Ladbrokes currently have their over/under line on the SNP set at 29.5 (with each side being priced at 5/6). If you think that's a fair price, then you should be looking at constituency betting, given current prices.
Duh. Because it's very likely to be a close election, so Labour (and maybe Tories) will come seeking SNP help in forming a government, for which a high price will be extracted, benefiting Scots.
Also, the more Nat MPs you send to Westminster the more you say to Labour "You can no longer take us for granted" - meaning more attention will be paid to Scottish interests, and of course the more Nat MPs the louder the Nat voice, and the greater the fear in London of another referendum, unless Devomax is truly generous
etc etc etc etc
Was that too hard to work out on your own?
The shrewd approach for the SNP would be "everything short of independence". They would enjoy the fiscal security of the UK but would have carte blanche to govern as they saw fit in Scotland and have a key influence over UK laws.
Sturgeon's position would parallel that of Redmond after the 1910 election who, had events in Europe not intervened, would almost certainly have secured Home Rule for Ireland.
Jeez F##king Christ....This and bloody Page 3....the world is going to hell in a handcart and all people are obsessing about is breasts (the human and chicken variety).
I couldn't believe R5 was leading with Page 3 all yesterday, then after all the BS, oh ISIS are threatening to lop off two Japanese hostages heads, former head of MI6 says another terrorist attack can't be prevented and about 10 other more important stories, than if Sophie, 21, from Bedford appears with her tits out or covered up. It is as bad as Sophie's view on the merits of EU expansion or Quantitative Easing.
I don't give a s##t if Cameron prefers Harvester or Nando's, or what Farage thinks about this or anybody else frankly.
I wonder what breaking point will be for the inane questions, faux outrage, focus group answers, lack of conviction in politics? Surely one day people will favour substance over spin?
Robert Fox in the Standard tonight reporting the military have been critical of Iraq/Afghanistan and Chilcott delay.
Government and civil service response so far: muttering about the arrogant military and threatening cuts in defence spending after the election by anything between eight and 40 per cent.
What Labour must do in Scotland is-------their best. I think Jim Murphy will see to that.
If he can survive to next year, the Holyrood election is not likely to be quite so bad and even if he keeps ten seats, expectations are so low that it will seem like a mini triumph.
Coalitions work by agreeing to what you can both agree on and agreeing to disagree on the rest. In spite of the possible 50 seats there won't be a coalition between the SNP and another party unless both sides can find areas of common interest. What the SNP can do however is to vote on a no confidence motion with whichever of Labour or Conservative that doesn't get into government and bring the latter down.
There is no way that the SNP will vote to bring down a minority Labour government. They did that once before and it turned out very badly for them.
IT's going to be interesting. It also depends on whether the position of the other of Labour/Tories has been strengthened. There's no reason to vote no confidence unless their position has strengthened. I suspect the SNP veto waging power won't amount to much, but we won't find that out until after we vote. Their best bet is to go for pure pork barrel, I think. Nobody in government cares about the odd billion bung.
I think we also forget that labour has 40 scotsmen, a significant chunk of their commons team.
Chr8st knows what their morale must be like at a time when Ed needs all his troops on the attack.
and yet faced with this Real and Present Danger to SLAB, Labour have not made Scotland their first priority for election resources. Labour are carrying on as if they were 10% ahead in the UK polls and are worrying about the colour of the curtains required in Ministerial offices.
Scotland and the SNP? A mere flesh wound say Labour HQ.
Jeez F##king Christ....This and bloody Page 3....the world is going to hell in a handcart and all people are obsessing about is breasts (the human and chicken variety).
I couldn't believe R5 was leading with Page 3 all yesterday, then after all the BS, oh ISIS are threatening to lop off two Japanese hostages heads, former head of MI6 says another terrorist attack can't be prevented and about 10 other more important stories, than if Sophie, 21, from Bedford appears with her tits out or covered up. It is as bad as Sophie's view on the merits of EU expansion or Quantitative Easing.
I don't give a s##t if Cameron prefers Harvester or Nando's, or what Farage thinks about this or anybody else frankly.
I wonder what breaking point will be for the inane questions, faux outrage, focus group answers, lack of conviction in politics? Surely one day people will favour substance over spin?
