With polls continuing to show an unclear picture of who has their nose in front going into the last day of campaigning, only a fool would confidently predict who the next Prime Minister will be with certainty. Let me stupidly clamber up to that plate.
David and Samantha Cameron will be the couple waving from Number 10 later this month with the former holding the responsibility of forming the next Government. It may be a minority Government or it may involve the Liberal Democrats in some way, but the noticeable defeatism in the Labour ranks and the quiet confidence exuding out of the Conservative camp right now tells its own story. I just don't see the country wanting to wake up to another five years of Gordon Brown and, generally, the country gets what it wants at election time.
This win for Cameron will come with, at most, only a handful of Scottish seats being won north of the border and the question of mandate will almost instantly arise. Scotland, from its political leaders to each individual woman and man, regardless of how they voted, should answer that question for themselves by openly giving the Prime Minister the chance he deserves to sort out the problems that face us all.
Cameron, to his credit, has talked about governing Scotland with 'respect' but that obscures the fact that it is Scotland who needs to treat the result of a British election with respect. We are not an independent country and we do not qualify for special status any more than any English region does so if the conservative South and Midlands regions outvote the more left-of-centre Northern regions then we don't get to cry foul, we don't get to say the rules need changing or we don't get to take our ball home in a huff. We'll still be able to argue for our principles and policies but an adoption of the 'big society' idea and a sooner tightening of our collective belts than we would have liked will be required. After all, let's be clear about this in advance, an extra several % from our budgets is not the modern day poll tax.
Scotland is increasingly seen as being overfunded and underappreciative, the whingeing and scrounging Jocks who are a burden rather than a blessing. Some may seek to exacerbate and even strengthen that view, predominantly held in England, but I would always hope that Scotland would seek to outperform and outcontribute the other UK regions rather than claim that specific needs north of the border require special attention.
The most efficient way to get through a time of economic woe is to collectively put your heads down and keep your feet pumping away against that hard ground. Keep making things, keep selling things, keep researching, keep teaching, keep administrating and keep on keeping on as you wait for the progress to come first by the inches and then by the strides. If the Labour group is to be broken up down in London then so be it, we'll just have to stick our Scottish heads in that Tory scrum, band together and push just as hard as before, if not harder.
We should strive to respect our teammate and chosen leader just as those who voted McCain will have strived to respect and work with Barack Obama.
PM David Cameron deserves a chance from all of the UK and Scotland's SNP, Labour, Green and Lib Dem voters should prove that they can lose graciously if tomorrow's result means they have to.
17 comments:
I agree with your point that those who lose should concede graciously, but using McCain supporters as an analogy is a bit wide of the mark.
Republicans have questioned Obama's birthplace (even though it's a matter pf public record) and denounced him and his party as dictators (even though both were elected with majorities). The more extreme anti-Obama voters have formed their own party (thinking the Republicans are soft), and the most extreme have all gone out and bought guns.
Gracious, it ain't!
Jeff I doubt Cameron's respect will last the time it takes him to step over the Downing street threshold. I remember as a lad the Tory administration last time round. Forsyth, Lang et al they almost destroyed the Scottish beef industry. I went to meetings spoke to minsters etc etc Now I was very young not someone with any weight or old money behind me, just an immigrant wife, who the local Tories loathed, a baby on the way and a share in fathers massive farm overdraft. Not once was I treated with anything other than contempt, not once was anything done, not once was I even listened too. Cameron will not govern in my name, not in my interest, not for my future. Scotland will not wear it, slowly at first of course but with growing momentum we will leave. We have no option and no future otherwise.I do not know what the catalyst will be I only know it to be inevitable. Michael
I cannot agree with your approach to Cameron. He has already told ther SNP that part of his "respect" agenda means that they should keep out of the issue of Trident because it is not devolved. Do Scots believe that-I doubt it.
