Keen followers of Scottish politics, and in particular Scottish Labour, have in recent days found themselves experiencing something of a deja vu overload. Leadership contender Jim Murphy has been all over the media recycling apologies and pledges of reform dating back up to seven years from previous leaders.
But this morning readers could be forgiven for finding themselves a little confused.
For a little background colour, though, we can’t help but first direct viewers to a particularly amusing slice of history from the pen of our very favourite Scottish political pundit in all the world, the never-knowingly-correct John McTernan:
“There’s been a quiet revolution in Scottish politics over the last 18 months. The Labour party is back as the dominant force in the country and looks set for a convincing victory in the Scottish parliament elections this May.
After losing power in 2007 – because of a toxic mix of a stale government, a deeply unpopular party and a confident, resurgent SNP – Scottish Labour was in denial. Refusing to accept defeat, unwilling to listen to the voters, arrogant and out of touch.
Revival, under Jim Murphy […], had three main elements. First, humility and open acknowledgement of the defeat the voters had imposed. Second, a willingness to embrace what the voters wanted, including working in the national interest where necessary. Third, a greater sense of Scottishness, acknowledging, in Murphy’s words, that all nationalists are patriots, but not all patriots are nationalists.”
Isn’t that just a schadenfreuderrific treat? But McTernan’s February 2011 lionising of Mr Murphy’s powers of listening and humility comes under a certain amount of strain if one reads this morning’s Times.
“Jim Murphy took a major gamble in his attempt to become Scottish Labour leader by rejecting the prospect of full devolution of income tax yesterday, despite the majority of voters calling for the power to go to Holyrood.
The MP said that by voting ‘no’ in the independence referendum, Scots had endorsed the Union and the cross-border tax system. His concerns about more powers echo those expressed by Gordon Brown — that full devolution of income tax would drive a wedge between Scotland and England.
It comes as the National Institute of Economic and Social Research think-tank (NIESR) will say today that full devolution would undermine the integrity of Britain and strengthen the case for English votes for English laws.”
The inconvenient issue, as the Times partly highlights, is that the Scottish people have been absolutely clear for a number of years that they want taxation – not even just income tax – fully devolved. And a YouGov poll last week showed that Scottish voters also back the principle of “English votes for English laws” by a huge margin – 68% are in favour, with just 18% against.
Even among 2011 Labour voters, 60% back EVEL and just 25% oppose it. Which means that Jim Murphy’s first humble act of listening to the Scottish people – indeed, to his own supporters – is to tell them to shut up and that he knows best. We can’t find it in our hearts to blame him. It’s just the Scottish Labour way.
“SHUT UP SCOTLAND “- Murphy knows best.
So, we promise whatever we think it takes to engineer a No vote. Then once that’s achieved, it’s back to “you voted for us, now we can do whatever we like so shut up about it.”
This time the words “for ever and ever” are also being added, in the form of calls for the referendum result to be recognised as binding in perpetuity.
I don’t think so.
Remember when Labour used to sing D:Ream’s “Things can only get better”
May i suggest they go for a new ‘dance’ tune and ask Oceanic if they can use their song with the lyrics “Take me into INSANITY!”
Seems perfect given theyre the living embodiment of repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results each time.
“All nationalists are patriots” (unless they are of the Scottish Nationalist variety, they obviously are just plain stupid & evil!).
Can anyone point out a specific time when labour (& their media lapdogs) became crazy window lickers?
Well that didnt take long.. Not only is he not listening but he’s showing that his Westminster masters interests still come first. Same old hypcritical bull from another Westminster puppet.
Murphy is indeed taking a big gamble with his Brit Labour mantra of One Nation Labour guff. The NIESR comment adds to Murphy’s stance as a UK politician, rather than the saviour of the Labour Party in Scotland.
It will be interesting to see what his new policy ideas are for Scottish Labour and how right wing they are compared to Boyack and Findlay’s.
I cannot believe they will elect him, but I hope it happens.
To quote that erstwhile popular rap combo, RUN DMC;
“But it’s like that, and that’s the way it is “
Devolution has thus far been used as a process for denying the people of Scotland the constitutional settlement the majority want to see, purely because unionist politicians know fine that the more power Scotland gets, the less scary the prospect of independence is, and thus the more likely we are to just decide to go the whole hog. Hence why the people never get a direct say on how much devolution we get.
Maybe people will finally begin to understand this over the next few months.
Whatever he says, it’s what he believes and his vision (if any) which needs exposed. Trusting all our wonderful Scottish pundits & journalists will be questioning him with razer sharp rigour to get to the heart of what he’s about. (irony)
We’ve had at least two years of campaigning for Scottish Independence. Then the referendum.
Now some six weeks later, what is the current issue? It’s still Independence. That’s why Murphy is being celebrated by the media, both right and left. If he can’t halt Labour’s demise, then it’s the end of union.
The delicious irony is that all they can do is continue to deceive the scottish people. Same song different singer.
@desimond
Yup, Einstein has a couple of good quotes, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” being one of them, but my favourite (and wee ditty at the bottom of my work mail signature) is;
“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former”
Lets hope we can prove that wrong in the coming months and years (in terms of voting/doing the right thing).