They would enjoy the fiscal security of the UK but would have carte blanche to govern as they saw fit in Scotland and have a key influence over UK laws.
I really don;t see how this actually works. Say the Scots vote themselves out of austerity. What happens next?
And the Lib Dems on under 4%. How on Earth has Nick Clegg remained as party leader? He should have had the decency to resign immediately after the Euro elections.
The response of the German political elite to the Pegida protests has been breathtakingly arrogant and dismissive IMO. A bit like the initial attitude to UKIP in this country.
Make London honour the Pledge. Vote SNP. For Scotland.
9 words that kill Labour stone dead. I have been saying for a while I expect the SNP to poll over 50% in May. And now a poll backs that up. Cuz it's not just the Yes voters, but the No-but-more-devolutioners who can happily enter their tent under that message....
The response of the German political elite to the Pegida protests has been breathtakingly arrogant and dismissive IMO. A bit like the initial attitude to UKIP in this country.
The established political parties in most Western European countries are incredulous that the electorate should have the impertinence to vote for someone other than themselves.
Needing one (or wanting one), and affording one, are two different things entirely!
Obviously, but the proponents of the policy have thought about it far more deeply and understand it far better than the journalists / bloggers who have been attempting to dismiss it over the last day or two.
A Green Party candidate told me in 1992 that it would involve a basic rate of income tax of around 45%?
If you think the Conservatives are going to get most seats, far better to back them in seats like Nuneaton and Hastings & Rye, where you can back them at odds against to win, as I pointed out last week:
If you think the Conservatives are going to get most seats, far better to back them in seats like Nuneaton and Hastings & Rye, where you can back them at odds against to win, as I pointed out last week:
Evening all and the first I saw of the STV poll was the STV News at 6pm. I have to say my gut reaction is that the SNP leads over Labour of around 20% are closer to the truth than the 10%.
However does that mean Scotland will see a Labour wipe-out, I am far from convinced. I think many of those 45-52% SNP voters will include the usual all mouth and don't vote fraternity. If the SNP can mobilise them as it did during the referendum then Labour is in deep shit. One third of its seats are in the areas which voted YES in September.
They've been ended? With a 10 minute rule bill?? Are you claiming that as of now there are no public subsidies for wind farms? Reading that blog I'm struggling to work out which party Carswell belongs to.
I'd be interested to know whether the swing in the Glasgow/Strathclyde area is higher than on the east coast. If so the SNP may clean up in Glasgow but fall short in Falkirk, Fife, Edinburgh, etc.
Evening all and the first I saw of the STV poll was the STV News at 6pm. I have to say my gut reaction is that the SNP leads over Labour of around 20% are closer to the truth than the 10%.
However does that mean Scotland will see a Labour wipe-out, I am far from convinced. I think many of those 45-52% SNP voters will include the usual all mouth and don't vote fraternity. If the SNP can mobilise them as it did during the referendum then Labour is in deep shit. One third of its seats are in the areas which voted YES in September.
Needing one (or wanting one), and affording one, are two different things entirely!
Obviously, but the proponents of the policy have thought about it far more deeply and understand it far better than the journalists / bloggers who have been attempting to dismiss it over the last day or two.
A Green Party candidate told me in 1992 that it would involve a basic rate of income tax of around 45%?
There is a certain amount of journo cut-out going on with some of these Green policies. For example, the Telegraph reports that:
"Under Green plans, inheritance tax – “to prevent the accumulation of wealth and power by a privileged class” – will no longer just tax the dead."
This is kind of true, but a very odd, or indeed, scurrilous, way of putting it. Green plans are to tax the recipients of any inheritance rather than the person who died. So, if you are dirt poor and Aunty Mabel pops off - you wont be paying any tax on your inheritance.
They've been ended? With a 10 minute rule bill?? Are you claiming that as of now there are no public subsidies for wind farms? Reading that blog I'm struggling to work out which party Carswell belongs to.
There's a lot of blue, and no purple. Funny that. He's good at talking himself up.
John Rentoul making a complete fool of himself on C4 News. Nasty piece of work.
How so?
He is on to discuss the delays to Chilcott and said that the anger about the delays in its publication is artificial and whipped up by the press because they disagreed with the war. Caroline Lucas - who I do not agree with most of the time or support - made a very measured set of comments about how it damaged public perceptions of the inquiry and of politicians and he did the old attack dog tactic on her.
