Dear All
The sense of entitlement of some people just beggars belief, but still if you don't ask then you don't get, and even if you do ask, you still may not get either.
Alex Salmond has said he wants a seat at the top table during the TV debates, and as such he is writing to Ofcom to press his case. Normally, the biased media tend to exclude minor parties in favour of the top four parties. TV debates in Scotland are usually dominated by SNP, Scottish Labour, Scottish Lib Dems and Scottish Conservatives. In recent years, the franchise was extended to the Scottish Green Party. This despite the Scottish Greens never winning a first part the post seat at either Westminster or Holyrood under their banner. As Alex Salmond has two Westminster MP and some Councillors, he can argue his case but it is weak. If Ofcom agrees that Salmond's Alba Party is included in the Leader's debates, then that sets a precedent also for the inclusion of other parties, UKIP, The Reform Party, and George Galloway's party, All for Unity. Galloway's party is standing candidates, just the same as Alba has done, in all the regional lists.
I suppose the question for Ofcom, if the floodgates are opened, then where is the "cut off" point? I can see an equal case for Salmond and Galloway both being included. But, and there is always a 'but', in a democracy, the first thing will be that the other parties such as the SNP and Scottish Greens will complain. Alba poses a direct threat to the SNP and Scottish Greens list seats. You could see a scenario where Patrick Harvie fails to get elected on the Glasgow list. In the central belt Scotland, outside the urban islands of Glasgow and Edinburgh, the SNP are vulnerable. They know they are vulnerable , which explains the immediate hate campaign directed at Salmond personally by Nicola Sturgeon and her minions. As more people jump ship from the SNP including SNP list candidates, the tune of Sturgeon has changed from, 'you can't trust Alex Salmond' to 'I will work with him'. Of course, we should remember the epic pitch by Sturgeon after Alex Salmond was acquitted in his criminal trial, 'he has been found innocent but that doesn't mean the incidents the women complained of didn't happen'.
Nicola Sturgeon's exact statement was:
“The behaviour complained of was found by a jury not to constitute criminal conduct and Alex Salmond is innocent of criminality, but that doesn’t mean the behaviour complained of didn’t happen and I think it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that.”
One
of Salmond's accusers, woman
H said that Alex Salmond attempted to rape her.
So, here we have Nicola Sturgeon effectively saying she will "work" with a man accused of attempted rape! Women H, is close to the SNP leadership, but not as close as woman A or woman C. This begs the question, if Sturgeon will work with Alex Salmond as has been touted in the media. Could there be a scenario, where woman A and woman C would be in the same room in a Scottish government meeting with the man that they attempted to jail? Have a wee think about that one for a few minutes. Is there such a thing as non criminal attempted rape? I would like you think about that for a second as well, and then try to put yourself into the mind of Nicola Sturgeon as she works her possible 'deal' with Salmond.
In the aftermath of the Salmond criminal trial, the SNP and their supporters ran a post trial smearing operation, basically 24/7. You can probably expect the SNP to be at the front of the objections queue against Salmond standing in the Leader's debate. Everyone knows what the Alba Party agenda is, they want SNP votes, members, money and resources. As nominations for Holyrood close, and Alba has declared its candidates, I think the drip drip of elected politicians deserting the SNP will effectively stop, there will be rank and file members who will still jump tho, but the rate will slow. The next batch to jump will in 2022, around the time of council elections, and of course, the 'biggie', Westminster 2024. Salmond has two years to undermine Nicola Sturgeon, complaining she hasn't delivered a second independence referendum. The classic thorn in the side, the stone in the shoe, the straw on her back, there is no scenario where Nicola Sturgeon gets a section 30 order out of a Conservative Government.
You can now see why Salmond upsets the apple cart, in a similar vein although not as dynamic, you have George Galloway's list party, I don't think he will do that well, the problem is that he has selected people who are doctors, lawyers, ex military and business people. They all have one thing in common. They aren't political activists, they aren't campaigners, and they don't know how to run effective short campaigns to max out the vote. Knowing the area where you campaign in is an advantage that many people don't have, even in political parties. They will know how to get from A to B, but going from A to B in campaigning is hugely different, because you literally stop at every door.
