Nicola Sturgeon, Tory Secret Weapon?

[ToraToraTora]

Has fear of NS puppeteering Ed been the major factor in this Election?

[dannyk13]

Certainly a factor but not sure how major.

[naomi24]

If it is, for once I can say, "Well done Nicola". I watched her being interviewed this morning when she blamed Labour for not being strong enough to defeat the Tories. I think she's gutted.

[ludwig]

I'd say it was a big factor.

[Old_Geezer]

The SNP was devastating for Labour, but even if all the SNP wins were Labour wins, they still wouldn't have a majority, which it the main issue for them. I'm unconvinced many would have feared smaller party influence and so voted Tory though. Folk know that tails do not wag the dog.

[Retrochic]

I think Nichola Sturgeon and her party have been the major factor in the downfall of the Labour party. The thought of 'mary doll' coming south and getting into bed with Milliband was just a step too far and obviously pushed Labour voters towards the Tories and UKIP.

[alexanderd]

It may well have been a factor but the biggest factor, (in my view), was Milliband himself. Shades of Neil Kinnock

[razza]

After that result for snp I am astonished they didnt vote for independence,if it was an anti Salmond vote at the referendum,they have certainly got as bad a leader now in Sturgeon

[Gromit]

Yes. The Conservatives (and their friends in the media) successfully portrayed the SNP as bogeymen and then linked them to a deal with Labour, scaring English voters who may have been wavering, to vote Tory. Labour was slow to see that happening, and by the time Miliband ruled out a coalition with the SNP last week, the damage was done.

[jno]

I can't see how - they took Labour seats, not Tory ones. And if you suggest she drove voters to the Tories in England - well, where from exactly? Labour, Ukip? From LibDems is possible, since their vote collapsed, but it'll need some pretty close analysis of the voting to prove it.

Let's hope Cameron never needs Irish Unionist support to pass anything.

[Retrochic]

razza they didn't vote for Independence because they want their haggis and eat it too! 7 billion pounds worth of 'Haggis' sent up form London for them to spend how they wish.

[ToraToraTora]

"where from exactly? " - have you been living in cave jno? Tories took seats from Labour, and Libdems, Lib dems through punishment, Labour through fear of Millisturgeon. Scotland helped by not electing Labour.

[douglas9401]

I have to agree with you, Gromit.
As to England returning tories, don't get ill, don't get old and don't lose your job. That welfare state that was fought for long and hard may not be there in five years time but when you can't afford to heat your homes in winter you can all bask in that warm blue aura that glows about you this morning.

There's a very old expression up here: Hell mend ye.

[ToraToraTora]

All this whining about the NHS, I am huge supporter of the NHS, it is safe. Hopefully it will be made more efficient but the core idea will remain.

[DTCwordfan]

I agree with alexandered, the interview with a young guy by Sophie Rainsworth outside the Beeb was very telling, about 6am, he saying that he had trended to voting Labour but that end-interview with Miliband when he refused to apologise for the financial disaster that the last Labour government ran into, Liam Byrne's note and then the indication that any shortfalls in financing would be met by debt, tipped him over.

As to Nicola S, two issues come up, the argument about a party with 7% of the UK vote gaining 56 seats and one with 14% gaining 1, well there needs to be some rethink - but this has always been a structural weakness of first past the post that favours regional parties....

Secondly, if I was DC with my glass of Chateau Victoire in hand tonight, I would seriously be thinking about getting Faslane out of Scotland and into Milford Haven and Plymouth. My bro-in-law and I have already joked about building a number of polystyrene islands with palm trees on and anchoring them off Plymouth to confuse the Ruskies...as the islands in the Clyde do.....however, more seriously, it's not beyond the wit of man and it certainly would help boost the South Wales and Southwest economies.

The other two things I would be thinking about is reviewing Trident once again for 'son-of' and less expensive and reducing corp tax to 15% (this was a Labour tax introduced by Callaghan). A reduction would cost £10 bln, the gap made up by attracting inward investment and putting us on a par with the Irish - and then an idea from the Labour party, to introduce a Capital Flight tax. Currently, flight costs the EU a trillion a year, legal, semi-legal, illegal. If one takes the UK economy at 10% roughly, that's 100bln roughly. Close off 25 bln or more and the Tories would have more to invest in the economy and socially. I have put this idea to my MP....Sarah Newton, who has been re-returned with the slaughter of the liberals down here in the SW

(Mikey - what did I say would happen SW of Bristol and Hampshire....in fact, it was Gloucestershire and down).

[jno]

that doesn't explain how, though, TTT. Labour voters seem unlikely to have switched just because of Sturgeon. LibDem voters look likely to have changed because they were annoyed with Clegg.

Floating voters are the usual suspects - but their reasons can only be guessed at. I would have thought further research by pollsters may prove this either way (and you can bet they'll be doing plenty of further research since they screwed up so badly); but given that the main theme of the campaign was economic competence, I don't think it's a given at all.

It's also possible that more people voted this time round, so that the growth in Tory votes comes from previous non-voters; but that too would require finding out why they changed their mind.

[Ric.ror]

Found it

So we now will have Labour, Lib Dems and UKIP without leaders

[Ric.ror]

Ignore my last post - I'm very tired

[zebo]

Lab/SNP was the nightmare scenario and I think a lot of people were influenced.

[Old_Geezer]

I do not see why Miliband should apologise for the financial disaster caused by poor bank "investment" on a global scale. Had the last Labour government started imposing rules/restrictions on the private banks the Tory opposition would have been up in arms. It was simply one of those gifts from which one could make political capital.

[Pete65]

Miliband lacked gravitas. A poor leader.
That is what damaged the Labour Party.
Russell Brand for goodness sake!
What on earth was he thinking about!