Nicola Sturgeon Hanging On!

[ApusApus]

Let's change the scenario slightly, what would be your view if the Scottish county you were born in decided to have a vote on becoming independent of Scotland? Hypothetical I know, but not too far-fetched really. Would you argue that only those people born & living in the county were entitled to vote & everyone else in Scotland couldn't?


Shane

[Cogs123]

I think that's a pretty poor analogy Shane, a better one would have been the 6 counties of Northern Ireland, who voted to remain as part of the UK., Eire didn't get a vote.
I think people forget that the UK consists of 4 separate countries & it is purely the will of the people of those countries that keeps our country ' united ', why should anyone that does not live within the boundaries of each individual country even expect to get a vote, it's just ridiculous.
Nicola Sturgeon might have lost seats because of the GE, but anyone would have to agree that it would have been nigh on impossible to repeat the near whitewash of other parties that the SNP achieved the last time.
Clearly the people of Scotland are mainly behind her & the SNP, otherwise she wouldn't be the First Minister of Scotland, or have retained the majority in the devolved Government.
Personally, I think she is a great orator & debater, if TM had half her spunk, or skill, she might have faired better in the latest car crash of an election....& no, I am not Scottish.

[ApusApus]

I think that's a pretty poor analogy Shane, a better one would have been the 6 counties of Northern Ireland, who voted to remain as part of the UK., Eire didn't get a vote.
I think people forget that the UK consists of 4 separate countries & it is purely the will of the people of those countries that keeps our country ' united ', why should anyone that does not live within the boundaries of each individual country even expect to get a vote, it's just ridiculous.
Nicola Sturgeon might have lost seats because of the GE, but anyone would have to agree that it would have been nigh on impossible to repeat the near whitewash of other parties that the SNP achieved the last time.
Clearly the people of Scotland are mainly behind her & the SNP, otherwise she wouldn't be the First Minister of Scotland, or have retained the majority in the devolved Government.
Personally, I think she is a great orator & debater, if TM had half her spunk, or skill, she might have faired better in the latest car crash of an election....& no, I am not Scottish.

Creating an analogy using Northern Ireland & Eire is actually even worse considering RW's views on the Union & the other members. He has stated his position on several occasions in other posts with phrases like "he does not care", "he doesn't live there", "it's not his business", etc. It would have been really clever of me to use your analogy!


Shane

[smudger]

RW, as I have stated many times, I'm British and will always remain so, wherever I live. All of my family live in the UK and the likelihood is that I will at some point in the nottoo distant future have to return there. Hmm, yes, the country to whom I paid all my taxes, NI, council tax.........all my working life, 45 years. If course, it owes me nothing does it????

Unlike you, I'm British, not English, nor Scottish. I'm part of the UK, as are you, a fact which you seem to ignore when it suits you. Doesn't stop you taking the funding from the UK Parliament though does it? Which is quite fortuitous, given Sturgeons inability to balance the Scottish books, or to sort out the bankrupt RBS, which is why the Bank of England will not support Scotland using sterling as its currency if/when it can ever disentangle itself from UK.com and rejoin the EU - fat chance with their current balance of payments.

You seem to be living in a bubble RW, seeing some wonderful life created by Sturgeon, where everything in the garden is rosy - so long as you ignore the balance of payments elephant in the room that is, along with its counterpart the bankrupt RBS

Fine, mute me for disagreeing with you, for daring to criticise your beloved Sturgeon. Doesn't alter the truth one iota. Sturgeon has one aim in sight - becoming president of an independent Scotland. God help you all if she ever gets her way.

[Jimgward]

Without dealing 2oth other issues, you’re wrong about RBS. It is a Scottish bank only in name. It’s shareholders own the bank and presently the largest shareholder is the UK government. It is therefore a uk bank and has been for many decades. It bought NatWest. Did that them a Scottish bank?

Is BP an English company? Last I heard, most shares were US owned.

In fact RBS I think, has a larger wage bill in England than Scotland!

Sometimes, people will try anything to reinforce arguments!

[Jimgward]

I think that's a pretty poor analogy Shane, a better one would have been the 6 counties of Northern Ireland, who voted to remain as part of the UK., Eire didn't get a vote.
I think people forget that the UK consists of 4 separate countries & it is purely the will of the people of those countries that keeps our country ' united ', why should anyone that does not live within the boundaries of each individual country even expect to get a vote, it's just ridiculous.
Nicola Sturgeon might have lost seats because of the GE, but anyone would have to agree that it would have been nigh on impossible to repeat the near whitewash of other parties that the SNP achieved the last time.
Clearly the people of Scotland are mainly behind her & the SNP, otherwise she wouldn't be the First Minister of Scotland, or have retained the majority in the devolved Government.
Personally, I think she is a great orator & debater, if TM had half her spunk, or skill, she might have faired better in the latest car crash of an election....& no, I am not Scottish.

