I was listening to the BBC just after 6.30am this morning, to the Today programme. The news item being reported was this;
The SNP would block a minority Conservative government by voting down its Queen’s Speech if it held the post-election balance of power, its former leader Alex Salmond has said. Mr Salmond said the move could bring down the government if Labour joined in, with David Cameron “locked out”.
This is the latest instance of anti-English bellicosity from Salmond but what irritated me was the relative insouciance this was reported by the BBC “analyst”. I can but imagine the BBC response to UKIP declaring it would “lock out” Labour from government. As we go through this election campaign I believe we will see the BBC contining to fawn over the SNP and Labour, whilst demonising UKIP and any vestige of authentic Conservatism from Mr Cameron’s party.
I think you may be right, but aren’t they supposed to be totally impartial during the election period?
My guess is that in the period since the New Year they have just been limbering up.
I didn’t hear the article, but I’m not sure I see a problem here. If the Conservatives don’t have a majority, it’s a fact of Parliamentary arithmetic that any grouping can potentially outvote the Tories. That’s what will have been voted in, however bone-headed one might consider the result, so I don’t think it’s for the BBC to criticise any party using its numbers to thwart an opponent. If they attacked UKIP for suggesting something similar then I would have a problem with that.
I do think however that more discussion should be had about the way Alex Salmond is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between Scotland and England, because he knows how a government dancing to the separatist tune would look to a Tory-voting England. Note how in tune Salmond is with the Tory warnings about SNP influence. An unholy alliance perhaps, or simply Salmond sensing an opportunity? I’d suspect the latter, because it’s what he’s good at and would be a dangerous game for the Tories to play.
If in doubt go on the counter attack.
Conservative and UKIP both declare that, if elected, they will revisit the Barnet Formula which is heavily biased in favour of Scotland and paid for by the English. Bit of a vote winner as far as the English are concerned but would certainly give the SNP something to think about.
cancel the Barnet Formula. The SNP would lose it in the independent Scotland they want so they cannot complain. Give it to deserving areas eg north-ease England, Cornwall
What about giving it to East Anglia which is already miles behind the North East or Oxfordshire, which is the recipient of least government largesse.
Have you not noticed that the areas with the biggest state spending tend to vote Labour and never seem to “improve” so they do not “need” so much?
I wouldn’t disagree with a word of that.
Unfortunately, over the years, Salmond has been very good at his work as you can see in some of the comments here and elsewhere from both sides of the border. I suspect that the Union is stuffed. In many ways we now have the worst of both worlds.
BBC Impartiality… Contradiction in terms.
What the BBC will do is have 4 news items on the various news programmes. Two will show the conservatives in a negative light. Two will show Labour in a positive light, this way they can say they gave equal coverage.
Technically the BBC “election period/ purdah begins on 30th March when Parliamaent dissolves.
BBC election guidelines state,
“To achieve due impartiality, each bulletin, programme or programme strand, as well as online and interactive services, for each election, must ensure that the parties are covered proportionately over an appropriate period, normally across a week”.
In practice many BBC producers get round this with various dodges such as giving pro Labour stories plenty of coverage at prime time and then balancing the books by running Tory/UKIP stuff during quiet times when there’s no audience etc.
The BBC and SNP sing from the same Hadith when it comes to anti Semitism and supporting Islamic terrorist groups.
Thanks for the link. Scottish Marxist Party?
But will those in Scotland who voted for Independence, still vote for the SNP in a British election?
Disgusting cow. What is it with lefty’s and Islamofascists?
Scottish voting intentions- a good question.
It will be argued that the core objective of SNP Is to break up the Union. The linkage of this goal to the growing evidence that it is a cult and deals in fantasy economics will be important for the oppostion parties to expose.
Tactical voting is emerging as a potential bulwark to SNP progress.
Add in bBC bias and a you have a right old cocktail.
So far as I know Salmond is no longer either First Minister or leader of the Scottish Nationalists so why is he being given any attention?
