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Aventinian
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New PartySaw this as the top article on the BBC Politics Scotland website, anyone heard anything about it?:
Millionaire plans political party
A Scots millionaire has begun setting up a new political party aiming to improve standards at Holyrood.
The party, provisionally called Scottish Voice, has been founded by businessman Archie Stirling, who is laird of the Keir estate in Perthshire.
The 63-year-old said he wanted to make Scottish politics work for the "disillusioned majority".
The party, which is set to launch next month, has also put defending the Union at the heart of its policy.
Fielding candidates
Mr Stirling, who was married for eight years to the actress Dame Diana Rigg, said the party planned to track the speeches and voting records of MSPs.
The party would also consider fielding its own candidates if it was unable to endorse others ahead of the election, in May.
Mr Stirling, a nephew of SAS founder Sir David Stirling, is a member of a historic Scots family.
Other smaller parties to have fought Scottish Parliament elections include the Fishing Party and the People's Alliance.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6230365.stm
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Mctosh45
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Should go down like a lead balloon then 
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IF Convenor
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His uncle started his own army so he's going to start his own private unionist party.
I suppose it'll help fragment the Tory vote a little.
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wisnaeme
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| IF Convenor wrote: | His uncle started his own army so he's going to start his own private unionist party.
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Ah thought we already have one of them. I believe some folk might perceive The Speculative Society of Edinburgh could conceivably fit that description. 
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Shadowman
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Is he trying to split what's left of the Tory vote?
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Mctosh45
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Still Aventinian thinks it's a good idea...so thats alright then.
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frank rizzo
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Great news. Just what the tories need, a millionaire toff funding his own wee party, telling us we should know our place and splitting their vote even more.
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Economist
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I think Stirling is wasting his time, and probably his money. Isn't there a Scottish Unionist party, or some such nonsense, already? I mean, campaigning for a union that a majority of Scots don't want - and crucially a majority of people in England don't want (that is the most interesting dynamic in this).
Given the discontent with the union in England, the question, I'd like to ask Scottish unionists, is; If the main source of your unionism doesn't want to be in a union with you, who are you going to then form a union with? The Falkland Islanders? The Gibraltarians?
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Avatar
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Well it should make things a bit more interesting, I heard on the radio this morning the name has been changed to the Scottish Democrats.
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Avatar
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| Quote: | Millionaire maverick plans 'what about us' party
HAMISH MACDONELL SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR
* Stirlingshire landlord Archie Stirling to launch new political party
* Mr Stirling believes not enough politicians have business knowledge
* Policies believed to be centre-right, natural Tory territory
A COLOURFUL Scottish businessman revealed yesterday he is to challenge the Holyrood establishment by setting up his own political party - just as it emerged that nearly two-thirds of MSPs came to politics from the public sector.
The Scottish Democrats will be launched next month by Archie Stirling, 63, a landowner from Stirlingshire.
He believes there are not enough politicians with private-sector backgrounds in the Scottish Parliament, and he wants to rectify that by attracting a new type of person into politics at Holyrood. "Some of those running the country have done nothing except be professional politicians all their lives; it's no wonder they don't know what's going on," he said.
Mr Stirling's concerns were borne out by a Scotsman survey that found only 39 per cent of MSPs (51 out of 129) have a private-sector background, and many of them are either lawyers or farmers. The other 78 were either in the public sector, or were full-time union officials, professional politicians or activists before they went to Holyrood.
Mr Stirling feels disillusioned and disenfranchised by the current system and his solution is to stand for election himself, and to persuade others to do likewise in an attempt to improve the governance of Scotland.
It is understood Mr Stirling, the nephew of SAS founder Sir David Stirling, has several wealthy backers and has been promised substantial resources for his new venture - if he can get it off the ground.
The main political parties reacted to the news of Mr Stirling's initiative by trying to both rubbish it and ignore it at the same time.
But Mr Stirling was insistent that he would go ahead with his plans because there was a desperate need in Scotland for a "better calibre" of politician.
Some of his colleagues admit privately his chances of success are slim and that everything rests on his ability to entice some formidable figures into the political spotlight, either to stand as candidates or to back his campaign publicly with money.
But the very fact he has decided to make such a public stand of his frustration with the current system and the present crop of politicians at Holyrood should act as a clear warning to Scotland's established parties that they have failed to connect with large parts of the country, particularly in rural areas and in the business community.
Mr Stirling stressed that the Scottish Democrats were not being launched to rival the Scottish Conservative Party, or that his aim was to attract disillusioned Tories.
But it is understood his policies are generally centre-right and that some of his backers are Tories who have become increasingly fed up with the Conservative Party's lack of progress and drive in Scotland.
He said: "This has got nothing to do with the Conservative Party. We may be at the centre of things, rather than right or left.
"My aim is very simple - to bring into politics people of quality."
He went on: "I don't think its a question of Union or no Union; it's more that we are on a ship and I don't like the crew, whether its independence or devolution or back up the channel, I don't want this lot running it."
Mr Stirling has two big grievances with the Scottish Executive: the size of government and the quality, or lack of it, of the ministers concerned.
