The Decline of World Order and Society; Do you get a sense that the world is going mad, do you notice physical, political, societal and moral decline, don't worry, you're not going mad, you are just being observant, the world is dying from top to bottom, and the politicians of today are the drivers of its destruction

Dear All 

One of the crimes which is unforgivable is murder, and when that murder happens by someone in a position of trust, it shocks society down to its very core. Every now and again, a murder shocks the nation, and in the past I have blogged on some cases. One of the cases was of Joanna Yeates who was killed by her neighbour in a horrific attack. The hunt for her killer was a national story which I done a few blog posts on. 

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2011/01/criminal-profiler-dr-gary-macpherson.html 

In my blog, I said the police needed to focus on why Joanna Yeates killed in her flat was moved, and my conclusion was that it was done to shift police focus away from where she was originally killed. It turned out I was correct. At the time, I wrote; 

"You could easily theorise that Jo Yeates was killed by someone she knew as 90% of murders are committed by someone who knows their victim and moved to draw attention away from the flat and surrounding area". 

And I worked this all out sitting in a flat in Glasgow just based on newspaper reports. In his haste, the neighbour who killed her under so much pressure left behind clues, for example, failing to dress her properly and her keys which were found in her flat. The person who killed her was a 32-year-old Dutch national, Vincent Tabak, he was an engineer, but the reality is, anyone can be a killer. He was eventually caught, tried and convicted. As this case attracted so much publicity, he is in the category of prisoner who is so infamous that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. The wiki entry of this case is something worth reading, and it lists a huge amount of source material in its references. 

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

The work done by the police on that case was roundly praised by many, a dangerous killer was caught and taken off the streets. Would Vincent Tabak have killed again, that is hard to say with certainty but certainly you couldn't rule this out. The judge at the time opined that he was satisfied that there was a sexual element to the case, which I would agree with. The murder of this young woman took place back in 2010, and 11 years later looking at the world, it would seem as if little has changed or you could argue things have gotten worse. Today, we read the horror story of a police officer who strangled a young woman called Sarah Everard after he kidnapped her. Wayne Couzens, 48 used his position of authority to commit a fake arrest on Sarah. Now his trial has been completed, his sentence will see him being handed a  whole life order which means he will die in prison. Couzens' trial was conducted at the Old Bailey by Lord Justice Fulford who described the circumstances of the murder as “grotesque”. Fulford also said that the seriousness of the case was so “exceptionally high” that it warranted a whole life order. 

He said:

 “The misuse of a police officer’s role such as occurred in this case in order to kidnap, rape and murder a lone victim is of equal seriousness as a murder for the purpose of advancing a political, religious ideological cause.” 

Couzens’ defence barrister Jim Sturman QC probably knew that there was no way on God's earth his client was going to wlk away from this case a free man. With that in mind he urged the judge to hand Couzens a lengthy life sentence,  in the hope that he would be eligible for parole in his 80s. I suppose the question is after spending 30 plus years in prison, assuming he lives to that age, what life would be have left to enjoy? 

Mr Sturman said: 

“The defendant was invited to look at the Everards. He could not, I am told. He is ashamed. What he has done is terrible. He deserves a very lengthy finite term, but he did all he could after he was arrested to minimise the wicked harm that he did.” 

If you look at his story/ defence which looked pretty weak which was basically he was 'forced' by a gang to do it, you can see why he changed his mind to cooperate. He was caught, he knew he was guilty, and he hoped to minimise his sentence when he was found guilty, and he was going to be found guilty due to there being too much evidence. Maybe he thought he was going to get 15 to 20, and possibly parole after 12 years. I am not sure what his plan was but the outcome surely couldn't have been in his preferred options. The killing, the circumstances of the murder of Sarah Everard were truly tragic, and the sentence reflects this, the 33-year-old marketing executive should never have been killed, but in life you will meet some wicked people. Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered. Wayne Couzens wasn't just a run of the mill beat police officer, he was a highly trained firearms officer who provided armed protection at the American Embassy. In policing terms that appointment must be regarded as very high profile, the type of posting which can enhance someone's career. 

Finally, many people on social media say they get a sense that the world is going mad. I would say that beam should be more narrowed. There is a decline happening in Western society, it has been going on for some considerable time. Where and when is that decline going to halt. I read about the US afghan withdrawal which the Americans deserted the people of Afghanistan in their time of need. I see documentaries about people talking about 'War with China', I see media manufactured stories causing panic buying of food and fuel in this country, I watch countless videos of Drs and others who flag up the injuries from people who have taken the covid vaccines. I watch the brutality of governments in Canada and Australia on their own people. I see elected an Mayor in America saying that people should be forced to take the vaccine. I see people talking about ignoring the requirement for informed consent for medical procedures. I see the rich and powerful elite trying to shutdown not just free speech but also people's right to access it at so many levels. All around us there is social, economic and moral decline caused by a political class which operates on divide and conquer, not of a foreign enemy but of its own people. And the President of the United States is mentally impaired, I don't know what the technical name of his illness is, but he shouldn't be President, and he is a danger to the free world.

There is going to be a future, the question is, will it be a future in the light, or a future in the dark?  

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University    

Deluded, Divisive and Morally Bankrupt, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon uses HGV Driver and Fuel shortages to attack UK Government, in a tiresome rant over post-Brexit immigration policy', Sturgeon opts for flooding the country with cheap labour, why is it so called 'left' leaning politicians so anti working class, why is it they restrict opportunities, why do they discriminate against the working class by omission, neglect and rule changes?

Dear all 

I suppose it was only a matter of time before Nicola Sturgeon jumped on the grievance wagon again, and unsurprisingly, her 'any issue to complain' is about the HGV driver and fuel shortage. There are two things which should be established about both issues which the 'pro Brexit' camp has skated over which are very important. 

1/ The HGV driver shortage was caused by poor pay and conditions.

2/ The mainstream media created the fuel panic buying. 

Driving for a living is highly different than driving to work or indeed driving for pleasure, for one thing, most people get to go home at night to their own bed. HGV driving because of its nature sees some drivers having to sleep in their cabs, and not have proper access to shower or toilet facilities. So, when you hear stories of drivers sleeping in lay-bys and pissing into milk bottles, you get to see a snippet of the real life of a trucker. Another which is important to everyone regardless of what job they do is pay. You will hear tales of magical amounts of money being paid to drivers such as fuel drivers, but the reality is far from the truth of most drivers. The average hourly pay for a Fuel Tanker Driver in United Kingdom is £12.66. When you consider the the average salary for a CSCS Labourer is £11.13 per hour in Scotland, you can see how this highly skilled HGV job is underpaid massively. My brother is a joiner, if he does a date time shift in an agency, he can make between £20 and £22 an hour, and if he does a 'shop fitting' job, he can pull in a 70 hr week. So, his top line before tax and deductions is £1540. An HGV driver gets hit with not just with low pay, but also with strict legal laws regarding the amount of time they can work. A HGV driver must not exceed 60 hours working time, which includes driving and other work, in any single week. In addition they must not exceed an average of 48 hours working time over a specific reference period. It is important to stress the reason for the restricted working is health and safety. 

