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Wings Over Scotland


Under pressure

Posted on March 22, 2015 by

We have to give Jim Murphy credit – on this week’s Sunday Politics he started off with the subtle, misleading but technically-accurate version of Labour’s line about the “biggest party forming the government”, which involves making the true but irrelevant observation that in the past it’s usually been the case. (Mainly because UK elections almost always give the biggest party a comfortable majority.)

But it only took a couple of minutes of questioning for the Scottish branch manager to lose his cool and resort to the comprehensively debunked flat-out lie again.

Neil hadn’t even directly challenged the claim, but as he was pushed on a couple of other subjects Murphy grew loud and irritable and tried to bluster his way through the entire 10-minute interview from just a couple of minutes in, which is an awfully long period of time to have to try to bluster through.

So rattled was he that towards the end he even gave a straight answer, finally, to at least one of the questions surrounding his candidacy for the East Renfrewshire seat in May. You can see the entire interview below.

Murphy’s been seen very little for the past week. Don’t you think he looks tired?

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desimond

Just spotted page 2 of independent on Sunday…a 10 paragraph “no deal no way” rant from Chair of Scottish Labour MPs Michael McCann.

It concludes with the note the MP and Labour others under severe pressure!!

Janis

deluded idiot, completely missed the point.

heedtracker

He has been an unmitigated disaster and that’s with the full might of all the British press and the BBC behind him too.

Colin Perrie

He’s lost in a wilderness of mirrors

squarego

Labour still talking as if they’re the natural party of power in Scotland. Utter denial.

george

tired and hungry. but that’s ok, ‘cos his tea’s oot.

Geoff Huijer

A Labour Politician from Glasgow talking about ‘how we eradicate poverty’ when Labour in Glasgow are the ones that have presided over DECADES of poverty!

How dare he!

Alastair Watson

My goodness, I am baffled by Jimsmurhy . How on earth did that man get this far in life ??
Wow what a mythomaniac , and shame on you for blatantly trying to deceive your (voters).
Silly man

John Walsh

Jim Murphy will definitely stand for the East Renfrewshire seat. Has he told his constituents? And for Holyrood 2016 ! In which seat. Good luck getting an answer to that question Stu.

JPFife

Another slip up/reveal? 10:36; “We’ve said already there wouldn’t be a coalition and there wouldn’t be a deal” After Andrew Neil pressing Jim about supply and confidence.

Famous15

Who? Harriet Jones…don’t you think he looks tired. OK it was Dr Who!

Valerie

I’ve said that too, not so much jogging and bouncing around in football tops. I’ve also seen Kez wheeled in, when you would have thought it might be the leader.

To be fair, I quite enjoyed Neil, because he did deliver a few barbs about garbage performance. I also think Neil likes to go for popular opinion attacks, so he is responding to the general view of Murphy sealing SLab fate.

Murphy just doesn’t have the wit to go off piste, so when his repetition is under question, he starts losing it.

crazycat

At the last General Election, there was, unusually, no outright winner. Most people appear to have been surprised that the Liberal Democrats chose to support the Tories.

Had the electorate known this was possible/likely before they voted, it’s possible (though untestable) that the outcome might have been different.

The polls this time suggest another hung parliament. Voters now know that this means deals between parties; not surprisingly they want to know what deals are possible and which have been ruled out.

They want to know this now, not after the election when it will be too late.

So Jim’s wrong (again). It does need to be discussed now.

Andy Howie

Utter car crash of an interview. I look forward to the 2016 elections. He is going to get monstered…

mogabee

He’s struggling to keep it together. That cold hard stare is him trying to focus on his prepared theme…

When it goes, man that geyser will run and run!

Kenny Campbell

How can you be tired hiding in a bunker. It’s just Lamont mark II. When it’s hard it’s time to disappear.

So

Good Doctor Who reference!

John Fern

I wonder if he still talks shite in private, Then again who gives a f###.

Macart

Three ‘just wows’ in one day. That’s got to be a record.

