Nicola Sturgeon hated by all sides, SNP leader takes to Twitter to defend SNP’s Growth Commission as left-wing independence backlash grows against her, the SNP blueprint leaves bad taste in the mouth as Sturgeon tries to sell austerity max as a good thing, clearly the SNP are out of their depth and out of touch with Scottish people

Dear All

It was the document that was supposed to kickstart a dead horse, it was the document which was supposed to give the SNP a springboard towards independence, it was a document which was supposed to unite all under one banner.

And crucially it was the document which was supposed to save Nicola Sturgeon’s dying career and artificially made popularity.

The SNP Growth Commission report has seen Nicola Sturgeon firmly on the backfoot as she is forced to mount a fresh defence of her party’s controversial blueprint for independence, having failed to entice Scots to support independence with a an agenda geared up to the left, the new blueprint is an agenda for the right.

This document has received growing criticism from the Left of the Yes movement, the people who carried the load the last from 2012 to 2014, Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP has betrayed them.

So, where does the Left of the Yes movement go now?

Do, they go out on the streets with the SNP, do they take orders in a new SNP controlled Yes Scotland, how does the SNP get a new coalition of the damned to worked together. In the world of the internet, Nicola Sturgeon used a series of tweets to reassure supporters that an independent Scotland wouldn’t mean continued austerity.

Only the really stupid, the incredibly thick would buy that, independent Scotland means austerity max, huge cuts to public services, job losses and the crippling of public services like the NHS. Despite the SNP saying they support the NHS, independence would mean an end to the NHS which I suspect the SNP would replace with a private health care system.

I don’t trust Nicola Sturgeon to protect the NHS; their current troubles can be traced back to her tenure as Health Secretary.

I read somewhere that it could take 67 years for an independent Scotland to get on its feet economically to rank alongside the best small countries. Sturgeon says the worst case scenario is of a decade of tight public spending to halve the deficit and that would be better than sticking with Westminster. Sturgeon’s claim that the Growth Commission would help win the argument for independence is fantasy, it really is. This is hope over reality, and people live with reality on a daily basis.

The report has been ridiculed already in the press, and by commentators for what it is, a cut and paste job selling the same worn out and defeated arguments, rehash of 2014 which is as unpalatable now as it was when this rubbish was called the ‘White Paper’. Sensing an opportunity, Scottish Conservatives took the time to comment on how rattled Nicola Sturgeon is and remarked how her intervention was “visibly desperate”.

The SNP are a party of protest, they are not a party of government, let that sink in and all that it means.

The 354-page document has been widely criticised on the Left of the Yes movement, with attacks from the Common Weal thinktank and former SNP MP George Kerevan, others equally unhappy are commentators Mike Small and Iain Macwhirter.

After all how do you stick a smile on your face and try and sell austerity max on a doorstep to the core independence vote which is working class, how do you sell prioritising deficit reduction over public spending?

How do you sell cuts to benefits?

How do you sell a plan to use the pound leaving Scotland tied to UK monetary policy?

How do you sell the pound will be dumped in favour of a temp Scottish currency when you refuse to talk or acknowledge that is what you need to do to join the EU?

How do you sell the lie that the SNP don’t want EU membership when they are campaigning at present to remain in the EU now?

Colin Fox, the former Scottish Socialist MSP, said his party would boycott any future independence campaign that put the Growth Commission at its centre? He said the Commission offers nothing to the working class voters essential for a Yes vote. Fox is right, the SNP aren’t interested in the needs of working class voters, they are just a vehicle to get them elected, and in return the Nats give them a fee gimmick policies.

New gimmicks are free tampons and baby boxes, such is the SNP vision.

Mr Fox added:

“It risks driving hundreds of thousands of former Yes voters into the hands of Jeremy Corbyn.”

I don’t see that being the case, what Scotland needs is new parties to reform and refresh our democracy, new people to take Scotland forward. Writing in the Herald today, Iain Macwhirter suggested the report made the SNP sound “like New Labour circa 1998”.

And we all know how they ended up, out of touch with the people, and taking their votes for granted.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: 

"The SNP promised a Growth Commission, but Nicola Sturgeon has found herself defending a Cuts Commission. The people of Scotland cannot afford another decade of austerity.

"Scotland has over a quarter of a million children living in poverty and pensioner poverty has increased by 33 per cent since 2010. We do not want another decade of austerity."

Scottish Conservative deputy Jackson Carlaw said:

“This is a visibly desperate move by the First Minister, who’s clearly been rattled by the furious reaction of hardcore independence evangelists in recent days. But, as is so often the case when Nicola Sturgeon takes Donald Trump’s lead on tweeting, the content is dubious. This report made abundantly clear that a separate Scotland is likely to bring nothing other than economic hard times. The authors accepted this; perhaps Scotland’s First Minister should too. After all, in establishing her commission, she created the beast which has now turned to bite her.”

Finally, and this is an old story, beyond gimmicks and spin, Nicola Sturgeon has nothing to offer the people of Scotland, her legacy of failure is secure, what is needed is an election at Holyrood to clear out the underachievers and inject a fresh can do attitude to get things done. So far there is no sign that Nicola Sturgeon is the person to affect change unless it is crippling austerity on the most vulnerable, truly the dream has died.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

Pollok CLP; Scottish Labour Westminster selection contest in Glasgow South West turns even more nasty and squalid, female Scottish Labour activists previously signed a letter to the party’s leadership to complain, 120 people sign online petition to remove controversial would-be candidate from shortlist, formal complaint lodge by female office bearer, is this contest in keeping with Labour founding values?

Dear All

The Westminster selection contest for Glasgow South West has turned into a rather nasty and squalid affair.

It is a contest between Team Sarwar led by Anas Sarwar who is working to build his ‘empire’ in Glasgow and Team Leonard who is backed by Scottish Momentum, the Campaign for Socialism’. The Muslim candidate, Asim Khan is facing an uphill struggle in his attempt to secure the seat, although he can get votes of certain members, it seems everything is being done to remove him from this contest.

The last day, I worked with him was Sunday 9th Oct 2016, most people might say that they are surprised that I am so accurate, but the reality is when I am in a political party, I record all workdays. We had arranged to meet at the Glasgow Labour Pollok Rooms beside the Cardonald Library, the purpose to drop off letters to Labour members about encourage them to attend an AGM.

