SNP are writing cheques they can't cash!

So there are two weeks to go to one of the most eagerly anticipated elections (if you work in the news media) or one of the least relevant (if you are a voter).

And how is it shaping up? 

Well I have had election discussions with both my children, one of whom is old enough to vote. We are both united in our dislike of the Conservatives but after that we start to diverge. An interesting comment my son made recently, as he read the Labour party manifesto of 1983, he couldn't understand how they didn't get elected. I had to explain that to some in the Labour party it was considered an un electable manifesto. So left wing the UK would never stomach it. We are apparently a conservative (small "c") nation after all. Thatch was at the height of her powers and was still riding the wave of fanaticism that swept her through the Falklands campaign. 

Can't imagine how it happened but both my children are to the left it would seem. To varying degree's. 

This is all well and good, I do like youth to be interested in politics. It is a pet theory of mine that we get the politicians we deserve, thus nationally we seem to have a degree of antipathy and as a result we have nothing to choose from. They are all the same.

So one of the things I wanted to state, as the title suggests is that I believe the Scottish National Party are flying a shamefully populist flag. They are saying exactly what people want to hear. An end to austerity, well as I have said it is a HARD sell. Few votes can be garnered except

Nicola Sturgeon

from people who have nothing to lose. My issue with the stance is that I believe it is just an election tactic. The SNP will only have the 50 or so Scottish seats at best and so will never be in a position within Westminster to carry out any plan as such. Nicola Sturgeon will never have to come good on any of her pledges.




If we can trust polls (they got it wrong in 1992) the SNP will pretty much clean up in Scotland sending 50 or so MP's south of the border. The problem for Labour is that it would pretty much do to them what has happened to the Conservatives north of the border. There are none. In which case Labour has pretty much no choice in that situation but to seek a coalition with them if Ed Milliband wants to enter number 10. this prospect may be too much for English voters to stomach. Hard and fast Labour supporters won't be troubled but in what they call the "marginals" where a the sitting MP's share of votes is fragile and subject to swing voting it could cost them not just Scotland but several England seats too. Scotland used to be a happy hunting ground for Labour.

The point is though that the SNP will then be asked in one way or another to join some sort of coalition and in such a case they can only expect a few of their policies to be adhered to. 

Hence my title. They are promising the earth in the sure knowledge they will never have it to give. What they will have is a heck of a lot of leverage.