The Great Scottish Independence Reset; SNP MP Joanna Cherry urges the SNP to work with Alex Salmond and Alba to win independence, Cherry's endorsement will not go un-noticed by the Nicola Sturgeon cabal, Cherry describes Sturgeon's worst enemies as 'great friends', with Sturgeon trying to escape Scottish politics, does Angus Robertson realise Sturgeon will ditch him if she finds an escape route out of Scottish politics, does he really want to be last 'Sturgeon man' in the bunker

Dear All 

One of the things that the mainstream media like to do is to call Joanna Cherry, a prominent SNP MP, she has no spokesman's role within the party, and she is backbencher, and she is out of favour with the SNP leadership, principally Nicola Sturgeon. Her prominence therefore comes from not her current status in the SNP but more to do with her ability in the House of Commons, and her prominence on TV and as a potential leader in waiting. Have you noticed that there is no proper heir in waiting, there is Sturgeon's choice, the woefully inept Angus Robertson. Robertson has shown himself to be a complete dud as a minister, all his so called experience from Westminster doesn't add up to a hill of beans. Another interesting point about Joanna Cherry is that a campaign has been waged against to try and get the whip removed from her as an MP. Too many people, this is an ongoing and active campaign over Cherry's support for women's rights and their right to personal spaces. All placed in danger by Nicola Sturgeon's gender recognition act. 

There is another issue which irks Nicola Sturgeon and her cabal, that is Joanna Cherry's continual involvement and some would say support for ex SNP leader Alex Salmond. Even the Salmond case hasn't taken away any of the closeness between Cherry and Salmond, what irks the SNP cabal is that Cherry is still choosing Alex Salmond over Nicola Sturgeon as the natural leader of the independence movement over Sturgeon. Recently Cherry has called on Nicola Sturgeon to work with Alex Salmond and his breakaway Alba party in the fight for independence. This won't happen, the criminal trial of Alex Salmond engineered by people close to Nicola Sturgeon and her inner circle effectively kills that idea off completely. There can be no false friendships, no paper that spans that crack, and "sorry" will not do. There is an issue close to Alex Salmond's heart in my opinion, that is to get justice, get revenge for those who have wronged him. And to be clear, Alex Salmond is willing to play 'the long game' to get it, something which has escaped Nicola Sturgeon and her cabal. Just like Tommy Sheridan setup a vehicle to try and get his political career back called Solidarity, so Alex Salmond has setup a party called Alba, and in his exile from the SNP, he has brought some SNP MPs, ex MPs and Councillors with him, the most notable being Kenny MacAskill and Tasmina Ahmed Shiekh. 

Forgive and forget, let's all be pals will not be happening. 

The last move by Joanna Cherry could be seen as her giving her blessing to Alba by posting a picture of herself and the former First Minister on Twitter. Meeting people or politicians from different parties isn't new, posing for pictures with them isn't new either. Standing beside the man who Nicola Sturgeon's cabal tried to imprison and then smear post verdict is however an interesting twist. Some may say this act is Joanna Cherry telling voters to give Alba a green light on the ballot paper for the 2022 Scottish Council Elections. Is she telling nationalist voters that Alba is okay? Cherry in having her photo taken with Alex Salmond will enrage the SNP, but she says that in doing so, it was “important to keep cross party lines of communication open” within the Yes movement. Did you see lines of communication being opened by the SNP with Tommy Sheridan and his Solidarity Party in the run up to the Scottish independence referendum?  You didn't see anything of the sort, Sheridan was cast out much the same as a leper. His Hope Over Fear road shows were as much about indy campaigning as they were about selling Tommy Sheridan who done jail time as a political force again. 

There will never be open lines of communication, friendly exchanges, bestie buddies and big hugs between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Sturgeon fell out with Salmond in 2018 amid sexual misconduct claims against him. She has specifically ruled out working with him and called his political comeback a “hindrance” to the independence cause. Sturgeon wants Salmond gone, dead or imprisoned in her universe, so far neither three options transpired for her, she has enemies outside her party, and inside her party, some are active in opposing her, and others, they are silent, they are sitting and waiting till the time is right. We all know the extent of the issue between Salmond and Sturgeon, they gave conflicting evidence to a Holyrood inquiry this year about each other. Sturgeon hide behind a court ruling to stop people knowing the full extent of who in her inner circle was involved in the Salmond case, and the same ruling 'gagged' Salmond from naming them. Just as Salmond was the mentor for Sturgeon in the SNP, Joanna Cherry is the new kid on the block, she was also mentored by Salmond. Nicola Sturgeon is the old model, Joanna Cherry is the new model, people see the difference, Sturgeon, the failed unsuccessful lawyer, Cherry, the successful lawyer and QC. 

There is a bigger picture beyond Cherry saying collaboration is necessary, Nicola Sturgeon is now in bunker mentality, she is trapped, no real 'heir in waiting', no unelected high flying job in the UN or EU to go too, and fearful of an SNP/Alba merger once she steps down. If Cherry is leader, Nicola Sturgeon will be wiped from the SNP website almost immediately, she won't get grandee status like Winnie Ewing. Nicola Sturgeon is the 'leper in waiting'. Sturgeon isn't stupid, she knows what will happen when she gives up the reins of power. All those who had a hand in the Salmond trial, their future is also bleak. Those who have positions in government will be pushed out the door, those in the SNP will be either removed from the party, or put through open selection procedures that they will lose any chance from standing from public office. It will be a blood bath done gradually over time, all the little ducks all lined up and picked off, one by one. An allegation here, a complaint there, you know the drill, setup to fail. 

In her public endorsement of the Alba Party ahead of the Council elections, Cherry wrote: 

“As we take forward a campaign toward the next referendum we will need cross-party working and co-operation.” 

This also could be taken as a sign, that Cherry doesn't see the leadership of the SNP as being viable, particularly Nicola Sturgeon. As Joanna Cherry mixed with her former colleagues, her language was very telling, she said it had been “great to meet up with old friends”. Namely Salmond and his business partner, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh. In the last election, the SNP fought hard to stop voters giving Alba their list vote in areas where they had no chance of picking up a list seat. As the tide turns for Nicola Sturgeon, will voters realise that Nicola Sturgeon will never deliver a second Scottish independence referendum? At what point will there be a sea change among both hard and soft independence supports, this is another thing that Nicola Sturgeon is fearful of. The long term plan of Alba is simple, they want to seed in people's minds that they and only they can deliver an independence ‘supermajority’ at Holyrood via the proportional list system. As I have blogged before, it is my opinion that the list system should be scrapped, an MSP should represent two wards, the list system doesn't enhance democracy it produces what I term as 'list hostages'. People who get into power who the public had no input in voting for, and importantly have no mechanism in removing. 