If, as seems likely, the Tories finish 4th in votes and 4th in seats in Scotland, the SNP should insistently point out that the Tories have no democratic mandate to govern Scotland.
Until the unionist parties support a referendum on independence they have no proof that Scotland accepts that a party with such poor support in Scotland should be our government.
Michael,
Sounds like a very tough time for you so sorry to hear it. But if Brown/Blair are a different breed to that of Foot then doesn't Cameron deserve at least a chance to prove he's not the same as the 80s old guard?
For as long as we're part of the union we should seek to be active and involved members of it.
Jeff is this post of yours just too subtle in that people might not realise it's a form of wind-up?
I assume it's of the wake up before it's too late variety?
I mean, it is isn't it? :O)
I might be wrong here Jeff, but there's something decidedly "bridge" like about your position here.
Indeed, now one comes to look, your ears are decidedly hairy, and I do believe I can see some fangs there…
Yep, you're trolling here…
That said, I can see some wisdom in what you're saying. But whilst everything you say makes sense, it all hangs on one particular premise; that being that Scotland deserves no "special" consideration, and that if the UK as a whole votes tory, then Scotland just has to suck it up.
Of course, I dispute that notion, since I feel that England massively outbalances the other 3 countries in the UK, and the south-east of England therefore gets to make much more impact than Scotland in who runs the UK.
Since I feel Scotland *is* a country of her own, then yes, I feel that a government elected, run and supported from a different country isn't democratic to the people of Scotland.
Scotland is not a "region". It's a not an "area". It is a country, with it's own political establishment and outlook, a different culture to that seen in England, and yes, even different languages. Sure, Scots is close to English, and thanks to television (mostly made in London, although the yanks do make it worse) getting closer, but nonetheless, I can tell you as an immigrant to Scotland in the early 2000's, I had a massive trouble understanding people, to the extent they're speaking a different language.
That's not even mentioning gaelic which still hangs on in the Isles.
It's this combination of geographic isolation, cultural differences, linguistic and social variations and political ideaologies that are completely seperate that makes Scotlnad not "part" of the England. Sure, we're in a Union with England, but it's either an equal union, in which case if Scotland doesn't vote Tory but England does, then Scottish matters should be considered with that in mind, or it's an unequal Union, and should be resisted, appalled, and abolished.
I think it's the latter, and I think a bullish, arrogant and overriding attitude as displayed by Cameron et al to date, in Govenrment, will merely serve to show this fact, and hasten our nation's independence.
Do come home before then Jeff. You'll want to be able to tell your grandkids(/siblings grandkids/neighbours grandkids if you're not of the progenitating view) that you voted for Scotland. And we got it.
It'll have been a long, hard road to get to independence. Many will have fallen before it is delivered. Hopefully Alex will still be leader when it happens, I can see no more fitting a reward for such a dedicated trooper in the fight for freedom than to be elected Prime Minister (and eventually made President, assuming we follow an Irish model where the President is just a figurehead)…
No time to respond to your many points but that's pretty disappointing that a simple call to work together and respect the country's decision is dismissed as "trolling".
This is why I read you, Jeff, 'cos of your oh-so-polite way of calling Scottish exceptionalist a bunch of exceptionalists [1].
Anyone such as Salmond who seriously believes that the Scottish Office is a remnant of the Raj isn't suited for a student union debate, never mind national governance.
[1] Your one about supporting Cameron is, of course, bonkers.
If Cameron meets Salmond within the first week of becoming PM then he would have done more to repair relations between Edinburgh and London in one visit than Labour manged in 3 years of Gordon Brown.
The biggest threat to Scotland will be the 30+ Labour MPs sitting at Westminster doing nothing for Scotland's interests.
Scotland should treat Cameron with respect but it will be the Labour MPs who will be out to spoil things. They claim there is an anti Tory vote across the UK yet if I remember in 2005 there was an even bigger anti Labour vote across the UK when 65% of us voted for another party.
