Election night - the (mostly) local view

[alitheapipkin]

Really glad I joined the Scottish Greens and got involved this year. Going to the count last night was really good fun. We didn't get either of our deposits back but we substantially increased our vote share in both constituencies and managed about 3% (and 4th place) in Dundee West which was pretty damn good all things considered, since that was

Comments

[mimmimmim]

I've no problem with Scottish voters voting SNP - more baffled by the number of English who voted Tory. And depressed at having Cameron's overprivileged buffoons in power STILL.

[alitheapipkin]

Yeah, I think the most plausible explanation I've seen is that people bought into the idea that the economy is improving and decided changing tact was too big a risk just now. But the number of seats UKIP came *second* in is really depressing, England really does look like a foreign country in terms of attitude from up here :(

[mimmimmim]

I'm honestly not sure a lot of the UKIP voters were voting *for* much more than change. Labour took us into an illegal war, and the economy tanked on their watch, and the Lib Dems didn't deliver the change they promised - okay, they stopped the tories being quite the gits they wanted to be, but 'making things less awful' isn't what you want when you voted someone in to make things better. And then the media didn't give the Greens enough attention to be seen as a viable alternative; if they'd had a bit more puff in the press, I bet they'd have had a fair few of those votes that went to UKIP. There are a few genuinely xenophobic apples in the UKIP barrel, but I honestly don't believe all their voters felt that way.

(I guess I still have faith in most people to be fundamentally decent.)

[alitheapipkin]

That is a good point and I don't disagree. I'm still inclined to think the difference in their polling between Scotland and rUK shows a fundamental difference in attitude but to be fair, we did end up with a UKIP MEP at the Euro elections through a combination of appalling turnout and general disillusionment.

[mimmimmim]

I dunno about the difference in attitude. The SNP and Plaid are both nationalist parties; it could be they've got their fair share of swivel-eyed voters but at the moment those parties are appealing for a wide range of people for very different reasons so they're hidden amid the rest.

[alitheapipkin]

UKIP polling was maybe the wrong example to focus on, but I do think it's increasing clear that the majority of Scotland would like to live in a fundamentally different society to the majority of England. Or at least the majority of southern England.