Given my dissatisfaction with many of the proposals put forward by Boundaries Scotland, it made sense to give my alternative proposals a detailed airing in their own piece – which you can use to back me up in your own consultation response!
Author: Ballot Box Scotland
Scottish Parliament Boundary Review 2: Further Revised Proposals
A third pass at constituencies and first go at regions includes some absolutely egregious examples of why First Past the Post and an obsession with equal sizing of electoral units is bad for sensible representation.
By-Election Result: Lochee
A Dundee double for the SNP proved a complete shocker for Labour in a ward they should have found easy pickings given the current political climate.
By-Election Result: Strathmartine
The resignation of the leader of the only SNP majority council in Scotland risked being a blow for the party; yet in a stunning double win off the back of a Labour fumble and Lib Dem gains, that majority emerged stronger.
By-Election Result: Inverness Central 2024
Labour manage to squeeze out a last-round win over the SNP, as bad blood between the Pro-Independence parties costs the SNP too much Green support to hold on.
By-Election Result: Cromarty Firth
A rare double vacancy saw a messy scrap for the seats with the Lib Dems and an Independent eventually emerging victorious. Meanwhile, might Reform UK have learned that Scotland is different to England?
By-Election Result: Strathallan
The Lib Dems land a big win in a by-election that demonstrates the clear value of having a fair voting system.
By-Election Result: Perth City North 2024
The SNP manage an easy victory in a by-election they couldn’t afford to lose, and where the three biggest parties bleed varying degrees of support to the smaller ones.
Poll Analysis: Survation 10th – 13th of September 2024
A second Survation poll in as many weeks, but commissioned by a firm on the other side of the constitutional aisle to the last, should put the “polling only says what the people paying for it want!” gang’s gas at a peep.
Poll Analysis: Opinium 5th -11th of September 2024
A bombshell poll from infrequent pollsters Opinium giving the SNP a much healthier lead than would be expected under current circumstances, and Reform UK the status as third party, doesn’t pass the smell test in my view.