Time to Decouple Council and Parliament Elections

News that there seems unanimous agreement amongst the parties that the elections for the Scottish Parliament and Local Government should be decoupled is most welcome. On three occasions we have had elections for both on the same day, in 1999; 2003; and most recently this year.

It is fair to say that on the previous two occasions where this occurred did not result in the fiasco that took place on 3rd May 2007.

Much has been said and written about the fact that over 100,000 votes were lost as spoilt ballots. And this should rightly form part of the consideration when coming to a decision as to whether or not the polls should be held on separate days.

However, I have believed that this should be the case since well before 3rd May 2007.

For me it is justified that the polls are held apart from one another for the far more straight forward reason that the local government ballot is a hugely important one, but always gets lost amongst the equally important Scottish Parliament campaign. It is right that elections to our local authorities are allowed to hold the limelight on their own, so that people are well informed of the issues affecting local government as opposed to those affecting our country as a whole. For that simple reason a decision to decouple the two different elections will most likely win my support.

The Early Days of a Better Nation?

Today was a good one. Some more campaigning in the Sun was made all the better by reading the Sunday Herald before heading off in the morning. Their editorial was reserved for an endorsement of the SNP for the election (which can be seen at http://www.sundayherald.com/election2007/election2007/display.var.1362928.0.0.php). This lifted my spirits immediately as it is not every day that the SNP gets an endorsement from a national newspaper.



This indicates the tremendous success of the SNP campaign, exemplified by the fact that practically every newspaper today carried stories of huge swings towards the SNP from Labour in the most recent opinion polls. The work of course goes on in the final days of this election campaign to ensure that these polls come to pass. Then we will hopefully be able to bring into being the words used by the Sunday Herald at the beginning of their article, borrowed from Alasdair Gray, "work as if you live in the early days of a better nation".

Campaigning in the Sun

Today was spent canvassing voters across the constituency and enjoying the good weather (makes a nice change from the rain). Once again we were receiving a great response from those we spoke to, with many people confirming that they will be voting SNP on 3rd May. I spent the morning sunning myself with Councillor Neil MacCallum (pictured with myself) in the Seafar area where we spoke to a few folk. One woman was particularly angry at the way Cumbernauld has been run down since the town was incorporated into the North Lanarkshire area under Labour control from Motherwell. She was worried about her kids growing up in the area with a lack of amenities. We could inform her that we shared those concerns and she left us with a promise to vote for us but equally to "hound" us if elected to make sure that we get things done for the area. We were able to respond that we were quite happy with that bargain!

Then in the evening I visited a few households in Kilsyth with our local council candidate David Key. I was struck by just how aware of the issues featured in this election campaign that most people we spoke to were. It is clear that this election has captured the public imagination in ways that previous campaigns have not done.

They're Fitba Crazy, Politics Mad

The news was today awash with stories that several leading Scottish football figures have banded together to appear in an advert backing the union. These guys are entitled to their opinion, but the content of their message needs to be called into question.

The advert apparently begins, "When Scotland calls, we answer." Very noble, however it seems in this instance that it is far more likely the Labour Party has been calling. What will their answer be when Scotland calls for independence I wonder?

The advert goes on to say, "We are proud that Scotland has always stood on its own two feet, but we also believe that Scotland stands taller because we are part of the United Kingdom." Scotland has always stood on its own two feet has it? I would have thought our country standing on its own two feet would have involved engaging directly with the world community rather than relying on a government based 400 miles furth of our borders to do our talking for us.

The following anodyne statement within the advert is my favourite bit. "The United Kingdom is a country Scotland helped build." And what of it? Does this mean that we are to be stuck in it forever more?

And the advert finishes off by saying, "We urge every patriotic Scot to help maintain Scotland's place in the United Kingdom which has served Scotland well."

Served Scotland well has it? Go tell that to the one in four children in poverty, or the one in five pensioners living in poverty. Or explain to me why it is that Scotland is the only developed country on this planet which has discovered oil and in the interim period seen its people get relatively poorer. Why is it that economic growth in our country lags way behind similarly sized European nations.