Given there are many lesser skilled jobs which pay higher hourly rates, allow you to do a 9 to 5 job, instead of shifts, why would you sign up? The main reason for such low pay was EU membership, specifically 'freedom of movement'. Freedom of movement only benefits a few people in real terms, but what it does do, is suppress wages by flooding a country with cheap labour. The people like Nicola Sturgeon aren't affected by freedom of movement in her job, nor does it affect the rate of her £157,861 a year plus expenses salary. When Nicola Sturgeon travels abroad she doesn't sleep in a drivers cab, she doesn't wash with baby wipes, and she doesn't piss in a bottle, her experience is 5 star hotel, luxury shower and toilet. Of course I have written before how Nicola Sturgeon doesn't care about working class people many times, she would rather sacrifice them, so that she can move on from First Minister and join the EU elite. In every stunt she has been involved in, to save Scottish jobs via the taskforce farce, she has never saved one! She uses working class people with the sole intention of pushing her independence agenda forward and shining a spotlight on herself as some kind of saviour. 

Nicola Sturgeon is quite the despicable human being. 

If we come back to the fuel shortage, this has been entirely whipped up by the mainstream media, they have used the lack of fuel drivers affecting a few garages to create a nationwide demand, that has resulted in panic buying. This isn't the first time that this tactic has been used, it was done during Covid, people flocked to supermarkets to panic buying of food and household essentials. Who would have thought at the supposed end of the world, the British people would be so concerned about access to bog roll. In this current manufactured crisis by the mainstream media, their efforts have caused emergency planning to be brought forward so that if needed, the British Army could ensure fuel supplies got through. Driving a fuel tanker isn't just a matter of having an HGV licence, there are other qualifications required, and it is also an anti social job with some fuel deliveries done at night. The average pay for a tanker driver using "indeed" as a source, puts their rate of pay at £14.50 an hour. Recently at the Labour Party Conference, activists called for a McDonald's worker to get £15 hr. If they believe that is fair, what price do they or should they put on the men and women who supply everything they use to live? Driving an HGV isn't the same as driving a car, and driving an articulated lorry isn't the same driving a lorry dubbed a 'rigid vehicle'.  I know this from experience because I have passed my car licence, my rigid vehicle licence, my bus licence and also my articulated lorry licence. However, I would need a refresher course to feel comfortable with the bigger vehicles. 

Nicola Sturgeon's intervention isn't needed or wanted in the current situation, the driver shortage isn't just a UK wide problem, many countries in the EU are experiencing the same problems. Freedom of movement forces down wages of jobs done by working class people, it doesn't however force down the wages of professional people such as dentists, doctors and engineers etc. As part of her grievance over Brexit, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon insists that the HGV driver and fuel shortage crisis is a result of what she calls Boris Johnson’s “reckless” Brexit policy. On both parts of her conclusion, she is wrong as I have explained above, if I can work it out, why cannot she do the same thing? The only logical conclusion to reach is that she; 

1/ Doesn't understand the issues relating to pay and conditions of HGV drivers (happening over years)

2/ She doesn't understand that HGV fuel driving is a highly skilled part of the transport industry

3/ She is thick!

4/ She is promoting her anti Boris agenda (he is blocking indyref 2)

5/ She is simply a mouthpiece and her background knowledge is shallow 

I think there is an argument to be made about several of the issues I have pointed out relating to Sturgeon's capability to understand an issue beyond the superficial. I would also add as a point, she should be working with the UK government on any issues like this, but always chooses not too! One person who is a bit player in the Nicola Sturgeon Show is Scotland's Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes who apparently has covid, not the smartest politician by a long chalk, but when a member of Sturgeon's lgbt clique, Derek McKay was caught pestering a 16 year old boy, his fall from grace led to Forbes sudden elevation to a top job. Promoted beyond her capabilities is a phrase which is commonly associated with SNP Government Ministers. Forbes told MSPs that the UK Government had a “ideological position” on Brexit and due to this, it has has prevented a “a swift resolution” to the situation. Just to be clear, Brexit has nothing to do with the current situation, the UK Government never created the driver shortage, and the mainstream media due to stupidity plunged us all into a fuel shortage. None of this could be laid at the door of Boris Johnson and the UK Government. You could argue that there was a case for more government funded courses for HGV drivers via a UK agency such as the DWP as happened in the past. But it isn't as simple as laying on courses, there must be a demand, and people must see the transport industry as a viable means of living. 

In Scotland, we have a 'pretend' parliament doing pretend politics, I can see only two reasons for going there. One to call it out for what it is, and two, to pick up a salary to allow you full time to ram every issue of neglect which Holyrood has never taken up or just gave lip service too. So, we have a Sturgeon stooge in the shape of Forbes addressing Holyrood's Economy and Fair Work Committee calling for “urgent action”. She wants a permanently fix the shortages, and she adds the problem “could be solved with a fair degree of ease” by UK ministers. It seems the Forbes solution is to place everyone in a job, and then import cheap labour. Unfortunately that isn't how the labour market works, certain jobs require certain qualifications, these qualifications can sometimes take years to do, and they will involve possible full time education. When the SNP talk about immigration, they tend to talk about importing doctors, nurses and engineers, what they don't talk about is the huge bulk of unskilled labour who then dispossess indigenous people from jobs and housing. Then the ordinary people forced into accepting low pay and conditions in a restricted job market. Freedom of movement sounds good on paper when people like Sturgeon and co cite the Doctor who does a '10 to midnight' operation which saves a life, but what they don't talk about is how cheap labour, and lack of opportunities that directly affects and impacts the working class. The term I use for people like Nicola Sturgeon who engage in making the lives of working class people worse by championing freedom of movement while at the same fail to provide the opportunities for working class people is 'reverse racism'. 

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

Although some people say that reverse racism doesn't exist, generally the people who make such claims don't want to confront their prejudice. The worst type of reverse racist is the person who hides in plain sight under the guise of proclaim themselves a 'liberal' person. You cannot reason with a reverse racist anymore than you can with an out and out racist, they are cut from the same cloth of bigtory. They are also responsible for the breakdown of community cohesion because people realise that they aren't interested in fairness, nor are they interested in justice unless it is a decision which they agree with. If you want to find reverse racism and other forms of discrimination, you can easily find it in political parties, and organisations such as NGOs, Universities, Colleges, and places like the BBC. In organisations like this merit has been abandoned in favour of discrimination. In the 1995 movie, The Tuskegee Airmen, there was a scene which I think you will understand what I mean about how merit has been abandoned by an intolerant and illiberal elite. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jp0ONJZF74 

"All we ask for is a fair and impartial opportunity, nothing yourselves wouldn't demand". 

As Kate Forbes delivers her speech to the Committee, you have to ask yourself, why isn't she standing up for Scots from any race or colour? Why isn't she bringing to the committee plans for helping working class people attain the skills they need? When the skilled people of another country come here to solve a temporary problem, they rob their own country of the chance to use their skills, thus subjecting their country to economic decline. Reading what Forbes says, it is clear she is interested in importing cheap labour. But, it is highly unlikely that these people will have the necessary qualifications to be fuel drivers, as it isn't simply about having an HGV licence, so surely she must realise this? I think many will conclude her injection is more about the SNP's ongoing scheme to try and wrestle immigration controls from Westminster so that they can flood the country with immigrants as a means to try and gain independence via the offer of a Scottish passport. We all know what the SNP's agenda is, it is independence at any cost to the detriment of Scotland and its people. 

