Ask The Nationalists

Alex Salmond is first up. He is a socialist and leading his party in a generally socialist programme. Fien for now. They'll not be voting with the Tories that much you have to say. But this doesn't necessarily follow. If your holy grail, your unique selling point, your sheet anchor is national independence then future leaders and future MPs and future MSPs may take a completely different view on other issues.

If I had been picked to ask Alex a question it would have been :

"The smart money these days is on internationalism, not nationalism.
With family from Donegal and Derry I would certainly rather that
politics in the North of Ireland was organised on lines of
economic interest and social philosophy than on Nationalist-
Loyalist or other sectarian grounds.

"Why not organise and agitate within Labour?"

All things considered he does pretty well but the majority in the audience is mildly hostile. One of the Welsh Tories asks him a tax question anticipating rises. His mono-industry on oil is challenged. And audience members also point out the Scottish Labour have many of the same ideas.

I guess the point that hits home the most is on the futility of organising for UK elections rather than sticking to the Assembly. There is this general point in the air that whatever they may say they simply cannot deliver much even if they won all 59 seats in the reduced quota. They currently have five and one probably goes in the re-organisation.

This section is ended with a rather sentimental sort of nationalism from an older audience member and immediately the break starts a teenager turns on the speaker and berates them openly for this maudlin plaid, skirls and shortcake call for votes.