The Great Clunking Fist has spoken.
Radio Clyde News can reveal Gordon Brown is ruling out working with an SNP
Government in Holyrood. The Labour front-runner to be the UK's next
Prime Minister says he would have no truck with SNP leader Alex Salmond,
even if Scottish voters make him First Minister.
So what the Great Clunking Fist is saying is that he won't accept the democratic will of the Scottish people. Hardly the stuff of democracy is it?
Bordon Grown, Jock MacDonald and Rhodri Moron are right: vote Labour or we shall all die of Asperger!
ReplyDeletePoor old Gordo - Blair's left him with a steaming pile of shit...
ReplyDeleteAnybody know where you get Lithium at this time of night?
So, with that logic Iain, the tories should join a coalition with labour?
ReplyDeleteI'm voting SNP! 2 main reasons:
ReplyDelete1. An independent Scottish parliament is the lesser of two evils when compared with a political system which has such unchecked prerogative powers that it allows a prime minister to take the country into a ruinous and illegal war without any accountability. Indeed, if the October party conference had held Bliar to account, quite a few so British soldiers may well be alive today instead of dead.
2. Labour need to be destroyed. It is their slavish tribal loyalty to their own party that has blocked - and will continue to block - any attempt to bring an end to the Iraq debacle, to investigate properly what happened, or to hold Bliar to account. The attitude they take to the "Scottish block vote" is typical of this entrenched mindset. Brown's attitude is typical of this, and I live in his "fiefdom"!
I am lukewarm about independence but I am wiling to take the risk. There will be a referendum - more than we had on Iraq!
A footnote: If us Scots are supposed to ignore Westminster issues such as Iraq, then why are the UK prime minister and chancellor throwing their weight around up here?
Sounds like a good reason for voting for the Nats...
ReplyDeleteBrown should keep his mouth shut - reminding us he is still here does enormous damage to morale and despite the sunny weather life appears overcast
ReplyDeleteWhen taken with comrade Mandelson's comments on BBC radio this am, one can only say, "Shades of the bunker 62 years ago."
ReplyDeleteLoved the story in the Independent about Jack McConnell appealing for a cross-party alliance of Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat voters to stop the SNP winning. My answer is here
ReplyDeleteGordon Brown needs a bra....more here
ReplyDeletehttp://haveringhavers.blogspot.com/2007/05/if-politics-were-bras.html
We had all this "won't work with him" crap from Blair, on Livingstone.
ReplyDeleteEven as a political tactic it backfires
I appear to have missed Brown's comment ruling out working with the SNP, could one of your eagle-eyed readers point me in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteNice to see Salmond doing a u-turn though, now he wants to work with the government, previously he wanted to 'declare war on Westminster'.
Not sure about your analysis Ian. Brown isn't saying he'll ignore the democratic will of the Scottish people; he's saying he won't work with the SNP. Seems fairly reasonable to me. If Brown feels that SNP policies are incompatible with Labour's then what else could he do?
ReplyDeleteHmmm..sorry but I disagree with you here. If this is 'not being willing to accept the democratic will of the people' then I think, to be fair and consistent, you shouldn't have a go at 'Ming the Merciful' for not being willing to 'get into bed' with Dave's big tent Tories over a Joint Mayoral Candidate.
ReplyDeleteOr am I comparing apples and pears here, Albert ?
Can I draw attention to your blatant breach of Government rules on the advertising of junk food.
ReplyDeleteDue to the stupid way this was drawn up, products such as honey [sugar] and Marmite [salt] have fallen within the terms of the 'advertising ban'.
So can you please amend Michael Gove's reference to 'AS Vital to my morning as Marmite' to 'As vital to my morning as a very small amount of Marmite, containing less than one gram of salt..'
Why on EARTH would you imagine that Nu Labour believes in even the Appearnace of democracy? Brown is just as bad as Blair - except even sneakier. Nasty, devious swine, all of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat would be the point of a coalition Gammarama?
