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12 eggs, 1 basket

Posted on December 17, 2014 by

An alert reader pointed us to the Labour “situations vacant” page:

slabjob

Let’s do the sums on that.

We’ll assume the latter roles (“until one month after the next General Election”) are going to last for five months by the time the positions are filled. That means we have to divide the salaries by 5/12. So the total expenditure will be:

1 x General Secretary @ £54,016.30 + £2,249 = £56,265.30

1 x Trainee Organiser @ (22,547.61)*5/12 + £971 = £10,365.84

10 x Campaign Assistant @ (17,580.20)*5/12 + £358 = £76,830.84

GRAND TOTAL: £143,461.98

Scottish Labour’s total revenue from membership fees and fundraising in 2013 was £165,864. (The “party”, or Accounting Unit to give it its accurate Electoral Commission designation, posted a loss of £20,562 for the full year, and that was after a massive bailout of almost £300,000 from the UK party coffers.)

Which means Scottish Labour is basically spending every penny it raised in a whole year on a General Secretary and an office full of five-month temps. We’d expect things to be pretty quiet from June onwards if we were you, folks.

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  1. 17 12 14 13:00

    12 eggs, 1 basket | FreeScotland

  2. 17 12 14 13:43

    12 eggs, 1 basket - Speymouth

129 to “12 eggs, 1 basket”

  1. Calum Craig says:

    The Campaign Assistant roles are pro rata so presumably won’t actually be paid the full 17k depending on how many hours they actually work.

    But still…

    Reply
  2. gillie says:

    Does that mean Jim Murphy will have to cap in hand to Ed Miliband?

    “Please, sir, I want some more”.

    Reply
  3. bookie from hell says:

    Scots have the highest level of council tax arrears and payday loan debts in the UK, according to debt charity figures.

    StepChange said 39% of Scots who appealed for help in the first six months of the year were in arrears on their council tax bill.

    Those who had fallen behind with payments owed an average of £1,534 – almost double the UK figure of £798.

    The average payday loan debt of Scottish clients was £1,438, around £129 more than the UK figure.

    The charity advised 4,369 people in Scotland in the six months to June.

    In its report, Scotland in the Red, StepChange also highlighted the increasing number of people falling behind on essential household bills.

    The charity’s Scottish clients had the largest average electricity arrears (£616) in the UK.

    Reply
  4. Is that the Scottish Labour Party or the Labour Party in Scotland …

    I’m confused; sounds like the politics from the Life of Brian.

    Reply
  5. Bob Sinclair says:

    Looks like the Scottish Labour Party are too wee, too poor & too stupid.

    Reply
  6. Seasick Dave says:

    They might not get that many applicants.

    Reply
  7. Doug Daniel says:

    Remember that the General Secretary will actually be paid through the UK party, hence why they’re able to sack them. Not only does this highlight that Labour in Scotland quite simply is a branch office (rather than simply being run “like” one), but with SNP branches averaging around 1,000 members now, there must be a few that will generate almost as much membership and fundraising revenues as the entire of Scottish Labour.

    Reply
  8. Caroline Corfield says:

    These figures are a symptom of the cognitive dissonance that plagues the Red Tories. They simply can’t acknowledge to themselves the predicament they’re in, so they continue to believe their own lies. This might have moved their ‘mental’ state into something slightly more serious, paranoid delusions of grandeur.

    It has been the downfall of many powerful groups of people through the ages. For us this is more evidence of a ‘good thing’ for the pro-independence movement.

    Reply
  9. Gary says:

    Just proves what we already knew; Labour is no longer a party of its members. Money comes from big business into “think tanks” and “policy units” who pay for the admin of the party thus avoiding the rules on donations and lobbying. The members needs are ignored..

    Reply
  10. Valerie says:

    @Bob Sinclair, you win!

    Reply
  11. nae red tories says:

    I’m sorry, but it’s difficult to take this seriously with such skewed figures……

    You use income from 2013 and, as such, don’t take into account the number of members who left the party over them climbing into bed with the tories in the referendum. 😀

    Reply
  12. Grizzle McPuss says:

    Is there small print at the bottom of the advert that states…”Bring your own pencil” ?

    Reply
  13. David Doherty says:

    If you add national insurance, pension contributions and so on it is probably more than last year’s total revenue. Labour have an advantage with lots of ‘research money’ as they have so many elected MP’s, whereas the SNP/Greens will not have much state funding at all.

    The system is rigged to favour the big parties who are already elected.

    Reply
  14. Marco McGinty says:

    Let’s hope that this time round, instead of going to England for their printing needs, the General Secretary can actually find a Scottish printer to produce their campaigning materials.

    link to flickr.com

    Reply
  15. Cookie says:

    one of the temps is a “trainee organiser”.who recruits a trainee for a short term fixed contract ?
    Not much training for the trainee then. Or are they being trained to go back on dole?

    Reply
  16. Devorgilla says:

    The Telegraph was reporting Murphy’s big talk after his election, on how he was going to re-write Clause Four and not take any orders from Miliband. But how on earth is he going to do that when the Scottish party doesn’t even wash its face?

    Reply
  17. MekQuarrie says:

    Short money..?

    Reply
  18. So it’s quite obvious that SLab is too wee and too poor to be independent of their London masters.

    And yet Jimmy still reckons he wont dance to Millibands tune.