After the election he will be leader of the Scottish Nationalists in the Westminster Parliament. With neither of the main parties likely to achieve a majority, Salmond will be very powerful.
I’m off to live in Iran.
The BBC is doing its best not to comment on the remark made by Jim Murphy, Scottish Labour leader, that a future Labour Government would use £1 buiilion raised from taxes on the City of London and wealthy pensioners in the South to gurantee jobs, free university education and higher bursaries for Scottish students. Mr. Murphy, what about university students and the poorer pensioners south of the Border? Don’t they enter into the calculations of the BBC and the Labour Party? Wasn’t it Jim Murphy who earlier this year stated that a future Labour Government would use income from its mansion tax in the South East to fund more nurses in Scotland (not the rest of the United Kingdom)? The Labour Party is now in danger of losing most of its seats in Scotland – hence the bribes from Murphy and his cronies. Alex Salmond is aware of this situation and has made a cynical bribe to Mr. Ed to the effect that the SNP would informally prop up a minority Labour Government. But this will come at a price from Salmond, which in the long-term will alienate voters from the rest of the United Kingdom and provoke an eventual break-up. Mr. Ed is so desperate to enter Downing Street that he is in his naivety prepared to pay this price, even though it might put the Labour Party out of power south of the Border for more than a generation. The BBC knows that Mr. Ed is playing fast and loose with the future of the United Kingdom and is remaining cynically silent about the trap being sprung by Salmond. That is why over the last couple of days we have been denied the dubious pleasure of Pienaar’s company! Unfortunately, this fits in well with the BBC’s narrative, which is to try and denigrate anything to do with this country’s history and traditions. The problem is that 58% of voters get their news from the BBC, which means that they could be sleep-walking into disaster in May. Can we trust the managers of the BBC and the voters to ask themselves the question once posed by John F. Kennedy, namely, “ask not what your country can do for you [i.e. short-term financial benefits], ask what you can do for your country [i.e. something to benefit the whole of the United Kingdom]?”
Good comment.
Looks like the Scottish Question is about to disrupt politics.
We should all have been warned by the sheer nastiness of the independence debate last year.
The SNP should take care. This could backfire very badly in the future.
When it at last dawns on our dozy English voters that the Scots have no intention of staying in the Union long term unless bribed with English monies then who knows?
“We should all have been warned by the sheer nastiness of the independence debate last year.”
Can you provide some evidence of this “nastiness”?
I’m not sure why I’m bothering Ally as you often ask for evidence but rarely accept it so here’s some from your trusted BBC
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-27809898
From elsewhere on the net.
Even journalists covering the referendum have noted the hostile atmosphere. Tom Bradby, the political editor for ITV, wrote in an op-ed on Tuesday:
“I am not enjoying covering the Scottish referendum. I should be. All journalists live for the chance to report on great events and they don’t come more momentous than the potential break-up of the UK. But pretty much all reporters I chatted to yesterday agreed that the level of abuse and even intimidation being meted out by some in the ‘Yes’ campaign was making this referendum a rather unpleasant experience.
Good to see you cite a BBC article – kind of blows a hole in DV’s view!!!
Not really – Independence would rebalance left and right in England/Wales, making the Con/Lab fight much more even geographically.
The pro EU metropolitan Left would find itself struggling for majority after Scots independence.
However, I don’t think that political bias was behind that particular remark, it was just simply an matter of personal experience.
But is there any real difference?
My daughter worked for the NHS in Glasgow. She had enough nasty comments directed at her and her West Country accent to make it unpleasant. She is back in England now.
Sadly Salmond has been all too succcessful in driving the Union apart. It will go and that will make him happy I suppose.
She should have reported them to the police as ‘racist’, certainly if they came from fellow employees then she should have reported to a senior colleague.
Had she been black they wouldnt have dared.
Albaman, Try this for starters:
http://thequietno.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/civic-nationalism-yeah-right.html
If you want to delve into the land of “twitter” (as the author of the above article has) for evidence then here is my contribution:
Tweets by BritNatAbuseBot
I reckon saying stuff to pee off the English is a deliberate tactic by the SNP in order to poison the union. Good luck to ’em I say. The sooner they’re off out the better for us all – Scots, English everyone.
