seats where tactical voting won't make a difference. The first set is the 28 seats where the combined anti-Nationalist vote is still less than the SNP vote. Even if 100% of the anti-Nationalist vote swung to the second-place candidate, the seat would still remain in the hands of the SNP. In these seats the priority must be to increase the anti-Nationalist vote share.

An alliance for unity

An alliance for unity

Commentators on Scottish politics have tribal allegiances, just like the rest of us. They tend to be very dismissive of any new parties threatening to muscle in on the comfortable three-party opposition at Holyrood.

They cling to the dream that their preferred leader, Douglas Ross or Richard Leonard, is going to lead the long-awaited recovery in the Conservative or Labour vote and sweep the Nationalists from power, or that Willie Rennie will become kingmaker in any coalition.

Who wants Devolution?

Who wants Devolution?

Whether you like, or even agree with, Boris Johnson or not, he has done us all a huge favour by igniting a discussion on whether Devolution is a 'disaster' or not.

In its 20th year, we are now in the ridiculous situation where the SNP, a party that never supported Devolution and wants to destroy it as soon as it can, is saying they support Devolution (they don’t), while Scottish Tories, who also never wanted Devolution, and who are appalled at the SNP takeover of the institution, are also saying they support it (they don’t). So who actually wants it?

John Mortimer: It's time to abolish Holyrood

John Mortimer: It's time to abolish Holyrood

With six months to go to the Holyrood elections, Mark Devlin talks to John Mortimer, of the Abolish The Scottish Parliament Party, about the party’s progress and goals. 

What is the aim of the party?

The party’s flagship policy, of course, is to abolish the Scottish Parliament, which we consider to be a divisive waste of money. We believe that the £100 million running costs each year would be better spent on health and education, and that the powers and funding that the Scottish Government has centralised in Edinburgh, should be returned back to local authorities. The grounds of the Parliament building should be turned into homes for veterans.

Make Scotland Independent Again

Make Scotland Independent Again

The Scexit Files: BBC News Online 11 November 2021

Like a tank with a flamethrower, President Trump has set the heather ablaze from his golf buggy at Turnberry. 

With legal battles still ongoing to decide the winner of the 2020 election, The Donald startled photographers as he trundled down the fairway, wearing a blue baseball cap with the striking message: Make Scotland Independent Again.

Experts agree, not since De Gaulle ended a state visit to Canada with ‘Vive le Quebec libre' has anyone let loose with such a rip-roaring, undiplomatic stinker. 

A Deadly Virus?

A Deadly Virus?

I have never been someone who has stuck to convention and blindly followed accepted normal practices, either in my work or, indeed, in my private life. Don’t get me wrong - I don’t break laws, but I am prepared to ‘think outside the box’ and look at things in a different way, if something doesn’t feel right. And I am not alone, as many of the great inventions and medical/scientific breakthroughs have happened because someone dared to look at things differently from the general population and the peers in their field.

The SNP has failed our doctors

The SNP has failed our doctors

It’s worth reminding ourselves that the SNP have had complete control over Scotland’s Health Service for the past 13-and-a-half years, and that prior to becoming First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon was Health Secretary. In that time, the number of GP and consultant vacancies has increased dramatically. 

As a GP, I have seen firsthand the effect of how the SNP’s chronic underfunding, higher taxation and lack of university spaces have combined to create desperate shortages in Scotland's health service. Yet the SNP, distracted by constant agitation for a second referendum, and lacking competency, is simply not doing enough to improve the situation. 

93% of NO voters back tactical voting to beat the SNP

93% of NO voters back tactical voting to beat the SNP

This article was originally published in Think Scotland.

Two years ago, a few Aberdeen City and Shire Better Together veterans, including the two chairmen, Ian Lakin and Professor Hugh Pennington (better known as Nicola Sturgeon’s COVID bête noire), got together to create Scotland Matters. 

We were all agreed that the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections would be the Scexit High Noon and unless Labour, Lib Dem and the Conservatives started looking like an effective opposition and alternative government, the SNP/Greens would again win a majority of seats with a minority of the total vote. Then they would agitate for Indyref2, even if they don’t actually mean it.