Professor John Robertson OBA
You can buy a poster of Donald Trump as the messiah on Amazon. Seriously, many on the Christian right in the USA actually think he is. He may do too.
Nigel Farage, if you’ve heard him speak and read of his actions, you’ll know, is not the messiah but a very nasty man.
The MSM has been accused for some time of undemocratically enabling the Reform UK campaign with undue space and oxygen such as 38 BBC Question Time appearances despite 0 MPs until 2024.
Does Damien Shields, above, know what he is doing? Why is Farage at the front with an aura far more powerful than those of the others? Swinney will get far more MSPs so why does he have a lesser aura?
At a subconscious level then expressed in his image, does Shields feel some charisma, like that of Trump, Mussolini, Hitler, Manson?
As for the poll, Survation habitually ‘adjust’ their sample to fit it to the 2014 defeat for the Yes campaign and to minimise SNP support and boost the Cons or Labour. It will be interesting to see how they do it this time, to favour Reform UK who, of course, did not exist then. I look forward to seeing the data tables.
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The excellent result in the recent bye election for the Senedd in Caerphilly was a huge rebuff to the U.K. media and polling organisations who had been telling us that Farage/Reform was going to win. A combination of ‘push polling’ and media coverage largely focussed on Farage/Reform was trying to make electors think it was a foregone conclusion so they should either join the winners or not bother voting for ‘losers’.
Although the vote for Farage/Reform was around 1/3, which is where many polls have been placing Farage/Reform, the vote for Plaid Cymru was just short of 50%. This is substantially above where local polling was, reportedly, placing it.
The votes for Labour, especially, and for the Tories, who had less than 2% of the votes, went to both PC and Farage/Reform. This indicated that voters were saying to Labour and the Tories, ‘a plague on both your houses’.
Polling in Scotland, as reported in the Herod and others indicates a similar trend. Despite SNP being markedly ahead of Farage/Reform, the Herod’s photomontage gives Farage prominence with John Swinney in the background and the headline compares Farage/Reform to Labour as if these are the only two parties that matter in Scotland.
This seems to me that the unionists see Farage/Reform as the best way to ‘keep out the Nats’ in Scotland, and are suggesting Labour voters ought to vote Farage/Reform.
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The photo montage also suggests that Reform will take votes from Labour and the SNP. But in Caerphilly they took votes from the unionists. Perhaps the Herald lives in hope.
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I think someone should point out to the voters that most of Reforms candidates were Tories this time last year and that nobody would have voted for any of them.
Not so much Reform as Rebrand – a little bit louder and a little bit worse.
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Apologies I had added this below post today onto another previous post but have now added it onto here as well, sorry.
Lucy Powell has been elected as Labour’s new deputy leader.
(The old one , Angela Rayner, had to ‘resign’ , as in she jumped before she was pushed).
During her victory speech she, Powell, said the party needed to be “bolder” and promised to be a “champion for our Labour values”.
“I’ll be a champion for our Labour values and boldness in everything we do, and I know that you Keir, as our leader, want that – and I will be your ally in that fight“
Powell also singled out Reform UK, saying it “starts with us wrestling back the political megaphone and setting the agenda more strongly, because let’s be honest we’ve let [Nigel] Farage and his ilk run away with it”.
She said the party could not win support by “trying to ‘out-Reform’ Reform”.
This was a speech by Powell on the back of what was seen as a catastrophic defeat last week in Wales for Labour in a seat that Labour have held for a century.
The polling in that election was indicating that Reform UK would win that seat, indeed on the night of the count various TV News channel political correspondents , who were at the count , were all stating that it was “too close to call” as to who would win it.
Yet it turned out Plaid won by nearly 4000 votes……..so not really that “too close to call” but more really a decisive win for Plaid.
This victory speech by Lucy Powell was one that in part was trying to convince those of us who already knew that Reform UK, as a party and also as a future potential UK government , are not the answer to any existing concerns for any nation within the UK….
Indeed Reform UK are seen as the source , as in the catalysts, for some of the many existing political problems that exist within their UK already…..however traditional parties like Labour (and the Tories) have also played their part in creating many of those political problems too that exists for all Nations within the UK.
Lucy Powell’s party, Labour, have been trying to emulate both the policies and rhetoric of Reform UK………no doubts about that as a fact..
So then for certain voters this is then seen as Labour , and also the Tories, legitimising, reinforcing and so then approving the policies and rhetoric of Reform UK.
“Wrestle back the political megaphone” from Reform UK said Ms Powell.
Really ?
I thought Labour were reiterating the exact same kind of political message as Reform UK via their Labour party “Political megaphone”.
“Labour values” ?
What are Labour’s values ?
Well so far all we have seen happening via Labour’s so called “Values” is that………
Labour are now endorsing and championing the Brexit that Nigel Farage had formerly pressurised the previous (Tory) UK government upon as a UK policy….in forcing them, the Tories, to hold a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.
Labour now allowing Nigel Farage to dictate the UK’s immigration policy.
Labour also now maintaining the Tories policies on Welfare Benefits.
Labour also now keeping the Tory two child cap policy.
