Out of Love with Nicola, SNP insiders “There’s a feeling her Government is a bit of an old pal’s act”, in ancient Rome, the people got ‘bread and circuses’, in Scotland 2018, Nicola Sturgeon gives us ‘Tampons and Babyboxes’ to distract from her failed tired government, Health Secretary Shona Robison failures are too much of a deadweight that even senior SNP see the need to remove her

Dear All

It seems that there is cross party agreement between people in Scottish Labour, Scottish Conservatives and even the SNP!

What has brought everyone together?

It is the pressing need for Nicola Sturgeon to sack Scotland’s most famous "struggling" Health Secretary Shona Robison. Those in the SNP are waking up to the fact that Sturgeon, their golden ticket isn’t producing the goods. Support is falling, a second independence bid is looking increasingly distant, and the SNP in Government has no real direction to what represents a better Scotland.

SNP….. Strong on Slogans, Strong on Failure.

What Shona Robison represents is cronyism, back in the day; the only real threat to Nicola Sturgeon was the ‘Golden couple’ from Dundee, Robison and her husband Stewart Hosie. At SNP Conferences, the Golden couple’ had everything to propel them to the leadership, top jobs, brand names and family. Then came the dark times, Stewart Hosie goes an ploughs into another woman, a younger woman, a better looking woman, and the wheels came off the ‘Golden couple’. Hosie resigns as from his leadership position, and the SNP summer offensive for campaigning for indy hits the ‘brickwall’.

The problems with Shona Robison as Health Secretary started long before the public became aware of the Hosie situation, in fact, they started immediately on day one of Robison being made the health minister. The SNP treat ministerial offices as big pay days. What everyone knew was missing from those ministerial posts was time, time and solving problems. Years ago, I stated the SNP leadership had a habit of dumping problems onto others to fix and wash their hands of it. The same mentality is still present in the SNP. Insiders say that Robison needs to go and there has to be wide-ranging Government reshuffle.

And this is where the real problems lie, Robison is a dud.

One SNP MSP described the Sturgeon administration as “tired” and added:

“There’s a feeling her Government is a bit of an old pal’s act.”

Tired is an understatement, this SNP Government is a one trick pony which is why in 2017, 56 SNP MPs went down to 35 SNP MPs, and other’s seats were hanging by a thread. Now the senior SNP are waking up to the fact that their ‘bread and butter’ isn’t secure under Nicola Sturgeon. There is a possibility that the minority administration is heading towards being a minority administration without being able to have the Scottish Greens onboard to get an overall majority. The SNP insiders fear is real, minority government is the best placed scenario at the moment, the situation could turn drastically worse.

Nicola Sturgeon has failed to demonstrate leadership since taking up the post following the departure of Alex Salmond, Salmond built a legacy of support which has been eroded steadily by Sturgeon.

In the SNP, if you speak out you can be punished, so insiders speaking on condition of anonymity said the SNP Government lacks an overarching vision on domestic policy. Like a rabbit in headlines, everything revolves around Scottish independence, as if the next time they will win. 

2014 told a story in Scotland, it showed how deceitful the SNP were and willing to stoop to achieve their goal, they painted a picture, all built on lies.

People don’t like being lied too!

Robison has been Health Secretary for over three years but has faced repeated calls to resign, she lurches from crisis to crisis, in her local area Dundee, there is a health crisis, there is a wider GP recruitment problem, and she can’t get the overstretched ambulances to respond any better.

Nicola Sturgeon ran the health service into the ground, then she bailed just before the cracks showed, everyone who came into post after her was hit with a stack of problems which swamped them. One funny part to this story is that SNP insiders believe that MSP Jeane Freeman would be better at health, talk about grasping at straws. Freeman’s fame is that she is an ex Labour hack who worked for Jack McConnell, a member of the dreadful ‘Women for Independence’ and a former ‘quango queen’. Freeman was a former board member at the Scottish Police Authority and her experience of the NHS is chairing the board of the Golden Jubilee Foundation.

What the SNP insiders fail to grasp is there is a huge difference chairing a board to day to day running of a department! When it came to accepting new Social Security powers for Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon had to tell Westminster to hold back on them because the SNP Government couldn’t cope yet. All that Jeane Freeman has done is to help new Social Security (Scotland) Bill through Holyrood last week.

Finally, it was said by an SNP MSP:

“Alex Salmond’s Cabinet had more talent because he brought people in on ability. With Nicola, there’s a feeling her Government is a bit of an old pal’s act. She’s a cautious politician, but we are getting to the stage where caution looks like inertia.”

That appraisal is debatable, Kenny MacAskill was a dud as Justice Sec, Sturgeon herself used smoke and mirrors to fool everyone she was capable at health, and wasn’t. The fact remains changing deckchairs isn’t what the people of Scotland need; they need a new ship, that isn’t the SNP to take Scotland forward. One thing which I found particularly funny is Humza Yousaf is believed to be in the running for a promotion. During the recent bad weather, Humza Yousaf was exposed for being unable to guarantee food security by keeping the roads open.

He reacted too late, in line with an SNP Government who react post events, instead of being ahead of the curve.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

The end of a failed SNP political career: SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon stands alone in battle over Brexit powers, Lord Hope of Craighead describes why Nicola Sturgeon will lose at the UK Supreme Court, ‘low road’ politics is all the SNP can muster now grievance, grievance, grievance; it is not in Scotland’s national interest for Nicola Sturgeon to continue as First Minister

Dear All

Having been told that the offer by Prime Minister Theresa May is final on Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon has decided to stand alone against the UK government in an unwinnable fight. Fighting for the sake of fighting is stupid. Nicola Sturgeon’s act is more in line with someone who is an ‘attention seeker’ rather than a serious politician. 

Sturgeon wanted a constitutional crisis in order to try and restarted another doomed to fail Scottish independence bid and it now looks inevitable that a date with the UK Supreme Court is on the cards.  

In attempting to appear meaningful, the SNP leader has dismissed London's offer on the EU Withdrawal Bill as not being in the Scottish national interest, this is a joke because the SNP aren’t interested in the best interests of Scotland. 

If Theresa May’s offer was so bad, the Labour government in Wales won’t have done a compromise on the Bill earlier this week. In a crude attempt to rally Labour in Scotland, Sturgeon said that no self-respecting MSP could support the Conservative offer. This is Sturgeon playing at politics, she knows she will lose, and wants to have parliament back into two camps, pro UK Vs nationalists.

People like Nicola Sturgeon don’t care about anything except getting her way; she regarded the final Brexit amendments as unacceptable. She saying this would allow the UK government to override the will of Holyrood and impose legislation. If you think back to the Council tax freeze, the SNP didn’t have a problem using threatens to override the will of Councils to impose the freeze or face consequences.

