SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon botched Cabinet, Scottish Government cabinet reshuffle sees Nicola Sturgeon pick the weakest Cabinet since SNP took office in 2007, this is a ‘leaving Cabinet’ as in leaving political office, the idea that she has brought in ‘fresh talent’ is just risible as is her attempt to sell this to the public

Dear All

Yesterday we saw SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon conduct the equivalent of the ‘Last Supper’, her reshuffle was long, slow and drag out, however, there was material for people to laugh at.

SNP depute leader Keith Brown isn’t up to the task of walking and chewing bubblegum, he left the cabinet to take up the role of ‘campaign director’, what does it say that Nicola Sturgeon’s supposed right hand man has effectively been demoted? It also begs the question, who is stupid enough to believe Keith Brown is a thinker when he is just a follower? Can Keith Brown turn around the SNP fortunes, I serious doubt that prospect any time soon!

I am glad to see that Scotland’s famous ‘dumped’ wife Shona Robison has also jumped ship as Health Sec, of course she should have gone much sooner, could run and save her marriage, couldn’t run a health service, on her way out the door she said as an excuse:

“it was an "immense privilege" to serve as Health Secretary for three-and-a-half years, "albeit at times very challenging and all-consuming".

If you were a patient who nearly died or someone getting a substandard service, you might be tempted to say that Robison’s claim of ‘all consuming’ is a bit much to stomach.

Robison also added to pad out her failure that this year had also been "particularly challenging" personally with the loss of her parents, a health scare and "some big changes in my personal life".

This bit is a cracker from Robison:

"I feel that I have reached a point in my life just now where I would be best to step down from a role in Government."

As Robison sails off after doing a bad job, she is replaced by 'queen of the Scottish quango circuit' Jeane Freeman, so if you think this is a step up for the public think again. Freeman didn’t turn around Police Scotland and she didn’t achieve anything of note as Social Security Minister, in fact the SNP told Westminster that they weren’t ready to take welfare powers to be devolved.

If you had to pick a major failing of Nicola Sturgeon in this ‘new’ cabinet, you have to wonder why Sturgeon was stupid to pick Humza Yousaf as Justice Sec given his past and opportunist playing of the ‘race card’. I see this as effectively breaking the rule, ‘don’t shit were you eat’. To me, his appointment is the clearest sign that Nicola Sturgeon clearly wants someone to put her out of her misery by removing the SNP as the government of Scotland.

Humza Yousaf as Transport Minister couldn’t guarantee ‘food security’ during the bad weather, kinda makes you wonder about Justice doesn’t it. The delivery of new hate crime laws for Scotland under Yousaf will no doubt attempt to tread on people’s rights to free speech.

Ex Justice Sec Michael Matheson aka the ‘invisible man’, has been moved to Transport, well I am sure he will be invisible there as well, plus the weather is sunny at present, no snow for ages!

The failure that is Mike Russell remains as Brexit Minister, so Sturgeon’s claim of bringing in fresh talent looks rather weak to me, there are plenty of failed Ministers including her, the old lot looks unsurprisingly like the new lot.

I would say this is the weakest SNP line up since 2007.

Derek Mackay has retained his finance portfolio, with added responsibility for the economy, he is s disaster, now a disaster with more responsibility, John Swinney, Roseanna Cunningham and Fiona Hyslop retain their current roles with responsibility for education, the environment and culture. Swinney had to ditch his flagship education bill due to a lack of support, plus he doesn’t look well in my opinion, when you see a big physical change in someone, you wonder.

In trying to sell the ‘Last Supper Cabinet’, Sturgeon said:

"The new cabinet I am announcing today brings fresh talent to the Scottish Government and ensures that we are fully equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities facing the country in the months and years ahead. With the impact of Brexit on our economy and wider society, it is right that the issues it presents are fully reflected at cabinet level, while the delivery of a new Scottish social security system also requires a voice at the cabinet table."

She added:

"I will shortly be appointing a fully refreshed junior ministerial team, which will also include a number of fresh faces and a wealth of new talent."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-44628099

Christina McKelvie represents new talent, who is kidding who?