EXCLUSIVE: That Jim Murphy interview with Anne Drumar – the diector’s cut.
http://www.bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk/index.php/city-news/848-its-political-strife-jim-but-not-as-we-know-it.html
@Gillie
“SHUT UP SCOTLAND “- Murphy knows best.
Brilliant slogan.
Awww, John McTernan really loves Lurch.
These pieces are hilarious, until you realise they are not a spoof
Mirror Group PLC aka Daily Retard to print Jim Murphy,s CV to the Scottish Electorait.
Noo whit towns Baker’s gonna be the 1st to bake Humble Pie,they Scotch pies are full of god knows what now.
Electorate
Thank funk you had a holiday Stu. You were brilliant before, now you’re funkin brilliant.
BBC Scotlandshire – Ace.
“I suggest a new strategy R2….”
The recent surge in the polls got me to thinking the last time this happened. “Los tres amigos” were stirred into action and the entire MSM, business community and Westminster went into misinformation overdrive, saturating the media with “Project Fear”
As a result – we lost.
The same might happen in GE 2015 – they won’t take a strong SNP/Greens, weak Labour lying down. We face a very large well-coordinated “enemy” and fighting them at their own game seems stupid. Guerrilla warfare is the best way to beat overwhelming strength – laced with a healthy dose of misinformation
The media and MP’s use the polls to shape public opinion – so why don’t we turn this back on them. 1.6 million of us seem to be well connected on social media. We could spread the word to “misinform” our voting intentions.
Instead of answering SNP etc. – say Labour, Lib Dem – Tories even.
This will artificially inflate the labour vote and will probably be widely reported as a Labour recovery as often as the BBC can. This should hopefully calm the furrowed brow and lull them into a sense of security. A few things should fall out of this.
Eggman may be tempted to stand in a less safe seat – making it easier to bounce him.
Twopee will feel he can fight the Westminster election without worrying about North Britain and the Labour voters who would vote for a Chimp with a red rosette would be encourage to go back to sleep and they’re turnout drop back to the 30% of 2010 as they may think it’s in the bag.
For the sheer amusement – if nothing else, the faces of SLAB in May when the actual results come in (hopefully reflecting the current level of distaste for labour) and the decimation of the seats they hold would be a fair shock to the system.
The strategists in the main parties would be hung out to dry, pollsters would be dragged into various Whitehall offices, John Curtice, who’s face has become a bit too wearing on TV, would struggle to answer how this happened.
Starved of accurate information – the run up to Holyrood 2016 should be chaotic for SLAB etc – they won’t know what to trust even if they do figure it out.
For a bit of entertainment February 2015 could be “Tory” month, March “Lib dem”.
Thoughts?
The only bright side to this vote Eggs Murphy for his listening skills shyst, is their Scotland region could actually become more than merely a pawn in teamGB/English politics and UKOK cash cow land mass, with some irritating and uppity seps. Ah who am I kidding, or this git/imperial master’s take on well, us basically.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/nov/02/edmiliband-davidcameron
How dare the sweaties even think of taking Scotland from us.
These Labour crowing pundits are so out of step its embarassing.
Since we are moving into a new era of politics with the outgoing of Alex Salmond (and the like of J Lammont & A Darling etc) isn’t it time to clear out the establishment hacks that the major stations keep returning to – such as McTernan ?
And as for Cochrene & Gardham at the Herald ? ( these guys a complete luvvies devoid from reality)
Scotland has changed folks – wheres the new blood ?
Shouldn’t Brian Taylor and Prof Curtice be put out to pasture also ?
Dear Mr Murphy, as long as 100 of us remain (alive) we will never be happy being ruled by English Quislings. to paraphrase the Treaty of Arbroath, off with you. Never thought I would hear myself saying this but better J. Lamont had stayed in position but recognised as she seemed to that she needed to shake of the puppet masters than have this forced down our throats.
The referendum has finally destroyed two things – the integrity of the Labour Party in Scotland (if it still was clinging onto any) and the integrity of the Scottish media and the sorry bunch who infest it.
It is now obvious that those who control both those interests (the British establishment) have been involved in a plan and a coup. The plan was to support, praise, agree with and conceal the uselessness of Johann Lamont no matter how ineffectual she actually was in doing what she was told until the referendum then remove her as quickly as possible to create a clear post referendum field.
With Darling going as well the dirty smell of a mendacious and thoroughly dishonest campaign goes with them.
I wonder of Boyack and Findlay are aware of their pawn status.
The elevation of Murphy will merely confirm that Labour in Scotland is dead
If they actually listened, they would:-
– completely disassociate SLab from London and actually become a Scottish party
– they would adopt policies to the left of London Labour
– make Devo Max / Home Rule official policy, not some Devo WeeBitMore
Then a resurgence in their support would come easily. And, that would knock the wheels of the Indy wagon.
Thank Heavens they won’t consider doing anything as sensible (from a Labour perspective) as that!
Listening and learning. Well, they don’t seem to be very good at either, definately too stupid. Or at least they seem to think we are.
As for us accepting that we lost, well we know that and are moving forward. They don’t appear to be too sure about them winning. Pyrric victory right enough.