Finally, if you were asked, who does SNP MP Joanna Cherry like, who does she support, who does she like to socialise with, who does she like to work with, do you think at any level, she would say Nicola Sturgeon. Campaigning for the council elections has already started, some people will argue that SNP MP Joanna Cherry gave the Alba Party, a big thumbs up, some would argue she signed off in the leadership, and importantly she signed off on Alex Salmond as a 'great friend'. If you look at the picture, you see the happy faces, but you also see something else, not just meeting out in the open, but appearing to meet in an up-market venue. As I mentioned above, Nicola Sturgeon is now in bunker mentality, the circle is tightening, it reminds me of the Russian assault on Stalingrad or Berlin. Sturgeon like Hitler surrounded by impending loss of support, and issuing orders and decrees. Here is what Nicola Sturgeon said of working with Alex Salmond and Alba; 

“I have no intention, and no plans to work with Alba. I’m ruling out, having any kind of, you know arrangement with Alex Salmond or with Alba. I have no plans, no intention of having any kind of arrangement with Alex Salmond.” 

At the near end of the second world war, Hitler was betrayed by Heinrich Himmler, do you think it is worthwhile placing a bet on whether Angus Robertson will do the same? There is plenty of historical precedence of 'trusted  lieutenants' seeing the writing on the wall and protecting their own self interest. If Nicola Sturgeon manages to get an escape route out of Scottish politics, doubtful, but it may happen, will there be any room for Angus Robertson or indeed the Sturgeon cabal?  Does Robertson really want to be the last man in the bunker when the bunker is breached? Or will Angus Robertson do a deal with Alba?

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

By-election in Fort William and Ardnamurchan, Independent candidate Joanne Matheson urges voters: 'don't vote for me', seldom do you see someone putting community before self when they realise they can't fully commit, 7 people standing in a by-election, but no one from Anas Sarwar's Labour Party contesting the seat, not even a paper candidate from Scottish Labour, this just confirms that Scottish Labour is just interested in central belt and urban cities

Dear All 

One of the stagnation events of the last 50 years has been the dominance of the two parties of the Left, the SNP and the Labour Party. In order to restore more democracy and choice to the public, we need to convince voters there is real and viable choice. Not just that there is real choice but also that t is desirable to embrace that choice. 2022 is the Council elections, in Glasgow, in areas like Pollok, the status quo means that two Labour and two SNP has been bad for residents. You think you are voting for a full time Councillor getting full time pay when in fact, wrong, you are voting for a part time councillor. I suppose the question immediately is, how do you know? The answer is simple, The Register of Interests, this a register that can tell you various financial interests an elected politician has. In the case of all Pollok Councillors, it tells you that they have second jobs. And while they are doing these second jobs for an employer, they aren't working for you to solve your problems in Pollok. Here is a link to the City of Glasgow website, if you live in Glasgow, look up your Councillor and then click on their register of interests, second jobs are the norm. I personally want to see second jobs for councillors banned, of course that means raising councillors' pay, which should be set around £35k a year. We expect elected politicians to be full time working for us, but a culture has grown up where second jobs is the norm and some people scoot by doing the bare minimum for the communities they were elected to represent. 

If second jobs are to continue, and let's face it, there is no political will to end the practice from any of the main parties, then there at least should be a ban on doing them within normal working hours of 9 to 5. Let me ask you this, do you seriously think that a (part time) councillor is working 40 hours a week from your community? If not, how many hours do you think they are doing? 20? 10? 5?, some councillors in Glasgow only pre-covid did 4 surgeries a month, some fare a little better and have registered 6 surgeries. In Cardonald, one councillor does 4 surgeries a month, and only one is a weekday, all others are on a Saturday. The only issue beyond poor service and a bad deal for constituents is how much can they spend looking at the work of the council? I would ask you this question, what are the most important things you need when being educated? The answers are quality of tuition and time, time to understand and analyse what you have been taught, everything you learn requires time for knowledge to sink in. In the case of vast councils like Glasgow, do you think a few hours is enough to understand a multi million pound enterprise? 

https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/budget 

And that is just the budget, what about all the departments of council, Councillors get a department contact for raising issues, but how well do they know the inner workings of the numerous departments in Glasgow, and their policies? Councillors sit on every committee, is there a system to rotate them off onto other committees each year to better understand the council operations? Local councillors sit on their area boards, so they get an enhanced overview of their own patch, but what about the processes and people which run the machine? You don't have to be a mechanic to drive a car, but to be better as a councillor, you need training and time to learn the operation. One story that came across my screen was someone who knows that doing a bad job isn't acceptable as a councillor. Joanne Matheson is one of seven candidates standing in the Fort William and Ardnamurchan by-election on December 2. By-elections in rural aren't viewed as a big deal unless they are for MSP or MP, council by-election, the parties' leadership bare register them as worth their time beyond 'good luck to x'. In this upcoming by-election, Joanne Matheson has an unique pitch, it is 'don't vote for me'.  Ms Matheson stood previously for election in 2017 and said she intended to do so again, something which I am keen to do. However, she said family health issues and starting a new business in the past 18 months had taken up "increasing amounts of her time." As I mentioned above, one of the most important things you can give to any enterprise is 'time', to be good, you have to be diligent.  

She said: 

"I realised that if a by-election in Ward 21 was to arise I would not be in a position to stand." 

After realising that only one person, from the Green's had registered, she put in her papers, I am surprised that she didn't wait longer because all the mainstream parties would have stood and are standing. Seven people representing various parties and none will contest this election on December 2. In 2017, Joanne Matheson got 177 votes at stage one, and as the stages moved forward, she dropped out of contention at stage 4. But the thing is, she tried in a ward where an independent in 2017 came top with 1,550 votes. The by-election is happening following the the death of Conservative Councillor Ian Ramon, he was one of 4 Councillors representing the Fort William and Ardnamurchan Ward. In many by-elections, the supporters of the candidate who dies generally comes out to support their replacement so maybe a Conservative could win this seat. There is however also a strong independent vote as seen by the election of Andrew Baxter so that may play a factor as people in the North of Scotland are more willing to open minded to an independent as their representative. On paper, it would seem to be a two horse race, Conservative and SNP, but it will partly depend on how much resources parties and independents are willing to put in, in this case, people on the ground to speak to voters. I don't see Scottish Labour as viable particularly in the rural areas of Scotland. Scottish Labour tends to be central Scotland orientated except in the big cities of the North like Dundee and Aberdeen. Funny enough, with the deadline closed, there is no Scottish Labour candidate listed as standing. I am surprised, actually beyond surprised, Scottish Labour is a mainstream party, and they cannot find someone who is even a paper candidate. What does this say about the state of Scottish Labour under Anas Sarwar? Every seat at any time should be fought for if that seat is available. 

Finally, there are six other candidates standing who are; Mark Drayton, Sarah Fanet, SNP, Roger Liley, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Andy McKenna, independent, Ruraidh Stewart, Conservative and Kate Willis, Green Party. Due to election regulations, Joanne Matheson remains on the ballot paper. In a little over 10 days, we will have the ballot and the result, either earlier in the morning or counted later in the day. There can be only one winner in this by-election, so if there is any surprises, then maybe I will do a story on the result. If you use google maps you can see a layout of the place, and using street view, you can see this looks like a lovely area with stunning views. It would be an interesting place to do a campaign, if you were an activist. One thing I would say, if you know you cannot commit to being an effective councillor, don't do it, sadly not everyone has the integrity shown by Joanne Matheson, she is putting the community before herself, something which should be the norm but sadly isn't.