During the Westminster by-election of 2008, McKelvie came to the Glasgow North East Campaign, she volunteered herself to be Alex Salmond’s driver, at the time, she didn’t strike me as ‘one to watch’.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said:

"This is an SNP government that is tired, completely out of ideas and all over the place on key issues".

I think this could be shortened to fucked!

Labour's Rhoda Grant said:

"This reshuffle is long overdue but the real change Scotland wants and needs won't come from changing the odd Cabinet Secretary - it will come from changing the government."

Quite so ma’am!

As to the rest of the junior ministers, there isn’t much there, although Sturgeon took the opportunity to big them up. If you think back to the snap 2017 election, I done Glasgow North East, on polling day, it was raining hard. I was put on the same polling station as Ivan McKee, It was about the back of 11 am when I turned up there, he said to me he had already been there for four hours. As I look at him, he had a big golf umbrella like me, when I look at his clothes and footwear it looked remarkably dry considering he alleged he was standing there for four hours.

He left after half hour, three hours later, he drove by as the hard rain hadn’t let up to see me still standing there, didn’t stop, kept driving. Sturgeon said he brings a wealth of expert to his new role as trade minister, one wonders if that includes sticking it out till the job is done.

Finally, although the SNP via Nicola Sturgeon are proclaiming ‘fresh blood’, this is a ‘leaving Cabinet’ as in leaving political office, it is by far the weakness SNP Cabinet as I mentioned since 2007; one thing this Cabinet does tick the boxes for it is a hung parliament in 2021.

Nicola Sturgeon has picked a rotten Cabinet and her attempt to justify it, to me, clearly bares this out, you could pick a better Cabinet at a bus stop!

  

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP House of Horrors; ‘Countess Dracula’ aka Nicola Sturgeon needs new blood as her political corpse reaches terminal decline, an old misfit needing the new blood of young women so she can go out in the world, the endgame for Sturgeon is now in play, is the gender balance Cabinet the last roll of the dice?

Dear All

It appears thar SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon maybe about to do a Cabinet reshuffle, this is the equivalent of attempting to freshen up a dead corpse, in this case political. Like many people I have watched the SNP stew in their own juices as the Scottish Government achieves little for spending a lot. In a previous post, I was banging about the need for a ‘changing of the guard’.

Of course that change needed is the removal of Nicola Sturgeon, however, it seems that rumours are mounting that a number of senior ministers are leaving her government. Is this a clear out before we see another ‘abandonment’ of government as the SNP rush off to chase independence?

As with the SNP, we cannot rely on them giving out the truth, three SNP insiders say that Sturgeon is poised to unveil drastic changes to her cabinet, while other sources close to Sturgeon’s office parrot that Sturgeon has no plans to change her ministerial team. 

In reality as the SNP is run as a one man band, it doesn’t matter how the deckchairs are changed on the SNP ‘ratship’. Once the ship starts sinking, there is no choice but to abandon ship, and as the polls show the shine is off the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.

In the wings, in the darkness, Alex Salmond waits for a chance to return, unlike the Lord of Rings, this episode of the ‘Return of the King’ wouldn’t have a happy ending. The fact of a reshuffle may come to pass as some long serving ministers apparently will be sacked, quit or moved sideways on Tuesday.

Are there dynamic people waiting in the wings to take up their posts, no, there is the same low road sheep that we are used to it, in fact we may see Sturgeon use the gimmick of promoting women. This would be just a stunt, in the past, the SNP ran with ‘SNP women will get things done’, well we saw thee result of that experiment, total abject failure.

The PR focus will be Nicola Sturgeon, the leader implementing   

Sturgeon is said to want new blood in the frontbench to promote what the SNP term ‘rising’ stars, the fact is the people such as gender balance in her government, the fact everything is falling about her is meaningless, just the 15 minutes of fame as an innovator.

So, who might get the chop and be heading for the backbenches, well the talk is that Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, came to government and achieved nothing of note, only 11 years serve tho! Health Secretary Shona Robison is well overdue for the sack, but since she is a pal of Sturgeon, she might get a sideways move so she can keep a ministerial salary. New blood Cabinet could be a cover for moving Robison who hasn’t done well in post, and not done well in parliament defending her pitiful record.