Oh well liebour, carry on, your doing a grand job on the way to extinction.
@ Dave McEwan Hill, absolutely agree with you.
Like the idea of poll misinformation…
McMurphy won’t notice any conflict of ideas in their statements.
If they did cognitive dissonance, they’d first have to do cognitive.
Aye with labour, it’s a new earse-hole but the same old shite.
See that Alistair Darling is stepping down as an MP at the UK General Election. He obviously sees the writing on the wall for the Labour Branch office in Scotland, and is getting out before he is booted out by his constituents.
No doubt he will be rewarded by his Tory pals for his role in the referendum by a seat in the House of Lords, where he can continue to claim expenses. His pals in the City of London will no doubt make sure that some lucrative directorships come his way to keep him in the style and comfort that he is accustomed to!
Oh Puleeze…… Jim will do whatever it takes to secure his knighthood.
Noo ah canny wait to the Murph getting on his IrnBru crate,s again & visiting the 100 city’s, 100 town’s, 100 streets, 100 cul-de-sacs & express his humility,ah wont miss him on his visit again to Airdrie & Jim that Wee Wummin in Ayr is still there, in fact she’s taken Root that the Cooncil hiv tae watter her,( she’s no ever-green ) She’s ENLIGHTENED,rays of sunshine coming soon Mrs Slim Jim will be with you anytime soon,soon’est,sooner,Mind wrap up warm Mrs.
Martin your Guerilla tactics might work with a bit of coordination. I certainly do not want them with the ammunition to scupper us, to much in the way of fairness on our side.
slightly o/t but I’ve updated a graph of SNP membership since referendum. Maybe aiming for high 80’s/90000 in another quarter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DwL4Tfz5MY
What if all those new members were to get one new member each to help campaign before May 2015 🙂 ?
Even better if we had some hard hitting Red Tory/Blue Tory material to hand out. Wonder if Wings could do the business here and expose the lies/hypocrisy in a leaflet/booklet for May 2015 once the new BLAB leader is elected.
@ Dave McEwan Hill
Spot on sir !
Surely Mr Murphy’s direction of travel is less work-a-day and more of a natural / expected ‘Ascention’ and will ultimately result in a very well deserved ‘Socialist Peerage’ ; by all previous BBC Labour standards.
Another useful SLab slogan: ‘Jim’ll Fix It’. Or maybe not.
@ Davy you could have fore-shortened your post ( ears-hole )wie dio- r – ear smells worce lol.
So the whole listening thing went well then. 🙂
Labour are just expressing their ultra central control credentials and Murphy wants to be at the centre. One thing that can be stated with absolute certainty is that Murphy is no patriot. He only worships at his own expense account and career.
What he’s saying in today’s Times completely refutes what he said yesterday to Andrew Marr and last week to the gullible Rona. What a mendacious person. Unctuous indeed. He really must think we are really stupid.
Darling know what lies ahead and has decided not to stand in 2015. He was never known for his courage of course.
I have had time to think since the referendum, and the daily endurance test of reading the papers and watching political programmes for any hint of positivity towards Scotland leaves me cold. I have tried to listen to the pundits telling me what has changed to affect the Scottish voter and how they could now change policies to gather in my vote. The truth be told, the politics has not changed at all over the last few decades, or longer, and indeed will continue in the same vein long after I am gone. It remains a cess pit inhabited by predatory creatures who have skills in the area of manipulation and deceit. However what has changed is me. I am no longer prepared to believe for the sake of it, that all I am told is correct. The revelations since the referendum have taught us that!. I long for decency towards the people who put you in power in order to use your position and influence to achie3ve that very same aim for your fellow citizens, and not just to carve out a career and to feather your own nest. Simplistic , but powerful Where can we find such people? I think N.S. comes closest to my ideal, and I wish her all success.
I was talking to a no voter the other night, he campaigned for no and is a a very smart person. So I was suprised to hear him say by june next year if new powers are not given to Scotland he would be voting for independence. That showed me the impact of the “vow” and how much of a catch 22 position the government is in.
It’s like they think they can just speak certain words and everything is all fine and dandy. Earth to McTiernan–just saying something won’t, however much you wish otherwise, make it so. Just because you attempt to project all these ‘positive’ words and energy to the Scottish electorate doesn’t mean we’re daft enough to believe it. You might think positivity and energy can paper over the cracks in Labour–you’re wrong. Labour’s problems are way deeper than minor cracks. Your problem–John & Jim–is that you abandoned your Labour principles, the principles of the founding fathers of the Labour movement. So, you can spin away with all the positivity until you both end up with your rear-ends docking with the International Space Station but until Labour comes back down to Earth and discovers its socialist principles YOU ARE STUFFED. Now take your positivity to Middle England where they seem to prefer soundbites to policy. And don’t darken my door again you couple of wasters.
@ Helena + @N MacKenzie
Surely there are multiple avenues such as this fair website, scot2.scot, facebook and T45 to allow enough of us to do this.
Gradually spreading the word will see a gradual change in the polling data which for all the world would mimic a labour recovery. They would not know what hit them.
Email the post to all you know and ask them to spread it further like a chain letter. This should spread the idea fairly quick and if repeated enough times gain popularity.