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

How Low is the Calibre of SNP Politicians; SNP MSP John Mason accuses the struggling hospitality sector of 'crying wolf' over vaccine passport fears, the pandemic is over, managing the epidemic is the new battlefield, that means businesses open, return to normality and an understanding the importance of generating cash to save businesses, the economy and finance the health service, there is no magic money tree, the money is in people's pockets, and we need to get them spending it

Dear All 

There are certain SNP MSPs who serve unusual functions inside and outside Holyrood, in the chamber, you get people like Kenny Gibson MSP, whose sole objective at FMQs is to sit behind SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and bang a table enthusiastically, you get others like Christine Graham who sit behind Sturgeon, she scowls and looks miserable to give the impression that Sturgeon is talking about 'weighty matters'. But there people two other people who also stick out, they are seemly used for saying 'daft' things in the media usually at a time when the heat is on Nicola Sturgeon. The two people who I am referring too are John Mason and James Dornan, both Glasgow constituency MSPs. If you were to ask me who is worse for verbal stupidity, I have to put my hands up and say, I can't stick a playing card between them. I think however, it would be fair comment to say that John Mason's comments and opinions are more 'daft' than malicious, whereas James Dornan specialises in being more nasty and offensive. 

The reason I think the reason it could be argued that they are playing a role is that hardly any other SNP MSP does what they are going, it could be argued that their interventions maybe used a release valve when a scandal threats to impact on senior leadership. The use of diversion tactics isn't new in the SNP, it is so common as to be noticeable. You see the SNP as well as having people like Dornan and Mason have a spad operation who continuously generate 'product' in the hope that the media will run with that instead of media releases from other parties. This is why many people think the SNP is so crap, their spad operation cannot produce high quality media releases so a never ending stream of garbage is pumped out to 'tame' media professionals at newspapers and television presenters. These people think they have an 'ear' to the wall within the SNP but they are being used, in some ways it ranks as an abusive relationship. Too much rubbish is pumped out with the occasional real news story to justify the relationship. 

Trust in politics has been dying for some time, trust in the media likewise has been dying, Covid 19 has been a lightening rod that woke up many people to the corrupting relationship between the political class and the press. We have seen an extraordinary turn of events as the media has refused to be hands off certain issues and stories, while some others are effectively ring fenced from asking about the truth. What the SNP spads in the party and government, along with people like Dornan and Mason have done is instill a sense of hopelessness, that their nonsense is the way things are and cannot be changed. Is Holyrood’s Covid Recovery Committee run by the SNP simply about rubber stamping what the SNP has done? Have they ever spoken out as a group and held a position which is against the SNP Government in any real sense? We were told Holyrood would be a new kind of politics, there isn't a new kind of politics in Holyrood because it is now engineering from being 'left' vs right' to 'pro UK vs Scottish independence'. 

The SNP have no interest in seeing the Scottish Parliament evolve! 

Today's intervention by SNP MSP John Mason accusing Scotland’s hospitality sector of “crying wolf” is typical of what the SNP do, attempt to shutdown criticism of Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP Government. In the minds of the SNP, everything which is decided on high cannot be questioned and must be seen as fact. So, when you get business leaders telling MSPs that extending the vaccine passport scheme would be “nothing short of devastating”. You get John Mason using 'data' which isn't significant as it relates to his personal story and a few snapshots in time which are not statistically relevant or meaningful. So, what exactly did SNP MP John Mason say? What was his burning truth which counters what business leaders across the entire hospitality sector are saying? 

He said: “Do you not think you have slightly over-stated your case and a certain amount of crying wolf? People are not taking you seriously because you use such strong language like ‘devastating’. I have tried to get into a restaurant in Edinburgh on a Wednesday night and it was absolutely full. I’ve gone into a pub on a Wednesday night in Edinburgh – couldn’t find a seat. (In) Glasgow last Friday night, I was in a restaurant – absolutely full. Parts of the hospitality and licensed trade sector seem to be doing absolutely fine. I just wonder, do you not think you are somewhat exaggerating it?” 

In what is called urban like Edinburgh and like Glasgow, you have vast populations, some establishments do better for many different reasons, such as quality, location and price. So, should city centre location which can experience high foot fall be compared to other locations locations when quite clearly you cannot compare apples and pears in terms of cash flow? Holyrood is the poor relation to Westminster, if you view Westminster as a Champions League, Holyrood is a third division Scottish club. Some people wrongly I would suggest would say that it is because the place is so young. That is not the cause of the political poverty in Scotland, it is because of the calibre of certain individuals who make up the bulk of the MSPs. 

They are not thinkers! 

To me, Holyrood’s Covid Recovery Committee isn't really interested in evidence, they are simply playing a role, what role is that? Being there! They are like an extra in a movie who is talking in the background but says no words because they have been asked to mimic speaking. Well, I would suggest that some MSPs are just mimicking being politicians, there role is lobby fodder. They are told how to vote, they are told when to ask questions, they are told to read out questions prepare for them. In football, you would recognise this as a the 'set piece', think of David Beckham. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUBk0J9ijjU 

The set piece in politics in the SNP is usually done so that an MSP asks a question to make Nicola Sturgeon look good, these people are just 'feeders', so that Sturgeon scores the goal as all knowing and all seeing. This is to give the impression that she is super intelligent, but as her track record in Government away from the chamber and the 'set piece' shows the exact opposite. Bad judgment, bad choices, bad decisions, no narrative and no vision. Nicola Sturgeon ran the NHS in Scotland into the ground, and then bailed when the cracks couldn't be papered over. Everyone after her, either failed to manage, was inept or just plainly disinterested. 

If there is a sector which Scotland sorely needs, it is the hospitality sector, a huge amount of businesses who are part of what is called the 'tourist trade' need to be financially active all year round. There are periods like Christmas and the summer which are vitally important to them, losing such periods due to covid is devastating. This isn't just a Scottish matter in terms of how covid killed off the hospitality sector. It is happening all over the world, here is a video of hospitality that has been devastated in the world famous City resort of Pattaya in Thailand. This was done by an American vlogger who lives in Pattaya, his channel if you are interested is called Ride4Kickz, I recommended it because of its diverse content, and quality of production an presentation. It is like watching someone living out their life and having adventures and living a day to day life, good and bad. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNM4p0ZDXA8 

In Thailand, just like in Scotland, the hospitality sector has suffered badly, however in Thailand, the problem has been much worse, we should feel lucky that we had a UK Government in Westminster which has saved many jobs, many businesses and done so much to keep people afloat, but not all people managed to save their businesses. If there isn't a return to normality soon, either by a significant” amount of funding or opening up the market without restrictions, it is said that “a very substantial proportion of businesses will not survive the winter”. Such information doesn't gel with people like John Mason, and even if he acquired it what good would it do him, the SNP has a Cabinet in name only, Nicola Sturgeon has gone down the same route as Tony Blair, 'sofa government'. To me, looking at Holyrood, committee has been devalued so much that under the current setup, you could ask, do they provide any real value. 