Labour are desperate and good riddance to them.
I noticed Labour's press release (Scotsman) published a poll today which had the SNP on 21% but in an other article in the same paper David Maddox had the SNP on 20%. However a Yougov poll on the SNPs website has the party on 25%.
Its a bit off topic but worthy of a mention.
I have read the other comments and some are criticising Jeff's views on respecting Cameron. I agree with Jeff although I can understand other peoples frustrations.
The party that will not respect a Tory government will be Labour. They have said it themselves when they came out with "There is a wave of anti Tory votes across the UK" because they were only polling around 36%, a figure incidentally which was higher than what Labour achieved in 2005 which propelled them back into power.
In one respect Jeff you are right in that we need to work together as a UK nation on the various ills that we are facing.
That said, the Tories are the only mainstream party with no track record of working with Scotland. The even opposed devolution.
From 1979 to the mid-90s Scotland lost its heart and soul due to Tory policy decision making. Shipbuilding and Mining were the bedrocks of what Scotland was. There is a clear argument that this needed to change but the Tories had no plan to rebuild what they destroyed. No desire to go into the communities that were suffering mass unemployment overnight and say - this is what we will do to help you.
The decision to spend billions on developing Devonport for Trident sub refitting, to the detriment of Rosyth is a key example of the contempt that the Tories had Scotland (interestingly the SNP complained about that decision - when did the no Trident in Scotland policy kick in?). Because of the Tories Rosyth dockyard is a shadow of its former self.
I would rather Scotland suffered another five years exactly the same as 2009 under Gordon Brown than one year of Tory rule.
Nothing they have done or said shows they would be different to what they were like in the 80s.
Words are cheap, Jeff.
If Cameron is going to respect Scotland, then why didn't he insist that Scottish issues were raised and properly dealt with in the debates?
Why didn't he take on board the fact that, post devolution, Scotland and Wales ARE different to English regions.
Why doesn't he support an independence referendum when polls show it is backed by a majority of Scots?
Cameron will only respect Scotland if he is forced to by the Scottish people.
When I say trolling, I mean literally you are writing something you know to be provocative, in order to get a reaction from people, to get the conversation going.
I didn't say that what you actually wrote was entirely wrong or lacking in wisdom.
I don't agree with you all the way, but that's OK.
I don't think Cameron will respect Scotland's interests, not because he's English, or because he's a tory, or anything else like that.
He won't respect Scottish interests, because with only 1 or even no MPs, he won't have to. It's all about accountability. With few to no MPs, and with the SNP in government in Holyrood ready t take the blame, he's not accountable, so we'll get ridden over.
Simple arithmetic. Nothing personal.
Jeff
Respect is a two way street, if Cameron shows respect to the Scottish sensibility, he will deserve respect in return. However, if the reverse is true, then he will deserve no respect at all. I suspect the latter will happen.
Big difference between ''respect'' and ''support''.
Why in God's name should Scotland ''support'' Prime Minister Cameron? We won't have voted for him.
By all means let's approach things as grown ups and try and make it work - I just kinda assumed that's what grown ups would do.
But NOT at the cost of ''supporting'' measures which the Scottish electorate voted against.
Jeff, a truly excellent article, and one I agree with whole heartedly. And not because I am a Scottish Tory. I suspect that your experience down South is giving you a different perspective on the politics, but I also wonder if this post is an indication of how serious you judge our current economic situation in the UK to be right now?
That is and still remains my single biggest worry, closely followed by the situation in Afghanistan right now.
Not seen any real coverage of the news that the markets will open at 1am tomorrow morning.
>> Why in God's name should Scotland ''support'' Prime Minister Cameron? We won't have voted for him.
You wouldn't have. There will be lots of Scots who did vote Tory.
I assume you don't support PR, AV, STV or anything other that FPtP with this attitude.
I, and most Scots didn't vote for your Party... ah-ha, you didn't think of that!
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