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Wings Over Scotland


And still there were none

Posted on October 27, 2014 by

So, a full day has passed and not a single comrade has put themselves forward for the job of pseudo-leading the snarling pit of angry dogs that is Scottish Labour. Perhaps we’ve underestimated them. Perhaps they’re not quite as dim as they look.

sockpup

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. We told you on Saturday that ambitious career politicos like Kezia Dugdale, Anas Sarwar and Jenny Marra would need to have their heads screwed on backwards to take on this particular suicide mission, and all have duly acted in self-preservation and refused the chalice.

Meanwhile, nobody except mainstream-media journalists (and mainly English ones at that) ever took the idea of Gordon Brown as Scottish leader seriously for a moment. The former PM is a lifelong political coward, and having to actually face challenge and debate in the Holyrood chamber rather than hand-picked lapdog crowds of faithful activists would have had him breaking out in a cold sweat.

(It remains one of the remarkable truths of the referendum campaign that in three years, while Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon mingled freely with crowds in High Streets all over Scotland, not a single one of the main Unionist players EVER subjected themselves to open, unfiltered public questioning, and the ever-timid media chose never to highlight the absurdity.)

The only person to have even peeked over the parapet – and all that’s actually meant today is “has been tipped but hasn’t publicly denied it” – is Neil Findlay, a Lothian list MSP who’s admirably left-wing (and therefore has no chance of getting the job in any case) but also absolutely oozes from every pore the blind, idiotic tribal hatred of the SNP that’s got the party into the abysmal state it finds itself in at present.

(Only last month he was, astonishingly, still bleating on Twitter about the supposed Nat “ushering in” of Mrs Thatcher 35 years ago. We can’t tell how old Neil is, but we’re guessing he wasn’t much more than five at the time. Maybe let that one go, love.)

And that leaves Jim Murphy. We remain of the view that getting a Westminster MP in as leader would – in the context of Lamont’s unhappy departure – be madness up a ladder for the stricken party, especially with Sarwar sitting tight as deputy and meaning that whichever hapless stooge had to face Nicola Sturgeon at FMQs would be, at best, Scottish Labour’s THIRD-in command. But so far the right-wing Trident-loving Blairite is the only game in town.

We suspect this is a turn of events that has horrified Murphy. We’re more inclined to believe that his soapbox tour of tiny groups of party workers was aimed at boosting his ailing profile in UK Labour rather than making a tilt at the Scottish leadership. He doesn’t strike us as someone who’d see Holyrood as a positive career move, never mind the drop in salary and loss of a juicy expense account. He may have wanted rid of Lamont, but not to take the job himself, and he may well be stalling for time desperately hoping someone else will step up.

Tomorrow, of course, everything could change. But pretty soon Labour is going to run out of people anyone at all has heard of, and someone’s going to have to break cover and take one for the team. For our money the only remotely sensible thing to do would still be to put an experienced time-server in place as an 18-month caretaker while the party sorts out once and for all where its power lies, but Scottish Labour hasn’t done anything sensible since about 2003, and we’re not sure they have the ability to suddenly start.

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MajorBloodnok

Ruth Davidson could be caretaker whilst they sort themselves out. She and Johann nearly always asked the same question at FMQ anyways, so that could work.

cynicalHighlander

If no one steps forward that surely would mean Anas would have to take the mantle being the in house deputy.

Lewy Tee Bee

The very fact that no one is putting themselves forward for the party leader ship is hilariously indicative of the state of SLAB at this present moment.
This is going some way to easing the pain on the 19th. Long may their mire continue.

joe kane

No leader. No activists. No money. No policies.

It’s quite apt that the beginning of the end of Labour in Scotland started with its first international war crime against Afghanistan which has seen the last British troops pull out today, of all days, Labour having done absolutely nothing for the people there despite squandering billions of pounds of taxpayers money.

Drew McMorrin

I’m sure the “Falsetto Socks” of Yew Choob fame (picture) will not be taking this too kindly. After all they did come out for Independence.
Mind you on the other hand…….

Mae Carson

Neil Findlay born 1969 Bangour Hospital so about 45.

chossy

Ha ha I was waiting for this article, once I read that everyone had refused to run.

handclapping

@Major B
Still the ability to pick an assistant who can read the papers and/or watch the BBC is a bonus on your CV.

Making the title “Leader of the Unionist Party in Scotland” would save a lot of hassle and allow Alex Johnstone to fail in yet another enterprise

Guilliume

Nobody has mentioned Wendy, surely the weans are up a bit now and someone would donate a seat at Holyrood for her to get back into the swing of things. A leader on a temp basis could hold the fort while such arrangements are put in place.

This would be as effective as the leader who has just deserted the sinking ship. Roll on the GE in 2015 when the people of Scotland remind Labour that they will never be forgiven for the lies and threats they spread during the referendum Hell mend them.

Croompenstein

They could maybe have a game of pass the parcel or musical chairs better not make it musical statues as no one would win.

Kryczek

I don’t care who they appoint. Wee Nic will tear them to shred’s. Roll-on the GE.

Thomas William Dunlop

I pray the lord that Lord Foulkes puts his hat in the ring. We need somebody to keep the comedy gold rolling in.

ronald alexander mcdonald

I can see them pulling a name out of a bowl. They could do it at the forthcoming dinner in Glasgow.

The Labour party Branch Manager in Scotland is ……

Ken500

Feart.

Every time any of them rear ugly heads they lose support. That Neil Findlay really is a nasty piece of work, but who would have know, if he hadn’t put his head about the rampart. Attacking the vulnerable and the SNP is not a credible policy at all. They have no heart.

ronnie anderson

Look whits swimming in the Chalice,noo whit wan of the Labour Mob is gonna Croak 1st.

link to en.wikipedia.org

Ian Brotherhood

The Guardian appears to feel that Malcolm Chisholm is a serious shout, and proves it by publishing a flattering portrait of him:

link to ecx.images-amazon.com

Bob Mack

Hope it is Jim Murphy on two counts. Gives weight to Lamont( OR IS THAT lAMENT ) wailings about cross border control and secondly he reminds me when he speaks, of Rikki Fultons creation the Rev I.M.Jolly ,but on tranquillisers.

ronald alexander mcdonald

How about the Grand Master of the Orange Order.

They could all sing the Sash and Rule Brittania at FMQ’s. Wouldn’t be any more ridiculous than usual crap that come out their mouths.

Dave McEwan Hill

“For our money the only remotely sensible thing to do would still be to put an experienced time-server in place as an 18-month caretaker…..”

Iain Gray

heedtracker

Maybe they should look north. Here in Aberdeen we have some really bizarre red tory unionists like this guy.

link to newsnetscotland.scot

To be fair he does look nuts too.

moujick

Eh, Labour did something sensible in 2003? Wullnae believe it till I see the evidence……

Grouse Beater

Press and media should be jumping all over Miliband determined to ask a brace of very awkward questions. Yet all we get are basic reportage, and a few arms length opinion columns. No one is following him with a microphone.

Famous15

I have had enough schadenfraude to last a year. It is damnable that these bastards lies and terrorisation of the vulnerable lost us the referendum. We could be discussing now the best and quickest way to make Scotland a better country for all its people’s.

I do NOT CARE who “leads ” Labour anywhere. They have have betrayed the people.

dougiekdy

Is it not hilarious that they’re falling over themselves NOT to go for the job???????????? Please please please let it be Murphy…

Sandra

They’re all too busy updating CVs and checking the sits vac columns I would think. Changing leader now is a bit like changing captain on the Titanic as it disappears beneath the waves.

ronnie anderson

There is no chance of any Westmidden MP putting they’re name forward & take a loss in income & all they nights oot in the bright lights of London. £1.5ml Penthouses,theatre’s,resturants,far from the eyes of the Scottish People,did I miss the expence accounts. Safer at a distance for them,so its down to the MSPs here to select a leader of the North British Branch of labour.

muttley79

It has got to be Jackie Baillie till 2016! 😀 *Fireworks*

Hetty

Daft question but why does any political faction have just one leader, I mean it’s not like they are clan chiefs or anything is it.
Must go see if I still have that old Penquin book called, ‘Primitive government’…

JimnArlene

Get the pied piper to lead them, off the nearest cliff. If not, Jim “Skelator” Murphy; that would really send them over the edge.

John

Get a grip everybody! Please show some patience.