The health crisis in the NHS is Scotland wide, even in her own backyard of Dundee, there is a crisis, plus a GP recruitment scandal, and waiting times for ambulances. Robison’s replacement could be Social Security Minister Jeane Freeman who hasn’t shined either as a minister, but it is said that she is well regarded by SNP backbenchers; basically a major dud is being replaced by a minor dud.  Someone who may also be moving is the ‘invisible man’ aka Michael Matheson, he didn’t fix Police Scotland. You never hear of Matheson as Justice Secretary except when Police Scotland raises its ugly head.

One of the funny ‘could be’ promoted is Transport Minister Humza Yousaf, described repeated by the press and the SNP as a ‘rising’ star, it should be noted that ‘bread’ rises quicker. Yousaf’s debacle at failing to keep the roads opened leading to food shortages in Scotland during the bad weather hasn’t been forgotten.  

So, who are the high flyers" from Holyrood's backbenches?

Well, no one of any talent really, some of the names doing the rounds are Kate Forbes, Mairi Gougeon, Clare Haughey, Jenny Gilruth and Ivan McKee. The names will probably be meaningless to you unless you are a political geek and even then you might say… who?

We might be saying bye bye to Fiona Hyslop, Fergus Ewing and Roseanna Cunningham, they can stay on the backbenches drawing a salary and clapping like a seal when Sturgeon speaks.

As we all know the next election is three years away, and even if Sturgeon changes her cabinet, the direction won’t be changing, and as of now, the polls predict that 2021 is shaping up to be a hung parliament. The big day is tomorrow apparently so if you think it is worth a watch tune in, I suspect that the heat and claims of dynamic etc etc will just be hot air.

This will be Nicola Sturgeon putting herself at the centre of a ‘gender balance’ Cabinet, so the claptrap will be about diversity not about fixing the growing backlog of problems that the last lot couldn’t cope with and left at their arse.

Finally, the Salmond Factor, having been dumped in 2017, Salmond will be looking for any port in a storm, which means his first port of call will be Holyrood. Sturgeon wants Salmond at Holyrood as someone would want a stone in their shoe. If you watched the decline of the SNP, the downward trajectory has all been driven by Nicola Sturgeon since 2015.

I don’t think the new blood injection will revive Nicola Sturgeon’s political corpse which is openly rotting away day by day, the people of Scotland have moved passed Nicola Sturgeon; she must know that now. 

If she doesn’t get a majority in 2021, she will be joining the very people she will be sacking on the backbenches, how delicious would that be? 

As a film buff, do you remember the movie, ‘Countess Dracula’, an old crony needing the blood of young women so she can go out in the world, look how that ended….. badly!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Bad Week: SNP Westminister Ian Blackford says he isn’t a Salmond stooge and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon casts doubt on meeting President Donald Trump in Scotland, SNP display lack of statesmanship, lack of class and lack of substance, how long can this inept leadership continue before a changing of the guard?

Dear All

Deary deary me, after Alex Salmond said that he suggested the Commons walkout to SNP Sheep leader at Westminster Ian Blackford, this has caused a stir. In a recent post earlier in the week I asked a question.

‘If people like Blackford are following advice from the likes of Salmond, then one wonders what the role of Nicola Sturgeon actually is now’. 

Now, it seems that less than a few days later, the SNP feel the need to declare that Salmond is not pulling the SNP’s strings at Westminster. Alex Salmond likes to claim credit for stuff, so here we have a mystery?

Salmond says he suggested the protest, so did Blackford clear it with SNP HQ?

Did Nicola Sturgeon approve it before it happened?

Why was Blackford talking to Salmond about this in the first place when he isn’t an MP?

It seems here we have more heat and less clarity from Ian Blackford who is merely a mouthpiece, his cringe worthy Westminster performances don’t inspire any faith that he has a handle on anything.