Forbes said: 

“The bottom line is, and you are seeing the UK Government finally coming to a position of accepting that, that as an economy, we have valued enormously people who have come to this country to work. What we are seeing is those people who might have considered coming here to work are no longer doing so. That might be because of high visa costs, it might be because they no longer feel welcome – there are all sorts of reasons why people are no longer coming to this country to work.” 

Ms Forbes added: 

“Urgent action needs to be taken because this problem could be resolved with a fair degree of ease if steps were taken around visas, around immigration policy. I think the UK Government has accepted that with its most recent announcement around HGV drivers. The question is whether that is too little too late and whether that should have been done more quickly. Labour marked shortages are resolvable, they are within the gift of the UK Government and too often it’s an ideological position that has prevented a swift resolution than anything else.” 

No matter how the SNP try to dress up their window using any issue relating to immigration, it is all about a power grab, and nothing else. On Friday, Boris Johnson announced a temporary relaxation of immigration rules allowing 5,000 foreign HGV drivers into the UK for a three-month period. I personally doubt this is actually viable, there aren't fuel drivers who are all sitting about driving Tesco lorries etc when they can get a higher rate driving tankers. And the issue of qualifications is a major obstacle for those wishing to transport fuel, which cannot be simply waived away. Nicola Sturgeon is a busted flush, the question is, when does she go, and who falls on from her. With no job to forward herself onto either via the UK Government, or a prestigious organisation like the EU or UN abroad, she is the 'immigrant' no one wants. If you have any doubts about her future, just look at how the SNP treated Alex Salmond, once someone else gets the levers of power from a non Sturgeon faction, she will be lucky to get a place leading a commission or public board. 

Boris Johnson said: 

“What we want to do is make sure that we have all the preparations necessary to get through to Christmas and beyond, not just in the supply in the petrol stations, but all parts of our supply chain. You’re seeing the global economy really sucking in a huge amount of demand at the moment for gas, for lorry drivers, there are shortages around the world. It’s affecting countries across the world. But we’ve got to make sure we have everything in place as the recovery continues. And that’s what we’re doing.” 

To fix the HGV driver shortage requires better pay and conditions, people go to work to earn money, if they get a better offer, they put themselves and their families first. They aren't being selfish because they know people like Nicola Sturgeon aren't looking out for them. They know this by two things, what she says and what she does, she wants cheap labour to flood Scotland, this drives down wages and traps people who struggle to provide for their families. Where was Nicola Sturgeon over the last 14 years putting in place plans to address the issue of low pay and lack of opportunities and social mobility? She wasn't there, she is never going to be there, not for the working class people of Scotland. She has repeatedly nailed her colours to the mast, she supports the anti worker EU over Scotland, she supports big business over working class people, and she will always put Scots over blind personal ambition. You don't have to worry about Nicola Sturgeon selling out Scotland and its people, she already has.

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

ps, there were several typos in this original posting, which I would like to apologise for, so I have went back in and done some tidying up. 

Labour's Betrayal after Betrayal; The Labour Party has lost 4 UK elections in a row, their 'red wall' has collapsed in the North of England, Scotland is no longer a Labour heartland, the party is still a 'remainer' party, the leadership doesn't connect with voters, now the 'out of touch' leader Keir Starmer calls for the biggest flood of cheap labour into the UK since the UK left the EU, why is it parties of left such as the Labour Party when controlled by a right wing university educated middle class elite despise working people so much, why do they actively work against them and their future prospects?

Dear All 

When you join a political party, you hope that the leadership of that party is in touch with the desires and aspirations of the people of the UK. The Labour Party keeps losing elections, this is because of a number of issues such as supporting Brexit, adopting a mindset that they are "managers" of the people and not representatives of the people. Embracing identity politics, promoting discrimination, thinking that woke politics is a good idea. Being weak on women's rights and being weak on the Union. As a former member of the party, I was always treated as an outsider, and never welcomed. The Labour Party was established as a party of and for working class people. It has been hijacked by a university educated middle class 'elite' which has no interest in working class people. It espouses previous achievements of 70 plus years ago as a reason why people should vote for them, whilst their modern day actions show clearly that working class people turn away from them. 

The right wing of the Labour Party wants a return to the heyday of 'Blairism', but the fact is people have left the Labour Party behind because of that very fact. Blairism masks itself as 'progress' or some other label, but no matter what coat of paint it uses, people know that the university educated middle class 'elite' doesn't stand for them. Have you ever asked yourself, why Labour is run by millionaires, Keir Starmer, and Anas Sarwar, why isn't run by working class people? Is it because they are smarter? Well I would suggest that the results of elections and polling and policies clearly show that it isn't. The "rules" which apply to working class members can be 'waived' by the leadership to promote certain individuals, like it was done in Batley and Spen by-election. Other rules are put in place to discriminate against people, and this discrimination is openly practiced, if a person cannot win on merit or ability, then the rules are changed so that the leadership can 'game the system'. This is what the right wing of the Labour Party do, a recent example was the selection of the Glasgow Regional list. The top three places were won in an open and free contest which another set of rules were introduced to change the result. This is how former MSP James Kelly lost his seat after coming 3rd in the contest. Kelly won double the amount of votes in Glasgow than the person who took his spot. So basically, you can have a selection contest under one set of rules, but after voting closes, another set of rules apply. James Kelly's consolation prize was to get the position as Scottish Labour General Secretary which I believe has a £50k salary. During the selection process for the Glasgow Regional list there were two separate attempts to sabotage the only viable left wing candidate standing which I have mentioned before on social media. 

You might be tempted to say, what about Angela Rayner, she is from the left, and she is deputy leader. Well, she is puppet, her position is to give the illusion of unity in the Labour Party. She represents no actual threat to the right wing of the party, and I direct your attention to her recent 'toryscum' outburst at the Labour Party conference. Although some say that this is Angela Rayner's leadership bid, it is nothing of the sort. It was a stupid act to fire up people who are either 'bigots' or too stupid to not understand the wider picture. For a fuller in depth analyse of her remarks then click on the link below. 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1497199/angela-rayner-labour-party-conference-tory-scum-remarks-poll 

A lot of people have deserted the Labour Party, which is why we saw the collapse of Labour heartlands, the 'red wall' fell because people no longer believe that the Labour Party stands for them. Although there will be an election in 2024, the Labour Party will not win it. The Labour Party cannot win back Scotland under a right wing leadership, and the cuckoo in the nest is Anas Sarwar, because will lead Scottish Labour into defeat just as he led them into defeat earlier this year. Sarwar secured the worst defeat at Holyrood since devolution began. Scotland is gone as a Labour stronghold through bad policies and bad politicians. I am not saying anything new regarding this, but what you should focus on is how the party in Scotland has refused to change. If you lose an election, you analyse what went wrong, when you keep losing, using the same people, and the same format, you realise the problem is them, and what they are doing, or more specifically what they are not doing. This is the area that Labour in Scotland needs to focus on, what they are not doing. And there is plenty that they are not doing such as rebuilding their activist base, changing their campaigning model and being inclusive. Scottish Labour is in a bubble, and while they are in the bubble, the quality of decisions just keeps on getting worse. 

