A PROGRESSIVE REFLECTION

So I wasn’t able to blog during the campaign, I was so busy talking to voters on the doorstep, now that the blisters have rested, it is of course time to reflect on the result n Glasgow south west, and how we go forward.

There is no reason to blame voters for trying to block the Tory vultures from entering into Downing Street, and that was the clear message in the last few days.  Even at the polling station, some people said to me when I was asking for their vote – not today.

 This really gained ground in the last few days of the campaign when it looked like a balanced parliament was a real possibility, because for weeks I have never known so many electors who said they were undecided.  In a Westminster election, we must accept that some will vote for New Labour, warts and all, to prevent the Tories ruling the country.  To many of us of course this is a contradiction and we must ensure that should Scotland vote again in a Westminster election we hammer home the message that Independence means the Tories would never ever rule our nation again.

Sadly, it looks like Scotland’s efforts were in vain, and the lib dems look to be the poodles who if they do the dirty deed, will never be forgiven for a generation.

Yet,  

I support the progressive alliance proposal, should talks break down we must offer Labour a chance to govern, yes warts and all, because the clear, and overwhelming message from the election was the Tories are not wanted in Scotland, they are still a decontaminated brand, and have never been forgiven for the destruction they caused Scotland.  Indeed the Scottish voter would I believe be comfortable with the SNP reigning in New Labour from its right wing excesses.

This would of course require more maturity from New Labour in Scotland than what we have seen in the last few days.  To say that the SNP is irrelevant in an election and then claim that the result was a rejection of the Holyrood Government is frankly stupid, and kids no-one.  The Scottish electorate is more sophiscated than they are given credit for, and unfortunately the lazy analysis of the media in Scotland means that no-one has quite grasped that the Westminster and Holyrood elections are different and the electorate can distinguish between them. Also, the great unsaid truth is that there are many people who vote Labour who are entirely relaxed about an independent Scotland, even amongst the activists, who would welcome the opportunity to redefine what a Scottish Labour party would stand for in that new reality,

The next few days will determine the future of the UK, because I predict that if the CON/Lib Dem deal goes ahead, the Scottish people will run a mile at the earliest opportunity. If it is a progressive alliance the people of Scotland will reward us for complying with their wishes.

Over the next 12 months, the party with the values of social and economic justice, the values that say we do not need nuclear weapons, and the values of internationalism, will triumph, and that will be a victory for the SNP