Scottish Parliament Election, 6th May 2021

[DaWN]

Surely its only downhill for the SNP from here, and uphill for SLab.

Why?

Because the SNP could well.be more or less maxed out at the moment. Of course, uphill only remains a return to something resembling relevance for SLab, not challenging for power, at least not next year.

Paradoxically, I think a big SNP win next May might be the best thing for SLab in the long term.

[DaWN]

Sturgeon does seem to be getting stick over the exam grades business that goes beyond the usual suspects, however - whether that leads to anything longer term is another matter.

It'll be ancient history by May but cracks are visibly beginning to show in the SNP machine. Whether it'll mean anything by the election is an open question, but it may foretell some long-term problems.

Of course, it requires Scottish Labour following the Scottish Tories' example and ditching their worse-than-useless leader.

[DaWN]

What about the Scottish LibDems? Are they relevant in the slightest?

Outside of a select few seats, no.

[DaWN]

all may not be totally lost for SLab if only they could at least minimally get their s*** together somehow)

Want to hear my solution?

[DaWN]

If the answer involves "a new leader" then I said just the other day that I increasingly suspect that will happen before next year's election (though maybe not until 2021 is upon us)

As a matter of fact, it does involve that.

If they can find a way of retaking second place it would be an astounding achievement though, let's not get ahead of ourselves. And backing a referendum is one of those things that sounds great until you apply every test of logic to it when it falls apart. If SLab do that they deserve to permanently and finally die.

[DaWN]

Though I agree with the previous poster (and I don't on quite a lot of stuff) in that simple bone-headed Ian Murray type unionism, Union Jack waistcoats and all, also isn't going to cut it.

And that, really, summarises Scottish Labour's fundamental problem.

I also agree with that. The message should be very simple for them - 'ordinary people are better off in the union', which should be very easy to get across without even touching the Murray approach. (I make no comments as to whether said statement is true or not before my throat is jumped down). But they just can't do it.

The problem is messaging. They are really, really sh!t at it. And also leadership, but I repeat myself.

[DaWN]

If there is a unionist coaltion somehow

We can stop reading right there because there is absolutely zero chance of that happening