One of the truly massive mistakes of the last 5 years was the decision of Labour to campaign against Brexit. The Labour Party run by the right wing is a 'remainer' party to this date. It would take the UK back into the EU, although they would do this by stages. The Labour leadership won't say they will rejoin the EU openly, but they couch their betrayal of the British people by saying they want a 'better' deal through either a customs union or single market deal. Then if they get that passed, down the line, they would create a narrative to sell rejoining the EU as something good for the UK. I suppose you would ask, where is the proof of this, well I would direct you to the fact that Keir Starmer is an arch-Remainer. Has he suddenly seen the light and been converted to being a Brexiter, well no is the short answer. Brexit was the biggest betrayal of the modern era by the Labour Party when they directly campaigning against leaving, by default and the working class. This is why the 'red wall' collapsed, it was a ratner's moment in the minds of the British people. They woke up and ask themselves, 'why am I voting for people who not only don't represent or help me but actively work against me as a working class person'. It is a bit like have woken up to a relationship that is based on abuse, and then getting angry. 

Brexit has been good for the UK, it was also necessary, yes, there are problems, yes, there will be an adjustment, but any change will involve change. All the talk of doom and collapse of the UK hasn't happened. Even EU politicians of various hues recognise this fact as true. At the present moment, the UK like many EU countries has an HGV driver shortage, the 'remainers' and the press (BBC) have tried to create a narrative this was caused by Brexit. The real reason for driver shortages, and this is the same in the UK and EU is 'pay and conditions'. Because of the EU, employers used cheap foreign labour to suppress wages in the UK, that is a fact. Another downside of the cheap labour market was the failure to train up British people for those low paid jobs, people go to work for money, they seek the highest rate of pay possible to support them and their families. If you had the choice of £13 hr as a driver or £22hr in another job, are you going to listen to someone's pitch that you should go do the poor paid job? No, you are not, and especially when the person telling you to accept less has a high paying job. 

As an example of failing the working class people of the UK, Sir Keir Starmer's is calling for the UK to be flooded with cheap labour in the shape of 100,000 foreign lorry drivers. He wants them to be granted visas to come to the UK. Where was Keir Starmer previously in standing up for British workers on low pay, where was the action, where was the policies, where was the Labour values, not of today, but of 50 to 70 years ago? Keir Starmer and his team do not have working class values, they never did, they are the worst type of people, they are the people who have done well for themselves and at the same time, do everything possible to pull the ladder up to stop working class people progressing. You see this all the time in parties were people call themselves 'socialist' or social democrat, they literally don't give a fuck about the working class. Because of the driver shortage right across the EU, I find it doubtful any scheme is really viable, in Germany, they need 45,000 additional HGV drivers, and similar problems exist in Spain as well as other EU countries. One thing that all countries must now address is the 'pay and conditions' of those who transport goods across the EU and UK. The life of an HGV driver on short and long haul isn't glamorous, there is an element of danger as well as we have seen on TV of those who travel from Europe into the UK. 

Earlier, I talked about how the Labour Party is still a remainer party, well, I am sure you can google and research this to satisfy yourself, but here is a link to ponder. 

https://www.policyforum.labour.org.uk/commissions/rejoin-single-market-and-customs-union 

The ultimate goal is to rejoin the EU via a series of steps, and every step taken is leading to a betrayal of the British people. Brexit means more jobs in this country for people who live here, they are and should be the first priority of any party. So, you have to ask why the Labour Party of 2021 under right wing control doesn't agree with that concept. Why doesn't the Labour Party want working class people to succeed in life? Why do they want working class people to have less opportunities in jobs, in housing, in education and in social mobility? You see that is what joining any vehicle to take the UK back into the EU means coupled with all the barriers already in place which working class people experience. 

Finally, Rachel Reeves, the Labour shadow chancellor said that people queuing for fuel 'couldn’t care less whether the HGV driver that has got the petrol to the forecourt is British or foreign'. In that respect in the 'moment of need', it wouldn't really cross their mind, so she would be right. But, when given enough time to make a logical choice rather than an emotional choice, the people of the UK voted by a majority to leave the European Union after 47 years of membership, they sat down and thought about it. And when they added everything up, looking at who said what and when and how, they voted leave. As people go to the Labour Conference in Brighton this week, we will see people being interviewed, and if you get the right ordinary delegate or member on TV, they will tell you Labour's problems. The fundamental fact which you will come across is the Labour Party don't listen to the people, and aren't interested in helping the people. One woman interviewed said is plain and straightforward, the Labour Party, and by that she means the leadership is disconnected from the people. The Labour Party needs to sell a vision, but that is hard when the offer to the people is not in line with their goals and aspirations, how do you sell, 'we will do nothing for you, and work against you'? This is why the Labour Party keeps losing elections!

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University  

Death By Egregious SNP Neglect in Scotland; SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf asked to 'justify' why he should keep his job as Health Secretary after A&E waits hit 'horrific' new levels, in local news, 'the Humza Plan' to draft in firefighters to drive ambulances is sheer idiocy, 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' doesn't work, who will fight fires when personnel are diverted, is there a 'let a building burn down' policy now in operation?

Dear All 

If someone asked you to justify your job, you might find that a bit tricky because in some places of work there are too many moving parts. But if you are in charge, then you are responsible for ensuring that the parts are in sync and moving in the right direction. What Scottish people are waking up too is  problem which started in 2007 when Nicola Sturgeon was appointed by Alex Salmond as Health Secretary. I suppose putting Sturgeon in charge of health, one of the big briefs in the Scottish Government was all part of making her look 'caring'. The Sturgeon team crafted a slick PR image of being specific targets in Health down, but while this 'smokescreen' was in operation, the rest of the service was suffering. One episode of the Sturgeon tenure which sticks out was new born babies being wrapped in towels instead of blankets. You might even remember this story of 2012, this was one of a range of failure issues which would eventually boil over, but not before Nicola Sturgeon was moved. After 5 years of incompetence, the 'smokescreen' surrounding Sturgeon's tenure in post was clearing. 

After Sturgeon was moved to be the 'face of independence', those who followed her made the Health Service worse, or made no impact on the decline. The three people who have had the most damaging effect on the service under SNP misrule are Nicola Sturgeon, Shona Robison  and Jeane Freeman. Sturgeon cemented downward decline, Robison's tenure showed that she was woefully out of her depth, and Jeane Freeman who was at the helm when covid infected patients were sent into sterile care homes, thousands died. Freeman having reached the age of 67 decided to retire, in her get out pitch, she said Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said the Scottish Government ‘didn’t take the right precautions’ to protect the elderly. You might think by her statement that her role in the deaths of thousands was that of a casual bystander and not as the person holding the public office of Health Secretary. 

Thousands of people are dead because of Jeane Freeman, and thousands more will also die due to the failure to return the Scottish Health Service to normal operations, and that includes the GP service. You should stay tuned for more about the GP service in Scotland because this is an area which will generate as many stories as the ambulance service already does. Curtailment or limited access to face to face GP appointments will be lead to disaster, misery and heartache for families. And all of this grief will affect everyone at some point unless Scotland returns itself to proper devolved government. Devolution has turned into the most expensive democratic failure in Scotland over the last 22 years. Donald Dewar uttered the words, 'there shall be a Scottish Parliament' but it attracted a host of people hostile to devolution and people who were such low calibre politicians. Holyrood is a university student union debating society full of immature people, who have little or no character. Nicola Sturgeon is the head of the snake who minor players revolve around. 