Just keep holding refernda until they get the right answer.
I agree, and as far as the SNP are concerned if their holding Milliband to ransom is divisive then so much the better. Theyre stirring hatred.
i am no wimp,far from it,but i am frightened to go to scotland now for a holiday because of the rise of the far left snp that has lead to alot of anti english feeling and englishaphobia encouraged directly by alex salmond and his coherts,you need no further example of anti english racism than when nigel farage visited scotland and was attacked by the snp racist thugs and was forced to flee that country under police protection,while the fascists and the anti english snp bigots are in power in power in scotland, i think it is not safe for any english person to visit let alone live in with this rampant anti english feeling in that country.
“………….. i am frightened to go to scotland now for a holiday because of the rise of the far left snp that has lead to alot of anti english feeling and englishaphobia encouraged directly by alex salmond”
Can you provide any evidence to support this assertion bearing in mind that a number of SNP MSP’s are English?
” i think it is not safe for any english person to visit let alone live in with this rampant anti english feeling in that country. ”
I am sure the hundreds of people who travel to Scotland on a regular basis (some daily) to work in Scotland will disagree with you. As would the thousands who are English born but live and work in Scotland on a more permanent basis!!
Why not come out from behind your keyboard and visit Scotland and see the reality!!
Strangely the only real violence was post the referendum – and that was from unioinists not those supportring a Yes vote.
Good to see you venturing out again, if all in a lather about assertions and demanding evidence (where the BBC so often gets a pass in this regard, sources say, I have learned) again about personal testimony you don’t like.
Hope you won’t be taking anyone to task for spending more time than you think appropriate here.
That’s… anyone else.
Professional courtesies must apply.
Scotland is best avoided. Its seems to be gradually sinking back into its grim inward looking pre-Union state of irrelevance, corruption, and poverty. All the intelligent Scots left years ago. What is left is people like Albaman, and nationalist socialist politicians like Mr and Mrs Chippy. They say Countries get the politicians they deserve. God help Scotland if that is true.
Interesting views for Guest Who and Wild but neither provide any evidence in support of Stuart’s assertions. Then again, when challenged, neither could Stuart.
OK, well, there is a pub in Edinburgh which I have visited many times. I was last there in May of last year, a few months before the referendum, but when the unofficial campaign was well underway.
On previous visits, I had always seen the place festooned with flags: Scottish flags, Union flags, English, Welsh and Northern Irish flags, plus the odd continental one. Last May, the only flags left (and the missing ones did leave rather a lot of bare space on the ceiling) were the Scottish ones and a lone Italian one. I am guessing some muppet couldn’t tell the difference between an Irish tricolour and an Italian flag.
Either the pub had voluntarily taken down the English, Welsh and Northern Irish flags, in solidarity with the independence movement, or (much more probably) the pub had been intimidated into removing non-approved flags. It was still a nice pub. Funnily enough, an ancestor of mine was born just across the street from there, but I am eternally Anglo-Welsh, to the likes of Albaman and his fellow nationalist bigots.
In Edinburgh only a couple of weeks ago. Majority of pubs were displaying the flags of all the nations competeing in the 6 Nations rugby.
By your logic these pubs must have “been intimidated” into putting them up – either that or they just chose to do so.
Some years ago I spoke to a Scottish person who had just finished watching the England v Scotland match in a pub. [Upmarket ‘professionals’]. An English visitor had a pint poured over his head for cheering England. He couldn’t react due to the hostility on display. My Scottish friend was shocked.
Being my stamping ground, I’m intrigued. Which pub was it?
Lord (not impartial) HALL, supports a two-pronged political assault on the national integrity of the United Kingdom, from:-
1) European Union federalisers;
2.) SNP separatists.
