Using leverage
Political interest in the islands hasn’t been so high for some time. For all the wrong reasons, sadly.
It was a smart political move by Labour to get the Scottish Secretary to come here for a Q&A ahead of the SNP Government doing the same in a few weeks.
Both visits are – of course – stunts, but let’s not knock them too much.
But it tells me that Labour are (at least a bit) more confident about their chances than they are letting on publicly.
What we need to do is to lever the best for the islands from the competing politicians. Last election (and Labour admit this privately) their fares reduction policy was topped by the SNP which caught the public mood and delivered victory. Although the actual promises weren’t actually delivered.
Let us put the parties into a battle to offer and deliver the best for the islands, and let’s see who can give the best SPECIFIC promises- if they want our votes, then they need to offer us an incentive. I may well be all to play for, and they know it…….
It was a smart political move by Labour to get the Scottish Secretary to come here for a Q&A ahead of the SNP Government doing the same in a few weeks.
Both visits are – of course – stunts, but let’s not knock them too much.
But it tells me that Labour are (at least a bit) more confident about their chances than they are letting on publicly.
What we need to do is to lever the best for the islands from the competing politicians. Last election (and Labour admit this privately) their fares reduction policy was topped by the SNP which caught the public mood and delivered victory. Although the actual promises weren’t actually delivered.
Let us put the parties into a battle to offer and deliver the best for the islands, and let’s see who can give the best SPECIFIC promises- if they want our votes, then they need to offer us an incentive. I may well be all to play for, and they know it…….
1 comment:
As a correspondent to Hebrides News points out, Mr Macsween, if elected, would be sitting on the opposition benches right away after the next election, sure as eggs is eggs, and the governing Tories will give how much of a toss about this place? Maybe they'll use this remote part of north Britain for their next experiment a la poll tax. Or nuclear waste? A city of immigrants maybe?
In the meantime C.I. Macmillan (Chairman Miaow) goes off on another one at the SNP, presumably in an attempt to divert attention from the utter incompetence and corruption of the New Labour machine. FAIL! And his response ,if it can be called that, to said correspondent's initial letter is simply pathetic and senseless. The tone of it reminds me of two unpleasant things:
1. The West Highland Free Press, and
2. the extremely unpleasant 'campaign' initiated by certain Labourites before the election of the current MSP, and which certainly contributed to their losing that election (along with their contemptuous ignoring of the electorate over the Lewis wind factory, and Almo's televised smugness over the Iraq war). Two more FAILS.
No matter how many Labour politicians and wannabes tug their beards, rant on forums and faked blogs, locally and nationally, they cannot hide the obvious - that their seedy discredited government is in tatters and about to be given the boot.
Still, they might just stand a chance now that they have John MacLeod on their side...bet they're looking forward to that campaign now!
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