It is a testament to just how anonymous the Lib Dems are that when I was talking about Tavish Scott becoming leader this week, that the person I was talking to thought he had taken over from Nick Clegg in the Commons.Just for the record Tavish has become leader of the Lib Dems in the Scottish Parliament, not Westminster, taking over from that bloke you can't quite remember...apart from the fact that you think he may have had two first names. [And that is as memorable a fact as you will find amongst Lib Dem politicians - except for perhaps that one who was in the Olympics last century, the one who had a drinking problem but was still the best leader they could have hoped for under the circumstances, the one that dated a cheeky girl (but doesn't anymore) and that one who danced with...

There is a famous Aesop's fable called 'The dog and the bone'.A dog walks along a river with a bone in his mouth. On seeing his reflection he believes it to be another dog with a juicier bone and so drops his own one to get it. However at that point his own bone falls into the river and he ends up with nothing. The moral is of course that people should beware of greed and wanting more for fear of losing that which they already have.As Tavish Scott takes over as the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats he would do well to bear this story in mind because it neatly sums up the conundrum facing the Lib Dems in Holyrood.In recent years the Lib Dems have had mixed (and largely declining) fortunes. For a while they were on the up; across the UK they stood out as the main party to oppose...

Series: Reflections on Glasgow EastTOCThe Labour and Liberal Democrat dimensionsThe SNP dimension To the extent that the SNP’s current electoral popularity is due to pro-SNP (rather than anti-Labour) effects, it must be remembered that there is much more than independence at play. Does an SNP success in an election mean that Scotland has suddenly converted to the cause of independence? Of course not. Firstly, support for independence is pretty low at the moment. According to the 2007 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey (which I believe asks a question about independence every year), support for independence (PDF link) was lower than it had been since May 1997. Asked to choose between independence, devolution or getting rid of the Scottish Parliament altogether, just 23%...

Now that there has been some time to allow the result of the Glasgow East by-election, I feel like posting some thoughts that are less drunken and kneejerk than my previous post. Originally this was going to be one post, but I ended up blabbing for almost 3,000 words so I have split this into three separate posts which will appear one-by-one over the coming days. First of all, I’ve spotted a few people south of the border wondering about the impact of the result on the union. For instance, Jennie at The Yorkeshire Gob, Jonathan Calder at Liberal England. I might be on my own here, but my impression is that people in Scotland simply are not asking that same question. I must say that, as far as I can see it, the Glasgow East by-election result could hardly mean less for the union....

What a week to leave Scotland. First Wendy goes. Then David Marshall resigns (more of that later). Now Nicol Stephen is doing what many people called for earlier this year: resign so that Tavish Scott can formally become Leader.It's been the worst kept secret of Scottish politics that Tavish Scott has been the de facto Leader since the Scottish elections. We've had the decent period of time from being booted out of office to the point where 'spending more time with the family' is appropriate.Meanwhile, Labour's woes just get worse. It's all a bit odd that Labour can leave John McDougall on his sick bed for months for fear of a by-election defeat in Glenrothes but can risk a bigger defeat in Glasgow East. Well, looks like the truth behind Mr Marshall's ill-health is the worry caused by his...

As I alluded to earlier I had no qualms in supporting and voting for Nicol Stephen as party leader back in 2005. I've notices that some of my fellow Lib Dems in Scotland and further afield have given their view on him and their opinions and memories of his leadership. So now I've had a little more time to cogitate I'd thought I'd write up some of my personal memories of the man. The first time...

I'll admit last night the news that Nicol Stephen had stepped down as leader of the Scottish Lib Dems still leaves me stunned. Most of the recent leadership changes had not been out of the blue like this one. Jim Wallace had led a decent campaign into the 2005 General Election but felt it was time to go, Charles was a long drawn out affair which came to a head like a raging bull even though...

Now I should say from the outset, before I get a deluge of angry emails, that I'm not saying this will or should happen. It's just something that occurred to me there.The SNP are rightly agreed to have performed well in government so far, not least from their position as a minority party. They have got all their major legislation and other plans through and are obviously looking to build on that in the future.First Minister Alex Salmond is on the record as saying when he became leader of the biggest party in the Scottish Parliament that his preference was to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, an approach that was obviously rejected. And over the past year there has been a clear friction and dislike between Salmond and Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen.However following...

