Will Reform win SNP seats in May elections ?

[52andblue]

And, if they won enough to form a coalition or even won outright, what then for devolved Scottish policies, like Benefits or education?

I imagine that Reform policies on eg benefits are as far away from current SNP ones as possible. Could they make sweeping changes quickly if they wished?

DS is in his late twenties and some pf his friends are muttering about Reform - they're none of those. I think many people are absolutely fed up of the current parties and are looking for a way of expressing that at the ballot box.

I myself don't, but I do have some very good friends who live in posh (& less posh areas) of Borders. Tories seem loathed there too. Some (JL) seem to spend most of their time lounging about in cafés. They've asked him for help on 3 separate occasions- re NHS & education. As much use as a chocolate teapot & patronising to boot.

The UK needs a constitutional reset.

The English vote at present dictates what we all get as a UK PM and that is NOT democratic. The deck is stacked.

A more fair, equable voting system is needed or else the UK will break apart: Sinn Fein FM in NI, SNP FM in Scotland & potentially a PC FM in Wales.with a perhaps UK Reform PM? How can that be democratic? Or a recipe for peaceful relations.

I don’t see any party being willing to form a coalition with them and they won’t win outright.

🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Why do you think it's undemocratic? The Scottish Government has an enormous amount of power in Scotland. Contrast that with a region of England which has a large majority who didn't vote for the political party currently in power in Westminster. The people of somewhere like Bristol are going to be very unhappy under a Reform government. The people of Scotland will be in a much stronger position (or would be if the SNP actually governed Scotland like grown ups).

Why do you think it's undemocratic?

Page 1 of the SNP playbook. There are more people in England than there are in Scotland, therefore Scotland's voice is ignored.

What’s the alternative? That Scottish votes are weighted more heavily in parliamentary debates? Sod that, esp when so many SNP politicians are absolute buffoons.

Well, if I were a nationalist, I would say that the only logical option would be breaking free of the English shackles holding us back and go forward into a brave new world of milk and honey and freebies for all in a utopia of Indy Scotland.

But in Scotland it's the Scottish Parliament, voted in only by those living in Scotland, which has the power to make legislation in respect of, according to the Scottish Parliament website:

Devolved matters include:

• agriculture, forestry and fisheries
• benefits (some aspects)
• consumer advocacy and advice
• economic development
• education and training
• elections to the Scottish Parliament and local government
• energy (some aspects)
• environment
• equality legislation (some aspects)
• fire services
• freedom of information
• health and social services
• housing
• justice and policing
• local government
• planning
• sport and the arts
• taxation (some aspects)
• tourism
• transport (some aspects)

A lot of the complaints we hear in Scotland are about that very large number of devolved areas. Eg the education system has been ruined, the Scottish NHS is a disaster zone, the roads are in a terrible state, etc etc.

The other day on a post about the alleged embezzlement of close to £600,000 by Peter Murrell, then Chief Executive of the SNP, and the likely involvement (at least knowledge) of Nicola Sturgeon, someone actually said that it was Westminster's fault. I kid you not.

And there above is the Unionist outrage & vitriol.

Holyrood bad; Westminster perfect.

If you cannot see why it is undemocratic, well that's pretty arrogant.

As the largest nation - not city - England calls the shots. End of.

Re devolved matters - paid for by Barnett which is a small proportion of the entire revenues raised in Scotland. Eg VAT; Dividend tax; Savings tax.

The devolved governments can only spend what Westminster so "graciously" pays out. Our hands are tied. Our budgets already decided by London.

Bin Barnett but Scotland keeps ALL her revenues bar what is needed for defence.

The idea of One Nation, One Country (ie the UK) is not true.Cameron's One Nation Conservatism was laughable then as it is now.

It's perfectly democratic - we voted and the majority decided we wanted to stay part of the UK with sll that brings. You might not like or understand the decision, but it was democracy in action.

And no-one has said WM is perfect - let's keep it real.

