Friday 31 October 2008

SNP Encouraging Gambling for Own Vanity

They may be trying to sort out Scotland's drink culture on one hand. However, on the other the SNP are actively encouraging first timers to take up gambling in a vanity exercise ahead of next Thursday's Glenrothes by election.

You see the SNP have slipped behind Labour as the bookies favourites. Bookies of course are more concerned about losing money than getting the prediction right, one only has to look at the last Westminster by election in Fife, when even as polls closed Labour were favourites with the bookies. Whoops, but ta. No the SNP have actually sent out emails to supporters asking them to "place a tenner" on the result, essential they say because Labour supporters around the country are placing bets to make their party appear to be favourites. One email says:

"If you have no previous experience of going into a betting shop then don't
worry - they are most helpful. The young woman who placed this bet had never
ever been in a betting shop in her life before and just went up to the desk and
asked for help."

So clearly the SNP only care about the welfare of Scottish citizens when it doesn't impinge upon their own vanity. It also must be show some concern they have over their message, they tried similarly in Dunfermline and West Fife to say on the day of polling that they were the favourites to overtake Labour. They always want to appear to be the big boys (and girls) at Westminster times when of course they only have 7 MPs or 1.08% of the House of Commons.

3 comments:

  1. I would appeal to all SNP activists not to do this. Let Labour pump the odds in their favour - we stand to make more money out of it!

    What's the betting the Lib Dems will hold their deposit?

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  2. From my own experience, I doubt this is true and I think it's a Labour spin operation following the Guido Fawkes analysis that the SNP are ahead in the bookies race.

    Below is the last email communication I received from the SNP campaign (I'm a party member in the constituency). I've received no encouragement to place a bet or anything like that. I may be a party member but my loyalty is not unconditional - encouraging gambling is wrong.

    "With just seven days to go until Glenrothes goes to the polls, I amasking that you make every effort to help with our campaign in the constituency. The sheer number of our members helping in Glasgow East delivered a historic result for the SNP. We're stepping up our campaigning with a final push to contact switchers and we have special leaflets to deliver to target voters from tomorrow(Friday). I'll be here every day between now and polling day to play my part. Saturday and Sunday campaigning are critical to our success. For their part, Labour's not giving up Glenrothes without a fight.They've got a big push on too... Labour MP's have been ordered to Glenrothes and told to cancel engagements for the next week... Labour activists are being bused in from the midlands and north of England... Please join me and play your part in securing another by-election victory for the SNP. I look forward to seeing you all here. Thank you! Alex"

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  3. I've spent a little while browsing for "mediawatch2000".

    My 20 minutes of research has led me to some content from Alan Clayton, posting on Ian Hamilton's blog. It was nationalist in leaning, but it hardly makes it the SNP (formally). And even if it were, what's the problem

    It looks like the press coverage is quite disproportionate to an effort from one or two "enthusiastic" nationalists. Not quite as disproportionate as the coverage Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross got last week, though.

    ReplyDelete