In celebrating Burns night we are reminded of Scottish matters and the 2011 Holyrood election results may well cause more of a political shockwave than the AV referendum, not least as the outcome of the latter already seems like a foregone conclusion.
With the fourth Scottish Parliamentary elections on the horizon and a West Lothian commission allegedly in the offing, tartan matters are very much a la mode. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that 100 days from now we could have a Labour-Green Party coalition government in Holyrood and a Con-Lib Dem one in Westminster.
If the Scottish Lib Dems fall short of the requisite 15 MSPs to be cited as one of the largest opposition parties (which in turn means losing the Leader’s allocated slot at First Minister’s Questions and on the beeb), how will the party of co-government for the UK cope with falling off the radar in Scotland? Might 5th May prove to be little more than a referendum on Nick Clegg himself?
What is clear is that David Cameron’s allocation of the Scottish Secretary brief to the Lib Dems was an astute move, by virtue of which boosting his Westminster support by thirteen fold north of the border. He’s no daftie!
Mark MacLachlan - About 439 days ago
Ahh hindsight, how fickle forecasting can be.