I won't lose too much sleep over this intervention. It all smacks as a little bit desperate to me.

Our Delusional First Minister

You may recall that I previously posted on the blog about Tony Blair begging the people of Scotland not to "give him a kicking" by voting SNP. Now we have Jack McConnell on Radio Four repeating his master's message.

How convenient for Jack to try and obscure the fact that the election is to form the next Scottish Executive which HE has been in charge of since 2001. What exactly does Tony Blair have to do with this. It is he who will get an electoral "kicking" on 3rd May, and deservedly so. The campaign of the Labour Party in this election has been one of the most unremittingly negative going.

Meanwhile we took the positive message of the SNP to the streets of Kilsyth and Cumbernauld, as well as finding time to pop by the Tesco at Craigmarloch (pictured) where we found a great and warm response from the members of the public we spoke to there. And I didn't have to suggest they kick anyone at any time!

The Second and Last Hustings

Tonight saw the second and last hustings for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency after the first set yesterday. Unlike last night the hustings tonight (held in Cumbernauld College) was exclusively for the Scottish Parliament candidates, with the four of us contesting the constituency joined by a representative from the SSP, Solidarity and the Scottish Christian Party.

The event tonight was well attended and many issues of local importance were brought up.

One issue that was raised was the ongoing problems at Cumbernauld Town Centre. Since the Tories allowed this facility to be privatised there have been problems there. Essentially the people of Cumbernauld don't really have a proper town centre, but a decrepit 1960s shopping centre. Have you ever heard of a town centre that is locked at night so that people can't access it? That is the reality that people in Cumbernauld have to face. The town centre does not do justice for a town the size of Cumbernauld. It should be the very civic heart of the town, but at the moment it is far from achieving that purpose.

One lady at the hustings who is involved with a local credit union highlighted the huge problem that local bodies such as that have in getting premises at the town centre, reinforcing the fact that the town doesn't really have a town centre to speak of. My Labour opponent and incumbent MSP Cathie Craigie has recently announced that she intends to establish a trust for the town centre.

How convenient that she makes this announcement on the eve of an election in which she feels under pressure. She has been an MSP for eight years and it has taken her this length of time to act on the issue. We have been surveying local people - as I have mentioned previously on this blog - and fully 96% of people who responded told us that they are concerned by the state of the town centre. If successful on 3rd May I give an assurance to them that I won't wait eight years to act on the town centre, but will get working on the matter within the first eight DAYS of being elected.

Other matters of importance raised were the loss of 400 jobs at the Inland Revenue in Cumbernauld, something to which I am totally opposed. Gordon Brown has made big play of cutting "civil service" jobs. He clearly is lulling people into the idea that Sir Humphrey down in Whitehall is for his jotters when in actual fact it is front line workers, many of whom are on short term contracts with little job security and low pay that face the chop.

We also had the chance to discuss Cumbernauld House's future. This important building has a long history and was most recently used by the D.H. Morris Group which has recently gone under. Many local people now believe that this should be used as a community facility and I agree with them. It was suggested that this could be brought into community ownership with a purchase organised by the Cumbernauld community. That is one solution and if it emerges as the most obvious way to create a community facility out of Cumbernauld House then I will support it, but we can look at other methods too.

The future of the A&E at Monklands was also brought up. I was delighted to be able to point to the fact that the SNP has given a cast iron guarantee - and it is in our manifesto if you want to look - that if we form the administration after the election then we will reverse the dangerous decision to close the A&E at Monklands.

All in all, I have to confess I enjoyed tonight's event. My only disappointment is that we have only had two hustings during the entire campaign.

Alex Salmond visits Kilsyth

Another busy day today. Spent the early part of the afternoon knocking doors in Abronhill with my colleague Councillor Liz Irvine. It was heartening to hear from people that they had received our election address and most seemed to respond well to the issues we had raised in it. I met many people who are going to vote SNP on 3rd May, some for the very first time. Increasingly people are coming to realise that the way to make change happen at this election is by supporting the SNP and that was quite clear from many conversations I had today.