So, how many Labour members other than Asim Khan and me turned up to do the work?

No one!

I am interested that 120 people have signed an online petition demanding he be removed from the current selection contest.

This mob said:

“We will not stand for the founding values of our party to be undermined, and we cannot support our party in their decision to overlook this candidate's track record.”

Where were these 120 diehard Labour members on Sunday 9th Oct 2016, who seem to have the founding values of our party at heart?

You could also ask where these 120 diehard Labour members were in 2016 during the work to cover the Govan ward on the Pollok side for Holyrood?

None of them turned up again.

In fact for the Holyrood 2016, this campaign could be characterised for the fact that the majority of the Pollok Labour membership didn’t turn up. Most days, you would be lucky if six people turn in to support Johann Lamont, and it was noticeable to me that it wasn’t till the last week of the campaign that the Labour Cllrs turned up more regularly.

The online petition which has already got 120 people signed up in opposition to Asim Khan is all about stopping a ‘fair and free process’, so Scottish Labour is under pressure, the protestors seem to bank on the fact that a judge once described Asim Khan as “evasive” and “untruthful”.

What should be pointed out is that this is just an opinion by the judge, Asim Khan wasn’t the subject of the tribunal, he was the chair of the now-dissolved Roshni charity which set up to help ethnic minority survivors of sexual abuse.

Female Scottish Labour activists have previously signed a letter to the party’s leadership raising concerns and we already know that that a female office bearer in Labour’s local party in Pollok has submitted a formal complaint. Alison Campbell Glass didn’t like Khan’s alleged failure to tell the party about the tribunal judgement.

Given he wasn’t the subject of the tribunal, I don’t see the conflict, as to the opinion of the judge, that is just an opinion which Asim Khan has already said he gave his evidence to the best of his knowledge at the time.

I don’t see the formal complaint going anywhere because to me, it doesn’t cross what I would consider to be a threshold to remove him as a candidate. If anything in this case should embarrass the Labour Party, it is the nature in which this selection is being carried out, it is being to look like a witch hunt.

Asim Khan has already successfully challenged an internal ruling which resulted in around 80 local members including me not being eligible to vote in the selection process for Glasgow South West. Of course, I would say that if you pay the membership then you should get the same voting rights as everyone else.

Asim Khan responding to the petition said:

“The court judgement recognised an illegal attempt to manipulate the selection process. I am now focused on having an open, transparent and democratic selection process.”

You have to wonder how Team Kerr is feeling at this time now that 80 members many of whom are from ethic backgrounds are going to be getting their voting rights, if Labour Cllr Matt Kerr wins, will they come out and be activists for him for the next 4 years until the next Westminster election?

Whoever wins, they may think that as the majority vote which held this seat is only 60 votes that they are a racing certainty to get elected to Westminster next time; this is wishful thinking on their part because Labour will have to work the area very hard between now and polling day.

As someone who has seen what goes on in Pollok CLP regards to work ethic, organisation and attendance, I wouldn’t be sure of a Labour win. Pollok returned the largest vote in the City of Glasgow in 2014; the SNP won the Westminster seat 2015, held the Westminster seat 2017, and currently hold the Holyrood seat in Pollok.

These 120 diehard Labour members and their little online petition, I have heard a peep about this from anyone in the Pollok CLP, isn’t that rather strange, well I think it is.

Finally, one thing missing from the ‘witch hunt’ against Asim Khan is balance, which is why I am including the workday of Sunday 9th Oct 2016, the event ended up being cancelled due to lack of support by others at the CLP. At the meeting to arrange this event; some members expressed a desire to get out and work, to turn this CLP around, but then didn’t turn up.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

The Bad SNP Fairy; SNP unveils new independence blueprint, Nicola Sturgeon’s crew do a rehash of the old failed arguments of 2014, ‘milk and honey’ and ‘nirvana’ awaits Scottish people if they gamble with their economic future, if this report was a movie, it would be released straight to dvd!

Dear All

Do you believe in fairies?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy

Fairies are mythical creatures, small with wings that fly about the place, but they are not real, they are an illusion, the SNP have come up with a new fairytale, this one is a rehash of the old one. The delusion is that an independent Scotland will be a land of milk and honey, a nirvana as long as it is run by the SNP who will make an independent Scotland emulate the world’s 12 best-performing small economies.

So, why hasn’t Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP who have had a decade in power proved that already, where are the papers, documents and results?

The long-awaited SNP blueprint is crap, in the last fairytale; we were told that an independent Scotland would be like Norway.

Now, we are told that since that lie didn’t sell, the party’s Growth Commission report, is punting an argument that we could be like Finland or New Zealand. The word which is the ‘get out of jail free card’ is ‘could’ but the reality is that Scotland isn’t like Finland and isn’t like New Zealand.

Here is a bit of info on Finland to help you.

https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/finland_en

Scotland gets extra help from the UK Government in order to maintain our standard of services, without this money, the country would be in a terrible state. The SNP continually pump out the lie that Scotland is a rich country, if that were the case, then why don’t they return the extra funding to Westminster?

A simple question is it not, but the answer is, Scotland has different problems both socially and economically that justifies the extra cash. In the previous failed indy campaign, we were told that each Scot was sitting on a fortune, now we get a figure saying that independence will be worth an extra £4,100 per person if Scotland is able to match the success of similarly sized nations, such as Finland and New Zealand.

If it doesn’t match Finland or New Zealand, we would be fucked totally!

Given the complete incompetence of the SNP in managing devolved issues, do you honestly think that if these people had full control of Scotland that they would suddenly gain insights? The SNP is a party of protest, they are not a party of government and the facts speak for themselves, health, education and law and order all a disaster. Nationalists treat government as a ‘pay day’ and a vehicle to campaign for independence which is why we get so little for paying so much.

Free tampons and baby boxes…… the big ideas!

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says the blueprint was “not about milk and honey” but presented a detailed analysis on how the economy of Scotland could be strengthened.

In trying to sound credible and failing, Blackford replied when asked if the report meant the SNP had got it wrong in 2014, he said that the country was in “a different place” post-Brexit.

