The real Glaswegian working class voice in the independence debate read by thousands, the BBC and other related media, secured the first criminal conviction against one of the seven top cybernats outed by the Daily Mail
Thursday, August 2, 2012
SNP activist quits after 22 years of service, SNP leadership like an "elected dictatorship", Salmond’s brand of divided nationalism in 2012?
Dear All
One of the things that the Scottish National Party likes to portray is that they are a united party.
In fact that isn’t true, the SNP isn’t a united party and the reason it isn’t is because of the increasingly isolated and out of touch leadership of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.
If you speak out in the SNP you may find yourself attacked by the vicious nasty vile middle class clique surrounding the leadership of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.
Recently, on the blog and elsewhere I have myself been subject to attack.
Here is a selection of Cybernats comments:
From the lying Nationalist Bigot, Tommy Ball:
“Hi George, In the tradition of politeness and fairness, it is only reasonable to let you know that I have made an official complaint against you to the SNP, on the grounds of the content of your blog, which I consider to be racist Also, I think we both know why you've been pursuing your frankly pathetic campaign against me, don't we :) And so does everyone else in your branch :) Tommy”
On Ball’s pathetic blog which incidentally he tells the world, he has had a bath, he has called me a racist, seems to implied I am both a homosexual and a nazi, and attacked my personal appearance. On Twitter he described British Soldiers as “child killers” and “uneducated racist thugs”, as well as abusing politicians from other parties in vile terms.
Funnily enough he has taken to Twitter to seek help because he apparently doesn’t like one of his victims standing up to him, his cry for help is most amusing, a harasser of innocent people wants protection to harass.
Remember when I talked about a lack of talent in the SNP?
Ball is a prime example of someone who thinks he is clever when the opposite is true.
Other Cybernat comments:
"why is a hate campaign by Humza Yousaf's wife, Gail Lythgoe 'okay' but George Laird free speech bad? " Because your a fat cunt with bad breath and smelly feet maybe?”
And;
“You are becoming more and more rabid and unstable why don't you go and stand in the sea and do us all a favour and shut your big fat fucking ugly face”.
And;
“You are an extremely odd individual”.
Some of the other stuff is unprintable.
If you check the polls for independence, you will see support is collapsing, that tends to happen when people see right through you.
A recent symptom of the estrangement between the leadership and grass roots members is the decision by an SNP activist who has resigned his membership in protest at the "undemocratic" decision by Alex Salmond's cabinet to push ahead with same-sex marriage legislation saying it wasn't in the SNP manifesto.
On the blog, I have said that the SNP is run as a middle class clique for the benefit of a middle class clique.
In the Sunday Mail, there was a story about me and the attempt by the SNP National Secretary William Henderson to brand me homophobic.
Henderson attempted to twist my words for his own ends and accessed my personal data, my home address for his own personal use using the SNP system to file a complaint, two letters sent to my home signed by him.
There is absolutely no evidence to justify his malicious complaint whatsoever.
Henderson also appointed himself to set up the hearing against me and knew that I had submitted a written statement to the judge.
Another aspect of this Scottish National Party discrimination was that I was to be denied a representative of my choice by Henderson using his office as National Secretary.
All of this is highly unethical, unprofessional and discriminatory.
This is how the modern SNP operates unchecked, Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell know and importantly are doing nothing about this, is this their vision of the new Scotland for working class people?
If I am treated like this as an SNP member, what do they have in store for ordinary working class people?
It gets better, when I stood as a candidate, I was treated unfairly, in the SNP you can be failed on a made up lie despite massive evidence to the contrary.
Where's the fairness, equality and social justice in that, in a supposedly democratic party when a lie carries more weight than the truth?
When I submitted a data subject access request, not only was the information illegally withheld beyond the legal time limit, my identification wasn’t returned and specific information asked for wasn’t included.
My request for an investigation sent weeks ago to Chief Executive Peter Murrell, husband of Nicola Sturgeon hasn’t been acknowledged yet.
Back to the SNP activist who has resigned, Robert Stewart, 66 was a member for 22 years, and secretary of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency association.
His gripe on same sex marriage; he said:
"SNP members have never been consulted as members. There is no party policy on the matter. National Conference have not discussed the issue”.
Clearly Mr. Stewart was under the opinion that I was prior to my ill treatment that in the SNP ‘we are all in this together’.
Plainly we aren’t, ‘we are all in this together’ to get certain people elected as candidates only.
If he took the time to look at manifestos in the SNP, he would have seen that the same people write the motions to conferences, the same people are put forward as spokespersons and the same people get the preferential treatment.
The rest of the SNP membership doesn’t get a look in, in any real sense.
The united party is really the untied isolated clique from my experience.
