I was watching the Daily Politics today and of course, Thursday is Scottish First Minister's Questions. I would like to say that I am glad these parliamentary pieces are far less like a tantrum and more like actual politics.
One thing that continually gets me is Joanne Lamont's use of a script. I understand the need for paper notes re statistics and quotes from other people but she blatantly reads a script as though there are no original or intellegent thoughts in her head. I'm not trying to have a go at her, I just think she needs to understand the issues (real issues, not having a go at one stupid point, but real issues) and know what stance her party has on it. I do think that this lady is a completely ineffectual party leader for Labour. I personally would not vote for them given her argumentativeness.
The average person wants our politicians to get along, to actually agree with good judgements and good policy and politely put across their own ideas if they don't agree. The spirit should be co-operation.
The Liberal Democrat Party and the Labour Party need to learn something. They cannot blindly ignore many voters and categorically state that they are against independence because they are starting to look more and more like ostriches with their heads in the sand.
I will let you in on a secret - I used to vote Liberal. When they stated they would not back independence I switched to SNP. If we gain independence there's a good chance I won't vote SNP ever again (that depends on the parties and their policies for the country's future). I also vote Green as my second choice, because I feel that we need to look after our environment if we want to continue to breathe lovely fresh air.
Willie Rennie is a great Liberal Party MP, he is intellegent, articulate and, well, liberal. I agree with a few of his views but I really feel that the Scottish Liberals need to cuts themselves away from the national party or they will never gain seats again. In fact, I would go as far as to say that there is a very good chance the party will cease to exist after the next general election given the betrayal everyone feels in their siding with the tories.
Later in the programme, Andrew Neil spoke with Leanne Wood, Party Leader of Plaid Cymru. She had a lot of interesting things to say but one thing I really picked up on and loved is that she said regardless of the outcome of the Scottish referendum everything would change after it and that we needed (by we she meant Scotland, England, N Ireland and Wales) a standing of equality. I thought this was a wonderful thing for a politician to say.
This is the main issue a lot of people do not realise. They assume that Scotland is anti-English and we want to break away from the union for that reason. This is utter rubbish. We want independence because we want to take responsibility for ourselves and to be on an equal footing with the rest of the UK. I have several English friends, some of whom will vote for independence and some who possibly won't. I do think that many English people in Scotland will feel somehow threatened if we gained independence. Scotland is a modern liberal country, we want equality in all forms and no-one is going to be excluded.
I also think that Labour, who are curently in majority in the Welsh Assembly, are not benefiting Wales in any way, shape or form just now. in fact, I feel that the voice of the Welsh is being lost in Westminster even more than that of the Scottish.
I have not seen anything recently re Northern Irish politics so I cannot at present comment on this area. I hope they are in a better position than the rest of the UK at present.
On a final note, England needs representation as England, not just as Britain. I do feel that the voice of the average English person is also being drowned out in Westminster. It seems to me that Westminster is filled with upper middle-classed men who are concerned first and foremost with their own money issues than anything to do with doing the right thing for the UK.
On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:
The Island of the Mist is book 2
The Stone in the Sword is book 1
The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:
The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin
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