He added:

“There was an awful lot of people who were not uncomfortable with the concept of Scottish independence as a principle but they felt a degree of fear as to what Scotland’s economic future would be. What we need to do is to explain to people how we could change that picture and how we could create that sustainable growth in an independent Scotland.”

2014, the SNP claimed that they could put 100,000 women in £42,000 a year jobs to fund their childcare scheme.

How many jobs have they created as part of that scheme, they said that it would take 10 years to get the scheme running?

Has the SNP created those jobs?

Years ago, Nicola Sturgeon was nailed on Questiontime when told, she wasn’t in a position to create any jobs, that task had to be done by the private sector. But has she created any £42,000 jobs in the public sector especially for women?

No!

The SNP keep lying to the people of Scotland in an attempt to get them to risk their future, and yes, we are talking about their financially future, gambling their pensions, jobs, mortgages and the future of their families. In 2014, 28 areas of 32 totally rejected independence, the result was decisive, it was No.

It will always be No to the SNP, they have burnt their bridges with the people of Scotland, as the polling of 2015 to date shows, the shine has come off Nicola Sturgeon; her SNP manufactured popularity is dropping like a stone.

Alex Salmond appointed Nicola Sturgeon as the ‘face of independence’, and we all know how that turned out, we had an ugly bad tempered and hateful campaign conducted by the Nationalist camp.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said:

“The SNP can pluck out any number of fanciful examples, but it won't change the fact Scotland is far more prosperous and secure as part of the UK. People are still asking the question why the SNP is putting so much effort into a question that was settled decisively just a few years ago. This is all about Nicola Sturgeon trying to secure her legacy and a place in history, but Scots are fed-up of her grandstanding.”

There is a lot of grandstanding by Nicola Sturgeon, as a failing politician which is acknowledged by other nationalists, Sturgeon flees Scotland at the drop of a hat to travel outside the country to give speeches. The question is why, well she appears to want to be seen as a ‘force’ and a ‘statesman’, she is neither. If you think back to Alex Salmond, did Fortune 500 companies line up to secure his services after he stepped down as First Minister?

No!

Once these people step down from power, no one wants them; Alex Salmond has ended up on RT, the Russian propaganda channel, and doing a radio show. Oh how the less than mighty have fallen hard. Once Nicola Sturgeon steps down, she wouldn’t even get that, this ghastly woman is heading for obscurity, her only ‘pay day’ is sitting up the back of Holyrood as a backbencher as another failed SNP politician.

Finally, the Conservatives have accused the SNP of a "cowardly approach" after it emerged the new report will be released online without a media launch where questions could be asked.

Why aren’t they doing a big launch, if as they say this is supposed to be an important document, wouldn’t you want to sing its praises to the press and take on all-comers? Andrew Wilson, the former SNP MSP calls it “the most substantially considered economic policy proposals for Scotland and independence that have been produced to date”.

Nicola Sturgeon knows the blueprint once questioned will go from being a fairytale to a nightmare very quickly, that is why the SNP are edging away from a formal launch; they know they will be made a laughing stock.

Maybe the report can be useful as litter for a cat tray?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Bad News for Corbyn candidate Matt Kerr; Judge rules against Scottish Labour in heated Westminster selection row, it seems Labour Cllr Matt Kerr will have to pin his hopes on the Labour Party barring Khan who has had a formal complaint lodged against him by a Pollok CLP office bearer, it seems 80 members will have their voting rights reinstated and I doubt they will be vote Team Kerr

Dear All

Awhile ago, I wrote a post asking a simple question, what are ‘Labour values’, what you are told are Labour values in some cases doesn’t match with reality.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/what-does-labour-values-actually-mean.html

The result of the Court case brought by Asim Khan, an ally of Anas Sarwar is in, the Labour Party lost.

This result means that the internal ruling to exclude around 80 local members including myself is over it appears as a judge branded aspects of it “irrational” and “wrong in fact and wrong in law”. What this means is that most of the 80 who are from ethnic minority backgrounds should get their vote.

The likely person to benefit from this decision will be Muslim candidate Asim Khan, the selection battle in Glasgow South West is of minor interest to me. I don’t like ‘race politics’ and it seems this is the way this contest is heading.

Electing people based on the colour of their skin is wrong; equally casting your vote based on someone’s religion is equally squalid. Asim khan has got over the first hurdle, there are a couple more before he maybe selected, the formal complaint against him by an office bearer at Pollok CLP and the actual vote itself.

Whoever wins this contest, Khan or his rival Labour Cllr Matt Kerr, there will be a split, this contest was and is a nasty little affair without virtue in my opinion. Kerr’s chances have gone from being the favourite to win to him now being the underdog, in the Pollok ward both the seats are held by Muslim Cllrs who are allies of Anas Sarwar.

The judge in the Court of Session was right to ruled against the Labour Party and in favour of Asim Khan because what happened was unfair, the fact that a committee of the Labour Party couldn’t see this speaks volumes about their competence. The ruling also means the current process will have to be scrapped and the freeze date shifted.

It is said that this ‘battle’ is a proxy war being fought out by the supporters of Sarwar and Leonard, the Labour leader; I suspect that many would agree with this sentiment. Pollok CLP from my first stint in it didn’t impress me, and the bad blood cause by this contest will not go away.

Will Asim Khan be able to find people to work for him in both the long and short campaigns?

Will Labour Cllr Matt Kerr be able to find Muslims willing to work for him in the long and short campaigns?

It seems to me that some in Pollok CLP were of the impression that Kerr who lost by 60 votes would be the candidate for the next attempt to win the seat in 2022, I think there might be a need to shift the deckchairs.

After winning the hearing, Asim Khan said:

“I am sorry that it came to this, but sadly this was the only way to give members an open and democratic selection process. I hope there are no further malicious attempts to undermine the process and that we can now move on to having an open contest so we can select the candidate best placed to help deliver a Labour MP and a Labour Government.”

One thing which I read was that five Asian Labour members had written to UK leader Jeremy Corbyn over the row, claiming they had made to feel "not wanted and not welcome" in the party. Well, my experience as a white working class man in Pollok CLP was that I was to feel "not wanted and not welcome" either.

During the 2017 snap Westminster election, I was phoned up by a person in the party asking me to help the Kerr Campaign, as I was on good terms with the caller I said I would do 7 days, if they wanted me to stay after that, I wanted a ticket to the election count.