Standard practice – Ed Mumblband will decide in 12 months time who will stand for election. (Once the focus groups have reported and everyone has briefed against each other of course)

Vronsky

Labour’s slow-motion suicide began long before 2003. Recommended read:

link to amazon.com

Brian Powell

Just reading Lallands Peat Worrier blog, Labour: Loves Lost.

Scotland voted No and handed the decisions about our future to a bag of the most useless shites imaginable in that Labour party, and Peat Worrier writes an article about what is possible and how to tread in dealing the Smith commission. Making the best of what is available.

‘We’ did that. We allowed irrelevant commentators like Marr, Maasie the staff of the Scotsman to talk about what, where, who we are.

Third rate politicians like R Davidson to go into closed rooms with a Lord who is the chairman of a fracking company, while our Government had the power to control licensing of drilling casually taken away, and hundreds of licences awarded by the UK.

‘We’ did that, and I’m wondering just what the hell are ‘we’.

G. P. Walrus

How about Anonymous Labour Source for Leader? He (or she) already makes all the policy announcements and briefings to the press anyway.

The only problem is the difficulty of nominating someone who is quintessentially unnamed.

Onwards

link to news.stv.tv

STV’s spoof politics page sums it up accurately:

“Both of Scottish Labour’s members will cast their vote in the next few weeks to decide who will lose to Nicola Sturgeon in the 2016 Holyrood elections.”

Sandy

Reminds me of the joke about the fastest game in the world… pass the parcel in an Irish pub.

Pure comedy gold, it is just a shame they couldn’t have imploded before the referendum.

Still there is much political opportunity for the SNP in all of this, just keep the momentum going guys.

john king

Oh god,
please don’t tell me my little quip the other day about Cara Hilton getting the job because no one else is stupid enough to take it is coming true?

Please dont let that cadaver with the fixed grimace that purports to be a smile stand there every week at FMq’s while getting used as a dart board by the SNP front bench, I couldn’t bear it,
its starting to look like the duck hunting season that never closes!

JWil

Did I hear a whisper that Jackie Baillie is to take on FMQs for Labour? If true that should be fun.

Geoff Huijer

Whoever gets the ‘job’ we can be assured that the Record and other Unionist rags will declare it a ‘masterstroke’.

Silence, at present though, is golden.

john king

GP Walrus says
“The only problem is the difficulty of nominating someone who is quintessentially unnamed.”

Thats it, by jove you’ve got it, that’s who should be the next leader

link to bbcamerica.com

fred blogger

if not murphy who seems to be the “natural” candidate for this post, why not darling?

oldnat

BBC Scotlandshire has the story.

link to bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk

Helen

Meantime the BBC is touting Jim Murphy as the front runner, who hasn’t put his name forward.How can you be front runner in a field of zero?

Dan Huil

Murphy has the same nauseating speaking voice as Thatcher.
Red tory right enough.

Albaman

Listen lads and lasses,
My preference for Labour leader is ========Allan Cochrane, let him feel the heat of F.M.Q., be it from Alex or Nicola, would we all love to see him squirm?!, and take his misses along with him, to act as post trauma nurse .

Andy-B

Reporter ITV Harry Smith, claimed in his report that London Labour are desperately trying to coax Gordon Brown, into taking the Scottish branch leaders job.

HandandShrimp

Any reason why everybody is ignoring Darling? I don’t think I have seen a single commentator mention his name.

Hope it isn’t Malcolm Chisholm, he is actually someone who would attract voters…but maybe too left wing for Ed, Ed and Co

Albaman

Now that oor Wullie (Rennie ) has had his wee opp, and is recouping at home,does not mean that you all can now flood him with advice, such as “take as loooooooobg as you like Wullie “.

gillie

Labour MSPs had very harsh things to say about Jim Murphy this afternoon in Glasgow.

JimnArlene

Are there any “left wingers” in Labour? Or is it just a preference, as to where they site on a plane?

Iain

Even if Murphy could be persuaded to give up his safe-ish Westminster seat (non-Tory voters use him to keep the Tory candidate out) and all the rewards a career as an MP can provide, he’d be looking for a very safe Labour seat for Holyrood. And what incumbent would want to give up his or her own career for him?

CameronB Brodie

On Sunday, I was in Manchester speaking at a rally against anti-Semitism. At the absolute core of our Labour values is a complete, visceral hatred for racism in all its forms. Growing up during during my teenage years in apartheid South Africa I lived amidst probably the most institutionalised racism ever constructed. Racism, and discrimination are the anti-thesis of everything we believe in and I was proud to join Ivan Lewis MP in Manchester to speak up against a growing problem. The most moving moment of the day came when a 92 year old holocaust survivor rolled up his sleeve to reveal the number the Nazis branded him with and announced, “My name is Harry Ferster not B10924.”

link to labourlist.org

@ Jim Murphy
How do you reconcile the above, with your being a Friend of Israel, an apartheid state? Do you understand what anti-Semitism is? Do you understand where Zionism comes from?

@ Anas Sarwar
Do you not have a problem with your colleague’s apparent hypocrisy, or is your support for the Palestinians simply for show?

ronnie anderson

@JimnArlene you mean like this

link to en.wikipedia.org

Jim Thomson

I think a cheeky bet on Ed’s bro (Davey) might net a few bob. He must be missing the gay repartee and badinage of the political circus ring by now.

Jab64000

i agree with a lot of comments here but what about poor Alistair Darling for leader? He would be a gift and his rapid blinking when under duress would be a game all the family could play – I mean everyone on the No campaign said he did a wonderful job and he is always going on about being a good socialist MP – or have they all been lying?

Iain Gray's Subway Lament

Tian Tian and Yang Guang are the latest to disappoint Ed Miliband and Labour after formally ruling themselves out of the candidacy for leadership of Scottish Labour Party.

Earlier at Edinburgh Zoo the two Giant Pandas steadfastly refused to take a stick of bamboo with a note attached reading “I will stand as scottish labour leader”, despite it being waved furiously at them by a desperate Magrit Curran.

Their keeper explained that the two pandas were quite happy to sit around all day munching the occasional stick of bamboo, which was a far more productive and happy life than any leader of the scottish labour party would have.

Jim Murphy could not be reached for comment but Labour insiders have revealed that his Irn-Bru crate is currently in heated discussions with the Labour leadership should Murphy rule himself out.

😉

De Valera

I don’t care who gets the gig, as long as they lead this bunch of unprincipled chancers into oblivion.

JimnArlene

@Ronnie Anderson, a golden poisonous frog = pied piper or air plane seating preference? How so? Dae ah get mah jaiket noo?

Jim Mitchell

Rev give us a clue, what day in 2003 was it?

BTW I still believe they already know who it is, someone who has been made sweet promises about their future, If Labour ever get back in at Westminster.

Even if it’s an MP the media will tell us how lucky Scotland is to have a ‘big hitter’ in charge of Labour’s branch office and of how they will reunite the Labour family, yawn!

Ellie Robot

If all that’s left is to read the script at FMQ’s, why don’t they get a different no-mark to do it every week, like they do on ‘Have I Got News For You’? Call it ‘Have I Got Views For You’ (most likely not), and the one who gets the most laughs stays on.

SquareHaggis

How about a piper?

The pied piper, it would be for the best…

JBS

@john king

Stop making me laugh so much, it’s not good for me at my age.

Davy

I’ve got it, I know who is left to take on the job, this person has ambition, they have vision, they do have a little problem counting but who doesn’t and they will do whatever it takes to climb the ladder to get to the top no matter who they backstab.

This person is perfect for leader of the red torys rat party in Scotland, it is, wait for it, ta daa:

———-RICHARD BAKER msp (list)———-

Please comment !!

dougiekdy

Alex Salmond v Jackie Baillie at FMQ’s? They better start selling tickets, it would be selt oot! Broon’s shat it, was/is/always will be a political opportunist and there’s nothing in it for him. Already being measured up for his ermine. Darling? Couldnae hack it, another chancer. Malcolm Chisholm? Nut, too left wing for Millibland (and does look uncannily like George Roper!). Murphy? I wish it was him and we could rip the utter pish out him for his expenses and labour in general for sending a London MP to do their dirty work for them.

Nope, the only chance SLAB have left is to elect that well known big hitter, you know, that eh, what do you call them, that eh, er, eh… Nope, they’ve all ran away…

Bring on the GE.

cynicalHighlander
Lesley-Anne

Why am I not surprised that all the lying cowards that are the Labour party in Scotland can not find a single entity of courage amongst the lot of them to put someone forward to be massacred by Nicola each week at FMQ’s?

