There's a first time...

I spent this weekend at the SNP Spring conference at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow.  It's the first SNP conference I've ever been to, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

The venue itself is a bit soulless, but it's one of the few in Scotland that can hold the 3,000 delegates and member visitors who attended.  My branch is fairly large, so we sent a total of 29 delegates, each of whom were free to vote as they wished on thee many motions that were put before the conference.

The two days were split into various sessions, with intervals between each to allow you to visit the exhibitors' stalls attached to the conference and which represented various SNP branches as well as causes that wish to attract the attention of the SNP delegates.

In the morning on day 1 there was a welcome to Glasgow by Humza Yousaf, which was very amusing and went down well with the packed hall.  There were also quite a few ladies swooning, as Mr Yousaf appears to be regarded as a bit of a pin-up.  Various motions were then debated, which was interesting for me both for the various subjects and to learn about how the voting procedures work.  None of the motions were particularly contentious, and most were passed by acclaim.

The main event of day 1 took place in the afternoon, which was a 50 minute speech by Nicola Sturgeon.  It was not one of her best speeches - I would describe it as workmanlike - but it hit all the right notes with the crowd and was rapturously received.  Her speech was at pains to address the demonisation of the SNP by the mainstream newspapers by extending a reassuring hand of friendship to the rest of the UK, promising that, if successful in the General Election, they would be using whatever power they had to try to make things better for the whole of the UK, not just for Scotland.  There were also a few manifesto-like announcements, such as a pledge to raise the top rate of income tax to 50% for people earning more than £150,000 per year, to abolish zero-hour contracts and to halt the privatisation of the NHS in England.  She also pledged to abolish the House of Lords, which will send a shiver of dread down the spine of many of the current incumbents of the House of Commons, who seem to regard a Lordship as an entitlement at the end of their career.  Ms Sturgeon doesn't have the natural charisma of Alex Salmond, but she is held in great affection by the SNP membership.

 Day 1 ended with more debates on motions, a couple of which proved more contentious than those earlier in the day.  At the end I found myself felling very tired, as for each motion you have to take in all the information the speakers provide, both for and against, consider the facts and make a decision on how to vote.  The tiredness was something that I didn't expect.

Day 2 began with a closed session, where various matters relating to the party constitution were debated.  Pete Wishart produced a barnstorming speech on one of the motions, and received a standing ovation, something which apparently has never been seen before when debating constitutional matters.  The main debate was regarding action on equality in shortlists for elections and provoked passion from both proponents and opponents.  The motion was ultimately passed, but there was considerable discussion throughout the day on the subject even after the vote.

Again there were more debates on various motions, again not greatly contentious, which was probably a bit of a relief after the rigours of the closed session.  John Swinney then gave a speech regarding the finances of Scotland, and listed many projects which are being brought on on time and on budget, for example the new Queensferry crossing.  As might be expected the speech was interesting but somewhat dry, with its recitation of many facts and figures.

After these were complete Alex Salmond was due to do a Q&A session in one part of the hall while the main stage was prepared for the afternoon's programme.  However, after a standing ovation of several minutes he took to the main stage at the insistence of the crowd and was in very good form.  He was, of course, promoting his recent book (see my previous review elsewhere on this blog) but was happy to take questions from members on the audience on whatever topics they wished, which he answered with his trademark dry wit.

The afternoon session consisted of more debates and a speech by Stuart Hosie, in which he said that, in the case of a minority Labour government, the SNP would expect to be consulted on the Queen's speech before lending their support to it.  This has provoked uproar from representatives of the Labour party, who reject the notion of the SNP as 'kingmakers'.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out after May 7th.  The speakers at the conference were at pains to point out that nothing is being assumed by the party executive about the number of MPs the party might have after the general election, although any number greater than 11 would be the best result ever for them.  The message for the General Election is that there is a lot of hard work to be done in the next 39 days in persuading people to vote for the SNP.

All-in-all the conference was a great experience, although after two days I'm in need of a serious rest.  I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity to go, whether as a delegate or a visitor.  The only letdown really was the food, which was mediocre at best and very, very expensive.

And we're off...

... to the SNP conference this weekend.  Should be an interesting one, given that the SNP have just won two council by-elections (Glenrothes West and Armadale & Blackridge) by margins which are pretty much in line with what the polls are reporting for General Election voting intentions, which is good news.

I hope to be able to blog while there.  Watch this space...

Can I speak to a human?

Yesterday Jim Murphy appeared on Sunday Politics, where he was grilled by Andrew Neil on why Labour is doing so badly in Scotland and why his leadership has made no discernible difference to the polls.  His reply was like when you phone up a helpline, only to be met with a robotic voice at every turn.  The result is frustrating and you don't get your enquiry sorted out.

Mr Murphy basically repeated the same three soundbites over and over.
1) The biggest party gets to form the government
2) Vote SNP, get Tory
3) The SNP were responsible for bringing down the Labour government in 1979

This last is clearly Mr McTernan's latest wheeze for trying to get the lumpen proletariat back onside.  Labour in Scotland still refuse to learn the lesson the electorate are trying to teach them.  People have had enough of politicians simply mouthing their latest sound bite, regardless of the question they've been asked.  That's the old politics.  Instead people want to hear politicians tell them what they are going to do with power if they are given it.  They want to hear about policies for the future, not ancient history (and inaccurate ancient history at that).  They want to hear about co-operation, not the Bain-principle based Labour politics of recent years.

