There's no doubt that the SNP are now the most well-resourced, determined, and effective fighters of elections in Scotland. In fact, they might argue they're the most effective ever in Scotland. First the Tories, pre-1955, then Labour, 1955-2007, basically took the country for granted.
Salmond, on the other hand, has had to run a tight ship over and over again to achieve his apparently over-the-top predictions. This "earthquake" has been delivered (quick thought: does anyone actually want an earthquake?) just as he predicted.
In the same way, he predicted the Nats would win 20 first past the post seats in 2007 as far back as the SNP's 2005 conference, and they went on to go one better than that.
So this is indeed a magnificent result for them, a disaster for Labour, an acceptable one for the Tories, and bad news for ourselves and the Liberals.
I remain unconvinced by the new MP for Glasgow East, though. Regular readers will remember his views on women's right to choose, scientific research, and transport.
I also don't imagine I was the only one who spotted him gurning all the way through Margaret Curran's concession speech, as pictured to the left.
Congratulations to you, Mr Mason, and to your hard-working volunteers, but seriously, this isn't the way a grown-up elected representative should behave.
Ah, the gracious winner. Well suited to the House of Commons with that behaviour.
I was grateful to myself for not staying up to watch the recount outcome or the speeches. Watching John Mason in full flow this morning before coffee had been taken was hedging it a bit - Galloway he aint. But a rather odd micro-analysis here, verging on the pointlessly ad hominem - a bit like what we get when ever Gorgeous is holding forth. The policy positions may be troubling, but the human decorum critique...does anyone really give one? Mason was pointedly magnanimous in his speech, and apparently ran a clean campaign. Big Margo was saying on the radio today that Mason had been dubbed a hard-liner on independence - as if that was a shortcoming! Perhaps some explanation of Mason's mannerisms - other than he's human and he's just won a colossal victory - may lie in the content of Curran's speech. I haven't bothered listening to it, but Craig Murray over at his blog has.
Mate, you need your own blog now. I look forward to critiquing your macro-analysis there.
But I've worked up close with politicians from all the parties, and I can spot the ones (in all parties) who are decent people at least partly because of their decorum, if you like, the way they treat other people. I think it matters.
On the "hardline on independence", yes, that matters too. It's more than just code for "committed to independence". Some in the SNP know that other issues matter, like poverty or the environment. Others, and Mason appears to be one of them, only care about the constitutional issue.
You can tell that from his "forced wedding" statement about referenda: if the Nats lose a referendum they'll have another one the very next day. Here's a tip for them: I'll vote yes the first time, but if they ask again, I'm voting no on day two and thereafter so we can get on with the other issues that matter.
Oh, and just making that montage and adding the fingers made me smile to myself, which is one of the main aims of this blog business. Sorry if it didn't work for you.
Haha, love it...
Yes, I was very much thinking along the same lines. Wishing Mason had happened to have been standing off camera for her speech as the eyes were certainly drawn to him.
But I decided it was somewhat understandable as the adrenalin must have been pumping like crazy in the man's body and it had nowhere else to go but in some sort of restless, 'overly-expressive' behaviour. We're only human after all.
And maybe he'll be more composed when he wins the seat again in 2010 ;)