Dear All
I met Frank McAveety once at a polling station; as he walked by he said hello, this was in stark contrast to Labour Councillor George Ryan, and a wee Labour activist pensioner who was growling at everyone.
Rather like a wild animal guarding a tasty hot pie, he was terribly unhappy.
Such is the people you meet pottering about the place.
Anyway, in May, Frank McAveety lost his seat at Holyrood to John Mason of the SNP.
The Mason camp was highly motivated on the ground; John Mason took the election very serious getting out early in the morning to deliver leaflets, then running campaign teams at night time.
The hard work paid off, Mason won and McAveety, a Labour heavy hitter was run to second place.
The McAveety team didn’t work hard enough.
Having lost and it was a shock, minds turn to the Glasgow City Council election, a springboard back to Holyrood for McAveety.
If, McAveety wants back to Holyrood, he needs a public platform to do so, councillor will give him that essential public profile.
But he has trouble; Strathclyde Police is investigating a complaint about alleged financial irregularities at McAveety’s former constituency office in Glasgow Shettleston.
Labour Councillor of shame, Andy Muir has volunteered a statement to CID officers about events during his employment in the office between 2008 and 2010.
Andy Muir, a serving Glasgow Labour councillor was de-selected by Labour just recently in the cull of deadwood.
He stood for councillor twice in Baillieston running under the slogan, ‘who is Andy Muir?’
The first time he tried that wheeze, he bombed against the nationalist David Turner who won the seat vacated by John Mason who had won the Glasgow East by-election, Labour MP David Marshall resigned in a hurry.
The second time, Muir stood against David Cassidy of the SNP and won comfortably.
Things have changed however, since his de-selection Muir, the son of a police officer and a member of Strathclyde Police Authority has visited Strathclyde Police force’s Deputy Chief Constable Neil Richardson.
Frank McAveety has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said Muir’s allegations were “without foundation”.
This is a problem for Frank McAveety tipped to be making his comeback at the council elections.
The former MSP said in a statement:
“Andy Muir was employed to work in my constituency office but as time went by it became clear he was not fulfilling the duties expected of him. To assist him, we reduced his hours, but eventually we had to terminate his contract.”
The SNP said Labour should suspend McAveety from the party pending the outcome of the investigation.
Another person who could have much to say on this issue is the office manager at Councillor Alex Glass, the Labour whip on Glasgow City Council.
Glass is current a councillor in Ward 3, and two of his fellow councillors Tommy Morrison and William O’Rourke have been already been de-selected.
If there is any truth in the Muir allegations, it may affect his re-election chances.
Frank McAveety has had a troubled history in politics, ‘piegate’ was a classic example, then came the infamous ‘schooliegate’ incident were he describe a school girl at a hearing as “dark and dusky”.
He left the microphone on!
This forced him to resign as petitions convenor a job he was held in high regard of across the chamber at Holyrood, for his fairness.
The Labour Party needs people such as Frank McAveety in order to lend gravitas to their campaign to hold the city of Glasgow.
'Wongagate' is set to run and run!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
this guy thinks he can get away with anything he is a liablility to any party so get him out of politics a he can get a job somewhere else if anyboday is daft enought to take him on
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