The answer came back No!

The first day, I turned up, the Team Kerr drove past me at the meeting place without stopping, after walking over I waited for a few minutes before someone decided to speak to me. I think this was to let me know how unimportant I was to them. The session was badly run, and the candidate Kerr decided to tell me if I got someone in to let him also speak to them. This was a fair request by him, given that he could end up being 100 metres away, it wasn’t practical. Kerr couldn’t workout this wasn’t practical, and during the session, one of his group asked me how to be an activist.

 After that session, I left wishing I hadn’t promised to do 7 sessions for Kerr.

The next outing was to meet at Househillmuir road at Priesthill road at lunchtime for a canvassing session at 12 pm, I turned up 10 minutes early and waited to 12.15 pm. Team Kerr didn’t come to the designated location, they were on the other side of Peat Road at the wrong spot, Househillwood road, they couldn't read a map properly. I gave up my entire morning so I could do this session. Later on at the evening session, I turned up 15 minutes before the start, Team Kerr turned up 15 minutes after the start, 30 minutes standing about doing nothing, they were late again.

Oh….. and no apology for earlier session mistake, after all why would you offer apologies for being late when you hold people in utter contempt?

Despite the way I was treated I was willing to do the 7 sessions and then bail out, as it turned out the person who asked me to do the campaign decided to cancel our agreement. I walked and continued with the other Labour campaign in Glasgow North East who had Paul Sweeney as the candidate.

I think at the start Paul was a little unsure about me but after a former Labour Cllr told him that she listened to me on the doorstep and that I was brilliant, his concerns were addressed. I pulled double shifts for the Glasgow North East campaign and Paul Sweeney won by 242 votes, the only Labour person to get elected in Glasgow.

So, in conclusion for the sake for giving me a ‘free’ ticket which I would have paid for by my efforts in full, Labour Cllr Matt Kerr lost Glasgow South West by 60 votes. Not only had he lost the election, he lost 5 years of MP’s pay, perks and expenses, the opportunity to employ five maybe six staff and now the possible of selection to a winnable seat.

At present, I have made no promises to do anything for anyone in the Labour Party.

Finally, as I stated whoever wins will have an uphill task to convince people in Pollok CLP to work for them, the CLP isn’t noted for a work ethic among the membership as the campaign for Johann Lamont show all too clearly. Imagine committing to do 4 years of activism as a candidate and then on election night find out you aren’t going to Westminster, this might be the prize awaiting the winner of the current selection contest!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon’s dilemma; Theresa May tells Nicola Sturgeon Scots have 'no appetite' for second independence referendum, the answer is no, now the tide has turned against Nicola Sturgeon, the endgame of her leading the SNP has begun, will she gamble on calling a new Holyrood election?

Dear All

Nicola Sturgeon has reignited the Scottish independence debate, along with another fairytale SNP blueprint, not because she has any chance of winning, no, but to shore up her crumbling support as leader of the SNP.

Sturgeon knows along with everyone else, there is no appetite for a second independence referendum. People know this on the ground, and Conservative MP Michael Gove knows it at the other end of the political spectrum. Support for independence is dropping, support for Nicola Sturgeon is dropping and support for the SNP is dropping.

This slide has been dramatic since 2015; the Nationalist coupled with an angry independence support managed 56 seats at Westminster, a mere two years later that dropped with the snap election of 2017 to 35 seats.

So, what is wrong with the concept of independence?

The answer is simple, no one, no one in their right mind trusts the SNP to lead an independent Scotland, 2014 only brought into the light of day what many suspected, the SNP are a bunch of liars!

The Scottish independence bid of 2014 was built on deceit and showed the true face of the leadership of the SNP in all its glory. When Alex Salmond jumped ship, you might have thought this brought ‘renew’ of the party with the 2015 result.

It didn’t.

The same worthless, corrupt and rotten leadership remained albeit a new ‘front man’ leading it.

Having hoisted the flag, Nicola Sturgeon hasn’t captured the imagination of the public, the new indy marches are a joke in my opinion. They are more an exercise to reassure those who follow the SNP line rather attracting new followers to the cause, because the ‘cause’ is moral, ethically and economically bankrupt.

In one fell swoop; Theresa May has slapped down Nicola Sturgeon, insisting Scots have "no appetite" for a second independence referendum. Sturgeon’s rallying cry ended more or less after it left her month.

Gosh that was quick!!!!!!

Michael Gove claims the Union was now "stronger than ever", however, this is more a political statement rather than a fact, Ruth Davidson is right to warned fellow Unionists about the “dangers of complacency”. If you don’t know what the dangers are the elections of 2015 and 2017 spell it out for you in hard facts. Scotland still remains in political flux at this time; the trick here is to manage change, not an easy task.

The Scottish Labour Party didn’t get their act together, they didn’t understand the “dangers of complacency” and hence they are now the third party of Scotland. A party which failed to change with the times, understand the needs of the voters and didn’t represent the people, instead they brought in their agenda which the people rejected. If the Labour Party doesn’t change from the notion of federalism, they are sunk on both sides of the border.

Their problem not mine, I don’t condone stupidity, and fall to see a reason to support it when it is presented to me.

As Sturgeon prepares for the publication of the SNP's Growth Commission report on the economic case for independence, it is already just a propaganda document, because it is all geared up to say one thing.

Everything is better with independence.

The same lie peddled in the White Paper which SNP MSP Joan McAlpine said was a more important document than the American Declaration of Independence. 650 pages of rubbish against a historic document…. Let me think…… bollocks!

The Commission’s report isn’t a vehicle to "restart the debate" on Scotland’s future, it is a joke, everyone knows no matter what deal comes from Brexit, the SNP will say it is not good enough.

In a clear signal that Nicola Sturgeon has missed the boat, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said:

“Now is not the time for another divisive independence referendum and there is no appetite for one. The people of Scotland voted decisively in 2014 to remain part of the United Kingdom and that should be respected.”

This raises a major problem for Nicola Sturgeon, if she doesn’t deliver a second referendum, her position is untenable, and the SNP are losing control the wider indy movement.