Don't understand the confusion here. If you're a Scot, and you want what's best for Scotland, and you want your vote to count, in the next Westminster parliament - which will thrash out the details of Devomax - you vote for the SNP. Your party might even - quite likely - hold the balance of power in its hands. Be the kingmakers in London.
It's that simple. A vote for sturgeon gives your nation and your MP and your vote maximum political impact in Westminster.
Holyrood in 2016 will be a very different affair, but the Nats are gonna storm it in 2015.
Why does voting for the SNP give you what's best for Scotland? Does the SNP have a monopoly on what's best for Scotland? Has the SNP govt been a glorious new age for Scotland? All hail the trams...
How would 40 SNP MPs benefit Scotland? How would that work?
Duh. Because it's very likely to be a close election, so Labour (and maybe Tories) will come seeking SNP help in forming a government, for which a high price will be extracted, benefiting Scots.
Also, the more Nat MPs you send to Westminster the more you say to Labour "You can no longer take us for granted" - meaning more attention will be paid to Scottish interests, and of course the more Nat MPs the louder the Nat voice, and the greater the fear in London of another referendum, unless Devomax is truly generous
etc etc etc etc
Was that too hard to work out on your own?
Duh...?? How does that actually help Scotland? How does behaving like a dictator to extract a high price for a particular region and its prejudices, help Scotland? We have already seen that an independent Scotland is a no no. So how does some block of Scottish votes help Scotland if it alienates the rest of the country? In case you have been asleep for 40 years Scotland has devolution. Explain how if it now seeks to dictate to the English, never mind the poor helpless Welsh, this helps Scotland with oil at $45?
The history of you gov is that those asked questions are perverse, I would not be surprised to see it the other way round tonight. The important thing.. as displayed at PMQ's.... is at least 90% of the the narrative is against Labour, its like King Canute trying to tell the waves to go back...
And the Lib Dems on under 4%. How on Earth has Nick Clegg remained as party leader? He should have had the decency to resign immediately after the Euro elections.
The revolver's been decommissioned and Charlie Kennedy's drunk the whisky.
And the Lib Dems on under 4%. How on Earth has Nick Clegg remained as party leader? He should have had the decency to resign immediately after the Euro elections.
The revolver's been decommissioned and Charlie Kennedy's drunk the whisky.
Otherwise ..........
...and because all the pretenders to the throne would like Clegg to take the full rap for this one.
And the Lib Dems on under 4%. How on Earth has Nick Clegg remained as party leader? He should have had the decency to resign immediately after the Euro elections.
The revolver's been decommissioned and Charlie Kennedy's drunk the whisky.
Otherwise ..........
...and because all the pretenders to the throne would like Clegg to take the full rap for this one.
With regard to the debates and also the examination of opposition parties financial plans by the OBR,these need to be put into legislation like fixed term parliaments so that never again can a slithery slithery thing of a Prime Minister ever stop them again.Cameron's cowardice must not be allowed to oppress democracy.
Is the question asking if non SNP supporters are claiming to be SNP supporters, or undecided, because of shyness? I don't see that if so. There was social pressure to back independence, but not to support the SNP (I wouldn't have said).
I think many who didn't want independence (and still, if push came to shove, don't want it) DO want to be represented at Westminster by a fiercely pro-Scottish party. That's what a vote for the SNP represents.
The response of the German political elite to the Pegida protests has been breathtakingly arrogant and dismissive IMO. A bit like the initial attitude to UKIP in this country.
The established political parties in most Western European countries are incredulous that the electorate should have the impertinence to vote for someone other than themselves.
The people have forfeited the Government's confidence, and can only regain it with redoubled effort.
I'd be interested to know whether the swing in the Glasgow/Strathclyde area is higher than on the east coast. If so the SNP may clean up in Glasgow but fall short in Falkirk, Fife, Edinburgh, etc.
Evening all and the first I saw of the STV poll was the STV News at 6pm. I have to say my gut reaction is that the SNP leads over Labour of around 20% are closer to the truth than the 10%.
However does that mean Scotland will see a Labour wipe-out, I am far from convinced. I think many of those 45-52% SNP voters will include the usual all mouth and don't vote fraternity. If the SNP can mobilise them as it did during the referendum then Labour is in deep shit. One third of its seats are in the areas which voted YES in September.