This should be workable
Brian S… I agree with your sentiments but NOT with your choice of metaphor. Poor choice Brian. There’s many other metaphors you could have used without being offensive.
If it is a choice between what is best for Labour and what is best for Scotland I’m afraid Labour comes first.
The entire leadership campaign to put Murphy in charge is very basic. Hold as many Labour seats as possible in Scotland while ensuring that their votes can be used by Miliband.
I hope people in Scotland now realise that only political clout by truly Scottish parties such as the SNP enables change for THEM.
Labour in Scotland are only interested in political power for LABOUR at Westminster.
Funny how everyone is talking about Murphy when the leadership contest hasnt started.
Oh thats right, it already decided by London and BBC better together
So “our new leader” has been caught telling porkies. Saying one thing to one journalist the exact opposite to another.
Murphy’s law prevails – “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
Don’t worry I hear he’s come up with an approved new slogan:
“Jim’ll fix it”
Who really in their right minds could believe ANYTHING labour says, and I include labour supporters present and ex.
Who really in their right minds would fall for Murphy’s guff, we have seen what he is really made of, many times.No matter how Westminster and our dire MSM try to support him, with all their might.
He and labour are not deserving of the faith they sneakily seek from Scottish voters.We won’t forget! GTF !
Oooooh a ‘think tank’…
Is it one of those ‘impartial’ think tanks we heard from during indyref…or maybe it’s one of those ‘respected’ think tanks?
Darling does have his fans
http://tinyurl.com/ppbuwgf
@JaceF
No, no
Jim has fixed it
There, fixed it for you 😉
DavJar
Window licker is offensive?
Mmmm
Politics, scandal, cuts, destruction and chaos. Would anyone working in the public sector actually recommend it anymore?
At the very top is, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the cabinet secretary. Will he be prepared to rap ministers’ knuckles or demand David Cameron corral special advisers when they use the machinery of state for party advantage?
Political pundits say the general election of 2015 will be dirty, putting permanent secretaries on their mettle.
But the fact that since 2010 none of them have sought a, “direction” from ministers – an explicit order from a minister to pursue action about which they have financial or administrative doubts – suggests they might not erect much of a barrier against politicisation.
Civil servants face trial by ordeal – keeping public business (and ministers) honest as politicking hots up, as grave doubts grow about Whitehall’s capacity and ethos.
NHS managers will struggle to survive amid resource crisis and the chaos created by healthcare “reforms”.
In town and county halls, despair may overcome executives contemplating impossible financial arithmetic while dealing with the latest example of government’s simultaneous bid to control and blame them.
http://caltonjock.com/2014/11/03/832/
Breaking from rancid old Graun
“MPs’ expenses: official records from scandal-hit era have been destroyed
Destruction of pre-2010 records means there is no longer any chance of investigating authorities reviving old cases”
Eggs Murphy made over a million quid in last 7 years alone. Very tasty. Who needs a degree to make it big in teamGB these days anyway?
I don’t think that the Labour party knows exactly how to handle the negitivity that it’s now recieving from the people of Scotland where it was always a welcome majority winner for them.
My personal favorite is that the EVOL question would be answered with a majority of seats in Westminster for the SNP because they WON’T vote on English issues anyway answering the question for them regardless.
It’s stuff like this which the Labour party fear most as they scramble around looking for something to cling onto but the more they do the more transparant they become to the ordinary folk of Scotland who are more politically switched on than ever before. By the time the Labour party start to speak to private selections of people in this General Election it might be too late because there will be a the ordinary guy in the street already reminding people of the referendum and it’s broken promises. That might just be enough to kick labour into touch.
O/T or maybe not. I had a really wild and woolly thought, what if it was or just a YES Scotland alliance but it was all the devolved regional parties combined under one banner looking for a fairer sharing via devolved pooling.
Then if some of the distinct English areas like Cornwall (or Maybe Cornwall and Somerset) and a Northern Counties, were set up …..
Ooooh!
Labours philosophy seems to be, do I as I say, why, because I’m telling you to.
That is just the way they are, and so long as they have enough people obeying them, they will never change. But fortunately for Scotland everything that has a start, has an end, and the Labour party in Scotland is near its end.
On the gushing tributes to Alistair Darling, has no mainstream commentator got the integrity to mention some home truths (no not the flipping of his five houses).
In October 2007, barely three weeks after the Treasury bailing out Northern Rock for £26 billion, the FSA, which had warned Alistair Darling about the Banks before Northern Rock crashed, signed off their approval for the fatal RBS takeover of ABN Amro without undertaking proper due diligence. Incredibly, the FSA overlooked their own rules on capital liquidity by allowing RBS to do the £49bn ABN Amro deal. (Making it Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the Men Who Blew Up the British Economy” by Iain Martin)
As Chancellor, Alistair Darling was the man who could have challenged the FSA or asked some serious questions. Fred Goodwin, who was knighted by Labour in 2004, was one of Darling’s financial advisers at the time and remained so until several months after RBS collapse.