In order to lay the ghost of Salmond to rest, Blackford has decided that he wants to double down on his bitter personal attack against David Mundell over Brexit. There are times when you kept your mouth shut when you put your foot in it, Blackford hasn’t learned that trick yet. He also denounced the Scottish Secretary as “yellow” for not speaking in a debate but as the Speaker John Bercow said, it is for the Right honourable member to decide if he wants to speak, not anyone else. Blackford’s cry of ‘get up’ was a lowering of the tone of the House of Commons.

Prior to the rise in SNP numbers in 2015, the SNP were a joke, disliked by many, the increase in numbers hasn’t brought maturity only more idiots. It is clear that the SNP has a leadership crisis; its ranks are full of people who have no substance or vision. These people are not ‘stronger for Scotland’ as Nicola Sturgeon would have you believe but just the opposite. Of course, you can’t expect people to be perfect as an MP straight off the bat, that would be unreasonable, but the SNP haven’t mastered even commonsense. They look like a bunch of people who are on a day out to Westminster who made a wrong turning and found themselves in the Chamber and decided to play MP for a day.

So, here is a question has David Mundell been a “dismal failure” in his role at the Scotland Office?

Well, the answer is no, and you could say the sign of that is the fact he isn’t in a series of disasters and his ship is sailing happily along, wee visits here, wee visits there and a few receptions thrown in with a picture or two. So, what does Blackford mean when he says dismal failure, could it be that Mundell isn’t dancing to their tune? Maybe they should check their records because they may think he is a member.

As well as being called ‘yellow’, David Mundell has been accused of  “stabbing Scotland in the back” by the Nationalists, it seems that they are rolling out all the usual rubbish you would expect to find on a children’s playground, primary naturally!

Blackford said:

“He fails to stand up for Scotland as a country, fails to stand up for our Parliament, he sees us as subservient. That's why the Secretary of State needs to go. He is quite simply unfit for the office he holds.”

One wonders why Blackford hasn’t been public about SNP Health Sec Shona Robison, if there is a pressing need in Scotland for someone to go from ministerial office, Robison needs to be at the front of that queue. But alas not a peep from him about his own party’s ministers failings.

One thing which I have said before is the SNP using cut and paste ideas; it seems that the latest SNP walkout is a retread of Alex Salmond’s idea of protest; he walked out of the Commons during Chancellor Nigel Lawson’s 1988 Budget statement. What did that walkout achieve…… nothing, nothing then, nothing now.

Salmond said on the walkout:

"Certainly, that was my advice to Ian Blackford when he phoned me last Tuesday night and I was delighted to see him carry it through.”

So, what weight can we put on Blackford’s statement that Salmond wasn’t pulling the party leadership’s strings at Westminster?

And as I mentioned during the week, what is the role of Nicola Sturgeon now?

In the past, I blogged on the Court of King Alex and the Court of Nicola Sturgeon, Salmond was moved out of Holyrood so as not to overshadow Sturgeon, that plan didn’t work out as Salmond got pumped from the Commons by the snap election. The recent McDonald saga hasn’t provide him a route back, McDonald wants his three years salary despite the pressure put on him to leave. Salmond may have his RT show, but time is against him, Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, they are heading towards a major political crash.

You can smell it in the air!

Finally, one thing I find amusing is that unpopular Nicola Sturgeon has said President Trump shouldn’t be given the ‘red carpet’ treatment when he comes to the UK, and that she has no plans to meet Trump if he comes to visit Scotland. It seems that Sturgeon is continuing the SNP feud started by Salmond when they tried to get Trump to sign a pre-written letter supporting the release of Al Megrahi. If Trump had done this, he wouldn’t be President of the United States, and he did the right thing.

The latest reason by Sturgeon, Trump’s “appalling” child migrant policy, actually this was the policy of the Obama Administration. 

But here is some interesting news apparently it is being kept 'under review', somehow I doubt Trump has Nicola Sturgeon on his radar. Robert Wood Johnson, the US Ambassador to the UK, said this week that Mr Trump would meet the Queen, nice woman, someone with class unlike Nicola Sturgeon.

