Scotland/Wales 2007

[afleitch]

Interestingly the victorious Labour candidate was a man from Swansea called Donald Anderson...

I sense a story. What is it that I should know about Donald Anderson?

The Welsh-speaking percentages for E Wales, esp. the middle-class parts of E Wales, mean -all. They're as informative as the Irish-speaking percentages for Ireland. In fact if you analyze the age breakdown, the age group with the highest percentage of "Welsh speakers" down there are those currently in school. Their parents check "speaks Welsh" for them because the kid's taken classes in it.

True: Old Scots (ala Rabbie Burns) is non existent, but the current Scots dialect preserves much of the linguistic structure and vowel pronunciation.

[Harry Hayfield]

Can I have one of those icons with the map of Wales please?

If you mean what I *think* you mean (and if there's any confused it'd be my fault) then...

This is the key for % majority for Indepedent candidates...

No, the map of Wales with R, D, G, O in it, like the maps of the US, Canada, States, Ireland

[Harry Hayfield]

You might like to know that Plaid Cymru have today announced a new logo. Gone is the green triban (with the three mountain peaks) and in comes a yellow poppy (as described by BBC Wales)

As soon as I have created an Imageshack account I shall post a link and would like your opinions on the following questions:

Are Plaid Cymru trying to battle the Lib Dems and Labour at the same time?
Should the Lib Dems apply to the Electoral Commission claiming colour infringement?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

You might like to know that Plaid Cymru have today announced a new logo. Gone is the green triban (with the three mountain peaks) and in comes a yellow poppy (as described by BBC Wales)

I'm speechless... the triban was actually a good little logo... this is just a load of PR b*ll*cks... another sign of Plaid losing touch with their roots methinks...

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Apparently so...

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No Comment

In other Nat related news, Mr (er... Lord...) Presiding Officer won his nomination fight the other day. One less worry for Plaid.

[afleitch]

I've seen the logo and it looks more like a daffodil. But it's a shame they dropped their old one



Will the SNP follow soon and drop their....loop...thing...?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Apparently the Dishonourable Member for Carpet Bag and Leotard is going to run for one of the PR topup seats.

[afleitch]

Apparently the Dishonourable Member for Carpet Bag and Leotard is going to run for one of the PR topup seats.

Yes. Luckily there are a few problems which should derail him

1. Glasgow hates him.
2. Iraq is not a devolved issue.
3. There is not one seat with the correct Muslim demographic makeup that he can use as a bandwagon.
4. Muslims in concentrated areas (with the exception of Govan and Pollokshields) tend to be 'middle class' and Labour loyal.
5. Most Muslim supporters seem to dislike him
6. The Daily Record (Scotland's very own Pravda) despise him.
7. Big Brother

On a serious note he could only really have a shot in west of Scotland regions, probably Glasgow, but where the SSP have the leftist vote covered or in the Lothians, where the Greens have the advantage.

Dundee was his old stomping ground when a councillor and has a recent tendency to back mavericks, but again as it is part of a wider, more rural region he would have a significant difficulty in gaining support.

He will run, get alot of media attention but I think ultimately he will be defeated.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Dundee was his old stomping ground when a councillor and has a recent tendency to back mavericks

Recent? What about the guy that beat Churchill? (I forget the name... a Labour guy running as a Prohibitionist... began with an "s"...)

[afleitch]

Dundee was his old stomping ground when a councillor and has a recent tendency to back mavericks

Recent? What about the guy that beat Churchill? (I forget the name... a Labour guy running as a Prohibitionist... began with an "s"...)

That's right, Edwin Scrymgeour. Scrymgeours seem to crop up in Dundee's history from time to time

[afleitch]

As most of you should know, the new Welsh Assembly building or 'Senedd' was officially opened today. Very nice it is too

[Filuwaúrdjan]

As most of you should know, the new Welsh Assembly building or 'Senedd' was officially opened today. Very nice it is too

Indeed. Nice line by Morgan:

"Well, for me, it's because if we here follow too closely the traditions of the original senate of ancient Rome, it means that at some point, I get to be stabbed in the back by men wearing sandals."