Stewart added:
"It is not an SNP manifesto commitment and I simply cannot understand how the SNP have a democratic mandate either from the party or from the nation to make such a fundamental change to a centuries-old institution.
"In short, I find the decision undemocratic."
On July 25 Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that legalising gay marriage is "the right thing to do".
Presumably since I have written to Ms. Sturgeon previously she may opine that giving me justice in an Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon controlled party may also be “the right thing to do".
Do I ask too much when I ask for fairness, equality and social justice which should be the right of every SNP member?
If I don’t get it, it shows the true calibre of Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell.
Mr Stewart, from Glen Urquhart in Inverness-shire, said he has resigned not in protest at the policy but in response to the way the decision was handled by leaders, which he feared could become an "elected dictatorship".
Other people have commented to me personally how they feel that the SNP is turning into an elected dictatorship that won’t listen, not only to their own members but also the public.
The majority spoke on same sex marriage and the majority was ignored.
Stewart added:
"I am not a church person, am not married to the person I live with and been divorced twice. Some people might call me a hypocrite. But this is all about democracy and proper consultation, and that has not happened.
"I'm a great believer in grassroots democracy and not elected dictatorships. I had always believed the SNP was the only party that listened to people and I was besotted with the party, but this decision has come as a great shock to me and I'm finding it hard to get my head round what is happening.
"I believe the move is a needless distraction before the referendum on independence and will cost the SNP votes from evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics and Muslims."
It is said that Mr. Stewart after his 22 years of loyal service was sent a "curt" reply by party chief executive Peter Murrell, Ms Sturgeon's husband after he tendered his resignation.
Mr Stewart added:
"There was no attempt to reason with me after 22 years of service. I felt offended by that after so long in the front line."
If there is any comfort for Mr. Stewart at being offended it is that the majority of SNP members from my personal experience don’t want to work with these people, and that the tide is turning against them.
One day Bravehearts Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell will be looking around for help from the very people that have been ill treated because my experience of their middle clique is that they won’t do the hard graft week in week out on the doorsteps.
It may take a bit of time but the SNP leadership has a day of judgement coming, several in fact.
Finally, always be nice to the people at the bottom because they are the people who keep you at the top, presumably someone should explain that to the SNP leadership. It is very hard to find cheap labour and almost impossible to find free labour.
It is akin to a miracle to find free labour that is willing to work for people who treat them like c*nts.
And given hardly anyone wants to work for the SNP; they should treat people that do come out with respect.
Maybe instead of Chariots of Fire, the SNP would do better to send out a copy of ‘A Man for All Seasons’ that way Scottish children can learn about integrity in schools.
Some senior SNP people really don't have gravitas and how it shows in their treatment of others!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Big Eck should bin the bogus Msp who gives him advice. He will regret giving her a lift.
ReplyDeleteShe'll disappear when things get too hot for her. Her track record is in the public domain. There for all too see.
More and more whispers of discontent amoungst my fellow SNP members and now a very public resignation. Over something the leadership had no mandate for or even consulted ordinary members. All done against the wishes of the majority of voters who put Eck where he is.
What happened to listening to the people? Eck and Nicola's warcry when reffering to a second question on the Independence ballot paper.
Yours, Disgusted.
Good people need to stand up George. They are going to blow our best chance of independence. The people that ran the disastrous, typo ridden SNP campaign for Glasgow will get these big Yes campaign director jobs and wreck our chance. We need one question, get re-connected with the rank and file and get out there. We still have a chance but the sycophantic elites around Salmond and sturgeon need to take a step back and not exclude good members and activists.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, I sympathise with Mr Stewart stance.
ReplyDeleteThe party are on self destruct mode as they are no longer listening to their grass roots voters and their members. They are running through their own agenda without due consultation and input.
This is a path to failure.
I am sure many others will follow Mr Stewart in the coming years if they continue with this undemocratic attitude
Dear Anon
ReplyDeleteI remember when Labour Party found themselves mired in greed.
I see the same thing happening in the Scottish National Party as cronies who don't work get approved as candidates.
Working class is actually second class in Salmond's party.
Given the make up of the Yes Scotland board, it isn't about how good you are but who you know.
What has Pat Kane done for indy?
I never saw him or Joan McAlpine at any by-election in Glasgow or elsewhere I was at for the SNP.
Not one single day.
The SNP is designed by the rich, run by the rich, for the benefit of the rich.
It isn't a untied party.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
What a stupid reply. The SNP are for the rich? Tell us, who never passed on the recent Tory tax cut to the rich? Tell us who has increased income tax for higher earners? Tell us who mitigated Tory Austerity to protect the vulnerable? The answer is the SNP!
ReplyDelete