@finnmerchant.bsky.social
Aberdeen University | 2nd Year History and Politics | SNP Member | DUFC π§β¬οΈ | πππ
By-election in Stirling east coming up aswell i think. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5302...
05.08.2025 11:09 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 1𧡠Where do Reform votes come from?
Following Reform's chunky share in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, it's worth looking at where those votes come from. We're not getting much polling in Scotland lately, but we can check the most recent Survation and Norstat (2nd - 5th and 27th - 30th of May)...
Oh ok, I always wondered why, most of the regions don't feel natural. I guess it's a longshot for that to change anytime soon.
06.04.2025 19:22 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Why is it always the same set of regions? Why not a Tayside or Grampian or Lanarkshire?
06.04.2025 19:03 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
π¨Personal Newsπ¨
I will be seeking selection to be your @snp.org candidate for Falkirk West
I firmly believe I have the skills, experience and dedication to win this seat for our members, for independence and For Falkirkβs Future
π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώπ΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ
#ForFalkirksFuture
Shona has made such a formidable contribution to the SNP, to Parliament and to the Scottish Government.
She has been a great friend, colleague and ally to me and I am sorry she will stand down at the election.
I send my warmest wishes to her for all that lies ahead.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Kilmarnock North (East Ayrshire) by-election, first preferences:
SNP: 748 (35.8%, -11.8)
Labour: 582 (27.8%, -0.1)
Ind Grant: 277 (13.2%, +5.1)
Reform UK: 212 (10.1%, new)
Conservative: 159 (7.6%, -6.2)
Green: 75 (3.6%, new)
Lib Dem: 37 (1.8%, new)
Ind McNamara: 2 (0.1%, new)
SNP elected stage 8.
No. I've had enough. This is an utterly inappropriate attempt to intervene in an ongoing Employment Tribunal in and of itself, never mind the fact it's repulsive, misleading, cheap, dogwhistle bollocks.
The leader of Scottish Labour is not fit for public office. This is disgusting.
New Scottish Parliament poll, Norstat 11-14 Feb (changes vs 4-6 Dec):
List:
SNP ~ 30% (-2)
Lab ~ 17% (-1)
Con ~ 15% (-1)
RUK ~ 13% (+1)
LD ~ 11% (+1)
Grn ~ 10% (+2)
Alba ~ 4% (-1)
Constituency:
SNP ~ 35% (-2)
Lab ~ 18% (-3)
Con ~ 15% (+1)
RUK ~ 14% (+2)
LD ~ 11% (+1)
Grn ~ 6% (+1)
Alba ~ 2% (+2)
Thoughts on today's Find Out Now poll for @heraldscotland.bsky.social...(1/5)
TL;DR: if this isn't an outlier, it indicates bad design on FON's part.
Let's start with the constituency vote. This isn't too bad, but it does have the Green and Alba vote >50% higher than other pollsters...
Long Read: A Plea for Plausible Polling
Recent FindOutNow polling has been obvious bollocks. Scotland doesn't get enough polling that we can afford to have complete rubbish distorting our discourse.
Cover for the New Municipalism 2025 report, subtitled "Renewing Truly Local Government in Scotland". It includes a map of the proposed regions and municipalities, showing a total of 128 municipalities, 123 of which lie within 11 regions, and the remaining 5 are unitary authorities.
Chart showing the average population per municipality (or equivalent) of European countries, using 2022 population data. Slovakia 1856 Czechia 1891 France 1944 Moldova 2827 Hungary 3059 Switzerland 4118 Austria 4316 Spain 5882 Iceland 5969 Romania 5991 Luxembourg 6402 Europe as a whole 7361 Italy 7457 Germany 7580 Malta 7809 Croatia 9009 Slovenia 9962 Poland 14865 Norway 15329 Estonia 17076 Finland 17981 Belgium 20120 Bosnia and Herzegovina 22458 North Macedonia 22617 Bulgaria 24396 Montenegro 24680 Ukraine 25850 Greece 31416 Cyprus 32077 Portugal 33799 Sweden 36172 Serbia 38299 Scotland (per New Municipalism) 42500 Latvia 43698 Albania 45541 Kosovo 46368 Lithuania 47200 Netherlands 51754 Georgia 53812 Denmark 60235 Turkey 60874 Wales 142364 Ireland 165387 Scotland currently 170000 Northern Ireland 173727 UK as a whole 176953 England 180167 England proposed new minimum 500000
A zoom in to east central Scotland showing projected municipal results by lead party across the area, for example including the Lib Dems around Linlithgow and South Queensferry, Labour in much of Mid and East Lothian as well as Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, and the Conservatives at the edges in areas like Dunbar and North Berwick, Tweeddale and Kinross-shire.
An extract from the New Municipalism report: "In an era in which local government has never felt further from or less relevant to ordinary voters, itβs a surprisingly radical act to suggest that we should consider for a second what would best serve people in their own communities, rather than how their communities can be made to serve the big city. Thatβs not to say that people in Glasgowβs economic orbit wouldnβt benefit from better transport links to the city, or more job opportunities arising from greater investment. Instead, itβs that we shouldnβt subordinate their local needs and identities to Glasgow. Places like Paisley, Clydebank, Milngavie, Kirkintilloch, Coatbridge, Newton Mearns and Barrhead deserve to be good places to live, work and relax, governed with care and love by and for the people who live there. They donβt deserve to be mere dormitory towns where the primary attraction is how easily you can get to Glasgow, where most time and money should be spent in the name of economic progress."
Just-for-fun relaunch of my just-for-fun New Municipalism project tomorrow! What if Scotland actually had something approximating normal European local government?
(I actually did... 80% of the work for this *last* Christmas/New Year period, but needed the census data out this year to finalise)
It is really important, and my challenge to journalists and academics and so on in general is to do this, to point out how completely and utterly out of kilter the UK's idea of "local" government is with international norms. Local government on these islands is an embarrassing legal fiction.
14.12.2024 13:20 β π 79 π 37 π¬ 5 π 6
π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ We will end the two-child cap in Scotland - lifting 15,000 children out of poverty.
π₯ Labour need to do the right thing on child poverty - and back our budget.
Not at all, just going to stay in the University's Libary while the Landlord comes over to fix it later.
19.11.2024 11:05 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 00Β°C, Snowing, and ofcource this is the day my radiator wants to stop working.
19.11.2024 10:54 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0And again!!!
18.11.2024 19:58 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
πAmazing day of campaigning today!
Thanks to each and everyone of you for helping out today.
π³οΈ Vote SNP on the 21st November #Finn1
πWith six days left to go, itβs time to get ma good jumper looked oot and get the job done!
π³οΈOn the 21st November in Maryhill #VoteSNP #Finn1
Super John Mcginn!!!
15.11.2024 21:35 β π 3 π 1 π¬ 1 π 1This was heartbreaking. Unfortunately banning fireworks is outwith Scottish devolved powers. I have written to new Labour UK govt to discuss this issue. 1/2
15.11.2024 07:20 β π 44 π 19 π¬ 1 π 0
The issue is less courage, and more that my readers know whom I'm discussing without them needing to be named.
Interesting that Ms Cherry doesn't pick up my point that she woefully underperformed her party and that is why she lost her seat. She'd have held it had she matched the national swing.
2 Months*
26.10.2024 22:45 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I'm so ready to be here for a week then completely forget about this place for a month.
29.08.2024 19:36 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 1
