Labour’s victory in the south Lanarkshire by-election this week has surprised the bookies, dented the prestige of the SNP and boosted the standing of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. But while the nationalists were expected to hold their Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse seat the political pundits always said it would be a close run thing.
And so it was with Labour’s Davy Russell beating the nationalists by a margin of 602 votes. The Faragists came a close third while the Scottish Tories were well behind with the also-rans.
Labour’s U-turn over pensioners’ winter-fuel payments and the expansion of the free school meals scheme clearly helped sway voters – as did the decision to keep Sir Keir Starmer well away from the constituency during the campaign.
But though Labour and the nationalists were neck and neck in Hamilton the SNP still retain a clear lead in the national polls. Professor John Curtice says “the recent message from opinion polls are the SNP is running at just over 30 per cent, Labour is around 20 per cent, so it seems a reasonable expectation that such a result would not mean Anas Sarwar is Scotland’s next First Minister”.
And so it was with Labour’s Davy Russell beating the nationalists by a margin of 602 votes. The Faragists came a close third while the Scottish Tories were well behind with the also-rans.
Labour’s U-turn over pensioners’ winter-fuel payments and the expansion of the free school meals scheme clearly helped sway voters – as did the decision to keep Sir Keir Starmer well away from the constituency during the campaign.
But though Labour and the nationalists were neck and neck in Hamilton the SNP still retain a clear lead in the national polls. Professor John Curtice says “the recent message from opinion polls are the SNP is running at just over 30 per cent, Labour is around 20 per cent, so it seems a reasonable expectation that such a result would not mean Anas Sarwar is Scotland’s next First Minister”.
No arms for Israel!
Too much even for Britain or France to stomach – the latest American veto at the United Nations shows the true colours of the Trump administration as the instigator of the Zionist massacres in the Gaza Strip. But while the Starmer government likes to pose as “even-handed” or even sympathetic to the legitimate demands of the Palestinians it continues to supplies arms and intelligence to the Zionist entity.
Now a new Opinium poll reveals huge British public support for arms embargo on Israel by the UK government alongside other sanctions. The British public support a full arms embargo on Israel by more than 4 to 1, including 72 per cent of those who voted Labour in 2024. 54 per cent of the British public support Israel being expelled from the United Nations, with only 16 per cent being opposed. And 50 per cent of respondents supported the idea that supermarkets should no longer stock any goods produced in Israel, in line with the Co-op’s recent decision to boycott Israeli goods at its AGM.
Now we’ve go to turn these polls into reality. Get the message across at the monthly mass protests in London and the weekly demonstrations throughout the country. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!
Pastures new?
It didn’t take long for differences between Donald Trump and Elon Musk to degenerate into smears and common abuse. Musk is peddling all sorts of unsavoury stories about his former ally while Trump leaves it to his acolytes to call for Musk’s deportation as an “illegal immigrant”.
The South African-born oligarch became an American citizen in 2002. He is still, apparently, a Canadian citizen. But as he is unlikely to be welcomed back in either of his past homelands he should seriously consider the offer of a new safe haven in the Russian Federation.
Communist MP Dmitri Novikov, the first deputy chairman of the Committee on International Affairs in the Russian parliament, told the Moscow media that he could always seek political asylum in the Russian Federation. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek Novikov added that while he didn’t think Musk would need it “Russia, of course, could provide it”.
Indeed. Musk should take it while the going’s good given the irascible and unpredictable nature of the The Donald these days...
The South African-born oligarch became an American citizen in 2002. He is still, apparently, a Canadian citizen. But as he is unlikely to be welcomed back in either of his past homelands he should seriously consider the offer of a new safe haven in the Russian Federation.
Communist MP Dmitri Novikov, the first deputy chairman of the Committee on International Affairs in the Russian parliament, told the Moscow media that he could always seek political asylum in the Russian Federation. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek Novikov added that while he didn’t think Musk would need it “Russia, of course, could provide it”.
Indeed. Musk should take it while the going’s good given the irascible and unpredictable nature of the The Donald these days...
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