But don’t worry, Tommy Sheridan isn’t the heir apparent to step in, he is still trying to find a narrative which rebuilds his career which is toast, but hey, what else has he to do.

At a conference in London, organised by the Policy Exchange think-tank, Ruth Davidson was asked about a second vote, she replied:

“My advice to the PM is: if the question’s the same, the answer should be the same. No.”

It seems the no word is very popular.

Mr Gove also commented on indyref2, saying the SNP would find “any excuse” to seek another independence poll; if it was not because of Brexit, it would be something else.

Everyone knows the SNP all too well it seems, they are crude petty and not very bright politicians.

Alistair Darling, the former Labour Chancellor also told the conference:

“I do not believe there will be another Scottish referendum in the foreseeable future; possibly not in my lifetime”.

He added:

“I’ll tell you why not…the public don’t want it. Most of the British public, never mind the Scottish public, are heartily sick of referendums. They divide, they turn people against each other; the scars are deep; they’re still there in Scotland and people don’t want to go through that again.”

Hmmm…… not sure if I can agree with his timeframe there, politics is a tricky business; the benchmark for a second indyref appears to be beyond the SNP at the present time. 2021, the Holyrood election is probably the most important election since Holyrood opened its doors in 1999.

If the SNP can be kicked out and a new administration formed the problem is in the long grass, an SNP minority doesn’t get a new Bill through if the Greens do badly.

The question is who is in the bets possible position to topple the SNP; this comes down to either the Labour Party or the Conservatives. The current position of the Labour Party in third position doesn’t bode well for them, Labour and the SNP both fish in the same voter pool.

Finally, here is an idea to rap your head around, we won’t be having a General Election till 2022, if Nicola Sturgeon comes under intense pressure, she maybe force to collapse her government and attempt to bet on trying to get a majority. This is called ‘betting the farm’, it’s all or nothing, of course that involves major risk as it could leave her in a worse position at Holyrood. Alex Bell, former Alex Salmond recently said that Nicola Sturgeon isn’t a ‘great’ politician’.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/politics/655266/shes-in-a-bad-place-and-it-wont-end-well-courier-columnist-alex-bell-thinks-nicola-sturgeons-leadership-has-reached-its-endgame/

Question is does she have the ability to push ‘all in’ or is the FM salary more important along with the status?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

The Battle for £77,000k a year, Pollok version, Labour Row over Westminster candidate selection heats up as Pollok Office holder Alison Campbell Glass lodges a formal complaint against Asim Khan asking Labour General Sec Brian Roy to investigate his fitness to remain a candidate, Anas Sarwar’s preferred candidate under pressure

Dear All

There is an old saying, it never rains but it pours, I am a member of Pollok CLP, that’s the Labour Party which covers Glasgow South West. Recently, as a member I was told that I wasn’t to be allowed a vote in the selection of the Glasgow South West candidate for the next Westminster election.

When I rejoined the Labour Party last October, I wasn’t allowed to attend party meetings for the first four months of my membership despite the rules saying I was entitled to.

I read once that the Pollok CLP was been described as the ‘worst’ Labour CLP in Scotland. During my time as a member, the CLP was badly organised, which led former Labour Cllr Alistair Watson to say at a meeting that the party had forgotten ‘how to campaign’.

In 2016, I did something unusual, I did only the Labour campaign in Pollok, in fact when it came to doing the Govan part which resides in the Pollok part, I did this myself. No one came out with me to help attempt to elect ex Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont.

No one!

Her election was a complete shambles; believe me I have seen some shit run election campaigns in my time. The old saying the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing was an understatement. During the campaign, the election agent, Kevin O’Donnell disappeared to a job in London which helped as he couldn’t a piss up in a brewery. As that campaign ran, what struck me was the lack of people turning up to help Johann Lamont.

What happened in Pollok was the CLP was run into the ground; there was no work ethic, no loyalty, no team spirit, no objectives, no real campaigning on local issues which party members could be engaged in beyond leafleting.

One senior Labour person said to me that it is amazing how people come out of the woodwork when a candidacy is going but are never really seen when it comes to the workdays. Since the start of this year, the Pollok CLP hasn’t done much, in fact, other than the national workdays; I haven’t been notified that any activity was taking place.

I haven’t done a single day of activism for the Labour Party, this year, what was demonstrated to me during the campaign of Johann Lamont was the utter contempt that I was held in. Needless to say if Pollok CLP ever has Johann Lamont as a candidate, I will not under any circumstances work for her.    

  

In my first stint of Labour membership Asim Khan was an office holder, I rarely worked with him, despite doing a lot of activism during the Lamont campaign. He is a member of the Sarwar camp. Now, he finds himself in a spot of bother as the potential Labour candidate following a formal complaint to Labour’s general secretary Brian Roy.

Someone, I have never heard of called Alison Campbell Glass has written to the Labour general secretary to complain, she is an office bearer in local party in Pollok. It appears her complaint is that Asim Khan failed to tell the party about a 2016 employment tribunal in which a judge criticised him.

In light of this evidence, she also felt to egg her ‘pudding’ that she should add in:

“I would ask that you immediately investigate both Asim Khan’s non-disclosure and his actions in this case, with a view to determining whether he is a fit and proper person to be a Labour candidate.”

She also raised the judge’s comments:

“The complete quotes, and others that may be in the full record of this case, would be absolutely devastating if used in leaflets and other media by our political opponents.”

So, to break this down, Asim Khan hasn’t been charged with anything, and given the other shit surrounding the Labour Party such as racism, anti-Semitism and bad policies, someone saying they didn’t like Asim Khan’s evidence is hardly going to rate as a deal breaker with the public. 

If I was to hedge a bet, I would say that the problem for the winning candidate will be trying to get people to work for them at the Pollok CLP, it is a long time before the next General Election.

Historically, despite a large Asian Muslim membership in Pollok, next to no Asians attend regular work days on a weekly basis. If Matt Kerr wins, I doubt any Asian Muslims will turn up at Pollok for the long campaign and my experience of the short campaign is that that will pretty much non existent.

If, I had any issue with Asim Khan, it would be when he was mentioned in the ruling by the judge who described as his “complete failure” to take steps to protect the claimant in his role as chair.