   

Whitehall have made it clear Theresa May does not intend to offer Scotland anything beyond its deal with Cardiff, and if MSPs withhold consent for the EU Bill, it will mean the UK government will continue its challenge to Holyrood’s alternative Brexit Bill at the Supreme Court. There is a case to be made for more powers for Holyrood but now there is a case to be made for removal of powers. In recent weeks, there is a feeling among some that this needs to go further and closed down Holyrood, the parliament has been an expensive failure due to the calibre of MSPs selected and elected.

In politics, the direction of travel must be forward, and it is time that the UK government pressed ahead, although intergovernmental talks have been pencilled, this won’t solve the problem. Westminster must act to protect the UK economic interest and secure our ‘single market’ this means it must impose Brexit legislation. Given that the people of Scotland rejected the SNP version of independence, there will be no real support for the SNP controlled Holyrood.

I have to say I look forward to Nicola Sturgeon losing at the UK Supreme Court, and despite Sturgeon’s emphatic rejection of the UK government’s offer, nothing will be stopping Brexit. This is the problem with Sturgeon; she is the past, a ghost of the past who thinks she is politically relevant in 2018.

Nicola Sturgeon along with Alex Salmond became politically irrelevant at 10 pm on the 14^th September 2014, and although anger carried the tide for them to get 56 MPs, in less than two short years, the head had been cut off the SNP Westminster snake and the 56 became 35.

The 35 SNP MPs in some constituencies hang by a thread.

It seems to me that UK wanting to retain control over 24 devolved areas, most related to agriculture, fisheries and the environment, for up to seven years after Brexit isn’t a big deal. It isn’t a big deal because it is in Scotland’s national interest to create UK-wide frameworks to protect the internal market.

A strong UK means a stronger Scotland.

So, why doesn’t the SNP grasp this?

The answer is simple….. time!

Time catches up with everyone and everything, in history there are certain times of opportunity to effect change, the SNP think they can wipe the slate clean, generate the same level of interest in another independence bid. What Brexit has done has been to change the political landscape of the UK. This event left the SNP exposed as their own independence narrative is now worthless, and once we are out, the appetite for returning to the EU won’t be there, a million Scots said no to EU membership. The EU is falling apart with member states becoming increasingly unhappy about the way it is run and who it is run by.

At First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson accused Ms Sturgeon of “dancing on the head of a pin” to find excuses not to reach agreement.

She said:

“There is a deal to be done here. The Welsh have backed it, other parties in this chamber back it, and business wants her to back it, so will the First Minister for once do a deal in the national interest and not in her nationalist interest?”

Everybody knows what is going on, the SNP is a party which has seen its voter share fall, in fact I came across a video where someone who voted SNP described Nicola Sturgeon as ‘BITCH’ and a ‘COW’ for imposing minimum pricing on alcohol. I wonder how many votes the SNP will be losing over minimum pricing on alcohol?

Will there be convoys to England for cheap booze?

LibDem MSP Tavish Scott said:

“We have been constantly assured that SNP Ministers would work to achieve an agreement across the governments of the UK. They now look set to depart from that position. Uncertainty for businesses and citizens continues. That is not in Scotland’s interests.”

Lord Hope of Craighead, formerly Scotland’s most senior judge, said the UK and Scottish governments appeared “very close to agreement” but the reality is, you can’t trust the SNP anymore than you can trust a rabid dog not to bite when angry. There is only ‘low road’ politics where the SNP are concerned, grievance, grievance, grievance; it is a record that has grown old.

Lord Hope of Craighead added:

“One of the boundaries [of devolution] is that the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate in areas that are outside its own territory. The UK government is saying ‘we can’t give you a veto over this’, which is effectively what the Scottish government is asking for and it is difficult to get round that final position.”

Finally, although the SNP is made up of many MSPs who are lawyers, there is a distain for the law, the SNP don’t do law well. Nicola Sturgeon herself is a lawyer with a less than glowing legal career behind her. It is time that Nicola Sturgeon learned that she won’t be damaging Scotland and the rest of the UK national interest and if that means a Court case so be it. Sturgeon’s position as SNP leader is becoming more untenable day by day, people even in the nationalist community will be asking how long must this sham of a leader continue before they say 'enough is enough'?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Unfit for command, unfit to be a leader, angry bitter SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon stands alone as Theresa May puts final offer on Brexit on the table, Sturgeon has painted herself into a corner and shown she is unable to adapt to the changing political landscape, how long before the SNP realise that Sturgeon isn’t leading them or Scotland anywhere?

Dear All

Unfit for command, unfit to be a leader, angry bitter Nicola Sturgeon lost Brexit badly, standing on the wrong side of history, she has been unable to adpat to the change of landscape unfolding across the UK. The SNP had an opportunity to get involved in the Brexit talks, they squandered that chance by being narrow minded, spiteful and nasty, now they are left with nothing.

Prime Minister Theresa May has put a final offer on Brexit on the table for Nicola Sturgeon, since forward progress is impossible and time is precious, and lets mention the complete lack of goodwill, the offer is take it or leave. No matter what Nicola Sturgeon does, no matter what games she plays, no matter what delays, what grievances she can manufacture, Brexit is happening.

So, when did Nicola Sturgeon know this as hard fact, this event was the day the letter was put in for withdrawal of membership by the UK. This event should have led to a change in SNP policy, but it didn’t, Sturgeon formed the ‘gang of two’ with the Welsh Assembly in a vain attempt to stop Brexit, this showed her utter contempt for democracy and the people of the UK.

Now, the SNP stands alone!

The Prime Minister is right to give no further ground to Nicola Sturgeon on her flagship Brexit bill, one of the key thing about leadership is the ability to adpat to events before they happen, this is called being ahead of the curve. Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t possess this ability; she is a ‘reactor’. Being isolated puts the Scottish Government alone in opposition following a breakthrough deal with Cardiff. It seems the Welsh have gotten what they need, and no more concessions will be offered. There is no point in dealing with the SNP, they aren’t a party to do business with, and there is no benefit to Whitehall doing anything which places and jeopardises the agreement with the Labour-run Welsh Government.

Two words from a senior UK Government source sums up the new position;

“That’s it.”

This leads Nicola Sturgeon two choices, she can back down and lose face, or she can see a cross-border constitutional clash take place with the certainty that the “vital” piece of legislation to produce legal certainty after Brexit will be pushed through regardless.

That will be done with or without the consent of MSPs!

If Nicola Sturgeon ends up at the UK Supreme Court, she will lose badly as the

Welsh Government will repeal its own Continuity Bill. The SNP track record at the UK Supreme Court has been appalling but this loss will be significant and far reaching.

Only an idiot fights a battle they can’t win!