Then it was over to Kilsyth where SNP leader Alex Salmond was paying a visit. We got the chance to meet with a number of folk on Kilsyth Main Street. Again, it is clear that not only are people coming over to our campaign locally, but that the campaign to make Alex Salmond First Minister of Scotland has really captured the public imagination. Most people we spoke to were telling us that they intend to vote SNP at the election.

And this evening we had the first election hustings of this campaign at Cumbernauld Primary. It was a combined hustings for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Scottish Parliament campaign and the Cumbernauld North ward for North Lanarkshire Council, so there was a massed rank of about 16 candidates including myself and my SNP colleagues Alan O'Brien and Norman Robinson.

The chairman of tonight's event started off by making that old gag that at one stage he thought he would have to introduce the audience to the panel, but in the end there was a pretty good turnout. That there were so many candidates meant not a lot of time to talk for each individual, but we got through some interesting topics, many of which we have been speaking about already in this campaign. It was a good warm up for tomorrow night's second (and last) hustings of the campaign at Cumbernauld College.

Democrazy

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is running a campaign to encourage young people to use their vote at the upcoming election. As part of this they have made a video which is being hosted at the "You Tube" website.

A few weeks ago myself and Aileen Campbell, the SNP candidate for Clydesdale, were cornered by the ERS whilst in Edinburgh and persuaded to be filmed for this video. Have a wee look at it yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eybm6aqWGQk and catch the fleeting appearance of myself and Ms Campbell.

A Programme for Real Scottish Government

Today saw the launch of the SNP manifesto for the election. I didn't make the event held to launch it at Napier University this morning as I was busy campaigning in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth today, but all accounts I have heard of it indicate that it went very well.

The event has garnered much interest, and even the BBC's network news was reporting on it tonight. This indicates the depth of interest in the SNP and the Scottish Parliament election, although Nick Robinson (the BBC political editor) still managed to get the blood boiling with his throw away comment that there doesn't seem to be much appetite for independence. I presume he hasn't spoken to as many people as we have in this campaign and I have to disagree with that point of view. Independence is increasingly supported by people I have spoken to over the last few months.

Anyway, I digress. The manifesto has now been launched and contains all the proposals that can make a real difference in Scotland. It has been quite aptly styled a programme for real Scottish government. Our commitments include proposals to put more police on the streets; the creation of a fairer type of local taxation in the form of a local income tax; the dumping of student debt; fairer rates for small businesses; and of course, a referendum on independence.

Take a look at the manifesto for yourself at http://paddington.snp.org/jthomas/manifesto/

Poll of Polls Shows SNP Lead

The company Weber Shandwick have set up a website called Scotland Votes (http://www.scotlandvotes.com/) for the election. They have compiled what they are calling the "poll of polls" by averaging the support for each party in the last six published opinion polls. The figures indicate that the SNP has a five point lead in constituency voting intentions and a six point lead in regional voting intentions. All this translates into good reading for those of us campaigning for an SNP victory on 3rd May.


As I have said before though, to read too much into the opinion polls could allow complacency to set into our campaign. So the work goes on as before. I came home shattered tonight after distributing our election leaflet across the Seafar and Ravenswood area of Cumbernauld and tomorrow I plan to be as shattered again.

Alex Salmond Visits Cumbernauld

Attendance at a reception for a friend's wedding meant that I was unable to get posting on the blog until today, but yesterday was hugely busy.

In the morning my wife Julie and I joined Councillor Neil MacCallum to visit the Beild Sheltered Housing complex in the Seafar area of Cumbernauld. This is a wonderful facility and my second time there. I managed to visit it along with Nicola Sturgeon when I was candidate for the area in the 2005 general election and was impressed then. I was impressed by the place again.

