My final voting recommendations
So tomorrow is double decision time – we have to choose between FPTP and AV, and we have to elect a new Scottish Parliament.
The first one is easy: Vote Yes (if you can – EU citizens cannot vote in the referendum). Of course AV isn’t perfect, but it’s a small improvement, and if the No campaign wins we won’t be asked again for a generation, I fear – especially if it’s a landslide, as many polls are currently predicting.
The Scottish election is harder. The SNP have done a decent job, and I very definitely think they’ll do better than Labour, but they are a bit too Socialdemocratic and puritanistic for my liking. If the LibDems were a less rural party in Scotland, if they weren’t tying themselves up in knots because of their participation in the UK goverment, if they would support a referendum on independence, and if they would support an SNP government, I would be happy to endorse them wholeheartedly.
However, as things stand, it’s probably best to give SNP your list (peach-coloured) vote (but I sympathise with those who’ll vote Green or LibDem instead). The constituency (lilac) vote should be used tactically in the West of Scotland and in Glasgow, but elsewhere it doesn’t really matter, and you should vote for whoever you think will be the best MSP, no matter what party they represent.