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Britain | |
Poll: SNP set to seize power at Holyrood | |
2006-08-28 | |
The SNP claims that if the poll result was repeated at voting booths next year it would eradicate Labour's majority at the Scottish Parliament. If Salmond becomes First Minister, he has pledged to introduce a bill for an independence referendum within 100 days of taking up office. The poll is the first major test of public opinion in Scotland since Tony Blair incensed many within his own party over his support for Israel during the conflict in Lebanon. Both the two main parties in Scotland that oppose Blair's foreign policy, the SNP and Liberal Democrats, appear to have gained as a result, with Labour well down on their 2003 showing. Polling experts said the results confirmed that next year's election race would be the closest yet for control of the Scottish Parliament. In an interview with Scotland on Sunday today, the SNP leader set out his plans for his first few weeks in office, declaring he will govern with "a hard head and a soft heart". But Labour insisted that once voters had assessed the cost of separating from the rest of the UK, support for the SNP would dissipate. The poll, conducted by Scottish Opinion, asked 1,000 Scots who they intended to support next year. It did not, however, break the question down into first and second votes to reflect the Scottish electoral system. Scottish Opinion carried out the poll to determine the correct balance of public opinion on focus groups which it carries out for the SNP. The party passed a copy of its findings to this newspaper. A total of 58% expressed a preference for a political party. Of those, 33% said they supported the SNP, up from the 24% who backed them in 2003. Labour secured 29% of support, down six percentage points from 2003. The Liberal Democrats won 19%, up four points. The Tories have slumped to 10%, down seven points. The Greens are on 5%. | |
Posted by:Steve White |
#17 Oops, wrong Duke! |
Posted by: Ernest Brown 2006-08-28 21:49 |
#16 This mean that the SNP would either ultimately: A) Declare Scotland a republic. B) Restore the fun and excitement of the Dual Monarchy (1603-1707), which I am sure would really thrill the Royals. C) Restore the Stuarts, which would involve pleading with an elderly German bachelor to become their King. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht%2C_Duke_of_Bavaria This should entertain... |
Posted by: Ernest Brown 2006-08-28 21:46 |
#15 But they're declining, FWIW. |
Posted by: lotp 2006-08-28 19:42 |
#14 Curiously enough, the North Sea oil fields are all off the coast of Scotland (near Aberdeen). |
Posted by: DMFD 2006-08-28 18:15 |
#13 This has absolutely nothing to do with William Wallace or Robert the Bruce. OTOH, I'm sure Edward Longshanks would be proud of them. |
Posted by: Phil 2006-08-28 17:58 |
#12 SCOTS wha hae wi' Wallace bled, Scots wham Bruce has often led, Welcome to your gory bed, On to Victory! |
Posted by: Scotty 2006-08-28 17:31 |
#11 ...IIRC, isnt one of the senior leaders of the SNP - albeit financially and mostly behind the scenes - is Sir Sean Connery. Could be kind of interesting to see if they approach him to take a more up-front role in things. Mike |
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2006-08-28 15:49 |
#10 Which is why ZaNuLabour will fight tooth and nail to stymie the SNP. |
Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-28 14:13 |
#9 The labour party aint called the Scottish Raj for no reason. Now IF Scotland becomes independant, then England goes Conservative because only the votes of those areas which benefit from Englands over-taxed serfs keep labour in power! |
Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2006-08-28 12:18 |
#8 Except in the Cotswolds. Where, in my experience, a bunch are also anti-American. |
Posted by: lotp 2006-08-28 12:15 |
#7 It would be sort of dumb to have an English parliament. The purpose of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments is to take money from the English to give to the Scots and Welsh to support their quaint cultures. Why should they take it from themselves to give to themselves. Espeically since they aren't quaint. |
Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-28 11:43 |
#6 Is that the reason there's a Scottish parlaiment and a Welsh one but not an English one? |
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2006-08-28 10:57 |
#5 Far better off ZF, faaar better off. Putting it bluntly, the Socialist Swine masquerading as the Labour party would be - fucked. They got about 40 seats from Scotland in the last general election (2005) and the Conservatives hardly ever get a showing north of the border. Some more details on the 2005 election., and check out the sea of blue in England (blue = Conservative over here). |
Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-28 10:45 |
#4 I mean, when you get right down to it, these guys are just tranzis who don't want an independent Israel or a truly independent Lebanon... |
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2006-08-28 09:25 |
#3 Does anyone else find this hypocritical? |
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2006-08-28 09:22 |
#2 Yup. You have to wonder if the Tories are subsidizing the SNP in this. Repaeal the Act of Union NOW! |
Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-28 07:43 |
#1 Article: But Labour insisted that once voters had assessed the cost of separating from the rest of the UK, support for the SNP would dissipate. I'm sure there'll be a cost, in terms of social welfare programs. In other words, England will be better off without having to subsidize Scotland. |
Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-08-28 01:54 |