The wrong sort of voter

The Labour party continue their very public disintegration.  Over the weekend there were calls for the UK leadership contest to be put on hold while 'bogus' voters for the leadership were weeded out.  And why do they need to do this?  Because they've suddenly realised that letting anyone pay three quid to have a vote on their next leader might not be such a wizard wheeze after all, since the people who pay their money might not, dare we say it, be entirely sympathetic to the Labour party and their policies.  The vote can, in fact, be rigged.  As proof of this, the fact that Jeremy Corbyn is currently in the lead clearly shows that both Tories and the hard left are signing up in droves apparently.  Panic ensues.

Now it is entirely possible that Mr Corbyn's support is indeed being inflated by Tories (who think his leadership would make Labour unelectable) and the hard left (who see his policies as a step in the right direction).  Or it could be that ordinary Labour supporters, tired of the shift towards Tory-lite, are voting for change.  There's no way to tell.  However, Labour, with their customary political deftness have pretty much said that they don't want the 'wrong sort' of voter, which kind of gives the game away.  As excuses go, it's up there with 'the wrong sort of snow' and 'the wrong sort of leaves', as trademarked by the railway companies.

Meanwhile David Cameron has declared that the SNP will not be entitled to hold a second referendum within the current parliament.  I suspect he is employing a bit of reverse psychology here.  Telling Scots that they can't do something is a surefire way to prod them into do it, crying 'Oh ye think so?' as they do it.  And why would David Cameron want the Scots to have another referendum?  Because rushing into another one gives the Unionist side their best chance of winning.  The polls have seen some small movement in favour of independence, but it's not yet large enough to be confident of winning a Yes vote. The No side, however, would prefer another referendum sooner, on the basis that if they win a second one, it effectively puts the issue to bed for at least a generation.

The SNP are biding their time until the polls show a regular majority in favour of independence and they are wise to do so.  Waiting until the time is right is the correct strategy in the circumstances.  For David Cameron, a Yes voter is the wrong sort of voter, and we need many more of those if we are ever to gain our independence.