As far as I know, every single day hundreds and indeed thousands of people will leave their jobs and move on to something else. It's not something unusual and just part of life.I imagine that sometimes the impact of this can be different, whether it's someone who does a few hours each week in a pub who has planned a move to a job with a bit more pay through to the person who storms out after having an argument with their boss.But either way we can all surely agree that people leave and life goes on? Except apparently not in politics.I somehow managed to avoid any news outlets yesterday and so only found out this morning that Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen had quit. He has cited the amount of time spent away from his family as his reason behind this.No doubts there will be...

Breaking news tonight is the resignation of Nicol Stephen as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland; the second major party leader to resign North of the Border in just a week.He has apparently resigned because of the strain it has had on his family; no problem with that after all Alan Milburn did the same.However, I am rather curious about the timing. After the disasterous result in Henley, this resignation could put more pressure on Clegg and will provide a distraction from Labour's woes. It also means the party will fight the Glasgow by-election, along with Labour, leaderless.Could he not have hung on a few weeks more, even until the end of July or resign after the summer recess? It is just the worst time to go; so why go now?An odd decision, but either way I wish Nicol...

Last night I promised another blogger a considered response on Nicol Stephen's performance at Stephen's performance in First Minister's Questions yesterday. So I watched the full replay on BBC Parliament last night to see what all the brouhaha was about. Before Nicol even got to ask his question is most be noted that like a true economist Alex Salmond laid out a few assumptions. "Assuming...

Hat tip to Dundee's finest Cllr Fraser Macpherson for setting me off on this treasure trove. First off Spot Kenny MacAskill and Alex Salmond below. Now spot the people trusted the other day with transporting young offenders from court to custody. What do you mean you don't see a Reliance Van above? I'm sure Nicol Stephen is sure that Alex and Kenny know the difference....

A busy week so far with helping out in the Kilsyth Ward by-election yesterday being the peak of it so far. Claire Fyvie was an excellent candidate in a hard Labour seat but she still managed a swing of 2% to the SNP from Labour.Kilsyth Ward 1 (North Lanarkshire Council) - Lab Hold. 31st January 2008.Lab 1855 - 62.95% (-1.33%)SNP 891 - 30.23% (+2.44%)GRN 66 - 2.24% (+2.24%)CON 50 - 1.7% (-3.18%)SSP 48 - 1.63% (-1.42%)L/D 17 - 0.58% (+ 0.58%)Not a good result for the Lib Dems if even the dormant SSP can beat them.However, yesterday's news was most definitely focused on Nicol Stephen's question at FMQs over claims by a plastic surgeon that patients are being removed from waiting lists to hide the true numbers who need treatment. The Herald's Ian Bell wrote about it in his parliamentary...

Oh people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. After hearing the sanctimonious Nicol Stephen wage a witch hunt at Alex Salmond over Trump's golf resort plans, lo and behold allegations are flowing that Mr Stephen and his cronies were at it over the Aberdeen by-pass route. Nuff said, for now, but I can't help thinking this isn't the end of this story....

So after all the accusations and brouhaha from Nicol Stephen and other opposition MSPs, the Local Government and Communities Committee summoned the First Minister before it to get to the bottom of the Trumpton planning application. The end result being the biggest damp squib of the last seven months.For once, common sense seems to have prevailed. In many ways the Committee inquiry has been helpful if only to scrutinise the process and show how daft the accusations were in the first place. Of course, whether the Trumpton development is ever going to be built and whether it will have any real long-term sustainable impact is for another day. In the meantime, it's a portion of humble pie for the Aberdeen South MSP....

Other than going through his paces at the Local Government and Communities Committee, the First Minister has finally shot the foxy Nicol Stephen over the Trump affair. In what was a very negative exchange, Alex got his revenge for the 'smell of sleaze' taunt made by Lib Dem leader. Mr Stephen's undoing has been the business and media onslaught against him in the North East where he is nursing a much-reduced majority of 2000 or so against Maureen Watt, the Schools Minister. Another nail in the Lib Dem leader's coffin......

The Liberal Democrats are pretty much the only political party I would consider voting for (well, I voted for everyone by Labour in the local elections in May because I was feeling particularly anti-Labour at the time, but you know what I mean). So the change in leadership is of interest to me. In years gone by I would have described myself as a supporter of the Lib Dems. I guess I still am. But I’ve not been quite as enthused over the past year or so. I’m not exactly sure what this is down to. Menzies Campbell’s time as leader of the federal party? Nicol Stephen’s rather rudderless leadership of the Scottish Lib Dems? My increasingly apathetic stance towards party politics? A bit of all three I guess. It will be interesting to see if Nick Clegg can get me to sit...