    Reply
  19. Roll_On_2014 says:

    How’s this for spin:

    The Scottish Labour leader (Jim Murphy) says he will be working out of the Scottish Parliament despite not being an MSP.

    At the foot of the article it says:

    A Scottish Parliament spokesman confirmed Mr Murphy had been given a regular visitor’s pass, but said he had not been allocated his own office.

    So it appears oor Jim is working out of a cupboard. What universe does he live in… a parallel one apparently!

    Reply
  20. handclapping says:

    Wowee, I knew they were short of boots on the ground but if they are having to pay people to put up a show … just wow!

    Which will be the lucky 10? Is it to be Glasgow NE, Kirkcaldy, Coatbridge etc. to prevent a wipe out or Stirling, Ayr, Falkirk etc. to reduce the SNP inroads?

    Reply
  21. Jim Murpy will be answering your questions on air at 11.00am this Sunday!

    Reply
  22. drawdeaddave says:

    They could fund the Scottish branch through Mr Murphy’s expenses claims as a WM MP, maybe have a whip round among the other Labour troughers at WM like Maggie “we voted against fracking” Curran, i know that’s just silly as they would never put their hands in their own pockets when they can dip ours…

    Reply
  23. I thought Murphy said the Labour party in Scotland had 20,000 members and they paid £40 each which would mean £800,000 ,plenty money ,they could even afford to pay Brown for a couple of speeches or Darling for maybe 10 speeches.
    Although once they get Murphys bill for expenses they will need to keep a large chunk of the money.

    Reply
  24. abystander says:

    Who are these contractsof employment with?

    The Scottish Labour Party ( is theresuch an entity?) or

    The Labour Party?

    If the latter Jim Murphy cannot hire or fire these people.

    Reply
  25. allan thomson says:

    Not much left for the rent and energy bills! HE WHO PAYS THE PIPER CALLS THE TUNE?

    Reply
  26. joe kane says:

    Get Jingo Jim, anti-nationalist patriot and Campaigner of the Year, to go on a 100 crate tour to rattle the tin for his beloved Scottish patriot party. I’d hate to think his irrational Unionist blather was being subsidised by non-patriots.

    If Jingo almost single-handedly saved the Union and is now going to make Scotland the fairest country history has ever known, surely making his own Scottish red tories financially self-sufficient and solvent ought to be a skoosh?

    Reply
  27. @Roll_On_2014
    Remember Murphy spent some of his youth living in a drawer, according to his master McTernan,so maybe he would find the thought of working out of a cupboard or any furniture weirdly enjoyable.

    Reply
  28. Juteman says:

    Bought and sold for English gold.
    Again and again and again.

    Reply
  29. alexicon says:

    @cynicalhighlander.

    Murphy has said that he’ll listen and do what the Scottish people want.
    Now wouldn’t it be good if someone phoned him on this show and asked him if he’ll be pushing for FFA considering the fact that opinion polls have consistently shown that over 2/3 of the Scottish people want FFA.
    I bet he wriggle out of it.

    Reply
  30. Onwards says:

    Gordon will have some time to sook up to Harry Potter for another hand-out.
    Apparently JK Rowling wanted devo-max, but some vague promises of federalism should do the trick.

    Reply
  31. donald anderson says:

    I’ll take the job – providing they agree to a Scottish Socialist Republic.

    Reply
  32. John says:

    ‘”Extensive knowledge of the Scottish political landscape and the Labour Party in Scotland….”

    Who do we know who could tick all those boxes?

    Not sure if they’ll offer you a relocation package from Bath though?

    Reply
  33. Bob Sinclair says:

    It would be an awful shame if their mail room got swamped with thousands of applications. Just saying.

    Reply
  34. Embradon says:

    Wonder how UKLAB are doing for funding. Can’t imagine anyone seeing them as an investment.
    Their credit and o/d at the Co-op bank must be tricky too.

    Reply
  35. Marco McGinty says:

    @cynicalHighlander
    “Jim Murpy will be answering your questions on air at 11.00am this Sunday!”

    No he won’t! He’ll conveniently sidestep all questions, whilst gibbering on about being a patriotic Scot, along with talk of his dislike for the nationalists, and much anti-SNP/anti-independence propaganda.

    Expect many lies!

    Reply
  36. Skip_NC says:

    Bob Sinclair, what a wicked thought! Now where’s that old copy of my resume (as we call it here stateside).

    Reply
  37. Jim Thomson says:

    @Embradon they may have moved their debt already. This from about 6 months ago …

    link to bbc.co.uk

    Reply
  38. think again says:

    Must be having a senior moment. I looked at electoral commission yesterday and found the Scottish Labour Party accounts. Having cheched earlier it said down for planned maintenance and more recently it is back up.

    But I can

    Reply
  39. Callum says:

    Bookie from hell:

    not sure where you got your figures from, but this is a handy tool for figuring out household secured and unsecured debt: link to stepchange.org

    If you cick on “unsecured debt” (which is the very worst kind) you’ll find that Scotland is middling of all areas of the survey.

    If you click on “Surplus Deficit and all age ranges” you’ll see that it is the south east of England that lives outside it’s means. How the irony given that the area also lives outside of it’s means by being subsidised by the rest of the UK.

    Reply
  40. think again says:

    Checked Electoral Commission website yesterday and found Scottish Labour Accounts.

    Looked again today – down for planned maintenance – back up now but can`t find the Scottish Labour Party at all.

