Scottish Government moving the goalposts

[BCram]

I support the SNP in elections as a means of achieving a barrier between Scotland and the tories, for obvious reasons. England has suffered anywhere up to 500,000 premature deaths under the tories at the same time billions are given out to cronies and tory party backers. If there was another Scottish party others than the Greens, I'd likely support them. Can't fathom why people will vote for parties controlled from a different country, how do I dissuade you from that is more pertinent to me.

I think the trouble is that I see Britain and Scotland as being part of my heritage. I think Labour has moved from being the natural socialist party in Scotland, to a left of centre socially inclusive party ( Tony Blair) and then went a bit Marxist under Corbyn. I don't think the Scottish electorate has moved much at all. SNP have cannibalised votes from Conservative and Labour voters, some no doubt will be fully committed to the cause of independence, but equally there will be some who support them for the very reason that you have given ie they are not controlled from Westminster.

I don't think that is a good reason for voting SNP and maybe there will be more people who look at the performance of the SNP and realise that perhaps it would be better to have three parties discussing policies and agreeing plans to make Scotland the best place to stay and work and learn in the UK. If an electorate does not flex its muscles and change the mix in parliament I think you get poor leadership and a lack of initiative.

Just my view.

[Taintedice]

These are elections for the devolved parliament, no idea what the constitution has to do with it. There is a lot of talk about mandates for indyref2 which is a convenient smokescreen for the British parties to avoid talking about their non-existent manifestos. Guaranteed you couldn't name a single tory party policy for Scotland right now. That's because Johnson hasn't told them what they are allowed to say yet. And that's because he has no interest in Scots or Scotland. Why would you vote for that?

[BCram]

These are elections for the devolved parliament, no idea what the constitution has to do with it. There is a lot of talk about mandates for indyref2 which is a convenient smokescreen for the British parties to avoid talking about their non-existent manifestos. Guaranteed you couldn't name a single tory party policy for Scotland right now. That's because Johnson hasn't told them what they are allowed to say yet. And that's because he has no interest in Scots or Scotland. Why would you vote for that?

The way the SNP have behaved over the Salmond Committee has shown that there is a problem when Holyrood wants to hold the Scottish government to account. Something needs to be changed and I don't think another government which has independence as it its main motivation will do that.

[BCram]

Just a wee list of Scottish Conservative policies. Not the sort of post I would normally make but you did ask for examples.

Sector-specific Job Security Councils to help laid-off workers transition and find skilled work, based on Sweden’s hugely successful retraining programmes.A Town Centre Rescue Plan to help small local shops adapt and free up planning restrictions.A ‘Scotland First’ procurement strategy to have the government spend more money locally.A Scottish education guarantee to age 18 and expanded adult learning programmes.Community Right to Buy schemes for local pubs and other employers in fragile areas.Scottish Enterprise reformed on regional lines and new Rural Growth deals to spread high-quality jobs and business growth across the country.A yellow/red card system for businesses who make late payments and bid for public work.A new research and development target with better incentives for innovation.A Hardship Fund for businesses facing localised lockdowns.

[Taintedice]

Just a wee list of Scottish Conservative policies. Not the sort of post I would normally make but you did ask for examples.

Sector-specific Job Security Councils to help laid-off workers transition and find skilled work, based on Sweden’s hugely successful retraining programmes.A Town Centre Rescue Plan to help small local shops adapt and free up planning restrictions.A ‘Scotland First’ procurement strategy to have the government spend more money locally.A Scottish education guarantee to age 18 and expanded adult learning programmes.Community Right to Buy schemes for local pubs and other employers in fragile areas.Scottish Enterprise reformed on regional lines and new Rural Growth deals to spread high-quality jobs and business growth across the country.A yellow/red card system for businesses who make late payments and bid for public work.A new research and development target with better incentives for innovation.A Hardship Fund for businesses facing localised lockdowns.

All sounds good but it's just window-dressing.

[Taintedice]

The way the SNP have behaved over the Salmond Committee has shown that there is a problem when Holyrood wants to hold the Scottish government to account. Something needs to be changed and I don't think another government which has independence as it its main motivation will do that.

Totally agree with you that the influence of the British state must be removed immediately from all Scottish devolved matters, including separation of the civil service from London control, which has caused all the issues from the start.