A big lump of...

Posted elsewhere....

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This'll have to be my last post on the election.... I'm really caught between a big up and down on this.

In 1992 I was only 16, but felt hit by the Labour loss. I was always staunchly Labour, up until my late 20s and a growing disillusionment with New Labour. I flittered about between the Greens and in the Holyrood elections went as far as the Scottish Socialists (more left wing than my own politics, but I felt it could only be good to have that left voice). Last election I rode the 'I agree with Nick' wave (they came third in my constituency, maintaining my run to that point of never having voted for the MP that represented me in my life). So now? I'm happy that Scotland has made such a strong declaration. Is it for change? Well maybe, though it's effectively a continuation of the SNP being in majority in Holyrood. But the political engagement of the IndyRef seems to have continued. I personally did my research, read manifestos, looked at track records, and with a clear view I went with the SNP for the first time in my life (I also voted Yes, but that was, despite what many think about the divisions on that, completely separate from anything to do with the SNP). So that means that Scotland aligns with my own choice, and naturally I'll therefore be happy.

But there's an overwhelming sense of WTF from the results down south. I genuinely thought Labour were going to swing it. The exit polls I thought were going to be overly-optimistic in giving the Tories just ten short of a majority. And yet it looks like they're going to come out even better than those polls suggested. Now I have a natural, long-ingrained dislike, mistrust, of the Tories. It's a bias, I recognise that, though a lot of it is based on fact of what has happened when they were in power (because those facts counter my own personal views - naturally a Tory voter would basically say the same thing of Labour governments). But I do, genuinely, think that giving Cameron a mandate, because basically England has said 'we agree with you, and we want you to be able to do this without being hamstrung by a coalition', is harmful to society. Note, not necessarily 'the UK'. They might be great for the UK if the economy does pick up the way they say, if capitalism once more comes to the fore. But for society, for the gap between the rich and the poor, for the public services, the NHS, for simply 'caring', I can't see matters improving, and if anything getting markedly worse.

Another IndyRef isn't going to happen quickly - too many hoops to jump through, and the powers-that-be in Scotland know that a large swathe of people would be annoyed at it. But there's a part of me wonders if they just need to wait for another 3 or 4 years of Tory policies for that feeling to grow ever stronger. The first key indicator will be implementation (or otherwise) of the Smith report.

One thing is for sure, there are interesting times ahead for the UK, for Scotland, and for the politics of both. Genuine congratulations to both the SNP and the Tories; commiserations to those who lost seats who were good people (no, I'm not looking at you Jim Murphy).

Looking forward to a whisky tonight.