So, what are Salmond's chances of being in the Leader's Debates?
I would have to say on paper, new party, no track record, it is very doubtful, other parties longer established such as UKIP or the Brexit Party, now called the Reform Party have a better claims than Alba. A few defectors from the SNP to Alba doesn't a criteria make for inclusion. And if Salmond was admitted, then this would open up possible legal challenges from other minor parties with better claims. I don't see how Salmond gets into the Leader's Debates even as a former First Minster, because the entry criteria wouldn't be able to take account of his past record in government.
Salmond said:
“the case for Alba participation in debates and fair coverage is unanswerable”.
There is an answer, and it is called No!
It doesn't matter that his party was brought up by BBC Scotland editor Sarah Smith and Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie during the debate. It doesn't matter if other parties are brought up either. Salmond's pitch which is not a valid reason is that giving the Alba Party a platform alongside his political rivals would also ensure a balanced panel on independence. This election is about who will run devolved services in Scotland, it is not about independence, it is not about gaining a section 30 order, and it is not about whether Scotland should have a second independence referendum. If that is Salmond's benchmark for inclusion, it will be rejected and he will only get exclusion. His other pitch, which is less convincing for inclusion is the numbers game.
Mr Salmond said:
“It is less than a week since launch and already Alba has a comparable number of members to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens and are contesting seats across Scotland. We also have double the Westminster parliamentary representation of the Labour Party in Scotland.”
The Scottish Labour Party has one MP, Alba has two, Alba didn't win those seats, they are seats of people who defected. In terms of party numbers, UKIP and the Reform Party have more, so if Salmond thinks he can 'rewrite the rules' for his inclusion he is sadly mistaken. His only arguable case is, he is standing people in all regional lists, that's it, everything else he says is waffle. And waffle just won't cut it, no matter how many additional waffles or the during of the waffles he does.
He added:
“There is however a further important reason favouring Alba inclusion in the leadership debates. The dominating issue of the election is independence. If the TV companies stick to their present position, every debate will be imbalanced three to two against independence. With Alba’s representation, at a stroke, the independence argument will be balanced three apiece. Watching the debate on Tuesday night my name was mentioned a number of times with no recourse. In addition, the moderator, Sarah Smith, sought to elicit information from audience members about support for Alba. We have waited until the declaration of candidates before writing. Now given our strength the case for Alba participation in debates and fair coverage is unanswerable. We expect a positive reply.”
The indy argument would only have credibility if this was a referendum, then he would have a valid case for 3 against 3.
As a sense of where the BBC's head is at, the broadcaster said that while leaders of smaller parties will not appear in live debates, “there will be impartial and proportionate coverage of their campaigns in the coming weeks”. What the BBC is saying, is no to Salmond, it is a closed shop. They will decide what is proportionate coverage of the minor campaigns and when that will be. I get the feel that the media will only look at the Alba Party as a freak show, much like they did with RISE. RISE was a mash up of odd characters from the SSP and elsewhere, fettered by the media, as the next big thing, come the election, they go nowhere.
Finally, with nominations closed for the Holyrood election, in sunny Pollok, it seems that there is a rather crowded field, nine people in fact, which may attract a carnival atmosphere. This is the biggest field of candidates that has ever stood in the Glasgow Pollok Constituency since the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.
Labour Dr. Zubir Ahmed
Scottish
Libertarian Alan Findlay
Independent
Joseph Finnie
UKIP
Daryl Gardner
Conservative
Sandesh Gulhance
Scottish
Green Nadia Kanyange
Reclaim
Party Leo Kearse
Lib
Dems James Spiers
SNP
Humza Yousaf
Busy, busy, busy.
Yours sincerely
George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
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