Is there any value in a committee which cannot affect change?   

Nicola Sturgeon will announce whether the vaccine passport scheme, will be extended to other parts of the hospitality sector. This reminds people of the 1930's and the Gestapo where the phrase, 'show me your papers' was a staple in many WW2 movies. Given that double vaxxed people can still carry and transmit covid, the passport scheme isn't about stopping covid, it is all about control and surveillance of the population. Why is it that all governments seem to be following the exact same measures of oppression at various stages?  It is happening most notably in Austria, Canada, and New Zealand, will it happen further in Scotland? Well that won't depend on covid, it wouldn't depend on science, it will depend on polling. Polling for the 2022 Council elections in Scotland. You could argue next year the SNP will take a real interest in those elections than usual, since they are trying to create a narrative that there will be indyref 2 in 2023. There wouldn't be, but since Nicola Sturgeon didn't get an offer of future employment at #Cop26, she needs to keep Nationalists turning on her by appearing to act interested. The longer Nicola Sturgeon falls to deliver indyref 2, the more support she will lose inside and outside her own party. 

Asking for proof of double vaccination or exemption to enter nightclubs and large gatherings, is a bit like asking for an MOT, thinking that a year's MOT must mean a car is good for a year. An MOT only means on a set date a vehicle was passed as roadworthy, it does mean that within that year the car will remain roadworthy. A person who gets a covid passport can get infected any time after getting the passport, so they have effectively a licence to infect others when they get infected. Have a think about that for a moment! It has been too late to stop covid spreading, it is now a matter of managing it. The reason for opening all business back up is simple, the more places that are open, the less chance of people becoming infected. We are told that the hospitals are filling up with covid cases, mostly people who have been double vaxxed. Depending on who you read and believe, there will be a second pandemic, which should be titled, 'Covid Vaccine Injury', that is covid with heart attack, covid with stroke, covid with neurological disease and a whole host of other serious problems like suppression of immune response. The more people who get injected, the more that hospitals will fill up, this is a statement of fact, a brutal truth which can be found in government data in many countries. 

I would say that there is a financial imperative to opening back up the whole economy, to draw in as much as possible in tax to supply money to our health services, less business making money, less tax collected. If Nicola Sturgeon doesn't grasp the nettle and allow the hospitality sector to remain open, and hampers the sector by making changes on December 6, many people will be affected in the long term. Scotland due to its location cannot allow a key sector like hospitality to suffer any longer. As I mentioned on twitter, a friend who has been double vaxxed was infected with covid, we should now be treating covid in the same manner as a flu. If you get it, stay in ride it out, if it is bad seek medical help. Gavin Stevenson from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association said that extending the lockdown and restrictions scheme would be “little short of devastating for a substantial proportion of businesses”. He is making a valid point, and he added the worthless and it is worthless vaccine passport scheme is “typically” seeing a drop in turnover of between 20 per cent and 40%. 

Stevenson said: 

“There’s a direct correlation there between the implementation of vaccine passports and a substantial and unsustainable decrease in trade. Any proposed extension of the scheme is deeply unwelcome for the sector and, of course, this is not particular to just Scotland, we have now got data from Wales – a survey this week showing there’s been a substantial decrease in trade in the Welsh sector.” 

He added: 

“If the Scottish Government is determined to proceed with the rollout of the scheme, it would be absolutely essential to have significant financial support go in place – otherwise a very substantial proportion of businesses will not survive this winter.” 

Finally, politics is about power and money, so Nicola Sturgeon should take heed that money, generation of money by business is a priority now and going forward. SNP SMP John Mason accusing the hospitality sector of “exaggerating” the problems facing the industry is wrong, to dismiss what they say by saying they had been “crying wolf” is also wrong. His snapshots in time don't encompass an entire industry, and it should be pointed out as done by Gavin Stevenson that all the venues John Mason had mentioned are not currently subject to vaccine passports. This is what I mean about how Holyrood is like a third division football league. In the past, I said Holyrood is a second rate parliament full of third rate politicians. If you wnt to learn about governance, if you want to learn about politics, if you want to learn about Statehood and State craft, then Westminster is the place to be. In the end, it could come down to polling which decides if the passport scheme is extended, not science, not data, nothing more than one woman's desire to minimize the seepage of support away from her. The pandemic is over, the epidemic is here, and it will spring up at various points in time, it is now a management operation for keeping as much normality as possible. I campaigned for John Mason a few times when I first started being politically active, he has fallen a long way since 2008 and the by-election of Glasgow East where he won by 365 votes.  

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

The Cruel World of Scotland, Scotland has lost a beautiful and wonderful human being called Esther Brown, she was a beacon of light for many who lived in darkness and despair, the man who raped and murdered her, Jason Graham has been jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 19 years, this sentence is too light for a serial rapist and murderer, justice demands life without possibility of release

Dear All 

It takes a particularly disturbed mind to rape and murder an innocent woman, but in the midst of Covid, one thing has never stopped is bad people committing unspeakable crimes. Esther Brown was a 67-year-old woman who was a much-loved and active member of her local  community, she was also someone who helped others in their time of need preparing meals for people in need. Her life was full of light as you can see by looking at her eyes in the picture above, then Jason Graham came into her life. Someone was dead inside, someone whom decency and empathy was an alien concept. There are people on the fringes of our society who are feral, they care nothing for people or society, Graham was one of these people. You might ask, why am I commenting on this story, when there is a few good solid political stories to get your teeth into? 

I recognise her. 

In life, you get periods of joy, and periods of heartache can sometimes fall immediately afterwards. At the weekend, I went through to a free speech event, it was invitation only, it had many high brow panels through-out the day and interesting topics, along with some pretty notable people. Afterwards, I left Edinburgh, and I met up with a university friend that I hadn't seen in 28 years, to do a lot of catching up, and meet their family. When I got back to Glasgow on Monday night, I phoned my mate to tell him about my trip and to get the latest gossip, and tell him about my mini adventures. As we chatted he told me, one of my long time friends brother is in hospital and in ICU, and nothing more can be done for him by the medics. My mate was close to his brother, his upcoming death will hit my friend hard, his brother is severely disabled, has been all his life, and now this. Sometimes life can be too much and too cruel. I had spent a weekend enjoying myself, for a change, and come back to hear all about this. 

