The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Quoted for truth #5

Posted on January 18, 2013 by

An unnamed SNP spokesman on STV News:

“We have no wish to comment on Cllr Matheson’s private life. The issues which are important to the city are Labour’s scandalous £500,000 pay-off to a supposed anti-poverty boss which has been condemned by the charity regulator, the closure of day centres for adults with learning disabilities without consultation, and their incompetence over plans to redevelop George Square.”

Still, we’re sure that free wi-fi will be along any day now.

29 to “Quoted for truth #5”

  1. redcliffe62 says:

    Had it been an SNP chappie I suspect the coverage might have been more extensive.
    Sorry for being caught is like an Armstrong apology. 

    Reply
  2. Doug Daniel says:

    Can anyone imagine Labour being able to resist such an easy opportunity for a dig if it had been an SNP council leader that had been exposed as having a good old “moment of madness”? If Matheson goes, it should be for the financial scandals (including selling off land for a fraction of its cost, apparently – no shock there, they did the exact same thing in Aberdeen), not because he was caught cheating on his partner in a public car park.

    Maybe we should wait for the full truth to come out though – maybe the guy he’s been having an affair with is an installation engineer from TalkTalk?

    “I can hook you up for free WiFi if you like…” 

    Reply
  3. Seasick Dave says:

    Well said, that unnamed SNP spokesman.

    Mr Matheson can deal with his partner when he gets home.

    Why do the people of Glasgow put up with the other crap; are they really that disinterested?

    Reply
  4. peter says:

    Off topic but I was offered a free Record today in the newsagent which I refused, is this a nationwide promotion and is it a sign of how bad the paper is that they cannot even give it away!!

    Reply
  5. Tris says:

    His “affairs” are between him and his partner.  They cost the taxpayer nothing.

    His misspending of public funds is our business. They cost millions.

    I, too, wonder if he’d been with the SNP would the Record or the Herald have printed such sympathetic reports? And would Labour have managed the restraint shown by the SNP spokesman?

    Reply
  6. Juteman says:

    As others have said, his sexuality should play no part in his vilification. He is simply not a nice person, and has shown that he shouldn’t be trusted in his private, as well as his public, life.

    Reply
  7. Elizabeth says:

    OT
    There’s a tweet from BBC’s Douglas Fraser a couple of minutes ago
    “I’ve just recorded a 30-min interview with Blair Jenkins of Yes Scotland, answering readers’ questions. Online within c 2 hours. 

    Reply
  8. tartanfever says:

    Thats interesting Elizabeth, I presume the interview must be about the economy otherwise the political editor should have been conducting the piece.

    I would expect a few ‘planted’ questions from Fraser’s pals at the Fraser of Allander Institute and John ‘Oh the burden of Oil !‘ MacLaren 

    Reply
  9. Triskelion says:

    People (including SNP supporters) try to pretend they think the SNP is an “ok” goverment so that Union supporters won’t think they are fanatics or braveheart nationalists. However when you read this (along with so many other examples), you realise they’re just they type of goverment almost any country in the world would wish for. It has nothing to do with the independence debate, they have done an excelent job (with some mistakes along the way like anyone) and there´s few evidence to rebuke that.

    Reply
  10. Davy says:

    I could’nt give a damn about his sexuality, but if you are leader of the majority party in power for the Glasgow Council, the largest city in Scotland and you are dumb enough to get caught doing a sexual act in a car in a public place with someone who is not your partner, then you will get everything you deserve.
    Because you are a complete numpty, and Glasgow deserves to have better as head of its council. 

    Reply
  11. robbie says:

    I would rather Matheson be removed from representing Glasgow on the world stage.
    Common Wealth Games ?
     
    His behavior in full view of the public was outrages and totally un acceptable for a high profile Public servant.
     
    He has to go.
     
     

    Reply
  12. robbie says:

    I hope the un named receiver of Mathesons full blown attention will do a Monika Lewenski.
     
     

    Reply
  13. Ysabelle says:

    I just wish they would stop referring to him ‘performing’ a sex act. It makes it sound like a piece of street theatre where there was an appreciative Glasgow audience. 

    Reply
  14. Pa Broon BA says:

    I don’t know, is juggling balls not a street performance?

    I’m not sure if his remaining in place is tenable, although what he gets up to in his private life should be just that, private.

    Annoyingly, if its this that he does end up resigning for, it paints a pretty poor picture of GCC and Scottish Labour more generally.

    So many jokes though… Perhaps he seen the light and is coming over to the yes, yes ,YES Scotland team?

    Reply
  15. Juteman says:

    Will folk start telling ‘black’ jokes next?