Welsh Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said:

“London’s willingness to listen to our concerns and enter serious negotiations has been welcome. In a devolved UK, the respective governments need to deal with each other as equals and this agreement is a step in the right direction.”

Nicola Sturgeon will enter the UK Supreme Court with a weak case, and leave it with a loss as the agreement of the Welsh Government has greatly strengthened Conservative Ministers hand. In a vain attempt to appear meaningful and garner support which is ebbing away from her, Nicola Sturgeon took to twitter to say:

“The bottom line on #EUWithdrawalBill at this stage is this – @scotparl powers on vital matters could be restricted for up to seven years without our consent. @Scotgov will not recommend consent to that – but we have put forward solutions that would form the basis of a deal.”

Some people just dive head first into stupidity and clearly Nicola Sturgeon is stupid enough to continue with this sham. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sturgeon has insisted clause 11 of the bill, which deals with the transfer of devolved powers after Brexit, showed an “imbalance and lack of trust”.

Well, there certainly is a lack of trust, the SNP have for years fostered division, grievance and burning bridges at every opportunity with Westminster, they have shown contempt openly, been divisive and failed to work constructively as much as humanly possible.

The SNP cannot get past their ‘low road’ politics which has dragged Scotland down to be a laughing stock, even within the independence community, people are releasing what I said years ago, the people of Scotland will not vote for independence if it means having the SNP in charge.

The SNP record in government is appalling!

Sturgeon’s Brexit Minister Michael Russell said in a statement to MSPs, the Scottish Government’s argument is the UK legislation is a “crude power-grab”. The same old story, the same position, where is the forward direction, it doesn’t exist. Apparently Whitehall sources stated that Russell had been “content” with a deal at the end of last week before being overruled by Nicola Sturgeon.

It seems that SNP women are the problem, specifically Nicola Sturgeon, how long before the nationalist community wake up and call for her to stand down? Nicola Sturgeon isn’t delivering for Scotland; she is wrapped up in petty narrow interest which puts her at odds with the wider independence movement.

Nicola Sturgeon is no leader of men!

Mike Russell suggests two possible ways forward:

l/ Removing clause 11 from the bill so both governments could then agree, on equal terms, not to bring forward legislation in devolved policy areas while negotiations on common frameworks were taking place.

2/ Reverting to the present system, that Holyrood should give its consent to Westminster legislating in devolved areas.

Removing clause 11 is a non-starter and as to reverting to the present system, this could only happen if there is goodwill on both sides, clearly there is none on the SNP benches.

Russell added:

“These are practical, workable solutions to this issue that will ensure the necessary preparations for Brexit can be taken across the UK whilst protecting devolution,” he declared.

Adam Tomkins, the Scottish Conservatives’ constitution spokesman, accused Ms Sturgeon of putting “her narrow Nationalist agenda before the good of the country” which is correct.

He added:

“The Welsh Government has signed up to this deal yet Nicola Sturgeon, alone, refuses because she prefers to pick a fight with the rest of the UK in order to keep her obsession with a second independence referendum alive.”

The important issue which the SNP should have acknowledged and protected is the economic integrity of the United Kingdom. A strong UK means a stronger Scotland, and this is the problem, as many people have commented in the past, the calibre of Holyrood MSPs is particularly poor, in fact, it is dreadful.

Finally, as I stated ages ago, the SNP had a golden opportunity to get onboard with the winning side, they chose to cut their nose off to spite their face, Brexit will go ahead regardless of what the SNP do. This episode shows why the SNP need a new leader, another sign of this is the lack of quality candidates willing to come forward for the position of depute leader. At some point there has to be a changing of the old guard of the SNP; that means that Nicola Sturgeon has to go. The future is changing and that means there is no place for Nicola Sturgeon at the top table or indeed any table.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

COUNT DANKULA; Stefan Molyneux reminds us that we are entering the age of selective policing with the death of Freedom of Speech, Western Society is dying

SNP Nazi Scotland; Scottish Court convicting people for exercising Freedom of Speech, the case of Mark Meechan harks back to the days of German Nazi Judge Roland Freisler and his Nazi Sham Trials, will the SNP be building a Scottish Dachau concentration camp?

Dear All

Freedom of Speech, pretty important and a cornerstone of a free society, if you lose the right then you don’t live in a democracy. When you lose freedom of Speech, you lose everything; people should have the right to saw what they want unless it breaks the law.

In the case of the prankster convicted of hate crimes after releasing a viral video in which he trains his dog to Sieg Heil, there appears to be an issue, the issue is why was he convicted?

What he did was grossly offensive, but in any crime, the benchmark should be did he have criminal intent, this is called Mens rea.

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

Having looked at this case in passing, we shouldn’t get tried up with anything else but the facts; and I would suggest that Mark Meechan, who was fined £800 and now has a criminal conviction didn’t meet that benchmark. When I wrote about human rights in the past, you will recall that I have always said that the problem doesn’t exist with the legislation but the judges.

Although Airdrie Sheriff Court maybe on the fringes of civilisation, the Sheriff in this case got it wrong, you have the right in law to Freedom of Speech; you don’t have a right in law to be offended. It seems that the Sheriff in this case used his personal opinion to decide that the "gas the Jews" video was grossly offensive hence guilty.

In other words he erred in law because, the benchmark of Mens rea wasn’t reached, he wandered off the legal beaten track and came to the wrong conclusion. The two-year-old M8 Yer Dugs A Nazi video which I have seen is stupid, but that is the point of the video, its Mark Meechan attempt at comedy.

If we accept Mark Meechan is guilty, do we accept that Mel Brooks is guilty for making the film, The Producers?

Found this online, done by John Barrowman, actor born in Glasgow.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlQfW9oK1G4

Should we all run to the police and get him arrested next time he sets foot on Scottish soil?

This is the ridiculous position which Mark Meechan’s conviction throws up, whatever the ‘act’ is becomes meaningless, it’s the feelings of the other person being offended, which isn’t how the law is supposed to work.

A public appeal to raise the money needed to fight the case is going live on gofundme.com, the fund-raising website whether you contribute is entirely your affair but this is about the principle of Freedom of Speech which clearly the Sheriff doesn’t get it.

The Washington Post on their YouTube channel has the video; does this lot strike you as an organisation which is anti-Semitic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa5CNf7pMAM

Dozens of supporters of Meechan, including former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, were at Airdrie Sheriff Court for the court hearing and in London, hundreds gathered an anti-censorship march in support of Meechan.

Robinson said:

"I think the police have used the Jewish community in this instance to silence people and they've actually tried to tarnish the Jewish community as though they can't take a joke. At worst it is distasteful humour, it certainly is not inciting religious hatred against Jews. Frankie Boyle has said far worse things so why hasn't he been prosecuted?"

You also prosecute, Sacha Baron Cohen should he be immediately be arrested for posting a video of himself singing the song Throw the Jew Down the Well?