At present, Asim Khan is currently taking Labour to court amid claims of racism after an internal ruling resulted in around 80 local members not being eligible to vote in the selection process for Glasgow South West. Given this contest was even thought of at the time that people signed up to the party, this doesn’t look like natural justice to me.

I am also affected by this ruling as well.

Many of the people not getting a vote are from ethnic minority backgrounds, I am white, however; this ruling seems to favour Labour Cllr Matt Kerr. The practice of signing up Muslims to get a Muslim candidate isn’t new, but no one wants to talk about it in the Labour Party. Asim Khan wants a judicial review of the freeze date put in place by Labour’s governing Scottish Executive Committee, with his Court of Session petition branding the decision “irrational, unreasonable, illegal and ultra vires”. If he wins, he could get enough Muslim votes to become the candidate.

That however doesn’t get Asim Khan out of the woods, then he has to find people willing to be activists for him, as I mentioned there is a lack of Muslims willing to do activism in Pollok CLP; however they turn up in droves to vote a Muslim candidate in, then disappear.

Finally, one of the campaign co-ordinators of Pollok has emailed members to ask:

“Please, take a couple of minutes to fill in the survey, this will enable the CLP to know what you wish to campaign on and what you will like to get involved in within the CLP”.

I found this in my junk mail folder!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

SNP Cult of personality; ex SNP Deputy leader Jim Sillars flags up the ‘elephant in the room’, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is running "one-person" government, you can also add there is no vision and everything centres around trying to promote completely inept Nicola Sturgeon as likeable, her leadership is poisoning Scottish political life and the nation

Dear All

Over the years I have said many things about the SNP, they run on the ‘cult of the leader’ and that there was a genuine lack of talent in the SNP. As usual, I have been ahead of the curve on the SNP problems. Jim Sillars rightly gets a lot of press when he speaks; he also gets a lot of abuse from the brainwashed Nationalists. There is no hiding that the SNP are running a failed Government leaving aside their continual bleeping on independence.

Sillars says Nicola Sturgeon is running a "one-person" government.

Jim Sillars is right, for the most part, her ministers and MSPs have disappeared from public view, announcements; anything good is read out by Nicola Sturgeon to attempt to boost her profile.

What is lacking in the SNP is independent voices, new ideas, coupled with the problem of a repeated lack of “intellectual rigour”, plus an inability of Nicola Sturgeon to listen.

There is a bunker mentality exhibited by Sturgeon, this follows the pattern which led to the downfall of Alex Salmond, arrogance used to mask fear. Sturgeon is scared, not just of the opposition but also of those behind her, she doesn’t generate loyalty, and she isn’t a natural leader.

In the SNP Cult, Nicola Sturgeon is seen as the chosen one, all knowing and wise, kindly and hip, the reality is that she is a petty vain politician out of her depth and mentally and physically passed her sell by date.

Nicola Sturgeon is a ‘poundland’ Angela Merkel.

Jim Sillars adds:

“The SNP Government is a one-person show in which the First Minister calls not only the tune, but writes the verses, with ‘discussion’ and ‘debate’ words not in her lexicon.”

In a dig at the party membership, he says that the “mindless admiration” was bad for a party, but ultimately worse for its subject, you can’t really argue with that statement. The SNP as I previously blogged is a ‘rat ship’, that is permanently forced to be at sea because they can’t find a safe port.

Although Sillars, says the problem could be traced to the “Strong Leader syndrome” that developed under Mr Salmond, the correct term for what is going on is ‘Cult of personality’, think back to Stalin and Hitler who used the technique to great effect to exercise control.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality

One thing which the deputy contest will not change is the direction of the SNP, there is a lack of quality candidates, no one with any sense wants to be shackled to the ‘Fall of the Sturgeon Empire’. When she goes, the SNP must also get a new chief executive to replace Murrell and also several of the current staff, namely McCann. In the present political climate, there won’t be a referendum before 2021, and post 2021 with a possible hung parliament, no chance of getting a referendum bill through Holyrood.

Time is against Nicola Sturgeon.

When Jim Sillars says Sturgeon should hand over to "someone better"; that flags up another major problem; there isn’t anyone who is capable of uniting the party let alone Scotland.

Jim Sillars said:

“I have been concerned about the lack of intellectual rigour within the SNP. The cry for an early referendum on independence immediately following the EU result is a case in point”.

He added:

“Another is in the contest for the party’s deputy leader, where a bidding battle for a referendum date is underway: despite;

(a) there has been no examination of why we lost;

(b) as a consequence there have been no new policy positions upon which to campaign;

(c) the central organisation essential to a successful campaign does not exist;

(d) there are no funds; and, (e) Yes has not moved from its polls’ position of 46 per cent.

Although Yes Scotland ran a better technical campaign on the ground, the message was fraudulent built on deception.

In regarded to the problem of Sturgeon’s continual leadership, he assessed:

“The result of the uncritical praise of a leader has brought about what everyone in the Holyrood SNP parliamentary party, and the group at Westminster, knows but will not say in public – that the SNP Government is a one-person show in which the First Minister calls not only the tune, but writes the verses, with ‘discussion’ and ‘debate’ words not in her lexicon.”

The fact that SNP MPs don’t know what the party is doing and are kept in the dark even at the leadership level at Westminster speaks volumes. Input is effectively not sought and knowledge is not passed on.

Finally, there is no vision in the SNP which explains why Scotland is getting worse and not better for its people, everything revolves around Sturgeon and PR gimmicks replace substance. In order for the people of Scotland to make a fresh start, Nicola Sturgeon has to go along with her government. The experiment of ‘civic’ nationalism is a fraud and a disaster, instead of making government work, we have government used along with Holyrood as a campaigning tool by the SNP to foster division.

I have repeatedly said that stupidity is a poor substance for intelligence, but under Nicola Sturgeon, a failed career politician, that is all she can offer.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Jumping on the SNP bandwagon; Constitutional crisis looms as Labour and Lib Dem MSPs prepare to reject UK’s Brexit Bill along with SNP and Scottish Greens, the case for reform of Holyrood to downgrade it is becoming an issue, Holyrood has been turned into a vehicle to promote independence referendums, that isn’t its role

Dear All

Holyrood is a disgrace as a parliament, when Donald Dewar muttered ‘There shall be a Scottish Parliament”, sadly what passes for an MSP for the most part is pretty dire, the class of 1999 were crap.