Central region SNP at 58% !! - this area includes Falkirk, Stirling etc.
Looking at all of the Scottish polling methodologies it appears that only Survation are weighting by Scottish region. However, Panelbase, Ipsos-MORI and YouGov don't weight by region, I think given the uneven dispersion of party support across Scotland, not weighting regionally is potentially a flaw in their methodologies. This might go someway to explaining the wide variation in the results of the polls.
I think Survation are currently looking like the gold standard for Scotland. They picked up SNP surge 6 months before the referendum, whereas most pollsters didn't pick it up until after the ref. I would anticipate they'd be the first to identify any weakening in SNP support.
@dr_spyn Fill the war chest, then stab the donors in the back? ;-)
Given that there is a smoking ban in public places, advertising ban, sport sponsorship ban, no sales to under 18s, high rates of duty, health education campaigns, health warnings on packets, covered up display cabinets, does Cameron really think that another measure is needed?
The revolver's been decommissioned and Charlie Kennedy's drunk the whisky.
Otherwise ..........
...and because all the pretenders to the throne would like Clegg to take the full rap for this one.
Indeed, and cheap jibes about Charles Kennedy notwithstanding, Nick Clegg's position is analogous to that of Gordon Brown in 2010 and John Major in 1997 in that by giving the elctorate the chance to kick him personally in the ballot box (so to speak), he gives the Party a chance to rebuild and move on.
How and whether the Party is able to do that is another matter. I do think Clegg will go after the elction whatever happens and while Tim Farron is favourite to take over, it's not a one-horse race. I do wonder whether Tom Brake may be a viable option.
I detect no appetite within the Party for a continuation of Coalition - it's been a salient lesson about getting what you wish for.
Mmm. Tories in London copying SNP in Edinburgh, again, all of a sudden.
Have sales dropped in Scotland since the 'new' measure?
No legislation passed yet - so can't answer. But the sales did drop in Australia as I undertand it.
The news today did surprise me as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Spokesperson for Health (sic), Mr Carlaw, tried to [edit] do down the initiative at Holyrood by using evidence from the tobacco and retail industry.
The revolver's been decommissioned and Charlie Kennedy's drunk the whisky.
Otherwise ..........
...and because all the pretenders to the throne would like Clegg to take the full rap for this one.
Indeed, and cheap jibes about Charles Kennedy notwithstanding, Nick Clegg's position is analogous to that of Gordon Brown in 2010 and John Major in 1997 in that by giving the elctorate the chance to kick him personally in the ballot box (so to speak), he gives the Party a chance to rebuild and move on.
How and whether the Party is able to do that is another matter. I do think Clegg will go after the elction whatever happens and while Tim Farron is favourite to take over, it's not a one-horse race. I do wonder whether Tom Brake may be a viable option.
I detect no appetite within the Party for a continuation of Coalition - it's been a salient lesson about getting what you wish for.
Ouch, Mr Stodge.
As a (former?????) LD voter (and sometime Lib activist) I thought Kennedy did a good job, and perchance could still do so!
I do wish, though, that the LD management wouldn't give the impression of marching resolutely and bravely towards the guns, come what may. I know Jo Grimond said that "when in doubt, march towards the sound of gunfire", but this is getting ridiculous.
@dr_spyn I am not sure, but it would have went through anytime this parliament on more or less a nod (there would have been a few dissenting voices of course) Why now? Cameron will say that it was intentional as being an uncontentious issue it could be left to later. By happy coincidence, it also kept the tobacco companies "onside" till it was too late. (the same happy coincedence that avoided proper financial scrutiny of the academies budget)
Cover up breasts, Mohammed, cigarettes, and don't be mean on Twitter or the rozzers might come for you. It's not great for general freedom of expression.