    Senior moment?? can anyone else find them please?

    link to electoralcommission.org.uk

    Reply
  41. AnneDon says:

    At least we know North British Labour don’t have to spend their budget on advertising.

    Pacific Quay handle all that for them – for free.

    Reply
  42. joe kane says:

    Scottish donations for Scottish parties!

    Reply
  43. Jim Graham says:

    I tweeted weeks ago suggesting that this initiative would be supported like the Better Together campaign, i.e. by rich Tories. I was not joking then and I’m not joking now.

    Reply
  44. Marco McGinty says:

    @abystander
    “Who are these contracts of employment with? The Scottish Labour Party (is there such an entity?) or The Labour Party?”

    Considering the applications should be submitted to a Labour Party email address (and not a Scottish Labour Party address), I think we can safely assume that it will be the Labour Party.

    Indeed, I do not believe there is such a thing as a Scottish Labour email address. If you want to contact Scottish Labour by email, the address is of the dominant UK Labour Party (scotland@labour.org.uk), so it would appear that Scottish Labour cannot even be trusted with their own email system!

    Scottish Labour, under total control from England!

    Reply
  45. ronnie anderson says:

    O/T sos Stu. John Bercow MP ( speaker ) on a point of order 2.30 app, gave the british public a new description of a MP in calling the MP for Birmingham (yardley) a DISTINGUISHED ORNAMENT.He must have been made in the Potteries.

    Carfull now how we handle Murph he,s Fragile

    link to youtube.com

    the auld wans ur the best.

    Reply
  46. De Valera says:

    Labour’s Scottish branch has become like Woolworths in its declining years, hardly anyone uses it, but it seems to give some people reassurance that a name from their childhood is still there.

    Reply
  47. Devorgilla says:

    Wasn’t the reason Johann Lamont resigned because London Labour sacked her General Secretary in Scotland? Won’t it be London who hires? And why would Milband hire somebody Jim might favour if Jim is plotting against him, undermining his authority by saying he won’t be taking any orders from Miliband?

    Reply
  48. robertknight says:

    “The successful candidate will have extensive experience of dissembling, sucking up to party cronies in the mainstream media, forelock tugging in the presence of anyone with a home-counties accent and a cheque book, and substantive experience of bowing whilst walking backwards when exiting a room; in the unlikely event that they be summoned to appear in person at One Brewer’s Green.”

    Sound like anybody we know?

    Reply
  49. Sonas says:

    London hires, Scotland pays. Sounds familiar.

    Maybe they have huge endowments to live off???

    Reply
  50. @alexicon
    @Marco McGinty

    One has the right to reply to his answer there and then as Ally is fair and takes no sides, just be polite.

    Reply
  51. @alexicon
    @Marco McGinty

    One has the right to reply to his answer there and then as Ally is fair and takes no sides, just be polite.

    Reply
  52. CameronB Brodie says:

    This might make you smile, despite the naz…nast…nationalist, divisive, separatist slurs and the myopia towards Scotland’s natural wealth. You should perhaps ignore the fact that the author appears ignorant of the fact the Britain is not a country and the delusion that the UK’s economy is in any way healthy. Yawn.

    P.S. Neo-cons want to shrink the state, in terms of it’s financial responsibility, whilst concentrating and entrenching power in the center (i.e. Warminster).

    link to economist.com

    You can almost smell the Establishment’s fear of the unknown, as their center of gravity shift uncomfortably, and they face the precipice before them. Next step oblivion. 🙂

    Reply
  53. drawdeaddave says:

    Bob Sinclair says:
    17 December, 2014 at 1:31 pm
    It would be an awful shame if their mail room got swamped with thousands of applications. Just saying.

    I like the cut of your jib Bob.

    Reply
  54. Rolf says:

    Yes, but having the BBC Scotland branch and all newspapers (bar one) to promote your message is priceless.

    Reply
  55. Sinky says:

    Note that applications are sent to London Labour HQ and London HQ will be paying for these jobs. Labour in Scotland the perpetual subsidy junkies.

    Reply
  56. Jim Thomson says:

    @think again 1:44pm

    Link to main page about party accounts:
    link to electoralcommission.org.uk

    or, you can go onto this page and filter your search for individual parties:
    link to pefonline.electoralcommission.org.uk

    The latest filed accounts I can find are for 2011.

    Reply
  57. richardcain2 says:

    I’m intrigued as to what a “calendar week” is…..
    Is that different from another kind of week? The 8-day variety that the Beatles sang of perhaps?

    Reply
  58. Jim Thomson says:

    O/T

    The National are seeking opinions via SurveyMonkey here:

    link to surveymonkey.com

    Reply
  59. wingman 2020 says:

    @Bob Sinclair

    I fancy my chances

    Reply
  60. Maxx Macc says:

    SLAB are spending all their money on three salaries. Nicola Sturgeon has just spent all the SNP money on a pointless ego boosting tour. We must keep our eyes open to what is happening in the SNP as it is too important not to.

    Reply
  61. CameronB Brodie says:

    @ Bagehot (Economist Britnat)
    Here’s an academic voice from England. 😉

    link to salterlee.wordpress.com

    Reply
  62. Wullie says:

    I think the people of England should be told that Scotch labour junkies are sponging off them yet again.

    Reply
  63. Dr Ew says:

    If Jim Murphy is indeed going to be “answering questions live on Clyde 2” this Sunday at 11am, can we use Wings to a battery of “alert” callers? Much as I enjoy the jokes and banter of the comments section, we have an opportunity to put this ("Quizmaster" - Ed) of neo-cons behind the 8-ball.

