[Tubby Isaacs]

Ash has 2 MPs/MSPs because they all know what a liability she is. But she maintains support of this heavyweight who Corbyn could see through.

Note the dishonest framing. I doubt anyone in the SNP supports using the pound for ever. It's a question of how quickly you can get there and sustain it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Here's that dodgy secret social conservative Muslim guy again, running as the only candidate trying to keep gender reform alive.

[Youngian]

Ash has 2 MPs/MSPs because they all know what a liability she is. But she maintains support of this heavyweight who Corbyn could see through.

Note the dishonest framing. I doubt anyone in the SNP supports using the pound for ever. It's a question of how quickly you can get there and sustain it.

Like Richard, I can’t see any technical non-political reason for not moving to an independent currency. That’s because I haven’t bothered to find out why. Not much evidence Murphy has, either.

[Spoonman]

Surely if the SNP aspire for an independent Scotland to ultimately join the European Union, this would entail them eventually adopting the Euro as their currency anyway in due course?

To me the simple suggestion would be for any notions of currency after (theoretical) independence to allow Pound Sterling to be the defacto legal tender for a short period to be followed by a Scottish currency that would be pegged to either Sterling or the Euro?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Don’t think anyone can be forced to join the Euro in practice. But it’s another thing that an EU member like Spain with separatists of their own could focus on and be awkward about.

I don’t think Spain would block, but the PP are Franco loving goons. If they’re in government, probably no favours coming, I’d have thought.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ash has 2 MPs/MSPs because they all know what a liability she is. But she maintains support of this heavyweight who Corbyn could see through.

Note the dishonest framing. I doubt anyone in the SNP supports using the pound for ever. It's a question of how quickly you can get there and sustain it.

Like Richard, I can’t see any technical non-political reason for not moving to an independent currency. That’s because I haven’t bothered to find out why. Not much evidence Murphy has, either.

If they can’t back it up with sufficient reserves, it drops like a stone at the start and everyone in Scotland with loans in pounds is suddenly in trouble.

Ash Regan, like Richard, would will these problems away. As my old teacher used to say when confronted with a feeble excuse, “write that on your GCSE paper, see how it goes”

[Youngian]

If they can’t back it up with sufficient reserves, it drops like a stone at the start and everyone in Scotland with loans in pounds is suddenly in trouble.

Like making a commitment to join the Euro and having your currency backed by the ECB to maintain its parity. But that’s a political reason not to have a currency. As the SNP don’t want to go there, they’re left with some unconvincing technical excuses and tall tales about it being a dual sovereign currency to hang onto Sterling.

[Tubby Isaacs]

It’s all doable but grim, as is filling the fiscal gap. I suppose any party campaigning leaves out the hard bit till last, in fairness.

The trade barriers with the biggest market, rUK, is something that might get easier. Less mad “sovereignty” approach we take, the smaller the friction would be. The UK returning to sanity actually makes independence easier.

Don’t know if anybody near the top of the SNP is making this point. Yousaf has played independence as an imminent prospect down. Maybe he’s seeing it like that.

[Tubby Isaacs]

It could actually be nicely set up for a vote in the next “generation”. Though we’d probably refuse it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Kate Forbes is the most popular candidate with the public, it seems. Though some of the popularity may be coming from people who’ll never vote for them.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is now a Shaun Bailey level candidacy.

[The Weeping Angel]

[Tubby Isaacs]

That's another Daniel Moylan "Boris Johnson doesn't lie any more than the rest of us".

[The Weeping Angel]

Fucking Hell Humza

[Youngian]

Fucking Hell Humza

The Richard Madeley of Scottish politics?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Now the head of media walks out after being told by the party that reports of a 30,000 membership decline weren't true. They were true. Fair play to him for not putting up with that.

Membership numbers are still over 4 times as high as Scottish Labour, and much higher than every other party put together, and anyway member numbers aren't necessary for electoral success. They'll continue to win everything. But perhaps if you're going to sustain over 50%, members are important.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Baffling response, as ever from Craig Murray, who as I always say was clocked as a liability by the SNP and didn't take it well. Walking out because the party lied to you is protecting the party, actually.

[Abernathy]

... . . . and now, Murrell.

https://inews.co.uk/news/snp-peter-murr ... ip-2218770

Nicola Sturgeon’s husband forced to quit as SNP chief executive as he admits media were misled in members row

[Tubby Isaacs]

He's quit over that? All parties are cagy about membership when its falling. Is there more?

I'd have thought Yousaf would have been OK with keeping him on, and the SNP generally has been a very efficient electoral machine under the Murrells, who also stumped up a big loan.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Not really a Tory gain, it's a multimember constituency where the SNP councillor died but a good result for them. Not a bad one for the SNP really, but bad for the Greens who have a minister (Lorna Slater) who is getting a fair bit of attention in a bad way. Perhaps they're getting the blame for GRR among the many Nat voters who don't support it too. I thought the Tory challenge to the GRR bill would be a political disaster for them, but it's looking like good politics now.