BBC News reports:
“A Conservative candidate at the Holyrood election has called for a change of party leader in Scotland.
The challenge to Annabel Goldie’s authority came as the party’s UK leader David Cameron arrived in Scotland to boost the election effort.
“Holyrood candidate Peter Lyburn believes that the Tories need rejuvenated north of the border.”
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9 Comments
He’s standing in Dunfermline West and will be lucky if he finishes up coming 4th.(Jim Tolson is our Candidate and we could well see a Lib Dem gain here). There’s been muttering and mumblings about Goldie all over the place since she became “Leader”. Most polls are suggesting that they will drop down to somewhere between 11 – 15 MSPs.
“He’s standing in Dunfermline West and will be lucky if he finishes up coming 4th.(Jim Tolson is our Candidate and we could well see a Lib Dem gain here)”
yes, but the tories are currently voting for the ranking in the regional lists. So he’s probably trying to improve his chances to get a high place in Mid Scotland and Fife regional list.
Very interesting article in the Scottish Daily Mail by Gerald Warner lambasting the Tories in Scotland. Indeed he goes as far as to say “The Scottish Tories are facing extinction.”
The Tories got 3 MSPs off the Mid Scotland & Fife list the last time. Having managed to get rid of Brian Monteith, now Independent, they now have 2. With all polls showing a further drop in Tory support in Scotland he would have to get ranked above one of the sitting MSPs to have any possibility of getting in to Holyrood. These are Ted Brocklebank and Murdo Fraser.
“With all polls showing a further drop in Tory support in Scotland he would have to get ranked above one of the sitting MSPs to have any possibility of getting in to Holyrood”
With the last Yougov poll (the one for the Sunday Times) figures they would have kept all the 3 seats in Mid Scotland. It’ll probably be close for the last couple of regional seats though
Andrea you can’t cite one poll in isolation. The general trend over the last few years has been a further Tory decline in Scotland both in opinion polls and in real elections. Facts: in 1955 the Conservatives won 50.5% of the vote in Scotland and had 36 MPs elected. In 2005 the Tories get 16% of the vote and had 1 MP elected.
Quote from todays Scotsman (not a paper I like whatsoever): “2007 – as the parties head into another election year, the Tories are on 13%, according to opinion polls, and are on course to return, AT BEST, only the 18MSPs they have now.”
Tories are totally irrelevant to Modern Scotland and the lives of most Scots.
“Andrea you can’t cite one poll in isolation”
well, in all yougov polls done since November 2006 the tories would have held the 3 seats in Mid Scotland (IIRC all of them would have put the seats in the 17-19 seats range overall).
Other opinions companies usually show worse figures for the tories, but they also have a history in underestimating their support in run up of 2003 election.
Frankly I couldn’t care less if they return 2 or 3 MSPs in Mid Scotland and Fife. I wanted to just to point out that it’s not true that just the top 2 “have any possibility of getting in to Holyrood”
Andrea, If you couldn’t care less, then why go on about it at such great length?
Other factors, which aren’t yet calcuable, may affect things in MSF. Brian Monteith may have intentions of standing as an Independent and this new, well financed, Scottish Voice/Scottish Democrats could well have a toll. As Tim Luckhurst said in the Sunday Times on the 7th January: “They understand Stirling has the capacity to turn the Scottish Conservatives prospects on May 3 from grim to abysmal.” He adds: “Without Stirling’s initiative, the Scottish Conservatives looked set to be reduced from 17 MSPs at Holyrood to 15 or fewer. His intervention may reduce that negligible tally still further and leave the centre-right voice in Scottish politics shattered, irrelevant and virtually inaudible.”
That’ll do nicely and I’m happy to stick by my 2 seats max in MSF prediction.
“Andrea, If you couldn’t care less, then why go on about it at such great length?”
because you replied putting forward your arguments and I think it would be unpolite not to reply back and just ignore what you said.
Actually I wouldn’t mind to see them lose their third seat if it means that the the Green seat in MSF will be saved
Calling for Goldie to go didn’t do him much good on the Mid Scotland & Fife list – he came 5th.
Interesting to note that Ted Brocklebank’s jacket may well be on a shoogly nail as he came 3rd on the list.