The lack of decisive action by Alistair Darling and the last Labour government after Northern Rock failed could have cost up to one million people their jobs according to the former Bank of England Governor, Sir Mervyn King. (As stated in his BBC Today Programme Lecture on 2nd May 2012.)
http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/new-poll-working-people-overwhelmingly-back-an-msp-to-lead-labour-in-scotland/
At first I couldnt imagine that clown in Holyrood, but after The egg magnet decided to listen and learn
I cant wait,
it’ll be kinda like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPBp6DOwgU
http://www.theweek.co.uk/politics/61147/alex-salmond-deputy-prime-minister-how-it-could-happen
Shut up and clear off Labour/Unionist politicians. The majority are sick of your Pish. Every time you tell your lies people just get more and more angry. You are making people sick. Sick and dying Unionist Parties should be put out of their misery. Dismal liars and child killers. Most of them should be in jail. They have destroyed people’s lives by not listening to the people. Clear off. The feeble Fifty. Fifty years of Labour. Bankrupt of honestry and ideas. Bankrupt Britain. Go to jail. If there was any justice.
https://archive.today/hGX6D
Campaign for home rule launched
All I can say is thank goodness Murph the Smurph is actually listening to the people of Scotland as well as the odd Labour supporter who still exists in Scotland. 😉 I’d hate to think what things would look and sound like if he was NOT listening to the people of Scotland and the odd Labour supporter who still exists in Scotland. 😛
@ heedtracker says:
On MPs expenses, not only are they covering up former scandals but despite the furore of the expenses scandal just five years ago, MPs claimed £103m in 2013/14 – up from £98m the previous year and slightly more than they did at the high watermark of £102m set in 2008/09.
Since devolution there is no need for Scottish MPs to run up huge expenses as the bulk of their case load is relating to devolved matters which should properly be dealt with by the local MSP but MPs get involved in turf wars as it is the only way they can get some local publicity.
Some of top “Scottish” Labour MP expenses 2013 /14 (this is in addition to their salary)
Anas Sarwar £204,606.89
Jim McGovern £201,808.49
Jim Murphy £196,969.33
Ian Murray £189,015.53 (including Office rental payable to disgraced Former Labour MP Nigel Griffiths who still has a pass for Westminster)
And MPS salaries are going up by a massive 10% next May.
Welcome back Nana. Good to hear from you.
Thanks Graeme, missed you all!
I can’t believe they will elect someone who canny speak for the party in the Scottish Parliament,unless they have some plan to undermine the Scottish Parliament.
Rober Whyte says
” I was suprised to hear him say by june next year if new powers are not given to Scotland he would be voting for independence.”
I take it he’s from Morningside?
“came away in you’ll have had your referendum”! 🙁
Over at the Herald…
Murphy rejects idea of devolving 100% of income tax to Holyrood
Meanwhile elsewhere…
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/scotland-given-full-fundraising-regulation-powers-scvo-says/policy-and-politics/article/1320224
Funny, I have to keep my income records for the tax man further back than 2010!
As for poll misinformation, a lot of people are swayed by the majority, if it looks like more people are turning to Lab then that will embolden others to go that way too…
I don’t blame Jim Murphy and Labour for having this attitude toward Scots, its not prevented them being elected again and again over the decades with huge majorities. What they fail to realise now is that the referendum changed everything – Labour sharing platforms, policies and backslaps with the Tory enemy has sickened Labour voters to the core, and they are now looking for a party that will stand up to both of them. A S warned right at the very beginning of the indy campaign that Labour will pay a very heavy price for getting into bed with the Tories and Jim Murphy will find out just how right Eck was come May next year.
Giving Goose – that is a spectacularly lovely rear – fair cheered up this auld wifie!
As far as the Labour in Holyrood contest is faring surely the other two must be a tad pissed off with the way things are going?
Do the unions still back Labour or have a say in who gets elected ? Or is it the done deal that the maggot Murphy appears to think it is?
My apologies to any maggots offended by the association.
Great cartoon on BBC Scotlandshire – anything or anyone else in his back pocket?
EIGHT Better Together figures are supporting Jim Murphy’s leadership bid, deepening suspicions that the pro-UK body “shamelessly” promoted the MP during the referendum.
Campaign director Blair McDougall, chairman Alistair Darling and several members of the group’s spin machine are trying to help install Murphy as Johann Lamont’s successor.
The venue hosting Murphy’s campaign launch in Edinburgh also stated that the client for yesterday’s event was Better Together.
In June, the Sunday Herald revealed how party powerbrokers wanted Murphy to replace Lamont as leader. Lamont’s allies grew to believe Better Together was deliberately giving Murphy as much exposure as possible.
McDougall, who was the most senior staffer at Better Together, has now been enlisted as an adviser to the East Renfrewshire MP.
Rob Shorthouse, who was the group’s director of communications, also provided support on a temporary basis by getting Murphy’s campaign up and running.
Kate Watson, who is still employed by the campaign group, helped organise yesterday’s launch at the Royal College of Surgeons. The venue named Watson as the contact for the event and Better Together as the client
Yeah, Martin Wood’s idea of poll manipulation has its attractions but as Simon Chadwick points out, it could backfire.
I understand people want to be ‘in with the crowd’ so a falling Labour support may help swithering Labour votes to jump ship before it sinks without trace.