I mean it isn’t difficult, even a group of blind men could do it so why not Labour?

All they need to do is all write their names on a wee piece of paper and put it into a hat give the names a stir and the outgoing *ahem* leader picks a name out of the hat! SIMPLES! 😛

If they are all too cowardly to even do that then perhaps we can help them choose. Why don’t we start a petition to have a named Labour MSP as the new *cough* leader. Personally I’d vote for this guy. 😉

link to tinyurl.com

[…] And still there were none […]

ronnie anderson

@JimnArlene who brough the airyplane into the conversation with or without seat preferences but you get the jaikit canvas wie straps at the back n wraparoon sleeves LOL still want the jaikit ?.

James A

Cameron B Brodie. One aspect of Murphy’s career credentialshas been his ability to ‘dig-in’ and secure a strong personal vote in his constituency. An interesting factotum is that Scotland’s small, dwindling Jewish community – fewer than 5000 now I think – is confined to a couple of areas. One of those areas is Giffnock/Clarkston/Newton Mearns…ie East Renfrewshire…ie Mr Murphy’s constituency. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to how long Mr Murphy has held the State of Israel and its supporters in such high regard.

ronnie anderson

@cynicalhighlander,diz wellington know that dewer stole hiz bunnet.

Davy

Ok my last comment didn’t come up, so I will try again.

Everyone has missed one of the red torys biggest natural talents for the job of “head earsewipe”, its RICHARD BAKER msp(list).

Come on he’s a natural, he has everything the job needs, decit, crawl-abilty, thick, does not care about what people think about him, natural leader if their ever was one and not least must be worth a laugh at FM’s QT.

JimnArlene

@Ronnie Anderson, soonds ilka jaikit the new Slab laird, wid end up wae.

dougiekdy

@Mae Carson

I too was born in Bangour Hospital in 1969.

And that, thankfully, is where the similarity with Mr Findlay ends…

Luigi

Who finally takes the job now will forever be remembered as the mug who took the job that no-one wanted.

Ian Brotherhood

If Murphy’s in the frame, why not this living leg-end?

Brian Haudoantaeyeehatsthenoo –

link to youtube.com

Jack McKenzie

Red Ed’s in a huge pickle. How can he pull together Gordon’s Vow of Home Rule, One Nationism, a thirst for Labour in Scotland for it’s own devolved policies/structure, AND trying to look good in front of a dubious Scottish electorate in dealing with, and the fall-out from, the Smith commission?

Answer: He can’t.

And all prospective Leaders know it. They are all fucked!

Unless, tantalisingly, he lets Scotland go. But has he the balls?

bookie from hell

AD @40/1

ronnie anderson

@JimnArlene the Frog is a Poison Dart frog fur the Chalise.

Lollysmum

Just a bit O/T

Lesley Riddoch’s podcast this week is worth a listen. First half deals with Johann & SLAB’s woes with some surprising conclusions about McConnell & McLeish speaking up in support of Johann, mention of an Independent Labour Party as a consequence of the last few weeks antics AND efforts to set up a community bank in communities across Scotland. Things are starting to happen folks!

JBS

@cynicalHighlander

Dunce Scotus?

JimnArlene

@Ronnie Anderson, I get it, too much of the homemade wine, day off tomorrow and making the most of it. Maybe I’ve poisoned my own chalice.

Scot Finlayson

@Jim Mitchell
I also think they know who it is going to be , I think the whole thing has been set up pre Referendum , use Lamont to take the flack then dump her because she is toxic and bring in a big name for thursdays FMQs .
This is assuming there is a brain at work somewhere in the background .

cynicalHighlander

@ronnie anderson

Just checking head size 14 & 7/8ths seems about right.

cynicalHighlander

@ronnie anderson

Just checking head size 14 & 7/8ths seems about right.

ronnie anderson

@Jimnarlene ah but they only get the wraparoon jaikit when they leave the padded room.

Bugger (the Panda)

Maybe Jackie Baillie is gettin a wee shot at the Lectern, on probation.

Just to see if she is up for it.

Onwards

@gillie says:
27 October, 2014 at 9:17 pm

Labour MSPs had very harsh things to say about Jim Murphy this afternoon in Glasgow

There is this to consider. He might not win the election as leader in Scotland. It isn’t one-member-one-vote here.

“Mr Sarwar also confirmed that the new leader would be selected under the existing electoral college system which gives equal weighting to three distinct groups – elected politicians, unions and party members.”

I can’t see MSP’s voting for someone who constantly undermined them.
Or the unions voting for Blairite Murphy who supported the illegal war in Iraq and tuition fees.

And it wouldn’t look good for a careerist politician to get demoted at Westminster, and then lose a leadership election at Holyrood.
Whoever wins is surely going to lose to Nicola Sturgeon anyway..
Labour needs someone to take one for the team, but at the expense of their own personal reputation and prospects.

This is why Brown has ruled it out too.
It doesn’t do much for your legacy to end your career as a failure, getting humped on your home turf.
Not when you could be making millions wandering the world giving speeches and collecting directorships.

He might be a hypocrite, but he isn’t stupid. Anyone can see that it doesn’t matter who the Labour candidate is.
The people of Scotland simply want the Scottish Government to be run by a party that will put Scotland first.

Croompenstein

Someone else has thrown their hat into the ring… I think this guy may be able to put across a new vision for labour…

link to tinyurl.com

ronnie anderson

cynicalhighlander ah widdna know ah wear ah tammy, one size fits all.

JimnArlene

@Croompenstein, well he has BBC connections and the money….

Ian Brotherhood

How ’bout this dude?

He doesn’t even have a name. Who cares? Most people didn’t have a clue who Johann was anyway.

link to stoutstandards.com

heraldnomore

But would Murphy suit the pink jaiket?

Surely big Doin’ Davidson’s the best one, purely on the pink jaiket basis you understand.

Desimond

Stephen Purcells ready for a come back

Ian Brotherhood

The burning question –

What will Jackie wear for her big day?

I’m plumping for this very nice ensemble, including leaflet:

link to archive.today

chalks

Is it just me, or are we seeing the beginnings of two labour parties? Katy clarks comments on trident, independent labour party being spoken about….

JimnArlene

@Ian Brotherhood
Should the leaflet not read; double burger and fries?

cynicalHighlander

@ronnie anderson

mmm pleb. 🙂

cynicalHighlander

@ronnie anderson

mmm pleb. 🙂

Clydebuilt

Labour should be looking to BBC Scotland for the most able replacement for Lamont. Here the pool of talent contains

Sarah Smith
Katrina Renton
Jackie Bird.

crazycat

@ chalks

Over on UK Polling Report, someone has just speculated (on rather flimsy grounds, unfortunately, because it would be hilarious) that Kate Hoey might defect from Labour to the DUP!

It does occur to me that this artificially long parliament, courtesy of the fixed term, might be fundamentally unstable having exceeded its natural length. This might encourage the bizarre situations we seem to be in in lots of different ways, with crises in both major unionist parties (the LibDems seem calm by comparison these days), defections, etc, even without added complications here in Scotland.

Iain Gray's Subway Lament

Dear god! Somebody has tried to sober up Foulkes to ‘comment’. 😮
Things must be at knife-point inside SLAB right now. 😀

Iain Gray's Subway Lament

Rammy on STV. Very, very, very funny.

chossy

Alisdair darling…. ‘Hoa’d oan’…. Lols

Lanarkist

Calamity on BBCScot, everybody making up names to talk about, accusations of upper echelons breaking agreements, everybody looking around trying not to draw attention!
Laundry day!

Desimond

A credible person who has big public appeal, savvy including modern communication skills and knows Scottish politics and the SNPs ways

Congrats Stu…the jobs yours

Ian Brotherhood

What about this dude? He’s not up to anything productive anyway, and there’s really no need for him to submit exorbitant expense claims.

comment image

scunner

Ian Murray, my local Labour MP just on Scotland 2014.

“No problems, nothing to see here” (paraphrasing).

What a clown!
A face dying for a slap.

This is the man I will personally be campaigning against.

Natasha

O/T but bear with me.
I finally received a response of sorts to my FOI request to the BBC about how many Scots cancelled their TV licences in the 5 weeks prior to 26 September.

These are some extracts from their reply:

“. . . TV Licensing produces monthly routine management information on the number of licences cancelled . . . in the UK as a whole. Due to the way in which our system operates, this information is not disaggregated by nation or region.