You could talk about certain individuals shortcomings, but lets stick with the main parties, the SNP has managed to cobble together the Scottish Parliament to reject the UK government’s Brexit Bill.

This isn’t a principled stance it is stupidity, the excuse for this nonsense is concerns of a “power grab”. When powers are returned to the UK from the EU, these powers have to be returned to Westminster before being passed down to the devolved parliaments.

It is rocket science.

The SNP are engineering this unprecedented constitutional crisis to attempt to create a climate to demand indyref 2. The SNP has managed to get Labour, Greens and Liberal Democrat MSPs onboard to vote against a legislative consent motion (LCM) at Holyrood.

So, what’s this about, for the Nats, it is about indyref 2, for the Labour and Lib Dems, it is about being seen to stand up for Scotland, cut to the chase, they are scared not losing votes by being ‘labelled’ anti Scottish.

It is high time that some people developed some backbone in the unionist parties, what the Labour Party in Scotland should have done was abstain, there is no benefit to them jumping on the indy bandwagon.

Jumping on the bandwagon then getting off a few stops later are the actions of fools.

In ramping up the rhetoric, Nicola Sturgeon said she would be 'astonished' if MSPs do not refuse legislative consent for the bill. What is becoming clear that the Scottish Parliament needs to be reformed; we need a new Scotland Act to stop this nonsense continually being used as an excuse for a referendum.

In due time, the concerns about the 24 key controls, in areas including farming and fishing will be dealt with, however on fishing, this area should be reserved to Westminster.

UK ministers need to ensure the integrity of the UK single market, to that end, frameworks need to be ironed out and agreed to ensure areas like food standards run smoothly. What the SNP are doing, and what they have always done is cause trouble for trouble’s sake.

Failed ex EducationBrexit minister running Brexit for Sturgeon, Mike Russell said:

“The Scottish Parliament has a powerful opportunity to unite to protect the powers of devolution and make it clear we do not accept the attempt to constrain the powers of the Scottish Parliament as it stands in the current EU Withdrawal Bill. This is not some abstract issue – this covers key policy areas such as farming, food and drink, fisheries and protecting the environment. I have said time and again it is unacceptable that the legislation gives the UK government the power to ban the Scottish Parliament from legislating on devolved areas for up to seven years without the parliament’s consent.”

In an attempt to appear as Scottish leader of an independent country in waiting, Nicola Sturgeon is trying to raise her profile, speaking at a Q&A event in London yesterday, Sturgeon said the UK will prove it can’t be trusted with devolved powers after Brexit if it “carries on regardless” when the Scottish Parliament rejects the EU Withdrawal Bill today.

In one sense I am glad that this matter will end up at the UK Supreme Court because there is only one outcome, Nicola Sturgeon will lose, her petty little scheme is doomed to failure because the UK is sovereign.

Nicola Sturgeon told a business audience any kind of Brexit deal would advance the case for a second Scottish independence referendum, so there you have it, ‘any kind of Brexit deal’, this was never about anything else. In 2021, the Scottish people get a chance to reform Holyrood, what is clear is the SNP has to be removed from power. At the present moment looking at the polling, the people’s votes are in flux, what we might end up with is an SNP minority government with Sturgeon not able to even get a majority with the help of the Scottish Greens.

If the Unionist parties start campaign, they can achieve a stalemate of the SNP not being able to pass a new referendum bill. If Nicola Sturgeon can’t pass a new referendum bill and is able to be the minority government, this is the end of her career.

Tory constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins said:

“It’s profoundly regrettable that we don’t have a deal in Scotland to allow us to move on. The blame for that lies entirely with the SNP. Nicola Sturgeon has refused to compromise. It’s not in Scotland’s interests that the SNP prefers picking fights to making a deal.”

One thing that Tomkins doesn’t grasp is there is no point in making a late appeal to Labour and Liberal Democrat MSPs to back the LCM. Their concern is about votes! I personally wouldn’t have wasted my breath making any overtures to them, life is too short to waste time.

Labour Brexit spokesman Neil Findlay said his party delivered the Scottish Parliament and is determined to “defend devolution”.

And what a failure that has turned out to be.

Findlay said:

“The problems with clause 15, formally clause 11, mean that Labour will vote against the principle of legislative consent for the EU Withdrawal Bill at Holyrood today. The Tories’ shambolic handling of this key area for Scotland is pushing the case towards the Supreme Court.”

Lib Dem Brexit Spokesman Tavish Scott added:

“Liberal Democrat MSPs do not believe that the Scottish Parliament should give consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill.”

Finally, people talk about the need to close Holyrood because since 1999, the institution has been a spectacular failure and a drain on the Scottish taxpayer, we have a whole tier of elected people who have contributed very little for the people of Scotland.

The calibre of MSP is to be kind exceptionally poor, in the old days, it was said that the cream of the Scottish political elite went to Westminster, one thing certain is the cream has gone sour in Holyrood.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Right at Glasgow University

Trio of Doom and Gloom, ex Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband says UK must stay in 'safe harbour' of EU single market as he joins cross-party Remainer drive with Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan, multi tasking Miliband sells out his country and undermines Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership the same time, what a star!

Dear All

One of the things of interest to me is ex politicians who jumped ship giving their tuppence worth on matters that don’t affect them.

David Miliband has waded into the Brexit debate to say UK must stay in 'safe harbour' of EU single market. This in part echos the ramblings of Tony Blair another defunct politician, in the past Miliband was seen as a possible saviour of the Labour Party.

In my mind, he like his brother Ed aren’t saviours of any kind for anyone from a working class background.

After losing the bid to be leader of the Labour Party by his brother, he took up the post of head of the International Rescue Committee in New York. He probably didn’t find that job at Jobcentre Plus since the remuneration pay packet would be £300,000 ($450,000) a year.

Now, like Blair, David Miliband is attempting to muddy the waters by joining cross-party Remainer drive with Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan. Although he is entitled to an opinion, the fact is he is on the wrong side of history, never a good place to be. One of the points, Miliband cites is that the the UK was being 'held to ransom' by demands for a 'hard Brexit', putting security and economic prosperity at risk.

How does having control of your own borders equal a security risk?

