Who do you want to see as new First Minister?

[Rememberal]

And who do you think it'll be if they are different?

Not seen any threads on this yet!

My two cents -

I voted SNP when I was very young (Salmond) and under the impression they were a kinda catch-all working man's party who didn't do much to offend the left or right, but I stopped voting for them ages ago and recently started to actively despise them.

Normally I'm the polar opposite of the Reddit consensus and they seem to want Robertson but only, it seems, because they can't have Mhari Black (which is one MP I DO know and absolutely cannot stand). I feel like Forbes is the only one who'd bring them back to the centre and increase membership as she might attract everyone who left back.

So I suppose I'm a toss-up between Forbes who might pull them away from their more (imho) farcical policies and Black who might finally start to kill them dead in the water.

I do believe Sturgeon resigned because the recent polling data (where ALL age demographics agreed with the WM overturn including a large amount of SNP membership) showed that people vote SNP despite their progressive policies and not because of them. I reckon they knew it would really hurt them at the next election, and since she can't U-turn, the only thing left to do was step aside and let a new leader shift their direction.

I'm interested to know what people on here think though.

Hopefully a proper coalition representing the people of Scotland and that wants to actually run Scotland and it's services instead of pissing our taxes up the wall and endless neverendum whinging.

The SNP to be fair have done plenty for Scotland - it's just all bad things.

There isn't an SNP candidate that isn't seriously flawed. Which is marvellous because hopefully this is a beginning of the end of the one-party state.

Liz Smith. Genuinely cares about small business, education and women’s rights.

old enough in the tooth not to have to play “cool girl”.

I don’t really care what political party she represents - she’s an intellectual who wants better for Scotland.

They will at least not be distracted by the constitution and decisions will be made without having one eye on breaking up the country.

I personally think that will be better and was much happier with the way the country was run before the SNP got in. Scotland has been on a continual downward path thanks to the SNP.

Agreed.

The SNP has been actively bad for Scotland. It suits their insane "independence" agenda to do so because they can blame it all on Westminster and lie about how it will all be so much better when we're independent (or if particularly insane and delusional "we have our freedom")

What I'd actually like is for someone to pick the best, brightest most competent people from across the political parties, especially people that know what a woman is, and form a new party. A mix of experienced, intelligent, safe hands and some with energetic enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. All with an eye to representing their communities and doing what they are elected for.

Appreciate it's a pipe dream

Even if you brought the best, brightest and most competent together - they would all have the same values or political ideology.

She drained every semblance of humour and camaraderie from public and political life. Scotland should be rejoicing to see the back of her.’

Stole this from Arabella on another thread but it sums up how I feel. I can't see any of the candidates managing to steer the SNP in any other direction than it is on now. A continuous series of contrived conflicts.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/sturgeons-failure/

Is there anyone in any of the Scottish political parties that are actually in any way bright and talented?

I don't think I get what you mean? Do you mean that all those people are already in one party or that they would carry the baggage with them?

If the latter then combining them would temper any extremism?

There must be some that have something about them. Appreciate we may have to dig a bit....

I hate to break it to you, but Liz Smith is not about to be elected leader of the SNP!

Everyone in the SNP has to believe in that one (insane, delusional, damaging and divisive) ideology which takes precedence over everything else.

There cannot be anyone in the SNP who is moderate. None of the other parties has one defining characteristic which they must believe in or else.

Some in the Conservative party might believe in uncontrolled markets but no one must. Some* in the Labour party might believe *nationalisation, but no one has to.

Every one in the SNP must believe in separatism.

Yes, she’s far too clever. 😉

I join you in your dream. I said something along these lines recently, which included the fact that some conservative MPs are good for their constituents (in context of U.K.). We are conditioned to think about what party we are voting for, when it seems far more sensible these days to have people who WANT to work for their constituents. There’s so many I would pick out from each party (across the U.K.) to form a new one. Can we just do that instead?

I don't I explained my concept very well, I meant a new party formed of the best of the rest. I don't think anyone in the greens or the snp would qualify but who knows? Would hopefully get away from the reputation of the Tories and the wokeism of the far left in Labour and Liberals.

Anyway it was a never gonna happen scenario anyway :)

But wasn't that the original intention of the Scottish Parliament, BigBoysDon'tCry

That it was to be a coalition?

No, it wasn’t- but it is what we need now.

How could the best people from different political parties combine into one new party?

They wouldn't agree with each other

It was, it was never meant to be a one party state but it's going to take a lot to remove the SNP and there isn't really one party able to do that currently, the vote is too spread out. Labour and the Libdems burnt their boat for me over the GRA, even Jaqui Bailey who I do have time for. I'm politically homeless.

And yes, they are each paid by us to represent their constituents, not their party. Like many others, when I've written to by MSPs, the only answers I've had have been from the Tories.

Well a point of common endeavor should be running the country properly and otherwise they don't all need to agree with each other about everything, it isn't the SNP or Russia.

I am with you OP years ago I thought the SNP were progressive but I have hated them for a long time now.

Ash Regan for me. Cheerio to the hated GRR bill and the odious, incompetent, Greens

I personally think that will be better and was much happier with the way the country was run before the SNP got in. Scotland has been on a continual downward path thanks to the SNP

@Rainbowshit as someone who was born in one of the most deprived areas of Glasgow in the 70s I cannot stress enough how much this is pure nonsense. I think you must have a short memory to forget how bad things were in the 80/90s. We had a short reprieve when New Labour took office and introduced some policies that improved the lives of the very worst off. But, Scottish Labour when in power in Holyrood did sweet FA. Oh, apart from the travesty that was PFI.

We had a short reprieve when New Labour took office and introduced some policies that improved the lives of the very worst off. But, Scottish Labour when in power in Holyrood did sweet FA.

Well this is the part I was talking about. But I disagree with your last sentence. They at least worked in collaboration with Westminster rather than continually manufacturing grievance like he SNP do.

And personally I'd take not making things worse rather than the utter calamitous destruction of Scotland under the SNP.