However, as we have received a number of FOI requests asking for cancellations around the Scottish referendum, [well done everyone who’s pestered them!] we have produced a report from our live system. As this is a live system, the figures will change each time the report is run and to minimise confusion, we have therefore given figures for a specific date range from the date of the referendum results to the end of the month (ie 19-30 September). The report shows that 2,399 licences in Scotland were cancelled in the specified date range.”

Now the explanation for this date range makes as little sense to me as it probably does to you, but at least they provided some kind of figure.

A further caveat is that they could not distinguish between cancellations instigated by licence holders and those instigated by TV Licensing as a result of non-payment by licence holders.

2,399 seems quite a lot over 11 days, but I also asked for the figure as a percentage of the total number of licences held. They didn’t give me that percentage but did say that in March 2014 approximately 2,221,960 licences were in force in Scotland. I calculate the percentage of cancellations therefore to be about 0.01% of the total number of licences held, which seems tiny, but what matters is how it compares to the previous and subsequent months.

My next step therefore will be to submit FOI requests for August and October. After all, if they can find the information once, they can do it again.

I would encourage anyone else who has the time and the energy to submit their own FOI requests. If they try and fob you off, you can quote the figures they sent me. The signatory on the letter was Rupinder Panesar, Freedom of Information Advisor, TV Licensing Management Team. The letter was dated 22 October. The address I wrote to was:
BBC Information Policy & Compliance
Room BC2 B6
Broadcast Centre
White City
Wood Lane
London
W12 7TP

jules

Seriously though, will this process not finally require SLAB to tell us how many members they still have? The results of the menbers’ vote will surely be published…

Ananurhing

Murphy will be holding out for a cast iron guarantee of ermine no matter what. That’s the glittering prize he’s always had his beady eye on.

jules

Another name to throw into the pot – Eleanor Bradford has done a decent job as Labour health spokesperson in Scotland, I’d say.

David Stevenson

Natasha: You are out by a factor of ten. 0.1% approx cancelled in that period.

Capella

While they are busy scrapping amongst themselves, here’s a wee video on tax havens. 1m 34secs
link to youtube.com
Someone earlier posted a link to the tax justice site
link to taxjustice.net which is very interesting.
What a pity those intellectual giants in the Labour Party hadn’t done anything about tax evasion in the 13 years when they had full control of all the levers of power.

Morag

The thing is, do these figures include people who cancelled because they were moving house? People move house all the time, so you’d expect a fair number.

Jimbo

Only the Labour Party could hold a leadership election with no candidates.

cynicalHighlander

@IGSL

STV sounds good comedy must watch tomorrow.

Labour re-branding.

cynicalHighlander

@IGSL

STV sounds good comedy must watch tomorrow.

Labour re-branding.

Scoobiedubh

Mmmmmm. I love the smell of karma in the morning.

Morag

You’re all forgetting Sally “what are we going to do about this?” Magnusson.

gerry parker

I hope we can put as much effort into the question of how to unseat unionist MP’s at the 2015 GE, some of whom have majorities in excess of 20,000, as we can to the entirely irrelevant question of who will be leading the Labour party in Scotland.

I think we perhaps took our eye of the ball in the last week or so of the referendum campaign with disastrous results.

OK, we deserve a bit of light hearted comic relief, but remember, the next thing we fight is the 2015 General Election, and it’s only 7 months away.

muttley79

@jules

Seriously though, will this process not finally require SLAB to tell us how many members they still have? The results of the menbers’ vote will surely be published…

Nope, SLAB don’t have one member one vote. Union members vote as well, so it is impossible to tell how many SLAB members there are from it.

Lesley-Anne

I think you have missed Eleanor Bradford off your list Clydebuilt. 😛

Capella

@ Morag
You don’t cancel your licence when you move house but you should let them know your new address.

CRAIGthePICT

@Ananurhing
27 October, 2014 at 11:00 pm
Murphy will be holding out for a cast iron guarantee of ermine no matter what. That’s the glittering prize he’s always had his beady eye on.

I would imagine that stinking stoat would grow his own! I truly hope he gets the gig to continue this most agreeable and entertaining demise of Northern Labour. About bloody time though, the utter disdain this lot have shown for the needs of the country verges on criminal.

O/T my first ever piece last week!
link to scottishstatesman.com

Morag

Capella, sometimes you do. I did, for example, because I was moving in with my mother, who had her own (free) licence. Any two people, living separately, who then move in together, will cause one cancellation. Or so I would imagine.

Capella

@ Morag
Yes that would account for a few as you say. Does look as if there’s been a bit of a mass cancellation going on though. Good work Natasha on getting the figures.

Natasha

@David Stevenson
Thanks! Don’t know how that extra zero crept in, I did do A level maths, honestly . . .

Morag, they were very careful to point out that not all of those cancellations were instigated by licence holders. They also said that when a licence is renewed or a new licence is purchased for an address, the cancellation previously listed no longer appears on the system.

In any case, until I can get hold of previous and subsequent figures, it’s all pretty meaningless. But it is at least a start.

Ian Brotherhood

Anyone know anyone who’s due to be working at the Glasgow Central Labour Gala gig?

Don’t take Poirot to work out that SLab won’t be keen on any cameras in the place, so it would be nice if any pro-Yes staff managed to get some snaps of the assembled troughers.

Iain Gray's Subway Lament

@cynicalHighlander

Foulkes eccentric outbursts about London are a highlight. Remember also that Foulkes was supposed to persuade Brown to stand today. Fucked that up, didn’t he? 😀

@gerry parker

Be certain every seat and every majority is known by the SNP branches who will be fighting to overturn them in 2015. We also know who it is we have to beat and right now they are tearing themselves to shreds so it’s just a bit relevant that their entire infrastructure and leadership are in absolute chaos. It’s going to matter who leads them and in which direction because ultimately even scottish labour know that Ed Miliband is hugely unpopular in scotland. (Even more unpopular than Cameron in some polling) Why do you think they are losing their shit so completely over the ‘scottish’ labour frontman? They want them to be the face for the voters in scotland and not wee Ed. Miliband and London Labour think the Eggman will save them seats. More fool them.

Hood

I wonder when they actually start counting the cancellation from. We cancelled ours on the 22nd of last month and then eventually got an email requesting we fill in the online form again, then we had to print it out and send it.
After over 1 month, today, we finally got our refund of £110, so would we be counted in the figures above or would we just count from a few days ago? I guess the latter.

cearc

Are you all forgetting that what they need is an ordinary person… An ordinary housewife?

Step forward, Clare Lally!

Well qualified to be crowned without the bother of an election as she is an unelected member of shadow cabinet and she has been photographed with Ed Milliband. He might even remember her as she is better looking than most of them.

Ananurhing

I reckon Wendy is sitting at home waiting on the phone to ring whilst chanting ” I do believe in fairies, I do I do I do!”

cearc

gerry parker,

I reckon that ‘election leaflets’ for each constituency with lists of the MP’s voting records would be quite effective.

Ian Brotherhood

@CRAIGthePICT –

Enjoyed reading your article. Nice one.

Natasha

@Hood 11.29pm
Good question. Given the hoops you had to jump through and the time that must have taken, I think it’s more likely than not that your cancellation wasn’t processed until after the 30th.

In the letter they said,
“The data extract represents a manual snapshot of a live database taken at a specific date and time. As the TV licensing database is constantly changing, with licence statuses being updated all the time, this data is constantly changing.”

I must say, I find this statement confusing, because if it is really ‘live’, then how did they obtain the data for the period 19-30 September given that they didn’t receive my letter until 27 September? It can’t really be ‘live’ in the sense that I understand that word. They must have looked back at that period.

I will be making further enquiries about this in my next letter.

Jimbo

Listening right now to Anas Sarwar on Scotland Tonight.

Is this guy really this thick, or is it just an act.

It seems Labour’s latest puerile soundbites are the “Labour family”, “Scottish Labour family” and “UK Labour family”. Keeping it in the family is probably quite apt for such a nepotistic, incestuous cabal.

Ron Burgundy

Expenses too remember that – detailed for each and every SLAB MP constituency. On a nice colourful leaflet, certain to go down a storm

Balaaargh

Gerry Parker is right, the unionists and the MSM are still setting the agenda.

The electorate have short memories for political shenanigans unless it’s drummed in repeatedly like a mantra. 13th December gives a BLABiS leader three months to smile and wave and start bringing voters back into the safety and comfort you get burying your head with a labour vote.

We should be planning campaigns that make sure he/she never gets that honeymoon period.