Sacha Baron Cohen is jewish, he is an actor who lampoons people as he has done in his movies, he played the "anti-Semitic idiot" Borat in the movie of the same name which some people might find grossly offensive.

Meechan, from Coatbridge did his M8 Yer Dugs A Nazi video featuring his pug Buddha as a joke to wind up his girlfriend, he stuck it up on Youtube and the video got three million views. People like crude and offensive comedy, when it is unusual and outrageous it can attract attention.

Sentencing Meechan, Sheriff Derek O'Carroll said the video was grossly offensive and that his girlfriend did not even subscribe to the video channel he posted it on.

You don’t have to subscribe to a channel to watch its contents on Youtube!

O’Carroll said:

"The centrepiece of your video consists of you repeating the phrase 'gas the Jews' over and over again as a command to a dog, which then reacts. Sometimes the phrase is You want to gas the Jews'. You recite 'gas the Jews' in a variety of dramatic ways. 'Gas the Jews' in one form or another is repeated by you 23 times within a few minutes.

This is called a compilation which means, he cut and pasted clips together, therefore the time frame which O'Carroll used as a justification is meaningless.

He added:

"You use the command 'Sieg Heil', having trained the dog to raise its paw in response and the video shows a clip of a Nuremberg rally and a flashing image of Hitler with strident music. You say the video was only intended as a joke to upset your girlfriend, whose dog you used, and nothing more. On the whole evidence, including your own, applying the law as made by Parliament and interpreted by the most senior courts in this land, I found it proved that the video you posted, using a public communications network, was grossly offensive and contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material. You deliberately chose the Holocaust as the theme of the video. You purposely used the command 'gas the Jews' as the centrepiece of what you called the entire joke, surrounding the 'gas the Jews' centrepiece with Nazi imagery and the 'Seig Heil' command so there could be no doubt what historical events you were referring to."

Joe Rogan, the American commentator does a show which he covers this case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3qMgP6iTpo

What Sheriff Derek O'Carroll did was a disgrace, his diatribe which he tries to put the blame of on Parliament is pitiful; people fought and died for Freedom of Speech, and here we have someone who destroys that hard fought freedom by doing the wrong thing.

I hope this appeal goes forward, as I mentioned, I don’t see how Sheriff Derek O'Carroll reached the benchmark of Mens rea, there was no ‘guilty mind’ hence there wasn’t a crime.

Finally, here is a sham trial to watch from the Nazis era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKiqHpbFz68

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Federalism, the political road to nowhere: Scotland's Labour leader Richard Leonard wants Jeremy Corbyn to legislate for a federal UK if he wins Westminster in 2022, he also wants to abolish of the House of Lords; if that is his platform, he is out of his political depth, the people don’t want federalism in England or in Scotland, learn from history, the Kezia Dugdale era was a major disaster

Dear All

I stopped believing in leaders being all knowing quite some time ago in Scotland, the problem is at Holyrood, we have had so many duds, they promise much, do little and don't listen. 

Stephen Daisley penned an article recently about the Holyrood Parliament, in my opinion it is a second rate Parliament with more than its fair share of third rate MSPs.

https://stephendaisley.com/2018/04/21/whisper-it-but-could-scotland-live-without-holyrood/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Holyrood has been a failure, although you could place a lot of blame at the door of the SNP, the truth is the Parliament is as Daisley describes, the actions of the Parliament in caustic detail by summing up by saying this:

“So far this year parliamentary time has been used to debate Earth Hour, the superior quality of Scottish building stones, and ‘the economic potential of Robert Burns’. MSPs have tabled motions welcoming the opening of a ferry terminal, congratulating a school dance troupe on its triumph in a regional contest, honouring a pub in Kilmarnock for winning an award, and marking the retirement of woman from her job at M&S in Kirkcaldy”.

Daisley added:

“The 1999 intake was a class of also-rans and those who could only dream of being so exalted. The country was to be governed by over-promoted councillors and the finest solicitors our district courts had to offer”.

Holyrood in a nutshell!

I voted for Labour leader Richard Leonard because, he represented the best chance for the Labour Party in Scotland to hopefully move its forward. 

It is the 23^rd April, since the start of the year; the Labour Party has effectively done nothing of note in campaigning terms. The ‘civil war’ between the left and the right is still going on but quietly, the right is binding its time, well what else can they do.

One thing which is going on in the Labour Party in Scotland is the idea that federal British state solves all the problems of SNP ‘civic’ Nationalism in Scotland. Kezia Dugdale of the ‘right’ and now Labour leader Richard Leonard of the 'left' supports this idea.

Federalism solves nothing, in fact, the people aren’t talking about it, don’t want it, and other than the Lib Dems, there isn't the appetite for it either side of the border. 

This is a policy which needs Labour to be in control both sides of the border. If they were in control of Westminster and Holyrood they would have the numbers to push it through, and given the state of the party, that idea at present is non viable.

Labour leader Richard Leonard saying Jeremy Corbyn must “get a move on” with plans for a federal British state doesn’t help the Labour Party in Scotland. As the third party in Scotland after being overtaken by the Conservatives, the party lacks credibility at present with the people who matter.

That’s the voters!

If you were to ask what does federalism mean and how does it work in practice in Scotland if pushed through, you wouldn’t get a convincing answer from most Labour MSPs, HQ staff, activists or rank and file members. One thing the Labour Party is good at is change; that would be change for change sake, to look as if they are doing something when in fact they are just moving “deckchairs” about. After being wiped out in Scotland in 2015, the snap 2017 election brought some joy as the number of Labour MPs went from 1 to 7.

An unremarkable achievement from a party which dominate Scottish politics for decades! So far since returning to the Labour Party in October last year, I haven’t done a single day of activism, not attended a single meeting, the first four months of my membership, I was banned from attending meetings in Pollok CLP. The Labour Party rules state however I was allowed to attend but in the initial rejoining period of 8 weeks I wouldn’t get voting rights.

The SNP constantly scream about getting more powers, but that is a double edge sword, the more powers they get, the less people will view independence as credible. Once Labour leader Richard Leonard made his pitch, the SNP and Greens savaged Leonard for his intervention, the Greens are seen as an SNP proxy vote cache. In general terms, there should be a major reshaping of the British state due to Brexit, but the constant leeching away of powers fuels discontent in Scotland.

I would put it this way, how long can you sit and listen to a tap dripping before you get ratty?

Previously, I have blogged on this group.

http://www.constitutionreformgroup.co.uk/

They want a new settlement from Westminster regarding the UK, in politics, the assumption that people can be ‘bought off’ still remains a driving theme. Richard Leonard says he wants Labour to set out a radical alternative to Scottish independence, well now he has said it, what does federalism mean in practice?