Labour’s existing position on compensating WASPI women now being the exact same as the former Tory UK government in Labour now ignoring and refusing to fulfil that pledge they once made to WASPI women.
Indeed when many of them were formerly Labour opposition MP’s (including Keir Starmer) , the pledge they made was that if Labour won the next GE then they would then compensate WASPI women and so then reverse the Tories former (bad) decision……but Labour have now betrayed WASPI women.
Labour , like the Tories and Reform UK, want to protect the rich while also damaging and penalising the poorest and most vulnerable within the UK….
As Labour were determined , as a new UK government, to not impose a wealth tax upon the rich but instead to impose penalties upon the poorest and most vulnerable within the UK.….that included pensioners as being the vulnerable targets of one of the Labour UK government’s cruel decisions, as in cutting the universal WFP.
Keir Starmer also binned all of the former pledges that he made to win the Labour leadership.
The above is not an exhaustive list of Labour’s U turns, back peddling and also Labour trying to win over and appease those voters , who have been and still are being so easily convinced by Nigel Farage, and so then they , as voters, have voted for and still will vote for Reform UK in some elections….
So Lucy Powell may be trying to use her victory speech to try and convince us all that she , as the new Deputy leader of the Labour party, will try to help reshape Labour and so will then also try to reset Labour’s supposed ‘Values’ …..
However let’s be honest here, had Reform UK won that Welsh by-election last week then Lucy Powell’s victory speech would have been most different in tone and in content.
In fact if we are really being honest here , it is very hard , indeed impossible, to associate Labour, as a party and as governments (in any nation within the UK) , as being those who hold and adhere to any values, traditional or otherwise.
Indeed Labour as a political party are the epitome of those who have no values, principles or morals based on their record , as in their poor performance and also their cruel decisions and despicable actions that they have both made and taken as a new UK government……..
So now with Lucy Powell being elected as their new Deputy leader that will not “change” or indeed “renew” anything with Labour.……that is as far as Labour suddenly adopting and so committing to holding any real “values” that we , the people, would and should expect from a government……..
I am afraid Labour have now gone too far down the road in taking their UK on the same path as Reform UK have also chosen.….and also chosen by the Tories too……
So it is now way too late for Labour, as a UK government, to now turn back, as everything is already completely and utterly ducked up……in their Brexit UK (as endorsed by Labour, the Tories and Reform UK)……
A Brexit UK duck up that has been and still is largely ignored by the UK media…….especially in Scotland as it might win kudos for the SNP who have, as a party, always been opposed to Brexit and still are……for Scotland).
Lucy Powell forgot to mention in her wee speech that it is parties like Labour and the Tories who have enabled Reform UK to gain any credibility as a party within her UK….(especially within England).
Indeed all that we have heard , as voters, is both Labour and the Tories mimicking the language, the policies and also the obvious lack of values and decency that we have come to associate with a party like Reform UK , who are really a pretend political party, who as a supposed political party, work only on behalf of those who fund them as a supposed political party .
Labour as a party and as the latest UK government are not worth listening to, supporting or voting for….now that’s a proven fact.
Indeed there is far too little that divides Labour and the Tories from Reform UK , as parties , and also as those who create the real divisions that have always existed within their Britain (England) …..but have always been denied as realities and so then rewritten to be Britain’s history filed under British fiction …..
Reform UK have now shaped Labour and the Tories to be nothing more than tribute acts to them, Reform UK, which sees Reform UK now being the proverbial “tail wagging the Dog” as far as their UK is concerned.
Liz S
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if Starmer were to resign/be forced to step down, does the election of Lucy Powell as deputy leader mean that, in the interim, until a new leader is elected, would Ms Powell who is not in the cabinet be interim PM or would Starmer continue until a successor is elected?
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Still not had an answer to who The SNP will rely on to get things like the budget through after the Holyrood election.
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Remember when Bella led the Scotories? They were petrified of the electorate, so they backed Alex Salmond’s early budgets, as have other parties over the years.
If the SNP are in a minority, then it will be…
A.–those who are feart to go back to the voters.
B.–those who believe in funding the obligations all democratic governments have….as opposed to those who think Scotland should be ruled by Westminster (about 10% of Scots) and those who are anarchists–both these groups are probably members of the same party–Reform UK (owned and controlled by you know who) or Reform Lite members in Labour and the Tory parties.
Best thing is simply to vote for the only actual SCOTTISH party and feck the rest.
gavinochiltree
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“Still not had an answer to who The SNP will rely on to get things like the budget through after the Holyrood election”
Sorry I did respond to your query but not with a definite answer….however my comment did not show up on here….no big deal for me…but just so you know , you were not being ignored…..also another person responded to you as well .
Liz S
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I asked the question on previous posts about polls and Reform UK, but did not get an answer.
The political landscape in Scotland is different compared to when Alex Salmond led The SNP. In the Highlands and North East of Scotland, there is growing opposition to the pylons and wind farms industrialising rural landscapes, The SNP have given the go ahead to these despite many local objections, there are many other issues north of the Central Belt.
Whoever leads The Tories after May 2026 will have to fend off the threat from Reform, who will very likely at least have regional seats.
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