In my life, I have came across all sorts of people, I have met people in passing like Jason Graham, and also many good and decent people like Esther Brown. I feel so sorry for the family and friends of Esther, they have lost such a unique human being, someone who deserved love, respect and to be valued for what she was a shining light in a country living in darkness. After the trial of Jason Graham, the judge has jailed him for life with a minimum term of 19 years. Prison will not be new to him, Graham had previously been jailed for raping an older woman in 2013. Some people in society cannot be changed, some people have so much hate in them, they have no intention of changing, Jason Graham was one of those people. A minimum term of 19 years is a lot, but in the case of Graham, his sentence should be life without possibility of release. I don't know if he will have any regret about what he done, his regrets will be more practical, can't get booze, can't get drugs and can't get a normal exists. If he gets out of prison, this two time rapist will never be employed in the public sector, and it is doubtful he would find a place in the private sector with no employment record or skills. 

Just as Jason Graham rape and murdered a kind lady, he also killed off his own life. As he sits in the sex offenders wing, will he think back to horrific injuries and death that he caused? Others will rightly wonder, why someone like Jason Graham a known sex offender was better monitored, the answer is simple, not enough resources and people to do so. For some time, I have been writing about how society is in a bad way, it is being systematically destroyed, rule of law has been eroded, we haven't entered the apocalypse but we are marching right up towards the door. People like Graham look and see how rotten everything is at the top, and think since the rich and powerful don't abide by the rules, why should he. Graham was a person who didn't aspire, he gave up wanting to be a better person, when did that start is anyone's guess. We have a society in decline in Scotland, but crimes like these should be a wake-up call. Will this be one for politicians to answer, or will they simply not show interest and forget. There has been a trial, there has been a verdict, Jason Graham has been removed from society, but that should not be the end of the matter. 

A few days ago, the SNP and The National are putting together an edition of propaganda, an independence rag that riches, wealth and happiness are just round the corner. If you stand back and watch Scotland and the SNP Government, you will know that 'nirvana' and their 'milk and honey' for all is a lie. There is plenty of time for nonsense, but little time for getting Scotland back on its feet, there is no time to get its people back on its feet. There is no understanding that the real fight isn't about independence, it is about continually raising people up from the bottom. We have a section in society called the underclass, Jason Graham was a life time member it seems, people who have nothing, who have no future, who have given up aspiration in favour of baser needs. In the 14 years of SNP misrule, the SNP have abandoned government except as a meal ticket and as a campaigning tool for independence. They have run down all services at national and local level, they have caused division, they have failed in key areas relating to policing, courts and social work. 

As more people get trapped in poverty, living lives of despair and anger, we will continue to see people like Jason Graham emerge for all the wrong reasons. After his first rape, Jason Graham was said to be monitored by the police as a registered sex offender. I would like to know, what does that really mean? Does it mean, they knew where he lived, well obviously that comes from the register, but does turning up at where he lives actually stop crime? The answer is no, this is just police having a pick up address of 'known offenders' which they can access for ease of investigation, and of course, they would have his DNA on file from 2013. Graham already knew that the police had his DNA on file and rape anyway, so where was the deterrent or the managing of his behaviour? In some respects, you may ask if the current system is 'shutting the door after the horse has bolted'. 

Finally, after reading this post, I want you to forget the name Jason Graham, forget him and cast what he did out of your mind. I want you instead to remember Esther Brown as her family, friends and community knew her, “a much-loved and active member of the community”.  Helen Moran, who worked with Ms Brown in the community said of her: 

“Esther was honestly a wonderful person, we worked together preparing meals for people in need.” 

A neighbour, Ms McKay added: 

“The impact of her death has been huge in the community. The sentencing is very disappointing as many of us in the surrounding community have been victims of perpetrators being let back into society. We need to see change in the justice system.” 

Scotland needs an Esther's Law, and an overhaul of the justice system, from 'soup to nuts', we have a failed system, but I doubt there will be any real desire to change it by the SNP Government. As I mentioned above, when I read about this case, and looked at the picture, I immediately recognised her, she is now gone, and the world is truly the worse for her passing. When Ms Mckay said, “The impact of her death has been huge in the community”, let me tell you, it has been felt in Craigton, may God welcome this beautiful soul into his kingdom. And may others have the courage to speak out to change our broken country and systems.

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Left to Suffer, Left to Die in SNP Controlled Scotland; Political choices by SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon directly relate to the tragic death of Richard Brown from Maryhill, health budgets cut, staff not replaced, services not enhanced or developed, while Sturgeon was preparing for her next full round of 'selfies', Richard Brown suffering greatly for 5 hours in a dirty stairwell waiting for help which came too late

Dear All 

It seems that with Cop26 still running, SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon has abandoned her responsibilities as First Minister to continue her networking scheme in the hope that this may lead to a job offer. On social media, you can see Nicola Sturgeon zip about the place getting countless 'selfies' with anyone remotely famous. It is truly a bizarre sight to behold, you get someone who turns up at an event with no role whatsoever at it, then spends the time hawking herself around the venue seeking opportunities for future employment. The price of a ticket has no monetary value but there is a cost to Nicola Sturgeon abandoning ship, that price is people dying. During Covid, Nicola Sturgeon said allowed that 'I am in charge', that she is making the decisions, well we saw how bad her decision making actually is, infected patients transferred into sterile care homes, allowing Drs to try and get patients to sign DNR so they don't have to try and save their lives. 

As the Scottish Conservatives are making an impact now, it seems dealing with problems and handling the heat isn't Sturgeon's forte at present. There is plenty of questions to ask Nicola Sturgeon, some historic and some present, Sturgeon has ducked out of First Minister Questions. In doing this, she is leaving the disgraced Deputy First Minister John Swinney to fill in for her again. Let's be clear, she isn't doing her job as FM at Cop26 because there is no official role for her. In my opinion, this is someone who has 'gate crashed' an event for personal advancement using her position of authority. When there is bad news, it seems Nicola Sturgeon sloops off and gets her main Holyrood stooge to take the flak. John Swinney has apologized to the family of Richard Brown who died on the stairs outside his home after waiting five hours for an ambulance. Let's remember the key point through-out this post, he was waiting five hours for an ambulance. Before, I moved to Pollok in 1972, I previously lived in Maryhill, in two places, Oran Street, and Gairbraid Place, so I know the area well despite its partial regen. As a kid during the coal shortage in the 1970's, I used to do hunt for coal on the slagheap on the site of the JD Gym just across from Tesco. Mr. Brown didn't live that far away from where I used to live, he stayed in Hathaway Lane, again close to Tesco. The distance to the Royal Infirmary was more or less a straight road, it takes about 10 minutes to get from Hathaway Lane to the Royal Infirmary. The distance is only 3.2 miles, but for Richard Brown, that hospital may have been a million miles away for all the good it could do him. The police station on Maryhill Road is literally a few minutes walk from his home, if he had been put in the back of a police vehicle, he would have been in hospital in under 10 minutes with the police doing what is called a 'blue light' run.   