The UK is 3 countries and a province.

However, you are correct, NS is by far the strongest UK political leader.

[Jimgward]

Oh Jim, come on....the SNP got about 980k votes in the GE and received 35 seats..about 37% of the total vote, the conservatives got about ..28.5%, labour 27%, to put it in perspective the Green Party got Over 500k and got 1 seat...Ms Sturgeon is a busted flush...the only hand she had was Independance...which the majority of the Scottish people do now want...so RW, put away the blue paint, hang up the kilt, put your underpants back on...

Your reply mentions me, but your post has nothing to do with my post..... am I missing something?

[Jimgward]

I assumed NS was referring to Ms Sturgeon...the strongest political leader? A minority shareholder at best.

Ahhh... I see. Strong can mean many things. You’ve interpreted as having most votes. I meant she is the best debater, most knowledgable, in most control of her party and more.... I.e. a strong leader.

[Jimgward]

As an ex health minister, she is actually pretty well informed on the NHS. NHS Scotland have shorter waiting times than anywhere else in the UK and many more things working better. So 7oure wrong to perhaps believe biased opinions.

Let’s look at the other political leaders.... May.... weak and wobbly is the best description. Unable to answer direct questions and unwilling to debate.

Corbyn, in constant dispute with his party.

Lib `Dems are leaderless.

DUP have a woman who should be under investigation.

I have little knowledge of any other.

[Cogs123]

It's all just semantics Jim, Wales is a principality, I consider it a country, some consider NI a ' province ' I do not, as it is the country of my birth.

[Jimgward]

As an ex health minister, she is actually pretty well informed on the NHS. NHS Scotland have shorter waiting times than anywhere else in the UK and many more things working better. So 7oure wrong to perhaps believe biased opinions.

Let’s look at the other political leaders.... May.... weak and wobbly is the best description. Unable to answer direct questions and unwilling to debate.

Corbyn, in constant dispute with his party.

Lib `Dems are leaderless.

DUP have a woman who should be under investigation.

I have little knowledge of any other.

She may be well informed but it would appear she is doing nothing about it...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01 ... breakdown/

A one trick pony....Independance...which has been rejected by the Scottish people..a Female Farage...who has failed to achieve her aim..at least Farage achieved his...

I am sure I could find many more stories about the NHS in England being on the point of collapse....

Farage won’t give up either. He craves fame more than purpose.

I agree, though, that Sturgeon, like May, needs to always do more in many areas. Few politicians have run public services well. Strangely enough, Blair probably did more than most and better than most. It’s no coincidence that little money gets spent on public buildings under the tories, but when labour takes power, loads of new builds happen. In the 60’s, sadly, these were carbunkums, but lots of them with flat roofs. Under Blair, too much PFI/PPP but many new hospitals, schools, Universities - that would never have happened under the tories.

In fact, the tories have traditional called themselves the party of law and order, yet under Cameron and May, police numbers and fire service numbers have been devastated!

[Jimgward]

I am sure you could..but Pretending Ms Sturgeon is some sort of super politician is just daft, she took over from Salmon,,she was second best...same mantra, same desire, a desire the majority of the Scottish people do not want... And the Police and fire service, cuts yes...devastated...come on now..cuts in the police have been made because of the reduction in crime.....and efficiencies brought about by technology and a move towards cyber crime...so bobbies on the beat have reduced...there is a limit to resources and you have to ensure all bases are covered.....would an increase in bobbies on the beat have stopped Manchester..or the attacks in London...no...resources have to be placed smarter...utilised better...numbers alone do not necessarily mean superiority....

Actually, would it have stopped them? We will never know, but for sure, they were reported to police many times and not followed up.... would a less stressed force have followed up? We can certainly give the benefit of the doubt that they would....

As to less crime? Seriously? do you live in the UK? Most crimes are no longer followed up.... break-ins, assaults, theft.... lookup scoother crime in London....

[Jimgward]

I am sure you could..but Pretending Ms Sturgeon is some sort of super politician is just daft, she took over from Salmon,,she was second best...same mantra, same desire, a desire the majority of the Scottish people do not want... And the Police and fire service, cuts yes...devastated...come on now..cuts in the police have been made because of the reduction in crime.....and efficiencies brought about by technology and a move towards cyber crime...so bobbies on the beat have reduced...there is a limit to resources and you have to ensure all bases are covered.....would an increase in bobbies on the beat have stopped Manchester..or the attacks in London...no...resources have to be placed smarter...utilised better...numbers alone do not necessarily mean superiority....

Sorry to trawl you up Hud, but I saw this and thought of your assertion Re crime...

From the BBC website.

