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”.)
duncanio on What We Don’t Know Now: “Yep. The SNP have been in a “commanding position” since May 2015 – Swinney is hoping that the dumb electorate…” Jun 8, 16:33
Liz on What We Don’t Know Now: “Swinney is reported to have said, he’s rearranging the deck chairs in the Cabinet BECAUSE of the loss in Hamilton…” Jun 8, 16:27
Alf Baird on What We Don’t Know Now: “Scots fowk awready hiv thair ain constitution: https://salvo.scot/the-scottis-constitutional-covin/” Jun 8, 16:20
Stuart MacKay on What We Don’t Know Now: “Just get version 0 out there, put out a call for review / input, and revise as necessary. The one…” Jun 8, 15:43
Iain mhor on What We Don’t Know Now: “Alba not standing candidates is curious to me. Fair enough if it is purely a fiancial matter, but tactically you’d…” Jun 8, 15:35
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The Jokers: ““Interesting to see RevStu again gloating at SNP failure. Perhaps he’s right to insist that the SNP are no longer…” Jun 8, 15:30
Dave on What We Don’t Know Now: “Swinney talks in abstract terms: “And that comes about by the SNP performing much better, of getting into a commanding…” Jun 8, 15:11
Hatey McHateface on What We Don’t Know Now: ““Whose niece is she?” That’s just so baaadddd. And I’m loving it!” Jun 8, 15:02
Stuart LAW on What We Don’t Know Now: “Believing in Independence, and being willing to vote for it, are two very different things. Because we’ve all seen what…” Jun 8, 14:59
Campbell Clansman on What We Don’t Know Now: “Since the running average of polls shows that support for Indy ISN’T above 50%; And since the voters repeatedly vote…” Jun 8, 14:58
Hatey McHateface on The Jokers: “Hi George, Thanks for the update. I was referring to Ferguson’s OG for Iceland Good luck with the ongoing…” Jun 8, 14:55
George Ferguson on The Jokers: “@Hatey McHateface What Ferguson are you referring to here? Here is a wee update from me. I got an estimate…” Jun 8, 14:37
Aidan on The Jokers: “I don’t know who is more insane, the people continually competing with each other to offer the most insane, delusional,…” Jun 8, 14:16
duncanio on What We Don’t Know Now: “The First Minister in an interview reported in The Sunday National today said: “My challenge is to make sure that…” Jun 8, 14:07
Rev. Stuart Campbell on What We Don’t Know Now: “Larkhall was part of the constituency for the 14 years the SNP have held it.” Jun 8, 13:49
gm on What We Don’t Know Now: “A logical, fair assessment. Fairer than I would be to the SNPs controlling clique. With support for Independence above 50%…” Jun 8, 13:43
Allison Graham on What We Don’t Know Now: “Agee with all of the above Stu. If Scotland wants a different future folk must work in reality not fantasy…” Jun 8, 13:26
Ian McCubbin on What We Don’t Know Now: “Still no mention of vast majority of Independence voters of which there must be about 1000000, and there 2nd vote…” Jun 8, 13:22
Dickie Tea on What We Don’t Know Now: “Don’t forget the Larkhall factor which would have bolstered Reform” Jun 8, 13:16
lothianlad on The Jokers: “As ever Mia, you are 100% correct!” Jun 8, 12:38
DMcV on The Jokers: “The important thing is to keep Reform UK out but that’ll be an even bigger battle in the main Holyrood…” Jun 8, 12:24
DMcV on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “Doesn’t really address any point I made, RevStu, but there you go.” Jun 8, 12:17
Hatey McHateface on The Jokers: “It’s really wicked to hope somebody takes her down into the tunnels to sample at first hand, for a year…” Jun 8, 10:27
TURABDIN on The Jokers: “OF COURSE to many in native Scottish politics this is by far more important. https://archive.is/fWe1Y The owl and the pussy…” Jun 8, 10:11
Hatey McHateface on The Jokers: “OK, Xaracen, I stand corrected. You and Mia both. I constantly challenge you to give us some examples of how…” Jun 8, 10:04
Hatey McHateface on The Jokers: “Thanks for your reply, Alf. I’m very happy with the idea of re-instating the Scottish Crown. That’s exactly the kind…” Jun 8, 09:55
Xaracen on The Jokers: ““you would have noticed that Mia writes off every democratic vote in Scotland as illegal or invalid when it does…” Jun 8, 09:40
Alf Baird on The Jokers: ““People don’t like being made a fool of.” Yes, quite, and in this regard we are still awaiting the response…” Jun 8, 09:28
Good luck with the ongoing…