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

And while we are at it, you might want to dive in here and read this page to get the wheels rolling.

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

Federalism could see parliaments in the four nations of the UK - Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England sharing equal powers, with a federal government retaining control over foreign affairs, defence, currency, welfare and pensions. The problem with this is that the UK at present has parties going in different directions, and unless the direction of travel is the same, this would lead to problems, major problems, co-operation to make federalism work isn’t there, although it has its supporters in other parties. I don’t see it in the interest of the UK as a body to end up being fractured and the idea of the creation of regional assemblies across England is rubbish. When John Prescott tried to get this idea off the ground, the people wouldn’t buy into it.

At the present time, there is no interest in Federalism and the Labour Party should recognise this, but as Stephen Daisley said about Holyrood:

“Holyrood must stop talking to itself and start listening to the people it serves”.

The exact same thing could be applied to the Labour Party, they are out of government on both sides of the border because they refused to listen to the people it serves, and ploughed on regardless. The change in Scottish politics means now that there are no safe Labour seats in any area of Scotland, if you want elected you have to work for it.

Richard Leonard said he would be “pushing” for Corbyn to commit to legislate for a federal UK if Labour wins the next General Election.

He added:

“I'm in favour of abolition of the House of Lords and I can see there being a case (for federalism), especially if we are moving towards a more federal constitution with a second chamber that is comprised of representatives from Scotland, Wales and the regions of England and Northern Ireland. So I can see that there is a strong case that kind of reform.”

Finally, I am not in favour of abolition of the House of Lords, and I am not in favour of a second chamber that is comprised of representatives from Scotland, Wales and the regions of England and Northern Ireland because of cronyism. One thing about the House of Lords is that it does have independent voices who speak out, we would lose this with a crony elected new second chamber. We should lose our history and traditions because of some people’s desire for cheap political expediency.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Nicola Sturgeon’s lapdog yaps: SNP MP Stewart McDonald cries like a little girl as Theresa May wins Commons airstrike vote and he accuses her of manipulating Parliament, SNP Defence Spokesman it appears wasn’t asked to intelligence briefing by Sir Mark Sedwill; the National Security Advisor, left out in the cold, the price of being irrelevant

Dear All

Yet again, yet again, the SNP are on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the argument, Theresa May won a Commons vote on the military action in Syria. In true SNP fashion, the SNP in gripe mode decided to claim that a No 10 intelligence briefing had been used to “manipulate” certain MPs.

The sad fact is intelligence briefings are not a political circus to “manipulate” anyone; these briefs are done by professionals, professionals whose entire job is to protect our country by ensuring the right information is made available to the government.

Theresa May, the Prime Minister insists British lives would be compromised if it became illegal for governments to launch military action without the prior backing of MPs. This isn’t a time for petty politics; the SNP jumped on the bandwagon here because they saw an opportunity, and now are left with egg on their faces. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s call for the introduction of a War Powers Act would “seriously compromise” the safety of the nation and would get people needlessly killed. In today’s fast moving situations, action has to be swift and decisive.

US and France along with the UK have carried out missile strikes on three targets which they have “specifically associated with the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons programme”. They didn’t just pick three random targets out of a hat; they did so by using tradecraft and having assets on the ground.  After the airstrikes, Yury Filatov, the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Ireland, piped up to say hat Russia, was losing “the last bit of trust” it had with the west and described this as a “very dangerous development”.

Trust is a two way street, and one has to wonder why the Russians haven’t been more clever in the way that they do business, the incident in Salisbury was rank stupidity, then to have RT ‘brag’ about the UK not being safe for people who betray Russia was an attempt to rub our faces in it. The upshot was that several Russians were sent packing, here and also in other Western countries, not exactly a successful operation, and aftermath.

Experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are in Douma to establish whether chemical weapons were used there; and what we should remember is that in order to produce these kinds of weapons takes expertise and expensive facilities; you can’t just cook it up in a pot.

During the recent Commons debate, Mrs May told MPs:

“Making it unlawful for Her Majesty’s Government to undertake any such military intervention without a vote would seriously compromise our national security, our national interests, and the lives of British citizens at home and abroad. And for as long as I’m Prime Minister, that will never be allowed to happen.”

Jeremy Corbyn who isn’t apt at foreign affairs described the Syrian air strikes as “legally questionable” and made clear he would only support military intervention with United Nations’ support. Given the Russians have a veto on the Security Council, and they are Syria’s principal backer, the UN route would produce an East v West stalemate.   

Jeremy Corbyn told MPs:

“I am sorry to say the Prime Minister’s decision not to recall Parliament and engage in further military action in Syria last week showed a flagrant disregard for this convention.”

The deeply butt hurt and irrelevant SNP in the shape of Ian Blackford criticised the “failure” of the Government to recall Parliament, his sidekick Stewart McDonald, the SNP’s defence spokesman, decided to whine like a little girl on how certain Labour MPs had been invited to Downing Street for a private briefing on the Syria air strikes by Sir Mark Sedwill, the National Security Advisor.

Stewart McDonald, the SNP’s defence spokesman, not invited it seems, after all, leaving aside he is a sheep who falls the SNP Party line, what does he know about defence?

Did he play Soldiers as a boy?

Did he play Cowboys and Indians as a squaw?

Watch war movies like Operation Burma?

Stewart McDonald said of being left out of the briefing:

“These briefings appear to have been offered to members of the Labour Opposition not on the basis of privy counsellor status but on the basis of those opposition members who are sympathetic to the Government’s position. That leads to concerns that the Government is using intelligence briefings to manipulate Parliament and to bolster its own case for its behaviour on the opposition benches; not on security terms, but on politics.”

Maybe Sir Mark Sedwill; the National Security Advisor didn’t want someone like Stewart McDonald stinking the place, up asking all sorts of daft questions in the briefing.  Stewart McDonald, SNP’s defence spokesman in name only, a phoney title which commands no respect at Westminster.

Finally, imagine being so stupid to flag up in Parliament that you are not worthy to be invited to a briefing by Sir Mark Sedwill; the National Security Advisor. You have to laugh about this, surely the correct route would be a letter to ask to be included in future briefings but that kind of logic is probably beyond this wee joke.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Nicola Sturgeon’s mini Waterloo, incompetent SNP leader sees defeat looming as UK government challenges Sturgeon’s devolved Brexit legislation at UK Supreme Court, sacked SNP Education Minister Mike Russell thinks because 95 MSP sheep at Holyrood passed it, it’s legal, watch, learn and be educated son, it’s not, stupidity is a poor substitute for intelligence

Dear All

If you are going to fight a war, you should always make sure that you are in the right, and have the necessary resources, pre-plan and have experienced people to carry it through.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has entered a pointless fight with the UK government which has led them to challenge her “devolved” Brexit legislation. The matter has been referred to the UK Supreme Court, so what are the chances of success for the SNP Government?