Crime in England and Wales has seen its largest annual rise in a decade, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The total number of crimes reported to and recorded by the police rose by 10% between April 2016 and March 2017 to almost five million.
Violent crime was up by 18%, robbery by 16% and sex offences by 14%.
Yet the Crime Survey of England and Wales, based on people's experiences of crime, showed a 7% drop.
The Crime Survey is always published on the same day as the ONS figures. Its results are based on a face-to-face survey of 38,000 adults and children in which they are asked about their experiences of crime in the previous year, which means it includes crimes that are never reported to the police.
'High harm offences'
In the ONS statistics, nearly five million crimes were recorded by the police in the last year - 458,021 more than the previous year.
The number of offences of violence against a person went up to 175,060 offences.
Theft was up 7%, with 118,774 crimes recorded, and public order offences rose 39% to 78,697.
There were 723 homicides in the past year - made up of murders, manslaughter and infanticide cases.
The official figure included the 96 Hillsborough deaths for the first time, following the verdict at the end of the inquest in April 2016 that the victims had been unlawfully killed 27 years earlier.
Reality Check: Is crime up or down under Tories?


[Firefly]

It would be interesting to see the numbers of crimes carried out by British citizens, as opposed to crimes carried out by non British citizens. OK the crime rates may have increased, but so has immigration. Before anyone starts to shout 'racist', I am not accusing anyone of anything, but I would be interested to see the figures.

Jim

The question is, is it REPORTED and RECORDED crime that has increased ? I would bet yes is the answer.

Jackie

[Jimgward]

I happen to have spoken to a serving CID officer, who is being put under pressure to ‘solve’ or ‘shelve’ crimes.... i.e. nothing stays on the books...

How Hudswell can possibly say there’s no link between police numbers and crime... Honestly. I respected you more than that.

So, if there were no police, crime wouldn’t increase?

It is well known that cuts in policing is DIRECTLY relating to increases in crime. In fact, the Tories used to quote that in the policy of Law and Order and their stated aims of inversting in policing...

How anyone can justify cuts in policing, fire services and ambulance services, in todays world, I dont know. If you do, you’re so politically blinkered.

Going back to the point of it being a Tory issue..... yes, as long as they are in Power and cutting numbers. I would honestly slate any party similarly.

[Poppy]

I have to say that I really don't believe that a reduction in police numbers has impacted on crime figures. That is not to say that I believe in the cuts but personally I think that heavier punishments are more of a deterrent. Police numbers may mean that more crimes are solved but do they really reduce crime? I am sure that now there are more stringent penalties for using your mobile whilst driving for example will reduce this dangerous occupation as people will be frightened of losing their license and possibly their jobs. Only lock people up when they are a danger to society and make more community service orders for those who are not therefore relieving the pressure on the Prison Service . Deport all non UK offenders from whence they came, I could go on.....

[Jimgward]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... warns.html

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/20 ... all-danger

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/ju ... -haunt-her

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ane-abbott

It is easy to go back and forward with press on this matter, one being for, one being against.

There is no doubt that many forces regard the cuts as having significant effect, both on morale, workload and ability to solve crimes. So, every when crime rates don’t increase, the fact no investigation has taken place, leads the public to regard policing as being ineffective.

As an example, most forces will not respond to non-immediate calls, within 24 hours. That could be a burglary, so the householder is left bereft.

[Firefly]

Lloyd

It matters not one jot where you live, if you don't vote, then complain about the outcome, you only have yourself to blame.

Jackie

[ApusApus]

What I can't understand is why you think that only people who are Scottish & actually live in Scotland can voice an opinion on Scottish matters that is relevant .............. that is such a one dimensional view! Shane

Quite right, it's a bit like saying that people who live in Cyprus and didn't vote in the referendum are not allowed to have an opinion on Brexit

I agree, everyone is entitled to their opinions & to voice them ........... but those, like you that express the views repeatedly that Brexit will be so disasterous & yet chose not to exercise their right to vote which could have affected the outcome is pretty hypocritical really!

I happen to agree with you that Brexit is wrong but I disagree with you on how we deal with it ........... I'm on the side that wants Team UK to get on with the democratic will of the UK voters & get the best deal we can! Do you really want the UK to come out of this on their knees, as all your posts seem to suggest this?


Shane

[cyprusgrump]

What I can't understand is why you think that only people who are Scottish & actually live in Scotland can voice an opinion on Scottish matters that is relevant .............. that is such a one dimensional view! Shane

Quite right, it's a bit like saying that people who live in Cyprus and didn't vote in the referendum are not allowed to have an opinion on Brexit

I agree, everyone is entitled to their opinions & to voice them ........... but those, like you that express the views repeatedly that Brexit will be so disasterous & yet chose not to exercise their right to vote which could have affected the outcome is pretty hypocritical really!

I happen to agree with you that Brexit is wrong but I disagree with you on how we deal with it ........... I'm on the side that wants Team UK to get on with the democratic will of the UK voters & get the best deal we can! Do you really want the UK to come out of this on their knees, as all your posts seem to suggest this?


Shane

Oh yes...

He'd be able to e-mail, "I told you so! " to his son in the UK then...

Strange guy...