davidsberry

Over to the closest yellow splodge of the new map for the pleasant task of convening the AGM of the Midlothian Council SNP Group (currently in opposition) and re-elect office bearers to replace Colin Beattie who turned a Labour ‘stronghold’ into a 3,000-strong SNP majority. Never a chore to visit any of our hundreds of front-line councillors and see how they are to the fore in portraying positive hope and engagement across areas where Labour ruled so long they lost their way in petty power struggles and cronyism.

Midlothian is in fiscal difficulties, caused by the present recession that has reduced the money from government but also torpedoed a lucrative land sale that they been counting on to fund part of the revenue budget. As a result, corners are being cut and ‘savings’ made that are hardly sensible. A trivial but symbolic example: the double door entrance to their Dalkeith headquarters has one side marked ‘Push’ but the door is evidently broken. Their solution? Not to fix a busy door but to cover the ‘Push’ sign with packing tape and tack on a hand-written ‘Use Other Door’ sign.

A £180m operation with 4,000+ employees ought to be able to look professional. If nothing else, each new SNP administration formed next May needs to raise the game.

Spent the weekend participating in well earned local celebrations of the stunning election results but also attending a major national hoolie at the Jam House and the photo-op gathering of all 69 SNP MSPs at Holyrood on Saturday. There is no doubt that the mood of all events was irrepressibly upbeat. My problem at each was that I still can’t decide whether I am elated at being part of the team that achieved such an unprecedented and historic victory or scunnered that I should be pipped at the post to represent this county that I love.

It seems that I am at last coming down on the side of the former, positive view. In deciding to write a letter to the local press to thank all those who voted for me—or even considered doing so—my later draft removed a dig at Labour for its habitual head-in-the-sand routine. For blogroll readers, here is the  less gracious and more partisan paragraph removed:

‘Less than two weeks before polling day, Willie Innes, ELC Labour leader responded to the Scotsman’s claim that I might be close to winning here by stating: “Quite honestly, this is just ridiculous. There is absolutely no chance of this happening. I think it is just bravado from the SNP”.’

Makes me smile every time I read it.

…and yet so far. After a nine-month campaign in which the team pulled out all the stops (including this blog and other social networking tools) it came down to the wire and a bundle recount which confirmed the result as Gray: 12,536 and Berry: 12,385 or a majority of 151. It’s early in the morning after a long campaign so little energy remains to either analyse these results or to get mad at coming so close withour succeeding.

But the real story of the night is the SNP landslide that criss-crossed the entire country with seats taken from Tories, Lib-Dems and most especially Labour. What we have here is nothing short of comeuppance—a drubbing for Labour for treating the electorate like so many mindless pawns and droning on as if refighting 2010

Despite predictions of rain, the day starts propitiously bright, if cloudy. After nine months of campaigning since  selection in August, it has been probably the most engaging, exciting and exhausting period of my life, far exceeding insane 60-hour weeks in Silicon Valley bringing some chip to market. Such projects never lasted nine months, left at least one day per week undisturbed and did not demand such a range of performance as this campaign.

This time tomorrow, the result will be known but even now I face whatever it might be with the kind of cheerful equanimity you can only get when you have done your best, pulled out every stop available and know in your heart that there can be no remorseful “if only…” because some idea remained untried or energy untapped.

It was a team effort by a lot of good-hearted people of whom I am very proud to count myself as one. Whatever the outcome, that statement will stand. Meantime, let the chips fall where they may.

Alex campaigning with Colin Beattie in Musselburgh

It’s hard not to get excited by headlines like “SNP on Course for Landmark Victory” (STV website), especially on the eve of the poll itself. As a launchpad, it’s hard to whack.

If this were indeed the proportion voting for parties across Scotland, then the 18% gap that has opened would see historic shifts in seats, including East Lothian going SNP for the first time with the unheard of consequence of a Labour leader losing his seat..

Projected Seats in Scottish Parliamnt 2011-16

Given an unusually high number of undecided voters at this stage, none of the above can be considered definitive. But anything like it would allow the SNP to govern as a strong minority party, picking allies from the other four as it wished, including tabling a referendum bill with Green support. And to claim, as Labour has, that this would distract from recovering the economy and providing jobs is simply to judge others by their own weak standards.