A few days ago, a constituency poll by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft found that the SNP were leading narrowly in Edinburgh South – a seat in which they secured a paltry 7.7% of the vote in the 2010 general election. Keep that fact in mind, readers.
Today the Edinburgh Evening News (EEN) published an article by David Maddox, a senior political journalist on the Scotsman, alleging that the SNP candidate for the seat, Neil Hay, had “liken[ed] anti-independence campaigners to Nazi collaborators” in a tweet over two and a half years ago (from a pseudonymous account under the name “Paco McSheepie”), and had also tweeted a series of attacks on pensioners.
Scottish Labour immediately leapt on the article and demanded Mr Hay be sacked as the candidate, less than two weeks before the election. It’s not possible to replace a candidate at such a late stage – some voters may already have voted by post – and such a move would thereby effectively have handed the seat to the Labour candidate and previous MP Ian Murray by default.
The story turned out to be an absurd, massive exaggeration and misrepresentation of the reality. But it also exposed a level of naked, shameless dishonesty and hypocrisy in Scottish Labour, and in particular its deputy leader Kezia Dugdale, that even this site hadn’t previously dared to imagine.
Earlier today we highlighted some of the social-media charm of Labour blogger and BBC pundit Ian Smart, after the Scottish branch office deputy leader Kezia Dugdale demanded that the First Minister should take a more pro-active role in policing the comments of party members on Twitter and Facebook.
Mr Smart’s history of incredibly abusive and offensive comments stretches back many years. But of course, it wouldn’t be reasonable to berate Scottish Labour for its failure to act if it wasn’t aware of them. So we had a trawl through his Twitter followers list just to see if there was anyone who might have noticed and brought it to the leadership’s attention so they could have a quiet word.
At today’s First Minister’s Questions, the Scottish Labour deputy leader Kezia Dugdale launched into an ill-advised attack over an SNP candidate who’d made some foolish (but not especially outrageous) comments on Twitter in 2012. Rather than simply issuing the standard generic condemnation of abusive remarks, Nicola Sturgeon did so but also drew Dugdale’s attention to the beam in her own eye.
Labour activist, blogger, lawyer and regular BBC pundit Ian Smart (he hasn’t been seen on STV since accusing them repeatedly, without any evidence, of letting the SNP pre-approve all interview questions some time ago) is well known to readers of this blog. Bizarrely, however, Dugdale feigned ignorance of his activity.
To help her, we’ve compiled some of Mr Smart’s greatest hits.
We’re just putting this shot of today’s brief Edinburgh gathering (from Isabel Hardman of the Spectator) here for the record, so people can compare it with the footage and images that appear on tonight’s news bulletins and tomorrow’s newspapers.
We’re going to have to check what the CBI’s position on electoral reform was before First Past The Post threatened to elect a load of SNP MPs and became a democratic outrage in the process. We’ll get back to you on that one.
Alert readers were startled yesterday when a former UK Prime Minister who WASN’T Gordon Brown suddenly took it upon himself to lumber out of his crypt and unleash an unsolicited intervention in the general election campaign.
As apparently that’s now the requirement for anyone attempting to influence a vote in Britain, we’re sure Sir John – a man best remembered in the world of politics for cheating on his wife with one of his ministers and instituting the Cones Hotline – will remind us which constituency he’s standing for any minute now.
If you thought the right-wing press was having paroxysms at the weekend, readers, you’re going to love what they had lined up for the day of the SNP manifesto launch.
Let’s have a little tour of the London newsrooms, shall we?
The splendid video below is a short clip from one of a Scottish Labour “campaign rally” held on Saturday morning. (And we do mean Saturday morning – the gathering seen in the distance at the very beginning as Murphy walks up through a deserted Buchanan Street appear to be waiting outside the Sainsbury’s Local, which opens at 7am.)
One can only admire Anas Sarwar’s upbeat view of his audience. But from the broader perspective, readers might be forgiven for wondering what on Earth was going on.