    Can I suggest we have a range of well-researched questions ready? Here’s a few suggestions for starters:
    1) You said you would raise £250m by raising the top rate of income tax to 50% for the 16,000 Scots earning more than £150k (these are all figures he quoted). That works out at an average of £15,626 per high rate taxpayer – assuming none of them change their residency or tax arrangements to avoid paying. Given the Labour Party in 2010 only expected to raise £100-£150m from a similar tax hike across the WHOLE of the UK, how do you expect you can raise £250m from such a small tax base?

    2) Assuming the Smith Commission recommendations are implemented, will this additional revenue raised via your proposed income tax hike not simply trigger a corresponding downward adjustment in the Scottish block grant via the Barnett Formula? In which case, wouldn’t those 16,000 Scottish residents be paying substantially more tax for no additional benefit to Scottish revenues?

    3) You claimed last week there were 20,000 members of the Labour Party in Scotland – between 6 and 7,000 more than had previously been claimed. Can you confirm these are 20,000 individual paid-up members with full voting rights, and not counting (or double-counting) people who pay the trade union political levy or counting people who are members of affliated Labour Social Clubs?

    4) Are you willing to allow independent verifcation of Scottish Labour’s membership (if he responds “Why?” the comeback would be “Because there are serious concerns you have deliberately misled the public and your own party over the number of members).

    5) How many individuals voted in the one member, one vote college of your recent leadership election? Why only publish percentages? Are you ashamed of the actual numbers?

    6) You also asserted people could join the SNP for as little as £1 but that it cost £40 to join Labour. That’s not true, is it Mr Murphy?

    7) The SNP has at least 95,000 individual members, the Scottish Greens at least 8,000 individual members and the Scottish Socialist Party at least 3,000 individual members. How many individual members does Scottish Labour have?

    8) How did you manage to attend university for nine years on a full grant without graduating? What were you doing all that time? Why didn’t you graduate?

    9) Was it this experience that prompted you to lead a purge against NUS members who objected to Labour’s support for abolishing the grant system?

    10) What prompted you to join the right-wing think-tank / lobby group the Henry Jackson Society? What aims do you share with neo-cons like Richard Perle and Douglas Murray?

    11) Do you agree Tony Blair misled Parliament and the public when he cited a British Intelligence dossier saying Saddam Hussein had WMD capability that could be launched against British targets within 45 minutes?

    12) Do you support calls for Police Scotland to conduct a full investigation into claims rendition flights of tortured prisoners were permitted to land at Scottish airports?

    13) If it is found that rendition flights were permitted with complicity of Scottish or UK government ministers or officials, do you agree this is a breach of Scots, British, European and International laws and treaties? If so, should those who were party to those decisions be charged?

    14) Were you party to any of those decisions, Mr Murphy? Were you aware of any individuals who were? Would you testify to that in a court of law, Mr Murphy?

    15) Do you feel it was morally correct to let out your London residence when it was being paid for by taxpayers?

    16) Are you embarrassed by the fact your expenses claims are amongst the largest at Westminster?

    These are all pretty much of the top of my (flu-addled) head. Please feel free to discuss, amend, add, correct or refine.

    Whatever we ask, let’s make sure we organise to ensure the hard questions get put and put again, every time he appears on a public platform. Eventually people – and maybe even some journalists! – might realise it is in the interests of democracy this man is held to account – regardless of personal views on Labour or Scottish Independence.

    Reply
  64. think again says:

    @Jim Thomson 2.20pm

    Thanks Jim. I have been back in again and restricted search to Labour, it throws up 691 items on 28 pages and is more or less in date order. 2013 is on page 28.

    The reason I was looking was to see what happened in the last GE year and income increased due to donations and conferences although the donations are not identified.

    Membership income seems to be pretty variable. I expect that they will fund a GE pretty well and their accounts say in the past they contributed towards salaries with all other staff costs being met by the National Party. Audit fees are met from national budget.

    Expect another large donation or two next year whether from unions or supporters.

    Reply
  65. Jim Mitchell says:

    I see that if you click on their page that you have to reply to an e mail address, the only postal address given is for London.

    There’s a surprise!

    Reply
  66. Bugger (the Panda) says:

    Who pays Blair McDougall’s wodge?

    He is still lurking, I believe?

    Reply
  67. john king says:

    Roll_ on_ 2014 says
    “So it appears oor Jim is working out of a cupboard. What universe does he live in… a parallel one apparently!”

    He he,
    He could aye bunk up wi oor kez
    link to youtube.com
    🙂

    Reply
  68. JakeDM says:

    O/T – EBC Scotland News site is looking for opinions on the content of their website – Was scouring the red-top site and it popped up.

    I think I may have ripped them a new one…. constructively of course 🙂 Aye richt!

    J

    Reply
  69. Fred says:

    The Red Branch in ancient Irish history was divided into two houses, the “Croeb Derg” the Bright Red Branch and the “Cruab Ruad” the Dull Red Branch. Guess whit wan we’ve got?

    Slainte’ 🙂

    Reply
  70. Lollysmum says:

    Stu
    You’re forgetting Employers NI contributions at around 11.5% of salary in addition to salaries

    Reply
  71. steveasaneilean says:

    Brilliant list of questions DrEw
    How come supposed journalists don’t ask oir politicians questions like this? It’s not very hard is it?

