Mcconnell Leader In Limbo Faces Difficult Questions (from The Herald Election Site)

After an election defeat, other leaders get to depart with dignity. John Major, for instance, left Downing Street to watch a cricket match.

Jack McConnell has been left twisting in the wind, remaining in office until voted out, uncertain about his party's future, the pace of events dictated by his political adversary.

The closeness of last week's result only adds to the uncertainty. The Labour Party lost by the narrowest of margins. What the SNP won decisively was momentum, and if Alex Salmond cannot use it to secure enough votes to be First Minister, Labour could return to power.

The party was convinced it could pip the SNP in seat share, and has taken days to recover from the shock of failing to do so. It then thought it could form an anti-Nationalist alliance. The plan was a third LibDem coalition, and Tories had been sounded out and had said privately they would abstain on the votes putting ministers in office.

But then, on Sunday, Tavish Scott, the LibDem campaign director and Shetland MSP, flatly ruled out a coalition with Labour, even if talks fail with the SNP.

Labour strategists questioned whether Mr Scott spoke for other LibDems or meant something different. But taken at face value, it meant the best Mr McConnell can do is run a minority administration.

Yet still he has to wait. A source close to him talks of a "complex game of chess" over coming weeks. It is a game in which Alex Salmond has control, and he has so far shown a deft instinct for setting the pace, agenda and tone of developments.

A Labour team is talking through every conceivable scenario and working out how to respond in each case. But the party needs to address not only how it will handle the future, but also the lessons of the recent past.

Critics want to know why the campaign began so late, and froze out senior figures until a late stage; why was there no budget until after the manifesto was published, undermining the attack that SNP sums did not add up; why council tax reform was so minor and vague.

They wonder what the education policy had beyond being "the big idea". And why did the leader visit Midlothian and Hamilton when marginal seats needed attention?

With Jack McConnell's future as leader looking precarious, he or his successor must consider Labour's retreat into its Clydeside heartlands, and having little to say to prosperous, aspirational and rural voters.

Those switching from Labour last week said they felt taken for granted by the party that dominated Scottish politics for 50 years. And that reflects an organisation that has hollowed out, even in places it is strong, where poor candidates are picked because they control the tiny local Labour machine. The party still suffers from a brutal purge of candidates nine years ago, when quality and brainpower lost out to blind loyalty.

Labour needs internal renewal. It should worry that Friday's results were not bad enough to spark that and a weakened leadership is in no place to make the first move.

You listen to them as they say 'Well, we held our vote, only 4 seats down, McConnell is staying as leader, meh meh meh' and think: Do you really believe that, deep down? Don't you want to take a long, hard look at the way you have conducted things for the last 5 decades and if any lessons can be learned? They are burying their hands in the sands and their descent has only just begun.

You listen to them as they say 'Well, we held our vote, only 4 seats down, McConnell is staying as leader, meh meh meh' and think: Do you really believe that, deep down? Don't you want to take a long, hard look at the way you have conducted things for the last 5 decades and if any lessons can be learned?

They are burying their hands in the sands and their descent has only just begun.

They've learned that blatant lies, deceit, spin, obfuscation, vote rigging, underhand deals and manipulation don't work anymore. They don't have any real policies so what else can they do? Some kind of underhand deal with the Liberals in London perhaps? Give Ming a sniff of power and watch him bend over for Gazza to the detriment of his own countrymen perhaps? Probably.

These people are spinning out of control. It is an organisation on the verge of implosion. The LibDems are wise, in this instance, to stay well clear.

"A complex game of chess" which, if the Daily Record is to be believed, has as its objective a plan to "Scupper the Nats". What a coalition we have, in Labour and the Daily Record; where else have we seen such a blatant disregard for the mandate given by the electorate? The vote for the SNP is seen as insubstantial and, somehow, questionable - illegal, even. What next? Labour might be sensible not to vote against Alex Salmond for First Minister. If they do, they will present themselves as spoilers, determined not to allow the parliament to go about its usual business; wreckers, hell bent on four years of turmoil. Now where have we heard that before?

"A complex game of chess" which, if the Daily Record is to be believed, has as its objective a plan to "Scupper the Nats". What a coalition we have, in Labour and the Daily Record; where else have we seen such a blatant disregard for the mandate given by the electorate? The vote for the SNP is seen as insubstantial and, somehow, questionable - illegal, even. What next?

Labour might be sensible not to vote against Alex Salmond for First Minister. If they do, they will present themselves as spoilers, determined not to allow the parliament to go about its usual business; wreckers, hell bent on four years of turmoil. Now where have we heard that before?

