Ep.90: Scottish elections review (and some English stuff too) with John McTernan

Dunn Street founder Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Director for Political Operations in the Blair Government, and Director of Communications for the Gillard Government, John McTernan.John discusses last week’s Holyrood elections in Scotland, where Labour had its worst-ever result with 22 seats, and the lowest share of the vote in both Constituency & List votes. John analyses the lingering fixation on Scottish independence and how it shaped the election, the challenge facing Labour’s new leader Anas Sarwar and the broad implications for UK Labour electoral fortunes. He also discusses the voting population’s move away from traditional values-driven Party loyalty and the attraction towards populist leadership in Britain.And for further reference, read Tony Blair’s piece in the New Statesman, which Stephen mentions in the show: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2021/05/tony-blair-without-total-change-labour-will-die The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.auSupport the showSocially Democratic is an opinion-based political and campaign podcast that facilitates discussion on a range of topical issues. The opinions of guests are not an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at Dunn Street and Socially Democratic.Access ad-free episodes and send in questions by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SociallyDemocraticIf you like the show, rate and review us on your favourite podcast app.Follow Us on Socials:Facebook (https://tr.ee/9jGIOy)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sociallydemocratic)LinkedIn (https://tr.ee/YxyYJh)X (https://x.com/SocialDemPod)YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DunnStreet)The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au