We have had over 40 years of EU Membership, does this feel like a prosperous country, is there milk and honey which everyone has missed, along with nirvana? The EU is a political organisation which wants to remove sovereignty from every country who is a member and impose their rule.

The EU is anti country and anti worker.

But….. here we have Miliband who lives in the USA telling us what is good for us, to line up alongside ex-Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and rebel Tory MP Nicky Morgan to demand close ties with the EU.

Speaking at a rice factory in Essex, the trio will claim the Government's proposals for Brexit would 'diminish Britain's standing in the world'.

This is laughable; also if you take the time to read Miliband’s wiki, he has an interest in the control of foodstuff, namely rice. The Trio of Doom and Gloom want to urge MPs and peers to seize control of Brexit from ministers and force a softer approach. In other words stage an anti democracy coup against the people, this will not be allowed to happen.

Norway's PM Erna Solberg apparently backs this idea, again, no one care what the Norwegian PM thinks on Brexit or indeed on any subject.

Europhile politicians are gearing up for a last-ditch effort to water down Brexit but the UK Government must hold firm, the people of the UK made the decision to leave the EU, that means all of it, not a part, all of it.

Theresa May appears to be on the verge of defeat in Cabinet over her favoured plan for a 'customs partnership' with the EU.

A clash on single market membership is also on the cards, with Jeremy Corbyn facing pressure for scores of Labour MPs to shift his party's policy. Miliband said the Labour leader risked being seen as the 'midwife of hard Brexit' by failing to back single market membership.

One has to wonder that since Miliband won’t get his way whether his intervention is more about doing damage to Jeremy Corbyn to usher in a new ‘Blair’ Era of New Labour politics which previously was despised over issues like Iraq.

In trying to sell his ‘vision’ Miliband cites the single market isn't just about the trade in goods and services, it's also about environmental regulation, it's also about employee rights. As I have mentioned before the EU doesn’t protect employee’s rights, the ‘Viking Case’ puts to death that lie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Transport_Workers_Federation_v_Viking_Line_ABP

Miliband like a lot of arrogant politicians relies on the ignorance of the public not doing the research, in the case above; all the employees were kicked out of their jobs which the EU didn’t protect.

Finally, the remainers still haven’t accepted the fact that the people of Britain have moved on from the EU, there is a ground swell for hard Brexit in my opinion because people don’t want their democratic vote undermined, what does David Miliband represent, the past, not the good old days, the bad old days, and clearly people have had enough of that.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

What does ‘Labour values’ actually mean, Alan Johnson, the former Labour Home Secretary says Labour in worst position since days of Militant Tendency, he should lay the blame for this firmly at the door of the Labour ‘moderates’, the careerists middle class people who brought down the party and help to create Momentum

Dear All

Yesterday’s blog was all about the need for the Labour Party to change, not just in Scotland but through-out the UK. The elections results were hailed as a success for Labour by Labour, they acquired 60 plus extra seats.  It was progress but it was a breakthrough especially when you consider that the Conservatives are effectively up to their eyes in Brexit.

In the dark old days of Labour, the party had Militant Tendency, this happy little band pushed Labour towards being unelectable. In 2018, we have Momentum; Momentum is a vehicle for supporting Jeremy Corbyn. There are two Labour Parties rolled into one, there is Momentum and there is Progress, the latter is seen as New Labour who love to tag themselves as ‘moderates’.

New Labour isn’t interested in the working class or the poor, these people are middle class careerists straight out of University who use ‘poverty’ as their vehicle in the same way that social scientists use the poor to extract money from the system to fund their lifestyle.

What is missing in the Labour Party is balance.

Tony Blair brought the Labour Party great success but the price was too high, he sold out his people, his party and his country to the Americans. A lot of people died in the Iraq War because Blair wanted to get close to President George W Bush.  

Alan Johnson, the former Labour Home Secretary who is more of a TV pundit on shows like This Week says that Labour is in worst position since days of Militant Tendency. Johnson claims that leadership of Jeremy Corbyn would “all end in tears”. Judging by the political situation as it stands now, it is unlikely that Corbyn will be Prime Minister. Although Jeremy Corbyn does well in home affairs, he has never got over the hurdle of foreign affairs, in that regard he is out of his depth.

As to the idea of Diane Abbott as Home Secretary, this clueless wonder has no aptitude, ability or sense to hold such a sensitive post. I liked Diane Abbott on This Week a lot doing her chitchat with Michael Portillo but Home Sec….. please!

Speaking at a conference held at Brighton College, Alan Johnson also turned his fire onto Labour's pledge to scrap tuition fees as "a crazy piece of populism". In Scotland, we have ‘free tuition’ except it isn’t free, the tab is picked up by the taxpayer which means the many are paying for the few, and the few are generally middle class. Free Tuition in Scotland should be reserved for the poorest; under various governments, they were increasingly shut out of a university education.

What Alan Johnson effectively saying is that you can have a Labour Government elected in name only which won’t uphold the principles of Keir Hardie but it will be run by university educated middle class people. These people are the ones who brought us the Iraqi War, the bedroom tax and ATOS; they call themselves ‘moderates’.

Since the days of Tony Blair, the Labour Party has been plagued by ‘careerists’ which brought the party to its knees, Scotland is a good example of how it goes drastically wrong when you elect people who don’t represent the people of their constituency. In the old days, you used to get great parliamentarians, now you get dross for the most part, really dross that sat on huge Labour majorities and did nothing.

      

One thing that the 2015 General election did was to remove many useless Labour MPs who should have been removed by the Labour Party; the electorate done them a favour. That said, we had Labour dross replaced by SNP dross which didn’t make a difference as some people have told me from their experience of surgeries.  

Alan Johnson questioned the purpose of pro-Corbyn group Momentum, saying:

"Why do we need a second organisation within an organisation, particularly when it is just a fan club for the leader?"

This is easy; they have the same role as ‘Progress’ which is seen by some as a second organisation within an organisation.

Finally, I am neither in the Momentum or Progress camps, I see each of them as having problems which doesn’t attract me to their cause. If there is to be a Labour Government, then the party has to come together, so far there is no sign of unity either side of the border. Having rejoined the party, I don’t see a reason to offer my services as an experienced activist to them, or any particular clique within it.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University