Holyrood does nothing of note, and delivers nothing of note to the people, and I am talking about real change, not a council tax freeze, not baby boxes, not free laptops and not free bikes. I am talking about real change in education, in health outcomes, in housing provision, in regeneration of towns. You could make a huge list, and ask yourself what has been done in real problems facing Scotland. You would be disappointed in the progress! The SNP are quick to judge others for their failures, they are quick to promote themselves as people with high moral values. The truth is they aren't people of worth, and by worth I am talking about the real meaning of the word, not financial. We have in Holyrood and the SNP Government, over promoted people who espouse their 'love' of Scotland while at the same time tearing it down piece by piece.

In the past, I have touched on every SNP Health Sec, and what their modus operandi was in the blog, it seems that the criteria for appointment to that position seemed based on a mixture of cronyism, identity politics and symbolism. The sole criteria for promotion to Health Sec should have been on merit, sadly such a concept doesn't exist in the SNP. Having run out of 'pals', Sturgeon was forced to go the route of 'allies', which is how we ended up with Humza Yousaf, someone not just unsuitable to be a Minister of the Crown, but also of public office. Humza Yousaf, not known for making a difference to the people of Scotland accept in a negative way. You may remember his recent quest to play the race card, and I know you will have heard or seen his Holyrood rank about 'white people' in jobs. His latest rant to attack a nursery in Broughty Ferry because they didn't offer his daughter a place, his lawyer, the odious Aamer Anwar who I remember from Glasgow University for stirring up racial tensions on campus wrote to 'demand' an apology and a sum of money to a charity. So, the 'Humza' offer is admit you're racist and pay money. Sadly for Humza, the nursery owned by ethnic people is not moved by threats, they aren't apologising, they aren't sacking staff members and they aren't paying money. Here are two clips to watch, the reason for both clips listed is that previously on the blog, I noted how Humza Yousaf and Anas Sarwar were effectively acting as a 'double act' on racism. Listening to their rants, do you believe in coincidence? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ28yh7F228 

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

Now, as part of identity politics and symbolism, and frankly limited options, we have Humza Yousaf, who will be at the helm of the nation's health. In fact, his performance so far has led people to ask him to justify remaining as Health Secretary after A&E waiting time performances hit a series of record lows. Official figures show almost a third of people in emergency departments waited longer than the four-hour target in the week to September 12. The question is, why are the SNP not properly funding health care? While they have centralised services, under the guise of providing better services (their rationale), they have also been involved in cuts. When you attend a hospital, you expect a wait because you would recognise a twisted ankle is less serious than a heart attack, it isn't first come, first served, and it never should be. Back in 2015, I attended A&E at QEUH in Glasgow, the first time, I was there, I was kicked out as a timewaster, and given a lecture on who A&E was for. 55 hours, I was back at the same hospital because after a visit to my GP, he wrote them a letter telling them I was a medical emergency. With 10 minutes of arriving at hospital and handing in the letter, I was rushed into treatment. I had a blocked bladder, blocked bowel and my kidneys were frying in toxic blood. The same symptoms I described to my GP, I described to a Dr and a nurse at the QEUH two days earlier, and I was calm and clear when I told both these people. If you have a blocked bladder, that is a medical emergency, because the other issues I listed follow on from that. If my bladder had burst, I would be dead, you end up with sepsis, renal failure and hyperkalaemia, and this can eventually a very real and painful death. 

In the present day, at according to available information at £850m Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, only 44.8% of its 1,677 A&E attendances were seen within four hours, with 314 waiting more than eight hours and 78 waiting more than 12. The picture doesn't just affect one hospital, across the other side of the country, at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, only 52.2% of its 2,509 A&E attendances were seen on time, with 340 waiting over eight hours and 141 waiting over 12. The bottom line here is that there is a health crisis, well actually, this is set to continue, Covid has effectively stop hospitals and GPs operating normal, so there is a backlog of undiagnosed cases right across the board. Also those currently waiting will probably experience longer waiting times with operations put back. If you are a person needing heart surgery, or cancer surgery, every day your operation is delayed is an enormous risk. The priority now is a return to normal operations, the longer the delay to this option, the higher the health tsunami will be, and when it hits, a lot of people will not sadly survive. All the things you hear now about the failings in the health service are symptoms, symptoms of bad leadership of the service since the SNP's negligence in government. What do I mean by bad leadership, bad leaders come up with bad ideas, years ago when I taught at university as a fitness coach, I used to tell people that the 'solution to a problem should not create another problem'. Humza Yousaf has decided that it is a good idea to 'rob Peter to pay Paul', in this respect, he as the Health Secretary is preparing to draft in firefighters to drive ambulances. This is part of his new multi-million pound package to tackle the health emergency. In his speech to Holyrood, there is a word, I want you to look at, that word is 'new', because this word is being used as a smokescreen. 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/statement-health-secretary-humza-yousaf-scottish-ambulance-service/ 

Before being taken in with the word, 'new' as it relates to ambulance staff, the question, you should ask is how many have left the service, whether that be by retirement or any other factor? You have to ask that question because statistically it has a meaningful value. When someone 'new' replaces someone who has left that means zero increase in productivity. Yousaf's speech is flawed by design because it doesn't address detailed concerns in areas where questions should be asked. When you listen or read what politicians say, you are only getting half the picture, you also have to stop and think about what they didn't say but should have. Looking and listening for what they did say is a key point in helping you understand what the true picture of a situation actually is. 

Finally, a long time ago, David Cameron, when PM proposed a scheme which came under the umbrella called 'Big Society'. The idea was sound in principle, as was designed in order to generate, develop and showcase new ideas to help people to come together in their neighbourhoods to do good things. The SNP rejected this idea completely out of hand, of course, volunteering isn't nothing new in the UK, there literally thousands up and down the land doing it in Scotland. If, the SNP had gone along with the idea, there would be effectively a volunteer corp in Scotland, which could have been utilised to assist the ambulance service, staving off part of the health crisis we current face, due to the SNP mis-management. Humza Yousaf as I pointed out isn't a leader, he isn't even a good politician, he isn't creative, he isn't someone who is capable. Will Humza Yousaf resign from his position, the answer is clearly not. Humza has 'unfinished business', and that is to get his wife on the MSP gravy train, and try and established himself as a key player in Scottish politics and create a familyesque dynasty in the SNP. To me, Humza Yousaf fits into the bracket of 'race card' politician, there are in all parties, trying in some cases to make out there are the leader of an ethnic group when in fact, they create barriers, not tear them down. Please watch the two youtube videos of Humza Yousaf and Anas Sarwar. What you are listening for is what they are not saying, and what they are not saying is, they aren't naming a single white person who is racist in any of the positions they mention? 

Don't you think you should ask yourself, why not?

