Hi folks! You have me again this week, chiefly on account of the fact that I’m keeping my Saturday nights free for the next few months, but have nothing to do after Strictly Come Dancing finishes for the night.
Anyway. The Westminster Election that now won’t be happening was the talk of the blogosphere this week. Kez Dugdale announced she wasn’t going to talk about it anymore until it’s called – it turns out that’s going to be a long period of silence. Mr. Eugenides belived that Brown faced a tough decision, and that he faced risks whether he called an early election or waited, and Chris Stephens called for an early election.
On the other side, Julie Hepburn, the SNP’s Prospective Candidate in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East, noted concerns over the logistics of an early poll, while Jeff saw the prospects of a November election receding following the Tories’ Conference in Blackpool.
Jeff’s instincts were right: by Saturday afternoon, Brown had publicly ruled out an election. Caron, returning to bloggery after a lengthy absence wasn’t impressed. Neither was Anne. Or Davie. Alex Salmond wasn’t impressed either, but in condemning Brown, managed to insult the people of Fife. Duncan, the Kingdom’s best online ambassador, isn’t best pleased. Here’s my slightly exasperated take on the decision.
Meanwhile, the Tories were indeed meeting in Blackpool. This made my journey home from work on Wednesday more interesting, as I was in the same queue for a cuppa as David Willetts and Oliver Letwin, then found myself on the same platform as David Cameron. But it was Cameron’s speech that got everyone else talking. Needless to say, Scottish Tory Boy and Carolyn Brodie, the Tories’ Prospective Candidate in Argyll & Bute were positive. Richard Thomson is charitable, but notes that Scotland didn’t get much of a look-in, a fact also picked up by Alex Massie.
Other bloggers wondered what, if anything, Cameron did actually say: CuriousHamster has his say, along with Kirk Elder. However, Mike Power points out that Cameron did say something… and it was a naughty word!!!!!
Staying with the Tories, the Pod People appear to have got to The Tired Tory, and David Torrance points out that Sir Malcolm Rifkind thinks he can answer the West Lothian Question.
From one Opposition to another: Wendy Alexander wants more money. I do try to find posts that represent contrasting viewpoints, but this wasn’t easy: Mr. Smith, BellgroveBelle, Holyrood Watcher, Justified Spinner, Edinburgh Sucks and ASWaS are all unsympathetic. I haven’t yet found anyone willing to side with Labour on this one.
But in the midst of all this, some bloggers still found time to look at political issues, rather than the processes. BellgroveBelle, David McDonald and Jamie Hepburn MSP all reflect on the demonstrations at Faslane.
Holyrood Watcher considers a proposal to give school pupils no option but to have a school dinner, and Reactionary Snob wonders how the smoking ban will develop. Meanwhile, Kezia Dugdale praises Patrick Harvie for his proposed anti-hate crime legislation.
Elsewhere, it turns out that the Westminster election is not the only vote that won’t be going ahead: Angus Nicolson reports that calls for a referendum on wind farm proposals on the Western Isles are dying down. But one poll has taken place: a By-Election in Argyll & Bute, which was won by the LibDems. Scottish Tory Boy discusses it and wonders what the Conservatives have to do to get transfers from supporters of other parties in STV elections.
And in Europe, Grant takes a look at Esquerra Republicana da Catalunya’s call for the abolition of the Spanish monarchy.
Richard Havers looks at plans to merge Border TV with Tyne Tees, while Cabalamat has a tale about a DRM system that works a little too well. But if you can’t watch a genuine movie on a legitimately bought DVD player, why can 652 different bodies get copies of logs which detail a phone’s owner, who they call, who calls them, and where the phone is? That’s what’s winding up Angry Steve this week.
In music, Robert Sharp looks at the rise of the remix. Personally, I always thought that any piece of music could be improved simply by having Nina Simone perform it, but that’s not an option anymore. Anyway, in sport, David looks the performances of Scottish football clubs in Europe, and Mr. Eugenides suggests a bloggers’ rugby team, though it seems destined to end up with only 13 players, which makes it a rugby league team.
And Holyrood Watcher suggests that political bloggers are weirdos. Surely not? Gordon owns up to a few bad habits, which don’t exactly create a watertight case for the defence, while the imagery conjured up by Caron doesn’t help either. A Strictly Come Dancing for politicians? Ye gods! Although, I suppose you could partner Jamie Hepburn with Ola Jordan, and Julie Hepburn with James Jordan, as they’ve done with Kenny and Gabby Logan this year…
Finally, it’s not just the Roundup that has been celebrating its first birthday, anniversary celebrations go out to Grant Thoms, a.k.a. Tartan Hero (who furnishes us with the Top 10 SNP bloggers at the same time), Davie Hutchison of North to Leith fame, and Richard Thomson, the man behind Scots and Independent. Either something big happened or we were all really bored this time last year. Who remembers which?
Anyway, that’s your lot for this week. Duncan will be here next week, so send him your suggestions, either with the diddlydee on the right, or to scottishroundup@gmail.com. Bye-de-bye!