Labour Without Scotland

[Ric.ror]

Can Labour win without Scotland?

[jim360]

Yes. But it's obviously a lot harder.

[Kromovaracun]

In theory yes. In practice, probably not.

[Old_Geezer]

Could they win with it ? I've not crunched the numbers, but suspect it unlikely the way they are.

[Hopkirk]

No

[mikey4444]

The simple answer Ric is no, or least probably no.

[steg]

Scottish MPs have never turned what would have been a Conservative government into a Labour one, or indeed vice versa as far as I know

[mikey4444]

Steg....Wales and Scotland were an important factor in 1997 as I recall !

[steg]

1997 labour= 418
Conservative = 165
Lib/ dem = 46
Others = 30

[mikey4444]

Those were the days Steg....Tories = 165 seats !

[jim360]

I guess it depends on how you determine that. There have been several elections in which the majority was less than the number of Scottish seats won. The swing in Scotland is usually not so drastic as to affect the result much.

[steg]

Aye, changed days, but it's now and the future that matters

[New Judge]

"Steg....Wales and Scotland were an important factor in 1997 as I recall !"

In 1997 Labour won 418 of the 659 seats available. 328 of those were in England, meaning that only two were needed from elsewhere to gain an overall majority.

[mikey4444]

NJ ....but to gain the thumping great landslide that was 1997, involvement from all parts of the UK, including the Celtic fringes was needed.

[youngmafbog]

Eh?

[Ric.ror]

Those were the days Steg....Tories = 165 seats

The days when we had a Labour Party worth voting for

[mikey4444]

Ric...Yes, and the days when we had a complete p9llock as Tory Leader.

[Jackdaw33]

I do not think that Scotland will have any effect on the overall result. The SNP are vehemently anti-Tory so any gains made by Labour at their expense will merely be changing one set of anti-Tory MPs with another.

[Jackdaw33]

Another thing to note is that in Scotland the Tories go by the name of the Scottish Conservative and UNIONIST party. The importance of the second adjective should not be overlooked; this is what primarily sets them at odds with the SNP.

[naomi24]

Mikey, //Yes, and the days when we had a complete p9llock as Tory Leader. //

Most heartening to know that you don't believe Mrs May to be a pillock. :o)

[Jackdaw33]

In 1997 the Tory leader was Major. In 2001 it was Hague. I would class neither as a pillock; Major was the victim of circumstances whilst Hague is a scholar and very erudite. He has written the definitive biography of Pitt the Younger, which was received to great acclaim in academia.