by Bob Fairnie
Thursday 5t o Mey 2011 wis an awfie guid day for me. In the airly oors o the mornin ma third gret-grand-dauchter hid her hame-comin an saw her first licht o day. Weel mibbie mair the electric licht nor the daylicht at thon time but onywey, it wis a richt guid stert tae a day that wis tae juist keep on gettin better an better the aulder it got.
In the middle o the forenuin A makit ma ain contreibution tae thon electoral tsunami an pit aw ma X’s intae the richt boxes then gaed hame tae wait for news aboot ma new wee lassie an later on, the airly ootcomes fae the election. Aboot an oor afore midnicht A sat doon afore the tellie tae hear whit wis gaun on an switched on Sally Magnasson an the BBC’s “Scottish Election” program cause it stertit afore STV’s “Scotland Decides”.
She gaed on aboot opinion polls an turn oot an whit her guests thocht the results micht be like then, efter aboot ten meinits, she said “Now, let’s go over to see what’s happening with the English council elections.”
“English cooncil elections?” A thocht, “Jings, thon’s got naethin at aw tae dae wi me!”
Sae thon wis the BBC oot the windae whare A wis concairned an A juist chynged ower tae STV tae hear the real elections for the rest o the nicht. In fack A steyed up tae hauf past three in the mornin fair mesmerised wi the kinna ootcomes that juist kept on kythin an kythin the hail nicht lang.
Oo aw ken bi noo whit the ootcome wis sae A’ll no gaun on aboot thon agane. Whit A dae want tae pynt oot tho wis hou glaikit some o the unionist MP’s seemed tae be aboot Scottish maitters whan they war speirt tae gie thair ain “expert” poleitical consaits aboot whit the ootcomes meant. Thare wis aboot three o thaim at least that pyntit oot that thon wis Alex Salmond appyntit First Meinister noo for anither fower year.
Fower year? Jings yin o thae MP’s wis a LibDem an didnae e’en ken that his ain leader, Nick Clegg, haed proponed a law tae pit the Westminster Pairlament on tae a five year fixed term sae that the PM cuidnae cry an election afore the five year wis up. Thon meant that the neist Westminster elections wad faw on the same day as the neist Scottish Pairlament elections sae, tae evite thon, Westminster laid doon that this Scottish Pairlament wad be electit for five year insteid o the usual fower. Hou can thae MP’s A mentioned be qualified tae threap aboot whit the ootcome o the Scottish elections will mean tae Scotland whan they dinnae seem tae ken whit’s gaun on in thair ain Westminster Pairlament?
As faur as A ken, the neist British General Election will faw on the first Thursday o Mey 2015 an the neist Scottish Pairlament elections on the first Thursday o Mey 2016. Howanever, the follaein British General Election will tak place in Mey 2020 an, gin the Scottish Pairlament elections reverts back tae a fower year term, it will tak place in Mey 2020 an aw. A hivnae heard masel gin the neist Scottish Pairlament efter this yin is gaun tae be for fower year or five an A dinnae think it wad be ony yuiss speirin ony o thae MPs that wis on the tellie on election nicht.
Coorse, aiblins the British Government isnae ower fashed aboot whit gauns on in 2020 or 2021. Efter aw an independent Scotland can hae its general elections ony time its ain constitution wants thaim tae be an, as for thon Scottish unionist MP’s? A widnae hiv thaim in a lucky-bag but, bi then, they’ll aw be redundant onywey.