Dewi – Page 6 – Slugger O'Toole

The Psephology of Scotland (2) – Scottish Labour

Dewi on May 13, 2011, 2:26 pm

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Start with a few facts: 2007 Constituency results for Scottish Labour – 648,374, 32.2% 2011 Constituency results for Scottish Labour – 630,461, 31.7% So down 18,000 votes and 0.5%. 2007 Regional List results for Scottish Labour – 595,415, 29.2% 2011 Regional List results for Scottish Labour – 523,559, 26.3% So down 72,000 and 2.9% 2007 Constituency List differential – (53,000) 2011 Constituency List differential – (107,000) As a comparison for the SNP: 2007 Constituency List differential – (31,000) 2011 Constituency …

Council Results

Dewi on May 9, 2011, 2:43 pm

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It seems like the BBC is making an effort: Latest Results As at 14.35 15.50 we have: At 19.45..and at 23.30. Not far off at 10.25 Tuesday. 11.25 30 odd seats to go. At 13.30 – 18 seats to go..15.00 9 to go…Finally …(I’ll put in 2005 figures: – from Nicholas Whyte) DUP 62 73 114 141 162 169 174 175 175 Sinn Fein 42 54 92 113 128 132 137 138 UUP 17 26 52 71 91 94 95 …

“made Jim Allister sound like the Dalai Lama” when he described Sinn Féin as “scum”.

Dewi on May 9, 2011, 12:21 am

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Worth a listen. DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

The psephology of Scotland (1) – Lib Dems

Dewi on May 8, 2011, 12:03 pm

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Just some facts: It is difficult to overstate the scale of the destruction of the Lib Dems in Scotland – which is of huge historical significance. 2 illustrations will suffice. 1) Glasgow is a region with 9 constituencies. The Lib Dems polled a total of 5,312 votes, 2.5%. That was less than Respect and less than half the Green Party vote. 2) In the UK Parliament the Lib Dems represent the entire Highlands and Islands region bar Na h-Eileanan an …

Some comfort for everyone in Wales…

Dewi on May 7, 2011, 9:54 am

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The results from the BBC are here. along with the usual colourful map. Complicated little country are we not? So it’s: Labour 30 (+4) Conservative 14 (+2) Plaid Cymru 11 (-4) Liberal Democrat 5 (-1) I’ve refrained from posting on Wales for the last few weeks as I had a growing feeling of impending doom from a Plaid perspective. A few reasons. 1) The top up list system is theoretically proportional but in practice (as with your 6th seats in …

Why are you lot so useless at counting stuff?

Dewi on May 7, 2011, 5:23 am

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This is absurd. It’s Saturday morning and nowhere near. Something must be done. Seriously I know preferences etc. make it cumbersome but surely it’s time for technology to help. Input every vote into a computer and the elimination etc. stuff could be done in seconds. DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

Last astonishing Scottish Poll

Dewi on May 3, 2011, 8:51 pm

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STV report an incredible set of figures in the last pre-election poll: “The poll, conducted for STV News and likely to be the last before polling day, shows the Nationalists gaining enough of the vote for 61 seats, 14 more than they had in the last parliamentary session. Meanwhile, the poll indicates a major slump in support for Scottish Labour, with Iain Gray’s party taking a total of 33 seats.” Can this type of outcome really happen? (The poll asked …

Some surprising SNP support emerges…

Dewi on May 1, 2011, 12:45 pm

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The Scotland on Sunday comes out of the closet with an editorial of some ferocity: “…The fact is that Labour’s campaign has been appallingly negative and treated the electorate with contempt. Both main thrusts of its campaign have been deceptive and can only have been constructed against a view that we, the electorate, are stupid. Initially Iain Gray, in a shameless attempt to re-create their success at the Westminster elections last year, again raised the spectre of Thatcherism and the …

Royal Wedding

Dewi on April 29, 2011, 1:16 am

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There’s a royal wedding today. How are you celebrating the day?. Me, i’m off to work… DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

Milliband, Balls and Gray (and Ulster mercenaries..).. try some Rough Wooing…

Dewi on April 26, 2011, 6:58 am

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As the latest opinion polls, quoted on Political Betting, begin to indicate a shift directly to the SNP from Scottish Labour, Labour react. That’s from Hamish MacDonell in the Spectator: Can Ed Miliband and Ed Balls save Labour in Scotland? The two Labour heavyweights have decided to move in to rescue their party’s disastrous campaign in Scotland — with Balls being sent up north to sharpen his party’s teeth. A desperate measure for a desperate situation: Labour has not only …