The staff there seem utterly dedicated to the residents who were amongst the friendliest people I have met in while. They were interested to hear about the campaign and I was interested to hear from them. One couple recalled that I had visited before and even remembered what school I had attended! So I was amongst old friends.

Sadly not all of Scotland's pensioners live in such circumstances as those at the Beild complex. It is a national disgrace that one in five of pensioners lives in poverty at this time. You can tell a lot about a society by the way in which it treats its older citizens, so this statistic makes for sad reading. That is why it's time for the SNP policy of a non means-tested Citizens Pension of £120 per week linked to earnings and to cast the means-tested pension credit, which far too many poorer pensioners fail to claim, to the dustbin of history along with pittance pensions under the Tories and then Labour.

After the visit to the Beild complex the three of us set off to Cumbernauld Village to meet up with Councillor Liz Irvine at the Senior Citizens Lunch Club at the Roadside Hall. We were fed and watered by this fantastic organisation which is run by the members for the members themselves. The food was top quality but I was left disappointed by failing to win a prize in their raffle, although Neil won some Jaffa Cakes and Julie managed to win a can of mushroom soup.

We then dashed off to Cumbernauld Town Centre where over twenty SNP activists were able to engage with the public and distribute literature with balloons and flags for the kids. A really good atmosphere was topped off by the visit of Alex Salmond who was able to meet with many members of the Cumbernauld public. I was struck by just how many wanted to shake his hand and pledge support to the SNP.

We then visited a local small business, Hopscotch, a children's clothes store. There Alex was able to meet with the owner, Frances, and explain the benefits of the SNP "Small Business Bonus" scheme which will see the ending of rates in their entirety for the 120,000 smallest businesses in Scotland, with reduced rates for many thousands more. This policy will ensure that small businesses are better able to keep afloat, something which is absolutely vital given that small to medium enterprises are by far and away the major employer of private sector workers in Scotland. It will also mean a better range of shops and services for people in their local communities.

This is particularly pertinent in the case of Cumbernauld Town Centre which has suffered particularly poorly with many empty lets there at present.

Then to round off the day Alex was interviewed by the local newspaper. So if you live in the area look out for the report of this interview in next week's editions of the Cumbernauld News and Kilsyth Chronicle.

I have a reader!

Whilst out campaigning in the Craigmarloch area of Cumbernauld tonight I received confirmation of the fact that I have at least one reader of my blog. One resident informed me - without prompting - that he had been reading my musings on the world.

This highlights the benefits of this site. It allows me to communicate in another way with people in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. It is heartening to know at least one person out there is reading.

Thirty Days to Go!

Unbelievably we have now a mere thirty days until the Scottish Parliament election. I was selected by the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth SNP members to be their candidate well over a year ago, but it somehow seems much more recent than that, yet here we are, little more than a month until "D-Day".

This election is perhaps the most important in the history of our country. The 1st May will see the tercentenary of the enactment of the Act of Union which extinguished the burning flame of Scottish independence. Two days after that anniversary we will have the third election to our devolved Scottish Parliament.

The campaign to decide the make up of that body has seen a tremendous amount of effort expended by the Labour government in convincing the Scottish people that they are singularly incapable of self government. They have continued the old unionist myths of Scotland being an economic basket case that cannot afford independence, whilst simultaneously claiming that they have performed wonders stewarding over the Scottish economy. Try squaring that circle!

The fact of the matter is that our country is just like any other. We are entirely capable of governing ourselves and looking out for our own affairs. It is true that with independence we may from time to time stumble. But at least it shall be on a path of our own choosing.

This election can be the one where we start to make real lasting changes for Scotland. We can have a change of government, with a First Minister in Alex Salmond who is ambitious for Scotland and who will stand up for Scotland, and we can demand a chance to decide our own constitutional future and to go for independence.

We will make that decision collectively as a nation in thirty days time. In the interim period I shall be doing my level best to see that we vote for change and to move our country forward.