    Reply
  72. Wullie says:

    I think the good people of England should be told that the Scotch labour people are sponging off them yet again. If the labour party in England cared about the poor in their own country as they purport to do, then any monies that they have should go to those in most need, Im sure the money would be pumped into food banks all over England If the Scotch labour party [ha efin ha] needs money they can raise their own. Appears to be that the Scotch labour lot are to wee and to poor.

    Reply
  73. Fred says:

    Cameron Brodie, many thanks for that insight.

    Reply
  74. Haggis Hunter says:

    All a game;
    London will continue to fund Slab.
    Murphy pretends that he will make all the decisions and London can go fekk itself.
    Milliband goes along with it.
    Murphy pretends to be for Scotland when really all he cares about is British labour.

    Its like Queen Victoria loving her Highlands because she and her buddies owned it all, meanwhile her people were emptying every Glen of people, with fire, stravation and brute force.

    Reply
  75. Clootie says:

    Bugger (the Panda) says:
    17 December, 2014 at 3:01 pm

    I assumed this was a created job in order for Mr McDougall to continue his current programme of disinformation under a new budget.

    I will be surprised if he doesn’t get it! The advert “in Labour minds” fits him.

    Reply
  76. Graeme Doig says:

    Cameron B

    Cheers for the links to some interesting stuff.

    Dr Ew

    Excellent! I think your flu addled head would have him face first in his own dung pretty quickly 🙂

    Reply
  77. A2 says:

    Add into that sum the cost of the people they already employ!

    Maybe this is where they got the subsidy junkie idea from!

    Reply
  78. Rab.c says:

    As a quid pro pro will Nicola be receiving a permanent pass and facilities at Westminster

    Reply
  79. Nana Smith says:

    Sorry for O/T but the bedroom tax is being debated in parliament and I’m hearing Eilidh Whiteford has ripped into Cameron

    link to twitter.com

    Reply
  80. Jim McIntosh says:

    @Rab.c

    I was thinking the same. What right does he have to have any input into what goes on at Hollyrood.

    It’s ironic that if he interferes with legislation up here whilst still an MP it surely makes the case even more clearer that Scottish Labour are just a branch office of UK Labour.

    Reply
  81. Jim McIntosh says:

    ‘It makes the case even more clearer” – I speekie de good ingleesh 🙂

    Reply
  82. unclebob says:

    Jim Murphy’s 9 years at Uni? Might it have gone like this?

    Standard Scottish Ordinary degree takes 3 years to PASS
    Honours Degree takes 4 years to PASS.
    (Usually funding is given for 4 years for a degree, college funding is not counted in this 4 years)

    So
    Year 1 Passes 1st year Uni Funded
    Year 2 Fails 2nd year Uni Funded
    Year 3 Repeats 2nd year and passes Funded
    Year 4 NUS sabbatical Salaried
    Year 5 2nd NUS sabbatical Salaried
    Year 6 Fails 3rd Year Uni Funded
    Year 7 Repeats and fails 3rd year No funding
    Year 8
    Year 9

    So, even if he did 5 years at Uni and didn’t pass and did two NUS sabbatical years (which can happen) what did he do for the other two years?

    Alternatively maybe he didn’t have the qualifications to go to Uni but worked his way up via a college HND?

    So
    Year 1 HNC at college
    Year 2 HND at college
    Year 3 Passes 1st year at Uni Funded
    Year 4 Fails second year at Uni Funded
    Year 5 NUS sabbatical
    Year 6 Passes 2nd year at Uni Funded
    Year 7 Fails 3rd year at Uni Funded
    Year 8 2nd NUS sabbatical
    Year 9 Fails 3rd year once again at Uni. Not funded

    Please, please if anyone knows the truth about this 9 year failure in his Education let us all know.

    Reply
  83. Lollysmum says:

    Doesn’t JM already have a constituency office & a Glasgow campaign office (where Sara Robb works) for which he claims expenses from the taxpayer. I hope he is being invoiced by Scot Parliament for his cubbyhole there because you can bet he will be claiming for it.

    Reply
  84. velofello says:

    Frankly, Scotland would be well rid of Scottish labour. A credible opposition to the SNP is needed but the crass behaviour of Labour at Holyrood has served no purpose.

    Johann Lamont, foolishly simply read our the script given to her, oft times without really comprehending the content, but look at the cold shoulder treatment now being dished out to her by the Creepy Jim team. A week or so ago Lamont was their branch leader.

    Reply
    • donald anderson says:

      Unite will probably help to fund them instead of pulling out of the Lumpen Party as promised if the Smurph won the Deputy Dawg leadership.

      Reply
  85. Lollysmum says:

    The ad for General Secretary role description includes ‘efficient organisation of the Scottish Labour Party’

    I reckon the eventual postholder might have more success in herding free range chickens 🙂

    Reply
  86. farrochie says:

    Roll_On_2014 says:
    17 December, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    How’s this for spin:

    The Scottish Labour leader (Jim Murphy) says he will be working out of the Scottish Parliament despite not being an MSP.

    “working out of the Scottish Parliament”. ie He’ll not actually be in the SP. Remember we’ve got a snake oil salesman here.

    Reply
  87. manandboy says:

    MURPHY’S GE15 CAMPAIGN – ARE YOU READY?

