Dear All
Gordon ‘free dinners’ Matheson is under
attack.
On the inside, he has to watch his own back
from Labour Councillors, and on the outside, the Scottish National Party in
Glasgow is running ‘get the gay guy’ campaign over the George Square debacle.
It’s a tough life in Glasgow politics.
What price loyalty.
Gordon Matheson is under so much strain,
that he has sacked a key rival from a high-profile and lucrative post.
So, what is George Redmond’s crime?
Allegations of plots and disloyalty, reminds
me of the television series I, Claudius.
George Redmond, head of the transport
quango that runs the Glasgow Subway, I hardly use the subway myself, but now Redmond
has been sacked, I expect he will have more time for acts of disloyalty and
plotting.
The cruel part of this ‘ticket to nowhere’
story is that Redmond has lost £20,000 after being removed from the post.
Oh, that is a sore one!
And the irony, he got the post for loyalty
to Matheson in the first place.
George Redmond’s name pops up on my radar now
and again but really, is he a thinker!
Ever since Matheson has come under
pressure, the wolves have been circling; it has been
a turbulent year for him.
The big two fumbles in the jungle have been
the aborted George Square redesign and the rather damaging episode of being
caught by the police performing a sex act in a car.
On the first issue, the SNP/ Team Sturgeon
have set out on the vengeance trail; Matheson humiliated Nicola Sturgeon as she
failed in her attempt to win Glasgow from Labour.
Why punish Matheson when the villain was
the disastrous, inept and out of touch then SNP leader Allison Hunter.
Hunter buried the SNP campaign, the old age
pensioner far from being a Celtic Tiger was just an old burnt has bean, well
past her sell by date.
The second issue of the sex act in public
shows how morally bankrupt Team Sturgeon is, they said it was a private matter,
they got that wrong.
Since the good weather has come in,
Matheson has started his summer offensive, in the East of the City, hardly
mother Russia, the launch came when he accused east end councillor Mr Redmond
of trying to gather support for a challenge against him or encouraging others
to stand as leadership candidates.
Redmond a power player, I thought he was
just a ‘wee guy’ from Glasgow, has he been watching Westwing and other programmes
of political skullduggery.
Him losing is his earner on the subway has
seen skullduggery transform into skullbuggery!
Well buggered now financially!
No holiday this year unless he has already
booked methinks.
So, using the summer offensive; some will
see this as Matheson laying down the law, strong and decisive action.
Okay, he took Redmond’s cash away, but it
wasn’t like he cut out his tongue, or silenced any future plotting, in fact you
could say he has created a lightening rod.
Some say that it smacks of
"vindictiveness and revenge", if Redmond was a plotter then he is a
rotter, and why pay for an enemy to have a better lifestyle?
Govan Councillor, the recently elected
James Adams is the administration's business manager, essentially the group
whip, was he consulted about the summer offensive, or is he just a foot
soldier?
Adams is well known within the Scottish
Labour machinery and is very close to the Sarwar dynasty, the key power brokers
in Glasgow Labour.
At this point, James if the Council could
fix the roads round my bit I would be grateful.
One source says appointing Mr Adams as whip
was the first step in grooming him as a potential leadership candidate for the
next council election.
I don’t see that just yet, Matheson it was
said had an eye on Holyrood, but I think the window for that idea has closed.
One source said:
"George Redmond's been sacked for
disloyalty. When he got the SPT job he was told it would require him to be
supportive of the leader. Instead, he's been briefing against him, trying to
undermine him. Even the dogs in the street knew he was wanting a challenge to
Gordon."
Dogs in the street!
Well Matheson certainly sold Redmond a pup
with this move.
Another source said:
"It looks a bit desperate, a month
after being re-elected unopposed. It might not actually do Redmond that much
harm as it looks like vindictiveness and revenge on Gordon's part."
A spokesman for the adminstration said:
"A year on from Labour's historic
election victory this is the appropriate time for a minor reshuffle within the
administration."
Sunny weather has just come in, Matheson
has left Redmond on a financial sticky wicket, the £20k will be missed, but I am
sure the plotting will not be going away anytime soon.
Matheson is looking like at some stage he
will be encircled on the eastern front of Glasgow, Labour at that point might
not be able to drop supplies into help him and then surrender of position.
Mr Redmond is unavailable for comment at
present but he will probably be slightly upset at losing £20k.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow
University
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