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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 'Labour Brexit position is deeply worrying’: Scottish voters on Corbyn | 'Labour Brexit position is deeply worrying’: Scottish voters on Corbyn |
| (about 21 hours later) | |
| As Jeremy Corbyn tours marginal Scottish constituencies, we hear from our readers on the challenges Labour faces north of the border | |
| Guardian readers and | |
| James Walsh | |
| Fri 25 Aug 2017 13.18 BST | |
| Last modified on Fri 1 Sep 2017 14.51 BST | |
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| Are Labour on track for a revival in Scotland? To coincide with Jeremy Corbyn’s tour of 18 marginal Scottish seats, we asked our readers what the party need to do if they’re to improve their June 2017 tally of 7 of the 59 seats north of the border. | Are Labour on track for a revival in Scotland? To coincide with Jeremy Corbyn’s tour of 18 marginal Scottish seats, we asked our readers what the party need to do if they’re to improve their June 2017 tally of 7 of the 59 seats north of the border. |
| Issues raised by readers included Brexit, Trident renewal, and the party’s position on independence, as well as a perceived distance between Corbyn and Labour’s Scottish leader Kezia Dugdal, who has expressed reservations about his leadership in the past. | Issues raised by readers included Brexit, Trident renewal, and the party’s position on independence, as well as a perceived distance between Corbyn and Labour’s Scottish leader Kezia Dugdal, who has expressed reservations about his leadership in the past. |
| ‘Parties on the left need to work together’ | ‘Parties on the left need to work together’ |
| There is a severe democratic deficit in the UK. The EU referendum underlined that perfectly. I feel Scotland needs strong voices and not bums on seats just to be trotted out whenever one of the two possible ruling parties needs some votes in the Commons. That’s one reason why I vote SNP. If the UK political union is to hold then this deficit needs to be addressed: Labour working with the SNP on an issue by issue basis may help that. But I’m not going to hold my breath. | There is a severe democratic deficit in the UK. The EU referendum underlined that perfectly. I feel Scotland needs strong voices and not bums on seats just to be trotted out whenever one of the two possible ruling parties needs some votes in the Commons. That’s one reason why I vote SNP. If the UK political union is to hold then this deficit needs to be addressed: Labour working with the SNP on an issue by issue basis may help that. But I’m not going to hold my breath. |
| Corbyn ran a good campaign against Theresa May, but I think they have hit their peak in Scotland, I don’t think they should he wasting their time trying to snipe seats from the SNP or Lib Dems. If they are going to win then they need to take seats from the Tories. If the parties on the left managed to do that and work together, then we needn’t worry about the Conservatives anymore. | Corbyn ran a good campaign against Theresa May, but I think they have hit their peak in Scotland, I don’t think they should he wasting their time trying to snipe seats from the SNP or Lib Dems. If they are going to win then they need to take seats from the Tories. If the parties on the left managed to do that and work together, then we needn’t worry about the Conservatives anymore. |
| Hamish Donald, Glasgow Central (SNP majority: 2,267) | Hamish Donald, Glasgow Central (SNP majority: 2,267) |
| ‘Going hard against independence is fighting the Tories on their own ground’ | ‘Going hard against independence is fighting the Tories on their own ground’ |
| I’m a supporter of Scottish independence and a former activist in the Green party. I think that what Jeremy Corbyn stands for is very similar to what many supporters of independence stood for during the referendum - a more just society and a break from the undemocratic and out of touch structures of Westminster. If Corbyn is elected, the case for independence will be weakened for me, as it may show the possibility of reform even within those structures. | I’m a supporter of Scottish independence and a former activist in the Green party. I think that what Jeremy Corbyn stands for is very similar to what many supporters of independence stood for during the referendum - a more just society and a break from the undemocratic and out of touch structures of Westminster. If Corbyn is elected, the case for independence will be weakened for me, as it may show the possibility of reform even within those structures. |
| The problem Labour has is going so hard against independence - we’re fighting the Tories on their own ground, and nobody believes that Labour are more supportive of the union than the Tories, so we’re losing votes to them. If the next election is about independence and the union, then Labour and the Tories will split the 55% of the unionist vote between them and Labour will come third. | The problem Labour has is going so hard against independence - we’re fighting the Tories on their own ground, and nobody believes that Labour are more supportive of the union than the Tories, so we’re losing votes to them. If the next election is about independence and the union, then Labour and the Tories will split the 55% of the unionist vote between them and Labour will come third. |
| If the election is about issues like the NHS, taxation and education then the Tories have nothing popular to say, and we can trip the SNP up on their own record. | If the election is about issues like the NHS, taxation and education then the Tories have nothing popular to say, and we can trip the SNP up on their own record. |
| Mike, Edinburgh North & Leith (SNP majority: 1,625) | Mike, Edinburgh North & Leith (SNP majority: 1,625) |
| ‘There’s not much between the SNP and Labour’ | ‘There’s not much between the SNP and Labour’ |