    English Labour’s campaign in Scotland to GE15, will be dominated by Jim Murphy – on BBC TV & Radio and in all the papers including The Herald on Sunday and The National.

    Jim is not a delegating kind of guy, and as well as that, he doesn’t represent the majority of Scottish MP’s or MSP’s so he wouldn’t trust any of them to speak for him, and none of them in any event, will be in the loop with Ed Milliband, John McTernan and whoever represents David Cameron.

    Using the same strategy and tactics of the No Campaign but with different key phrases and slogans to be drip fed into the subconscious of the unsuspecting public, Jim will appear on daily TV, targeting the one million elderly voters in Scotland, together with all the Labour voters who haven’t yet come to their senses, plus the one million die-hard staunch unionists.

    That’s all he has to do. The Papers and the TV journalists will do the rest. Plus a wee bit of leafleting and tying ‘Vote Labour’ cards on lamp posts courtesy of the Orange Order. Oh, nearly forgot, rent-a-crowd of 15 or 20 activists carrying placards for pics and videos of Jim in busy high streets.

    All carefully choreographed by Mr McTernan and the backroom band of Tory-paid strategists from the No Campaign.

    Plus an egg thrower complete with fake SNP ID.

    We will have to be on our toes with this mob and keep our minds clear and eyes peeled, to cover another dirty tricks campaign which will attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate once again.

    For the Independence movement, being naive, trusting and inexperienced has to be transformed into being astute, with some guile added and a sober sense of who and what we are dealing with, viz.a pack of political wolves.

    The referendum is over but Scottish Independence has yet to be settled. Murphy’s job is to bury Independence and the SNP. With the full backing of the recently awakened British State he will succeed – unless we stop him by doing something about it.

    Doing nothing does nothing.

    Let’s get ACTIVE.

    Reply
  88. farrochie says:

    In today’s National, Simon Pia writes:

    With Murphy there is steel and ruthlessness….If anyone doesn’t match up, they’ll get the chop. Just like Johann Lamont.

    So was it Murphy who gave Johann the chop? I thought Maggie Curran claimed that honour, but then again:

    Margaret Curran: “It wisnae me.” link to bbc.co.uk

    Reply
  89. David says:

    12 eggs, one basket case. The prognosis is not good for the Labour Party in Scotland.

    Reply
  90. Chic McGregor says:

    Bookie

    See William Duguid’s ‘Winter Wogaland’ song.

    Reply
  91. Chic McGregor says:

    Frigging KB that should be ‘Wongaland’

    Reply
  92. @Dr Ew

    Great questions.

    Reply
  93. @Dr Ew

    Great questions.

    Reply
  94. Murray McCallum says:

    SLAB are dependent on Southern British income. It’s not surprising that they associate and project their own dependency across the whole of Scotland.

    This is financial dependency is one of the few “powers” Ed Miliband has over the bold New, Social Progressive Jim.

    Reply
  95. Clootie says:

    manandboy says:
    17 December, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    Good article on Bella covering the same idea.
    link to bellacaledonia.org.uk

    Reply
  96. yesindyref2 says:

    @Rev This doesn’t look right to me. As well as what Doug Daniel says about the paymaster, unless that’s changed since London got rid of her gen sec without her say so, I seem to remember reading that Labour councillors give 10% of their salaries to the party coffers, and perhaps the same for MPs and MSPs?

    That makes a lot more funds available.

    Reply
  97. Luigi says:

    Jim Murphy:

    “We won’t lose a single seat to the SNP”

    Now there’s a hostage to fortune, if ever there was one.

    But why would the arch schemer make such a brash prediction. Unless he has been assured by the powers that be that this will indeed happen. What’s behind this irrational confidence?

    I am slightly concerned.

    Reply
  98. Chic McGregor says:

    Uncle Bob

    He did the two year NUS sabbatical after the 9 years at Strathclyde IIRCC. He also had a sabbatical for president of the students union.

    When I was at uni you got up to 5 years funding. 4 years honours with one repeat year if needed.

    Reply
  99. Chic McGregor says:

    “We won’t lose a single seat to the SNP”

    Uncharacteristically reasonable prediction. 😉

    Reply
  100. Luigi says:

    Perhaps he just had a George Robertson moment:

    “Jim Murphy will kill the SNP, stone dead”

    Reply
  101. Geoff Huijer says:

    I’m hoping it will be very quiet after May as a result of their MP count being in (very low) single figures.

    Reply
  102. Cookie says:

    jim murphy student politics included sabbatical posts as:
    strathclyde uni president
    NUS Scotland president
    NUS UK president.
    Might have been 2years at each?
    6years in student politics?

    Reply
  103. raiderdave says:

    @Luigi @ 4:57pm

    Murphy is making statements he believes in. He is a sociopath. A dangerous one politically.

    Definition:

    sociopath

    A person with antisocial personality disorder. Probably the most widely recognized personality disorder. A sociopath is often well liked because of their charm and high charisma, but they do not usually care about other people. They think mainly of themselves and often blame others for the things that they do. They have a complete disregard for rules and lie constantly. They seldom feel guilt or learn from punishments. Though some sociopaths have become murders, most reveal their sociopathy through less deadly and sensational means.

    Unfortunately there are many more like him in Westminster.

    Reply
  104. Finnz says:

    I’m sure such luminaries as J K Rowling will be coughing up the readies for their party of choice…

    Reply
  105. Truth says:

    Are any unemployed Wingers going to supply for the jobs.