Regarding Wales, you are forgetting about the UKIP factor. In the ITV Wales poll UKIP were on I think 20%. Now bearing in mind that they are weak in areas like Gwynedd and Ceredigion then they must be doing better in other parts of Wales. In the Euros, UKIP topped the poll in Conwy, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Wrexham, Powys and the Vale of Glamorgan (and came a close second in Newport and Pembrokeshire)
I don't expect UKIP to win any seats but they could lead to some surprise results for other parties. One I have been keeping my eye on is Vale of Clwyd. This consists of Rhyl and Prestatyn on the coast and Denbigh and some rural bits inland. Last time Lab had 15k votes to Con's 12.5k. Now Rhyl definitely looks to me like the sort of place where I would expect UKIP to do well. If they hurt Labour more in Rhyl than they do the Tories in the inland wards then maybe Cons could have a surprise gain against the trend.
The SNP's record on Health spending and it's "rationale" for voting on English matters:
Whether or not the New Labour government made a mistake by expanding private provision in the NHS, it did so at the same time as it dramatically increased public funding. As for the alleged link back to Scottish health spending, while total block grants from Whitehall are indeed connected to overall English public service spending, Holyrood has sweeping autonomy over where the money goes. How has this autonomy been used? To institute rather less protection for health within the overall budget than has been provided in England.
The whole argument about health, then, is a flimsy pretext for signalling the SNP’s willingness – eagerness even – to get stuck in to the parliamentary powerplay that will follow the indecisive election that’s now widely predicted for May......
Even if the result is less dramatic, there is every chance that the SNP is about to acquire unprecedented clout over London. This week it has signalled that whatever leverage it can grab, will be deployed ruthlessly
Comments
With Campbell in for Labour and Crosby for Tories, going to a clean fight all the way to May.
Sturgeon's position would parallel that of Redmond after the 1910 election who, had events in Europe not intervened, would almost certainly have secured Home Rule for Ireland.
Government and civil service response so far: muttering about the arrogant military and threatening cuts in defence spending after the election by anything between eight and 40 per cent.
Very worrying.
Scotland and the SNP? A mere flesh wound say Labour HQ.
I really don;t see how this actually works. Say the Scots vote themselves out of austerity. What happens next?
British Muslim Justifies Paris Terrorist Massacre In 20 Min YouTube Rant http://wp.me/p2ymhN-1N1
And this one is a lawyer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30920086
Germany Pegida: Protest leader quits in 'Hitler' row.
9 words that kill Labour stone dead. I have been saying for a while I expect the SNP to poll over 50% in May. And now a poll backs that up. Cuz it's not just the Yes voters, but the No-but-more-devolutioners who can happily enter their tent under that message....
Douglas Carswell speaks but will the MSM listen?
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/politics/market?id=1.101416473
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/politics/market?id=1.101416490
I have now seen the tv pics of PMQ's ...Ed was so comprehensively despatched as though he was insignificant.
http://newstonoone.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/reality-check-testing-betting-markets.html
UKIP's two MPs @DouglasCarswell & @MarkReckless today played a crucial role in ending public wind farm subsidies http://talkcarswell.com/home/the-case-for-wind-is-running-out-of-puff/2823 …
However does that mean Scotland will see a Labour wipe-out, I am far from convinced. I think many of those 45-52% SNP voters will include the usual all mouth and don't vote fraternity. If the SNP can mobilise them as it did during the referendum then Labour is in deep shit. One third of its seats are in the areas which voted YES in September.
They've been ended? With a 10 minute rule bill?? Are you claiming that as of now there are no public subsidies for wind farms?
Reading that blog I'm struggling to work out which party Carswell belongs to.
"Under Green plans, inheritance tax – “to prevent the accumulation of wealth and power by a privileged class” – will no longer just tax the dead."
This is kind of true, but a very odd, or indeed, scurrilous, way of putting it. Green plans are to tax the recipients of any inheritance rather than the person who died. So, if you are dirt poor and Aunty Mabel pops off - you wont be paying any tax on your inheritance.
http://vote-2012.proboards.com/thread/5218/elections-january-22nd-2015?page=1&scrollTo=211112
In case you have been asleep for 40 years Scotland has devolution. Explain how if it now seeks to dictate to the English, never mind the poor helpless Welsh, this helps Scotland with oil at $45?
Now make a modest profit on a Con majority, and a monkey and a half on NOM.
"I'd love to know what the food and drinks bill was for the Chilcot inquiry over all the years it's been operating."
Can we demand our money back? It's either incompetence or deliberate delaying tactics. Who appointed Chilcot? Shoot them both.