Footsoldier

May I suggest David Milliband?

Natasha

On the topic of La Munt’s resignation, the spin on the BBC in England appears to be that it was because she felt undermined by Ian Price’s sacking. My mother, who lives in England, had no idea about the real reasons (ie SLAB being hated and despised for selling their fellow Scots down the river and jumping into bed with the Tories); mind you, she thinks I’m a conspiracy theorist for claiming that the BBC is biased.

She also can’t understand how I get any information about what’s going on, as I don’t watch any television or listen to the radio. She didn’t know that the SNP is now the third largest party in the UK or that they, Plaid Cymru and the Greens are being threatened with exclusion from the UK wide TV debates.

I would hasten to point out that my mother is intelligent, well read and interested in the news and current affairs; she is also generally left of centre and compassionate towards the poor and vulnerable in society. But she, like so many others, relies on the BBC and the mainstream media for her information and thus has no idea of what is really going on around her.

SqueuedPerspextive

poor Jim Murphy – an unnamed source claims he is in his back garden (thou I am not sure of which home he is claiming expenses on currently) burning all his hats – but Westminster Labour have his special reserve one ready to chuck into the ring despite his desire to avoid the poisoned chalice.

SqueuedPerspextive

ps Natasha – I have recently enjoyed invigoratingly renewed political with my Mum who is similarly (un)informed.

SqueuedPerspextive

Am I the only person who thinks that Johann’s previous gaff about Scots ‘not being predisposed to make decisions’ – upon reflection that it may have been taken out of context – was an earlier stab at Head Office ?

caz-m

This is going to turn out to be the Mother of All political battles. Scottish Labour are wanting an MSP to be leader, London Labour are wanting an MP to be leader.

Scottish Labour = Left wing MSP Neil Findlay

London Labour = Ring wing MP Jim Murphy.

It would not surprise me to see the break-up of the UK Labour Party. With a breakaway Scottish Labour Party forming.

I have the answer for Scottish Labour and it would solve all their problems immediately. The next time there is a Referendum, vote YES.

Dr Jim

Well, Alex Massie seems to think because there’s plenty of talk about the eggman on social media it follows we’re afraid of him getting the job.Well, before the aforesaid expenses scam merchant thinks about putting himself forward, he might consider what the Unite Union think of him and, bearing that in mind i happen to know many of them voted Yes, So fear? In the words of Mrs Doyle, Go On,
Go On, Go On…

SqueuedPerspextive

Sorry Cax-m, but I am sure that they will come up with an answer that satisfies all/none and present it as a wonderful compromise. Cadbury’s Fudge?

SqueuedPerspextive

I just checked Scottish Labour’s site-
link to scottishlabour.org.uk

There are 0 comments

Such a committed following!

Clootie

Natasha
Your mum has much in common with the British public!

Proud Cybernat

O/T – apologies.

Nicola Sturgeon in good form tonight in Glasgow Pollokshields branch of the SNP. Brimming with confidence but in a calm, assured and measured manner. She is more confident AFTER the referendum that Scotland will become independent than she was during and before it. The only thing that will screw it up is us–we can’t be negative. We can’t talk at the No voters, we must engage and persuade them of our argument.

Said she had just received a text from E.M. asking if there was anyone at the meeting who might wish to stand as Scottish Labour leader. About 100 in attendance which is pretty darn good for a local SNP branch meeting, more used to about 10 people turning up. In fact, the venue had to be switched to Shawlands Academy to accommodate the large attendance.

She spoke candidly about the referendum result and how she totally accepts the result but that the result does not inhibit her democratic right to continue to argue for what she believes is best for Scotland. She totally rejects the idea of any vote rigging–she had seen many of the internet videos and simply rejects them.

She spoke also about the referendum Currency issue. She believes that the Currency Union was the best option for Scotland and the rUK but stated quite candidly that she (and the Scottish Govt) knew that it wouldn’t really have mattered what option they would have presented–the Unionists would have argued equally vigorously against them all. For example, she said, if the Scottish Govt had argued for Scotland to have its own currency the No Campaign would have questioned the value of the currency and then would have turned and twisted it to scare pensioners as to the value of their pensions.

She personally believes that Scotland WILL be independent sooner rather than later and that there will be another indy vote well within a generation. But that there was no shortcut and stressed that we have to be patient. She outlined a couple of scenarios where she felt another referendum would be appropriate:

1) if there is an EU In/Out referendum where Scotland votes to stay in the EU and rUK votes to leave and

2) If Scotland returns a majority of SNP MPs to Westminster might be another legitimate scenario.

She was adamant, however, that she will not ever countenance UDI. If Scotland votes for independence it must be through another referendum on that single issue.

She spoke about the mainstream media and how we have to ‘work around’ it using Social Media and getting much more of the older generation (Silver Surfers) online. Oh and her facebook page is read by around 500,000 people within 10 minutes of here making a post. More than most of Scotland’s newspaper readership combined. She came across as strongly believing that Social Media was the only effective way of combating mainstream MSM ‘bias’ (my term, not hers).

She stressed again that to win IndyRef2 that there is little point in arguing and shouting down No voters–we need to persuade them, win them over to the YES side. She cited an example of how one determined No voter she knew changed his mind into voting YES when he learned how the ‘Scottish’ Labour Party signed over 6,000 square miles of Scotland’s maritime sea to England. We need to show the No voters, she said, how the No campaign stated what would happen in Scotland if we vote YES (like, for example, the shipyards would be shut down) and that, in fact, these things are actually coming to pass having voted No.

She was optimistic about the polls for the WM elections in 2015 but at the same time realistic–May is a long way away and a lot can happen, she said. The members of the SNP – new and long time–had a big role to play in spreading the message to friends, family, work colleagues etc. She said she was also sympathetic to the idea of a YES Alliance in 2015.

A good, feet-on-the-ground talk. That’s the highlights folks and all in all a good meeting.

caz-m

And in the white hot atmosphere of the Labour Party night out on Thursday, they will need to separate the fighting factions.

Scottish Labour will sit on the left hand side of the hall, while London Labour will be seated on the right hand side.

All metal and plastic knifes and forks will not be on show, due to the potential for a major bloodbath.

Therefore, in the interests of Health and safety, they will be given only rubber knives and forks.

Valerie

Wee Ginger Dug was very funny this weekend on the shenanigans. He called Anus, our hereditary MP, Baron of Govan.

Agreed with Alex Massie tonight that us political junkies are loving watching Labour running around stabbing each other. I laughed out loud when the report said about Lamont blaming Curran, and Currans camp called it a lie! They certainly know about liars.

bookie from hell

Scotland tonight

#notbettertogether

GrahamB

Footsoldier @ 11:55
Maybe not David M as he seems to have escaped the political roundabout but why not wee brother Ed himself. He’s not making much impact down south so he should perhaps try and sort things out for Labour up here first. He could of course be replaced by the Leeds Jogger who managed to get closer to damaging Cameron than Ed has over the last four years.

Betty Boop

@ Dave McEwan Hill, 8.33pm

“For our money the only remotely sensible thing to do would still be to put an experienced time-server in place as an 18-month caretaker…..”

Iain Gray

Stu said “caretaker”, not undertaker!

Dr JM Mackintosh

Natasha,
good work on the licence cancellations – quite a lot for a couple of weeks but mine was not one as I canceled mine months ago.

The figures will be on a database so they will be able to interrogate these figures at will. I would ask for monthly figures for the last year or even the last couple of years to see what the decline in licence fees holders is. There is no reason they should not give you this data as it is not covered by their FOI exclusions.

Do not believe the “too difficult to answer” fob offs. The whole world is dominated by Metrics these days and the BBC will be no different. They will want to know all the trends in fee holders as their funding depends on it. It is falling anyway, aside from indy protestors, as the BBC output is increasingly crap (With the exception of BBC4 but it is still on iplayer) and the weans just use the Internet now. Just in Scotland it will be falling more!

SqueuedPerspextive

Dear Proud CyberNat – Nicola knows her stuff.
Just like every script from every cold caller / company rep – the script has to be refined by every person involved in this discussion.
I don’t think that there is any way to convince people other with pertinent and engaging facts that directly affect their situation.
As a systems designer (myself) this is key to engaging your audience and influencing their decision.

Those are fantastically key points –
1. Engage- don’t argue, push (except to elicit stance) or oppose – engage
2. Inform rather than Challenge – give people the facts they can check and let them make up their minds

That is what westminster wont and cant do.