He is particularly frustrated that so few have any sort of private-sector or business background and that most represent the urban West of Scotland, with no-one standing up for the rural areas.
There are seven Labour ministers in the Cabinet at the moment, representing seats in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Paisley and Ayrshire, but no further afield.
Very few Labour Cabinet ministers have any private-sector experience, a characteristic mirrored by the Labour group as a whole. Of the 50 Labour MSPs, only nine came from the private sector to Holyrood.
Mr Stirling pointed out that the old Scottish Office, before devolution, ran the country with five ministers while the Executive does the same job with 21.
Mr Stirling said he would stand for election and hoped enough people of quality would come forward to join him after his official launch next month.
There were reports yesterday that Brian Monteith, the former Tory MSP, was involved in the project, but he ruled himself out and said he believed the best way to change parties for the better was from within.
Mr Monteith, who will not be standing in this year's election for any party or as an independent, said: "The idea of launching a new party in February for the 2011 elections is one thing, but trying to launch a party three months out from an election is just daft. The history of Scottish politics is littered with people who tried to change the system outside the established parties but who got nowhere. It is often easier to change things from within parties."
There will be consternation and concern within the ranks of the Scottish Conservatives over Mr Stirling's plans because, by going after disenfranchised people from the countryside and business, he is clearly tramping over natural Tory territory.
But, officially, the party reacted coolly to the prospect of a new party. A spokesman said: "The Scottish Conservatives are the only major political party which is addressing the biggest issues of concern to the public, such as supporting the NHS, creating affordable housing, tackling rising crime and fighting destructive drugs abuse.
"We have the policies which will deliver better devolution, an effective Scottish Parliament and a stronger United Kingdom."
Bruce Crawford, for the SNP, claimed the election battle was a two-horse race between Labour and the SNP and predicted the new party would cause problems for the Tories. "This party are out of touch before they have even begun," he said.
Labour peer Lord Foulkes, the campaign vice-chairman for Scottish Labour, also predicted the new party would be bad news for the Tories.
But Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan said: "The virtue of the electoral system for the Scottish Parliament is it allows for diversity in representation. So far, this has allowed diversity on the left - maybe it's time there was some on the right." |
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=21712007
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Aventinian
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| wisnaeme wrote: | Ah thought we already have one of them. I believe some folk might perceive The Speculative Society of Edinburgh could conceivably fit that description.
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You really do credit that broad and boring debating club with pretty much everything wrong in Scotland, don't you?
What's next? The International Zionist Conspiracy?
| Mctosh45 wrote: | | Still Aventinian thinks it's a good idea...so thats alright then. |
When did I ever say that? Perhaps you could do with engaging your head before you speak.
| Economist wrote: | | I think Stirling is wasting his time, and probably his money. Isn't there a Scottish Unionist party, or some such nonsense |
The SUP is a break-away Tory Party who couldn't accept the standard central office line on the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
One sentence about the Union in a BBC report and suddenly that's their raison d'etre? Did anyone actually pick up on anything else in the report other than the words 'millionaire' and 'union'? I was hoping for at least some sort of deeper insight on the matter of engaging the electorate and perhaps some thoughts on the forming of new political parties etc. Instead it's unfortunately the same old bigots spouting the same old clap-trap.
This forum used to be a fair deal better.
| Avatar wrote: | | Well it should make things a bit more interesting, I heard on the radio this morning the name has been changed to the Scottish Democrats. |
Now that's a cop-out on finding a real name if ever I saw one!
I was surprised with the mature comment by Tommy Sheridan in your Scotsman article. Hardly who I'd expect to be the voice of reason after all the other parties used the 'ooh, we're getting in the newspaper, time to slag off our electoral opponents' theory of politics.
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Avatar
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| Quote: | | I was surprised with the mature comment by Tommy Sheridan in your Scotsman article. Hardly who I'd expect to be the voice of reason after all the other parties used the 'ooh, we're getting in the newspaper, time to slag off our electoral opponents' theory of politics. |
Yeah I was a bit suprised by the immediate dismissal given by most parties, I thought they would be all for a bit more diversity. Sheridan didn't really suprise me, its not like he could join in the slagging without being hypocritical, being one of two left wing parties.
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wisnaeme
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| Aventinian wrote: | | wisnaeme wrote: | Ah thought we already have one of them. I believe some folk might perceive The Speculative Society of Edinburgh could conceivably fit that description.
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You really do credit that broad and boring debating club with pretty much everything wrong in Scotland, don't you?
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Nope, but give credit where credit is due.How's yer pals in the Spec by ra way? Not very happy from what I've heard. One of their associates was muttering to another in a tavern frequented by that ilk recently in Embra. Interesting conversation. Amongst other things of a more confidential nature was a bemoan about how the country's going to the curs. Maybe yer pals o pals should be made aware that walls have ears. Interesting bit about some high heid skirt by ra way. Not taking kindly tae a wuman in charge are ye's. Aye weel ye'll have to get used to more change shortly.
Eh? Broad as in broad minded! Ah don't think so and as fer boring: ah find their debating conversations very interesting indeed.
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