[afleitch]

As most of you should know, the new Welsh Assembly building or 'Senedd' was officially opened today. Very nice it is too

Indeed. Nice line by Morgan:

"Well, for me, it's because if we here follow too closely the traditions of the original senate of ancient Rome, it means that at some point, I get to be stabbed in the back by men wearing sandals."

I wonder if he meant the Lib Dems Who knows what 2007 will bring

[afleitch]

Speak of the devil...

A large 12ft supporting beam in the roof of the Scottish Parliament building fell onto the chamber today. It landed where the Conservatives usually sit. There were no injuries.

[minionofmidas]

I still don't think it should have been built in Cardiff. The capital of the principality is Caernarffon dammit. Owain Glyn Dwr's "Parliament" sat in Machynlleth. And the Council for Wales was in Ludlow.

Oh, btw. Trivia question.
Give me the years of the last three general elections in which a Tory was elected to represent Anglesey.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I still don't think it should have been built in Cardiff. The capital of the principality is Caernarffon dammit. Owain Glyn Dwr's "Parliament" sat in Machynlleth. And the Council for Wales was in Ludlow.

Capital of Wales has been Cardiff since the '50's; it was quite a controversial decision at the time. Some of the strongest opposition actually came from the Valleys M.P's (including Nye Bevan).
As for Caernarfon... it's too remote from the rest of Wales to make much sense really. Machynlleth is a lovely little town (which I visit quite a lot, btw) but would be completely ruined by the addition of all the bureaucrats needed to run a Parliament... unless you were to build a new town for bureaucrats a few miles up or down the Dovey/Dyfi. Still it could do with an economic boost (have you seen the unemployment figures for it? Ouch) and should certainly be removed from Powys as soon as possible... and Ludlow is kinda impossible for several other reasons
That said... I do think that some form of elected authority for the old Marches would be nice... (and entirely logical around Oswestry).

Personally I think they should have built it in Pontypridd or Caerphilly. Heh... maybe even Merthyr?

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1983, 1979... and after then I'm not sure... I have a feeling that it might be in the 18th century...

[Harry Hayfield]

Speak of the devil...

A large 12ft supporting beam in the roof of the Scottish Parliament building fell onto the chamber today. It landed where the Conservatives usually sit. There were no injuries.

It didn't detach actually, but spent the entire time during a debate hanging over the Conservative benches

[Harry Hayfield]

I still don't think it should have been built in Cardiff. The capital of the principality is Caernarffon dammit. Owain Glyn Dwr's "Parliament" sat in Machynlleth. And the Council for Wales was in Ludlow. Oh, btw. Trivia question. Give me the years of the last three general elections in which a Tory was elected to represent Anglesey.

I lived in Machynlleth TWICE (1982 - 1985 and 1993 - 1998) so if anyone can shed some light it's me! Owain Glyndwr's Parliament was established in Machynlleth in 1404 and was formally established on what it now a cul de sac (and don't anyone dare make any comparsions with the Assembly) where a large grey stone marks the site.

Ynys Môn elected a Conservative MP in the following general elections:

1983
1979
1857

As I have completed your challenge now it's my turn!

Now clearly there have been a lot of boundary changes over the years but some constituencies do have an uncanny knack of going the right way. Which constituency (up to Election 2005) has had a 100% record of electing the same party as their MP as the country voted for the government (and the answer may suprise you!)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I lived in Machynlleth TWICE (1982 - 1985 and 1993 - 1998)

Nice little place isn't it? There's a sign or something (I can't remember exactly what right now) to do with it on the right hand side of the main road in from the east IIRC.

