Nicol Stephen Stepping Down from Holyrood

The one headline for literature I always had up my sleeve following the election of the Aberdeen South MSP to be Scottish Lib Dem leader was:

Stephen Backs Stephen

Nicol Stephen was the person I had backed in that particular leadership election to replace Jim Wallace in 2005. He was young, vibrant, environmentally aware and prepared I thought to lead our party in Scotland for a long time.

In the end it proved to be only for 3 years before pressures, and we all assume outside pressures, led to his stepping down from his role of leadership. That I felt was a shame and as I blogged at the time was a great regret. He had done a lot to move the party on in those far too few short years and I do regret somehow losing that internal momentum a little when he chose to step down, just at the kick off of the Glasgow East by election.

During the 2005 by election in Livingston when I was missing my usual birthday politics at conference with birthday politics on the doorstep he ended up being present at what ended up being dinned on my Birthday. Which is one of those moments that occasionally makes campaigning worthwhile.

However, as he is stepping down next May I wish him, Caris and the four children all the best as they will see more of their father and husband now and he more of them. Also after 12 years as their MSP I hope that the people of Aberdeen South have an equally competent Liberal Democrat MSP after the elections in May to take their interests forward.

Fe Fi Fo Fum Labour Feel the Breath of the Lib Dems Now

The latest opinions polls do not make good reading for Labour. The one in the Independent on Sunday in particular with the Conservatives on 38%, Labour 23% and the Lib Dems just behind them on 22%. So the Lib Dems are right behind Labour on share of the vote.

However, while the share may have us equal the seat share shows the ridiculous nature of our electoral system. According to Electoral Calculus returns for that vote share 358 Conservatives, 198 Labour and 68 Lib Dems. One percentage point should not equate to 130 MPs and almost three times as many. That clearly shows how Lib Dem votes are not fairly accounted for in the current First Past the Post Voting System.

Just as a little experiment I decided to keep the Tories in 38% an swap share from Labour to the Lib Dems find out the level of parity. The result is that it only happens at Lib Dems 28% (120 seats) Labour 17% (118) a full 12% swing still required to get parity in seats from being right behind Labour in share of vote. It would apparently give the Tories a 108 seat majority but with the vote shares reversed the Tories would have a 14 seat majority Con 332, Lab 242, Lib Dem 45.

Is it any wonder that have to work so much harder to get any vote than the other parties seem to have too. It's because that vote on the national scale is not quite the same value.

On a plus side for us North of the Border Electoral Calculus on the current figures gives Edinburgh South, Edinburgh North and Leith, Aberdeen South and Glasgow North to the Lib Dems. The Tories will on these figures make gains in Scotland just don't believe them south of the Meadows.

Vicki Harris Tragic Loss

Vicki Harris who had been, before illness forced her to step aside, reselected to challenge for the Lib Dems for the key marginal of Aberdeen South has died as a result of skin cancer at the age of 41.

Days earlier she by her bedside she had married long term partner Mark Law. It was the second time she had faced this condition the first time two years ago she hadn't told her colleagues about, but on its return the cancer had spread to other parts of the body within a matter of weeks.

Originally from London she had worked for International Development charities before she had run Nicol Stephen's constituency office. In the last West Minister general election had cut the Labour majority to 1,348. The former party leader said:

"Vicki's death came as a big shock to everyone.

"It is devastating to lose someone who has been such a close friend and
colleague at such a young age. "

She had been a tireless campaigner at it was only when she was recently admitted to hospital that any of us really knew how serious her condition was. Her widower Mark Law sums her up in his statement:

"Vicki was committed to ensuring local people had their voices heard on the
issues they care about.

"This passion shone through her professional life, from a visit to South
Africa during the historic elections of 1994 to her most recent campaigns in
Aberdeen."

Like Kerryn McCann earlier this month it is once again sobering when someone from my sphere of experiences and of roughly the same age as succumbs to cancer in this way.