Cadogan Enright

@
Proud Cybernat28 October, 2014 at 12:15 am

Thanks for that cybernat – the new Scottish PM is right – we need to learn to talk to NO voters and we can start on this blog with constructive ideas for communicating with Oldies – and lets start with banning wingers moaning about Oldies – or for every moan 2 constructive communication ideas must be produced 🙂

seriously folks – she is right

GrahamB

caz-m @12:07
I agree that’s where they went wrong but they are now down such a deep hole that the only way out is to hit the self-destruct button (electing Murphy should do it) and start again from scratch by campaigning for indyref2 then they might re-emerge in about six or seven years time without all their dead wood (probably about 80% of current MSPs and 90% of MPs).
I heard Sarwar on radio this morning saying that Lamont had ‘won’ the referendum but he forgot to mention she/they had lost at least 37% of their core support. They still don’t get it, do they?

ben madigan

@Craig the Pict
Well done craig. It was a Good, interesting article – let’s hope it is the first of many

Dr JM Mackintosh

@caz-m and Ian B

will not make the Slab Gala dinner as not invited and I had a prior engagement anyway.

you should take along some plastic spoons and plastic glasses and hand them out to the MSPs and MPs and all the BBC celebs – sorry celebs at the door. Best to request them all to take them on health and safety grounds. Better to be safe than sorry.

Is the slab leadership now coming down to Murphy and the dark horse Darling (remember him?) ?

Everyone else seems very keen to pronounce they are NOT standing. Why the rush ?

Ian Brotherhood

@Proud Cybernat (12.15) –

Great reportage there. Much appreciated.

Valerie

Thanks for that Proud Cybernat, what a contrast, the focus in a party that is on message.

Don’t have any problem engaging No voters, but the ones I met had incredibly closed minds, and I used the vid by Craig Murray on the stolen coastline.

Perhaps my branch will have some events to try and reach No voters.

SqueuedPerspextive

On the day after the referendum I never felt lower. I may be a lot older than many of you cybernatz (a badge of pride since BBC Scotlandshire) but I have felt a lot better realising it was a stepping stone.
I don’t know the guy who runs this site but I like it – I just signed up for the £2 a month option- I almost pay that for the Sunday Herald – surely this is worth that at least.

Sorry if I guilted any of you.

But if it helps I think we need a national persuasion script – but one that properly answers all the questions with facts.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions – but everyone is not entitled to their own facts.

CameronB Brodie

I wasn’t sure whether to put this here or on the previous thread. The point made about metrics tipped my hand.

There is peer reviewed science to back up this view. I posted a paper during indyref, but can’t find the link now.

link to overcomingbias.com

SqueuedPerspextive

Any chance we could get more likes on labours own website to my comments ?
link to scottishlabour.org.uk

Rock

caz-m,

“It would not surprise me to see the break-up of the UK Labour Party. With a breakaway Scottish Labour Party forming.”

With the breakaway Scottish Labour Party winning 45 seats in 2015 and then becoming part of the British Labour led Westminster coalition government.

The only purpose of this circus is to make sure that they regain their lost support in Scotland before the 2015 Westminster election.

Whatever they are, they are NOT stupid. THEY won the referendum and THEY will win in 2015.

If we (SNP/Yes Alliance) want to win in 2015, our campaign should be entirely concentrated on exposing their lies and hypocrisy and making sure they don’t get any ‘sympathy’ votes.

Scotland’s enemy number 2 is the Labour party, enemy number 1 being the BBC.

Ian Brotherhood

Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond cannot be faulted for their manners, but it is impossible for them – in the surreal media-driven landscape they’re forced to do their ‘business’ in – to voice basic, hairy, horrible truths regarding the behaviour of many ‘No’ voters.

Ignorance is no excuse, especially for those who were well-aware of the ‘truth’, but chose not to voice it for fear of becoming ‘troublemakers’ in their own communities or workplaces.

Their ignorance is feigned. It’s the equivalent of witnessing a murder or rape (knowing that the victim could see you throughout the crime) then denying any knowledge of it.

Many ‘No’ voters now feel guilty. And they know that we know they feel that way. However, many are (privately) unrepentant, and will remain so, even as the culture of austerity/blame/victimisation continues. If NS wants to offer them an olive-branch? so be it, but that is, in itself, a political calculation.

There are many other pro-Indy, non-SNP people who cannot and will not offer forgiveness so readily, and it’s not about ‘revenge’. It’s about intelligent assessment of the nature of the people we’re up against – many of them are neighbours, friends, and relatives – and working out how to get through this whole ‘process’ without losing each other.

Cause, while we’re wasting our lives on these interminable arguments? Dudes elsewhere are making big money from us, every minute of every day…be sure of that.

I’ve posted this clip at least a dozen times on WOS over the past two years, and wish I could get away with linking to it every day.

It’s only three minutes long. Please watch it, and pass it on.

George Carlin, ‘The American Dream’ –

link to youtube.com

Lesley-Anne

Ahem!

If I may be permitted, I’d like to put forward another name for the title of Leader of Labour in Scotland. The name of this late entry into the Leadership race … why it is none other than our favourite “wee man” from the Better Together adverts of course … none other than Ryan the man with sausage rolls on his mind 24/7. 😛

link to tinyurl.com

SqueuedPerspextive

I have to disagree with you entirely Rock.

Nicola is right. Ignore Labour. Ignore BBC.
Engage with No voters.
Elucidate and educate.

Don’t criticize and denigrate – thats Westminster’s job.

The Man in the Jar

Will the last person in the contest for leader of the Labour party (Scotland branch) upon leaving please turn out the lights.

A wee question. Anyone know if the Central hotel Glasgow has asbestos curtains? (Just askin like)

SqueuedPerspextive

I have just heard from my sources – JimmyM is wearin’ his eggy shirt for his nomination speech the big boys are punting him into this week.
If only he could get a tattie scone too – poor wee soul.

yesindyref2

SqueuedPerspextive
Interesting point about Johann, yes, she could have been making a point directed at Head Office not the Scottish public, maybe having just received her orders from Miliband “do as I say, you don’t understand politics”. People do that.

GG

Kezia “epic fail” as the kids say

“We (Labour) are the party of the NHS
No more defining ourselves against the SNP
Blah Blah Blah Johann Lamont……
She was facing up to the realities Alex Salmond wanted to turn away from.”

Ohhh and failed within a few sentences good effort

Neil Mackenzie

Whatever happened to Alistair Darling? He may have been standing in (and up) for the Tories in Scotland for the last few years but he was elected as a Labour MP.

Neil Mackenzie

One good thing about all this is that while replacing the @ScottishLabour Twitter description text to remove JoLa’s name. they’ve finally removed their ludicrous claim to being ‘Scotland’s largest political party’.

Macart

Yep, fair queuing up to represent their actual home grown constituents at home aren’t they? 😀

john king

The first question that needs to be put to the new stig– eh leader is why is Scotland that produces more power than it consumes is facing blackouts?
better together eh?
try telling that to the old folk who die of hypothermia when their electricity goes off!

john king

We need to be ready with a poster campaign so when blackouts (predicted this morning) do happen we can show the output of Scotland more than meets our own needs and its the pull of power requirements in England causing the shortages here meanwhile they are charging electricity generators in Scotland for the privilege of putting their power into the grid meanwhile paying English producers for it,

you could not make it up,
not only do the Westminster government want us to pay to put power into the grid but are expecting us to share the pain when they don’t have enough!

Early Ball

Spot on John. Not enough people know about the iniquitous charging mechanism to the National Grid. A blackout or near blackout this winter should be seized upon.

caz-m

BBC Scotland GMS doing their bit for the Labour Party this morning.

I mentioned a couple of days ago that they were pushing this new buzz word “Family”. Well right on cue, the sound bite they used from Sarwar this morning was about keeping the Labour Family together.

BUUUUUUULLSHIT!

There is no “Family”, it is an image, a mirage, just like “pool and share” was. But BBC Scotland and Sarwar will try to portray this homely, loving image of brotherly love, to stop flow of members looking for the exit door.

Luigi

I’m sure BBC Labour will find a way to blame the blackouts on the Scottish government.

Luigi

The Labour Family

Very clever – you can see where this is going:

“Whether we voted YES or NO on September, we are all brothers and sisters. So come on, let’s kiss and make up and kick the Tories out in 2015!”