Mind you has the President any pictures of him and a woman with a 'pot belly', could be Nicola's ticket!!!!!!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Nicola Sturgeon’s folly; Westminster SNP rehash ‘old material’ as they say the Conservatives 'have returned to anti-Scottish days of Margaret Thatcher', Nationalist leader puts bitter personal attack against David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, does Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP members intend to hound David Mundell as they did Charles Kennedy?

Dear All

To be a comedian you have to always use new material, the same could be said in politics, yesterday, I was blogging on the SNP being in their death throes, today as if on cue to prove my point, up pops the SNP leader Ian Blackford at Westminster to use retread material of a bygone age.

Ian Blackford says the Tories have returned to the “anti-Scottish” days of Margaret Thatcher, isn’t just pitiful that the SNP can do no better than attempt to resurrect a ghost of the past.

The idea that petty gimmicks and malcontent can build a nation or indeed unity it is laughable. The SNP are a thoroughly unprofessional group of people who although elected are incapable of building bridges. The bitter exchanges by Ian Blackford towards David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary isn’t good politics, also no one at all will believe the SNP leadership at Holyrood will be seeking consensus by restarting cross-party talks to defuse the mounting constitutional crisis over Brexit.

The SNP want a constitutional crisis over Brexit, so they are using a tactic, Problem–reaction–solution, a method to attempt to steer the UK Government towards operating to their agenda.

The end goal is of course a referendum to be called at their timing, known as a neverendum.

This will not be allowed to happen, with the SNP imploding from the inside, they know that time is against the SNP. In the recent Deputy contest, Keith Brown MSP managed to get 55% of the vote, but we should all remember that only about 26% of the membership voted. You could say that Keith Brown has no real mandate to be deputy leader as only circa 1 in 10 members thought him fit to be elected.

9 out of 10 SNP members didn’t!

In politics, we continually hear that personal attacks have no place in politics, but here we have the SNP leader Ian Blackford in the House of Commons launching into a personal attack against David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary suggesting apparently that he was “yellow” for not speaking in a three-hour debate.  Blackford also claimed that Mundell had no credibility to hold his current post.

Blackford said:

“He fails to stand up for Scotland as a country, fails to stand up for our Parliament, he sees us as subservient…That’s why the Secretary of State needs to go. He is quite simply unfit for the office he holds.”

In a feeble attempt to goad Mundell after accusing him of “stabbing the Scottish Parliament in the back,” Blackford demanded:

“Come on, up you get.”

David Mundell did get up, wandered over to the dispatch box after the SNP had fired their heavy artillery at him and calmly said:

“This speech, I suppose it can be called that, is not worthy of a response from me in the tone that he has set out. He calls for respect but focuses entirely on the personal in his comments. This may be a performance for his colleagues and his core voters, it doesn’t impress Scotland.”

The classic reply, ‘not worthy of a response from me’!

You have to laugh, Blackford wanted a fight backed up with his sheep sitting round him for support and in the end, he made himself look like an absolute fool. One Tory source later said:

“They have no proper argument and that’s why they are resorting to cheap, personal attacks.”

Remember what I said yesterday about the fact the SNP have no substance?

They also have no vision, no depth and no business being in Westminster, what exactly is their purpose there? Plainly, it seems to me to be about drawing the salary, engaging in identity politics and grievance manufacturing, they will leave Westminster no wiser than when they first entered.

Learned nothing, did nothing and added nothing to the betterment of society!

Someone clearly out of his depth is SNP MP Martin Day, he piped up to suggests Whitehall’s action has sparked a strong sense of outrage from his constituents, previously witnessed following the introduction of poll tax, and he added Scotland had now reached a “tipping point”.

Notice any demos this morning or indeed any other morning?

See any real support by way of online petitions?

See anything in the press or on TV and radio about mass discontent?

Heard Tommy Sheridan wheeled out to waffle on?

One thing which should interest anyone who is following this SNP dog and pony show is the comments of Conservative MP Simon Hoare. He pointed out how Lord Sewel, one of the architects of devolution, had made clear the UK Government was not enacting a power-grab because sovereignty rested with the UK Parliament. All powers returned to the UK from the EU must go through Westminster.