    Reply
  16. Betsy says:

    ‘Labour’s scandalous £500,000 pay-off
     
    It is worth noting that Labour’s generosity to Mr Saez doesn’t end there. Once Ronnie left GERA with just £500,000 to get him by he set up his own company. Can you guess which city council has it’s logo proudly displayed on his clients page? Also interesting to note that GRA (the successor to GERA) are also listed as a client.

    link to divercities.org.uk

    I feel that Freedom of Information urge coming on me again. Let’s find out just how much public money our Mr Saez has been pocketing at for what.   

    Reply
  17. Rod Macfarlane says:

    I had caught onto this story when It broke last evening, and decided to have a bit of fun with it..

    link to auldacquaintance.wordpress.com

    Reply
  18. pictishbeastie says:

    To be honest I was gobsmacked that the sleazy little tosspot was getting any sex at all………………………..

    Reply
  19. An Duine Gruamach says:

    It’s stupid that in Glasgow you get in more political bother for going on your knees in a car than for going on your knees begging the Orange Order for votes.

    Reply
  20. Dcanmore says:

    BBC Scotlandshire has went straight to the jugular over the Matheson affair lol! 

    Reply
  21. Elizabeth says:

    @tartanfever
    re Douglas Fraser interview with Blair Jenkins. Looking for it on the BBC website (not there yet), I came across a page (politics page) dated 14th January “Put your Referendum questions to Blair Jenkins”….it says “Mr Jenkins will be grilled on these issues and more during the half-hour interview, which will be published on BBC Scotland’s politics website” 
    Presumably this is the same interview.  . 

    Reply
  22. Macart says:

    I’d far rather he’d got done for the corruption running amok in Glasgow chambers. How much of an embarrassing disaster he makes of his private life is down to him.

    Reply
  23. douglas clark says:

    I do not care for Mathieson, but if the only people who saw this incident were cops patrolling with entrapment in mind, well, do we really need them doing that? You can get into a hell of a lot of trouble for having a piss in a public place too. Ever been caught up a lane having a piss by a cop? It is a henious crime to give into bodily necessities, so it is.

    Not that that has happened to me, oh no, honest guv.
     
     

    Reply
  24. The Rough Bounds. says:

    There’s no doubt that this was a bad blow for Labour.
    Matheson must be really fed up that it’s all over the papers and probably all over the broad sheets as well.
    What is it with Glasgow Labour that they are so keen on having homosexual council leaders? And when will they get to the bottom of it?

    Reply
  25. Cameron says:

    Where’s Finbarr Saunders when you need him?
     
    Seriously though, if he’s been caught with his hand in his mum’s purse, so to speak, I hope the full weight of the law comes down on him, without any outside considerations being taken in to account.

    Reply
  26. Stevie Cosmic says:

    Had Mr Matheson been straight and was doing his own missus in a car park in the south side, he would, quite probably, STILL have been arrested and charged with the same offence. Remember Gillain Taylforth from Eastenders and the way the press hounded her? Worth bearing in mind. He broke the law, and that is always a serious indictment for a public official.
    As has been said, his cosy alliance with the orange order is of far more concern to the folks of Glasgow than his boring, if not inconsequential sexual escapades.

    Reply
  27. Christian Wright says:

    Ysabelle says:

    “I just wish they would stop referring to him ‘performing’ a sex act. It makes it sound like a piece of street theatre where there was an appreciative Glasgow audience.”

    Trust me, Ysabelle, for many of us any sex act IS a piece of street theatre, especially as one ages.

     

    Reply
  28. Christian Wright says:

    Playing devil’s advocate here for a minute . . .

    Would it be too crass to suggest that the unnamed SNP spokesman should be sacked along with whoever else had a hand in this announcement? 

    When your enemy hands you a bat, hit him over the head with it! Exploit every weakness he has. If he presents no weaknesses – invent some.

    This is how Labour, the Tories, the Liberals, the press, and broadcast media, think when targeting the First Minister and others in the Scottish Government. 

    What do you think would have happened had Salmond been the one in that car? He would be toast. 

    By all means, profess your disdain for the publicity this sordid peccadillo has generated, then use surrogates to do the dirty.
     

    Reply
  29. Cameron says:

    @ Christian Wright
     
    I wouldn’t like to meet you in a dark alley. I still think there is plenty of opportunity to let the Unionists hoist themselves on their own petard. Then put the boot in, gouge the eyes, etc.

    Reply


Comment - please read this page for comment rules. HTML tags like <i> and <b> are permitted. Use paragraph breaks in long comments. DO NOT SIGN YOUR COMMENTS, either with a name or a slogan. If your comment does not appear immediately, DO NOT REPOST IT. Ignore these rules and I WILL KILL YOU WITH HAMMERS.