Scotland getting interesting…

Dewi on April 21, 2011, 5:41 am

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Political Betting reports on the latest Scottish opinion poll. And those committed Scottish Nationalists report it in the Scottish Sun….(Me I’d have told Murdoch to shove it…) So ten points up – if true this could mean: a) An SNP majority (the voting system was precisely defined to prevent this…) b) An independence referendum. c) Tangentially the LibDem wipeout predicted would surely scupper the Westminster coalition (I’m hearing whispers that Salmond might even be planning to visit Orkney and Shetland…) …

Bad Vibes

Dewi on April 17, 2011, 5:26 am

| Readers 23

McKittrick reports in the Indie on the closure of Terri Hooley’s Good Vibrations. He is proud of the fact that he introduced the BBC’s late John Peel to the punk anthem “Teenage Kicks”, which propelled local band The Undertones to international prominence. Peel said it was his favourite song. Mr Hooley is also known for the time he punched John Lennon at a party because the Beatle said something in support of the IRA. He also took Bob Dylan …

Tories can be nice people…?

Dewi on April 16, 2011, 10:08 am

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Hasn’t the world changed recently. According to my Mam this lot used to eat Miners’ babies for breakfast…. Welsh Tory manifesto. Wales is blessed with a vibrant heritage, two national languages and an outstanding sporting tradition. Our national community was among the first to emerge in Europe. We have a literary tradition that dates back to the sixth century. Yet while devolution has brought renewed self-confidence to Wales, successive Labour-led WAGs have failed to take enough pride in Welsh cultural …

Plaid (of all people) mix up our poets…

Dewi on April 13, 2011, 6:50 am

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Plaid launch our manifesto (of which more later)…. Plaid’s vision for what it describes as the next decade of delivery is reflected in the title of the document “Ambition is Critical”. As Wales prepares in 2014 to mark a centenary since the birth of Dylan Thomas, his words have been adopted by Plaid as their guiding principle for both the manifesto and the next Welsh government. Except..wrong poet…introducing David Hughes… Oh well, the slogan is good and all publicity….. DewiWelsh …

21, Irish, 4 up at Augusta with 18 to play..

Dewi on April 10, 2011, 7:58 am

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Rory looking good…. His parents must be so proud. Fabulous photo! Bring it home… DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

Strange Tale from Wales…

Dewi on April 6, 2011, 1:11 am

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Chris Bryant, MP for the Rhondda, raised this strange business at Westminster. Here’s the BBC report.: (it’s worth watching the video for a Bercow put-down…) Labour and Plaid Cymru are locked in a row about dirty tricks over an assembly election campaign leaflet. The leaflet, which attacks shadow Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, has been posted on the internet. It calls on voters to deny Labour a majority and accuses Mr Hain of plotting behind the back of Welsh Labour leader …

Twenty Major calls it a day

Dewi on April 4, 2011, 10:12 pm

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This is not good news. He’ll be missed. DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

Celtic Cousins…

Dewi on April 1, 2011, 2:15 pm

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The Western Mail has really caught the history bug. We are in the middle of their Welsh History Month. Today Dr Paul O’Leary of Aber discusses Irish Migration to Wales. Well worth a read – some highlights: …These newcomers sometimes received a hostile reception from the Welsh and were refused hospitality at inns. This was not an isolated episode. From the 1820s Irish migrants began to appear in the new and growing industrial settlements of the country. They encountered a …

Duffy – a promising Nefyn folk singer…

Dewi on March 31, 2011, 3:54 am

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Here we go: Duffy singing “Ar lan y môr” from the soundtrack of new Welsh film “Patagonia”. (Coming to the flix soon…) Not bad but Cerys is better – the Bob Dylan treatment…..Cool… Katherine is, like all Clannad… But I still reckon Mine’s the best… Not really – Siân knows how it goes.. For those interested it’s great that everyone sings different words! DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

Salmond – the comeback kid…Scottish Lib Dems becoming a relic?

Dewi on March 29, 2011, 11:18 am

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In contrast to Wales, where a pretty healthy Labour lead is being confirmed regularly, things are tightening in Scotland. UK Polling Report gives the latest from TNS-BMRB. Holyrood Constituency: CON 15% LAB 38% LDEM 7% SNP 37% Holyrood Regional: CON 14% LAB 35% LDEM 8% SNP 35% Green 5% Two things stand out: 1) It’s tight at the top. 2) The LibDems. 1) To put the Poll in context there’s been a fairly consistent 10 point odd lead for Labour …