I would say, looking at their previous track record, the chances look from remote to nil on this occasion, for me there are two issues which will see the SNP lose.

1/ Until we leave the EU, all relevant sections of power remain reserved to Westminster.

2/ The SNP Government cannot circumvent powers returned to the UK from Brussels without them first passing through Westminster.

Either one of these issues in my opinion should see the SNP lose.

It is entirely right and proper that the UK Government should challenge Brexit legislation passed by the Scottish and Welsh devolved administrations. The Bills passed in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly last month was nothing more than a stupid act.

An attempt to erode democracy and the processes of democracy which is why the matter has to go to the UK Supreme Court to get fixed, these Bills aren’t competent and should be struck down. The decision to proceed with legal action was taken by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland, the government's senior law officers.

The SNP have opened a can of worms which they didn’t need to open, and now it is coming back on them.

The UK Supreme Court is being asked to rule on whether the legislation is constitutional and within the powers of the devolved legislatures, as I have said, it isn’t competent

.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP said:

“This legislation risks creating serious legal uncertainty for individuals and businesses as we leave the EU. This reference is a protective measure which we are taking in the public interest. The Government very much hopes this issue will be resolved without the need to continue with this litigation.”

SNP Ministers in Edinburgh have repeatedly branded the UK Government's EU Withdrawal Bill a "power grab" which threatens devolution, it isn’t, the phrase ‘power grab’ may seem rather catchy but in reality, it isn’t a serious basis to justify what they have done.

This is in part party politics, and not even smart party politics at that being played out in the UK Supreme Court.

The Scottish Parliament's Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh has previously ruled the Scottish EU Continuity Bill is outside Holyrood's competence but that apparently didn’t matter to SNP ministers who simply said they are confident it is not. Given there are so many lawyers who are SNP Ministers, you have to wonder about the extent of their legal expertise which appears to limited.

Advocate General for Scotland Lord Keen said:

“By referring the Scottish Parliament’s Continuity Bill to the Supreme Court, we are seeking legal certainty as to its competence. Given the Presiding Officer’s view at introduction that the Bill was not within the legal scope of the Parliament, we believe it is important to ask the Court to provide absolute clarity. In doing so we are following the process set out in the Scotland Act 1998. Particularly in the run up to Brexit, it is vital that we avoid legal uncertainty in our statute book.”

This case is Nicola Sturgeon’s mini Waterloo, like Napoleon, her ego has got the better of her, now she will be publicly held up for what she is once again, an utterly useless politician.

Sacked SNP Minister Mike Russell who failed at being Education, now minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe Michael Russell reiterated that Scottish Ministers are satisfied that the Continuity Bill is within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

Sacked SNP Minister Mike Russell isn’t clever, far from it, even a first year law student could drive a truck through this nonsense.

Russell said:

“The Continuity Bill was passed by 95 votes to 32 in the Scottish Parliament; that is an overwhelming majority. Scottish Ministers are satisfied that the Bill is within legislative competence”.

You have to laugh, 95 sheep passed a Bill, and in his mind, that makes it okay, you couldn’t make it up, and regardless of the number, that doesn’t make the Bill legal.

Russell added:

“The Lord Advocate will be arguing in the Supreme Court that it is within the powers of the Scottish Parliament to prepare for the consequences for devolved matters of UK withdrawal from the European Union. Our Continuity Bill is an important and necessary piece of legislation to prepare Scotland’s laws for Brexit while protecting the powers of the Scottish Parliament that people voted for. The Scottish Government has made clear it cannot recommend the Scottish Parliament consent to the Withdrawal Bill in its current form”.

So, Russell spells it out, the incompetent legislation is all about an attempt to stop the people of the UK who exercised their democratic right to leave the EU.

Russell also said:

  

“Alongside the Welsh Government, we have always said our preference would be to reach an agreement with the UK Government to amend the EU Withdrawal Bill to respect the powers of the devolved administrations and both Governments are ready to  continue meaningful talks to further discuss potential solutions. While the Scottish Government is not opposed to UK-wide frameworks in certain areas when these are in Scotland’s interests, this must only happen with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament.”

The issue is clear cut, the UK Supreme Court will and should strike down both the Holyrood and Welsh Assembly Bills, this case isn’t one of the great legal cases but what it does do is reign in the power of Holyrood and the Welsh Assembly. There is a case for looking at devolution so that it can be improved so that it works better with Westminster.

In order to get that process working, we first have to remove the SNP as the Government of Scotland, in this way we can have reform, and we can start to have a parliament that works for all Scots, something which isn’t happening at present. The machinery of government has been abused, skewered to become an independence campaign machine; it doesn’t function as it should.

Finally, when Nicola Sturgeon gets defeated in the UK Supreme Court, this will be one case which down the line she will regret, it is a marker on the road to her exiting the post of First Minister, not be choice but by being removed by the people.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Spectacularly Wrong in concept, wrong in practice, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wants a War Powers Act to 'Bind the hands of all future prime ministers to wage war' without Parliamentary approval, the Labour Party has a long way to go to convince people they are a government in waiting

Dear All

Security of the Nation seems a rather basic concept which many people expect the Government to take seriously and act when necessary. We all hope that when our politicians take us to war, they do so for the right reasons. Jeremy Corbyn wants to take away the power to wage war from future prime ministers.

This act would place people in danger and ultimately get people killed.

When action is required, it has to be swift in order to be effective. The Syrian bombing campaign pitches Parliament against the executive; Prime Minister Theresa May argues that a military campaign that saw 100 missiles used on the Assad regime’s chemical weapons factories is “the right thing to do”.

If we are targeting chemical weapons factories, along with American and French forces, it beggars belief that the UK opposition parties would oppose this.

I have always said that when it comes to foreign affairs, Jeremy Corbyn goes badly, given that as opposition leader, he would get defence briefs, it makes his anti war stance all the more baffling. In an ideal world, no one should be using chemical weapons, in an ideal world, the Russians would have stepped in and told Syria not to use such weapons. The fact is we aren’t living in an ideal world, we cannot count on people doing the right thing from the Russian side, and we are continually bogged down by what can be described as ‘low road’ politicians.

If the Assad regime falls, Syria becomes another unstable and failed State in the Middle East, Syria supports Russia, and although many in the West don’t like that, there is a time to wake up and smell the coffee, a proxy war power struggle in this area does no one any good in the long term. We need more Middle East countries to be stable not less, and we need everyone to grasp the normalisation of the use of chemical weapons isn’t something anyone should tolerate, regardless whether they are from the East or the West.

I agree with Theresa May’s decision not to give MPs a debate and vote; it seems that the Labour Party has joined the PR campaign by Nicola Sturgeon, that Mrs May has “sidelined” Parliament. Given that Sturgeon is woefully out of her depth, it is ridiculous that the Labour Party should hitch its star to her wagon.