    What an opportunity we have here.

    Reply
  106. Ken500 says:

    The Bankers and tax evaders will foot the Bill, for favours.

    The Johnston Press (Scotsman) prints their literature.

    Newquest (Herald) prints Westminster literature.

    Lucrative contracts worth £thousands,keeps them afloat. They are printing companies. Newspapers divisions are a side line.

    The Labour/Unionist trolls have deserted the Scotsman website as per instructions. Daily Record has banned comments since the VOW.

    All the Unionist political Parties are £Millions in debt, in the Banker’s pocket.

    The SNP is totally funded by it’s members, (crowd funded) so does not have to be influenced by interest groups. One of the reason for it’s success.

    Reply
  107. PictAtRandom says:

    The details of office expenses set against membership are reminiscent of a football club that’s got false ideas about its fanbase. There’s the example of Gretna F.C. of course, propped up by money from outside, and they were always going to run into trouble. But maybe the real comparison would be with someone like East Fife — if they were delusional about past glories and expected 20,000 to roll through the turnstiles.

    Reply
  108. Ken500 says:

    The only thing Miliband has in his favour, is his distance from the illegal War. That’s is the only reason he is (lame duck) leader.

    Appointing Murphy leader in Scotland is like imposing the Poll Tax on Scotland. A lame duck leader, with destructive baggage. Every time he appears people are reminded of the illegal War, torture, banker fraud, tax evasion, illegal expenses claims, secrecy and lies.

    Reply
  109. Ken500 says:

    Members of their families will already be lined up for the jobs. Keep it in the family, the Labour Mafia. Just like BBC. The political cronies get the job.

    Reply
  110. Paula Rose says:

    “We won’t lose a single seat to the SNP”

    Nope – dozens.

    Reply
  111. gman says:

    Hay, at least the add didn’t include the following:

    ‘ideally pro-Union, pro-unions, against ever-closer union.’

    Unlike this employing for ian davidson:

    link to w4mpjobs.org

    Reply
    • donald anderson says:

      Preferably a Rangers fan with Sash and flute.

      Reply
  112. Barontorc says:

    Yep, DA – ‘a Rangers fan with Sash and flute’ would fit nicely into the Smurph’s political chicanery and be ever so ecumenical and inclusive to boot!

    So that definitely means Bliar McDougall’s a shoe-in for the job and he’ll already know of oodles of office space available down Ibrox way too – and going very cheap I hear. It’s all win-win for Smurph!

    Nicely done and an easy commute to Pathetic Quay each day as well. What could be better?

    Reply
    • donald anderson says:

      Reply to Barontorc
      An alert reader pointed us to the Labour “situations vacant” page: Let’s do the sums on that.

      “Yep, DA – ‘a Rangers fan with Sash and flute’ would fit nicely into the Smurph’s political chicanery and be ever so ecumenical and inclusive to boot!”

      I meant Iain Davidson’s crony joab ad. The Celtic Board and Smurph are even more loyal, Royal and Unionist than that.

      Reply
  113. PictAtRandom says:

    It’s the fitba thread. The other analogy that occurs to me re “we won’t lose a single seat” is Craig Levein’s boast about how he wasn’t going to lose any points in a group that contained Belgium, Serbia, Croatia…
    But if Labour start playing 4-6-0 at Holyrood, could that be a way of shielding Kezia from the nippy tackling of Nicola (Krancjar)?

    Reply
  114. Dr Jim says:

    I can get a pass to visit Holyrood, does that mean i can be the Labour leader?, I just remembered, i’m an SNP member, they might let me look in a cupboard, coz the Smurph isnae even allowed that Oh the joy, the joy…I am Alex Salmond…

    Reply
  115. manandboy. Some of us have already been out on the streets for the last two months, and after a short break over the festive season, we’ll be back with even more intensity. Thats how we, at least in our constituency, won the referendum, and we are determined to overcome a sizeable Labour majority and return an S.N.P M.P.

    Reply
  116. Mike says:

    What this article highlights is evidence of illicit hidden funding of political parties and policy.
    By showing clearly the official income and expected open expenditure of the Labour party we see as clear as daylight a HUGE “DECLARED” discrepancy in income relative to expenditure.
    Undeclared funding buying what? for whom?
    Party politics UK. PLC!!!!

    Reply
  117. De Valera says:

    If Labour are in dire financial straits, why not merge with the Lib Dems and Cons?
    After all they are all the same and of course it would be “pooling and sharing” resources.

    Reply
  118. Andrew Walker says:

    link to waronwant.org

    The first mention of TTIP I had was on this site re NHS privatisation in England affecting our NHS in Scotland. Just had a read of war on wants take on the whole TTIP plan. Please read and share the link.

    Reply
  119. Effiji says:

    Please see accounts table for Scottish Parties-

    You will see that Labour cannot pay their own way without going cap in hand to Westmonster. What great power our Dud Smurphy will have over these people when he disappears when their funding stops
    It is hard to get a good lap dog though. He should be fine- Sit!
    Come-By, Come-By. lol

    Accounting Unit Income (£) Expenditure (£)
    Conservative Party: Cities of London and Westminster 318,416 315,254
    Conservative Party: Kensington 263,970 285,301
    Conservative Party: Tunbridge Wells 716,656 76,253
    Labour Party: Scottish Labour Party 406,226 426,788
    Labour Party: National TULO 333,707 321,774
    Liberal Democrats: ALDC 493,057 490,123
    Liberal Democrats: English State Party 1,782,616 1,802,792
    Liberal Democrats: Scottish State Party 301,998 296,211
    Liberal Democrats: Parliamentary Office of the Liberal Democrats 433,376 394,904

    Peter Wardle, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission said, “We are pleased that, for the third year running, all the larger political parties have submitted their accounts to us by the statutory deadline. It is essential that parties continue to be transparent with their financial information so voters can see exactly how they are funded and how this money is spent.”