A wee O/T addendum.
A minibus is taking Wingers from the Dundee area to the get-together in the YES Bar in Glasgow on 22nd November.
See my post of 1.42pm today in ‘off-topic’ (link below), if you want to book seats.
http://wingsoverscotland.com/off-topic/comment-page-13/#comment-1919862
That poll of Unite members that Nana Smith linked to above (thanks, Nana) is really interesting.
They polled 5,000 members (not including me, perhaps because I have never paid the political levy), which is a substantial sample. The Sunday Herald yesterday stated that Unite has 150,000 members in Scotland, most of whom pay the levy. So about 1 in 30 were polled.
54% of those who said they had voted Labour in 2010 declared that they probably would not do so in 2015. That’s quite an attrition rate. The union’s response, predictably, was to bemoan this and wonder how it could be reversed. I of course think it should be encouraged!
Yay Nana.. Welcome back 🙂
If you want to be a sheep vote labour if you want to be free thinking vote SNP.
Murphy spells listen t e l l
He is exactly what Lamont complained about.
BBC main national news at one reminded us Scotland is still a region.
“Over the coming days we will be looking at devolution in all nine REGIONS of the UK.”
That’s funny, because before the 18th September they were telling us that the UK was made up of four NATIONS, not nine REGIONS.
This is what is known as the “putting Scotland back in it’s box.” trick.
Hiya Croompenstein, missed you!!!
Nana Smith
we have already been promised keir hardies home rule by BT.
so there is no need to fight for it, HR is the very least that we can expect.
why should we fight for concessions that have already been offered.
it’s a cynical ploy drain people’s energy in the mire of more m/t promises.
power devolved is power retained, for me only indyscot will do.
there is no dignity in fighting to be ruled by WM union.
they offer to hear us, yet their ACTIONS prove the opposite is true.
they lied to get what they wanted, there is no repentance for those lies, no restitution for those lies.
sorry is a word, an apology is the actions of that word, there has been no apology.
we didn’t listen they say, now show us, tell us, what didn’t you listen to?
now do what you didn’t listen to.
you don’t need anymore of our words.
provide the substances of the words you failed to hear, a way that will end poverty, and bring social justice for/to all.
that is what we want, that is what we said.
re-direct capital to where it is needed to create decent, long term and meaningful employment.
but we already know how to do these things therefore we don’t need you!
common weal.
@archieologist
3 November, 2014 at 12:02 pm
I think that Darling’s sweetheart deal was done before he stood up for the Bitter Together leadership -as was the promotion of the Eggman for leader of BLAB.
I prefer the Branch LABour someone used before – it made me smile.
Looking forward to hearing Murphy tell his Scottish Labour colleagues to shut up and eat their cereal…
For those who still need convincing, the reasons why the BBC in Scotland are no more than the propaganda wing of the Labour party:
http://lenathehyena.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/oh-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave-when-first-we-practice-to-deceive-bbc-scotland-and-the-labour-party/
Aye, welcome back Nana, you been missed with your words of wisdom and your links.
Once she’s FM Nicola Sturgeon should complete the work to fully occupy the position in Scotland that old Labour traditionally vacated after the champagne socialist usurpers took over and sold Labour’s soul to neoliberalism at Westminster.
By doing so the SNP should become the political party that Scots always instinctively vote for when thinking about who is best to govern Scotland.
listen to r5live after 1am today, approx 20mins in.
“the SNP has had a BIT of a surge.”
(cynical smile)
Interesting shite from McTernan, where he says that Murphy is “willing to embrace what the voters wanted, including working in the national interest, where necessary”. That won’t be in the Scottish national interest, then.
Why is it only acceptable to work “in the national interest” where it is acceptable and necessary to the Labour party?
Would it be working in the national interest if Israel suddenly decided to bomb Faslane…or will it only be “necessary”in the national interest to start working for it when their arses are on fire?
We are only one of lots of regions with only real nation, that being England and England owns the Scotland region because we need them, to look after us and make us safe and secure and pool and share our resources for us. So in a few years, when The Vow comes to nothing, we’lll still be the fat drunk sick man of Europe scrounging off teamGEnglandB, as they take our resources and money and invest it Britain, HS2,3, 4, Heathrow runway, trans Penine super fast rail, rule Britannia Trident 2 etc. Are the Europeans really that fussed at watching Tory boy TeamGEnglandB become an independeanf country again? Not in the least. The giant fraud that is the BBC will make it all nice and British.
Murphy – the latest and probably the last badge to be stuck on the front of SLab’s old banger.
With it’s smoking exhaust and no forward gears, it can’t pass it’s MOT now and will soon be fit only for the crushers.
I just hope Murphy and McTernan are still behind the wheel when SLab are finally dropped onto the scrap heap.
England and Scotland have been on different political courses since the 80s, only the Labour party seem to be oblivious to this.
For me independence was never an anti English decision (I know some English people who voted yes and will do so again). It was the chance to follow our own political course. England is going to the right, we are moving left and Labour are trying to be either to whoever is listening.
So far it is the electorate who are the ones listening and learning and hopefully will not forget what we learned in September.