[quote][bold]Alex Porter[/bold] wrote: These people are spinning out of control. It is an organisation on the verge of implosion. The LibDems are wise, in this instance, to stay well clear.[/quote] Ah, the all-seeing sage of Madrid has spoken. Any ideas on this week's lottery numbers while you're at it? I see the Spanish state has banned Basque nationalist candidates from even standing in local elections. But that doesn't upset you too much does it? You like living in a country where nationalists are banned from even standing for the council. Hypocrite.

Alex Porter wrote:
These people are spinning out of control. It is an organisation on the verge of implosion. The LibDems are wise, in this instance, to stay well clear.

Ah, the all-seeing sage of Madrid has spoken. Any ideas on this week's lottery numbers while you're at it?

I see the Spanish state has banned Basque nationalist candidates from even standing in local elections. But that doesn't upset you too much does it? You like living in a country where nationalists are banned from even standing for the council. Hypocrite.

Parts of the vote will have to be re-run. The postal voters who did not vote, and those who voted twice on the left hand column (having been advised "you have two votes") will have to be contacted, new papers issued just to them,and their votes counted for the first time. Allan Wilson is crying into the Arran Sound about his result. He lost. But (including the currently disenfranchised postal voters) there's probably 150,000 Scots who have yet to vote. My guess is their votes are unlikely to favour Labour: the election observers thought the Greens and Tommy had been the main shaftees. It doesn't matter who it favours to redo the votes so everyone gets to express their views. It's called democracy!

Parts of the vote will have to be re-run. The postal voters who did not vote, and those who voted twice on the left hand column (having been advised "you have two votes") will have to be contacted, new papers issued just to them,and their votes counted for the first time.

Allan Wilson is crying into the Arran Sound about his result. He lost.

But (including the currently disenfranchised postal voters) there's probably 150,000 Scots who have yet to vote. My guess is their votes are unlikely to favour Labour: the election observers thought the Greens and Tommy had been the main shaftees.

It doesn't matter who it favours to redo the votes so everyone gets to express their views. It's called democracy!

The party banned in the Basque Country is Herri Batasuna, the political arm of ETA, the still active and murderous terror group. The main Basque Nationalist party is not barred. So get your facts right before trying to ridicule someone with a perfectly reasonable opinion just because you don't agree with it.

Do all MSP libdems and all labour and all tory MSPs object to a referendum of the Scottish people in four years? Are there fifteen people combined in those parties who actually don't object to a vote of the people and who find it possible to represent their constituency, their party and also can agree that a referendum is a democratic expression of the will of the scottish people? I don't understand the politics of fear in a free society... what am I missing?

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ScottishVoteScandal2007/

Please sign this e-petition on the Scottish Vote Scandal , and help network it to others. Who cares about Jack's future? But the right to vote fundamental

Isla, 5.35 am.

It's 16 people we need, not 15. But I agree. The question of whether there is a referendum should bee a free vote for MSPs of all parties.

I think the only thing that vcan be done is to take to the streets like we did with "Scotland United" in the early 90's which helped the to get the constitutional convention. If the politicians will not listen to what is undoubtedly a massive shout from the electorate, SNP nearly doubling their seats, then maybe we need to let them know in no uncertain terms that the scottish people have voted for.

When Clint Eastwood (his mother is a Scot - born Glasgow) uttered the famous words,[bold] "A good man always knows his limitations,"[/bold] they could almost have been aimed a Union Jack McConnell. By his insistence to be First Minister he give credence to the lie that it was a pretendy parliament. I wish I had been a fly ion the wall when he had that spat with Sean Connery. That must have been something to witness. Yes, sir.

When Clint Eastwood (his mother is a Scot - born Glasgow) uttered the famous words, "A good man always knows his limitations," they could almost have been aimed a Union Jack McConnell. By his insistence to be First Minister he give credence to the lie that it was a pretendy parliament.

I wish I had been a fly ion the wall when he had that spat with Sean Connery. That must have been something to witness. Yes, sir.

Why is Joke McConnell conspicuous by his silence? Has some sinister Odessa like organisation whisked him away to a new life amongst the ex-pats of Nova Scotia, where no one knows the secret shame of his past life - ex First Minister of Scotland?

garry on 8:39am:

The much bigger question is the whereabouts of Gordon Brown.

He's gone to ground like some scared rabbit. First political crisis for Labour and he's struggling to cope.

Where's his big clunking fist now? It's stuffed in his mouth and he's chewing it like a toddler.

It's time to SACK JACK: the worst small First Minister Scotland has had.

there should be no re-run of the vote, how can it be?, we know the result!!, it should stand, otherwise labour voters will will prop up wee jack, to make sure he ( gets it right this time) and thats cheating , its a shame but we all know where the blame lies dont we, they cant even organise a simple poll and get it right, good-bye incompitance, hopefully forever.