    The 2013 statement of accounts for political parties and accounting units are available to download as PDFs on our website here. For an interactive table showing income, expenditure, assets and liabilities see here.

    Ends
    Accounting Unit Income (£) Expenditure (£)
    Conservative Party: Cities of London and Westminster 318,416 315,254
    Conservative Party: Kensington 263,970 285,301
    Conservative Party: Tunbridge Wells 716,656 76,253
    Labour Party: Scottish Labour Party 406,226 426,788
    Labour Party: National TULO 333,707 321,774
    Liberal Democrats: ALDC 493,057 490,123
    Liberal Democrats: English State Party 1,782,616 1,802,792
    Liberal Democrats: Scottish State Party 301,998 296,211
    Liberal Democrats: Parliamentary Office of the Liberal Democrats 433,376 394,904

    Peter Wardle, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission said, “We are pleased that, for the third year running, all the larger political parties have submitted their accounts to us by the statutory deadline. It is essential that parties continue to be transparent with their financial information so voters can see exactly how they are funded and how this money is spent.”

    The 2013 statement of accounts for political parties and accounting units are available to download as PDFs on our website here. For an interactive table showing income, expenditure, assets and liabilities see here.

    Ends

    For further information please contact Megan Phillips in the Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0714 (outside office hours on 07789 920414) or mphillips@electoralcommission.org.uk

    Reply
  120. FJ says:

    Just wanted to advise that I sent an e-mail to Margaret Curran
    to ask why she lied about the Fracking Vote and why her new leader
    lied about the SLAB membership numbers.
    No reply after 24 hours, even thought it was read, but I suppose
    this would need to be forwarded to Westmonster to tell her her
    thoughts on the matter. It took Tory Red Ed a full year to answer
    Joanne Lamont’s question on the Bed Room Tax, so it could take a while? lol

    Reply
  121. Effijy says:

    Accounting Unit Income (£) Expenditure (£)
    Conservative Party: Cities of London and Westminster 318,416 315,254
    Conservative Party: Kensington 263,970 285,301
    Conservative Party: Tunbridge Wells 716,656 76,253
    Labour Party: Scottish Labour Party 406,226 426,788
    Labour Party: National TULO 333,707 321,774

    Liberal Democrats: Scottish State Party 301,998 296,211

    Peter Wardle, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission said, “We are pleased that, for the third year running, all the larger political parties have submitted their accounts to us by the statutory deadline. It is essential that parties continue to be transparent with their financial information so voters can see exactly how they are funded and how this money is spent.”

    The 2013 statement of accounts for political parties and accounting units are available to download as PDFs on our website here. For an interactive table showing income, expenditure, assets and liabilities see here.

    Ends

    mphillips@electoralcommission.org.uk

    Reply
  122. Barney Thomson says:

    It would seem from this –

    link to tinyurl.com

    that Scottish Labour membership fees in 2013 amounted to £115,636. If Murphy is correct in his statement that it cost each member £40, then that means there were 2,981 Labour Party members in Scotland.

    Reply
  123. Nana Smith says:

    He’s been elected by a big majority as the new Scottish Labour leader. Reviled by the Left, distrusted by Miliband…but how bad is Jim Murphy?

    Very bad argues David Jamieson

    link to counterfire.org

    Reply
  124. Robert Peffers says:

    @Maxx Macc says: 17 December, 2014 at 2:32 pm:

    ” … Nicola Sturgeon has just spent all the SNP money on a pointless ego boosting tour. …”

    That’s interesting, Maxx, but can you indicate where you got your figures from showing the FM’s spending had used up all the SNP’s resources on her tour? It would also be interesting to know just what is your evidence that her tour was indeed, “pointless”?

    As the tour was exclusively for newly signed up members most people would think, rightly or wrongly, it was very much to the point and, as each and every new member has already paid their dues, it was self financing.

    Reply
  125. Lollysmum says:

    @Maxx Macc @ 2.32pm

    It wasn’t an ego tour-it was a smart political move by SNP. There’s nothing like rubbing your opponents nose in it when your party’s numbers are off the scale for an electorate of only 6 million people.

    It got the press interested because such an event is unprecedented in UK & also showed that SNP have the backing of the people from all age groups. More than anything else though SNP were sending a message to everyone saying that they are doing politics in a different way to every other party & carving out their own political landscape rather than being reactive as they used to be.

    They can certainly well afford it with their increased annual income even if you discount their financial reserves.

    It also showed the electorate what effect SNP are having on Scotland so reinforcing the line that they are the party of Scotland.

    Even SLab have had to change their website to reflect the truth that they are not now the largest party in Scotland as it used to boast.

    So it was a smart move on several counts in my book.

    Reply
  126. Lollysmum says:

    I forgot to mention that each person had two tickets so they could bring a non-member with them. Apparently during the Hydro event alone 4,000 new members signed up at the event.

    Definitely a smart move 🙂

    Reply


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