Haggis Hunter

Brown didnt take the job as he wants to ‘concentrate on other things’, wtf are we paying that clown’s wages for?
I enjoyed reading this article and one major factor from it is that SLAB and BBC Labour Better Together are predictable

Ken500

The Labour Mafia family of liars and crooks, milking the public purse and canvassing against Scotland. With the £Billions of Scottish money they have stolen, misappropriated and wasted Scotland could have eradicated poverty and helped people to lead better lives.

Better together never. Led by the Don Mason Gordon, the biggest crooked, mass murderer of them all, who has destroyed his Party and Scotland to save himself. Is so delusional believe he is a statesman. A total delusional sham. Shame on them. They have no shame, just secrets and lies. Fighting for their political lives. It’s all about them. The Unionists are no better. Better together never.

Capella

The Gambinos?

Seepy

The suspense is killing me. Why doesn’t Ed Milliband just tell us who his appointee is?

Ken500

Westminster supports a high charge in Scotland for fuel and energy. Despite Scotland being in surplus and nearer the source. Westminster support Scotland paying higher costs for fuel and energy. There is no parity and it is a tax on the Scottish economy.

Westminster refuses to have an Inquiry into helicopters falling from the sky in the Oil industry covering up for lack of proper Health and safety rules from Westminster and Health and Safety rules not being followed. Westminster and Oil Producers get away with murder and families are not being compensated. There is evidence of wrong doing which is being ignored.

Juteman

According to GMS, the Murph is to make an announcement shortly.
White smoke over Whitehall.

caz-m

Fergus Ewing, the SNP Energy Minister, should be on EVERY TV, Radio and newspaper this week, explaining in idiot proof language, that Scotland has a surplus of energy.

This is what frustrated the YES Movement during the Referendum Campaign. The lack of back up from the heads of the YES Campaign AND the SNP.

So, come on the Scottish Government, we are on the front foot here, there is no need to be defensive anymore. Come out and rebut these one-sided stories that we get from the state broadcaster.

AuldA

Whatever the choice finally is, it’s going to be lamontable.

caz-m

Watching Massey on Scotland 2014, he says he has been following pro-indy sites on social media, and the name they are all mentioning is Jim Murphy.

He says, that tells him that Jim Murphy must be the one they all fear. And Jim Murphy would be the ONLY credible candidate that would give Nicola Sturgeon a run for her money.

What planet is this guy Massey living on. How out of touch are his statements. ALL Unionist journalists and Unionist politicians seem strangely out of touch with reality.

MJC

Motto for today ” you can teach a old dog new tricks!” Remember folks that for many it has no relevance who leads a party they vote for when they vote! It would make little difference if it was to them if it Gordon Brown or Cilla Black, they are very likely to vote the way they and thier kin have aways done.

We must make it a tactic to talk to these people and shread thier parties policies of doom apart with cool, calm and collective facts. Not so much the under 30’s more about the settled voter. If we dont do it who will?

Keep keeping on and focus on change and come May we should have helped quite a number if not all think about real values based on reality and fact, not on mythical past glories.

biggpolmont

I take it that you have to take a psych test as labour Leader
which would explain the reluctance for many to stand. As for
Murphy all I can say is “oh he would pass the test with flying colours”. PLEASE LET IT BE HIM! I would love to see a telivised debate between him and Peter Wishart with his reactions to Pete That would be Labour Dead, Buried and Memorial service done and dusted.

Ken500

They didn’t win tbe Referendum. Only 47% of the electorate voted NO. 666,000 people did not vote. Better together (NO) also canvassed illegally telling a heap of lies.

Curtice, Tompkins, McLaren should sacked for telling lies and canvassing against Scotland. Telling a lot of lies for public money and insulting the electorate who pay their wages. Breaking their contracts of employment for outside interests.

biggpolmont

When will the BBC tell us who their preferred leader is ?

biggpolmont

The big question is just when will Prof curtice declare his intentions

Ken500

The Media will prevent Ferguson Ewing from being on every TV or radio and newspaper this week, they are run by Unionists. It is not in Unionists interest to tell the truth about Scotland. They do not want the truth to get out. They exist on secrecy and lies. Westminster corruption. . Westminster controls the Media.

If the Media step out of line they are punish. Spin, secrecy and lies. The UK is not a democracy. No free and balanced Press/Media or Union. People have to watch reports from other sources and countries to get the truth. Or a balanced view.

McHaggis

It is bundantly clear that London Labour has instructed who is to stand and who is not. None of the announcements so far would have been made without prior authority.

Bugger (the Panda)

Capella

The Pefidinos?

Ken500

Start printing the GE literature now. The best literature of the YES campaign which gave facts and figures, came out after some people had voted in the Referendum (Postal) Build on that but start printing now.

Get the literature out in time to be distributed and considered. Get more WBB printed and get some up to Orkney/Shetland etc. They are out of the loop. Some places in Scotland have bad Internet connection. The majority of the elderly and English in Scotland will not vote YES but they will vote SNP etc. Get the literature out now.

Unionist free by 2016. Vote SNP etc.

galamcennalath

SqueuedPerspextive says:
“Engage with No voters.
Elucidate and educate.
Don’t criticize and denigrate”

That is precisely what needs done!

Sept 18th should have been the day we set the heather on fire, May 7th is the next big opportunity.

FergusMac

Labour are indeed a “family” – the archetypal “dysfunctional family”!

There are Biblical precedents:

“For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.” Micah 7:6

tombee

We used to joke about monkeys wearing a red tie being able to secure a seat for Labour in the mining town where I was born.

I hope the keepers at Edinburgh zoo are keeping a watch on the numerous of monkeys they have there.

Famous15

I love language ,particularly strong language like Dylan Thomas poems.

“Rage,rage!”

Then we have language encapsulating complex issues in few words.

“BBC Labour”

Finally I like words which deflate pompous thoughts.

“Labour family: the Gambinos!”

goldenayr

It is not without credulity that “Lords” McConnel and Ffoulkesake could become leader from the HoL,putting in their placemen as deputy at Holyrood,and complete the charade of SLAB autonomy.

paul gerard mccormack

Death-head Murphy. Yes please. He’d be exposed very quickly for the dummy that he is. a pure lightweight and not at all savvy re the cut and thrust of political stand-up. he comes across as wholly inauthentic, told to talk calmly etc. type and just sounds as if he’s on drugs. Clearly someone who has been promoted way beyond their abilities in life. So come on down Jim. He’s another disaster who can’t say the simplest of things without lying.

Bugger (the Panda)

OT but any chance to give Cameron a kicking cannot be a bad thing

“It would be very difficult for the UK to avoid paying the €2.1bn bill to the EU budget without having the “Pandora box” of its own rebate opened again, the EU budget commissioner has warned.”

If he keeps this up, I can see a secret delegation from Bruxelles offering Scotland the UK seat in the EU before England votes to leave.

McBoxheid

Vronsky says:
27 October, 2014 at 8:48 pm

Labour’s slow-motion suicide began long before 2003. Recommended read:

link to amazon.com

And about as popular as its best-seller rank
Best Sellers Rank: #14,408,838

goldenayr

It is not without credulity that the “Lords” McConnel and Ffoulkesake could become leader,putting in their placemen as deputy in Holyrood,and complete the charade of SLAB autonomy.

Bugger (the Panda)

Channal 4 Paul Mason Channel 4

link to youtube.com

Faous15

A as Asarwar being given a Party Political Broadcast on GMS 9AM News.

Why?

ronnie anderson

Anus wants us to except the results of the referendum &come together & ( wait for it ) Share the Labour values,one big happy family. Where can I purchase a Double Plated Stab Vest.

Graeme Doig

It would seem that Ed Miliband is having trouble deciding who should run his branch office.

The games he and his party have been playing with the lives of Scottish people finally coming home to roost me thinks.

If you manage a staff team by not allowing some autonomy in decision making and allowing people to step up to the plate, when it comes time to seek out a leader in that team, you’ll find no one has developed the skills and credentials for the job. Then you’ll be stuck with finding someone from outside (i.e. a WM MP) who might just rub everyone up the wrong way.

Fred

If Jackie Bird is the BBC’s sweetheart, Gary Robertson’s the BBC’s sweetiewife, an easy-ride for Sarwar this morning who got away with his carefully prepared meaningless guff, using the Thatcher “robust” word, smooth transition & the Labour Family, ad nauseum. quite unchaallenged.
A characteristicaly obsequious performance from Robertson who knows how to keep a civil tongue in a millionaire’s arse when occasion demands. Sarwar is the guy who was mobbed in the mosque by youngsters to whom the Sarwar name means nothing and daddy was summoned back to repair the damage, the Deputy Leader who declines the leadership but can’t even begin to explain why, what’s it all about with a disfunctional family who if they were a real family would have the Social at their door every other day.
Those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad!

