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dear_wendy

Listed below are comments made by dear_wendy between Thursday, 24th September 2009 and Friday, 27th November 2009 (23 Hours Ago) .

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Talking drink 12:20pm on 27 Nov 2009 Put simply this should not be a political matter.

Independent analysis and professional opinion conclude that Minimum Pricing is the most effective way of reducing alcohol consumption.

Reducing alcohol consumption - reduces deaths and serious health issues.

That conclusion, from the people best placed to judge, frankly outweighs all the wee anecdotal arguments above - that "it won't help this", "it won't stop that"

Who cares!

I say again

Independent analysis and professional opinion believe that Minimum Pricing is the most effective way of reducing alcohol consumption.

Reducing alcohol consumption, reduces deaths and serious health issues.

Stop the politics of self interest and get it done.

Then follow it up with further measures - and slowly we may see Scotland get off the bottom of just about every health related league table out there.

Putting politics ahead of the people's health is, quite frankly, disgusting.
Getting on with it 11:12pm on 25 Nov 2009 Nice One Gordon Brewer!!!

On Borrowing Powers, and the requirement for borrowing to be balanced by tax increase -
"If this applied to Westminster, over the last year, with the amount borrowed we'd all have been paying 150% income tax!"

Nailed it!! Very Un-Glencampbelly!

Then follows up with.....

"So if this is a good idea, are you proposing that this be applied to Westminster borrowing also?"

Proper interviewing by Brewer. Anne McKechin left floundering. Well done.
Getting on with it 10:53pm on 25 Nov 2009 Quote from Murphy today (in responding to Angus Robertson)

"A Nationalist puts the SNP first, a patriot puts Scotland first, and that's the difference between my party and yours, and why increasingly Scotland is turning its back on the SNP."

Following that, here's another of those "awkward questions" Brian......

"Mr Murphy - When faced with a political decision that would benefit Scotland at the expense of the Union, or benefit the Union at the expense of Scotland...... Which would you choose?"

Likely answer :- squirm squirm squirm

Then, ask the same question to Mr Salmond......

Likely answer : - Scotland, Scotland, Scotland.

Give it a try at some point before the election Brian. Please!!!!
Getting on with it 10:31pm on 25 Nov 2009 #54 Online Ed

Well done, I think you may just have highlighted "The Eastwood Question".

(apologies to Mr T. Dalyell!)

Why should a Westminster Government be able to respond to an unforeseen drop in income tax by borrowing and stimulating the economy, while a Scottish Government be hamstrung by having to raise taxes and thus stifling the economy and entering a vicious circle of decline?

Lets have a proper Scottish Government.
Getting on with it 10:09pm on 25 Nov 2009 I'll make a prediction right now.

Tories will win in 2010, and will introduce none of this in their first term.

This is a Labour fudge, which they also know will not be implemented. Nor do they want it to be. The promise of it at some point in the future may just keep a few of their Scottish MPs on the gravy train for a few more years though.

Wake up Scotland - we're being taken for mugs once again.

This is a Westminster proposal, by a London based party that always places the Union and their own party interests above those of the people of Scotland. Those are pretty blatant facts.

Given that - Who do you think this proposal is designed to benefit?

The people of Scotland?
Glasgow North East by-election 2:46pm on 13 Nov 2009 Firstly - consistent and repeated negative campaigning from most parties will obviously lead to lower turnouts. Politicians cannot campaign as they do and then wring their hands in despair at an electorate disenchanted with them all.

Second - As an SNP supporter, I would never question the right of any voter to vote for whoever they want for whatever reason they want. Those doing so above should realise that such behaviour is unlikely to win converts to the cause.
We have to work out why they are not voting SNP, and whether there is anything we can do to address that, without abandoning all priciples (although that worked for Blair!)
Personally I think we'll only succeed nationally by winning seats from Labour. We've been most successful at that when we have highlighted our progressive politics and equally highlighted the abandonment of such policies by Nu Labour.
This was crucial in Glasgow East, which closely followed Brown's 10p tax shenanigans, and his cosying up to Mrs Thatcher.

Without the west of Scotland, the SNP will have a hard time winning any majority of Scottish seats in either parliament. Without showing the SNP as the party of progressive politics and Nu Labour as little more than red Tories we'll struggle to make inroads in the West of Scotland.

74 years of Labour decline was the wrong message in Glasgow NE. That is telling the electorate they have been wrong, wrong and wrong again. We should have pointed out where current NuLabour policies place them closer to Thatcher than Keir Hardie, and current SNP policies are more in line with original Labour principles.

If Labour, in Westminster opposition, continue to woo Middle England that argument may still resonate. If they shift to the left, a new SNP strategy may be required.

We have the advantage - we only have to woo "Middle Scotland". NuLab have to balance that with wooing Middle England, which ain't easy!

We also have the advantage of only having to win once, all be it handsomely!
Striking a balance 11:43am on 28 Oct 2009 Oh yes....

And please please please bring back Wendy!

My username seems so dated
Striking a balance 11:42am on 28 Oct 2009 After watching Newsnight Scotland last night I think we can assume a new Lib Dem tactic is afoot.

They are going for the sympathy vote.

As for the Labour re-shuffle....
No "Sackings" ?
No derisory comment from other parties?

I'll be generous and suggest that perhaps the BBC thought the new Labour front bench details damaging enough that it required no further negative spin?

I'm trying to work out who takes over from Gray out of that lot?
I can only think that his survival strategy is to surround himself with those who make him appear statesman like in comparison.

Finally - nice of Gordon to "intervene" on the TA funding. Obviously he just belatedly got wind of it, and immediately his moral compass told him that this just was not on!!!
The Alex Salmond show 11:18am on 25 Sep 2009 Dean,

You rightly claim that the SNP did not overtly include a caveat that their manifesto pledges would only be implemented should a majority be gained.

I'd say that was inherent in any manifesto.

I'd also say that not even majority government manifestos are ever delivered in full for another reason. "Events, dear boy, events!"

Circumstances change over 4 years - Global, economical, environmental, local. Even the "not for turning lady" redirected the odd policy to accommodate a changing world over a parliamentary cycle.

As a matter if interest, what disclaimer did the Tories put on their 2007 manifesto pledges? Majority Govt? Minority Govt? Coalition? More than 10 seats?

I'm afraid your agrument that a manifesto is a cast iron contract is ridiculous, and frankly you are setting yourself up as a hostage to fortune following CMD's likely success at Westminster next year.

Good luck with that.

Feel free to retract your position in the way you feel most appropriate.
The Alex Salmond show 4:19pm on 24 Sep 2009 Alex dealt another crippling blow by the 3 stooges?

It's truly amazing that after having crippling blows dealt week after week by the "succinct, pointed and pertinant" Gray et al, that our Alex still seems to soar in the polls.

Maybe what the BBC (ahem!) "report" (ahem! ahem!) and what the people see are somewhat different?

Brian - surely you understand that people are not too interested in the small print of individual manifesto pledges? Especially those of a minority government with a hostile bloc opposition and even more hostile purse holder!

What they look for is progress and representation of their best interests, and that is what they are seeing - despite your best efforts to shroud it.

What do the opposition offer?
Serial wrecking and negativity. No positive alternative, and constant placement of London/Party/Union interests above those of the Scots they should be serving.

I fear their petty point scoring now actually is counter productive and counts against them with more and more Scots.

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