PREDICTIONS 2010

As is customary, and I have been reminded about the success of my blog post making predictions, I thought i would come up with another effort.  Here goes;

(1) The New Labour Government will be ousted by a Westminster regime even more right wing than they are by a majority of over 70 - the good lady and I have a bet on this with a bottle of champers being the prize.  This will be as a result of fresh sleaze and economic mistakes.
(2) Gordon Brown and Iain Gray will no longer be the leaders of the British Labour Party or BLP (Scotland Region) by this time next year.
(3) The Tories will have less than 3 Scottish MP's in the General Election,  creating anther Doomsday scenario, which will usher in huge support for Independence.
(4) The Tories will end the year behind in most polls at a UK level.
(5) The Lib Dems will lose half their Westminster seats. They will come under huge pressure to support Independence after secret plans by New Labour and the Tories to oust the Scottish Government, and form a coalition are revealed.  The Lib Dems back a referendum for 2011 after initially voting it down.
(6) Glasgow's No.1 football team will go on a glorious run , and emerge victorious and win the First Division with a couple of points to spare. The Mighty Jags take points off the Old Firm in the first half of the SPL  season.
(7) The Evening Times sensationally back the SNP for the general election, after Glasgow is awarded Metropolitan Status by the SNP Government.  The Evening Times will run this as part of its Labour let Glasgow Down/ Rip off Scotland campaign.
(8) The SNP will win most votes in Scotland at the General Election, and polls comfirm throughout the year that the next Holyrood Elections could result in a landslide.
(9)  Holyrood the Musical will go into production, whilst a petition is launched to bring back Glen Michaels Cartoon Cavalcade.
(10) The SNP make the 20 seat target, and in Glasgow East, John Mason proves that lightning strikes twice when just like his Council seat ten years before he beats his by-election opponent twice, after a recount.  The SNP gains another two seats in Glasgow, before the real drama starts.  The tension mounts as Glasgow South West heads into its fourth recount.  After a tie is declared the result goes to a toss of the coin.  And the winner is ....................................

JIM'LL JINX IT!

After celebrating a year in office, lets have a look at Jim Murphy's record as Secretary of State for Scotland; 

On 8th July he met Diageo bosses and announced after the meeting that they were considering alternatives to job losses; two days later Diageo emphatically said they weren't.
 

In May he encouraged Scottish bids for the Future Jobs Fund saying “we simply cannot abandon a generation of young people to the scrapheap of unemployment”, and when they were eventually announced the Scotland Office claimed a majority are successful; in fact a majority were rejected and Scotland received less than its pro-rata share. 

There is excitement in the Highland & Islands after Jim Murphy implies that a cut-price petrol scheme may be on the way for the islands; nearly two weeks after Jim Murphy is denying any such scheme was the cards
 

Throughout 2009 a number of children are detained at the Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre despite Jim Murphy announcing in October 2008 a pilot scheme to ensure children were not held at Dungavel   

In May 2009 it is revealed that despite Jim Murphy being allowed to announce that the Labour government were to reverse their increase on whisky duty that he had failed to even lobby for the industry before Alistair Darling imposed the increase.
  

In August Jim Murphy says that he will sort out visas for Lahore Pipe Band refused entry into the UK for the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow; next day it is reported that he has failed to secure visas for Pakistanis

 May 2009 and Jim Murphy leads Scottish Labour leaders at the launch of party's Euro-campaign; the party goes down to what can be described as its worst result in a national election campaign since World War One.
 

June 2009 - Jim Murphy welcomes the Calman Commission's final report and praises its participants; ten days later a Labour party debate in the Scottish Parliament sees the Calman parties fall apart with Tavish Scott declaring he is not a unionist and that the report must not be kicked into the long grass, and Annabel Goldie saying the Tories will wait and see.
 

Jim  Murphy is clearly a Jinx, or his claims and comments are suspect. A bad spinner or a political jonah?

One last thing.  Jim Murphy has been telling everyone who is prepared to listen that the Westminster Election is a two horse race between New Labour and the Tories.....

The SNP currently lead in opinion polls in Scotland for both the Westminster and Holyrood Elections....