What a lot of bloggers!

On Any Questions? tonight, Tory MP Douglas Carswell said that if all MPs (and MSPs) blogged, they would not need to cosy up to the likes of Rupert Murdoch. Interesting thought.

What do the Libdems actually stand for?

Willie Rennie is beginning to sound like a one-issue politician, that issue being gay marriage. Not that he could really say anything at FMQs about the local elections after his party got trounced. Is there a connection between the poor performance of the Libdems at the polls and their vocal support of same-sex marriage? Certainly, being champions of gay marriage has not helped boost their popularity and so Calton wonders why Willie keeps harping on about it. Surely there are lots of other things more relevant to the general population in this time of economic uncertainty and hardship? The Libdems are looking increasingly irrelevant and out of touch, not helped by their leader's obsession with minor issues. Does anyone know what they actually stand for these days? Calton does his best to keep up with the political scene in Scotland but would struggle to name a Libdem policy apart from legalising marriage for homosexuals. It seems they really do have a political death wish.

Only joking!

Calton was just joking yesterday when he floated the idea of a Labour/Conservative coalition in Fife however it turns out that truth is stranger than fiction. It has not yet been decided who will run Fife but Aberdeen City, East Lothian and Stirling are all now in the hands of just such a coalition. Hard to envisage when Ed Milliband is going at David Cameron hammer and tongs over the Queen's Speech but there we are. Calton wonders if this new-found cooperation between the two largest unionist parties will extend to Holyrood? That might put the brakes on Alex's plans. One thing is clear - the Libdems have had it. So far, with nearly half the councils declared, they have only managed to get into power in one - Highland - as part of a 3-party coalition. There's just no way you can spin that as anything other than a wipeout. Looks like Scotland is back to three-party politics.

Bye bye Libdems - hello Labour!

So, Labour has replaced the Libdems as the SNP's partner in the Capital, although the Libdems have managed to hang onto power in a 3-way coalition in Highland Council, in spite of losing a councillor just days after the election! An SNP-Libdem partnership in Fife would give them a majority of one, provided none of the Libdems do an Isabelle Campbell, however, at time of writing, nothing has been announced. (It is just possible that Labour will hold their noses and get into bed with the Tories in Fife or else persuade the independents to come onside.) Elsewhere, adding to the embarrassment of being pipped by a penguin in Edinburgh, the Libdems were also beaten by the Scottish Christian Party in two Glasgow wards, indicating that Glaswegians are perhaps more conservative than politicians give them credit for.

Bye bye Merkozy

Alex Salmond must be breathing a huge sigh of relief that the fallout from the French and Greek election results has replaced his relationship with Murdoch as top news and fallout it is, as Merkel comes out all guns blazing over the suggestion by Hollande that the Merkozy austerity deal might be up for renegotiation. At least we are all spared the problem of trying to combine Merkel and Hollande into a single snappy name. Merkande sounds like something from Arabian Nights and Hollkel is too close to hell for comfort, although it might be the way the Eurozone is heading. The Greeks are revolting, France has said 'non' to cuts, the Dutch coalition recently collapsed over the issue before a deal could be agreed, Spain is in big trouble and Merkel is channeling Margaret Thatcher 'the lady's not for turning'. And our First Minister wants to join this lot? Nein danke!

France, Greece and Fife

There's an old adage that says when you are in a hole, stop digging. Similarly, when in debt, stop borrowing. That message has not got through to the voters of France and Greece. They have, fairly predictably, voted against austerity. In the same way, the voters in Fife have punished the previous SNP/Libdem coalition for council cuts by swinging to Labour - the party of spend. Never mind where the money is going to come from. It just goes to show that, although democracy is probably the best political system we have, voters will ultimately vote in their own self-interest, which is not necessarily the country's interest. Looks like the Eurozone is in for some stormy times.

Pipped by a penguin

A month ago, Liberal Sellout asked Edinburgh Libdems if they wanted to die. Looks like the answer was yes, although they probably did not imagine even in their wildest nightmares being beaten by a penguin! Calton doubts whether they will ever live that down. Meanwhile, Labour has managed to hold on to Glasgow and has had a resurgence in its traditional stronghold of Fife. After flirting with first the Libdems and then the SNP, Fifers have gone back to Labour, making Jim Leishman a happy man. It's going to be spend, spend, spend over the water unless the SNP do a deal with the few remaining Libdem councillors in Fife. In the capital there's all to play for with the Green Party's six councillors holding a strong hand as the talks begin. That's three more than the Libdems!

Free tuition - costing us dear

Calton has already highlighted the ridiculous situation whereby EU students can benefit from free tuition in Scotland whereas English students can't. Now we have Northern Irish students applying for Republic of Ireland passports to try and benefit from the same loophole. Something has got to be done about this crazy anomaly before it bankrupts us.

Alex - maybe Rupert's just not that into you

It's just as well they call it First Minister's Questions because the opposition leaders certainly weren't getting any answers today when it came to whether or not the First Minister's phone had been hacked. Ruth Davidson suggested that if it wasn't, it was maybe because Rupert had Alex on speed-dial. Calton thinks it far more likely that Murdoch wasn't interested in Salmond's phone conversations. The SNP leader's friendships with the rich and powerful are looking more and more one-sided and Alex is looking more and more like a pathetic lap-dog, in spite of his attempts yesterday to be an attack dog. It will be extremely embarrassing for him if it turns out that News Corp were more interested in his aide, Joan McAlpine, than him.

Alex attacks hypocrisy

Alex Salmond has obviously decided that attack is the best form of defence and so Labour MP Tom Watson has copped it after daring to suggest that there should be a separate Scottish hacking enquiry. Now, normally the leader of the SNP would be all for Scotland doing things independently of England, however in this case he is happy to stick with a UK-wide enquiry ie Leveson. This strikes Calton as being monumentally two-faced. In the First Minister's own words, "the more they attack, the more people will recognise their hypocrisy for what it is".