SNP Carpetbagger Humiliation; SNP candidate John Nicolson standing in Ochil & South Perthshire repeatedly booed by Perthshire residents after forgetting which seat he is standing in at a hustings at Alloa town hall, when you have younger pictures of yourself on your election leaflets, you show yourself up as a vain pompous fool, now he speaks to confirm it with this gaffe

Dear All

In politics, there is such a thing as a ‘Portillo moment’, named after Michael Portillo who was famously beaten in a Westminster in 1997 by Stephen Twigg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVvWE6V9ulE

You could say that losing his seat made Michael Portillo a better person, such is life; it’s fickle. Portillo moments are general welcomed when a candidate is seen as a pompous arse. One such character who deserves a Portillo moment is John Nicolson, the SNP candidate in Conservative-held Ochil & South Perthshire. He is so up himself that on election night, I will be like many hoping that he doesn’t win the seat. Ochil & South Perthshire is just a meal ticket for John Nicolson, he is a carpet bagger parachuted in by the SNP because he is part of the Nicola Sturgeon clique. The previous carpet bagger was Tasmina Ahmed-Shiekh who was removed by the SNP after a scandal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-46881007

I have campaigned with her, not the greatest activist I have ever worked with, but she ticks certain boxes which is why the SNP promoted her. She was close to Nicola Sturgeon and then Alex Salmond. After her fall from grace, she joined Alex Salmond and together, they founded Slainte Media, a production company behind The Alex Salmond Show, and regularly co-hosts the programme on RT. Tasmina sounds like someone who should be on a shopping channel selling cheap vacuum cleaners.

In the event that Alex Salmond survives his current problems, he will probably take Tasmina on his coat tails and challenge for the SNP leadership. Tasmina was part of the Court of King Alex in Westminster, not a real political player just someone with a big gob and apparently a nickname at Westminster…. ‘Tedious’.

So much to say and nothing worth hearing!

Now that Tasmina is gone, a Sturgeon ally dropped into Ochil & South Perthshire, the vain and pompous John Nicholson. A man who appears to like putting a younger picture of himself on his election leaflets. And for your entertainment, I reworked his election leaflet, so how would you describe him? Always tricky; people so sensitive, especially when it comes to age, well, I will try.

John Nicolson looks like an old fart!

The election is in full swing albeit, a quiet affair so far from all parties, the SNP are in hiding, especially after Nicola Sturgeon got a hiding off Andrew Neil. Despite the quiet, SNP candidate Nicholson has been branded a “laughing stock” after he told voters at a hustings last night that he was standing in another seat. Ochil & South Perthshire is just a meal ticket to him; he apparently stays in Bearsden, Glasgow and London. Post-election, even if he was to win the seat he would stay in Bearsden, Glasgow and London. He is a carpet bagger, such people are generally un-welcome but in his case, he was booed after declaring that only he could win in East Dunbartonshire.

Not the thing to say as a candidate in Ochil & South Perthshire.

Speaking at a hustings in Alloa town hall last night, he told his audience:

“Please trust me with your vote on December the 12th. As you know, only the Scottish National party can beat the Tories here in East Dunbartonshire."

Despite boos and jeers from the crowd; he appeared oblivious to his mistake, he said later this was a slip of the tongue.

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said:

“John Nicolson is now a laughing stock.” 

Well, not a revelation to me, but welcomed as others might think he is someone to watch, and he isn’t.

Murdo added:

"It's well known he was parachuted in to Ochil and South Perthshire last month by Nicola Sturgeon. You'd think by know that he would have worked out where he was. People have had enough of SNP placemen thinking they can walk in with a God-given right to a seat. In two weeks’ time, voters in Ochil and South Perthshire can tell Mr Nicolson to go home and think again - assuming he can find his way there."

I hope that on election, I can watch on TV and see him lose, and the smile wiped off his face as he is sent packing back to the Sturgeon camp. With so much unpleasantness about to hit the SNP with the upcoming Salmond trial, he along with some others will be earmarked to be wheeled out to comment on what happens or comes next. The MP slot would be used to give him status, when this buffoon speaks; he needs a title to fall back on as he is just a Sturgeon placeman.  

So, what are Nicholson’s chances?

Luke Graham of the Conservative Party won the seat in 2017 with a credible majority of 3,359 votes, so not an easy climb for the SNP despite them targeting the seat. Although the SNP are good at by-elections due to drawing in people from elsewhere but with so many SNP marginal seats, help from outside maybe limited. I expect that Nicola Sturgeon and the usual suspects of government ministers will be visiting to make Nicholson seem important. That said he is only important to Nicola Sturgeon, as a human political bullet magnet during the Alex Salmond trial.

I see Conservative incumbent Luke Graham as the clear favourite in this scenario; however, this is a complex election with Brexit overshadowing it. How do people of Ochil and South Perthshire feel about Brexit, presumably after all the fuss, they want a government that can get Brexit done. Luke Graham also has the advantage of his incumbency and ‘long campaigning’ to build his brand. I would rate his chances as 60/40 or slightly better. The SNP have worked the area to win the seat but Tasmina rather queered the pitch with her troubles.

In a statement, Nicolson said: 

“I made a slip of the tongue. We’re all human”.

True, we are all human but also some of us are an arse which seems a perfect fit for Nicholson and his travelling circus.

He added:

"On December 12th voters in Ochil and South Perthshire will face the choice between a Tory candidate prepared to do whatever Boris Johnson tells him - trading away Scotland’s NHS to Donald Trump and taking Scotland out of the EU. Or an SNP candidate who will act to protect Scotland from Boris Johnson and ensure we have a choice over our future.”

The NHS is totally devolved in Scotland and controlled by the SNP, so his scaremongering is simply project fear in the hope that voters don’t wise up. Sadly, although the SNP seem to think people are idiots, they will probably be getting a shock in Ochil and South Perthshire as Nicola’s pal gets cast out like an old broken record.

Finally, if there is any justice in the world, the incumbent Luke Graham should hold his seat, and with the SNP tide of support going out right across Scotland, he is well placed to do the win. After Nicholson gets beaten, I doubt people of Ochil and South Perthshire will ever see him against as he disappears back to Bearsden and London. No doubt appearing at his next carpet bagger placement, assuming Nicola Sturgeon is still around.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University