The Scottish Liberal Democrats launched their campaign in Cramond on Thursday mornings. The bright umbrellas provided a contrast to damp grey surroundings.
Alistair Carmichael and former Leader Lord Campbell of Pittenweem joined Willie Rennie, North East Fife candidate Wendy Chamberlain and many activists.
Willie Rennie told the assembled crowd:
This election our ambition is sky high. We can stop Brexit and build a brighter future for Scotland in the United Kingdom.
Scottish Liberal Democrats are the only party standing up for Scotland’s place in the UK and the UK’s place in the EU. The country needs Liberal Democrats to stand up for those dual majorities and against those who want to take us backwards.
We need to cancel Brexit and invest in our public services to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their potential.
Jo Swinson presents a fresh, new choice for the future in stark contrast with Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson who represent the divisive past.
Over the next five weeks we will be unveiling exciting plans to tackle the climate emergency, fund new mental health staff across the country and build a brighter future for our communities.
A YouGov poll this week shows that the Lib Dems have overtaken Labour in Scotland:
Scottish Westminster voting intention:
SNP: 42% (-1)
CON: 22% (+2)
LDEM: 13% (+1)
LAB: 12% (-3)
BREX: 6% (-)
GRN: 4% (-)via @YouGov, 23 – 25 Oct
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) November 9, 2019
If you are one of the majority of Scots who back staying in the UK and the EU, there is very little point in you voting Labour. In fact, only the Lib Dems support staying in both unions.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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8 Comments
This election has started a bit strangely, for me. For a week or so it somehow didn’t feel quite ‘on.’ But it seems to have settled down now and there are some good newspaper articles starting to appear. Here are two from this weekend in the Guardian.
The first is a fairly upbeat account of Luciana Berger’s chances in Finchley and Golders Green. The ‘lounge’ meetings are interesting. I know these are a feature in American politics, but I’ve never known them to be part of a campaign here.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/09/luciana-berger-lib-dems-finchley-golders-green-remain-voters
And this one from John Harris about the drift away from the Tories in leafy Surrey, which he thinks opens up all sorts of possibilities – including for us.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/10/surrey-commuters-marginal-voters-election-tories-guildford
Useful comments from TonyH. It would be nice to think that over the campaign rational thinking could win through! But there are powerful forces encouraging people to avoid It.
I have been out canvassing a couple of times in leafy parts of Edinburgh an would say he Tory vote is soft but still existant. People are definately willing to give us a hearing but we need to be more open and concillator – the Jo for PM and revoke are for the incredulous – so come-on lets offer a realistic alternative!
Are Greens in Scotland part of Unite to Remain?
What is their attitude to the SNP in Westminster elections?
Richard, the Scots Green Party are pro-independence and 2 of their candidates have stood down in marginal constituencies, one being LD target NE Fife, in favour of the SNP.
@ Richard Underhill “Are Greens in Scotland part of Unite to Remain?”
As far as I know the answer is NO ….. I think because they haven’t been asked.
They are a strong Remain party and are standing down in North East Fife to support the SNP , and in East Lothian to support Martin Whitfield who is a Labour strong Remainer and has been a very good constituency MP. In general they are a critical friend of the SNP and have enabled the SNP Government Budget to get through.
Others must comment on their relationship with the Lib Dems , but from what I have observed they are more radical than the Lib Dems, in particular on Trident and an Independent Scotland in the EU. They also took the UN Report on UK Poverty seriously and want Scotrail to be in the public sector.
Again as an observer, I don’t think Lib Dem/Scottish Green relations are very good…. they have more MSP’s than the Lib Dems (6 to 5). Martin Ford, one of their prominent Councillors in Aberdeenshire (Lib Dem Candidate in Aberdeen North in 1992) resigned from the Lib Dems in protest in 1909 after the Lib Dem group had sacked him because of his opposition to the Trump golf course. The Lib Dems supported the Trump course.
Lib Dems aim to expel Trump row councillor – The Scotsman
https://www.scotsman.com › news-2-15012 › lib-dems-aim-to-expel-trump…
4 Apr 2008 – In January, Martin Ford accused his fellow Lib Dem councillors of mounting a witch-hunt against him after he was removed as chairman of the …
Don’t believe the Greens stood last time so their intervention could have cost us votes as well. Nothing is lost really.
The Greens standing down in North East Fife is being interpreted by most in the media as a help to the SNP, but I’m not so sure. It’s true the Scottish Green party is pro-independence, but I’m not convinced the average Green voter in Scotland is. St Andrews Uni, for example, always has a high population of students who are from wealthy/middle class backgrounds in England. A lot of these might naturally vote Green, but I don’t see them switching to the SNP. Indeed they are more likely to back us. So if our team in NEF are smart (which they are) then I reckon the net effect of the Greens standing down will be to help us, not the Nationalists.