I'd thought about keeping Westminster for the English parliament because of the historical associations, but "New Westminster" being somewhere further North, perhaps geographically equidistant from the four capitals (it can't be at the geographical center North / South as that's just outside of Lockerbie in Scotland).

It might help bring some prosperity north.

On the other hand, perhaps a complete break might be better.

The SNP were on fire tonight, Farage was smashed into the dirt by the ladies and Ed...god bless him, he tried, but the show was not being run by him.
I tell you, if I were north of the border, my vote would definitely be heading towards the SNP, such a strong performance not seen in a very long time.

Ed's utter refusal to entertain an SNP alliance is odd though, I think that behind the scenes he's probably either already negotiating one...or perhaps, he's putting in bids for what'll be left of the Lib Dems. Not sure that'll be enough though.

There's one more debate to be had in a couple of weeks and that's a BBC Question Time panel with Clegg, Milliband and Cameron, that will be interesting to see.

And an interesting aside for the night. Part way through the debate I made a tweet which stated that I wished I lived in Scotland so I could vote SNP, because Sturgeon was on fire and that tweet has since been retweeted nearly a hundred times and favourited over fifty. I opposed the break-up of the Union, and I still do, but the SNP has done a fantastic job in the debates, as have Plaid Cymru that I feel that it would be unfair for them not to be rewarded.

As it stands, I must admit, my voting choice has wavered a bit from Labour towards Green...I'm going to have to do some soul searching about Trident I think... :hmmm:

Well, the SNP have been doing quite a good job in Holyrood (also, Holyrood is more congenial, I think, to working with other parties) and now that the referendum has given an answer it's possible to vote for them without worrying about a break-up. Sturgeon is rather good.

Ed, I think, has to look like he's defending Labour's candidates in Scotland so cannot really say out loud "alright, we'll work with you": plus we've seen the papers and articles where "SNP MPs should not get to vote", "The Thames will run red with blood if the SNP prop up Labour", etc., so I would guess (just a guess) that he's a bit worried about a back-lash in England. Your tweet (and several others) makes me think that this might be a worry he can ignore.

Interesting times, though. If I lived in England I would not know who to vote for.

If the snp do very well in scotland which im sure they will, it wont be long before they push for another referendum. This is definately a danger for the uk as a whole especially if they have ed by the delicates.

I'm a Labour Party member and I'm not 100% sure :doh:

:)

I have just read the Tory manifesto and I can confirm I am NOT voting for them.

Need a break after reading that.....

Next Labour

Well, don't forget that the SNP (as do most Scottish politicians and UK constitutional lawyers) believe in (and respect) the idea of Scottish sovereignty, so they have the right to have a referendum (and a duty to hold one if asked or supported by a majority) but also the duty to obey the result. I suspect that the result of another referendum would still be roughly the same, although recent polls show a slight increase in a Yes outcome.

For the SNP I think that this could be a very difficult time - improving the way the UK operates might detract from support for independence but increase their own support: they could well end up in a trap, not of anyone's deliberate making, as it were. A possible salvation (from an independence outlook) would be a hostile reaction of the other UK parties to the SNP, driving public opinion against the UK, or UK opinion against Scotland - somewhat paradoxically, the Unionist supporting parties should really do their best to work with and embrace the SNP as much as possible, defusing them that way, but seeing their (the Unionists') recent incompetence and inability to take a strategic, long-term view, the current reaction of the press and the parties...well, what more can I say?

The IndyRef, this election and Holyrood's election next year, have made this a very intersting period. Holyrood, in particular, could be interesting in 2016 if all those Labour politicians lose their seats: there will be 80-odd people looking for 16 list positions in Holyrood. The back-stabbing and manoeuvering will be fascinating to watch. I would not be surprised to see a genuinely Scottish Labour party emerge, and possibly a similar Scottish Tory one (as per Mr Fraser's suggestion a few years ago) - both the current ones are "accounting units" (Electoral Commission term) of the UK parties and cannot have their own manifestos, etc., even though they 'launch' them.

Just finished watching the opposition debate and well what can I say. The women had their claws out, Ed was weak and Nigel had a pop at the audience. More life in that debate but the dark side came out to play in the women.

Nigel enters the den again on the BBC with a special show and the three leaders will be on question time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32360958

It took me a while to change my mind about Trident - it was a military chap who did it for me in the end, pointing out that the money could be better spent elsewhere (on other, usable, military equipment, rather than Trident). I found that argument more persuasive than any anti-nuke feelings. I stongly suspect that battlefield nukes are a far better deterrent than Trident or no nukes at all: however, that's just a gut feeling. Before anyone flares up about that, I said "deterrent". :D

I don't watch the debates, but I take a great interest in the reactions to them and try to see if that tells me anything at all. At least in this election, the smaller parties being seen and heard. What is disgraceful is the lack of representation from Northern Ireland: it's either the UK or it's not, surely? Also, where were the Co-Operative party? There are 32 of them in Westminster, including Ed Balls.

19 days to go

http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...p0=0&year=2015

This one is better.
http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...he+world&csz=1

Just had Labour come around bashing the hell out of my door! :hulk:

Asking me am I voting, too which I asked what today?

Not the right way to get my vote. :arrgh!:

I see no issue with that but..

2010 general election results Northern Ireland
DUP 8 seats
SF 5 seats
SDLP 3 seats
Alliance 1 seat
Others 1 seat
UUP 0 seats

I think the elephant in the room would be Sinn Fein and probably would be regarded as more of a issue than UKIP. I maybe wrong but who can tell.