The former Liberal Democrat MP (and also the party’s former Scottish leader, and until just a few weeks ago its UK deputy leader) Sir Malcolm Bruce gave an extraordinary interview to Radio 4’s Today programme this morning about Alistair Carmichael.
The whole thing can be heard here, but the short passage below stood out even in the context of a breathless, furious, scattergun performance that sounded like a man on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
We’re sure readers will be greatly comforted by the fact that it’s okay for the Secretary of State for Scotland to tell a “brazen lie”, on the grounds that everyone else in the Houses Of Parliament is a liar too, and by the notion that a government minister who’s caught lying to the nation in order to undermine the democratically-elected leader of Scotland is an offence for which the culprit can simply decide their own punishment.
The former Scottish Secretary’s excuse for lying on air is a feeble, Hothersall-esque semantic dodge, and his excuse for not resigning is that his years of service as a constituency MP ought to outweigh the fact that a UK government minister abused his office and lied to the public in order to undermine the democratically-elected leader of Scotland and cling on to his own job.
Having now heard the case for the defence, readers can reach their own verdicts.
It’s come awfully late, but we’ve finally got an answer to a question people have been asking Jim Murphy since last December.
In an interview with the BBC’s Gary Robertson this morning, the Scottish Labour regional manager told listeners that should he win the East Renfrewshire seat in next month’s election, he’d stay in the job for the full five-year term, but would also stand for election as a Holyrood MSP in 2016.
Waking up bleary-eyed this morning at 6.45am, we reached over to switch on Good Morning Scotland, just in time for the news headlines round-up. This is what we heard:
As our veteran readers will know, Duncan Hothersall is a prominent Scottish Labour activist, occasional BBC and STV pundit, prospective Labour parliamentary candidate and editor of LabourHame, the party’s favoured blog in Scotland.
Earlier today we got an email from someone who wanted us to ask him a question.
This is an extract from this morning’s Today programme on Radio 4 (starts about 2h 5m in), in which James Naughtie expresses an unusually frank and forthright opinion on Jim Murphy’s claim about the biggest party forming the government.
Like some sort of out-of-control, unstoppable lying machine, Scottish Labour keep telling the electorate that the party with the most seats in a hung parliament is the one that forms the government, and that the only way to prevent the Conservatives from returning to power is for Labour to be the biggest party.
(Because if the answer is yes then Labour’s entire Scottish election strategy – “Vote SNP get Tories!” – crumbles to dust, and if it’s no then Labour is saying that it’d be prepared to abandon not just Scotland but the whole UK to another five years of Conservative government purely out of spite against the SNP.)
Three of the party’s elected representatives have now been asked the question on air – James Kelly MSP by John Mackay of Scotland Tonight a week ago, branch office leader Jim Murphy by BBC Scotland’s Gary Robertson yesterday, and the shadow Scottish Secretary Margaret Curran last night (below), again by STV’s John Mackay.
As you can see, Scotland’s voters still await an answer. But on this page we’ll keep track of all the swerves, evasions and dodges until we get one, if we ever do.
We’re going to compile all of these onto a single page soon, because as you can see, Scottish Labour just can’t seem to stop telling this lie.
Today’s expert saying “Does it, aye?” (and the latest in a long and distinguished line) is Peter Riddell from the Institute For Government, speaking on Radio 4’s “World At One” this afternoon (from 35m).
Listeners to today’s “Good Morning Scotland” were treated (from 2h 7m at that link) to a consummate masterclass in the art of evasion from Labour’s Scottish branch-office manager Jim Murphy. The bulk of a 13-minute segment was devoted to Murphy’s claim that a Labour vote in this May’s general election would bring about an end to foodbanks in Scotland, although the pledge steadily degraded as interviewer Gary Robertson pressed fruitlessly for detail.