😮

Tam Jardine

“…they (the SNP) don’t have many bargaining chips in their hands…” says Jim.

Aye – thats just what it feels like at the moment Jim, the SNP on course for their best General Election result in their history, reviled by all the big Westminster parties and media who are obsessed with the ramifications of Scotland voting a sizeable force in…. they will be powerless Jim.

All of the Westminster establishment are terrified because the SNP will be a total irrelevance after the election!

What an arse!

As for the establishment, I can’t understand their terror – surely no greater expression of our wonderful union could their be than the largest party in Scotland and the largest party in England ruled together these sceptered isles. We can have the best of both worlds – left and right wing, good AND evil… isn’t this great democratic coming together what all the No voters voted No for?

Pat

I think there will have been a lot of labour supporters screaming “JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION” at the TV during that interview. I don’t think performances like this have any chance of winning over voters. It’s also obvious from this interview that he might not even be in the loop when it comes to what Ed Milliband is thinking.

Sooz

Finally, a presenter points out that a coalition wasn’t even considered by the SNP. Jim is doing my head in. Blah blah blah.

robert urquhart

He does look tired but no one does tired and emotional quite like Charles Kennedy.

Robert Kerr

Murphy is teetotal.

Grouse Beater

One big yawnnnnnnnnzzzz

mac

Jim Murphys mobuke goes he answers and the voice at the other end of the line says, “This is conservative HQ, come in agent Murphy your mission is done, Labour are finished!!!”

He has been a gift to the SNP an absolute fool of epic and monumental proportion, misses the point completely 😀

titchyboy85

The site just skipped on my phone and the first vid was replaced by one about Mormons. Anybody else experience that? ????

Eckle Fechan

Brilliant. More popcorn! He’s had his arse well and truly, totally, felt.

He’s just another hack amateur scrawny irrelevance on the way out. And Andra frae Paisley kens it.

1979. We’ve heard it. Nobody cares, most of all the rUK audience, who dunno what you’re on about and wouldn’t give a fuck if they did.

Dae us aw a favour Jim, move the fuck ootay Clarkston once ye’r seat goes doon the pan.

Jim Arnott

When oh when will some presenter throw the book at Murphy and ask him if he understands the Cabinet Office paper on who gets to form a government in a hung parliament. If the Tories cannot command a majority in the House of Commons then it will be up to other parties to try and form a government.

What is it about this that is so hard for presenters/journalists to understand that they cannot, or is it they don’t want to, challenge the likes of Murphy on his stupid assertion that it is the largest party that forms the government in a hung parliament. It is the party or parties that can command a majority that will form the government – or have I misunderstood.

I haven’t heard anyone challenge the Labour party on this.

Devereux

Out canvassing yesterday actually met an elderly voter who wants to vote SNP. Didn’t like Salmond but likes Nicola v. much BUT she is thinking of voting Labour because she is worried about putting the Tories in power.

Explained it several times to her but tbh still not sure if nerves will get her on the day.

Getting out there and talking to people with no access to social media is vital.

Andrew Walker

Murphy was at it unchallenged on Murnaghan on Sky this morning as well. The ginger skeletor really doesn’t see that his line is getting him nowhere.

Wasn’t impressed by Wee Eck on sky, it was just a booksell and he wasn’t getting his message across well. On these type programmes he’s just antagonising the english which matters as it could push them towards the tories. Nicola would be better I think.

john ferguson

Aye Jim says it’s the biggest party that governs but I want the BEST party to govern.

David S Briggs

Say what you like about Andrew Neil and I frequently do. He goes for the jugular if he spots weakness in the person he’s interviewing. He badgered and bullied Murphy mercilessly albeit he failed to pull him up about ‘The biggest party’ shite.

Sometimes old Paisley thugs come in useful.

Author_al

This is all about Labour in Scotland earnestly spinning to win the media war. It has most of the media in its pocket. I was hoping the Sunday Herald might shake them up but it leads with a weak front page, and is packed with so many lacklustre comments that I thought I was reading the Daily Herald.

