Whatever happened to Baby Alex, Scotland's 'jolly fat man' Alex Salmond drops the mr. nice act to start a rant in the House of Commons, Salmond may have thought working on his 'snowflake' credentials was a good idea but he bombed rather badly, told like a little child to sit down!

Dear All

When Alex Salmond stood up in the House of Commons to scream like an elderly drama queen who life has passed by, it reminded me of the movie; ‘whatever happened to Baby Jane’? Baby Jane was a child star whose efforts in life like her films flopped, in some ways it reminds me very much of Alex Salmond.  In the movie when the other sister plans to sell the house and wants to leave, Baby Jane goes bonkers, much like unpopular Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have done over Brexit.

Brexit is inevitable unlike indyref 2, the Westminster government have something that the SNP don’t have a people’s mandate. To veer off for a second, a recent poll put Scottish indy sitting at 49% over hard Brexit, although this may alarm some pundits, it doesn’t alarm me. People have been stirred up and are bouncing along being led by the nose, being led by emotion.

And if you think about it, they don’t know what hard or soft Brexit means in the first place, the ignorance of the people allowing themselves to be used by the Nationalists is just sad. Nothing worse to wake up and learn that the so called ‘Stronger for Scotland’ SNP plan to sell out their fellow countrymen and women, and yes, that does also mean indy supporters.

There is a lot of bad blood over Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon for all her hollow threats is essentially irrelevant to the UK plans to move it forward, while the UK is going ahead with Brexit, going ahead with getting the wheels in motion for trade deals, the SNP aren’t even on the pitch. Think about that for a second, the rest of the UK is leaving the SNP behind because SNP isn’t able to be good neighbours or partners, it is an endless cycle of grievance and moaning and distrust.

The extraordinary shouting match which broke out during a Commons debate between Alex Salmond and deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle shows the complete breakdown that many suspected and mostly everyone in politics knows.

Alex Salmond’s heated shouting match with the deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle was an issue when Salmond accused the deputy speaker of cutting off SNP MP Joanna Cherry.

He said:

'I think the honourable member has come to an end.'

The background is that the deputy speaker had allowed the SNP an extra speaker and it was conditional apparently on the speaker being timeous. When Joanna Cherry started to go beyond what was agreed the Speaker rightly brought her part in a very long debate to a close. If the SNP had felt that an issue had arose the Speaker’s office was the place to raise an issue but no, Salmond went in feet first to shout the odds.

And was promptly slapped down by the deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle, if the good will of the Speaker’s Office is important then Salmond burnt the bridges for the SNP by his petty and childish actions. The debate at that point had been running for circa seven hours on the Government's Brexit plans.

Whether the SNP like it or not, Mr Hoyle has the right to move the debate to an end when he is acting in the role as Speaker in the House. What the hell Cherry thought she was up to is anyone’s guess, demanding full consultation on Brexit negotiations.

Aye right dear, very good, have another pudding, it’s on the taxpayer.

Just as Scotland says naw to the SNP indy plans, Westminster is saying naw to the SNP Brexit plans, when you act like a git, don’t get upset when people dismiss you. Alex Salmond might think he is running the Court of King Alex in Westminster, but he is very much a fading star who has like Baby Jane waking up to the fact that the show will go on but his part has been drastically reduced to being a bit player.

To be so high and to fall so far, this is Salmond’s reality.

As to SNP MP Joanna Cherry storming out of the chamber in protest, before Mr Hoyle responded:

'As the chair I have the right to make decisions on this House. What I would say is quite rightly when I wanted to bring her in, which I did ... I certainly don't expect advantages to be taken of the chair on the agreements that I make.'

No one cares about Joanna Cherry.

The SNP entered Westminster and made fools of themselves by their disgraceful behaviour; that died down, now that it has flared up again, what will Scots think? I think they will think that a pack of feral fools have been sent down to Westminster who have no interest in representing Scotland other than their own self-interest.

No matter what is said about Brexit, how long it is said, who does what, who gets their knickers in a twist, Brexit is going forward, the SNP picked a losing side yet again; they have acted yet again unstatesmanlike because they really don’t know any better.

To add a bit of petrol to keep the Salmond kettle boiling, Tory MP Michael Gove said on a point of order:

'Immediately preceding the right honourable gentleman for Gordon intervening, his neighbour sought to intervene and then he moved to tell her to sit down so that he might intervene’.

He added:

'Is such sexist behaviour in order in this House?'

Finally do you know what happened to Baby Jane at the end of the movie?

Jane goes bonkers trapped in a delusion that she once again has the same attention and admiration she received as a child.

Oh Alex.......... it's all gone isn't it, reduced to playing the snowflake!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University