Or to understand the nub of it, there is no contract or membership with the EU and the Scottish Government hence no transfer of powers.

It is entirely right that the UK Government are not willing to move any further to allow a Holyrood veto over policy aimed at protecting the UK’s internal market, the SNP are yet again fighting a losing battle which they know they can’t win. You have to ask yourself why the SNP keep having fights when they know that legally they can’t win or influence; is it simply to waste time or are there another motives behind the scenes which they operate too.

No one will win a vote to bring forward emergency legislation to scrap the bill’s Scottish clause especially after David Mundell and his colleagues have made what they regard as significant compromises. Sometimes, it is better to take a small win and then walk away, but the SNP seem to be gamblers and always come up losers. When you build up a record of failure, people will eventually ask; what is the point of supporting you, prior to abandoning your party.

The internal UK market must be protected, this benefits Scotland as much as anyone other part of the United Kingdom. How can the SNP sell their lies on independence when they cannot even work with our largest trading partner in a responsible and constructive way?

Finally, I said the SNP in in its death throes, and as many in the SNP know all too well, George Laird right again!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

SNP in their Death Throes: the Nats Westminster ‘stunt’ backfired on them massively, a party of no ability doesn’t have a future in the Commons, the Glasgow School of Art fire is an apt metaphor for the SNP at present, the party is now a hollowed out shell with no real substance or vision to it, reduced to petty games and gimmicks, its just hugely embarrassing for Scotland

Dear All

If you remember the 1982 movie Bladerunner, then you will certainly remember this quote:

“The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long”.

The rise of the SNP was made on the back of major dissatisfaction with other political parties and their representatives. The evidence is the wipe out at various elections.

 Although that created opportunities for the SNP, what they put up as candidates didn’t match expectations of Scots; the new politics lost its shine rather quickly once the SNP entered Westminster in numbers.

56 SNP MPs after a mere two years was dramatically reduced to 35 SNP MPs.

Two short years, the ‘class of 2015’ for the SNP hangs by a thread, or to be more exact 60 or 75 votes in some cases, depending where you are standing in the City of Glasgow. The other seats for the SNP could be taken if other parties made a serious effort and organised.

Last week, the SNP pulled a stunt in the House of Commons, it was manufactured, and the result was some gullible people in Scotland bought into it, the SNP walked out of the Commons claiming that Scotland was being disrespected. In fact Scotland wasn’t being disrespected, the SNP oppose the EU Withdrawal Bill, they had hoped that Scots would back them on keeping EU membership but the support never came. A million Scots voted to leave the EU, and this week the UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced £384 million a week for the NHS.

At the drop of a hat, Nationalist politicians claim everything is a game-changer, but the reality is and remains the people have moved passed the SNP, Brexit is going ahead and the SNP have nothing but petty initiatives to offer, their acts show how irrelevant they are.

It is a startling reality that everything the SNP support and do turns to disaster, we have seen this in government, in local government, in Holyrood and of course in Westminster. This problem all lies with the calibre of SNP politicians, the SNP isn’t a party of political greats, there isn’t “statesmen” in their ranks, they are just a bunch of political thugs.

When you think back to ‘game-changers’ according to the Nationalists, we had:

The referendum White Paper, that didn’t work so we have now the Growth Commission report, we had the “surge” in membership after the referendum, we had the alleged surge after last week's stunt  and periodically, we have people declared on Twitter that they have 'just' joined the SNP.

The funny thing about the last point is when you look at these new members is their followers list, when they make their ‘announcement’ that they were previously followed by SNP members and branches across Scotland.

And you generally find known cybernats as followers as well….. interesting?

The SNP walking out of the House of Commons was meaningless, they wanted to call a vote to exclude the public and press from watching PMQs, on the basis of this, some Scots joined the SNP?

Where exactly was the outrage?

It is a fact that some Scots are easily led, and in nationalist circles not very clever between the ears!

What the SNP are trying to do is manufacture a constitutional crisis which at the end of it sees them granted a second 30 order for another referendum in Scotland; Brexit is an excuse and only an excuse. The latest ‘gimmick’ by the SNP is to say the Brexit ‘power grab’ will 'haunt Tories for a generation like poll tax'.