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

The Slow Painful Political Death of Nicola Sturgeon, in a desperate attempt to shore up her ebbing support in and out of the SNP, Sturgeon banks on a go-it-alone Indyref2 idea, the SNP think stalling for time will save Sturgeon, but for her and them, there is no tomorrow

Dear All 

The "state" of this country is appalling!

We have a failing economy in Scotland, we have a failed Parliament in Scotland, we have a failing National Health Service in Scotland, we have Scottish councils denied proper funding, in which we pay more, and they deliver less. In the streets of Glasgow, the second city of the empire, it is blighted by filth and rubbish. The incompetence of the Scottish National Party is aptly summed up in a nutshell by the spectacular fall of Humza Yousaf misusing a mobility aid. Yousaf in every job he was appointed as Minister has been a disaster, it is so obvious that the calls for him to resign now echo as mainstream news in the quality papers. To find someone who was known as talentless, you only have to look at Keith Brown, who took over the job that Yousaf failed at. One thing which did amuse me was the Sunday, open air music festival in George Square, which speakers called for independence, woefully under attended because people aren't interested. Up at the Donald Dewar statue in Buchanan Street, an indy crowd were vocally denouncing SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon. Oh how the world has turned, in many ways Nicola Sturgeon is like Tony Blair of New Labour, promising much but failing to deliver. 

In Sturgeon's desperate attempt to stave off dissent within her crumbling party, she needs to be seen to have delivered on a second independence referendum. She has enemies within her party, enemies in the Yes Movement, and enemies in wider Scotland. Indyref 2 for her is a lifeboat to keep her afloat in power. Nicola Sturgeon is keenly aware that once she steps down as leader of the SNP, she wouldn't be moving on to bigger and brighter things. Historically once an SNP leader steps down, they don't progress in life, there is no UN job, there is EU job, there is no World Health Organisation job waiting in the wings. There is nothing but the pension. Gordon Brown has been appointed as ambassador at World Health Organisation, such a position wouldn't be offered to Nicola Sturgeon. In the global world, Sturgeon isn't a key player, she also doesn't rank as a person of interest. But the real objection to people like her is the undeniable fact that she isn't a team player in global UK. 

The Scottish National Party is a nasty vicious little gang which has wrestled control of power in Scotland and instead of using that power for good, it has abused utterly that trust it has been given. There is no better Scotland under the SNP, every area they control has been degraded, some areas more than others. The CV of Nicola Sturgeon is a CV of decimating a country, dividing a country, fostering division and destroying democratic accountability. As the pressure turns up on Sturgeon, the open fracture in the Yes Movement can't be repaired by a few stooges like Keith Brown and Mhairi Black turning up to a few indy marches. And of course, there is the issue of women's rights which is another pressure cooker waiting to explode hence her buying the Scottish Green Party as an extension of the SNP. 

Bought cheap! 

In the storm that is coming, we see sporadic threats of a wildcat independence referendum banded about. Nicola Sturgeon’s threat to hold a second independence referendum without Westminster consent is a symptom of desperation. It is so unattractive as a proposition that is opposed by the majority of Scottish people, according to new polling. Regardless of polling, the legal reality is in order to hold a referendum, you need legal consent via a Section 30 order from Westminster. And under Boris Johnson, such a requested by Nicola Sturgeon has been refused, and will always be refused during his tenure as Prime Minister. With the road ahead blocked, the road behind blocked, where does Nicola Sturgeon go, the obvious answer is out! The problem is no one wants her in her post FM world, maybe she had dreams of an EU career in Brussels as a placeman on a big salary from the Commission, but that is gone. If you check out the recent busted up between the French and the US, UK and Australia over a £90 billion submarine contract, you can see a French veto to anyone working overtime in the EU to anyone like Sturgeon trying to get her feet under the table. Sturgeon will never be a world leader, you can see this as the unwelcome sign has been flagged up for the big COP26 conference in Glasgow by Boris and Co. Personally, I would deem her a security risk and bar her from the official sites. As the grim news hits Sturgeon and the SNP, over new polling, excluding don't knows, 53% said any new indyref polling should be up to Westminster. There will be no Indyref 2 by the end of 2023, on Nicola Sturgeon's timetable, because her timetable is about saving her career, so why should Boris agree to that. There is no advantage to him, nor any advantage to the Scottish Conservatives, they need her decline to continue, they need to let her own side push her out. 

The pandemic is coming to an end, and then the real focus will be global UK and recovery from the pandemic. If Sturgeon wants to pass a meaningless Referendum Bill regardless with her SNP-Green majority at Holyrood, it will be unlawful. And it will be challenged in the UK Supreme Court, that is assuming that the Holyrood Presiding Officer is spineless enough to let this incompetent bill pass without striking it down. The SNP Government track record at the UK Supreme Court is exceptionally poor. The only value this Bill would have to Nicola Sturgeon would seem to lie in buying her breathing space and trying to 'unite the clans'. Of course, tactically Alba would back her on the indyref 2 in principle, but when it comes crashing down, they will swiftly distance themselves, this failure will be pinned on the SNP-Green coalition. Salmond is playing the long game, he is trying to hive off various elements such as the Asians for Independence and CND, and also the women's vote, and Sturgeon gave him the ideal stick to beat her with. 

In order to get a hearing, Nicola Sturgeon needs to get over the consistent support for Indyref 2 set at 60%. There is no way she can do this legally which is why a minor plan of trying to wrestle immigration control from Westminster has been ongoing for years. The idea is to import certain minorities who would be friendly to the SNP. In return for their votes and a passport, they would use Scotland as a super highway into England and the rest of the UK. Sturgeon would hand out Scottish passports like confetti under an immoral scheme to gerrymander an indyref 2 win. She and the SNP would change the rules to simple steal people of Scotland's country out from under them. She would then join the EU, destroying the country with cuts and high taxes to the deficit of 20% down to the EU requirement of 3% for membership. Sturgeon would then sell off all our assets, oil, fishing etc and turn the country into a basket case, probably worse than Greece. She would have to do it quickly because if she wants a Brussels job, then time and age would be against her. 

Finally, the real fight in Scotland is to get rid of the SNP, they think that the worse they make Scotland the easier it will be to win an indy vote. But, people will wake up to the fact that to save themselves and their communities, they need to change their mindset on voting. This may mean voting for new parties who are committed to working constructively with the rest of the UK, or centre right parties such as the Scottish Conservatives, who will have to soften their edges to be more socially conservative. The Labour Party has abandoned the working class totally, in Scotland, their polling is around 17% give or take, but that leaves an opportunity for somebody to nip in and seize that opportunity. Not just promising better services, but delivering in better services, and securing extra funding from Westminster. Nicola Sturgeon doesn't have a future, and when she goes that creates the vacuum because she burnt all the bridges to ensure there wasn't an heir in waiting, and done so deliberately.

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

The smartest doesn't rise to the top in the Scottish National Party, Humza Yousaf epic crash on his mobility scooter in Holyrood is a metaphor for his career, given a task and unable to do it properly!

