The Political Suicide of Scottish Labour; ousted from power in Glasgow after 40 years, Labour better get use to being out of power in Glasgow for a long time, in local news, unpopular Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP fail to win overall control which highlights they have peaked in Glasgow, Conservatives in Glasgow however are also the big winners as they make significant gains, Robert Connelly wins Calton and he deserved to win his seat

Dear All

Sorry for the lack of posts, hopefully normal service will be returning shortly. I was a candidate for Glasgow City Council, I came 7^th out of 10 people standing, so no wooden spoon there for me. In the Govan by-election in 2013, I got 103 first preference votes, today; I managed 163 first preference votes, although not a win, heading in the right direction.

The more you learn, the better you get!

So, what where my thoughts on the local elections, well the bad news for Scottish Labour is that they have lost Glasgow, they didn’t leave it on a bus, they left it by neglect. This was an end of an era for Labour in Glasgow, earlier on at the count, it was clear that a disaster was looming and it came, Scottish Labour down 16 seats.

Some people I was glad to see elected today, Stephen Curran and Frank McAveety for Labour, and Robert Connelly was elected as the Conservative Councillor for Calton. Robert during Brexit was a very hard worker and if merit means anything, he truly deserved his victory. I stopped off to congratulate him, and his family.

One of the big stories of the day was the Conservatives gaining 7 seats. This was in line with what I was previously told by someone in the party. On my travels, I happened to bump into a few people, one being Professor Adam Tomkins who is also a Glasgow list MSP, so we chatted about indyref 2, having met during the previous one at Better Together.

I think that Nicola Sturgeon is going to be in for a bit of a wait!

I was also glad that Stephen Curran and Frank McAveety for Labour got back in, I personally like Stephen, and Frank is a solid campaigner who not only puts in the effort, he also treats the people who help him with respect. A friend of mine who helped him with his campaign gave a glowing report on how he treats people.

Before I go further, after I wasn’t elected, someone called John Hamill contacted me on twitter:

“163 votes. I'm actually fucking dying laughing. So much for the I hate Nicola Sturgeon party. @WingsScotland”.

No well done for standing it seems.

Yes, the die hard 90 minute Nationalist community felt compelled to gloat at me not being elected, however, what can I say, it is obvious I have upset someone and this outburst by Hamill is just leakage. If I have upset a few SNP… tough titty, I am sure they deserved it.

I am going to stand again, and also I am going to campaign again, who that is for and when, I have yet to decide. I am thinking of taking a ‘busman’s holiday’ for my own personal amusement which I might blog on, if it comes off, obviously post event.

Scottish Labour losing control of Glasgow after holding the city since the 1980’s is hugely significant, the run of failures for the party just keeps on coming. Labour is in decline but this defeat is also an opportunity for them to think again about what they stand for. If I was to give a prediction, I would say hand on heart; they won’t learn a thing from this defeat. Kezia Dugdales’ own spokesman done a runner to another job before the results, so he knew as everyone else did that stepping away from a sinking ship is a good way not to get your toes wet.

When could Scottish Labour retake the City of Glasgow?

Given the collapse of the Labour activist base, the way the party is operated and run, it could be a considerable time for a rebirth; certainly I would doubt any chance even at the next council elections in Glasgow. One thing which has occurred today is the introduction of more choice for voters, competition may shake Scottish Labour into action but if it is the same people have control now, nothing will happen. Scottish Labour’s rout was very painful but a saving grace but not much in the way of consolation is that Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP failed to take overall control of Glasgow City Council.

Given the disaster of the council elections, the next test is the Westminster election and there is no time to turn round from such a heavy defeat, and you can add to it, it might be very difficult for Scottish Labour to talk their activists into another 5 weeks of activism.

It is a lot of time, and effort for what could and is expected to be a fruitless venture. If you don’t know what the Scottish Labour narrative is, you are in the majority of the population, although Kezia was banging on about ‘federalism’, this is a one sided conversation which Labour is having with itself at present.

The Scottish Conservatives did really well because they have managed to wrestle away from Labour some of their supporter base, people who are strongly pro UK who lets just say have serious doubts where Kezia Dugdale is headed with the party. Scottish Labour cannot be ‘all things to all men’, the debate has moved on, and Labour needs to find its identity and a new purpose.

If I was a betting man, I wouldn’t want to risk any money putting a bet down on Scottish Labour winning back seats, although there seems to be a feeling even before today that the Scottish Conservatives are worth a punt. To be absolutely clear, Kezia Dugdale by default is in part responsible for the gains by the Scottish Conservatives, unfortunately for her, she cannot manage the same process in the party she leads.

They call it ‘dropping the ball’!

One thing Kezia Dugdale did say which I agree with was:

“I know they (the SNP) are screaming and shouting just now and delighting in the result, but the reality is the SNP took every single seat in that city in 2015, every single seat in 2016, they should have walked it. But it looks like they're not going to get an overall majority in Glasgow.”

Mind you, not much comfort for her, since it seems highly unlikely that Scottish Labour will get a sniff at a Glasgow seat in the Westminster election. Nicola Sturgeon failing to gain overall control shows that the SNP have peaked, and are on the way down, doesn’t however help Labour. I met a guy who votes SNP because he doesn’t want Scottish Labour elected in Pollok; this was a traditional Labour supporter for decades in Pollok.

As I mentioned, the lack of political representation by those elected into positions is killing Scottish Labour, death by a thousand rubber ear cuts. This neglect built up over decades, 2014 was just the mass awakening which saw a tipping point, the SNP are a protest vehicle, if something better came along; people would jump to that new party.

I would have liked to have won, who wouldn’t, but I am pleased how I ran my campaign, the way I presented myself, and the effort, I didn’t have a lot of money but I did have a lot of commitment. I made the right choice in choosing Greater Pollok although I was told that someone in Baillieston had said that they wished I had stood in their area, true story.

Finally, here is a picture of the tweet sent by an apparently bitter Nationalist type called John Hamill for you to enjoy, you will notice that he has included the ‘warmer’ Wings over Scotland from Bath, probably for moral support. I don't know about you but I am sensing that Mr. Hamill has a lack of conviction, he tweets like a little girl.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University