Aaaaand the results are in…
Well, I think I can safely say that the most recent General Election results were… Bittersweet, for me. On the one hand, the SNP dominate the Scottish political landscape in terms of seats won, and with a near 50% vote share aren’t too shabby when it comes down to proportional numbers – compare to the 2010 election where Labour won nearly 70% of seats with just over 40% of the popular vote.
On the other hand, the Conservatives got back into power entirely on their own merit – no need for coalition deals with the Liberal Democrats this time. Nor were the SNP able to assist the Labour party in forming any kind of government – the number of seats lost by Labour to the SNP would still have left them with a considerable gap to fill in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in order to form even a minority government.
Suffice it to say, I’m worried by the shift to the right in UK politics overall – even after five years of austerity under the Conservative/Liberal coalition, and a period of time that has seen more vilification of large corporations and right-wing economic policy, people are flocking towards the Tories. Perhaps it’s because they are seen to be the party of ‘Economic Stability’ – whether this is true or not is worth an entire article unto itself, and I simply lack the energy to tackle that right now.
What is encouraging is that Wales and the North of England have remained left-wing (so far as we can call Labour a left-wing party and not a centralist one), which does show there is still an appetite for socialism throughout the UK. And, of course, Labour still remains the second largest party. I genuinely believe that if they take a long, hard look at themselves and shed the career politicians and the outdated spin models, they can once again represent working people throughout the UK, and become an effective opposition. Also, with the demise of the Liberal Democrats and vast gains at home, the SNP is now the third-largest party in the UK. This entitles us to two questions at Prime Minister’s questions; My hope is that one of these will used to push forward a beneficial agenda for Scotland’s growth, and the other will be used to fight for better conditions for the working class all across the UK.
But, it’s early days yet – It’s certainly not going to be any less interesting, from hereon out.
Right, enough politicising. Back to art for me! Toodlepip folks!
M.
I guess its safe to say that the creature was engineered by some of the same folks who made the temple in the Crush Depth arc. Thou the thing doesn’t hit me as a great guard, tool for war or manual labor slave so I’m guessing it was more of a experiment to satisfy someone’s wanting to play god or fetish for snakes and snake like creatures.