Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Money’s too tight to mention: Scotland’s unpopular SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is forced to rely on state public funds as big donors dry up, even the SNP membership are unwilling to stick their hands in pockets for Sturgeon, I guess the staged managed attempt to make Nicola ‘likeable’ has died a slow painful death, I wonder is she willing to consider the very popular and organised Romanian style begging for funds?


Dear All

It seems with unpopular Nicola Sturgeon at the helm of the Scottish National Party, a raft of scandals involving elected representatives and supporters, people don’t want to back the SNP with their cold hard cash.

This is good news, but not for Scottish Labour, major donors are simply refusing to back them as well, this is party of the political shift in Scotland, were people are looking around for a new party of the centre right, the void in Scottish politics is becoming so obvious.

The SNP as we have yet again seen from the nurse scandal is a group of small minded nasty little people. The fact that money is drying up for them is a good sign, the SNP in power, in government has been a bad thing in an overall fashion, but there have been some plus benefits.

It can’t have escaped your notice that some parties have been politically wiped out over several elections, 2015 and 2016 were watershed moments in Scottish politics, although the disaster was mostly at the expense of Scottish Labour, it was an event that as I mentioned needed to happen.

Scottish politics is desperately in need of more choice, a more rainbow colouring which allows voters more value for their vote. Two party politics might have been replaced by three party politics but still that isn’t enough.

The wider public seeing that the SNP has not declared a significant cash donation from a member of the public in six months and has to go cap in hand to the State for funding to operate tells a story. The Nationalists brag how big their membership is but clearly under Nicola Sturgeon’s inept leadership, even the members are unwilling to put their hand in the pocket.

It kind of puts the fake staged managed popularity of Nicola Sturgeon into perspective does it not?

Data from the Electoral Commission figures shows Nicola Sturgeon’s party had the lowest donations of any major party in the first quarter of 2017, at just £3300. It seems that the ‘Bank of Weir’ just isn’t there anymore and as such the SNP need “Short money” from the House of Commons to keep the ball rolling.

If you don’t know what ‘short money’ is, it is cash given to all opposition parties to help their costs and is based on MP numbers, we have an opportunity in Scotland by using tactical voting to help drive this funding stream downwards. In Scotland, groups like Scotland’s Big Voice have developed the tactical voting wheel to help show people which candidate is the best person to stop in the SNP. In Glasgow, that would be voting Labour, in places like Perth and East Renfrewshire, the best bet is to vote Scottish Conservative.

I urge all people who are pro UK in a seat where the political party isn’t traditionally the one they usually vote for to consider the tactical vote, already polling suggests that 15% of Scots are considering and will do this option.

One of the other things which isn’t talk about much is the use of tactical activism, people helping and assisting various people in different parties to get into public office. Kezia Dugdale called for “tactical voting” from Conservatives to help win seats for Labour but didn’t follow through with urging Labour voters to vote Conservatives. Kezia made another blunder political blunder, in fact, her plea of just asking Conservatives to vote Labour without asking Labour voters to do likewise is just risible.

I will be tactically voting in Glasgow South West for Scottish Labour.

On the other side of the financial coin, the Scottish Conservatives seem to be doing okay for cash, Scottish Tory fundraiser Sir Jack Harvie gave the Conservatives £20,000 in his own right and another £20,000 through a business.

The ‘blue team’ is doing well, the smart money, voters and activists seem to be sensing that the Conservatives are doing well, in fact you have to wonder what some Labour candidates whose campaigns are little better than paper would pay to even get a sniff at those resources.