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Hmm... Gravesham (and it's predecessor, sort of, seat Gravesend) had voted the right way since 1918 (with a few exceptions in the '20's IIRC. And maybe one in the '50's as well) up until 2005 (apparently paranoia about Gypsies was the main cause of the stronger swing than the rest of North Kent, btw). Bury North (ex-Bury & Radcliffe) has voted for the winner of the popular vote every election since 1955 with the exception of 1979, a seat called Bolton West has done the same since 1964 (although the current Bolton West is quite different to the old Bolton West). Hmm... o/c technically several seats created in '97 would qualifiy (including the post-97 Wrekin seat) but that's probably not the answer you're looking for...

[Harry Hayfield]

Will someone PLEASE explain what the heck "IIRC" means?

As to the answer to my question, the answer is that no present day constituencies have had a 100% track record but the following five have had a 100% track record between 1966 and 2005, they are:

Bury North, Medway, Leicestershire North West, Tamworth and the Vale of Glamorgan

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Will someone PLEASE explain what the heck "IIRC" means?

If I Recall Correctly

[minionofmidas]

I still don't think it should have been built in Cardiff. The capital of the principality is Caernarffon dammit. Owain Glyn Dwr's "Parliament" sat in Machynlleth. And the Council for Wales was in Ludlow. Oh, btw. Trivia question. Give me the years of the last three general elections in which a Tory was elected to represent Anglesey.

I lived in Machynlleth TWICE (1982 - 1985 and 1993 - 1998) so if anyone can shed some light it's me! Owain Glyndwr's Parliament was established in Machynlleth in 1404 and was formally established on what it now a cul de sac (and don't anyone dare make any comparsions with the Assembly) where a large grey stone marks the site.

Been there, done that.

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One of us has a false source then... I read the last Con win before 79 was in 1784. Mind you, Beaumaris was a constituency of its own until 1885, maybe the Tories won that in 57?

[minionofmidas]

I still don't think it should have been built in Cardiff. The capital of the principality is Caernarffon dammit. Owain Glyn Dwr's "Parliament" sat in Machynlleth. And the Council for Wales was in Ludlow.

Capital of Wales has been Cardiff since the '50's; it was quite a controversial decision at the time. Some of the strongest opposition actually came from the Valleys M.P's (including Nye Bevan).
As for Caernarfon... it's too remote from the rest of Wales to make much sense really. Machynlleth is a lovely little town (which I visit quite a lot, btw) but would be completely ruined by the addition of all the bureaucrats needed to run a Parliament... unless you were to build a new town for bureaucrats a few miles up or down the Dovey/Dyfi. Still it could do with an economic boost (have you seen the unemployment figures for it? Ouch) and should certainly be removed from Powys as soon as possible... and Ludlow is kinda impossible for several other reasons
That said... I do think that some form of elected authority for the old Marches would be nice... (and entirely logical around Oswestry).

I've looked at historical maps ... and the Welshries around Oswestry were in Shropshire before that. The whole Clun/Ludlow area, as well as a strip along the western border of Herefordshire, was in Marcher Lordships until then, they were not part of England.
(Btw, I can now shed some light on the question of Clun's name too. I've seen Humphrey Lhuyd's Map of Wales, with English, British (hey - he says "British") and Latin names for many places, and it says "Colonwy B. Clun A."

[afleitch]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4773544.stm

Scottish Socialists to concentrate on List seats only. Makes sense for them but most importantly it slightly orders the political lanscape in the FPTP seats, particularly in the Central Belt, where they can command 5-10% of the vote. If the SSP vote is treated as a protest vote, to whom do their votes go to in 2007? It depends on each seat. In some seats it appears that they took votes away from Labour and the SNP to different degrees.

Just for fun- if all SSP voters switched to the SNP, the following seats would change hands

Cumbernauld from LAB
Kilmarnock from LAB
Govan from LAB
Dundee West from LAB
Galloway from CON.

Kelvin would be very marginal

SSP vote in 'Strathclyde'

[afleitch]

Latest from The Scotsman

'Lib Dems open door to coalition with the SNP' as the result of new tax power proposals apparently. Interesting development

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Um... hasn't it occured to them that openly joining up with a bunch of seperatists would be electorally lethal in most of the rest of the U.K?