[quote][bold]Ted[/bold] wrote: Parts of the vote will have to be re-run. The postal voters who did not vote, and those who voted twice on the left hand column (having been advised \"you have two votes\") will have to be contacted, new papers issued just to them,and their votes counted for the first time. Allan Wilson is crying into the Arran Sound about his result. He lost. But (including the currently disenfranchised postal voters) there\'s probably 150,000 Scots who have yet to vote. My guess is their votes are unlikely to favour Labour: the election observers thought the Greens and Tommy had been the main shaftees. It doesn\'t matter who it favours to redo the votes so everyone gets to express their views. It\'s called democracy![/quote] How could you possibly rerun part of the vote? Those who screwed up their paper get a chance to try again, knowing what the state of their constituency is and therefore would have the ability to vote tactically. And how can you say that some of the votes should be recast yet criticise Allan Wilson for wanting a recount? Surely any partial revote could change the result of that constituency. Surely your two points contracict each other?

Ted wrote:
Parts of the vote will have to be re-run. The postal voters who did not vote, and those who voted twice on the left hand column (having been advised \"you have two votes\") will have to be contacted, new papers issued just to them,and their votes counted for the first time. Allan Wilson is crying into the Arran Sound about his result. He lost. But (including the currently disenfranchised postal voters) there\'s probably 150,000 Scots who have yet to vote. My guess is their votes are unlikely to favour Labour: the election observers thought the Greens and Tommy had been the main shaftees. It doesn\'t matter who it favours to redo the votes so everyone gets to express their views. It\'s called democracy!

How could you possibly rerun part of the vote? Those who screwed up their paper get a chance to try again, knowing what the state of their constituency is and therefore would have the ability to vote tactically.

And how can you say that some of the votes should be recast yet criticise Allan Wilson for wanting a recount? Surely any partial revote could change the result of that constituency.

Surely your two points contracict each other?

If it was decided to re-run the vote, it would need to be for ALL voters, not just those who spokied their papers or didn't get a postal vote, i.e. you would need to have another election. I suspect that Labour wouldn't want that as it is almost certain their vote would plummet. They want to cherrypick the places that are rerun, and we all know why that is. I'd suggest a check on the Cumbernauld result should be done because frankly that one looked VERY odd given the swing to the SNP everywhere else.

Spokied? Where did I get that typo from? Should be "spoiled" of course.

All talk about re running votes is absurd and just can't happen now that the result is known. As previously stated in these columns I read the instructions carefully, studied the ballot papers carefully and took in the procedure required in order to cast a valid vote. It wasn't rocket science. I think stupidity played a big part in this shambles although I agree the two elections should have been held on different dates. But I don't accept the voting procedures was complicated and if we accept this then we are clearly saying that most Scots have the IQ of a cardboard box.........not the case here, and clearly not the case for the many who managed to do it all properly.

I thought 'spokied' was some piece of colourful slang I hadn't previously heard. Actually let's run with it.

One hundred thousand numpties pure spokied their vote, by the way.

141

Gonnae no spokie that ballot paper son ?

Howw?

Just gonnae no.

And can we now introduce "spokied" as an official new Scottish word, I think the definition is immediately apparent too! Wonderful word!

Is i really a terrible thing if the SNP form a minority Government? I think a strong democracy has conflict at the heart of its success. The SNP have, over the years, become more central in there appearance and approach to the Scottish public. However at their core they remain at the left of the spectrum. Labour certainly are the centre right, complacent and corrupt, some of their actions and inactions could be classed as criminal in terms of responsibility of power. This contrast hopefully could lead to voting on policies and legislation on the merits of each bill, which, thanks to the libdems, has been sincerely lacking. The SNP and the latter do agree on a great deal and the referendum need not to be an issue in this brave new Scotland. What is an issue is the split inside the SNP. The pragmatists believe in the more progressive 'catalonia' stance, where independence could come but later on and it not being the priority for Scotland. The other Nationists have a desire for independence now! This seems to be based more on a romantic notion of Scotland and its history, rather than the facts or even a realistic interpretation of the political climate. Alex Salmond balances this divide like a true politician, but for how long? The referendum in my opinion is a bit of political plate spinning to keep the differing factions satisfied. The larger issue which could make the whole debate irrelivant is the conservatives winning the next general election and "cutting Scotland loose" as it serves them not. Whatever happens Scotland must improve the opportunities and infrastructure it provides for its people. We deserve better! We deserve a chance!

See ma MSP Pauline McNeil, see that speech she done when she wan. That woman spokied for Scotland, so she did but.

[quote][bold]Alastair[/bold] wrote: Spokied? Where did I get that typo from? Should be "spoiled" of course.[/quote] Now if you had just pressed the letter two to the left, you would have had spojied. This from the verb spojer. We then have apropos ballot papers, "Ah spojie meant tae pit the cross there?"....Spokied like a gentleman.

Alastair wrote:
Spokied? Where did I get that typo from? Should be "spoiled" of course.