Dear All

This is a short blog, yesterday, I wrote about the need to bring in the Forces medics and equipment to back up the Ambulance service. Today, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is said to be considering this option, but I would like to point out, I was there with the idea ahead of her. As to Humza Yousaf's crash, well, this is epic and a metaphor for his career, he tries to portray strength and confidence but ends up looking like a fool. The title of this video is that the smartest doesn't rise to the top in the SNP, that is true, and the reason why is, identity politics.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

SNP Playing Doctor; Could SNP Health Minister Humza Yousaf cost you the life of a family member, Yousaf says Scots should ‘think twice’ before calling for ambulance this winter, he fails to grasp fully he shouldn't be playing Doctor in the House, Yousaf is unqualified, unregistered, and not an NHS employee, visiting a hospital and dressing up in scrubs doesn't make you a surgeon Humza!

Dear All 

Has there ever in the entire of the SNP in Government been a competent Health Secretary? Obviously this is a quick question with and equally quick answer, the answer being No! Every SNP Health Secretary has been a dude, starting back with Nicola Sturgeon in 2007. Sturgeon unlike most of the subsequent dross had a better PR operation to mask her incompetence, what she did was focus on directing resources to a few specific targets while the rest of the service when down the pan. Nicola Sturgeon then 'jumped' ship when the independence campaign and just before the cracks appeared of how badly the service had deteriorated. Her replacement in a straight job swop was Alex Neil. Neil's claim to fame in the post, was he couldn't stand the sight of blood, his tenure didn't last long. 

The post given to Shona Robison by her pal Nicola Sturgeon as part of Sturgeon's more women in government plan, which appeared to be 'all her pals'. Robison didn't have the slick PR operation of Sturgeon in place, and her performance showed very quickly that she was promoted beyond her ability. Arguably there is a strong case that Shona Robison was the most incompetent health sec ever in Holyrood history. Entered office on 21 November 2014 and left 26 June 2018, a rollercoaster ride of stupidity, ineffective leadership and failure. Nicola Sturgeon started the decline of the Scottish Health Service, but Robison was like petrol thrown onto a burning building. 

Following the collapse of confidence in Robison publicly, she had to be replaced, she had damaged the service too much, her husband was ploughing into another woman down south, and she looked like she couldn't comb her hair in the morning. In what was supposed to be a safe pair of hands, Nicola Sturgeon turned to Jeane Freeman, Scotland's Quango Queen who had served on health boards, I suppose the impression was Freeman and her background would turn around the health service. It didn't, then came Covid 19, and as many people were to see Freeman wasn't the supposed superstar that she was portrayed as. As the Covid pandemic hit, elderly patients with Covid were shipped from hospitals into sterile care homes, thousands of elderly died. In what must be the greatest injustice, Freeman retired from politics and got off scot free. In a report by Public Health Scotland, 78 patients were sent to care homes after testing positive. In a BBC report over Covid deaths, in October 2020, they published that Deaths in care homes accounted for about half of Covid-related deaths in Scotland, with about 2,000 resident deaths. Of Freeman herself, it could be said that a lot of people are dead because she wasn't very good at her job. 

In a shrinking pool of talent following a changing of the guard, Nicola Sturgeon found herself in a real pickle because there wasn't a stand out candidate to replace Freeman in her ranks. It was because of that she had to give the position of Health Secretary to Humza Yousaf, a serial failure in every portfolio that he has been placed in. As the Minister for Transport, he wasn't just poor, he even racked up a driving offence while driving a vehicle without insurance. As Minister for Justice, in this role he was entirely unsuitable, and if you caught the news, he was at the helm when prisoners were given mobile phones, which the prisoners hacked and used to commit crime and setup drug deals. Now in the role of Health Secretary, he is like someone in panto playing a role. Handing out ill-informed advice without any common sense or wit to realise the significance of what he is saying. 

So, what is this chancer saying now? 

Humza Yousaf is urged Scots to think twice before calling 999 for ambulance. So, he is in effect wanting people with no medical training to self diagnose themselves, like you would see in a medical drama of Drs and nurses doing triage. In a statement of the obvious, he says that the NHS is facing an “extraordinarily difficult winter”. Newsflash, the NHS faces a difficult winter every year, this year is no different. In a throw away statement presumably which some would say was done to make himself look good, he "pledged" additional cash that could be found would be spent trying to ease the pressure on the health service. Are you buying into his pledge, I am not, the SNP have a habit, or modus operandi of moving money and dubbing it new money, when it in fact isn't. In the past, many have highlighted the fact that previously Humza worked as a 'call centre' worker, and although that isn't really an issue, his stunning lack of common sense is an issue particularly when he starts handing out health advice. People who have no medical training, particularly the elderly have no real understanding when ill whether their issue is manageable, critical or absolutely critical when calling for an ambulance. In a recent story, someone who had a stroke called for an ambulance, it didn't arrive quickly, the victim of the delay is now in a worse condition than if he had been treated earlier. 

Where is plan B for augmenting the ambulance service? Is there a plan at all to make use of forces medics and equipment? Has anyone suggested UK government help? If not why not? The fact is the SNP Ministers would rather not call for help and show they are capable of using intelligence because they run with the false flag independence narrative that they are; 

1/ Capable

2/ Managing effectively.

3/ Coping. 

All of the 3 listed above, are what the SNP isn't. Evidence of failure can be shown by the benchmark of the target time four hours in accident and emergency has hit record highs. In part of his panto performance from reading off his 'script', Yousaf said the ambulance service was being given an “extra £20 million injection” to help boost staff numbers. My question is, where was the £20 million pounds moved from? And certainly someone should be asking this as matter of concern. Did Yousaf and his team, moved money from one part of the health budget to another part? He added as part of his, 'I am going everything possible' pitch:  

“We are beginning to see more and more ambulance staff recruited. That recruitment is happening now, so we are helping to staff up the ambulance service.” 

Finally, surely recruitment happens through-out the year, if more staff have been recruited, given they have to be trained, where is this happening, how did the ambulance service find the extra capacity for training? How much extra resources was put into getting extra trainers? If there were no extra trainers hired, does that mean that the service was operating previously under capacity? If so, how long has the service been operating under capacity? Was this due to a cut in funding for the ambulance service? In reading these questions, you might be tempted to stop at this section and ponder this? Humza Yousaf was appointed Health Sec on 20 May 2021, his get off free jail card at the moment is his short tenure in the post, he can claim he is the new broom who will sort of problems. But, given his history in Ministerial posts, his lack of judgment and common sense, how much weight can you put on any advice he offers? The SNP is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands in care homes, we know that, but just as Covid was a pandemic, there is another pandemic which is riding towards Scots behind that. It is the pandemic of people who have serious undiagnosed health issues, heart, liver, Lung, brain, cancers, and neuro palsy, and a whole host of other issues. I found out recently, a number of people I have known over the course of nearly 40 years have serious health problems that have kicked in. One guy has neuro palsy, he is going to die, others have M.S., another has a serious heart problem, another sees his diabetes return. And Scotland has Humza Yousaf at the wheel of the Scottish NHS, he like Nicola Sturgeon will probably run that brief doing PR crisis management, when he should be doing long term planning, because the health backlog could turn out to be in the path of a real health tsunami heading for Scots.

