There can surely be no credible disputing that the SNP leadership election – and therefore that of Scotland’s next First Minister – is, to put it very mildly, under a cloud.
As things stand, whoever wins will be forever tainted by the process – easy meat for the Unionist opposition in the Holyrood chamber and the media and a potential legal challenge could cause untold further damage to the party.
With six days still left for voting, the case for a reballot – an administratively fairly trivial task in an election being conducted almost entirely online – is now unanswerable, and needn’t even involve a delay.
The SNP having a fondness for lying about their membership wouldn’t have come as quite such a shock to the Scottish press if they paid a little more attention to this website. Because we were pointing it out two and a half years ago.
It was in October 2020 that we told you how the SNP’s 2019 accounts revealed the party’s true membership figures weren’t the claimed 126,000 but more like 87,000.
You might think that Scottish political journalists would all be in a shark-like frenzy of excitement at the events of the last few days. But not over on The Guardian.
Apparently it’s all a bit too much for the delicate wee flowers.
We’ve just been leaked this footage, apparently taken by an alert traveller, of Nicola Sturgeon at Edinburgh Airport, reacting badly to receiving news that Peter Murrell has been “unavoidably detained” and won’t be making their rendezvous to Rio.
Hats off to the SNP. Every time we think that the party’s leadership election can’t get any more absurdly farcical, they pull something extra-mad out of the bag.
After this happened yesterday, it suddenly become “known” across the Scottish media that the SNP NEC was going to hold an extraordinary meeting in order to authorise the release of the membership figures after all three candidates demanded them.
Some of the country’s most senior hacks, including BBC Scotland’s Political Editor and the editor of the Daily Record, sombrely informed their readers of the development.
TURABDIN on The Queer Parliament: “What next? Text books? The shelf life for politicians ought, for public health, to be short. Hallucination in the breed…” May 21, 17:02
Northcode on The Queer Parliament: “Here, I meant to add this, my final analysis bit, to the end of my last comment, but I forgot…” May 21, 16:42
agentx on The Queer Parliament: “Couldn’t you get a few more paragraphs in there?” May 21, 16:40
Northcode on The Queer Parliament: ““Speaking to the Press Association on Thursday, the First Minister said…” There’s some good rhetoric going on here… does Swinney…” May 21, 16:19
Marie Clark on Off-topic: “Hi Tinto, Geez oh, whit a sad place we live in now. I had absolutely no one to vote for…” May 21, 16:16
BigJay on The Queer Parliament: “Come on Rev., do a takedown on that howling success of an SNP politician, Angela Constance. I think she’s now…” May 21, 15:53
lothianlad on The Queer Parliament: “Lets not forget his so called friends in PIE. Harvey that is. Disgusting!!” May 21, 15:33
Geri on The Queer Parliament: “No reason that can’t happen again & forever more. Better to sail our own ship, & remove fools. Than someone…” May 21, 15:12
agentx on The Queer Parliament: “Speaking to the Press Association on Thursday, the First Minister said: “I intend to bring forward a motion to Parliament…” May 21, 15:04
Captain Caveman on The Queer Parliament: ““And the demonstrated possibility of such a condition existing is, I’d suggest, the period between 2007-2014 when with the deft…” May 21, 14:40
Sven on The Queer Parliament: “Lorncal @ 12.16. “I want a return to the norms by which society can thrive.” Exactly, LornC. And the demonstrated…” May 21, 14:22
sam on The Queer Parliament: “Having read the Tribunal Tweets transcript of much of the Employment Tribunal hearing of Ms Young v Manchester City Council…” May 21, 13:46
Stuart MacKay on The Queer Parliament: “Returning to norms does not benefit any of the existing political parties, or their positions. In fact quite the opposite.…” May 21, 13:42
Alf Baird on The Queer Parliament: ““decent unionists” Scotland was annexed by England in 1707, Scots made subject to colonial procedures ever since. There niver wis…” May 21, 13:28
Alf Baird on The Queer Parliament: ““Personally, I want a return to the norms by which society can thrive.” Return? Really? Has the hale o Scotland…” May 21, 13:20
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “Do you think Geri is enjoying a Pimm’s in the garden CC, or do you think she’s hanging around her…” May 21, 12:53
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “There are now a grand total of 70 mentions under the phrase ‘Northcode’ under this one post. All referring to…” May 21, 12:47
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: ““I’d add extreme ideology, thought police, group think/hive mentality to accept without question the State amending laws for said ideology.”…” May 21, 12:39
Captain Caveman on The Queer Parliament: “I pretty much agree with all of that. I’m used to Reform being denigrated as “far right” (especially by “ultra…” May 21, 12:35
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: “Southerbystander We know that isn’t the reason for illegally attacking a Sovereign Nation. These clowns would have us believe they’re…” May 21, 12:25
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “” I do love the smell of burning Northcode in the morning.” Man, I really got into your head, didn’t…” May 21, 12:23
Captain Caveman on The Land Of No Laws: “Agreed, Southernbystander. As would any decent, sane, rational person with an IQ>80. 🙂 The facts speak for themselves.” May 21, 12:20
Lorncal on The Queer Parliament: “HMcH/CC: Ia absolutely agree that something drastic needs to be done now, but I am not sure the far right…” May 21, 12:16
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Queer Parliament: “EX-BBC DIRECTOR: ‘PRO-TRANS BIAS PERVADED CORPORATION’ A former BBC Director of News and Current Affairs has revealed how the trans…” May 21, 12:12
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: “Yer flying today, Northy..haha! Trust the dour, humourless, clypey eejits not to see any humour in anything. Also, absolutely spot…” May 21, 12:11
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “I never found any of the shite you pissed aboot this place amusing… or interesting. “boring the life out of…” May 21, 12:06
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “Look, Geri… atween the twa o us we really pissed off those thick Inglis colonialists. Mission accomplished, eh? I don’t…” May 21, 12:05
Southernbystander on The Land Of No Laws: “Isn’t this all dancing on the head of a pin? ‘Persia’ is a murderous and very oppressive regime, that has…” May 21, 12:00
