Friday 6 May 2011

The People Have Spoken ....

Well, what a night / early morning that was. The much reported SNP surge materialised all over Scotland and took many by surprise. The story of the night in Scotland seems to be the collapse of the Lib Dem and (to a lesser extent) Tory vote, which transferred en bloc to the SNP, hence the unprecedented landslide result.

In Pentlands, while coming third, we increased our share of the vote by 2 points (not much consolation really). Many thanks to my wonderful campaign team who worked so hard over the last few months. Congratulations to Gordon McDonald the new MSP for Pentlands. Might sound strange, but I felt sorry for David McLetchie who seemed genuinely shocked at the result. 

The Labour Party in Scotland will no doubt take time to reflect on what the next steps will be though we, at local government level, must turn our thoughts quickly to the Council elections next May and factor in last night's experience. The fight back has to start some time, might as well be now.

2 comments:

Lesley Hinds said...

Good campaign Ricky, but when the swing is against you, there's little you can do.

The SNP now seem to have become the party of the establishment. What has slipped below the radar is their connection to business and what the implications are. What do David Murray, Tom Farmer and Brian Soutar et al expect to get from their support for Salmond? And why was Eck's use of a helicopter not a campaign expense?

Anonymous said...

Lesley. I remember you having no problems siding up to people with deep pockets in your time in the council. Stop muck racking and accept defeat with dignity.

The people have spoken and they have said no longer will we be taken for granted by "faux socialists" who are only interested in us once every 4 years.