Captain Caveman on The Party Of The Dead: “” Note the ‘C’ word there. Readers who have swallowed whole Professor Baird’s “Scotland as colony” thesis can’t seriously be…” Aug 7, 19:33
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “An interesting article on how the pro-EU government recently voted into power in Hungary is gerrymandering the constitution to ensure…” Aug 7, 19:11
Chas on The Party Of The Dead: “Just out of intetest who is ‘our own people’? Have you got any names?” Aug 7, 17:32
Vestas on The Party Of The Dead: “Presumably they’ll have the “Murrell Money” to rely on for next years accounts?” Aug 7, 16:33
David Ferguson on The Party Of The Dead: “@Ian Smith it seems Glasgow may be an innocent party here. Arday’s claim that he was a “full Professor” at…” Aug 7, 15:34
I. Despair on Anatomy Of A Grift: “…and a sequel, Gorillas on the Piss.” Aug 7, 14:35
lothianlad on The Party Of The Dead: “The SNP leadership has capitualted to the notion of westminster soverignty!! Thats something the SNP NEVER did util sturgeon took…” Aug 7, 14:21
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “Once again, Alf, many thanks. As you write, it seems difficult for me to understand. But ultimately, I’m not seeing…” Aug 7, 12:23
Captain Caveman on The Party Of The Dead: “Good grief, Alf, thought you might’ve taken the (very clear) hint from this site’s Editor last time: give it a…” Aug 7, 11:14
robertkknight on The Party Of The Dead: “What does DEI mean again? Oh yes, “Didn’t Earn It”. The road to WOKE is paved with the worst kind…” Aug 7, 11:00
Alf Baird on The Party Of The Dead: ““Why the hell Glasgow made him a professor” Same reason all 19 higher education institutions in Scotland mostly appoint people…” Aug 7, 11:00
BLMac on The Party Of The Dead: “Hopefully the staff cuts have been on the demented pronoun police types, but that’s unlikely. Probably managed to weed out…” Aug 7, 10:56
Alf Baird on The Party Of The Dead: ““I’d ask you for a weather forecast” As that seems difficult for you to understand, I’ll make it easier for…” Aug 7, 10:46
Hatey McHateface on Anatomy Of A Grift: “@ Southernbystander says: 6 August, 2026 at 11:17 am The very concept of taboos becomes irrelevant in a multi-cultural context.…” Aug 7, 10:32
100%Yes on The Party Of The Dead: “That’s why getting rid of the SNP is important and will move things along. After the 2014 referendum the SNP…” Aug 7, 10:26
Ian Smith on The Party Of The Dead: “It was Glasgow that first made Arday a full time prof. That was the time to put his academic record…” Aug 7, 10:21
James Che on The Party Of The Dead: “100% Yes, We don,t require a new movement, we require our own parliament with our own people running it. Rather…” Aug 7, 09:52
James Che on The Party Of The Dead: “The insanity of having two English governing bodies means both sides of the border craziness. After all England suggested devolution…” Aug 7, 09:40
100%Yes on The Party Of The Dead: “The fall of the SNP poses a bigger problem not for Independence that’ll happen without the SNP, its The National,…” Aug 7, 09:18
James Che on The Party Of The Dead: “Alex spoke about there being no actual Union between Scotland and England but took the wrong road in placing party…” Aug 7, 09:10
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “Mail absolutely ripping into the scarce believable story that is Jason Arday: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16035019/Labour-scandal-woke-dogma.html I really want to believe that this…” Aug 7, 08:43
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “Cheers, Alf, that’s a great help. I’d ask you for a weather forecast, but I’m confident you’re gonna say that…” Aug 7, 08:05
Alf Baird on The Party Of The Dead: ““What happens next?” Postcolonial theory is clear, Hatey, there are only two possible outcomes with colonialism (Memmi): 1. colonialism is…” Aug 7, 07:56
Stevie on The Party Of The Dead: “Wish they would just, collapse and disappear – repugnant lot. The MacGhost of a dream that should now just fade…” Aug 6, 23:34
Young Lochinvar on The Party Of The Dead: “Sorry Meant to add.. The “next” party.. What’s to stop the grifters and SPADS from just jumping ship to the…” Aug 6, 22:37
Hatey McHateface on Anatomy Of A Grift: “I think that anybody predicting anything for 5 years in the future really isn’t paying attention to the news. But…” Aug 6, 22:25
Young Lochinvar on The Party Of The Dead: “100 percenter That raises the fundamental problem. If an alternative Indy party is not nurtured then the death of the…” Aug 6, 22:17
Young Lochinvar on The Party Of The Dead: “Powerful post indeed Red. Needed said.” Aug 6, 22:00
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: ““all part of the decolonization process (Fanon)”, eh, Alf? What does Fanon say about the hijab and tea towel wearers?…” Aug 6, 21:44
Skip_NC on The Party Of The Dead: “The Express? Well that explains it. I prefer the Beano.” Aug 6, 21:37