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

Cancelling the Un-Godley; Is cancel culture in Scotland the new Bermuda Triangle in the Scottish politics and Independence Debate, Janey Godley found out the hard way that when you are in trouble, you have no friends, "Es gibt keine Kameraden, it is important in politics to know who your friends are, and who aren't your friends

Dear All 

Cancel culture isn't new by any means, its roots can be found in various attitudes in society ranging from discrimination to holier than thou. Regardless of what end of the spectrum you want to cancel someone from, the effect can be devastating to the career of the person being hung out to dry. The SNP and their hangers on approach cancel culture from the Sein Fein methodology. They use specifically gaslighting and labeling people, and attack using pile ons. They also use stock hate terms to brand people as racist, paedophile, homophobe, transphobe and misogynist, I am sure there are plenty other terms depending on the angle they wish to use to try and cancel someone. At the other end of the scale in cancel culture, you have the holier than thou, which doesn't necessarily mean what they are doing is wrong, but the end outcome can effectively be the same. I speak from personal experience as a victim of attempted cancel culture, done by people in the SNP. If you have read the blog you will remember my well known court case of 5 years ago involving someone close the Nicola Sturgeon inner circle. SNP member Tommy Ball tried unsuccessfully to cancel me by alleging that I was paedophile, and then former SNP MP Natalie McGarry joined the abuse. McGarry's role was to link the fake twitter account in my name claiming I was a pedophile with a legitimate post from my blog, and then she tweeted this to her followers and others who read her timeline. 

I would imagine at the time, McGarry had a huge of amount of fun doing so, fast forward to the present day, McGarry is finding life less fun with her upcoming trial for  a number of fraud offences, including embezzlement of funds. In her first trial, she pled guilty so that she could get a reduction in sentence, sadly for her, her admission of guilt meant jail, 18 months. Apparently she didn't like jail, but as the amount of money alleged stolen was over £20k, jail is required. Since the failure of the first trial to put her behind bars, there has been delay after delay, but in 2022, it would appear that her and her lawyers days of kicking the can down the road are going to end. Will a jury find her innocent, well in football, anything can happen in 90 minutes but one thing for certain, the referee is going to blow the final whistle on her case. I have a pretty keen interest in this, but it seems this time, Natalie McGarry feels brave enough to have her story told to a jury, or maybe she does the same as last time, and pleads guilty at the last minute. During this time between Women for Independence alerting police after noticing discrepancies in its accounts till present day, McGarry has decided to become a mother. Sadly if she is convicted, mother or not a custodial sentence probably of the same tariff of 18 months will be imposed, as a minimum. If she goes full trial and gets jailed, this will be the ultimate form of cancel culture, taking away her liberty and future prospects, and who knows maybe 18 months would get jacked up to even longer. 

We live in a land of cancel culture, somewhere you already know someone who has discriminated against you in your life. I have explained on this blog many times, I have met plenty in my life, people who conceive they are better than you . Even this year, I was a victim of a nasty smear campaign while supporting someone getting selected for the Labour Party Glasgow Regional list. You can see this by going back a few posts, someone attempted to "cancel" me by branding me a 'racist'. This was their cherry on the cake, of me allegedly stealing data and giving it to the Scottish Defence League. Nine candidates stood for Scottish Labour on the Glasgow list, the bulk of those never knew, and I had never heard of them, the bulk also had no chance of being selected, so smearing me was pointless by the no hopers. Also given the Labour's 50/50 discrimination rule to allow women to leapfrog over men, you could also rule out attack from women's candidates and their supporters, they wouldn't benefit from attacking me. At this point, I am sure you are more than capable to work out the rest and reducing the field. In that smear attempt I didn't get 'cancelled' because in the first attempt to sabotage Paul Sweeney's campaign, they never knew I was working on it. Both attempts at sabotaging the campaign happened around the same time that bad stories about Anas Sarwar appeared in the press. The smear attempt on me happened on the 23rd Jan at 23.43 pm, the Daily Record published the story about Anas Sarwar accepting money from a paedophile at 04:30, 24 Jan 2021. 

Moving along in the cancel culture merry go round, we now stop at Janey Godley, although I have heard of Ms. Godley, I am not a fan of her work or have any interest who she is. However, someone deemed it necessary to flag up her past tweets online, which given she was fronting Scottish Government ads, she was placed in the firing line. This was unfortunate for her and Nicola Sturgeon because her pickle was centred on a race row. In response to the bad PR, organisers started to cancel her shows, and her ads were pulled. Nicola Sturgeon jumped in to say of the row, #thesethingshappen which is code for Godley has apologised and it is all over. Sadly for Sturgeon, Godley and the SNP, other people took a different view. I don't know what the future holds for Janey Godley, or even if she has a future. When people start throwing labels about and start writing to future employers or businesses, people tend to take the hedgehog approach and dump you. You have seen this many times in politics, someone does something, says something, or should have done something and didn't, and they end up getting cancelled. In Godley's case she had built up resentment with others who chose to strike back, and let's be clear, her association to the SNP was what really did for her. 

Interestingly, when Godley's back tweets were flagged up and officially complained about, the SNP Government reaction was tell a complainer, ministers could not “intervene” in her role. When the story went supernova, the same SNP Government did what they generally do with a rogue politician, get rid of them fast. In an ass covering exercise, the complainer was told, by an official she should contact cops if she had a hate crime to report. How noble of them, but let's get it right, the official didn't run off to the cops, didn't file a report, instead it was 'job done, I am out of Dodge'. Godley was later paid £12,000 of taxpayer cash to front the “Stop the Spike” Covid ads which upset people greatly, but they got some degree of comfort when she was axed when posts about the disabled and black celebs came to light. 

Conservative MSP Russell Findlay said: 

“The Scottish Government decided to hand an SNP- supporting comedian a large sum of public cash despite these vile posts being flagged directly with officials. This confirms the suspicion that there’s one rule for protected SNP cronies and another for the rest of us”. In a real sense, Russell Findlay is right, the SNP operate as an 'Us vs Them' government, and anyone who is in the 'Us' camp is a potential enemy. Jane Godley was a casualty of war, it is ironic that someone who was slotted to star in an anti-litter campaign “in partnership with the Scottish Government and Keep Scotland Beautiful” would herself be thrown out with the trash. Is there a way back for Janey Godley, well I would ask you to look at Tommy Sheridan in his attempts to bring back his career, he found his political career was shot to pieces, but he was afforded opportunities by the Russians to have a second chance with his show, 'Tommy Talks'. Our Russian cousins aren't particularly affected by the cancel culture phenomenon or sensitive. When you set foot on the political battlefield, there are two things to remember, one, your enemy never sleeps, and two when you meet people who can be manipulated against you, walk away from them, don't look back. 

Finally, to be immune for cancel culture, you need to try and place yourself in a position that you can firewall yourself from everyone else. There will be certain situations which requires you to expose yourself to an element of risk. That said, perhaps this piece of information will help you understand Scottish politics better. I have taken this excerpt from the 1947 movie, 13 Rue Madeleine which you might have seen, starring James Cagney, Annabella and Richard Conte, good movie worth watching. 

"Es gibt keine Kameraden.

"Greift selbst den Kameraden an.

Verdachtigt ihn.

Vernichtet ihn wenn notig." 

The English translation. 

"There are no comrades.

Turn in a comrade, accuse him,

even destroy him if necessary." 

Ms. Godley found herself alone in no man's land with no Kameraden and was picked off.

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University