Labour in Scotland are simply repeating all the old moves, all the old chat-up lines and hoping they will work now as they have in the past.  A bit like a middle-aged man having a mid-life crisis, and with about as much success.

Book review

The Dream Shall Never Die: 100 Days that Changed Scotland Forever by Alex Salmond

I've just finished reading the above title, which mainly consists of Alex Salmond's diary of the 100 days leading up to the referendum, along with his views on events since then.

It's interesting to compare this with similar diary-based books by David Torrance (100 Days of Hope and Fear) and Alan Cochrane (Alex Salmond: My Part in his Downfall).  Both of these survey events from a No-voting perspective (although Mr Torrance tended to get butt-hurt when people wanted him to represent the No side), whereas Mr Salmond's book is, obviously, from a Yes-voting perspective.

The thing that comes across from Mr Salmond's book most strongly is his interest in people.  He can talk to anyone, from the Queen to a single mother living in a council flat, and will be equally interested in what both have to say.  The book is full of anecdotes about the many people he met during the referendum campaign and the stories they told him.  This is a striking contrast to the offerings Messrs Torrance and Cochrane, both of whom name-drop constantly.  Indeed there are copious footnotes in Mr Cochrane's book, most of which are explanations of who all the names dropped belong to.

Mr Salmond's book gives some explanation of how he came to believe in Scottish Independence and has brief references to his political career prior to the referendum.  Again, contrasting with the other books, where the Union is simply assumed to be the best option without any explanation of why this should be the case.

The book does capture the feeling of how it was to be involved in the Yes campaign, and the two passages referring to the 19th September and his resignation still evoke strong emotions six months on.

There are brief references to the business of government at Holyrood, and I have a strong feeling that there is a lot of story there which I hope we will be told at some point.

Finally, it's clear from the book that Mr Salmond is by no means finished as a politician, and I think we can look forward to some interesting times if he is elected to Westminster in May.

Limp lettuce

Today I saw the election leaflet being put out by our local Labour MP in pursuit of his re-election.  I was amazed by the lack of manifesto-related content in it.  The only policy mentioned (twice) is that Labour will abolish the bedroom tax if elected.  The rest of the leaflet was filled with vague claims that he has been standing up for the voters of our constituency in Westminster (but no details as to how) and a list of local charities and causes that he has supported.  All in all, I've seen more information on a limp lettuce leaf.

The abolishing of the bedroom tax is laudable but is not going to play as well up here in Scotland as it will in other parts of the UK, as the Scottish government has been protecting Scots from the effects of it by putting aside money to pay for it.  But why is there no mention of any other policies in the leaflet?  It's not that Labour doesn't have a manifesto for 2015 - there's a copy of it in full technicolour on their website.

I think the answer lies in Jim Murphy's whirlwind of policy announcements in the last few weeks.  It was noticeable that all the matters that he pronounced upon were devolved matters that are dealt with with Holyrood.  It looks like Johann Lamont wounded Labour in Scotland deeply with her parting shot, and now they're in a position where they are trying to avoid the suggestion of being a mere branch office run by London like a person having a sneezing fit when the plague's in town.

Having to campaign on the UK Labour manifesto kind of gives the lie to Jim 'I've got complete autonomy' Murphy's position, so the Scottish candidates find themselves between a rock and a hard place.  The latest poll from Survation is not going to cheer them up any either, since it shows a slight increase in the SNP's lead over Labour as far as voting intentions are concerned.

I'm not sure that Labour in Scotland can get themselves out of the trap they're in, since they seem to be hamstrung whatever they do.

The dream will never die

Just had a copy of Alex Salmond's book delivered to my Kindle.  Will be interesting to see how it compares to the diaries of Messrs Torrance and Cochrane.  Review will be provided once I've read it.

And you can stick your lawnmower...

Today Ed Milliband announced that he is definitely not going to enter a coalition with the SNP, no way, no how, no sirree bob!  I'm sure the voters in England will be feeling a great sense of relief at this announcement.  The voters in Scotland?  Not so much, since most were aware that the SNP have repeatedly said that they will not enter a formal coalition with Labour, although other supportive arrangements might be on the table.  It's not as if the SNP have made any great secret of it after all.

It reminded me of the old joke about the man who wanted to borrow his neighbour's lawnmower, since his front garden was getting a bit overgrown.  As he walks down his path on his way to his neighbour's house he suddenly remembers that he borrowed his neighbour's hedge-trimmers a few months ago and has never returned them.  As he gets to his neighbour's gate he remembers that he also borrowed his neighbour's drill last month and it's still in the shed.  On the way up the path he then remembers that his neighbour also lent him a hammer last week and he hasn't returned that either.  As he approaches the front door he imagines what his neighbour will say when he asks to borrow the lawnmower, imagining that he'll probably be reproached about all the things he's borrowed and not returned.  He rings the doorbell, full of trepidation.  His neighbour opens the door and says 'Hi George, what can I do for you?'  And the man replies 'You can stick your lawnmower up your arse!'

That's Ed Milliband, that is.