EVER WONDERED?

Where they are? Those responsible for the mess that the NEC has become? Sometimes I get called all sorts, and then some, from a multitude of posters who I know nothing about. The only thing I know for sure are they are not members of the NEC.

It seems they can be safely deployed against what I am saying. They can claim everything I am saying is inaccurate, not true, false, take your pick. These are folk who have never been on the NEC, never been near being on the NEC, have not a scooby about what has really been going on, or more accurately what has not been going on. They are the useful token force all too ready to “die for the Party” arguing a case that doesn’t exist but full of accusations and insults that those who point an…

THE PROBLEMS OF WRITING A PRO INDY BLOG

By far the biggest is that SNP supporters expect every article to be positive about the Party. I would love that as well but what you are looking for there is a fanzine not a blog.

My blog is designed to praise all that is good and newsworthy and to chastise, expose and condemn anything I think is going wrong and damaging our drive for Independence. Note the phrasing “anything I think”, that is, it is my personal blog. Saying that, people hold the ultimate control, whether to read it or not!

Recently of course there have been more negative articles than positive ones, if you go back a bit further there was an imbalance the other way, with far more positive articles. Interestingly nobody complained then. I have no need of popularity, this is my hobby, I have no intention of…

This stroke has left me paralized down one side. It is still too early to say whether I will be left with a permanent disability but it is a very real possibility. What worries me most is that I live in a top floor tenement flat which is now totally unsuitable for my changed circumstances. I am doing this crowdfunder to raise money to put towards buying a wee cottage or a ground floor flat that can be adapted to my needs. I hope to raise £50,000 which is around what I would need after selling my wee Barlanark flat. It is a huge amount of money and I really don’t want to seem greedy or unreasonable. I am more grateful than you can posssibly imagine for all the love and support, it has far lifted my battered spirits.

You can donate directly to the crowdfunder on gofundme by clicking…

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND.

There is host of differences between Scotland and England when it comes to dealing with Covid. Let’s look at a few of them.

COMMUNICATION

Nicola has been justly praised for her communication. Throughout the crisis her message has been clear, her early commitment to explaining the thinking behind the decisions has been well received and has led to widespread public support for most of the measures that have been introduced. Jeanne Freeman has also been very effective.

In England the communication errors would be high up the list of Government failures. Messaging has been confused, the public have lost faith in the politicians and that has led to the explosion in infection levels. Now that crisis point has arrived, the UK Government have finally appointed a head communicator to take over the messaging. The good news for her is she can hardly do worse.

PPE…

AND NOT FOR THE BETTER.

It is one of the most important jobs in politics. It determines who the candidates will be for your Party.

In Scotland at the moment it probably means picking the next Government. So it’s a very important task and it is crucial it is carried out fairly and without bias.

Back in the day I served on the Vetting Committee and I frequently supported the applications of people who represented different views and strategies to my own. My consideration was solely “Is this person a credible and capable person who can represent the Party effectively in any election contest and would be a diligent MP?”

How the process worked at that time was the Party created a Central Approved Candidates List, once you were on the list you could approach constituencies you were interested in. Likewise Constituencies had access to the list and could contact…

Originally published in the National. Easily the best letter I have read this week.

Dear Sir,

In 1984 inOceania there was the inner party. In Scotland in 2020 there is the inner party. Kevin McKenna suggests that it is without pity. My concern would be that it appears to have a lack of morality.

In a way, it was a misfortune for the SNP to grow so quickly in the aftermath of the Referendum. What has previously been a small but active party grew into a party of which the headquarters were simply unable to deal with the growth, and for which the local branches had not the support to integrate the new members.

The much-vaunted direct democracy actually fell down in that while in the past the membership had known each other and could make informed choices, many members when confronted with a list…

THE PROBLEM WITH ASKING QUESTIONS

It is inevitable that there will be questions surrounding the activities of any political party. Normally these cause little problem and can be easily answered and explained to the satisfaction of all, or certainly the vast majority.

The problems only start when the questions are not answered and when those who should be doing the answering and explaining hide behind a wall of silence and evasion.

Such action makes things invariably worse than they need be. It convinces those asking the questions that there is indeed something here that can’t be answered without revealing something quite major, embarrassing or very wrong indeed. If the questions being asked are on very serious topics it is highly unlikely avoidance in answering will be a successful strategy. The problem will escalate with those determined to get the answers and seeking the appropriate measures taken to solve the problem.

THEY WONT BE SOLVED IF YOU DO THE ABOVE!

Have you forgotten about it yet? That is the tactics, by now you are expected to have forgotten all about the NEC and “moved on”. Oh you were mad alright, many wrote in. How many got a reply? Not a lot of hands up I see. How many got an honest reply? Not a hand in sight.

What has happened to the SNP?. The party that for decades prided itself on its open, honest, accountable structure has been replaced by a NEC embroiled in internal plots, secret ballots that destroy all accountability, rule changes designed to pull a drawbridge up stopping any outsiders (for that read ordinary members) challenging those currently in power and make it very difficult to achieve personnel change.

To this end, they control the reconstructed NEC secretly blocking MP’s at Westminster contesting seats for Holyrood while dusting…

DON’T BURY YOUR HEAD OR HIDE AWAY.

Here are some facts

1. Alex Salmond was falsely accused with multiple charges being made against him.
2. Long before any trial the “charges” were maliciously leaked to a newspaper.
3. This led to a media frenzy that championed the multi charges from so many different women as evidence there was no hope of acquittal.
4. Throughout the trial media reports were extremely hostile largely reporting the prosecution evidence while ignoring the defence evidence that effectively destroyed the prosecution case.
5. During the trial Mr Salmond’s defence team tried to lodge a number of WhatsApp messages that they argued proved a clearly planned conspiracy against him. The judge did not permit them to be lodged.
6. The trial ended with every single charge being thrown out by a jury comprised of more women than men. Not a single charge was upheld.
7. Much of the prosecution case was shown up…