Interesting Links for 03-06-2019

[andrewducker]

The Lib Dem Leadership Race: An Update

(tags:libdem )

The European Banking Authority Leaves London

(tags:Banking Europe UK doom )

India heatwave temperatures pass 50 Celsius

(tags:temperature climatechange India heat )

Women in classical art having men explain things to them

(tags:art women conversation )

Jobs are no longer a route out of poverty in the UK

(tags:poverty work uk )

The things we do for love

(tags:ira Ireland love terrorism )

Both right and left should fear the justified rage of Remainers

(tags:UK Europe politics )

Scottish parliament votes in favour of smacking ban

(tags:violence children scotland )

Home Office sending modern slavery victims back to addresses where they were abused

(tags:UK abuse slavery immigration )

The prison inside: Japan's hikikomori lack relationships, not physical spaces

(tags:Japan loneliness relationships society )

The Complete Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Poetry

(tags:poetry UK history english )

Trump's UK trade deal: An abusive relationship with a now vulnerable country

(tags:uk usa trade doom )

US demands social media details from visa applicants

(tags:uk usa visa immigration socialnetworking surveillance )

Comments

[calimac]

Lib Dem leadership race: Is it worth pointing out that, if it weren't for May's generally-considered ill-advised general election, neither of the candidates would be there?

[andrewducker]

It's certainly amusing!

[mountainkiss]

I hadn't realised that Swinson is so anti-SNP. That switches my order of preferred candidates.

[andrewducker]

Seems to be a Scottish Lib Dems thing. Not sure why the party has nailed itself to staunch unionism, but it really has, driving away people like myself who are neutral or positive on independence.

[mountainkiss]

I mean, Jo is Scottish, so she has a right to a position on Unionism. But it's horrific for the LDs at this point in the game.

[andrewducker]

As an individual MP, sure.

[theandrewhickey]

In her case, she's also in a Lib Dem/SNP marginal, so it's hardly surprising that she doesn't like them.
IME, ScotLDs in general loathe the SNP with the passion of a thousand burning suns, whatever their individual position on independence. Most English Lib Dems know almost nothing about them but see them as relatively pleasant. Having never campaigned against them myself, I don't know if that reflects an actual difference on the ground (in the way that even the most left-wing Lib Dems in Labour constituencies, like myself, see the Labour Party as pretty much pure evil, while even the most right-wing Lib Dems in Tory constituencies see Labour as our natural allies, because they've not dealt with Labour in power) or if it's reflective of a wider ideological split in the party.
It's certainly not doing Jo much good with the English portion of the electorate.

[danieldwilliam]

Both the Lib Dems and the Labour Party in Scotland have a real antipathy towards the SNP.

It's understandable for the Scottish Labour Party given the cross over in policy and values if pretty high and the main difference very stark.

Less so for for the Lib Dems.

I once had a conversation with a person who was a Lib Dem MSP at the time after I said I was pro-independence but sceptical and cautious about it. We talked ourselves in to a position where we broadly agreed that the Lib Dem position (or perhaps a Lib Dem position) of a devolved Scotland within a federal UK was pretty close to the actualitie SNP position of an independent Scotland within the EU with maximum subsidiarity and close ties with the UK we were leaving - therefore not a huge amount to get excited about.

So from a practical policy point of view I don't get it.

Also from a practical triangulation point of view. There are plenty of voter in Scotland who would like Holyrood to have more powers. Perhaps 2/3rds. Some of them favour independence, some of them favour more devolution. Some aren't that fussed how the powers arrive so long as they do. Being seen as being very keen on the Union (whilst other people are also being loudly keen on the Union) makes it harder to articulate a policy position which might appeal to voters who want more powers but aren't up for full independence and also allows a softer pivot towards indepedence if that happens.

[mountainkiss]

Can't tag Patrick here I think but have done so on FB.

[andrewducker]

I've also messaged him on Facebook Messenger.

[rhythmaning]

I think Andrew and Dan sum it up rather well.

I don't see Jo individually as being "vehemently" anti SNP.

The Libdems in Scotland ARE vehemently unionist; it is my one area of (minor) disagreement with the party.

I think in many ways it is a result of the political situation in Scotland.

The cyberNats ARE vehemently opposed to Jo - in the last week they've been consistently attacking her after she used Scottish government stats to highlight inequality between parts of west Scotland. This is the result of the partisan nature of politics, unfortunately.

The SNP has been in power in Scotland for twelve years: areas in which they have control such as health, the police, education and transport have been failing out stagnant. Holding them to account is the job of MSPs in Holyrood, and overflows into Westminster.

I think in part the debate over the LibDems leadership race follow that lots of people in England, from the prime minister down, don't understand (or choose not to) the nature of devolution in Scotland. It adds another dimension they're not concerned with (which is also understandable, until it affects things that they are concerned with).

[mountainkiss]

Dammit. I responded on FB because saw that first and didn't realise that you had also commented here, sorry. Shall I copy my answers over?

[danieldwilliam]

He I think is reasonably active in the Lib Dems at the moment.

[danieldwilliam]

and also here too.

[skington]

It makes perfect sense from a tactical point of view, if you consider how Scottish politics is increasingly sorting itself on constitutional grounds. The jobs of being the main pro- and anti-Indy party have been got: that's the SNP and the Tories, unfortunately for Scottish Labour. So that leaves the jobs of the minor pro- and anti-Indy parties; in Byzantine chariot-racing terms, the Whites and Reds to the Blues and Greens. The Scottish Greens already have the job of being the SNP's junior party, so the LibDems by necessity have to be anti-Indy.