Labour facing complete political annihilation in Scotland

[brooklynite]

Source: The Independent

Ed Miliband’s hopes of become Britain’s next Prime Minister suffered a serious setback today as a new poll suggested Labour is facing political annihilation at the hands of the SNP in its Scottish heartlands.

The survey, by Ipsos Mori, found Labour is currently polling at just 23 per cent in Scotland which, if replicated in May, would see the party lose all but four of the 41 MPs it currently has north of the border.

Such a result would make it next to impossible for Labour to win an overall majority in Westminster and form a Government after the next election.

One Labour shadow minister admitted the party had become “moribund” in Scotland, and seemed to think “that infighting is more important than campaigning”.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-faces-prospect-of-losing-more-than-30-seats-in-scotland-at-the-next-election-poll-reveals-9828786.html

[Lenomsky]

1. BAM!

Brilliant!

[T_i_B]

2. A lot of these problems apply to Labour nationwide

But in Scotland Labour could put things right by keeping the dead hand of the party's central office away from how the Scottish party is run.

Although the nightmare scenario would be for the Westminster lickspittle Blairite Jim Murphy to be appointed leader of Scottish Labour. He represents everything Labour need to get away from.

[Blue Idaho]

3. What on earth is going on at Labour HQ?

This should be a time for Labour to step up with a real alternative to the Tories and UKIP. In your opinion - is there any real hope Labour can wright the ship before the next election?

[T_i_B]

4. This is the result of the Blair era reforms....

....which gave a lot of power to the central office of the party. For a time their "triangulation" strategies gave them huge electoral success, which is all the central office of the party seem to care about to be honest.

As part of "triangulation" strategies, vast swathes of Labour supporters are either taken for granted or treated with outright contempt, and in Scotland these people have been given an alternative in the form of the SNP.

Now I don't like the SNP as I don't like nationalism in any form and it's clear that many of their promises don't add up. However, they are now speaking for the people Labour takes for granted north of the border and that Ed Milliband and his party HQ don't have the answer to their decline in Scotland.

Labour has been crawling up its own arse since the 2001 general election at least. Mainstream politics in the UK is in a terrible state.

[hedgehog]

5. Am I correct in thinking that Tony Blair was pushig for boots on the ground

in Iraq recently?

[T_i_B]

6. Think so...

Labour still has a lot of baggage left over from Blair's errors in Iraq.

[Blue Idaho]

7. Shameful state of affairs...

Scotland has always been a stronghold of Labour. If the party bosses have managed to alienate the rank and file there - they should be frog marched out of the party. It's a sad situation - who is left to speak for the long history of human dignity and democracy in the UK if Labour isn't going to do its job?