It mat be a little over the top, but if the inquiry were run by plebs, they'd have been sacked years ago.
The important thing.. as displayed at PMQ's.... is at least 90% of the the narrative is against Labour, its like King Canute trying to tell the waves to go back...
Otherwise ..........
Probably better sticking to subjects you have a clue about.
I think many who didn't want independence (and still, if push came to shove, don't want it) DO want to be represented at Westminster by a fiercely pro-Scottish party. That's what a vote for the SNP represents.
http://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Daily-Record-Final-Tables.pdf
Central region SNP at 58% !! - this area includes Falkirk, Stirling etc.
Looking at all of the Scottish polling methodologies it appears that only Survation are weighting by Scottish region. However, Panelbase, Ipsos-MORI and YouGov don't weight by region, I think given the uneven dispersion of party support across Scotland, not weighting regionally is potentially a flaw in their methodologies. This might go someway to explaining the wide variation in the results of the polls.
I think Survation are currently looking like the gold standard for Scotland. They picked up SNP surge 6 months before the referendum, whereas most pollsters didn't pick it up until after the ref. I would anticipate they'd be the first to identify any weakening in SNP support.
Since Oaksh*tt does nothing without discussing this with his mate Vince.....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30926973
Fill the war chest, then stab the donors in the back?
;-)
How and whether the Party is able to do that is another matter. I do think Clegg will go after the elction whatever happens and while Tim Farron is favourite to take over, it's not a one-horse race. I do wonder whether Tom Brake may be a viable option.
I detect no appetite within the Party for a continuation of Coalition - it's been a salient lesson about getting what you wish for.
I've backed outsiders Sheffield United in tonight's match against Tottenham. Hoping for a miracle:
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/football/event?id=27342544
Nanny knows best
The news today did surprise me as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Spokesperson for Health (sic), Mr Carlaw, tried to [edit] do down the initiative at Holyrood by using evidence from the tobacco and retail industry.
As a (former?????) LD voter (and sometime Lib activist) I thought Kennedy did a good job, and perchance could still do so!
I do wish, though, that the LD management wouldn't give the impression of marching resolutely and bravely towards the guns, come what may. I know Jo Grimond said that "when in doubt, march towards the sound of gunfire", but this is getting ridiculous.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4016952-0d4a-11e4-bcb2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3PUQVvllv
Not one of the FT's best bits of writing, the stats do look 'interesting'.
I am not sure, but it would have went through anytime this parliament on more or less a nod (there would have been a few dissenting voices of course)
Why now? Cameron will say that it was intentional as being an uncontentious issue it could be left to later.
By happy coincidence, it also kept the tobacco companies "onside" till it was too late.
(the same happy coincedence that avoided proper financial scrutiny of the academies budget)
edit:- free schools, the ONS are not impressed.
Plain packs seems a bit puritanical to me.
Cover up breasts, Mohammed, cigarettes, and don't be mean on Twitter or the rozzers might come for you. It's not great for general freedom of expression.
I don't expect UKIP to win any seats but they could lead to some surprise results for other parties. One I have been keeping my eye on is Vale of Clwyd. This consists of Rhyl and Prestatyn on the coast and Denbigh and some rural bits inland. Last time Lab had 15k votes to Con's 12.5k. Now Rhyl definitely looks to me like the sort of place where I would expect UKIP to do well. If they hurt Labour more in Rhyl than they do the Tories in the inland wards then maybe Cons could have a surprise gain against the trend.
Whether or not the New Labour government made a mistake by expanding private provision in the NHS, it did so at the same time as it dramatically increased public funding. As for the alleged link back to Scottish health spending, while total block grants from Whitehall are indeed connected to overall English public service spending, Holyrood has sweeping autonomy over where the money goes. How has this autonomy been used? To institute rather less protection for health within the overall budget than has been provided in England.
The whole argument about health, then, is a flimsy pretext for signalling the SNP’s willingness – eagerness even – to get stuck in to the parliamentary powerplay that will follow the indecisive election that’s now widely predicted for May......
Even if the result is less dramatic, there is every chance that the SNP is about to acquire unprecedented clout over London. This week it has signalled that whatever leverage it can grab, will be deployed ruthlessly
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/21/guardian-view-snp-westminster-nicola-sturgeon-flexes-muscles