  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,874 Posts, 1,235,804 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Rev. Stuart Campbell on A Dumber Nation: “” Many of us would like to see you further tear shreds out of Anus Sarewar following his blatent “not-my-fault-if-we-tank-in-election”…Feb 10, 00:45
    • A2 on A Dumber Nation: “would the hypothetical Trrans person sue before or after performing suicide?Feb 10, 00:19
    • GM on The Marshalling Plan: “Small change, Northcode man. You need at least a billion to get into the Degenerate club. Millionaires would maybe get…Feb 10, 00:06
    • sarah on Echoes of history: “@ James Cheyne, those rumours sound good. I hope they come true. But must you leave Wings?Feb 9, 22:30
    • Aidan on Echoes of history: “@Hatey – it’s vanishingly unlikely that any Liberate bum will be hitting any Holyrood seat given the general lack of…Feb 9, 22:20
    • Rob on A Dumber Nation: “I very much doubt any trans man would argue to be in the men’s prison estate. Can you imagine what…Feb 9, 22:20
    • sarah on A Dumber Nation: “This report confirms what we knew would be the case if men were allowed into women’s prisons [and elsewhere]. What…Feb 9, 22:09
    • Hatey McHateface on A Dumber Nation: “Be more specific, Fearghas. Up what?Feb 9, 21:27
    • Hatey McHateface on Echoes of history: “We’ll still be favourites for the toe curling.Feb 9, 21:25
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on A Dumber Nation: “Re the article’s top photo: Why has Swinney only got ONE hand up?Feb 9, 20:32
    • Peter McAvoy on A Dumber Nation: “The Health Minister should rule out the trial of puberty blockers in Scotland. Then this awful policy should be scrapped.…Feb 9, 20:28
    • Scot Finlayson on A Dumber Nation: “The American government is looking into opening up insane asylums for the protection and safety of those that are insane,…Feb 9, 20:11
    • 100%Yes on Echoes of history: “Playing for the colonizer is a hard act to swallow, I couldn’t watch or support team GB no matter where…Feb 9, 20:04
    • Hatey McHateface on Echoes of history: “” With luck, the Alliance MSPs might be part of the “government” ” Seriously? So as soon as bums hit…Feb 9, 19:56
    • 100%Yes on Echoes of history: “When the British team handed Sweden 5 stones I thought these two might just be Scottish after all.Feb 9, 19:55
    • PC Foster on A Dumber Nation: “We normally think that drugs and medical procedures are produced purely in response to human need but that is not…Feb 9, 19:54
    • Effijy on A Dumber Nation: “The next part in the pantomime is rough tough violent criminals who receive long sentence abuse this absurdity by stating…Feb 9, 19:51
    • Hatey McHateface on A Dumber Nation: “@Alf Found your passport yet? I’m assuming the reason you won’t tell us what country’s passport you travel under is…Feb 9, 19:51
    • sarah on Echoes of history: “Apologies re the link given – I was thinking of the committee of Yes United!Feb 9, 19:49
    • Hatey McHateface on Echoes of history: “I had a look at that link, sarah. Deeply unimpressive. I suggest they use some of their fund raising to…Feb 9, 19:45
    • sarah on Echoes of history: “Curling [mixed double] bronze is still available! Don’t despair too soon.Feb 9, 19:44
    • Xaracen on Echoes of history: “Best wishes from me too, James. I know we’ve had our differences, but we’re on the same side, and your…Feb 9, 19:36
    • Alf Baird on A Dumber Nation: “Thankfully robust postcolonial theory is built on historical evidence and actual events relating to numerous colonial adventures globally. It is…Feb 9, 19:30
    • sarah on Echoes of history: “James Cheyne, I agree that the time-scale for the word to get out about Alliance to Liberate Scotland is far…Feb 9, 19:28
    • Ebok on Echoes of history: “‘My first priority, my first loyalty, is to my country, Scotland’ 18 months on from Starmer’s – and Sarwar’s –…Feb 9, 19:25
    • DaveL on A Dumber Nation: “Give yer arse a chance for fucks sake!Feb 9, 19:24
    • Hatey McHateface on Echoes of history: ““a society very different from the one I was born to and in which I was raised” Tell us more,…Feb 9, 19:10
    • Hatey McHateface on A Dumber Nation: “All very well, Alf, but what news for people who have already bought tickets for the upcoming SNO concerts in…Feb 9, 19:03
    • Hatey McHateface on A Dumber Nation: ““If we take the Epstein files as accurate” “If we also extrapolate” “I think it is safe to say” “I…Feb 9, 18:56
    • agentx on Echoes of history: “Shit – Scotland go out of the curling 🙁Feb 9, 18:30
  • A tall tale



↑ Top