ReplyDeleteNu Labour's been a Tory government for the last decade, and the boy Cameron is trying to get elected as "just like Labour".
I hope this isn't a foretaste of the Clunking Fist's performance as PM - "I am the master now and you will all accept what I decide is best for you, or else I'll go into a massive sulk and never speak to you again".
ReplyDeleteBob Piper, it was reported on radioclyde and the Independent covered it yesterday.
ReplyDeleteCould I suggest that a cheeky SNP move would be to hand Brown a tartan rattle to replace the one he throw out of his not very statesman like pram!
According to Radio Clyde, it quotes Brown as saying he couldn't work with somebody who wanted to "break up Britain".
ReplyDeleteWell, he has been working with Sinn Fein for sometime now and as I recall they wanted to blow it up at one time and as someone said, Blair tried this one about Red Ken and look what good that did him.
Methinks he is full of Brown.
Democratic? Like banning your front bench ministers from supporting EU withdrawal?
ReplyDeleteOr banning your candidates from supporting EU withdrawal?
Or removing your members right to vote for the MEP candidates?
etc. etc.
From yesterday's times:
ReplyDelete"A CSA poll for Le Parisien reported that 57 per cent believed that Ms Royal was sympathique (likeable) while only 29 per cent held this opinion of Mr Sarkozy. Meanwhile, 65 per cent found Mr Sarkozy “solid” while only 24 per cent attributed the quality to Ms Royal.
Latest poll — 52.5% Sarkozy — 47.5% Royal"
French and British politics are not the same, but there is a terrible warning here for all who have written Brown off and suppose Cameron can win because he's more likeable.
I'm pretty convinced that once Brown (and the Labour Party) has finally discarded Blair, his present position will improve dramatically, and when it comes to GE day, he stands a more than excellent change of trouncing 'nice' Windmill Dave--and he'll do it on solidity winning over likeability. The electorate have already seen the limits of likeability in the shape of TB. After all Margaret Thatcher did not win because she was likeable, but because she was competent.
-----
Meanwhile, we shall see some measure of Cameron's real vote-drawing power this week for the first time. I'd suggest that if the Tory Party fails to do significantly better that 40% of votes cast in England, Cameron has, in these last days of Blair, failed to demonstrate that he is proving a better leader than might a bladder on a stick.
[2br02b]
It doesn't matter that Gordon doesn't ant to work with the SNP - the Lib-Dems do.
ReplyDeleteWhilst the Lib_Dems want more power and the SNP independence I think the SNP are happy to offer that option in the polls because it will make the Union even more unbalanced and will lead to an English Parliament.
The reality for the SNP is that they can't become independent over night anyway because there are issues of infra-structure ranging from money to military to think about, and that will take at least 10 years to sort out. So going along with the Lib-Dems will make very little difference in the end.
I think he's saying that Salmond is an unreliable nationalist shit bag and discouraging people from voting for him.
ReplyDeleteAs for the wallah from the SWP with the Bliar lines. Wake up comrade. Neither your 1 nor your 2 stack up. Can you provide a comparator of a socialist country (or any country) that has a referendum on going to war?
We pick a government and for 4 or 5 years they have delegated power to run the country.
Lib Dems are fond of calling for referenda ... but spookily they NEVER have one when they run the place. What a pile of doo doos Jess the Dog.
What do the Scottish Labour Party rules say?
ReplyDeleteIs Broon (or whoever becomes leader) allowed to dictate who the MSPs vote with?
bob piper
ReplyDeleteIt appeared first on the Radio Clyde website, then taken up by Guido, and appears in some of today's Scottish papers, although buried under the far more important news that an ancient Scottish sports reporter has come out in favour of Labour
anonymous 8.51 am
ReplyDeleteIF the SNP is the largest part after Thursday it will inevitably go into coalition with the Lib Dems---neither will be happy but that's the voting system that's been foisted on Scotland. So you will have Scotland governed by 2 parties which want "additional powers" to varying degrees,plus the Greens, plus any of the 2 Socialist parties--all 3 which also want independence.