Do you see much in the way of street protests?

The fact is there is no power grab, all powers from the EU returned must go to the host Country’s parliament, that is Westminster, then Westminster passes down powers once powers are secure in legal frameworks.

This is the bottom line, not the false flags that the SNP are flying.

Voters have become increasingly sophisticated at spotting SNP lies; they know the difference between facts and storytelling shouted by the SNP at the top of their lungs.

The people of Scotland aren’t willing any longer to being treated as fools, and they have become rather apt at see through the nationalists’ motives and actions, Nicola Sturgeon’s and the SNP’s support has been falling, most noticeably since 2015 when emotion and anger managed to gift them 56 seats at Westminster.

Emotion and anger are not a basis for sustained political support, deeds and actions to fix issue like health, education and law and order matter to Scots, and Nicola Sturgeon’s government run like an independence vehicle and wedded to identity politics is making progress for Scotland impossible.

In Scotland recently, we saw the burnt out shell of the Glasgow School of Art which caught fire again, looking at the pictures, it seemed to me to be a metaphor for the SNP. The SNP is now a hollowed out shell of a party with no substance to it, they have been reduced to than a bit of amateur dramatics in the House of Commons. They clearly think that their tactics have some wider meaning in Scotland but it doesn’t, most Scots are divorced from the madness spouted by Sturgeon and her ilk.  

Finally, it appears that Scotland’s jolly fat man, Alex Salmond is alleged to have suggested the protest to SNP leader Ian Blackford the night before, it is also said that Salmond likes to take political gambles, in this case both he and the SNP lost again. 

If people like Blackford are following advice from the likes of Salmond, then one wonders what the role of Nicola Sturgeon actually is now. The SNP MP Tommy Sheppard has previously claimed and asserted that the walkout was instinctive and improvised; one can only think that how many other SNP MPs are kept out of the loop?

Clearly Scotland must send better to Westminster than a load of angry ill-informed malcontents, the SNP don’t represent Scotland, they just represent the SNP, and that is a pretty squalid bunch at that!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

SNP Active Discrimination rots the Scottish Government, Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Government operate a secret twin-track FOI regime to discriminate against people, although the SNP staged a ‘stunt’ at Westminster as the news leaked out, the true story to focus on is that the SNP have corrupted the Scottish government for political ends to shore up their crumbling hold on power

Dear All

In the 2017 Westminster election, the number of SNP MPs dropped from 56 to 35, a huge drop and a clear sign of a party in trouble. Yesterday saw the SNP disgrace themselves at the House of Commons by doing a pre-planned stunt which ultimately made them look like fools.

It is abundantly clear that the task facing Scotland is to remove the SNP from public office at both Westminster and Holyrood.

Why Holyrood when the ‘stunt’ was done at Westminster, well evidence has emerged that the SNP is operating secret twin-track FOI regime, although people are distracted by the walkout, this information is more important to Scots. The SNP are corrupting our democracy and the rule of law, they don’t operate in government under good faith.

Regardless who is in power, the public by law have a right to know, the fact that SNP Ministers have been operating a secret twin-track freedom of information regime is basically a scandal, the SNP don’t like to be held to account for their actions, and the secret system is making it tougher for those most likely to embarrass them to get information.

Journalists, MSPs and political researchers are differently because of who or what they are under the SNP regime, the use of special advisers to ‘vet’ people should be make an illegal act. If there was a need for a Bill at Holyrood to end this practice then this issue surely demands.

The SNP operate to a bunker mentality because they know they aren’t competent, and they are also unwilling to do the job properly which is why we have a government of cronies, there is no ethical approach to government by the SNP. Their politics are the hallmarks of a backward third world country like Pakistan where deals are done behind closed doors for advantage.

Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond lost in 2014 referendum, they also lost in 2016 over Brexit; they haven’t moved on and find themselves effectively without a narrative. The Nats banked on Brexit kick starting their next indyref, but the support didn’t materalise, Brexit is going to happening in March 2019, the UK leaves the EU.