(Murphy refused to say if or when any money generated by a Labour UK government would be given to the Scottish Government, wouldn’t be drawn on when the need for foodbanks would be eradicated, shot down a straw man on benefit sanctions and eventually conceded that in fact there would always be foodbanks, by way of a brief diversion to “I do a lot of work for charity but I don’t like to talk about it”.)
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Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: ““The Capture is still in full view” Here’s an article confirming this: https://unherd.com/newsroom/even-reform-uk-is-falling-prey-to-gender-ideology/ And a quote: “In the three and…” Aug 5, 22:13
Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “In reply to P3nisbreath McP3nisbreathface @ 9.22 Aaah! “Smoking a pipe”.. So that’s what you call that “ACT” nowadays.. Try…” Aug 5, 21:59
George Ferguson on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “There was a couple of stories today that missed the attention of the discerning Independence supporter. The first being the…” Aug 5, 21:44
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “@Alf Baird says: I can assure you that nothing you have ever said has convinced me to change my no…” Aug 5, 21:34
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Don’t be too hard on agent x. He might be living in fear and never-ending abuse. Perhaps he’s been enslaved.…” Aug 5, 21:33
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Much to agree with in your post, willie. But any vipers reading here will be affronted at being compared to…” Aug 5, 21:26
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “And another two penises. Fit happened tae the re-enactment o’ Otterburn then? Car widnae start? Scotland’s gonna need a new…” Aug 5, 21:22
Alf Baird on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: ““it is the “no” voters like me that need convincing.” In a colonial society, rejecting the liberation of one’s own…” Aug 5, 21:02
Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “In reply to P3nisbreath McP3nisbreath @ 8.10 The only todgers mentioned were your nickname; and you wonder why 🙂 .…” Aug 5, 20:55
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Is that a new boy then (Said)? I don’t recall you mentioning him before. Interesting that the “experience equally agonising”…” Aug 5, 20:30
willie on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Word is that Kate Forbes is standing down because the party ” a nest of vipers ” Although I think…” Aug 5, 20:26
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: ““Is there anything more boring and irrelevant” Sure. Any number of things.” Aug 5, 20:21
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “You need to spend a lot more time in Middle Earth, Confused. It obviously calms you down, even although Da…” Aug 5, 20:17
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Christine, thank you for your comment (5 Aug, 6.37 pm). It brought to mind this powerful extract from an interview…” Aug 5, 20:16
Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “That’s the great thing about the internet, YL Sah! War correspondents can do it all from behind the closed curtains…” Aug 5, 20:10
George Ferguson on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “@Christine Yes and the said troika would reinstate the 16th Century fig leaf that so damaged the original work of…” Aug 5, 19:14
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “During the leadership debate it was only Forbes that said something sensible about independence. Something along the lines of -…” Aug 5, 19:13
Alf Baird on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Yes James, if colonialism is allowed to continue the oppressed group culture and nation ‘will ultimately perish’ (Fanon). Ethnic oppression…” Aug 5, 19:06
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: ““When Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) leave office, they are entitled to a leaving payment to help them adjust…” Aug 5, 18:48
agent x on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Is there anything more boring and irrelevant than watching interviews with other people’s children getting exam results. “Look at my…” Aug 5, 18:38
christine on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Yes, I’ve heard it all before from this troika of victim feminists. I guess there’s nothing else going on for…” Aug 5, 18:37
Mark Beggan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “They just can’t help themselves. Media spill on women politicians unable to balance work with motherhood. The dwarf is doing…” Aug 5, 17:57
twathater on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Anyone who thinks Kate Forbes was an asset to Scotland and independence is a Daftie, Forbes was just another trougher…” Aug 5, 17:47
James Cheyne on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “If politicians spend their time trying to intergrat nations an blend Countries, How will they hit their diversity agenda, They…” Aug 5, 17:33
Dan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Muckle gusts here so I hud tae batten doon the hatches and even tether ma corn on the cob plants…” Aug 5, 17:17
