Today saw the 30 day countdown to the general election, and with this came some heated debates from above the border with the Scottish party leaders going head to head.
With neither Labour nor the Conservatives looking likely to gain an overall majority in Westminster, this year’s election could be heavily influenced by those votes way up North.
So what did each party have to say, and how could this influence the forming of the next government?
Labour’s Jim Murphy spent most of the evening in combat with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon. Despite suggestions that Labour will form an alliance with the SNP if they get the chance, Murphy adamantly only supported his own party throughout, stating Labour didn’t need the SNP: “Nicola, we don’t need your help. What we need is people north and south of the border, people in Scotland, people in England and people in Wales coming together to kick out an out of touch government”.
Murphy followed suit with his party’s morals, spitting back many of Miliband’s lines that were slightly tweaked for his audiences, such as his belief that “Scotland only succeeds when Scottish working people succeed.” He also raised issues with the standard of living today, zero hour contracts and problems with the NHS.
Willie Rennie, the Scottish Lib Dem Leader, was one of the quieter debaters within the two hours. He did raise an important question within the first half hour that is relevant to all UK citezens, not just the Scottish. Rennie questioned the wisdom of putting a party that wants to break away from the UK in charge, if plans for a Labour-SNP alliance go ahead. Later in the debate, Sturgeon refused to fully eliminate the possibility of another independence referendum.
Rennie also took some grilling from the audience, answering tricky questions about welfare and benefits cuts, explaining how he wants to ease people off of benefits with a yellow card system to make the transition back into work easier for those on the poverty line. He too fell in step with the party line, echoing Nick Clegg’s call for a balanced approach to cutting and spending.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson challenged Nicola Sturgeon on her plans to support a minority Labour government, stating: “why is Nicola running around saying ‘Labour is rubbish, vote for me so I can put them in office’?”. Davidson also declared the Conservatives were the only ones that would be able to achieve a majority government. She denied the Conservatives would work with UKIP – a party the Scottish had no control of voting for – due to the likelihood that the fringe party will only be able to gain a very small amount of seats.
Davidson focussed on what her party has done for the country, stating they had tried to rebuild an economy broken by Labour. She said: “we’re trying to get people back into jobs…we’ve taken people at the lowest end of the wage spectrum out of taxation altogether so they keep more of the money they get”.
Finally, SNP Leader and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon continued with her debating streak, rolling in strong and proud to represent the Nationalist Party.
The SNP could be crucial in the outcome of the election, with Sturgeon saying she would fight against Cameron becoming Prime Minister. When asked directly by Scottish Labour leader Murphy whether she wanted Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, she answered: “I don’t want David Cameron to be Prime Minister; I’m offering to help make Ed Miliband Prime Minister…if there is an anti-Tory majority in the House of Commons after the election, even if the Tories are the biggest party we will work with Labour to keep David Cameron out of Downing Street.”
With this, Sturgeon continued with her campaign that a vote for SNP is a vote for a Scottish voice and an alternative to austerity. She openly admitted her plan would take a few more years to clear the deficit, but repeated her strong belief that the country can’t afford any more cuts, and that it would be more reasonable to invest money in improving the standard of living, creating jobs and improving public services now, than to keep cutting so that the poorest suffer.
Despite not being able to vote for the SNP in England and Wales, the SNP’s willingness to help support Miliband become Prime Minister could mean we soon see Sturgeon’s influence running throughout the country.
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