Two Campaigns for the Price of One

Yesterday was busy. We started off in the morning in Kilsyth town centre where myself and the SNP council candidate for the area David Key went to meet many of the local small business owners and managers to discuss some of the issues affecting their business and to explain the SNP policies that are designed to help them.

Specifically we were able to tell them the SNP plans for business rates which would see all small businesses with a rateable value of £8,000 or less having rates abolished in their entirety (which would mean that 120,000 businesses across Scotland would no longer have rates to pay) whilst those with a value of between £8,000 and £10,000 would qualify for rates relief of 50% and those between £10,000 and £15,000 would get relief of 25%. That is significantly more generous than the present system which, for example, sees businesses with a rateable value of £8,000 to £11,500 qualify for a mere 5% rates relief.

The business owners we spoke to were able to say how welcome our proposals are. They would ensure that their businesses have a greater chance of success, are in a better position to consider expansion, and ensure that staff are kept in employment. This is not to mention the possibility of allowing for a greater breadth of shops and services for people in their communities. That is why the SNP backs small business.

Then in the afternoon it was off to Cumbernauld Town Centre where we were able to campaign for the SNP policy of establishing a local income tax in place of the inequitous council tax system. This scheme would set local taxation at the very reasonable level of 3p in the pound on existing income tax bands and would mean that 90% of people in Scotland would pay less in local taxation. This will be welcome news to hard pressed council tax payers who have been hammered by constant rises in the level of council tax, seeing it increase on average by 60% since Labour came to power.

Most people we spoke to were delighted at the prospect of an end to council tax and the creation of a fairer system based on ability to pay. They know that council tax hits hardest those who can least afford it, like pensioners and the low paid. Under the SNP that will change and people will see a link between what they can afford to pay and what they are asked to pay.

Now all we need to do is win the election and make sure that we can bring in a fair system for Scotland's small businesses and Scotland's tax payers.

The Polls Before the Polls

Once again apologies for the lull in postings on the blog of late. Reverting to the excuse I used previously, but I have been totally rushed off my feet of late with the campaign as we approach frantic phase of the election.

Anyway, today's Times Newspaper made for interesting reading. They published a poll undertaken by Populus on their behalf which indicates that the SNP message in this campaign is really resonating with people across Scotland. It suggests that we are fully ten percentage points ahead of Labour on the constituency vote. This is obviously fantastic news from my perspective and certainly made for pleasant reading this morning.

However, despite is being an oft used cliche, the only poll that really matters is that on election day itself. So, although I enjoyed today's story I won't be taking anything for granted. A lot of work has still to be put in between now and 3rd May to ensure that we get the sort of result suggested in today's Times and that we win in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. I intend to make that my primary objective over the coming weeks - so expect fewer and farther between posts on the blog!

For details of the poll have a look at:

http://www.populuslimited.com/

The poor confused Scottish media

The news that the SNP has published its plans for the first one hundred days of government (incidentally, this can be accessed at http://www.snp.org/policies/government-communities/the-first-100-days-of-an-snp-government) has provoked a number of interesting responses. The Daily Record came away with the all too predictable nonsense headline "SNP Plot 'Chaos and Turmoil' for the UK" (http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=snp-plot--chaos-and-turmoil--for-the-uk--&method=full&objectid=18779565&siteid=66633-name_page.html). Indeed, much of the media seemed to concentrate on the idea that the SNP intends a head long collision with the London based Labour government should we win the election. The Scotsman even erroneously stated, "the document made it clear that an SNP-led administration would pick fights with Westminster from day one". (http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=430882007)

They have spun the priorities set out in the plan for the first 100 days as a deliberate attempt at creating tensions with the British state rather than focus on the merits of the proposals set out in the document. Instead the press have made out that they are nothing more than some form of nationalist trickery.