Richard Brown was only 55 years old when he died in the tenement stairs in Hathaway Lane, in Maryhill, last Saturday. A neighbour who found him said he was struggling to breath and called the ambulance several times. One can only wonder the pain and suffering that was caused to Mr. Brown during those long hours last Saturday evening as he awaited the arrival of paramedics. John Swinney's few seconds of 'sorry' certainly will not be any comfort for the family. Everyone knows the SNP are clueless when it comes to running the country, we have one of the worst incompetent Health Secretaries ever in the history of devolution, Humza Yousaf. A man who is so overwhelmed by the job, that he cannot do the job, a man who has time for twitter but not time to organised a Health Service to save lives. A man who has time for playing the race card, but no time to ensure sick people are transported to hospitals. Just as Nicola Sturgeon was wrong to promote Shona Robison as Health Sec, Sturgeon as no problem doubling down appointing Humza Yousaf as her support an position in the SNP starts to ebb away.  

John Swinney apparently thinks it is okay to 'talk away' the death of Richard Brown by using standard platitudes such as saying, Mr Brown "should not have had the experience he had" and said he was “sorry his family are enduring added agony”. Is John Swinney 'sorry'? No, I am sorry but I am not buying he is sorry at all, and I hope that the guilt he should be feeling over the death of Richard Brown and the countless others who have died will haunt him and Nicola Sturgeon for the rest of their lives. Humza Yousaf, too stupid to feel regret for what he has failed to do. Nicola Sturgeon appointed an idiot, and the idiot was happy to fulfil a role. To clarify, that 'role' isn't Health Sec, that is just a vehicle to concentrate power around Sturgeon, his role is to shield any potential threat to Sturgeon's leadership from the bottom.

As per usual, Swinney is trying to deflect and pass the blame to Scottish ambulance service into what happened. The SNP cut funding, the SNP allowed the service to be run down, the SNP allowed the cutting of staff numbers by failing to ensure staff were replaced. 

Political choices by Nicola Sturgeon directly relate to the death of Richard Brown.  

One trick the SNP like to use in deflection tactics is say part of the explanation for his death was there were massive pressures on the Scottish Ambulance Service as well as the wider NHS. That answer is not acceptable, it is a ploy to attempt Sturgeon, Swinney and Yousaf as somehow 'defenders' of the Scottish Ambulance Service and the wider NHS, they're not. They spent millions on a temp hospital, but they didn't use it, they spent more money tearing it down, saying they were 'coping' and the temp hospital wasn't needed. Millions, and millions of pounds wasted yet again. In another ploy, John Swinney started to waffle on about since 2018 the ambulance service responded to 5788 life threatening incidents and by October 2021 that has almost doubled to 10,733. This only shows that the SNP failed to recognise that preventative health measures were needed in each successive year since 2018. They knew that there was a problem, so didn't put in multiple measures to try and break the cycle or at least mitigated the impact by slowing it down? 

Why did the SNP do nothing? 

Douglas Ross, Conservative leader said: 

“The Scottish Government isn’t doing enough to support emergency health service in its time of need.” 

In fact, he could have said more, he could have mentioned that the SNP election bribes which siphoned off much need cash for core services, was a bad political decision, just like the recent decision to provide free bus travel for the under 22's is wrong. What is more important in society, a proper functioning health service or a free hurl on a bus? Swinney responses that the SNP government has put in place increased investment £20m and is recruiting 356 new ambulance staff by the spring may sound good, but the reality is no one or few are asking the right questions. Where did this £20 million come from, which budget was it moved from, and question should be centred around the number 356. How many of the 356 are to replace retiring or staff that have left? How many are genuinely additional staff? One trick use by the SNP is when they give back money around taken from budgets, and then claim that the budget has risen under this SNP government. 

Here is an example, if I take your wallet and take £100 out of it, then later I give you back £40, can I say that I have increased your budget? Technically the answer is yes, but what the calculation doesn't take into account that £60 that you previously had is now gone, and you have had indeed a £40 increase from your current position of zero funds. It is political party nonsense, a mixture of deception and falsehood. The SNP aren't the good guys, they never were, they are destroying Scotland, Sturgeon has seen the writing on the wall, she wants to get off the merry go round because having put in her 'shift', she thinks she has earned the 'quiet life' where she can zip about like a former Statesman who gets senior positions in big business. 

Finally, the lack of action by Nicola Sturgeon shows how she is a cold and callous individual, people like Richard Brown could possibly have been saved if an ambulance had turned up in time. Instead Richard spent his last five hours struggling to breath, in immense pain and suffering, lying on a stair case, waiting for help that came too late. How many other people like Richard have to die before Nicola Sturgeon appoints a proper Health Sec, how many people have to die before the necessary provisions are put in place to transport the sick? How many people have to die before the SNP restores proper funding, and uses public funding properly? You cannot help but feel sorry for the family of Richard Brown, he is another casualty of the systematic neglect that Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have shown towards public services and governance in this country.

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Pariahs in the Palace; inglorious SNP MP Pete Wishart plumbs the depths of the sewer by asking Cressida Dick, Met Police Commissioner to launch formal criminal probe into Boris Johnson and his predecessors, the SNP used the same smear campaign called 'cash for honours' nearly 14 years ago, smears, allegations and suspicion show the utter lack of class of the SNP, they are small people, and always will be

Dear All 

Few MPs from Scotland have been more embarrassing that SNP MP Pete Wishart, a stupid and crass little in every sense of the word, in terms not just of content but also of volume. Prior to Ian Blackford being appointed as the leading embarrassment for the SNP in Westminster, no one could argue that Wishart crave a name for himself as a fool. One thing, I have learned about politics is that the person isn't always picked as a candidate and the best candidate doesn't always win elections. The SNP at on a mission at Westminster to discredit at every opportunity and by any means the UK Government. They have of course relished this task of disruption whether it be clapping after speeches by their own, (no one else claps them), or meaningless walk outs, causing trouble in Commons bars, or just saying abusive things then being held to account by the speaker. As they are constantly ignored and seen as irrelevant, the UK Government has effectively shut them out as a sounding board for ideas and there is no goodwill that exists between the SNP MPs and the bulk of members of the House. 

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has no official role at Cop26, she isn't invited to the official talks with world leaders, and rightly so. Nicola Sturgeon is no world leader in much the same way as her stooge, Cllr Susan Aitken is no council leader. In fact, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on record as saying that he didn't want Nicola Sturgeon to be anywhere near Cop26. Having been embarrassed, Nicola Sturgeon decided to turn up as much as humanly possible and be a 'selfie queen', and it seems getting no job offers. Having 'not being invited to the ball', the sycophants in the SNP were outraged for their dear leader, and as if by magic, Pete Wishart has stepped forward to do some shit stirring. You might ask why not that incredible buffoon Ian Blackford, this type of activity would be right up his alley. I would say that using 'the minion' to blaze the trail, allows the press to do a series of follow ups with him as he attempts to try and position himself as having gravitas. The smearing over 'cash for honours' isn't new, it has been used before by the SNP, notably SNP MP Angus MacNeil, whose fame is centred on stories, 'three in a bed' (cheating on his then wife) and chasing after some bird who was hanging around Stewart Hosie. MacNeil lost out to Hosie, who was also cheating on his then wife, SNP MSP Shona Robison. 

