It appears that Jackson Carlow is allowed to vote twice two different ways, can I vote twice?

Most of us will have decided how we are voting tomorrow and today I got a final wee delivery of election leaflets through the post, I’ve actually not had that many this election which is probably due to cost I suppose and I have had no one around my door in Dundee West from any party. Anyway I got a couple from the SNP today and there was one glaring omission, independence! (yes I know it says Scotland’s right to choose) but why?

Now I have decided tomorrow that no matter how I feel about the individual candidates I will vote for independence as that is what I feel Scotland needs urgently more than anything but I just wish the SNP would splash it across everything, this sitting on the fence I suspect in the publicity material is about trying to not upset the unionists or soft no’s does nothing for me and if anything feels a bit demotivating. However, Labour decided to remind me how rubbish Dundee can look when you just focus on the problems and use sound bites for the solutions.

This election has been the most depressing and worst I can ever remember, there is a part of me that just wants it all over and done with now but there is also that fear that the Tories will get a majority and that will be the worst thing that can happen to Scotland. We all know what a Tory majority will bring and none of it will be good. The best result would be a hung parliament but with Labour the largest party and the SNP being in a position to influence that. I am usually wrong in all of my predictions but it really is looking like England will elect a Tory Government helped by the parts of Scotland that really don’t give a crap about the rest of Scotland so Scotland will get the Government that England wants, what’s new.

I’m off on Friday so plan on staying up to watch some of the results coming in, the coverage will be dire as we have grown to expect, John Curtice will be on all the BBC channels telling us he called it 3 months ago and yes it’s bad for independence, Labour will fight like rats in a sack and look to get Corbyn gone as soon as possible, the Lib Dems will blame the Brexit Party without taking into account that Jo Swinson is by far the worst leader they could have elected but will stick with her anyway. Boris Johnson will just talk a lot of shite, lie and we will all need to get ready for the worst, certainly poor people and the vulnerable should expect pain and those Labour voters in the north of England who voted Tory to Get Brexit Done, aren’t you in for a surprise.

Neil Kinnock said this in 1987, it still applies today. LEST WE FORGET.

Saw this today from a Tory and thought, the perfect description of the knuckle dragging votes the Tories and the other unionists are fighting for.

So Dundee West Chris Law SNP and Tess White Conservative candidates chose to not attend a hustings in Dundee West this week.

Now I voted for Chris Law in the last election, was with gritted teeth, but I voted SNP because I want independence. I also know a few folk who felt the same but this time a few are having second thoughts. There is a feeling that Chris just does not work as hard as he could for Dundee West, I’ve never seen him personally around the doors and only get a leaflet at election time.

There was no explanation as to why both Chris and Tess did not attend but it’s not a good look. While the SNP continue to soar in the polls it does feel like some of their recent internal issues make it look like they are taking that vote for granted. As I have blogged this election so far has been underwhelming to say the least and believe it or not I am still undecided as to how I will vote as it’s a Westminster election.

If my vote is purely about independence then I will go for the SNP, but if it’s about who will best represent me as an individual then Daniel Coleman of the Lib Dem’s would win hands down. I am lucky to know Daniel well and I know he would be by far the best MP for Dundee West, the only really issue is that Daniel is a Lib Dem and the party right now are neither.

So I won’t know until I turn up at the polling station how I’m going to vote on the day but I do wonder, regarding Chris Law and my one leaflet through the door, if the SNP actually want my vote.

So, I have been making an effort to watch both the Nine and Debate Night on BBC Scotland just to see how I feel about them but over a couple of months rather than a couple of weeks, haven’t watched the Nine every night or Debate Night every week but now I feel I have an idea of what I think of them but what do others think?

Please take a minute if you can to answer the survey below and I will post the results in a week or so.

Thanks

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So Nicola Sturgeon will allegedly request a Section 30 agreement this month with Westminster to hold another independence referendum.

It is being reported that the First Minister hopes to find a political agreement but has hinted that a legal challenge is looming in the courts if this is refused. The Scotland Act makes it clear that constitutional issues are reserved to Westminster leaving the courts as the only option. It appears that the so called experts on the constitution are split on this issue, no I am not including Tomkinson from the Tories, with some believing that there is no leeway for Holyrood to hold a referendum, and some that the Scottish Government can. Many also believe that Holyrood does not have the power to implement a secession from the United Kingdom (yeah we’re a colony all right) in the event of a yes vote.

Now there is no way that a Section 30 agreement will be reached in time for next year or 2021 in my opinion. I also don’t believe Labour will agree to one even if there is a hung parliament, it would be very difficult for them to agree to a section 30 order and they will look to deal with everyone but the SNP in my opinion. At the very least, no matter how unlikely, they do speak to the SNP in the event of a hung parliament they will offer something like in 5 years time knowing the SNP could never accept that. That leaves the courts, do any of you trust the British Supreme Court? I’m not so sure I would on this issue but it may well have to be tested.

I have been pretty bored with the election so far but this would certainly spice up the independence debate should the request actually happen after the election. I know that many will argue that no request need be made, but that is just not the path that the SNP will go down. Either way we are in for a fight and I do believe it’s time we had that fight. A referendum is not happening any time soon, especially if it’s 50/50 like the polls say, but it’s time we get moving on this issue and get the issue resolved one way or the other in the medium to long term.

I know I have blogged about this issue before but do others feel that now is the time to get going? It’s going to take a while either way and leaving it much longer makes no sense to me and it would also restore some of my faith in the SNP.