So Nick Clegg is the new Lib Dem leader on a wafer thin majority of 1.2% of the total vote, which makes for a very divided party. I would have sided with Chris Huhne if I was a Lib Dem (so would have the majority of Lib Dem MSPs) but the Scottish Lib Dem MPs went with Clegg.So where do they go from here? Well he could give some tips to Nicol Stephen on how to get his leadership back on track. The slinging-mud-at-Alex-over-Trumptown has come off the rails and left his personal rating within the North East at an all-time low....

Before I post the rest of this I'd like to point out two things. 1. In most committees should a vote be tied the Chairman's casting vote is normally cast to maintain the status quo and not to effect change. 2. Also local representatives on planning committess have always been left free to vote as they see fit on each local decision, and any hint of bullying or bribing a decision is usually...

When a local councillor is under fire because she tried to close 22 local schools in one fell swoop but failed, what’s the obvious thing to do? Attack the party leader, of course. A senior Liberal Democrat councillor has called on Scottish party leader Nicol Stephen to "raise his game" within the next 12 months or consider resigning. Edinburgh education convener Marilyne MacLaren said...

…for the time being? According to the BBC, the Liberal Democrats are refusing to go into coalition with the SNP for the time being. The stumbling block is, of course, the independence referendum. I am quite surprised. As the campaign went along, both the Lib Dems and the SNP seemed to be leaving wriggle room for compromise. To suddenly shut the door on a deal is surprising. This is the second time in less than twelve hours that the Lib Dems have ruled out a coalition deal. Tavish Scott was on The Politics Show this afternoon and when he was asked if a coalition deal with Labour was on the cards he said confidently and without hesitation, “No.” Perhaps the Lib Dems have figured that they have nothing to gain from making another coalition deal. They are getting a bad...

Apparently the Aberdeen Liberal Democrat council administration have told all their traffic wardens not to give Nicol Stephen's election battle bus a ticket. Nicol Stephen is the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Aberdeen. A disgruntled traffic warden who did not want to be named said:"We were told to try to keep away from it because we could get involved in a controversial situation, but...

When Nicol Stephen emerged as a front-runner to become the Scottish Lib Dem leader after Jim Wallace stood down, I joked (two years ago, blimey!) that it might raise awareness of how to spell my name, Stephen. Common variations include: Steven, Stephens, Stevens, Stephenson and Stevenson. None of which, you might notice, are correct. Worse still, because my first name is Duncan, I get plenty of people who think my name is Stephen Duncan. Might as well just call me Buttsecks and be done with it. Unfortunately, even if you are the leader of a major political party in Scotland, still many people can’t get your name right. *sigh* Via SNP Tactical Voting....

Aah, the reality check. How much is a pint of milk? Who’s murdered who in EastEnders? Who’s at number one in the singles chart? A politician’s career could hang on the balance of a question like this. If you get it wrong, you are deemed to be out of touch. BBC News Online reports on how the main party leaders in Scotland coped with this grilling. But how many normal people could actually answer a question like this? I certainly could never tell you who had won the Grand National. That’s not because I’m out of touch. It’s just because I’m not a gambler and I’m not interested in horse racing. Annabel Goldie might have been pleased to get Nicol Stephen’s question right. But, combined with the fact that she knew who is top of the SPL (a...

The Lib Dems in Scotland are regarded by few as a party of principle, even amongst their own members. What gets them out of bed in the morning? A passionate desire to... support liberal democracy (as if others don't!)... provide woolly sandals for all?... support all good things because they are good and oppose all bad things because they are bad?... change the voting system from the d'Hondt...

This from today's Herald in Scotland: The Liberal Democrats yesterday promised a major onslaught on red tape, but opponents were quick to ask why party leader Nicol Stephen had not done this already as Deputy First Minister in charge of the enterprise portfolio. Mr Stephen said that if he won power after May he would move towards a system where regulation was linked to risk…. "One of the...

It seems that Nicol Stephen, leader of the Lib Dems in Scotland, is at the centre of a developing political row over his expenses. It has been revealed that claimed £7.49 of taxpayers' money - to buy a map of his Aberdeen South constituency. He also claimed for public money for buying camera equipment and £769 in petrol for his family. A spokesman for Mr Stephen said: "This sum covers six...