Incidentally these proposals would see an SNP led Scottish Executive demand control of Scotland's share of North Sea oil; would stand firm against the placing of a new generation of nuclear weapons in Scottish territory; stand against new generations of nuclear power stations; the transfer of powers over gun control to Scotland; taking a greater role in dealing with the EU; and the creation of a distinct Scottish Olympics team. That is just to mention a few of the policies set out by the SNP for the early days of government.

Brian Taylor bizarrely described this as a form of "Trotskyite impossibilism" on his new blog at the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/election07/). It seems Brian also thinks this is nothing more than a ploy to "make demands that the state can't possibly concede - then demand the overthrow of the state when it refuses".

What Brian Taylor and the massed ranks of the Scottish press corps seem to not realise is that the plans laid out in the document and spelt out above are actually what a real government of a real nation would do. They demand the best possible conditions for the people of their country.

In fairness to them we have never had this in the past in Scotland, instead having only politicians prepared to administer Scotland on the say so of their London "betters" and masters, so it is perhaps a little difficult for our media people to understand what a real Scottish government would look like. Hopefully after 3rd May they will get some experience of that under the SNP.

The Campaign Goes On

It has been a busy few days since my last post here. On Saturday I started the morning by meeting up with one of the local council candidates and the SNP team to continue our survey work in the Blackwood area of Cumbernauld. An hour or so later after having chapped several hundred doors between us all, my wife Julie and I took our scuffed knuckles onto the train to Glasgow heading for the Science Centre where the SNP was having its campaign conference.

We arrived in time to squeeze in the back of a very packed auditorium to hear Nicola Sturgeon give an excellent speech that set out much of the party's plans and priorities for if and when we form the next administration. It was particularly heartening to listen to her underline the fact that the independence referendum is a line in the sand issue for us in any potential coalition deal should such be necessary.

Then after having joined my family for my uncle's 60th birthday bash in Troon on Saturday night it was back to the Science Centre on Sunday. After catching up with a number of old friends who are dotted across the country it was back into the packed auditorium (although this time I thankfully managed to grab a seat) to listen to Alex Salmond's keynote speech.

This was a performance par excellence from my party leader. From the moment he started with the words, "I'm Alex Salmond, and I'm running for First Minister", to the very last word it was an assured, measured, commanding and statesman like address. It is clear why he remains by far the most popular candidate to become First Minister of Scotland this May.

All in all, the conference left me, and seemingly all those who were there, in very buoyant mood indeed. This was just the inspiration needed to start off my Monday where I and a large number of SNP activists were waiting to meet Ian Hudghton MEP, the SNP President, at Croy Train Station, to set off and undertake more survey work in the Blackwood and Smithstone areas, delivering hundreds of them to local people to find out their views on the matters of the day. Ian then went off to pay a visit to Eastfield Primary School whilst the rest of us carried on a bit more survey work then resting up in preparation of tonight's Annual General Meeting of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth SNP.

Tonight's meeting saw everyone in great heart and a growing realisation that as every day passes the SNP campaign gathers momentum and more and more people are being convinced by our arguments.

Revolting Situation

The news is buzzing today with stories of the impending revolt on the Labour backbenches at Westminster over the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system. As I have reported on my blog previously this scheme threatens to cost the taxpayer somewhere in the region of £75billion-£100billion once the decommissioning of the existing system, the commissioning of a new system and maintenance costs are factored in.

That is a lot of money to be spending on a system that has no strategic potency in facing up to the challenges before us as a society in the twenty-first century. This is also not to mention it being a lot of money to spend on weapons of mass destruction that are morally reprehensible and kill indiscriminately. This money would be much better used elsewhere, on schools, hospitals and public transport for instance.

However, what is becoming clear is that the Labour Party - even including the Trident rebels - are attempting to persuade people that this issue shouldn't influence how they vote at the Scottish Parliament election. Indeed, Katy Clark (Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran) who is threatening to rebel, was playing this very game on Newsnight this evening. They make this case because the Scottish Parliament isn't charged with the responsibilities over defence and won't be making the decision on renewal (even though these weapons will be expected to be stored in Scotland once again if they are built).