So there would be a clear majority in favour of SOME additional powers and Alex Salmond as First Minister would have a mandate to negotiate with the UK PM on whatever the Scottish Cabinet agreed to pursue.
In my opinion it would be a constitutional nonsense and undemocratic for GB to refuse to deal with AS. Perhaps when the dust settles and if the above election results actually happen, Gb will have had time to reflect on a hasty statement
What do the Scottish Labour Party rules say?
ReplyDeleteIs Broon (or whoever becomes leader) allowed to dictate who the MSPs vote with?
May 01, 2007 10:15 AM
It matters not - Brown is so dependent on 58 Scottish MPs that he can hardly ask them to antagonise the electorate
Thanks for the responses, but can someone tell me where Brown was supposed to have said it, as opposed to Radio Clyde saying he said it and the newspapers repeating that Radio Clyde said it.
ReplyDelete"Whilst the Lib-Dems want more power.."
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
The Lib-Dems are the political prostitutes of Britain.
They'll get into bed with anyone so long as it lets them get their grubby little hands on the reigns of power.
They won't resist a SNP referendum for 5 minutes once as long as they're sexually satisified by Salmond (or a Salmon come to think of it).
Yet another reason why these bunch of unprincipled, lying f**kwits should be exposed the nation over for the miserably, pathetic bunch of yellow-shirted, cabbage-munching, beard-sporting, platitude spouting tossers they really are.
He could argue that they will get under 50% of the vote but then Labour are ruling on just 35%. That said at least Labour don't intend to break up the UK.
ReplyDelete"Democratic? Like banning your front bench ministers from supporting EU withdrawal?"
ReplyDeleteThose are the internal matters of a private organisation, not the government of a constituent country of the UK.
At least things aren't yet as bad here as they are abroad, Iain. You might want to check out this post about the latest blogger to be silenced for sticking their neck out too far.
ReplyDeleteanonymous [10.35 AM] Trouble is, when the Lib Dems and the Scots Nats come lobbying in coalition for "Further Powers" Brown will probably concede them. But he won't deprive them of their powers to meddle in exlusively English affairs. So things will go from bad to worse and the movement for independence will gain momentum.
ReplyDeleteOn second thoughts, is that a bad thing? Like many Englishmen, I am beginning to contemplate the use of our ultimate weapon: grant them independence; see how they like it when they have to pay for their own deep-fried Mars Bars.
Hardly a big deal, Iain. He ruled out working with most of the people in his own Government long ago.
ReplyDeleteAt least he's consistent in his belief that the future lies with the Me, Myself and I Party.
As for the wallah from the SWP with the Bliar lines. Wake up comrade. Neither your 1 nor your 2 stack up. Can you provide a comparator of a socialist country (or any country) that has a referendum on going to war?
ReplyDeleteWe pick a government and for 4 or 5 years they have delegated power to run the country.
Lib Dems are fond of calling for referenda ... but spookily they NEVER have one when they run the place. What a pile of doo doos Jess the Dog.
Better start taking the irony pills. The point is that Bliar took this country to war on the basis of a lie despite the opposition of the country at the time and the increasing opposition to the war as the debacle has unfolded. Add to that the wilful ignorance of constitutional and governance propriety criticised in the Butler report. That is constitutional recklessness compared with a referendum on Scottish independence.
A government may well have delegated power, but not to breach international law such as waging war without a UN resolution or clear causus belli.
I have a particular axe to grind with this issue because I was a RAF officer and resigned at the close of the Hutton inquiry when the story had emerged from the evidence, and it became clear it would be a whitewash.
Having watched and viewed the "Mejia" since 4.30 one fundamental about Labour still prevails.
ReplyDelete"They cant even `lie` straight in bed"
JH