@Marie Clark
Thanks Marie, good to be back but no wiser I’m afraid!
What idiot would put forward a right-wing Blairite who supports retention of nuclear missiles on the Clyde, Westminster welfare reforms and supports illegal wars, to be leader of the Scottish Labour Party and win back their disillusioned voters?
Well, I’m going to guess that Douglas Alexander is all over this. After all, who was it who ran the David Miliband Labour leadership campaign, who ran their Euro elections campaign, who is running their 2015 General Election campaign and who thought that the poor lassie sitting at the kitchen table in the Better Together video was “sending out a good message.”
Everything Alexander touches fails. Alexander is a fraud, just like the fraud he is putting in place to run Scottish Labour.
Roll on May 2015, I will be doing everything I can to get this fraud kicked out of government and an indy MP sent down to Westminster to do the business on behalf of the people of Scotland.
Patriots? I thought we were all Nazis. I’m confused!!
When it comes to nominations Keiza Dugdale is more popular than Jim Murphy. Don’t think Jim is going to like that.
If it comes to a straight fight between Murphy and Findlay the votes of the Labour parliamentarians and the unions could well cancel each other out. It maybe down to the last remaining members of the Labour party who get to choose who wins. I don’t think Jim is going to like that either.
I did read some comments by less enthusiastic Labour supporters of Jim that he is primarily a careerist. A die hard Blairite when Blair was in power he may well present as left of Lenin should that be his career assessment for obtaining the leadership of SLab.
I’m not entirely convinced. He gets too misty eyed talking about aircraft carriers for my liking. I think he was/is a genuine Blairite++
@bookie from hell
EIGHT Better Together figures are supporting Jim Murphy’s leadership bid,
I think the men behind Cameron would be foolish to dismantle the No Campaign backroom team. The British Establishment is still under threat and faces three separate challenges over the next few years.
The Murphy project, like the Referendum, is another dangerous potential game changer which Westminster must win as the consequences for the Establishment of the death of SLab and a large number of Indy MP’s in the Commons don’t bear thinking about.
We must brace ourselves for 6 months of the same kind of onslaught as in IndyRef – fear, smear, lies and bribery –
courtesy of the BBC and the Press. Another disgusting demonstration of the power of the British State maintaining it’s Empire through the usual propaganda channels.
All the finery is being stripped from Brittania’s body now as we see more and more of what lies underneath – a whore.
@Clootie says:
3 November, 2014 at 12:41 pm
I have been reading this, and many other similar sites, and taking all of your ideas on board. It’s been a fascinating awakening about how close your ideas of a better Scotland and my ideas of a better Scottish Labour party are! You have me convinced we have to take these ideas of social justice and fairness to all the people of this land – and there is only one way to do that! After my listening I am sure you agree it’s only fair you take your turn – You are with me – YES I hear you cry! It’s a mandate to deliver the settled will of the Scottish People for a Labour government to let all this family of nations share equally in social justice and fairness you crave – to do anything else would not be fair!
But well done Clootie you saw the truth before me – now together comrades!
Nana Smith
“Welcome back Nana. Good to hear from you.”
The suspense is killing us Nana, where were you?
News.Just 2 years ago. Jim Murphy MP and others,embroiled in second London home “loophole” expenses row.
I’d say “disgrace”and “immoral”.
https://archive.today/JHiYa
Welcome back Nana. 🙂
With so much corruption in our own unionist Establishment, Scotland is going to need a really deep clean upon securing Independence.
Perhaps a ‘bonfire of the quangos’ might be worth considering as part of that.
Top of my list would be the BBC and the Press. A clear Winter’s night might be best – for a bonfire by the riverside.
Sorry, just daydreaming a bit there. Now where was I…
ironic that all those companies who campaigned against us to keep Scotland tied to the UK will be trying to get us to support the UK staying in the EU as Scotland has the highest proEU vote.
@caz-m
Ah now that would be telling. On my travels I stopped by the Grand central hotel while the Slab dinner was happening and managed to film some of the going’s on.
Right greedy guts at the head of the table from 9.29 mins in…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-PuFLf4H8
Hello Macart, how r u doing?
Murphy’s law: I will do all that I can to, enrich, elevate and aggrandise myself.
The main immediate source of Scottish Labour’s woes has been their two and a half year alliance with the Tories – so how can Murphy apologise to the Scottish public for Scottish Labour’s alliance with the Tories for the past two and half years and yet, at the same time, brag about it being such a huge success?
Presumably Murphy is getting ready to apologise for not supporting and giving full devolution to the Scottish Parliament despite the fact the whole world knows that the Scottish public have supported full devolution by landslide majorities over the years.
Vote “No” to accepting Murphy – poll prediction, >80%
Vote “Yes” to rejecting Murphy – poll prediction, >80%
Looks like a win-win.
BBC Scotland, the media wing of the Labour Party in North Britain will now be known as,
The Labour Broadcasting Corporation or LBC.
Burd and Campbell are said to be overjoyed at this fantastic news.
The funding for this organisation will remain the same, it will be from members of the Scottish public who like paying strangers to continually lie to them.
@BtP
Window licker is a derogatory term for the mentally disabled.
