Murphy's letter from Edinburgh

 

Scotland's Advert for Democracy

Last Thursday Scotland went to the ballot boxes to vote for a new Scottish Parliament.  On Friday night when the elections were over the papers were taken to be counted.  This is now Monday, and we still don't know who is going to run our parliament.  Is this the great British democracy that you keep on hearing about, and is this why Scotland still has no government?

The Scottish Nationalists Party won by one seat, but the Labour Party refuses to give up.  We have Labour party members saying the Scottish Nationalist Party didn't win the election on percentages, and that they feel that they should still be running our parliament.  The First Minister Jack McConnell thinks he should still remain where he is as first minister and it's up to him too set up a Scottish administration.  So he won't move out of the first ministers house.

This is not good enough for Scotland, and they have to act a lot quicker to sort out their infighting.  We are the electorate who went out and voted, and it's our views that count.  The Scottish people voted in good faith - and we all live by that - and the politicians have too abided by the results because this the type of democracy that they have, so it's up to the politicians to acknowledge the electorates choice.  And that's for the Scottish Nationalists to run the Scottish Parliament.

The election seemed to go wrong when the ballot papers were counted.  The electronic machines that were being used broke down and the counting had to be put off until the next day.  When the ballot papers were eventually counted over one hundred thousand ballot papers were disallowed on the grounds that they had been filled in wrongly.  And believe me that's a lot of ballot papers when there were only 2, 016, 978 votes cast.

Some politicians told the administration before the elections that the ballot paper was stacked against the voter because they were trying out a new system.  But the politicians that were in power before the election ignored everything that was said.  They went ahead with the new system without clearly informing the electorate of the new system and then they blamed the electorate for getting it wrong.  The people who messed up their papers believe that they have not been represented, and they want the elections run again.  I agree that they have not been fully represented.  I filled in my ballot paper correctly, but I received no information about the changes to the ballot paper for this election - and I live in the city centre.

When the ballot papers were eventually counted it emerged that the Scottish Nationalists had gained 47 seats.  Labour had 46, the conservatives 17, the Liberal Democrats 16, the Green party got 2 seats and there was 1 independent.  Because Scotland's parliament has 129 seats there was no majority.  The Scottish Nationalist Party would need to get 65 seats for that majority.  So they have to get another party to create a working majority by forming a coalition.  The Scottish Nationalists are asking the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition with them.  But the Liberal Democrats do not support Independence which is what the Scottish people voted for by voting in the Scottish Nationalist Party.  The Liberal Democrats say they won't form a coalition.

Jack McConnell who was first minister has a ministerial house in Edinburgh, but he is refusing too move, he is claiming that the Scottish Nationalist Party have not been given a clear mandate to rule Scotland, and that he could set up a coalition with the Liberal Democrat Party and run Scotland as first minister, because the majority of the electorate did not vote for the Scottish Nationalist Party.  He has made no public statement since the election, and he has yet to congratulate Alex Salmond for becoming first minister of Scotland.  He has to speak to the nation and accept defeat on behalf of his party for the sake of our democracy which they seem to be ignoring.

If this is the Labour way of Scottish democracy, I don't like it.  The Labour Party should accept that they were beaten in the Scottish Elections and accept it gracefully, for the sake of the people who are watching closely what is going on from all over the world.  If the Labour Party want to buck the electoral system that is in Britain then they should think again.  They will lose more than what they have.  They will be booted out of Scotland in the long term for good, and they will be voted out at the next British elections, and that is already looking more likely.

Labour were beaten fair and square in the Scottish elections because the electorate wanted them out for the way they have lied and cheated during their term in office.  It's time for the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives to accept that they are there by the wishes of the people.  It's the peoples vote that must count, and anything else won't do.  It was the Scottish Nationalist Party who won this election, and too plot and scheme so that they don't get power is wrong by anyone's standards.

The electorate cannot and will not let our way of democracy be overrun by a dictatorship, while the Liberal Democratic Party, Labour Party and the Conservative Party try to walk over the Scottish Nationalist Party with a minority.  These parties were beaten and they should accept that like everyone else.

Let's get our parliament up and running with the Scottish Nationalist Party now, and when we have another election we can remove the Labour Party for good along with all the other parties who are unprepared to work within the confines of the electoral system that we go by.

Scotland wants to show the world that it is a democratic country that will go by the ballot paper.  Just now, we are being hindered from doing that by the manderins in London who trying to interfere in the Scottish elections.  That has too stop, and it's got to stop now so that Scotland can move forward by the will of the people.

Nothing will stop the Scottish people from moving forward.  The Scottish people have spoken, and it's now time for the politicians too start listening too what's being said.

Written by Andrew Murphy 7 May 2007

We Now have a Working Scottish Parliament and a new Scottish First Minister

Today Alex Salmond from the Scottish Nationalist Party was voted in by the Scottish Parliament as First Minister.  We look forward too change, and a more equal society.  Jack McConnell the outgoing Labour First Minister has done a good job for the people of Scotland, but the people of Scotland wanted change.  This was done through the democratic process, and this is what the people of our country go by.  Now we need our politicians too get their heads down so they can get stuck into the work that they were elected too carry out.

Written by Andrew Murphy 16 May 2007

It looks like we have a Government

It was announce on 11 May 2007, that the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party will vote in Alex Salmond from the Scottish Nationalist Party as First Minister.  So it looks like our parliament can get on with the work that they were elected too carry out on our behalf, the Liberal Democrats will work with the elected Scottish Parliament.  Roll on the next election, and I hope it has some changes too our elections the next time.

Written by Andrew Murphy 11 May 2007

We Still Have No Scottish Parliament

Today we have found out that the figure for spoilt ballot papers could be as high as 142,000.  As many as 1 in 14 ballot papers have been destroyed.  I spoke to some friends last night who come from the North of Scotland.  They told me that when the ballot papers were taken from the Western Isles, the ballot papers got wet with the water on the boat.  These ballot papers were not counted.  They were classed as destroyed and thrown out.

We voted on 3 May 2007, yet we still have no Scottish Parliament, so does this make us a world leader in the democratic process?

Written by Andrew Murphy 9 May 2007

Scottish Parliament and Council Results for 3 May 2007

Scottish Parliament Results 2007                   Seats         Losses and Gains                Council Seats in Scotland at 2007 Election

Scottish Nationalist Party                                47                  + 20    Gain 20 seats       Scottish Nationalist Party            363   

Labour Party                                                   46                   -   4     Lost 4 Seats        Labour Party                               348

Conservative Party                                          17                   -   1     Lost 1 Seat         Conservative Party                      143

Liberal Democrats                                           16                   -   1     Lost 1 Seat          Liberal Democrats                      166

The Green Party                                                2                   -   5     Lost 2 Seats        The Green Party                             8

Independents                                                     1                   -   2     Lost 2 Seats        Independents                              195

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Six NYOS students to perform at Kirking of the Parliament

 

Six members of The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland (NYOS) will perform at the Kirking of the Parliament at St Giles Cathedral on the 8 May 2007.

 

Saxophonist Grant Irvine, pianist Alan Benzie, bass guitarist James Padmore (all three from St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh) and drummer Jonathan Silk (from Dollar Academy) are members of The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland (NYJOS), one of six ensembles run by NYOS. They will perform a programme classic jazz tunes In A Mellow Tone, Have You Met Miss Jones?, The Girl From Ipanema and All Of Me and Four.

The quartet is regularly performing together and will re-unite with the other NYJOS members for the NYJOS Summer Tour in early August.

 

Violinists George Smith and Alan John will perform a Scottish Medley. Both young musicians are currently studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and have been members of The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland for years. They recently performed with NYOS’ pre-professional chamber orchestra, Camerata Scotland during the successful Spring Tour in April, conducted by James Loughran. In Summer 2007 they will tour France with the orchestra.

 

The Kirking of The Parliament will be attended by His Royal Highness The Prince Charles Duke of Rothesay, newly elected MSPs, representatives of Scotland’s faiths and other guests from across Scotland.

 

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