Who cares if , the “Peoples Socialist Republic” leaves the UK , not me for certain . I say go now , that shoots the fox of Millipeed /SNP governing England , end of the Barnett Formula , no Labour governments in England . Its WIn, Win , for England . I know it will happen in the next few years for sure .Boris will be PM then , Fantastic !
Is that the same Boris who is in favour of Turkey being admitted into the E.U.?
Its not up to Boris , its the officials in Brussels that do the negotiations . But since Blair/ Brown signed off our veto , we are now on majority voting , I can`t see them getting near that for 20 years at least.
No-one is really in favour of Turkey joining the EU, it’s a simple piece of real politic.
Germany absolutely doesn’t want it. It’s a mild provocation, a little reminder to the German government.
Boris for PM! Why would you vote for him? It couldnt be on the basis of his record in London. So exactly why would you vote for him?
Because he pisses off the right people?
Same reason I went to watch American Sniper and used to watch Top Gear.
American sniper is a good film and well worth a watch – it’s also very little like the lies told about it.
One only has to review David’s twitter feed to see his views on the SNP.
He really does seem to have a major problem with people exercising their democratic right to vote for the party of their choosing and for elected SNP politicians carrying through the policies clearly outlined in their manifesto.
and you Albabum, seem to have a galactic problem with people exercising their democratic right to object to the unjust telly poll tax and the relentless left wing bias of the BBC in contradiction to their Royal Charter
albaman is just a snp supporting thug and a fascist dictator.
Well, that clears that up.
Nice to see that unfounded personal attacks remain a constant on this site.
Not nice at all.
Especially when committed in high volume, off topic as one liners.
Does seem some have mixed opinions on when it is good and bad, and when to get vocal or stay mute. All adding the clog.
Maybe BBC Guidelines could help?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11079296/Anti-English-racists-terrorising-the-No-campaign-in-Scotland.html…here is the proof albaman of anti english violence in scotland you are in denial about.
No, that’s not proof as albaman would accept. That’s only proof backed by evidence and that is completely opposite to what they do accept, i.e. for them proof is only what they want to believe despite lack of evidence.
For instance, this site has produced many thousands of clear examples of left-wing bias, backed up with clear evidence. However, they still claim that ‘we’ have not provided any proof despite it being unarguable by rational, sane human beings.
I have changed my mind recently and will be voting Conservative at the election, and I would urge English voters who do not wish to be lectured and threatened by a hostile Scotland to do the same. .
Salmond, Sturgeon and the others have in effect declared war on England, and for those in the Labour party or supporters of it, be careful, Salmond does not care about you, he’s only using you.
He is an opponent and hater of all of the English; the fact that you may share some of his socialist visions are of no importance to him other than as a tool to get his way for Scotland.
He will betray you simply because you are English – he will revel in it and gloat over you.
Thanks Mr Badger , I am glad some people are seeing sense now .
… I am glad some people are seeing sense now.
Do you have an answer to Norman Tebbit’s question:
‘… if Mr Cameron holds on to office, he will head off to Brussels to “renegotiate” our terms of membership. The snag is that they are not renegotiable. He will be committed to announce success however few petifogging little concessions he is given and campaign to accept them. And if Ukip has crashed, from where will the advocates of a “Brexit” organise their campaign?‘
As I understand it the Conservatives intention is to allow their M.P.s to campaign for whichever side they want. Whether Labour will allow similarly for their dissenters such as Gisela Stuart is another matter. She is always worth a listen to on Europe.
The Labour Party want “to reform the EU from within”.
If they ever let us know what reforms they want Dave may well be able to pop over and say even the Labour Party want this changed.
Similarly big business keeps telling us the a Brexit would not be good for business, but always seem to say that the EU needs reforming.
Again write a list out of what they want and you never know lots of people might want the same thing and be singing from the same hymn sheet.
If the EU was reduced back to solely a free trade area (we could call perhaps rename it the Common Market) I would vote to stay.
What is needed is for Greece to get kicked out of the Euro and the edifice start to crumble, which should make reform a necessity.
