Dear All
One of the things about being an opposition MSP is that you can call for the most ridiculous nonsense without being burdened by responsibility.
In opposition, you should put forward proper policies that you would implement if you were in Government.
The Scottish Greens will never be in Government in Scotland, they are a fringe party, like the SSP or Solidarity, during the Scottish independence referendum; they were effectively coasting behind the Scottish National Party.
During that campaign Patrick Harvie made several matter of fact statements which contrasted sharply with the leaders of the SNP lying through their teeth. In May 2012, I was at the BBC Big Debate at which Patrick Harvie did very well, unpopular Nicola Sturgeon had an incredibly bad evening as Ruth Davidson pulled out the ‘letter of destiny’ on the EU. The SNP had never contacted the European Union as a government or opposition to enquire as to terms of membership.
As we know, the SNP claim by Nicola Sturgeon on automatic membership was a lie, the SNP Government claim of having EU legal advice was a lie, we found that out later as the SNP Government shelled out £20k of taxpayers money to try and do a cover up.
In politics, it isn’t unusual to see people lie for political advantage, but we also see people telling the truth, also for political advantage, and as I keep saying the truth hurts!
Patrick Harvie has accused the UK government of a “despicable lie” by blaming immigrants for strains on public services that were actually caused by Tory cuts.
So, do immigrants put strain on public services?
The answer is Yes!
Home Secretary Theresa May’s speech to the Tory conference upset the trendy lefties who don’t suffer like the vulnerable in society because they have university education, jobs and for the most part the impact of immigration doesn’t affect them.
They don’t see a problem for two reasons, one, they don’t a toss about the vulnerable and two, they never meet the vulnerable in places like soup kitchens when they have to ‘compete’ with migrants for food.
Theresa May’s speech was condemned by business leaders, why are they condemning it; they want an increased pool of cheap labour.
Who benefits for driving down wages and conditions?
Certainly not the poorest in society!
At present, we aren’t seeing the chaos in the UK in the same manner as experienced on the mainland of Europe, riots and demonstrations, but we are heading towards a backlash, not just against migrants about against the politicians who support them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nOoApMMz88
This might open Patrick Harvie’s eyes to the wider picture.
Politics is in a state of flux, but people aren’t crying for Patrick Harvie, they aren’t as the SNP would like to have you believe; crying out for Nicola Sturgeon either.
What the people want and need is a centre right party in Scotland which addresses the needs of Scottish people. They want a party which is willing to address the mistakes of the past and put in place regulations for the protection of the people, and the economic security of the country.
At present Ruth Davidson is making that pitch for the working class vote in Scotland, how successful that attempt will be, will depending on a number of factors, saying ‘elect me’ isn’t an offer because it fails to address the issue, what do people want and will she deliver it.
Not what she is willing to deliver, and if it is only rhetoric then she will find the 2016 election as painful as 2015, the Conservative vote share went down and they made no gains in seats.
Ruth Davidson should stand on a platform of a devolved Department of Work and Pensions, devolved not to Holyrood but to a new designed Scotland Office. You might remember I floated this idea ages ago, good then and still good now!
I believe that issue is something which Scottish Labour should back as well, I don’t a problem, it would be good for Scotland and good for the UK, which might be heading towards a federal setup further down the line.
Of course, to return to immigration, Scotland is still part of the UK and that means, the Westminster Government will need to do the heavy lifting on this issue. Ed Miliband while Labour leader apologised for the failed social experiment of Tony Blair to turn the UK into a multi-cultural society. Tony Blair lied to the people of the UK that his failed social engineering experiment was done on the basis of economics.
Even Trevor Phillips has commented on the failure of multiculturalism.
Harvie said on the issue of an in/out EU referendum:
“We cannot permit the right wing, the hostile, the divisive rhetoric of austerity, the absurd fanatic ideology of the free market to define both Yes and No in that referendum. In what must count as one of the most despicable speeches I have ever heard from a political party conference, Theresa May showed just how willing the Tories are to lie and blame some of the most vulnerable people in our society for the pressures that they themselves are creating. The lie that it is immigrants or refugees or asylum seekers that put pressure on our public services and infrastructure. What an outright despicable lie. It is the UK Government themselves, by undermining those services and robbing the country of investment; that is putting pressure on them.”
The EU referendum is seemingly depending on who you listen to not a foregone conclusion because the polling suggests that people are seriously considering saying it is time to leave the EU.
David Cameron doesn’t want to leave the EU but instead, he wants a reformed EU, but it is doubtful that he can get major reforms to the organisation with the Germans in the shape of Angela Merkel being a roadblock to change. Merkel’s open borders policy which plunged the EU into political crisis will not be forgotten anytime soon. I would hazard a guess that this episode has damaged her career beyond repair and her remaining leader is and should be in doubt.
If you look at footage, you cannot take Patrick Harvie’s statement at face value:
“The lie that it is immigrants or refugees or asylum seekers that put pressure on our public services and infrastructure. What an outright despicable lie”.
Check out Youtube on the migrant crisis, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy and France doesn’t seem to be coping well. In fact the German immigration minister quit his post, closer to home; places like Kent and Slough have seen pressure on public services and infrastructure.
Patrick Harvie appears to need better researchers or be more self aware of the problems which he seems keen to gloss over, being nice and cuddly for votes is a tactic well known to politicians, but there is a time for making hard decisions and facing up to reality.
Green delegates as part of their voyage of discovery on Foreign affairs, also backed a motion on Israel-Palestine, they decided to do a spot of student union politics by condemning "Zionism as a racist ideology based on Jewish supremacy in Palestine" and calling Israel's policy towards Palestinians "apartheid".
The standard call for a separate Palestinian state was trotted out, along with Israel shrunk to its 1967 borders. Israel will not give up its current borders, although there is talk of a two state solution, it won’t happen because there is no political will to do so.
The Scottish Greens have also called on a boycott of Israeli goods and services, an end to Hamas being described as a terrorist organisation, and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners from Israeli jails.
Absolutely meaningless student union politics!
The Greens hope to up their numbers by securing a list MSP from each of the eight Holyrood regions, if the current discontent surround the SNP continues, they might get swing voters because they believe in independence. The SNP lost a recent by-election to the Lib Dems, but I would think this was down more to a strong local candidate and the Lib Dems having a track record with the voters in that area.
As to Patrick Harvie standing in constituency in Glasgow, this is just for show, I don’t put much store in this, he has to campaign anyway as he is on the Glasgow list, presumably this is ‘nowhere is a no go area for the Scottish Greens’.
And it is also a no win area to boot.
Finally, the Scottish Greens conference voted to launch a distinctive Green campaign to remain in the EU, this is a safe bet as all the main parties and the SNP will all go pro EU with the exception of Ukip.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
the greens are student grant twats who are always to have a drink as long as someone else is paying.A party of garlic munching jakeys
ReplyDeleteCrookie
Do not, under any circumstances, allow the Greens anywhere near government, be it central or local. Look to Brighton to see how well they fucked up.
ReplyDeleteYou're tight George. Politics is in a state of flux. No one knows who to turn to.
Conservatives screwing the most vulnerable.
Labour have an identity crisis.
Lib Dems are chancers that almost nobody wants (bar a wee local election in the Highlands).
SNP want everything and someone else to pay for it. Oh, and under their governance yet another breast cancer drug has been denied approval for use in Scotland.
Greens are a bunch of fascists who want to tax the shit out of everyone who doesn't have a wind turbine or solar panels on their roof. If you are a driver, you're doubly screwed.
And they wonder why people are disinterested in politics?