Down and Out in SNP Controlled Glasgow, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and her gang start crying and wailing over BBC pulling plug on The Daily Sturgeon Show, in Glasgow, Cllr Susan Aitken struggles to be relevant but is 'pretty certain' Labour councillors would vote Yes in indy 2, how many are “certain” Aitken is out of her depth as Glasgow resembles a council tip now, and the stench is so Ooh la la

Dear All

In wake of so much bad news for the SNP, it isn’t surprising that they are keen to deflect attention from themselves have the press and public focus on other parties. As their ‘war’ with the BBC rages over the ending of the Nicola Sturgeon party political broadcast and subsequent failed campaign to reinstate it, they are like people trapped in a pit they can’t get out of which is rapidly filling up with water. So far in the ‘campaign’ to have the SNP dominate the Holyrood 2021 election with their sole focus on Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP have abused the public broadcaster’s goodwill. Eventually Sturgeon’s luck had to run out when rumbled, sadly, it took others nearly 6 months to catch on. The ‘campaign’ for reinstatement so far has had John Swinney begging, a Change.Org petition and fast and furious letters into national newspapers, along with a communal ‘crying and wailing' on various social media sites.

People like me can’t square the circle with Nicola Sturgeon’s sudden interest in ‘helping’ people particularly the elderly. You might remember the ‘elderly’ there is a damn fewer of them in Scotland under Sturgeon and Freeman’s watch. It was the SNP who wanted infected elderly people shipped into care homes, it was the SNP who pushed for DNR; don’t not resuscitate signatures from elderly patients. It was the SNP who didn’t prioritise and ensure that PPE was shipped to care homes as a priority.

Now, we are supposed to believe that Sturgeon’s main aim is public health? Why haven’t we heard a peep from the Scottish public health minister, Joe Fitzpatrick or The Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Shirley-Anne Somerville or even the Minister for Older People and Equalities Christina McKelvie? Why have these 3 SNP Ministers not spoken out or up during Covid, why didn’t they defend the elderly? Thousands dead but these people still pulling in a Minister’s salary and plus perks.

Oh, and less we forget, Covid cases in Scotland are rising, and they have been rising even before the BBC pulled the Daily Sturgeon political show. You could question just how better Sturgeon’s time would have been spent if she had been chairing meetings instead of prancing about. You see the daily Sturgeon show doesn’t just use up an hour of her time, not how tv presenting works, you have to add in ‘prep’ time, add in travel time, add in show time and finally add in time for either review or travelling to the next ‘event’. How long is period where Sturgeon abandons the day job? And less be clear, why is she presenting it, why is she hogging all the airtime, why are doesn’t she let her advisors have more airtime since they are medical professionals, and why are the press limited to one question and no reply?

Because, Sturgeon and her cohort latched onto the fact that they could use this ‘briefing’ as propaganda to attack the UK government! This ‘show’ is all about construction as Sturgeon being some sort of saviour of Scotland. I knew what she was all about after a few episodes, especially when she started answering questions put to her advisors. Anyway, we will probably hear more squealing about reinstating the ‘show’ as Covid numbers increase.

As to Sturgeon’s sister having a piece in The Times about Sturgeon is ‘human too’, well someone should call out that bullshit, through-out this entire covid crisis, the SNP has made a rip roaring cunt out of saving Scotland. Why use the phrase, ‘rip roaring cunt’, well I want you to STOP and THINK, think about how many mistakes, not just in terms of ‘advice’ but also in terms of organisation and planning have been made. One big one was not using the Glasgow Nightingale hospital to continue hospital treatments; it was left to sit there so Sturgeon could be praised for managing the covid crisis in the Scottish NHS. Later on some people will be paying the price for Nicola Sturgeon’s PR stunt of ‘managing’; these will be the people who require specialised help such as those with cancer and other medically intensive treatments. Just like Sturgeon kicked the can down the road with exam grades to be dealt with by universities, so she used the same modis operandi in health provision.

I call that NEGLECT!

To show that the SNP doesn’t get it when it comes to day jobs, up pops the SNP leader of Glasgow council Susan Aitken. You remember her; big splash how her husband got a rental of a shop for a £1.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/snp-council-leader-accused-nepotism-after-husbands-company-given-ps1-rent-deal-1402785

Aitken believes Labour councillors will campaign alongside her for independence; you might get the impression from reading this that all the Labour councillors are going to do this, but you would be entirely wrong. There are some people in Labour who are closet Nationalists; maybe they think if Sturgeon ever gets indyref 2, then in the unlikely event they win, in the aftermath of poverty and cuts, they will be okay being plugged into the political bubble. Scottish Labour should be taking a zero tolerance approach to these people, if elected, then automatically de-selected much in the same way that Richard Leonard was saying her would pull the plug on his rebels who want him out. If it was me, I would go ahead and de-select the four MSPs who recently attempted the coup against him. As to the withdrawal of motion of no confidence, it just shows how some people really aren’t cut out for being plotters, or public office.

Scottish Labour made a huge mistake by not kicking out independence supporters, and another by allow the Labour for Independence to go unchallenged. The irony of Labour for indy and seeing stalls manned by SNP people was pathetic and so underhanded. In trying to be meaningful, Aitken harks back to people like Charles Gray and Alex Mosson, but the reality is that although Labour for indy for seen as an SNP front, like a corpse, it is kept in cold storage for another indy campaign outing. Labour for indy was led by Allan Grogan, his claim to fame was although a Labour member, he never went out an done activism for the party to get people elected according to a source. Post indy defeat, he left and joined the Scottish Socialists.

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

I would have a rule that anyone who is a party member who campaigns for independence loses their membership. Then seek legal advice to stop others promoting themselves as Scottish Labour or any variation of the name. The failure to stamp out that nonsense cost the party votes and set it back decades. In a recent interview Douglas Ross highlighted the problem in Scottish Labour isn’t just the leader which is something I have alluded to and blogged on quite a bit. Can Scottish Labour be turned around, well yes, the problem is deadwood, you see Scottish Labour isn’t keen on culls, back in 2011, you may remember that the Party in London had to come up and do it for them regarding Glasgow Councillors.

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13225677.labour-axes-17-ahead-of-council-poll/

George Laird was ahead of calling for that curve by some considerable time, which put some people’s noses out of joint in Scottish Labour who are still here today. Some people deserved to get the boot, some didn’t; in the end up 17 cllrs were told to pack their bags. Scottish Labour managed to hold the city in the coming election which proved my point that culls work. Whether Richard Leonard will attempt to cull his four MSPs is anyone’s guess, but if he plays the role of the ‘manager’ instead of the Leader, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know how the party will fair in 2021.

Cllr Malcolm Cunning, the newly appointed leader of the Labour group on the council, has dismissed Aitken’s claims, suggesting his party was resolutely behind the union.

He said:

“I can think of no member of the Labour Group who would campaign for independence. The position of the Labour Group is clear and unanimous.”

Finally, all the SNP seem to do is sow grievance and throw shit which is arguably what we have heard with Susan Aitken. Aitken runs a minority council, and that means it can be taken back. Given the state of the city, roads falling apart, back courts looking like abandoned waste ground and a general state of Glasgow resembling a city on the verge of utter neglect, the opportunity to oust her and her goon squad are there for the taking. That being said, what is needed are Cllrs who will drive a change agenda forward, have a sense of purpose and start to act now that they are the local council in waiting for Glasgow, and leaders to be relied on.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University