Stuart Dunlop

And happy new year to you too @holland_tom @dcsandbrook

@DPJHodges Just unnecessary conjecture unless you have a benchmark in a previous year at this exact time that you’re comparing it to

@srdunlop "So it's very, very early"...

So it's very, very early. And it's not really a representative state (although there was some brief nonsense about it being in play for Harris). And we don't know anything about switching, gender, etc. But in Florida, where we have actual numbers, Republican turn out is high.

@mairifaeinsch @theSNP @JohnSwinney @scotgov Ok, you don’t have any children or grandchildren in nursery then paying crippling fees in the here and now, rather than students who would repay loans over the life of their career. If we were to be independent, we’d have neither without a crippling deficit to accompany them.

@srdunlop @theSNP @JohnSwinney If zi had to choose between a government providing free university fees, and free nursery for 2 year olds, I’d go for the uni fees. @scotgov can’t mitigate everything, Maybe when we’re independent we can have both.

📺 Watch our Party Election Broadcast. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @JohnSwinney: “When you get up on the morning of the 4th July, I’m asking you to vote to put Scotland’s interests first.” 🗳️ Together, let’s build a future made in Scotland.

@mairifaeinsch @TheTruthSword @theSNP @JohnSwinney In England, right now, all two year olds with working parents are eligible for 15 hours, that’s £100s more support than parents in Scotland get for a child of the same age.

@srdunlop @TheTruthSword @theSNP @JohnSwinney Most two year olds are not eligible at the moment - only eligible if parents are on benefits.

@KennyFarq The childcare thing is infuriating. Scotland is miles behind England - kids from 9 months eligible down south from September, not until the term after their third birthday up here. It’s going to cost families thousands more in fees in Scotland - £11,000 more for my twins’ fees.

Ten minutes in and Swinney has already pressed many of his big buttons : Brexit, child payment; indyref2; childcare.

@TheTruthSword @theSNP @JohnSwinney The scheme in England is more expansive than in Scotland and set to get more so. Living in Scotland will cost my family £11,000 more in childcare fees than we would incur in England. That’s the reality of it.

@FrankJohn1964 @theSNP @JohnSwinney Scottish resident, Scottish taxpayer, parent to children living in Scotland.

@srdunlop @theSNP @JohnSwinney NI? Ye got yer SASH on, ya fecking numpty.

@HannahB4LiviMP talking about the savings expanding childcare is offering families in Scotland, infuriating when the policy in England is much more expansive. Living in Scotland rather than England will cost my family £11,000 in extra childcare costs, and we pay more tax too.

@robfordmancs Not a million miles from one of the more bizarre Corbyn takes…

Tl;dr: Package anything in a sharp suit and/or a set of reassuring dull adjectives and jargon, and a certain set of pundits will go "Ooooo centrist/technocrat/Blairite".

This is the classic "vibes over analysis" problem with many pundits - they go off appearance and background, rather than behaviour and outcomes. Therefore Sunak is a "centrist technocrat" because he sounds like a posh nerd, rather than right wing (policies he pursues) and lacking in competence (outcomes he achieves)

@BigC1874 @peterdonaghy Tell me about it… I’ve got twin 1 year olds, going to cost me £11,000 living in Scotland rather than England because of the different policies, and we’re paying more tax up here for the privilege.

@srdunlop @peterdonaghy I used to think highly of them (whilst not being a staunch Indy supporter), but delaying support for 2 years, when even the bloody Tories are recognising the issues and addressing them immediately, is scandalous.

Huge disparity in spending across the UK on education for under fives. For every £ spent per child in Scotland, Northern Ireland only spends 12p.

@andreemurphy If Westminster delivers £1,174 per under 5 for England and over £2.5k for Scotland on the same policy area that NI has £300 for, it’s decisions taken at Stormont, not Westminster, that are the problem

@Nick468official @oliviaos @ConorSheehan93 I’m sure this is dense, but why does this image have the Fine Gael logo on it? Is it their tally?

I've got some other tally information for you. In City North, @oliviaos is so far topping the poll with almost 20% of boxes opened. First time FG candidate Richard Delaney also polling well, as is @ConorSheehan93 who is hoping to be returned for a second time on northside. #LimerickCount

@Samfr (But even she was elected pre short campaign)

@Samfr Jacinda Ardern might be the recent, most relevant reference point. But ain’t many Jacindas in the current cabinet…

Had several messages this morning asking me if there's any precedent, in any country, for a major party leader being replaced during a campaign. I can't find one.

@AaronBastani Is that Sian Berry who resigned her seat in London just three days after asking people to vote for her so someone else could get co-opted? Not exactly a champion of democracy

Sian Berry - trained engineer Carla Denyer - trained engineer Adrian Ramsay - CEO of a charitable foundation Dr Ellie Chowns - PhD in political economy of development MORE IMPORTANTLY: all strike me as decent people & wouldn’t humiliate a new mum over phone. Unlike this chap.