Here is a cracker to read:

https://order-order.com/2018/04/16/shami-you-cant-just-punish-assad-for-using-chemical-weapons/

Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti has made clear Labour would not act against the Assad regime even if OPCW inspectors found evidence of chemical weapons use in Douma.

Unbelievable is it not that innocent people can be murdered and Shami Chakrabarti wouldn’t stand up and defend their right to life, sometimes defending others right to live involves force, military action.

If there was a Westminster election called tomorrow, how could anyone have faith in people like Diane Abbott sitting in Cabinet, the Labour Party if it is to be seen as a viable government needs to set up several gears!

https://order-order.com/2018/04/13/diane-abbott-car-crash-ww2-only-time-wed-back-military-action/

Jeremy Corbyn is entirely wrong to suggest:

“What we need in this country is something more robust like a War Powers Act so that governments do get held to account by Parliament for what they do in our name.”

War isn’t a debating club.

I have no problem with the West bombing chemical weapons factories in Syria because these factories represent an unacceptable threat to life.

The Labour leader told the BBC’s Marr Show:

“If we want to get the moral high ground around the world, as a member of the Security Council, as a country with a long tradition of international involvement, shall we say; then we have to abide by international law. And I say to the Foreign Secretary, I say to the Prime Minister, where is the legal basis for this?”

Getting it wrong politically usually ends up being shown in the polls, a month ago Labour had a 7 point lead with Survation. Due to various incidents that has disappeared following the Skripals, anti-Semitism and Syria.

The Tories are up 3 points, Labour are down 4.

Asked how Jeremy Corbyn would respond if the chemical weapons watchdog, the OPCW, did confirm Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader, was responsible, he replied:

“I would then say confront Assad with that evidence, confront any other group that may be fingered, and then say we must now come in and destroy those weapons.”

Bashar al-Assad isn’t a tin-pot dictator like Saddam, he is educated, however, it seems that even educated people can be stupid sometimes; he seems to rely too much on Russian support.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad

Whereas it is true that the Russians want to keep their Russian Naval Base in Northern Syria, they don’t want to end up being painted into a corner by acts of the Syrian regime.

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

Are we heading towards World War 3?

Although people have been saying this, I don’t think so, I think the Russians can live with the destruction of Syrian chemical weapon factories, but long term they will want a stable Syria, which may see them change their minds about who is best in charge.

But that scenario is a long way off, Bashar al-Assad is their man and they want to keep the status quo going, basically there isn’t anyone with any real claim to the Presidency waiting in the wings.

One thing is clear, there are no winners coming out of this war!

Finally, and to my surprise, Kate Osamor, Labour shadow cabinet minister said Jeremy Corbyn would be “better off” leaving statements on foreign policy to other Labour spokesmen and that he did not “need to speak”. Later; she tweeted that her quotes had been “used selectively”. I assume she wasn’t just thinking about the Syrian crisis and had an eye on the long term goal of having a future Labour Government.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Gender Wars in Star Wars: The Last Snowflake, how Social Justice Warriors completely ruined a 20th Century Classic tale of good vs evil, Stars Wars only exists in Episodes 1 - 6

Dear All

Politics is important, but this has to be said, Star Wars, The Last Jedi is a pile of shit!

Have a listen to this commentary and weep how something so beloved was turned so utterly bad and ruined, absolutely ruined by a bunch of clowns.

Episode 7 was complete trash, 8 was even worse, it is time to stand up and call for a boycott of Episode 9.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

Sturgeon’s SNP Train wreck coming down the track, Prime Minister Theresa May set to launch legal bid to stop Nicola Sturgeon's Brexit Bill becoming law, Sturgeon faces the prospect of a humiliating defeat at the UK Supreme Court, in local news isn’t time that Nicola Sturgeon brought back a Panda who likes to get pumped senseless from China, nothing ‘so bad’ as an old panda who fails to produce

Dear All

One thing that you will have noticed is that when the SNP get taken to the UK Supreme Court, they lose rather badly. Whether it is a case brought by an individual such as the Cadder Case or by a government, the underlying principle is that the SNP don’t do law well or even understand basic human rights.

One of the ways Nicola Sturgeon is attempting to cause trouble is by having the Holyrood Parliament attempt to push through their own Brexit Bill. You may ask, why is this being pushed through at such speed with scrutiny is there a pressing need when we are still in the EU, and the deal/ talks on withdrawal are still ongoing.

The pressing need is to cause trouble, to promote grievance as a catalyst for a second independence referendum. The SNP Government of Scotland is using Parliament as a vehicle for its own political ends. This time however, Nicola Sturgeon has been more stupid then usual, incompetence maybe the SNP trait but in this case, Sturgeon may regret this one.

Theresa May plans to mount an an unprecedented legal challenge at the UK Supreme Court next week to stop Nicola Sturgeon’s own Brexit Bill from becoming law. I would say that this legal challenge stands a very good chance of being successful. The reason which makes this a likely win for Theresa May is that foreign affairs remain a reserved matter, and that means out with Holyrood’s remit.

One thing is clear about Brexit, there is no last minute action, no change of mind and no reversing of the decision; we are leaving the EU on 19^th March 2019. Any and all laws returned to the UK have to first pass through the Westminster Parliament before going on their way to devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff. What Sturgeon is attempting to do is circumvent the chain by attempting an illegal power grab.

This will not be allowed to happen.

There will be no stopping UK Government’s flagship EU Withdrawal Bill and no interference of this Bill. The grievance mongering by the SNP is all about two things, indyref 2 and the temporary hold put on some 24 powers and responsibilities so that common frameworks can be agreed to ensure the important UK wide internal market is protected. If you have been watching politics, you will have seen that the UK is changing, what isn’t changing is the SNP; they are irrelevant still trying to fight battles lost long ago.

This might interest you.

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/IFGJ6070-Devoution-After-Brexit-180406-FINAL-WEB-FINAL.pdf

There is a new relationship developing in the UK, but there is no critical thinking being done by the SNP, they are a party which have ran out of time, out of options, and don’t have a narrative. Lawyers for the Prime Minister have been examining the Continuity Bills of both the Scottish and Welsh Governments, so expect the fireworks to kick off pretty soon, law officers have until next Wednesday to launch a legal challenge or face the Continuity Bills getting Royal Assent and becoming law. Once Jeremy Wright, the Attorney General, and Lord Keen of Elie, the Advocate General, Whitehall’s senior Scottish lawyer, make the court application, a ministerial statement is expected to follow at Westminster.

One thing which David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, said was that court challenge was “not a big deal” as it was just a legal process, well it is a legal process but it is a big deal, this will set a precedent and open up a can of worms for the SNP regarding future decisions post Brexit.