As Angus MacNeil is seen as a Salmond ally by some, it seems that 'Pension' Pete or 'cosy slippers' Wishart is the man for the job. Wishart is the chair of the Scottish Select Committee, which he does with the same gravitas a chimp at a chimp's tea party. You could sum up his performances as chair of the Committee as 'oh, ffs'. Tedious, torturous, boring, dry, you would have more excitement ask people about how the fold and put away their laundry. Having been selected to shit stir, Pete Wishart has lodged a formal complaint about Boris Johnson and Conservative party officials over alleged corruption. At this point, you could ask, does Pete Wishart have any evidence, eye witness accounts, smoking gun documents, or information passed to him? No, he is going on a fishing expedition and wants to use Cressida Dick, Met Police Commissioner to get the Met Police to become politicised, something which the SNP have already attempted before in the case of Marion Millar. The idea isn't to get a conviction because that is a bridge too far, the idea is to put someone through a process in order to cause alarm and stress. So, what will Pete Wishart's letter to Cressida Dick, Met Police Commissioner asking her to investigate the Prime Minister and his predecessors over so-called cash for honours claims achieve? Well, absolutely nothing, if Wishart had a case, the buffoon, Ian Blackford would be front and centre of this nonsense. This is a sheer waste of time, money and resources, something which the SNP have no problem using up, especially when the money is from the UK taxpayer. 

In his letter, Pete Wishart says that he was said he was concerned about “criminal misconduct” by Boris Johnson, and previous Conservative Prime Ministers, and other senior Conservatives. 

He wrote: 

“I write to inform you of potential criminal misconduct regarding the procurement of honours and membership of the House of Lords. The emerging allegations, which have been widely referred to as the 'cash for honours scandal, are deeply undermining public trust and confidence. These widespread allegations and suspicion of criminal activity need to be urgently addressed. I, therefore, believe it is now essential that a formal criminal investigation is now initiated by the Metropolitan Police.” 

You would think that Wishart would have included evidence, but all he has to work with is allegations and suspicion which come from other opposition parties, their members, supporters and allies. To jazz up his cimplaint, Wishart cited that there could be breaches of the law under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. The SNP have played this game before when Tony Blair was questioned by the police in 2006 and 2007, following a police complaint by Angus MacNeil MP. 14 years later, we have Pete Wishart playing the same tune, so why is he working his fiddle so hard? If you follow politics, the answer could be that yet again, the SNP need to deflect attention away from themselves. There is still issues which need address and questions answered. 

1/ Where is the £600k of 'ring fenced' indyref2 money?

2/ Who authorised £30k of public money for Angus Robertson's book launch?

3/ What is the connection between Nicola Sturgeon and Sandstone Publishing? 

Now, these are questions! 

To pad out his letter, Wishart cited a joint investigation by OpenDemocracy and the Sunday Times. 

He added: 

"Since the Conservative party returned to power in 2010, successive Prime Ministers have elevated nine of the party's former treasurers to the House of Lords. Each of those appointed since 2014 has donated at least £3 million. Any investigation must uncover any process or link between these donations and the subsequent appointment of these individuals to the House of Lords. In total, twenty two of the Conservative party's biggest financial contributors have been made members of the House of Lords in the past eleven years. Together they have donated some £54m to the Tories. I believe that it is only right to investigate whether these donations were, in fact, rewarded with honours." 

Where this falls down is that other people have been given peerages by the Conservatives, in many different parts of society. So, the obvious question is where is the evidence of wrongdoing? You argue that the honour system is outdated, you could argue that it needs reform, but these issues don't pass the mark to imply criminality? 

A UK Government spokeswoman said: 

“Peerages reflect long-standing contributions to civic life and also a willingness to further contribute to public life as a legislator in the Second Chamber. It is wrong to criticise individuals being honoured just because they have also chosen to support or donate to a political party. Donations should be transparent, but that is not an excuse to knock people for broader philanthropy, enterprise and public service. Volunteering and supporting a political party is part of our civic democracy. In the UK, taxpayers do not have to bankroll political parties’ campaigning. Political parties have to raise money themselves, and follow transparency and compliance rules laid out in law.” 

Wishart's letter will be looked at carefully for evidence, but allegations and suspicion don't trigger a police investigation anymore than saying someone 'looks guilty' does. The SNP don't put forward names for the House of Lords, I suspect this is down to the SNP being a republican party, you may remember in the four groups that make up the modern SNP, I highlighted the 'Sein Fein lite' group. Although the SNP have historically always been opposed to the House of Lords, and refused to take any seats in the second chamber, the timing of their latest rant seems curious. Wishart also lashed out at Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives for appointing anyone to the House of Lords, what he calls "that corrupt circus". The second chamber is needed because it is an effective break on the government, of course, the break can be removed by government, but generally, this type of heavy handed approach isn't taken in favour of amendments. I would say that although some people shouldn't be in the House of Lords, their checks and balances on government is needed.   

Wishart told MPs; 

"I have now asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate the activities of the Conservative Party and the awarding of places in the House of Lords. I'll say ever so gently to my friends in the Labour Party, stop putting people in that place. Stop giving it legitimacy and credibility. We don't need the Gordon Brown Commission. We just need you guys as the opposition party to say you will abolish it. It is a circus, it is a corrupt circus and it is the high point of deference in the class system. To think that the Labour Party would defend that place and put people in it is beyond ridiculous. Grow up. Get a sense of this, help up get rid of that appalling circus down the corridor." 

Finally, the SNP have a long history of trying to destroy British democracy, so nothing new here from Wishart. Will Cressida Dick, Met Police Commissioner act? I see her punting this letter down the chain to someone at Inspector level who will make some noises, shuffle some paper, and declare that they couldn't find Pete Wishart's needle in a haystack. Everyone knows that the SNP are playing politics, everyone knows they are a nasty little bunch, and everyone knows their modus operandi is rolling grievance. Sometime ago, Pete Wishart put himself forward as a possible speaker of the House of Commons, he was never a serious contender for the post, and no one in their right mind would have voted for him outside the nationalist ranks. Could you imagine him sitting in the Speaker causing chaos and giving the SNP preferential treatment? When I hear he floated the idea as him as speaker, my first thought was immediately no, and secondly, why would he think MPs would vote for him when he and his party continually try to trash parliament? Did he simply come to the position that his past deeds somehow would be wiped clean? Please enjoy the video of Kay Burley questioning Pete Wishart, notice him squealing when asked about indyref 2 money.  