Many thanks to Ian for the Youtube clip.

Muscleguy

This just in, my wife by email says she will do the job. She is not a member of Labour but she does vote them, is that enough qualification?

Mind you her campaign slogan of ‘this is the first step on my campaign to be benign dictator of the world’ will be a hard sell on the stump.

Muscleguy

Oh and not that should of course matter, but she is English by birth.

Mealer

IF Murphy becomes leader he will stand for the Scottish Parliament as a candidate in a safeish seat and will be top of the list,thus guaranteeing him a seat.But that being the case,will he stand for Westminster in May? Just imagine if he lost.

HandandShrimp

It is fast becoming a game of tig with the slowest MP/MSP being the one most likely to be tigged and therefore have to be leader.

My money is on Jackie although I have no idea who Neil Findlay is or how quick he is.

SqueuedPerspextive

I see after my earlier posting asking you to like my comments on the Scottish Labour Website that all comments have now been disabled across their site.
link to scottishlabour.org.uk

manandboy

Engaging with No voters is one thing.

I am nowhere near engaging with the raw sewage
which is the Labour Party.

Hearing just one of them spewing their scripted lies
makes me feel sick.

desimond

From Burke to Berks!

“All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing” – The new motto of the Labour leadership campaign

Free Scotland

Their pals at the BBC seem to be doing their best to get other stories to deflect attention from the labour debacle. Average-speed cameras on the A9, Lloyds Bank etc. etc., anything but more information about labour’s twitching corpse.

Ken500

MSM in the UK is just a party political broadcast on behalf of Westminster. A complete waste of time that does not hold Westminster to account.

On the plus side the more the Labour/Unionists broadcast (lies) the more support they lose.

SqueuedPerspextive

I see after my earlier posting asking you to like my comments on the Scottish Labour Website that all comments have now been disabled across their site.

Graeme Doig

Ian Brotherhood 1.27am

George Carlin sums up in 3 mins what we’re fighting for and against.

Recommend folk have a look at the Youtube link Ian has posted.

The Westminster Dream?

X_Sticks

Seepy says:

“Why doesn’t Ed Milliband just tell us who his appointee is?”

He’s waiting for David Cameron to make his mind up.

Stoker

Jimbo says:
27 October, 2014 at 11:46 pm

“It seems Labour’s latest puerile soundbites are the “Labour family”, “Scottish Labour family” and “UK Labour family”. Keeping it in the family is probably quite apt for such a nepotistic, incestuous cabal.”
__________________

Aye, Redneck Traitors.
🙂

X_Sticks

@BtP

Like the Paul Mason clip – he’s one of the few in London who does actually ‘get it’.

Stakhanovite

Batshit crazy Ian Smart recons Murphy.

SqueuedPerspextive

HandandShrimp
It’s not tig – it’s Scabie Touch

Ken500

@ Fergus Ewing – Damn predictive text

Macart

@ronnie anderson 9.05

“Anus wants us to except the results of the referendum &come together & ( wait for it ) Share the Labour values,one big happy family. “

Reconciled with Labour and the UK state after their actions in the campaign?

In their dreams. 😀

gordoz

Seriously –

Why is nobody talking about the brains of the outfit for BLabour North ??

Come on this is clearly the role for the mighty ‘James Kelly’

His incisive comment and analysis can’t have escaped the people that matter – the King makers in Scotland.

Are Brian Taylor and Prof Curtice not all out for this political genius ?

Has to be one of BLabours big thinkers surely ?

heraldnomore

And if it’s an MP, Murphy or otherwise, perhaps the optimum route would be not to stand in Westminster election, with an arrangement somewhere for a Holyrood by-election.

For a sitting MP stepping down at GE then gets the severance package that wouldn’t be available on stepping down mid-term, say to take a seat at Holyrood in 2016.

Mind you a double-ticket, a la Jameson and Curran could see that go on for the full term, with severance, and salary to chosen charity.

Murphy’s Eastwood MSP buddy has been quiet in all of this, having stood last time round. I did wonder then if they might change roles, and still do.

But it’s the whole package, the expense regime, family salaries, route to Cabinet and ermine robe, that has to be weighed up against the Holyrood position. And the union vote.

Helena Brown

Mac, they can hope and pray for it, I am not for one in a forgiving mood.
Having a laugh at their discomfort, and hoping like mad that there is worse to come.
I am prepared, in some instances to forgive those who were trespassed against but not the trespassers.

Free Scotland

In response to the question: “Would you like to be appointed leader of the Scottish labour party?,” the latest opinion poll shows a clear lead of 100% to 0% in favour of the “No” camp.

Maybe they’re still under the influence of the brainwashing techniques which were used to convince them that “No” was a nice word.

SqueuedPerspextive

BTW if anyone wants to join Scottish Labour, check first (scotland@labour.org.uk) but I am sure you can be leader if you do…

Mosstrooper

Gordoz at 9.47

Brian Taylor is certainly a big thinker. (at least I got the “big” part right)

schrodingers cat

the scottish leader roll is a bit of an empty jacket

what difference will it make to anyone, except if murphy takes it, he will get blamed for the wipe out in 2015

the real question is who will ask questions in holyrood? who will be the leader in holyrood

if jola were to step down from the labour party, we would have a by election, now that would be interesting

Macart

@Helena

If they think we’re getting back in our box after their actions, they’re in for a rude shock come May. Oh and if they think the constitutional issue is done and dusted for a generation on that same performance they better think again. Those pricks drove a bus through the Edinburgh Agreement both letter and spirit. My motivation for sticking to any part of it at this point is…?

I’ll never forgive them for what they did during the referendum as collective unionist parties, but I’m reserving a special dislike for Labour’s actions toward their own electorate. They go! No ifs, buts or maybes.

Anyone who deliberately sets about demonising and alienating near half of a country’s electorate for party political gain deserves nothing but our utter contempt.

Luigi

I wonder if JoLA and her gang are going to take this character assassination lying down – for sake of the party? She has been absolutely shredded by McTernan and his cronies during the past few days.

manandboy

Is it not obvious from the referendum ‘experience’,
that SLabour, as a campaigning machine,
are almost totally dependent on the BBC and the Press.

How many times did SLab stage a visit from a big name
in an indoor enclosed, controlled space, always with BBC cameras, rent-a-crowd and security to stop anyone interfering. No questions asked. The message then delivered straight to millions of living rooms via the nations’ favourite drug – TV. £145.50pa for endless fixes.

We are witnessing the same formula in action already
as the SLabour machine tries to save itself from
a very public execution on May 7 2015.

State controlled mass media is all they’ve got – but it’s a lot. Can such dependence be converted I wonder, to an Achilles’ heel?

Leaflets through the doors?
The Orange Order does that.
Keeps it in the ‘Labour Family’.

I have a horrible thought that by the time the Yes Alliance get started in the campaign for may 2015, SLabour will already be miles in front in the battle for the minds and hearts of millions of avid TV viewers. That’s the same ones who voted No.

desimond

Do you have to be an MP or MSP to be Leader?

Can you be a Lord and be in Holyrood?

Im wondering if Slim Jim could win a watch here and confirm he will become leader by standing down from Eastwood in May GE to take up a temp role in the Lords( and also in Shadow cabinet post GE – They are never winning the GE!) until Holyrood elections where he will be first on the List and guaranteed a place.

This would remove any risk of him losing a seat in Westminster ( he wont really care what happens to his Eastwood successor).

Bugger (the Panda)

If Murphy stands and wins (no other schmucks available) then I think Sarwar and Stair Heid will stand down, leaving some useful idiot to ask questions on Thursdays and then be taken to Edinburgh General.

The reason Stair Heid will be suicided is that without JoLa she has no Unique Selling Point for Ed in London to hold onto her except for comic value.

So that would be the “deputy leader” (please let it be Jackie Baillie”

Then the Shadow Sec of State, could be Murphy or any bugger whose name you can think of; who cares.

Murph will therefore only have to face tame BBC interviews and interviewers and can manipulate his unwashed charges by way of fax, e-mail, telephone calls and some beads and trinkets.

Job done for London Labour.

Ken500

MSM has shut down any Public comment on the Holyrood Labour leadership, as it would be negative. The orders/threats have gone out. Censored.