Finally, as a public figure, I am announcing that the agreement that I had to do campaigning in Glasgow South West for Scottish Labour no longer exists, I have contacted Matt Kerr, the candidate and his election agent John Kane to inform them that I will not be back and to wish them good luck.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Psychotic Wee Hairy has inflicted on the SNP and Scottish nationalism, what Tommy champagne socialist Sheridan, single-handed managed to do to Scottish socialism. Destroy it. She sure takes the biscuit; she’s even managed to outdo Lie@bour. Two years it’s taken Krankie what the Lie@bour party took 18 years to achieve. From 50% to 32% in 2 years is amazing. There’s a list of her delinquencies, mild ones like, trying to get the half Scottish American president banned from the UK, to sitting with Martin McGuinness to get a selfie. More serious ones like, telling Scots who want independence, they would be handed over to Brussels control because she likes being controlled by a Europe with open borders, unfettered mass immigration, and an asylum seeker/refugee free for all. Not to mention giving access to European fishermen to Scottish waters. In Krankies mind, ideology comes before Scottish nationalism ordinary people and voters. She is not centre left/centre right; she’s an extreme communist/internationalist. At the last internationalist/nationalist SNP conference, she invited 15 million English/Welsh who voted remain to come to Scotland. Krankie believes Scotland exist in name only. Scots people are secondary in her mental mind.
If you disagree with her, you are a fascist, a racist and a Toarie. If you voted Yes to leave the UK that’s ok but a xenophobic racist if you wanted to leave the EU.
The list goes on but you get my drift.

THE INVISIBLE MAN said...

Glad to hear that the SNP are struggling, as mean-spirited as that admittedly sounds. I think we're all crying out for some extra options. It's a bit wider than Tory right vs Socialist left. People have a wider concerns than that.

THE INVISIBLE MAN said...

As for America, they've had some bloody awful politicians, but may I suggest George, that you check out Tulsi Gabbard? I reckon that not only would she potentially make a decent president, or even a great one, but it's people like her that we desperately need in British politics right now, in both Westminster, and Holyrood.

Anonymous said...

first comments GENIUS !

Tony F said...

How can the SNP be short of cash? They've been pimping Scotland all over Europe for ages!

Aldo said...

They have 120,000 members.

Unfortunately about 100,000 of them are doleys who signed up for free.

Aldo said...

Superb.

Anonymous said...

Every person i know who voted Yes in 2014 does not like Sturgeon.

Auld Jock said...

Hello George

I am delighted to hear that people have stopped giving the snp tossers money. As I said before, you are a beacon of hope to those of us oppressed by snp thugs. This must surely be the beginning of the end for them. No hope of another reffyrendum, no more donations, no prospect of being taken seriously by anyone who matters, no seat at the table for brexit, no relevance and no hope any more. In the words of the song "slip sliding away".

I would like to see them gone tomorrow but I will settle for watching them bleed to death between now and the next Holyrood election. When I think back to the nightmare of THAT referendum, we are in a much better place now.

Auld Jock

G Laird said...

Dear Anon

"Every person i know who voted Yes in 2014 does not like Sturgeon".

I can well believe that statement, and I would assume that she already know that as well.

George

Anonymous said...

Spot on!! This blog gives me hope..

Anonymous said...

😂😂😂 can't wait to see the back of her. Bloody sick of seeing and hearing her. I notice that Chris Law was crowdfunding for him to stand again in Dundee. What a cheek, crowdfunding maybe he should have paid by some of the big wages he's been on, no it's easier to beg from the public. Each and everyone of them are a disgrace.

Freddy said...

Money and the electoral cycle George, Sturgeon is surely aware of that as it happens to all government even successful ones , not that you could call the SNP successful. However she is surely aware of time slipping by and some of her own slogans coming back to haunt her if the unionist parties have the bottle to attack from the front.

Anonymous said...

Nicola seems to represent everyone and their pc dug apart from indigenous white Scottish males.
The Manchester Jihad terrorism?Condemn the actions,not the political ideology of the bomber.Someone important must have half nelsoned her and informed her that it would be "the end" if she beeled down the mosque this time,as she scunnered many after Paris terrorism by doing just that when all us wifies know that if she was in an Islamic country she would be no higher than chief dishwasher of the kitchen sink.
3rd gen immigrant,mother of a 14 yo boy.