You need to confront the reality so starkly set out by Norman Tebbit. Cameron is going to get nothing but ‘petifogging little concessions’. The battle is over. Cameron sent John Major out to Germany to fly a kite last November. The Europeans snubbed him. Many didn’t even turn up.
Later, Cameron approached Merkel directly but she made clear the freedom of movement rule was non-negotiable. So he’s left with a ‘’few petifogging little concessions’ on benefits. Labour’s deceit over what they would do is irrelevant; Cameron would do no better.
So vote Cameron and you’ll get the Tories, Labour, Liberals, Greens and SNP organising a referendum to copper-fasten the status quo with the assistance of the BBC and Sky propagandists. Expect to see lots of clips of John Redwood mouthing the Welsh national anthem and Peter Bone in his underwear. After their humiliation, a few Tories will split off. But it will be too late.
These ,are all big “IFS”.There have been Eurosceptic Conservatives ,for 25 – 30 years , way before ukip . Most of the Parliamentry party are Eurosceptic , they would all campaign to leave ,if it was in the country`s interests . Incidentally in Essex ,a kipper councilor has quit the party ,because he doesn`t like Farage .Sky has given a prediction of 2 seats ,down 1 on mine. You can slag me off all you like, because you don`t like the truth. I am sort of on your side, but I only think the Conservatives can sort the country out. You should be attacking Clapped out busman & Chippy/Hilarious ,not me.
I am sort of on your side,…
I know you are, and I know Tories like Redwood and Bone are sitting primed. But remember how the propaganda defeated Salmond last September. What’s coming over Europe will be brutal: ‘The country will be an economic wasteland if we leave’. After he lost, Salmond still had his powerful party. The Eurosceptics will have nothing. Which is the point Norman Tebbit made. The game will be over.
I am personally hoping that Tories in LABOUR strongholds vote tactically for UKIP to avoid a Milliband / Salmond stitch up. Undemocratic result in-as-much as SNP maximum string pulling power in both Holyrood and Westminster!
A scenario that does not make sense and the English would surely rebel against that.
One needs only to look at what nearly was result in the Middleton and Heywood by-election for feasibility of tactical voting.
Vote UKIP – get Conservative / UKIP alliance…..
Better than:
Vote Conservative – get Labour / SNP undemocratic stitch up!
http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2014/05/conservative-labour-battleground/
“One needs only to look at what nearly was result in the Middleton and Heywood by-election for feasibility of tactical voting.”
If it did not work in Heywood in a by-election in a red rose on a monkey seat when the result does not really matter it is unlikely to be different in a general election.
Conversely voting UKIP in Tory winnable seats should enable several extra seats to be won by Labour strolling through on the outside in a split vote.
Much that you will not like it a strong vote for UKIP should result in you waking up on the Friday morning with less than a handful of seats and Wallace grinning at the cameras while his wife measures up for new curtains at No. 10.
You could be right
And if the Tories were actually Tory I would feel bad about that
You’re assuming that all people who might well vote for UKIP are departing from the Tories, this is not true, many ex labour voters have said to me they are going to vote for UKIP because they see them talking for the common people like themselves. They see the Tories as being as useless as labour and would not vote for them.
please explain why labour /snp is an un democratic stitchup and a conservative /ukip alliance isnt!
Because DV and his sychophants only believe in democracy when it suits their blinkered view of the world.
DV’s current view is:
“The SNP are a cancer on the UK body politic and I am increasingly of the view that we may need to cut it out. Either close down the Scottish Parliament (and the other devolved Assemblies) and restore all power to the mother of Parliaments or consider allowing the Separatists to go their own way in some way. Keeping them in the UK is simply not worth it and it is toxic.”
So there you are – if you don’t like the way that people vote you disolve their Parliament!!
There again he thinks that the English electorate “consistently prefers Conservative values.” Perhaps he can explain how Blair secured 3 majorities without the support of a significant number of English votes.
http://www.atangledweb.org/?p=56442
‘Because DV and his sychophants..’
Please explain (the refrain du jour) why you are reduced to answering each other’s questions?