Now if you had just pressed the letter two to the left, you would have had spojied.
This from the verb spojer. We then have apropos ballot papers, "Ah spojie meant tae pit the cross there?"....Spokied like a gentleman.

What are you eating now Paulo?
It's spokie chips.

Regarding Jack McConnell's insistence he is still First Minister. Surely, when the Executive is dissolved for the hustings to commence, all MSPs cease to be - they become candidates for election. Ergo, the office of the First Minister also ceases . It is obvious no-one in the Labour party gives a spokie about Scotland or they would have broken ranks, accepted that the SNP are the largest party, and prepared for 4 years of opposition. Labour's pitiful attempt to force a recount for Wilson is untenable - all constituencies where ballot papers were spoiled would have to be revisited. If this happened then it's quite possible that Labour's vote would shrink - but they won't take that chance. As for Jack, what is needed is some statesman-like figure (maybe George Reid) to stand tall and declaim the immortal quote - [bold](In the name of God, GO!) [/bold]

Regarding Jack McConnell's insistence he is still First Minister.
Surely, when the Executive is dissolved for the hustings to commence, all MSPs cease to be - they become candidates for election.
Ergo, the office of the First Minister also ceases .

It is obvious no-one in the Labour party gives a spokie about Scotland or they would have broken ranks, accepted that the SNP are the largest party, and prepared for 4 years of opposition.
Labour's pitiful attempt to force a recount for Wilson is untenable - all constituencies where ballot papers were spoiled would have to be revisited. If this happened then it's quite possible that Labour's vote would shrink - but they won't take that chance.

As for Jack, what is needed is some statesman-like figure (maybe George Reid) to stand tall and declaim the immortal quote -

(In the name of God, GO!)

I have to say in all honesty, as a part of the working class I am embarressed to be represented by someone who lives his life being the underdog. The shake of the head, the those in London know better, the complete lack of savvy, the jobs for the boys, the selling of a million pound deal to his brother-inlaw for TWO POUNDS only compounds the irritation I feel. Joke Mconnell got where he was through nepotism it was not through the love of his country. Can ever the saying 'I'm all right Jack' be better illustrated.

Jack?...........Jack?
Huz oanbody seen Jack??
..................he's ahint the door wi' Dougie Alexander ye say !!!
Hhmmm!!
Whitever it is...it'll no' be resignation speeches they're writin'...that's for sure !!!
Hard Neckit buggers, the perr o' thaim !!

boys a boys ir dey no some damned spokie losers ida Girn formerly known as Labour

Get on your Spokie, Jack!

[quote][bold]Jigger[/bold] wrote: Regarding Jack McConnell's insistence he is still First Minister. Surely, when the Executive is dissolved for the hustings to commence, all MSPs cease to be - they become candidates for election. Ergo, the office of the First Minister also ceases . It is obvious no-one in the Labour party gives a spokie about Scotland or they would have broken ranks, accepted that the SNP are the largest party, and prepared for 4 years of opposition. Labour's pitiful attempt to force a recount for Wilson is untenable - all constituencies where ballot papers were spoiled would have to be revisited. If this happened then it's quite possible that Labour's vote would shrink - but they won't take that chance. As for Jack, what is needed is some statesman-like figure (maybe George Reid) to stand tall and declaim the immortal quote - [bold](In the name of God, GO!) [/bold] [/quote] In 20 years time when we have a proud successful independent nation, thriving on the thrifty investment of our oil taxes and competing with the top GDP per head nations in the world and with RBS as the worlds largest financial services group. Jack McConnell will be shaking his bus pass at the President's independence day address to the nation and proclaiming: "I am still the First Minister!!"

Jigger wrote:
Regarding Jack McConnell's insistence he is still First Minister. Surely, when the Executive is dissolved for the hustings to commence, all MSPs cease to be - they become candidates for election. Ergo, the office of the First Minister also ceases . It is obvious no-one in the Labour party gives a spokie about Scotland or they would have broken ranks, accepted that the SNP are the largest party, and prepared for 4 years of opposition. Labour's pitiful attempt to force a recount for Wilson is untenable - all constituencies where ballot papers were spoiled would have to be revisited. If this happened then it's quite possible that Labour's vote would shrink - but they won't take that chance. As for Jack, what is needed is some statesman-like figure (maybe George Reid) to stand tall and declaim the immortal quote - (In the name of God, GO!)

In 20 years time when we have a proud successful independent nation, thriving on the thrifty investment of our oil taxes and competing with the top GDP per head nations in the world and with RBS as the worlds largest financial services group. Jack McConnell will be shaking his bus pass at the President's independence day address to the nation and proclaiming: "I am still the First Minister!!"

I totally agree!
'President Jigger of Scotalonia'!!

I bet JM thinks Rangers are still capable of winning the SPL title this season

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