Urban Dictionary is your friend.
“SHUT UP SCOTLAND”..Jim`ll fixit?
@BfH
EIGHT Better Together figures are supporting Jim Murphy’s leadership bid
Cameron, Clegg, Carmichael, Davidson, Rennie, Mundell and more…? 😀
In a straight fight between Murphy and Nicola in debating, she would win hands down BUT we have the BBC to contend with so we will have to be vigilant and let them away with nothing.
How we do that is another matter
Nana Smith.
Always educating Welcome back ?? Seem to have missed you a wee bit.
Nana, thank goodness you’re back.
YESGUY & SquareHaggis
Good to be back, missed you all and Wings. We would be lost without this site.
This man (wipes away tear) nay, this MARTYR has put aside his stratospheric career in the Labour Front Bench as (ahem) Shadow Spokesman on International Development to risk ALL by standing for the leadership of Scottish Labour. And to do all this FOR HIS COUNTRY (Scotland).
Just why should the (gulp, blub) EGG-STAINED PATRIOTIC HERO of the (lump in throat) Union should have to endure the unforgiving spotlight of the Scottish media when they dare question him on his total rejection of any further devolution for his beloved Scotland (also Britain, whom he loves equally)?
How can they expect this GIANT of a man to lower himself to reasonable journalistic scrutiny with only the full party machine, the BBC and virtually of the national press behind him? For God’s sake the Leader-ELECT is far too busy LISTENING to the people of Scotland to waste time on NATIONALIST PROPAGANDA about people wanting fully devolved powers on taxation, welfare and borrowing.
I simply cannot understand why Scotland does not PUT ASIDE all these distracting questions and simply BOW DOWN before his genius, his sagacity, his COMPASSION, and agree to TOTALLY IGNORE the existence of the other two interviewees for the post of branch manager of the New Labour (Scotland) office.
Oh wait…
Can anybody remember which particular year it was that Murphy actually claimed and got 13 months of London allowance (as he had missed claiming for one year the previous year). I think it was the year that AS got attacked for claiming two months
@desimond: You talked about DReam with their song for the NEW LABOUR campaign. Have you noticed that he appears to have disappeared from the face of the earth. I think that was the nail in the coffin for the poor mans career and now lets hope that now is the nail in the coffin for the political party responsible!!
@Nana
All the better for seeing you back on song. 🙂
So its basically a case of, the Scottish people wanting taxation devolved, but Jim Murphy will, listen to the people, but he’ll decide whats best. Hmm!
Meanwhile McTernan’s Panglossian optimism of the Labour branch in Scotland, is pathetic.
Left-wing firebrand Tommy Ball has quite a good recent blog article on mainstream political mass extinction events. Labour’s elevation of Murphy seems like proof that Labour’s dinosauric brain has yet to register the rest of its body is dead –
Labour in crisis: but surely even they wouldn’t be stupid enough….
http://tommyballgovan.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/labour-in-crisis-but-surely-even-they.html
Labour are extremely vulnerable on this.
If they don’t even devolve income tax, then they are going into a general election proposing LESS powers than the tories.
After promising federalism, devo-supermax and all the rest.
The general public isn’t clued up enough to know the technical aspects of it all. The Barnett formula will need reformed, but that looks like it will happen anyway.
It just looks like they are trying to protect the Labour party, not Scotland’s interests.
They are going to get absolutely hammered on this.
DEVOLVED POWERS COMPARISON:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B0ed-1lIgAA44FN.jpg:large
Making fake statements to polls, if it were indeed possible to do on a grand scale, could backfire badly, due to FPTP strategic voting logic. On the contrary, projections for SNP need to be as high as possible, so that voters reason a vote for Labour is a lost vote.
Good point, Annette.
I think I typed something similar under another topic, elsewhere on WOS, earlier today.
Mmm, NIESR – my favourite. Ironically the main parts of their reports were interesting, but the authors “allowed” them to be consistently quoted out of context and took to doing the same themselves. I wish NIESR would come out with their reports once a month and for them to get splashed all over the media because, I hope and pray, Scotland is no longer as gullible as it was on 18th September 2014.
Add to that I look forward to the first OBR report which says that Scotland would have a £20 billion a year black hole as it’s forced to pump back IN all the oil because it’s too expensive to take out and it’s running out anyway.
And then that pair who were kicked out of Glasgow Uni and forced to rename themselves set up as a “charity”, more please, more, I want more input, I want data and I want all these charlatans to expose themselves and get arrested for indecent exposure and put on the Register.
Ah, I feel better for that!
Annette
I totally agree with this. It’s a form of psyops, psychological warfare. We can’t let Labour have any excuse for their “vote Labour to keep out Tory” line this time. It was true in 2010, but not for 2015.
It’s why I think we have to keep on saying that every single one of the 59 seats is winnable, not talking defeatist talk about “established blah blah yeeeeuch”.
Sorry for being a little off topic but…
Thank you, Balaaargh, for pointing out the bleeding obvious to Bugger (the Panda) but it’s nice to know that some people are not aware of such things. When you think of how many alternative metaphors could have been used… the mind boggles.
“Jim Murphy took a major gamble”
Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake…