GAINING zero points in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest shows where the UK stands today: it is an indictment of Britain’s failure to play by the book in the Brexit debacle; a reflection of a diminished reputation in the world today; a kick in the teeth! Trust is at the root of successful and harmonious relationships, including those between nations. It is quite obvious to me, and I am sure many like-minded people, that the Eurovision Song Contest result, however trivial it might appear to an uninformed bystander, is a significant marker in where trust for the UK Government currently stands within the European nations and I’m sure in the rest of the world.
The Italian band Maneskin winning the Eurovision Song Contest final last night. VIEWERS watching Eurovision took to Twitter to point out the UK s widespread unpopularity after its dismal showing in the contest. James Newman scored a total of zero points from each country s panel of judges, as well as the popular votes, after he performed his song Embers. It is the second time in a row that the UK has ended the contest with no points. Italy s pop-rock Maneskin triumphed with France coming second in the competition which was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, last night. Other top performances came from Switzerland, Iceland, Russia and Lithuania.
Analysis
The SNP might have won a majority – but then, lots of votes were ‘wasted’. Here’s why it was a no-score draw ON Thursday, the SNP took 48% of the vote on the constituency ballot – an all-time high for any party in a Scottish Parliament election. Why, then, did they narrowly fail to win an overall majority, given that we know from the 2011 experience that a majority is perfectly possible under the voting system? The simplest explanation is that, ultimately, the list vote is the more important vote, and by that measure this election was not the SNP’s best showing since devolution – it was only their third-best. It’s true they could have circumvented that disadvantage by doing even better in the constituencies – if they had taken Dumbarton from Labour or Eastwood from the Conservatives, they would have “broken the system” and achieved a majority in spite of the reduction in their list vote.
Johann Lamont s amendment to the Forensic Medical Services (Scotland) Bill passed after a backlash from women I CANNOT agree with Stephen Paton that the SNP has burned bridges with the LGBT community over the last five years (LGBT community needs more than platitudes to restore faith, April 19). It is women they have sacrificed on the altar of ideology. Stephen bemoans their perceived lack of action on equality, but is a little selective, implying that it is only lowering the legal age of recognising gender identity that is in question, but omitting the part where it is to be on a person’s own self-identification, rather than as a result of medical process and opinion, without hormone treatment and so on having even started.