If anyone thinks the SNP are running the money well:

ifs.org.uk/publications/recent-changes-and-future-outlook-scottish-government-funding

‘Comparisons with England

1. The Scottish Government received around 26% more UK government funding per resident than is spent on comparable services in England as of 2024–25. Devolved funding sources provided a further 2.8 percentage points, reflecting the aforementioned higher income tax paid by high-income taxpayers. There are no up-to-date official estimates of Scotland’s spending needs relative to England. But it seems highly likely that the additional funding received is greater than could be justified by differences in needs alone: an assessment by the Holtham Commission using data from the late 2000s suggested Scotland’s needs were around 5% higher than England’s at that time. Additional funding on top of this is likely a key factor enabling more generous service provision in Scotland, including free university tuition and free personal care.’

I've no idea what you're talking about. No-one has said anything nice about Westminster. That's not the issue. The issue is whether Scotland has a fair say in how it's governed. And Scotland, in the huge majority of areas, is governed by the Scottish Government (in practice this is the SNP leadership). Those people are voted in by the population of Scotland. If you're unhappy with the Scottish Health Service, schools, public transport system (including the ferries), roads, housing, environmental issues, the police, the justice system, and so on, then you need to look to the Scottish Government - the people the voters of Scotland have chosen to run the country. Are you confident that they're doing a good job? If you feel someone else could do a better job, please vote for them next time.
As for poor Bristol, where it seems that much of the population would like to be governed by the Greens, they can expect to be governed by Reform after the next General Election, like the rest of England.

They may well do as SNP are welcoming migrants who in most cases cant work, dont contribute,dont respect our country but get free access to housing, dental care and doctors. This will infuriate a lot of hard working scots who can't access these services themselves. They have already alienated a lot of voters in greater Glasgow and highland due to this policy.

They are not “equally bad” if you are an ethnic minority.

I sincerely hope not. And not in Glasgow. We've got enough problems without adding this bunch of idiots to the equation.

It also infuriates a lot of non working Scots who perceive these people getting something they're not, and expect everything for nothing. And they're equally pissed off when immigrants do well.

Immigrants want to work, do you really think that a lifetime of benefits is their goal. Their sights are focused on education and success and not existing on the pittance dishes out by the DWP and shoddy accommodation provided by the councils.

You might also want to remember that migrants are funded by the Home Office until they are allowed to work.

They are if you're female.

Many are getting something for nothing. They are getting roofs over there heads which Scots have to pay for. They are getting dentists which Scots can't and GPs appointment which in many areas are impossible to get. The home office is paid for by the UK tax payer. The government fund nothing its the tax payer who do.

The slow asylm system makes it impossible for those that do want to work and contribute to do so. Immigrants who come to Scotland, work, integrate and respect our culture should be welcomed those that dont should not be supported at the expense of the tax payer. Glasgow Council is in crisis because of the sheer number of migrants they are having to house. How is it acceptable for a goverment to expecta council to run up 66 million of debt to house those that arrived here without permission? John Swinney is welcoming them all without being realistic is this affordable, sustainable and can be support it. Reform will get a foothold in parts of Scotland if this doesn't change which personally concerns me.

I think John Swinney is thinking about the immigrants who worked in summer jobs in country pubs etc, and is also worried about depopulation of the highlands.

Im not sure the immigrants Scotland are attracting want to fill these gaps. Surely it’s easier to address the rural housing and jobs issues in order to encourage local people to stay?

We need rid of the shambolic, corrupt and secretive SNP but not at any cost! I think anyone who votes for either of these two is a thick as mince bampot

Thats what he should be addressing. As a Highlander I would say people leave the area for job opportunities and due to lack of affordable housing. At the moment Inverness has a huge housing shortage. Sending migrants to Inverness only makes this situation worse not better and reduces what little housing is available. Services are vastly overstretched, schools are over subscribed, NHS dentists are nearly impossible to get and NHS highland are in huge debt. The whole situation is just being so mismanaged. If they want people to stay in the Highlands make it mandatory that anyone born in the area is given top priority for social housing and ensure employers try recruit locally first.

I agree - and I'd also add that I don't think the SG are doing enough to stop local housing in r&r areas being bought as second homes.