Out is out!

What we witness yesterday by the SNP was a stunt at the House of Commons, they may think that they can engage in guerrilla tactics at Westminster to "frustrate" Theresa May’s Government but they are failing to see the long term picture. The SNP are facing a crisis, and the longer they ‘act up’, the more people will be convinced that we must get them out by any means. The idea that there will be another constitutional clash between Edinburgh and London is a fool’s errand because the war is over.

In politics, the SNP are so stupid that they abuse the concept of goodwill between governments by petty stunts and yesterday trying to use technical devices to cause problems. One thing about rules which the SNP haven’t grasped is that at Westminster, they aren’t the gatekeepers.

The rules can be changed.

If the SNP go back to the stupidity noticeable when they first arrived in 2015 such as clapping each other in the Commons, not only will they alienate themselves from everyone else they will also do so with the Speaker.

The SNP leader at Westminster is Ian Blackford, I don’t like him, I don’t like the fact that the SNP hounded Charles Kennedy, a respected but flawed man to his death. When Charles Kennedy died, the SNP had the incredibly bad taste by turning up at his funeral, Blackford was banned. Blackford is now suggesting the SNP will use a number of “parliamentary devices” to disrupt UK Government business, their story is this action is due to the Conservatives’ "anti-Scottish" agenda.

That is pitiful nonsense.

Nicola Sturgeon joined in by saying she was “right behind” her colleagues at Westminster, accusing the UK Government of treating Scotland with “contempt, and said it could no longer be business as usual between Edinburgh and London. Given that the SNP’s idea of ‘business as usual’ there will be no change there. However, the UK Government shouldn’t be scared to turn the screw on the SNP, if they want to play politics, then the SNP may live to regret playing the fool.

The UK Government need to press on with Brexit and by pass Holyrood, discussions are pointless with the SNP over the EU Withdrawal Bill, and when it comes to Sturgeon asking for another Section 30 order, a junior minister should be used to say no!

Fun….. using the word no can be quite entertaining if done right.

Disgraced MP Stewart Hosie, the SNP’s trade spokesman piped up saying:

“Whether it’s a power-grab or a failure to respect the will of the Scottish Parliament, we are dealing with the same issues with the Trade Bill and the same concerns will arise. As things stand, I can’t see how the Scottish Parliament could pass a Legislative Consent Motion to allow the Trade Bill to go forward.”

Hosie dumped his wife, Shona Robison to plough into another younger woman, no fool like an old fool, after it came out, his concern was for his daughter, how touching!

Paul Sweeney, the Labour Shadow Scotland Office Minister, has denounced the SNP’s “absurd stunt,” which he said would only appeal to the party’s “zealots,” and illustrated how desperate the Nationalists were becoming. It is true, the SNP is fearful of elections for both Westminster and Holyrood which is why they want another indyref, they think they can generate the same support that got them 56 MPs again and stop their decline. Paul Sweeney overturned one of the biggest SNP votes in Glasgow were polls gave him a 2% chance of winning. He fought a hard campaign with few resources but had a loyal and excellent team doing the business. In the end the best man won which is politics doesn’t always happen. The SNP Candidate Anne McLaughlin who held the seat lost by 242 votes.

Her defeat was a sore one for the SNP.

Nationalist sources claimed such was the indignation felt at the Tory Government’s treatment of the Scottish Parliament’s opposition to the Brexit Bill that circa 1,000 people had applied to join the party.

Personally, I think this is bullshit, these new members, why didn't they join for indyref 1?

Finally, although the SNP have embarked on a poisonous tactic, they will find out that doesn’t work at Westminster, the more antics they get up to the stupider the Nats will look, and that will lose votes. If you take anything from today’s blog then don’t focus on the Westminster nonsense, instead focus on the secret twin-track FOI regime because that is the real story. 

The SNP need to be removed from the government of Scotland, and new laws enacted to stop special advisers corrupting our system of government. The cat is out of the bag, Nicola Sturgeon’s government is not just morally bankrupt; it has a systemic problem spreading like a virus through it, but the body is beyond help, rotten to the core.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University