Critics are saying.
Angus Robertson is leader of the SNP delegation at Westminster. If Salmond is elected, does he usurp Robertson’s position?
Nicola Sturgeon is First Minister of a devolved executive and leader of the SNP. After May 7th, she will not be a member of the UK Parliament yet she is threatening to dictate terms to Westminster.
So, who will actually be in charge of the SNP’s Westminster MPs after May 7th?
Will the rest of the UK electorate stand for her interfering?
Get the popcorn in.
“If Salmond is elected, does he usurp Robertson’s position?”
Yes. But he will defer to Nicola, who has the final say after Mr Salmond has told her what to do.
Happened to type BBC Labour Party Connections into the internet search box and came up with this
https://lenathehyena.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/oh-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave-when-first-we-practice-to-deceive-bbc-scotland-and-the-labour-party/
Apologies is previously linked. It also contains one or two names known to us in the South.
IIRC someone on here a while ago provided some interesting relationship links between the BBC and Labour down here, which if repeated may help some of our doubters about leftie bias to understand where we are coming from.
I’ve had it with R4 and R5. I listen to sport on Radio 5 and occasionally Radio 3 when they are not being totally dumbed down. Can’t bear them any more. Put a networked music server downstairs and play music instead. Far better for the soul. The BBC has jumped the shark and need to be put down. Maybe not mercifully.
Radio 4 Extra might be worth a look.
The only politics comes from the current edgy “comedians” shows that recently started to get repeated from Radio 4. Round the Horne, The Navy Lark, Dads Army, Lord Peter Wimsey, Revolting People, Old Hasrry’s Game, even Claire in the Community sending up an up the arse socialist social worker, etc. can fill in many hours.
All downhill since Round The Horne 🙂 Whenever I hear the phrase “Radio 4 Comedy” I think – no it’s not. And when I have the misfortune to have R4 on at the end of PM, the 6.30 “comedy” slot soon sorts that out. Round The Horne – now your talking!
Ed Reardon’s Week is about the only thing I have smiled at on the radio apart from R4 Extra for years.
Whoops. Duplicated.
OP: Aside from the BBC point, no merit there, and without any particular care for Salmond or the SNP, what’s ‘anti-English’ about this? I believe Labour are as much English as the Conservatives?!?
“I believe Labour are as much English as the Conservatives?!? ”
Not so much nowadays. Even though people living in England make up over 85% of the population of Great Britain, Miliband is the first English leader of the Labour Party in an English constituency since Wilson.
I too heard this on the Today Show yesterday at 7am.
Yet the reporter was sanguine and relaxed-only a little local politicking that plays well up in Scotland.
Same anti-democratic bias in the Good Cause as Len McCluskys threats not to follow the law if the Tories get into power.
Again-no need to worry according to the BBC-which is why it`s not been a story of any note.
As opposed to Andrew Mitchell or Grant Shapps.
Ditto with Farage getting hounded out in his home town pub, as well as in Edinburgh and Rotherham these last few years.
Doesn`t bother the BBC at all-Tomorrows World belongs to Them, so they seem to think!
IS stands both for International Socialism and Islamic State-both are so-called, only one has been hollowing out this country now since 1979.
Brownshirts no longer are to be feared if its tie-dye cheesecloth, or an SWP rainbow desgn…at least the Burqa Brigade stick to black.
Both threaten us-and if you ever watch any politcal thing involving the “voice of teenagers in politics”, you`ll know who our home-grown IEDS turn out to be.
Balls screwed the economy-but if you see what he did to Children, Schools and Families in the dog ends of Browns Era, it ought to scare us more.
Please explain what balls did to children, families, schools etc.
‘Please explain what balls did to children, families, schools etc.’
Capital; simply… capital!
All those company directorial memos and public sector team briefings must have been confusing affairs.
A fantastic phrase I heard the other day – ‘Neverendum’
First used in connection with the Quebec referenda, I seem to recall.
The problem with Scotland is that when you apply
“The trouble with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”
the ‘other people’ are the English.