The Cleansing of The SNP; Alex Salmond says plotters are trying ‘to remove him as political threat’ as Kenny MacAskill says ruthless SNP will shield Nicola Sturgeon at all costs, the SNP 'ratship' is in real trouble, are the battle lines being drawn in the fight to get rid of Nicola Sturgeon?

Dear All

We have all heard conspiracy theories in our time, whether it be UFO’s, reptile people ruling the world or political back stabbing. The thing that is needed to make a good conspiracy theory is of course a sprinkling of truth and the benckmark of ‘possibly’. On twitter, people have taken to using the hashtag of #snpcivilwar, this is clearly a reference between the Salmond and Sturgeon factions.

So, is there any truth in Alex Salmond’s claims?

Well, he could point to the court case he raised in the Court of Session about how the case against him was conducted.

And it isn’t a huge leap to suggest that there those who see him as a political threat, but who are ‘those’ who see him as a political threat?

It isn’t the pro UK camp.

So, who is it?

Standing back and looking at this from a distance, you could be minded to formulate a theory that the only people who stand to lose out from a Salmond return are Team Sturgeon.

Salmond back means Sturgeon’s position as First Minister is in danger.

Leaks have occurred by where did the leaks come from, and who stands to benefit, are questions you probably want to chow down on.

Many would see Team Sturgeon having a direct benefit from a damaged Alex Salmond, although people can climb many mountains in politics, climbing ‘Mount sexual misconduct’ is too much for most people.

Oh, for the record Alex Salmond denies all allegations against him.

Today in the long running saga, we may be seeing a clearing of the mist as Team Salmond and Team Sturgeon appear to emerge to be at each others’ throats. Today sees Alex Salmond being accused of spreading “conspiracy theories”. In the SNP fostering grievance is an ‘art form’, and rallying ‘allies’ and the rank and file is crucial in the forthcoming battle between Salmond and Sturgeon.

Quick of the mark, Salmond used a message to supporters on his online fundraising page to suggest that he was “close to finding out” who leaked details of the complaints to the Daily Record newspaper.

Alex Salmond, for the record isn’t Sherlock Holmes, and of course the ‘leaking’ isn’t that big a deal, what is more meaningful is who done it, was it a solo run by someone, or was this someone who was acting for a third party with their full support. Let’s face it, if you are in a job and asked to do something like this, you would want to know that you are protected, fully protected, especially if your job is online. But spare a thought that the ‘leaker’ may have been handed the data from a third party to someone connected to the SNP, and therefore attempted to put their buffer in place.

On his online fundraising page, Salmond wrote:

“I have been in public life in Scotland for 30 years. Over that entire time I have had an unblemished record in terms of personal conduct, despite being perhaps the most investigated politician on these islands”.

You then remember Salmond’s other comments, ‘I am no saint’.

Interestingly, Salmond’s pal Kenny MacAskill has said that an inner circle of hardliners surrounding Nicola Sturgeon are “driving out” anyone who threatens to damage the SNP leader’s public reputation.

So, who are these hardliners?

Was one or more of these hardliners behind the leak?

When Salmond went to Court, Kenny MacAskill was at his side supporting him, in times of trouble, it is interesting to see who standby you. MacAskill also mentioned that the party’s treatment of Alex Salmond over his sexual harassment case,  and accused senior figures of a “prejudicial and unfair” approach in order to protect the current First Minister. 


Of course; people will automatically assume that senior figures means elected politicians but it would be a mistake to limit your scope to just solely them?

MacAskill wrote:

“It now seems that, for a coterie surrounding the SNP leadership, not one blemish must be allowed to be cast upon the party leader and First Minister. She is to be whiter than white and the SNP purer than the driven snow. Misconduct will not be tolerated and any who might taint her are to be driven out, whether by leaks to the press or overt actions.”

One person says conspiracy; people laugh it off, two people say conspiracy?

A point mentioned by MacAskill:

 “Loyalty needs not just to be earned but shown, and that has been remiss lately within the SNP leadership.”

You may remember that I wrote many years ago that the SNP is a ‘rat ship’; the problem which MacAskill highlights was never a problem until it was used against Salmond directly. In one sense, this episode shows how weak the position of Nicola Sturgeon actually is, although she holds the position of leader, she is no leader.  When push comes to shove, Sturgeon gets her authority from the position of leader, not from within herself.

  

Finally, as I mentioned yesterday, the main battle has yet to come between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, Sturgeon will want to keep Salmond at arms’ length, but just as the voters are leaving the SNP, 

I can see the support for Sturgeon dipping among SNP members. 

An Alex Salmond return to the SNP cannot mean anything else but a return to Holyrood, a return to being party leader. He can only wield the knife as leader to cut out the bad seeds, and that must include SNP HQ staff. I don’t see Salmond accepting just a crack at a Westminster seat and forgetting, he might see this as destiny calling for him to revenge fully.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University