| From a social justice perspective, there’s not much between the SNP and Labour. On the EU, there is considerable difference. I voted for Scotland to stay in the UK and for the UK to stay in the EU. If we’re leaving the EU, then the arguments for Scotland leaving the UK are similar. There is also more chance of the will of the Scottish people being realised by voting for the SNP. | From a social justice perspective, there’s not much between the SNP and Labour. On the EU, there is considerable difference. I voted for Scotland to stay in the UK and for the UK to stay in the EU. If we’re leaving the EU, then the arguments for Scotland leaving the UK are similar. There is also more chance of the will of the Scottish people being realised by voting for the SNP. |
| Gordon McNab, Central Ayrshire (SNP majority: 1,267) | Gordon McNab, Central Ayrshire (SNP majority: 1,267) |
| ‘Labour’s position on Brexit is deeply worrying’ | ‘Labour’s position on Brexit is deeply worrying’ |
| The SNP have been mitigating the worst of the Conservative government’s policies, the bedroom tax being one case. Labour in Scotland seemingly would still rather rage at the SNP than fight progressively against Tory policies. Labour and Corbyn’s position on Brexit is also deeply worrying for me - Brexit threatens the social and legal status and rights of members of my immediate family directly. His comments on the damage foreign workers have done to the conditions of UK workers seem to be aimed at former Ukip voters. I really dislike Trident and want it out of Scotland. | The SNP have been mitigating the worst of the Conservative government’s policies, the bedroom tax being one case. Labour in Scotland seemingly would still rather rage at the SNP than fight progressively against Tory policies. Labour and Corbyn’s position on Brexit is also deeply worrying for me - Brexit threatens the social and legal status and rights of members of my immediate family directly. His comments on the damage foreign workers have done to the conditions of UK workers seem to be aimed at former Ukip voters. I really dislike Trident and want it out of Scotland. |
| Kieron, Lanark and Hamilton East (SNP majority: 266) | Kieron, Lanark and Hamilton East (SNP majority: 266) |
| ‘Labour face a struggle of identity’ | ‘Labour face a struggle of identity’ |
| I voted Green in May. The Labour candidate was a complete unknown to me, but I do now wish I had voted on the bigger picture now and assisted the mandate of Corbyn to move further forward across the UK. | I voted Green in May. The Labour candidate was a complete unknown to me, but I do now wish I had voted on the bigger picture now and assisted the mandate of Corbyn to move further forward across the UK. |
| Labour do face a struggle of identity in Scotland and the confusion around Scottish Labour’s position on various fundamental issues such as Trident, Europe and Indy Ref 2 is exacerbating this further. | Labour do face a struggle of identity in Scotland and the confusion around Scottish Labour’s position on various fundamental issues such as Trident, Europe and Indy Ref 2 is exacerbating this further. |
| I’m embarrassed as a Scot to be part of a nation who helped in no small way to allow May to hang onto her role as PM. The rise of the Tories here is a concern and again points to a very (selective) short term memory from some. | I’m embarrassed as a Scot to be part of a nation who helped in no small way to allow May to hang onto her role as PM. The rise of the Tories here is a concern and again points to a very (selective) short term memory from some. |
| John Moffat, Edinburgh North (SNP majority: 1,625) | John Moffat, Edinburgh North (SNP majority: 1,625) |
| ‘Most of the party are still New Labour acolytes’ | ‘Most of the party are still New Labour acolytes’ |
| There is no credible other option but the SNP. I used to vote Labour but Blair destroyed it and most of the party in Scotland are still New Labour acolytes. Their position on Scottish independence is having a negative impact on Scottish politics. Corbyn like May is a placeholder who will be gone and forgotten in 5 years. | There is no credible other option but the SNP. I used to vote Labour but Blair destroyed it and most of the party in Scotland are still New Labour acolytes. Their position on Scottish independence is having a negative impact on Scottish politics. Corbyn like May is a placeholder who will be gone and forgotten in 5 years. |
| John Semple, Glasgow South West (SNP majority: 60) | John Semple, Glasgow South West (SNP majority: 60) |
| ‘Labour must shift their position on Brexit’ | ‘Labour must shift their position on Brexit’ |
| While Labour’s vote share increased slightly in Scotland the seats they won weren’t because they beat the SNP, it was because the SNP, with their strong EU stance, lost votes directly to the Tories. If Labour shifted their position on Brexit and expressed a wish to modernise the Westminster parliament to be more representative, I’d probably vote for them and Scottish independence would mean maybe a little less to me, though I’d still vote Yes if the option came up. | While Labour’s vote share increased slightly in Scotland the seats they won weren’t because they beat the SNP, it was because the SNP, with their strong EU stance, lost votes directly to the Tories. If Labour shifted their position on Brexit and expressed a wish to modernise the Westminster parliament to be more representative, I’d probably vote for them and Scottish independence would mean maybe a little less to me, though I’d still vote Yes if the option came up. |
| George Morgan, Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross (Lib Dem majority: 2,044) | George Morgan, Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross (Lib Dem majority: 2,044) |
| Labour | |
| Scotland | |
| Scottish National party (SNP) | |
| Jeremy Corbyn | |
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