One thing the SNP fail to grasp is that despite playing silly games, they aren’t in a position of strength. They may control Holyrood propped up by the Scottish Greens, their ‘allies’ but their support is faltering.

Powers coming back need to be addressed, new frameworks put in place, and new agreements reached, but this doesn’t seem to matter to the SNP, they really don’t care about improvements in Scotland. This is why the Holyrood Election of 2021 is so crucial, a new direction needs to be established and that cannot happen with the SNP in control at Holyrood. Nicola Sturgeon faces defeat at the UK Supreme Court, the SNP track record there is simply appalling, but for her, its par for the course.

Finally, Nicola Sturgeon is in China, a failing politician abandoning the ‘day job’ again, one thing she could bring back is a Panda who likes to get pumped senseless, to replace Tian Tian who is a ‘jaffa’,  the Scottish government previously revealed she was pregnant, but so far nothing. There is nothing ‘so bad’ as an old panda who fails to produce.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

The SNP Poison Chalice: Candidate for SNP Depute wants a Scottish independence vote within 18 months, Nicola Sturgeon cannot win a successful vote; she is politically damaged goods, who will want to kick independence into the long grass, Sturgeon’s foreign trips show a politician in deep trouble

Dear All

The only thing about the SNP Depute leader race of any interest is who along with Nicola Sturgeon will lead the SNP into the political wilderness, it is a contest which doesn’t inspire; there isn’t even anyone with a vision.

In what must be the most shallowest of contests, the main issue is Scottish independence, not making Scotland better, not making education better, not fixing the health service, not fixing the Police mess, just independence and a timetable for a second referendum.

In order to get some votes, and create an interest in himself; one of the candidates for top SNP job wants a referendum within 18 months. This plank is called Chris McEleny, there won’t be a referendum within 18 months, it is increasingly looking like anything of that nature would be beyond the next Holyrood election.

And there is no evidence that the SNP would get a majority in Parliament even with the Scottish Greens, politics is changing in Scotland, the landscape post Brexit is something which the SNP can’t get their heads round. The SNP is a party lost in the past, fight old battles they have already lost. They may have a new country to pitch to the voters as in we can be like New Zealand, but the reality is grounded in fable.

Lying, hatred, incompetent and deceit were the hallmarks of the SNP attempts to win in 2014, the SNP along with their ‘allies’ ran a campaign of hate, letting their animals run wild in the streets and online. Now, we have people like SNP MP Pete Wishart calling for ‘respect’.

Too late for that, that boat sailed long ago, along with any chance of a successful independence bid.

I think, it is clear that out of the three candidates, Nicola Sturgeon would want Keith Brown, one of the clique, the old guard, he isn’t original, he isn’t a thinker, he is a sidekick. What the other two McEleny and Hepburn bring is problems for Nicola Sturgeon. I am sure that Nicola isn’t keen on Hepburn, a younger woman and her SNP MSP husband being seen as the new power couple, with her as the woman married to a pensioner.  

Timing is everything, it is true in comedy and just as true in politics, the SNP rushed into the 2014 vote, they thought a ‘jolly fat man’ called Alex Salmond and a white paper of dross, with Nicola Sturgeon as the day to day face would be enough to con voters. In part, the effort worked, the SNP cleaned up on the disenfranchised vote especially among the unemployed.

The SNP promised Nirvana, milk and honey and other ‘goodies’ in a magical land which didn’t exist, lies, lies, lies, deceit, contrived rubbish. The intervention by Chris McEleny means the issue is now set to dominate the depute’s contest in the run up to the SNP conference in June, so we can expect people to out do themselves on how keen they are.

The other contenders, cabinet secretary Keith Brown and activist Julie Hepburn, have decided to be less keen on naming the day, because in reality, the depute whoever that will be, won’t be the driving force.

Power will remain with the Murrells aka Sturgeon and husband.   

McEleny, the leader of the SNP group on Inverclyde Council is using the excuse of Brexit just as the others in the SNP have to call for a referendum, but the truth is, it doesn’t matter what the reason is, Brexit is just an excuse, nothing more.

McEleny said:

“We are moving close to entering into our second decade of UK Government austerity being imposed upon Scotland. We are moving close to a new generation of weapons of mass destruction being imposed upon the Clyde in Scotland. Hard working WASPI women are having their pensions stolen, women who have been raped are being forced to fill out forms to receive support, the UK’s protect the rich economy is forcing more and more children into poverty. I believe that Scotland cannot afford to wait any longer to see if things can get better, we’ve been getting sold that message for decades. Simply put, decisions made in Scotland by the people of Scotland are better decisions for Scotland. That is why we should be independent and that is why I believe we should have a referendum on our independence within the next 18 months.”

Austerity, pensions, rape and nuclear weapons, what a load of contrived claptrap, why did he miss out ‘period poverty’, I am still waiting on the toilet paper poverty campaign but apparently blood is more trendy than shit to campaign on!

As to the ‘mandate’, there is no mandate; the idea that the people of Scotland who already rejected the SNP vision and version of independence should then have another vote forced on them is bizarre. The Edinburgh Agreement wasn’t respected by the SNP; the SNP can’t keep saying that they respect the result when they clearly don’t. If there is the UK Government will to grant another referendum, this should be based on a clear majority by the SNP in the Holyrood 2021 election.

The SNP are on a downward slide, whether they slide far enough to continue as a minority government or end up in opposition remains to be seen. The Yes mob activists want Sturgeon to go now, saying she is duty bound and they know that that if she doesn’t the SNP might not get a chance in the parliament after 2021.

People are sick of the SNP, but that leaves other parties to raise their game considerably to give the SNP the last push out the door. Ms Sturgeon bottled it after she called for a second referendum in March 2017 because the SNP lost so badly in the snap election of 2017. The SNP said they had to “reset” her plans after the SNP lost a third of its MPs in the June election.

I helped put three SNP MPs on the scrapheap, I enjoyed Anne McLaughlin’s defeat the most, simply put, it was delicious to see her dumb stuck being shunted out the door at Glasgow North East.

Western Isles MP, ‘three in a bed’ Angus Brendan MacNeil joined in this week by saying he favoured a referendum within 18 months. Reality however is setting in as MP Pete Wishart and former SNP deputy Jim Sillars, have urged caution and highlighted the painful truth, there is a huge No majority in the polls.

57% still saying No!

Finally, one thing in my mind is certain, Nicola Sturgeon will never lead the SNP to a successful independence vote; she is part of the rottenness which is embedded too deep in the party. The Cybernats are just a vocal expression of the hatred which has been unleashed and no new fairytale will ever remove that memories of who or what was done in the run up to the 2014 vote.

Scottish independence under the SNP is gone!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University