That is of course factually correct. The Scottish Parliament doesn't have control over this important area. However that is actually the very reason why this issue should be front and centre in the Scottish Parliament campaign. The fact is that with some 75% of Scots opposed to the renewal of Trident we have a national legislature that is entirely impotent to react to this situation. It is in fact just another reason for independence. Little wonder New Labour are so keen to play down the issue!

60 days to go!

I should start off by saying that the title of this post is slightly misleading. There are actually less than 60 days left till polling now - 57 to be precise! I had intended on posting with 60 days to go, but seem to be finding time to work on my blog hard to come by at the moment, as the campaign intensifies even further.

It is quite astonishing to think that we are only just under two months away from the Scottish Parliament election. I was selected to contest the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency for the SNP around a year ago, yet the day where my selection was confirmed seems much more recent in my mind. However, we are now in the "home stretch" and the day itself will soon enough be upon us.

In some ways I am glad it is almost over, in others it doesn't seem like enough time! However, we enter this period in good heart, secure in the knowledge that more people are coming over to support independence and the SNP each and every day. The opinion polls have made for excellent reading. Never this close to an election have we been polling so strongly and on such a consistent basis. However that is not to become complacent. I shall continue to work hard between now and 3rd May to try and secure that all important SNP victory in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

A Scottish Voice?

Today's papers are full of reports about a new political party in Scotland. Archie Stirling, "famous" for having once been married to Diana Rigg, has established Scottish Voice as a new right wing party. I say they are right wing because this has how they have been popularly ascribed in the mainstream press, but as today's reports so succinctly describe, Mr Stirling has been rather quiet on detailing any form of policy for his new party (see http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.1223456.0.0.php.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.1223456.0.0.php). His reticence means that Scottish Voice are rather short on details as to what policies they will put before the electorate, making it quite difficult to accurately place them anywhere on the political spectrum. I suspect that the press have tagged this new party as being right of centre given Mr Stirling's history of donating to the Conservatives, which he equates with donations he has given to "save the whale" (a quite unfair comparison Archie, saving the whale is a noble cause, the Tories less so).

I had to laugh though at the reported comments of Archie Stirling who was reported in the Herald as saying, "I believe there is a genuine dissatisfaction with Holyrood and people seem to react favourably to the idea that a group of people, if elected, would hold them to account." Doesn't Mr Stirling realise that if he and his cohorts were elected as Scottish Voice candidates (admittedly this is a highly unlikely prospect, of which more later) then they would become part of "Holyrood"? Who would hold them to account for holding the others to account.

Mr Stirling seems to be tapping into what is a perceived dissatisfaction with the existing political parties. I cannot deny that such exists, although I think this is exacerbated by 24/7 media that perpetuates itself in being cynical about all people who involve themselves in politics. However, the answer is not blithe and anodyne comments - for that is all that Mr Stirling has offered us. The answer is to actually empower the Scottish Parliament so that it can make real differences to the people of Scotland. The only way to really achieve this is with independence, but apparently the raison d'être of the founding of Scottish Voice is to oppose constitutional change.

It is pretty ironic then that this party has chosen the name Scottish Voice given they seek to deny any form of distinctive voice for Scotland in the international community.

At any rate, I rather suspect that Scottish Voice will gather more headlines than votes. They remind me all too much of the Scottish People's Alliance that contested the Scottish Parliament election in 2003, which beyond providing a platform for a couple of Tory MSPs who had slipped down their party's rankings achieved next to hee haw. I firmly predict a similar outcome for Mr Stirling's new party.

If you fancy a gawp at the website of this new "force" in Scottish politics (and it won't take you long as there is precious little there to read) then go to http://www.scottishvoice.net/

Meanwhile, in the real world, today's Scotsman reports continued strong polling for the SNP in their latest ICM opinion poll (http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=311452007) which all indicates to a fantastic election night for my party. I won't be resting on my laurels though. Still plenty of campaigning to be done in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth in the remaining 64 days till polling.