Talk:2011 Scottish Conservatives leadership election

Sunday Times article: "‘Toxic’ Scottish Tory party faces abolition"

Please see Talk:Scottish Conservative Party#Sunday Times article: "‘Toxic’ Scottish Tory party faces abolition" --Mais oui! (talk) 05:32, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

"Voodoo" poll?

This article is actually surprisingly good. Surprising, because most Scottish politics articles on Wikipedia are absolutely dire, so it doesn't take much to shine.

However, I am a bit concerned by the section beginning "A poll conducted by the online website Tory Hoose between". Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tory Hoose looks very much like a blog, and WP:VERIFY snobs tend to have very low opinions of blogs as reliable external sources.

The whole paragraph just screams "Voodoo poll" and I would advise that it is totally removed, or at the very least very heavily qualified. Mais oui! (talk) 15:13, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

I hate to sound repetitive, but blogs are not considered to be reliable external references, so using one as a ref doesn't help matters. In fact, it makes it even worse. Mais oui! (talk) 16:46, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

Apologies, but Tory Hoose appears to be an actual website, see [1], and it is undoubtedly the only place where such a poll will be found. I hope this acts as clarification, but if you still suggest that the section is removed, I will do so.Mwhite148 (talk) 16:52, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

Personally, I quite like these informal polls that newspapers, websites and blogs sometimes run, but it is a grave error to place too much weight on them. Anyone can vote (not just Con members!) and there are very rarely safeguards to prevent multiple votes. Further, the respondents are not properly weighted (gender, age group, socio-economic group etc); and I would strongly suspect that quite a lot of SNP/Lab/LD/Grn activists voted, and you do not have to be a Machiavellian genius to realise that they are unlikely to boost the strongest candidate! Mais oui! (talk) 17:35, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

Times article: "the Union between Scotland and England is in jeopardy if it does not elect Murdo Fraser as its new leader"

• "The stark message from Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Foreign, Defence and Scottish Secretary, comes in a personal endorsement for Mr Fraser made available to The Times. Sir Malcolm says that Mr Fraser’s plan for the Scottish Tories to be replaced by a new centre-right party is “a bold and brave move of the sort that is needed if we are to be successful once again in Scotland and ensure that the Union is saved”... “I believe that his proposals are the right direction for our party. When I first became active in the 1960s we called ourselves Scottish Unionists. The Party organisation was separate from that in England as was the voluntary side of the Party. These were the years when we achieved more than 50 per cent of the Scottish vote and had 20 to 30 MPs in the Commons. The last 30 to 40 years have been painful for the party. A change of name can make sense when there is the rebirth of a party. Sir Walter Scott, John Buchan and Sir Alec Douglas Home were proud to be Scottish Unionists. We must maintain our values and beliefs but never fear to move with the times.”... A firm of bookmakers puts Ms Davidson as the narrow favourite. Stan James quote odds of 11-10 on the 32-year-old MSP, with Mr Fraser, the party’s current deputy leader, at 6-5. Mr Carlaw is quoted at 6-1 with Mrs Mitchell at 10-1."

Angus Macleod Scottish Political Editor September 27 2011
--Mais oui! (talk) 04:17, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

"Murdo Fraser mulls new names to lose 'toxic' Tory tag"

• "Potential names for the Scottish Conservative party include Scotland First, the Scottish Reform Party and even The Caledonians, according to a leaked document. The paper has been drawn up by the deputy leader Murdo Fraser, who has pledged to "detoxify" the Tory brand north of the border. The confidential paper reveals that Murdo Fraser's team has six options for a replacement name if he wins the leadership next month."

Eddie Barnes, Scotland on Sunday, 2 October 2011
--Mais oui! (talk) 06:58, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

Images

This article badly needs images of the four candidates, as it may hinder the article from reaching good-article status. If you are in possession of free images, if you can obtain free images, or if you know where to find free images online, please post the details here or if possible, upload them on the [2].Mwhite148 (talk) 23:26, 21 November 2011 (UTC)