IT’S election day and everybody is keen for some astute political analysis.
With news from “party sources” abundant as the rumour mill goes into overdrive, there are bound to be more than a few anonymous bad calls before all the votes are counted.
On a confusing and hectic news day, people may turn to the national broadcaster for some cold hard facts.
Unfortunately, it would seem that Scottish politics isn’t the BBC’s strong suit (who could have guessed).
READ MORE: Scotland reacts as Hartlepool goes Conservative: 'We need a lifeboat'
Lewis Goodall, the policy editor of the BBC's Newsnight, had some news for followers of the BBC’s live politics blog.
As highlighted by journalist James McEnaney on Twitter, Goodall seems to have some crossed wires when it comes to Scottish constituencies.
Peerless politics coverage from the BBC 🤦 pic.twitter.com/ZO3RAhCQBR
— James McEnaney (@MrMcEnaney) May 7, 2021
Under a large “analysis” graphic, Goodall wrote: “I have compiled a list of seats held by Labour cabinet ministers during Tony Blair's first Labour government - and who holds them in 2021.
“The list is striking.
“It includes Tony Blair's old constituency, Sedgefield, which is now held by the Tories, Gordon's Brown's Kirkcaldy seat which is now under SNP control and of course Hartlepool, which was held by Lord Mandelson for 12 years from 1992 and has now turned blue.
“Here's the lowdown:
- Sedgefield - Conservative
- Kirkcaldy - SNP
- Edinburgh South West - SNP
- Copeland - Conservative
- Ashfield - Conservative
- Darlington - Conservative
- Redcar - Conservative
- Hartlepool - Conservative
- Airdrie and Shotts - Conservative
- Edinburgh East - Conservative”
Where to begin?
Firstly, “Gordon's Brown's Kirkcaldy seat … is now under SNP control”.
This was not true at the 2019 General Election and it is not true now. It was true for a year, from March 2020 until March 2021.
READ MORE: SNP ‘confident’ as voting ends but questions remain over second votes
Neale Hanvey, the MP for the area, was suspended from the SNP for antisemitism in November 2019, meaning he was technically elected as an independent.
His suspension was lifted in March 2020, before he defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba Party in March 2021. This means Alba now hold Gordon Brown's old seat.
Secondly, “Airdrie and Shotts - Conservative”.
The Airdrie and Shotts constituency has not voted for the Tories since it was created in 1997. A former Labour stronghold, it was taken by the SNP’s Neil Gray in 2015.
Gray has since stood down as an MP in order to run for Holyrood. There is a pending by-election in the area to see which party will take control, with either the SNP or Labour most likely to win.
Thirdly, “Edinburgh East - Conservative”.
This seat belongs to the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard and has done since 2015.
The constituency has existed in one form or another since at least the late 1800s, and has never turned Tory blue.
We’re not sure where Goodall was getting his information from, but we’ve asked him.
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