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Not a Hope in Hell, Gordon Brown-led pro right wing Labour think tank says Nicola Sturgeon should chair UK-wide climate agency, Nicola Sturgeon couldn't fake pass herself off as a green environmentalist, Sturgeon readily admits her inability to grow anything, or indeed save anything, Sturgeon chairing a UK-wide climate agency would be seen as a utter betrayal of the party and independence by SNP members

Dear All 

We are know that SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is looking for an escape route out of her current situation. Having destroyed Scotland at national and local government level, Sturgeon has it appears finally worked out that the longer she fails to deliver a second Scottish independence referendum, the more of the Nationalist community will turn against her. I think it would be fair comment to say that a huge chunk of the wider Yes movement have wised up to her game. Even within the SNP elected politicians, there is quiet dissent about the fact independence campaigning is effectively dead, and has been since Sturgeon took over the SNP leadership in 2014. In life imitating art, I am reminded of a cartoon character Judge Cal, Cal appeared in the comic strip 2000AD in the series of stories featuring the main character called Judge Dredd. Judge Cal was a madman who schemed his way into power by backstabbing, but he was so fearful of his fellow judges that he surrounded himself with his own external private army. This was due to him being totally mad and paranoid. In some ways you can see the Cal narrative played in Nicola Sturgeon. Sturgeon surrounded herself with sycophants, and then brought in her own private army in the shape of the Scottish Greens to hold a tight grasp of power. All the while, the party that she leads like Mega City One judges, voice their quiet disapproval which doesn't go un-noticed. I look at Nicola Sturgeon and see the Judge Cal episodes playing out in real life. During Cop26, an obsessed and clearly deranged Sturgeon has turned up to the Cop26 event, and used it as a personal jobs fair. The sight of her grabbing any world leader into an unofficial meeting to give the impression that she was at Cop26 in her own right is so laughable and sad. Cop26 is supposed to be about climate change, but Sturgeon is determined to hijack it at every opportunity for self promotion and job hunting. 

A key point to note is that SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon isn't an environmentalist! 

Nicola Sturgeon and her incompetent SNP Government has failed to climate change targets year in year out. No experience, no interest, and no deep understanding of the issues of climate change. The main problem facing the world is over population, it is not climate change, climate is a symptom of over population. Just as Nicola Sturgeon is planning to go at some stage, it seems that a think-tank has called for Nicola Sturgeon to chair a UK-wide agency on climate co-operation. Putting Nicola Sturgeon in charge of a UK-wide agency on climate co-operation is like putting a vegan in charge of an abattoir, it is a ludicrous suggestion, I can only assume that the pro-unionist think-tank, Our Scottish Future knows this. When you look at who is in Our Scottish Future, you maybe minded to opine that this is a front for the Labour Party, despite the fact it has Eddie Barnes listed in its who we are. It is not uncommon for political parties to setup front organisations, then these same organisations then echo a party's policies. The SNP did this during the 2014 referendum, they setup many Yes Groups, supposedly independent but who were run by SNP members. The most obvious SNP controlled group was Yes Scotland, run by the SNP, staffed by the SNP and funded by the SNP, with a few Greens and SSP as cover. 

So, what about Our Scottish Future, doing a casual search, leaving aside Gordon Brown who we already know is Labour, others listed have also Labour Party connections and former employment. So, I can assume that the think tanks suggestion will find no takers into two key places, the UK Government and the SNP Government. I am surprised that their suggestion would even rate as a viable proposition, I can only assume that they are doing this because they are under the misconception that this idea would boost Anas Sarwar as Labour leader going forward into the 2022 council elections and 2024 Westminster elections. Anas Sarwar isn't making an impact as leader, and polling for the party hovers around the 20% mark with a blip of 22% which shows, nothing that Sarwar does actually matters. London Labour will find that out to its cost in 2024, which I suspect will lead them to the pragmatic choice that they will need to put a new centre left in, which given the current cast of players, would mean Paul J Sweeney, Glasgow list MSP. 

One issue which they think tank doesn't grasp is that although Sturgeon wants to bail out, it was been seen as utter betrayal to join a UK Government agency, her name would be mud in the SNP. There would be no Winnie Ewing status afforded to her. Nicola Sturgeon probably had her sights set on a cosy EU job working in the Commission, but Brexit put pay to that idea. Other prestige organisations like the UN or the WHO are so far out of her reach, she wouldn't be able to scale those highs even with a B&Q extendable ladder. There is only one direction of travel for Nicola Sturgeon, downwards, talk of a university position is an option, but with her lack of teaching experience, and less than impressive pre politician work history, who wants to scrap the bottom of the barrel? Glasgow University or Herriot Watt? Could you imagine having your work marked by Nicola Sturgeon, you would looking for the appeals process even before you submitted an essay. 

If there is anyone who has the credibility to chair a UK Government agency on climate change from Scotland, it would have to be without question, former leader of the Scottish Greens, Robin Harper. Harper at least has green credentials, experience and importantly genuine interest in the subject. Harper has also been roped into Our Scottish Future camp chairing environmental commission. 

He said: 

“We need to co-operate rather than compete; we need constructive dialogue; and in the face of the environmental emergency that looms, we should be abandoning the toxic binary politics of today in favour of constructive dialogue.” 

His first sentence shows why Nicola Sturgeon would be unsuitable for the chair of a UK Government agency, two reasons, not a leader, and not a team player. Sturgeon has a known history of non cooperation with the UK Government and personal animosity with the ruling party in Westminster. Also if you look at the party she leads in Westminster, she is either complicit in their behaviour or failing in leadership to manage them as a discipline body. 

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:  

“The First Minister has made clear to world leaders and COP26 delegates Scotland will continue to lead by example on climate change issues.” 

Scotland isn't continuing to lead by example, the SNP failed to met their own targets. 

They add: 

“Scotland has decarbonised faster than any G20 nation and was the first devolved nation in the world to publish an indicative nationally determined contribution showing how we will help meet the objectives of the Paris agreement, pledging to cut emissions by three quarters by 2030, and to be net zero by 2045. Our updated climate change plan and associated commitments provide a clear and credible pathway, across all parts of the economy, to meeting Scotland’s emissions targets out to 2032.” 

I would assume that Nicola Sturgeon will have left politics by that time, and due to 'whatever', those targets will not be met. 

In the last part of the spokesperson's address, they said: 

“It is disappointing that any annual emissions targets have been missed, but we are proud to show our accountability by publishing a catch-up report setting out our commitments to going further in our policy approach in order to ensure we deliver on future targets. The proposals for any new body would need to be considered alongside other organisations that already advise and assess progress on Scotland’s just transition to net zero, such as the UK Climate Change Committee, Environmental Standards Scotland and the Just Transition Commission.” 

Finally, the SNP drone basically, they said, 'we failed, but we published a report', just like a new report will be produced when they fail to meet the future targets they failed to meet the last time. If you don't know what this is, I will explain, it is a 'paper chase', the purpose is to keep writing in order to buy time, so the agenda can move onto something else. As to Nicola Sturgeon, although she is keen to move onto new pastures, she deludes herself that there is a magic job tree at Cop26, and if she rattles the delegates then someone will come back with a plum job with big bucks, pension and perks. Every SNP leader prior to Nicola Sturgeon saw their career trajectory go right down the crapper, including Alex Salmond. If Salmond couldn't scale the heights, what chance does a Dreghorn hairy wee ned have? Nicola Sturgeon couldn't fake being a nice caring human being, even after a team did a makeover on her, what chance do you really think she could pass herself off as a green environmentalist?

Yours sincerely 

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University