Iain Macwhirter spouts “and it is undoubtably true that if you abolished Barnett tomorrow and left the Scottish Parliament reliant solely on taxation raised in Scotland then there would be a budgetary shortfall, not least because of the collapse of the oil price” Really? Lot of ifs there.

Murphy’s claim of 20000 Labour members is rehashed. Really?

“Clegg tells unionists: vote for us”

“Labour accuse Alex Neil of breaching ministerial code”

“Ex SNP Edinburgh leader faces questions…”

Etc, etc. I could go on. This paper is supportive of Yes voters?

Really?

David S Briggs

@Andrew Walker

If you don’t like Salmond just say so. I honestly don’t see the point of that second paragraph.

Johnny

It’s interesting how he seems to always try and slip things in when he thinks the interviewer isn’t listening to him but moving onto their next question.

The bit where he said that it was already made clear there would not be a Lab/SNP coalition AND that ‘there wouldn’t be a deal’ was a case in point. The word ‘deal’ here is catch-all and he might later try and say that he only meant to reaffirm and underline that there would be no ‘coalition deal’ or he might claim it was any kind of deal.

For now, he hopes not to be pushed on the point and tries to slide it into his answer in a sneaky way.

Stu Magoo

That was brilliant!
I’m gonnae miss you Jim – ya big scarey passive aggressive bastard.

vambomarbeleye

He should have been pulled up about 1979 pish.
Thank god I voted for Jim. He’s panning out exactly as I would have hoped.

Bugger (the Panda)

Murphy’s been seen very little for the past week. Don’t you think he looks tired?

Been on the UHU?

Probably more prosaic; he knows he is totally ferked and Miliband has written Scotland off for Labour.

I would guess Miliband has already had some arms’ length, off the record, totally deniable, discussions with Nicola.

Cameron probably knows this and this is why the Tories are going apeshit to shut this out.

Andrew Morton

God, that was like going to the dentist and having root canal treatment with blunt instruments. In the back of his eyes you can see a touch of desperation setting in. He obviously thought he could swing things for SLab and now realises the jig is up. But he’s trapped.

Grouse Beater

There was no one in can do tired and emotional quite like Charles Kennedy.

“Where to start?” was his opening remark to his turn to speak on BBC’s Question Time … and then the lights went out behind his eyes.

There was no one in.

Kenny

Aren’t we missing the key feature here? Murphy says the biggest party WILL form the next government. At present that looks like being the Tories. Does that mean Labour will allow a Tory Queen’s Speech to pass JUST to spite the SNP? It’s the only explanation I can think of. And then they’ll spend the next year saying “Salmond let the Tories in! You can’t trust them!”

It will be a lie, but having been told ad nauseam that the largest party forms the government – FACT! – and the largest party DOES form the government, it will be relatively easy sell for them since most people will never hear either point seriously challenged.

Labour are planning to put the Tories in power. You heard it here first.

steveasaneilean

Okay – here is the constitutional reality for who gets to form the Government and why.

First things first – on May 7th we are NOT voting for a new Government. We are in fact voting for a new Parliament.

It is that Parliament which has the sole right to decide who forms the next Government.

To form a Government a party or coalition of parties has to carry with it a majority of the house.

They do not need to be the biggest party – they just need the support of the majority of the house to be allowed to govern.

As to who gets first go – the rule book is quite clear. If no one party has an overall majority then the standing Prime Minister has the absolute right to first go at forming something that will carry the majority support of the house.

It’s amazing what you learn from Radio 4.

Richardinho

It’s always easy to think that politicians of a party who you don’t support are slimier and more dislikable than the ones for the party that you do support, but surely it’s not subjective that Jim Murphy is more evasive than most politicians?

Richardinho

Have to say I’m bemused by Murphy’s assertion that voters don’t care about what happens after the election. Isn’t that the point in having an election?

Lesley-Anne

Robert Kerr says:

Murphy is teetotal.

Going on THIS *ahem* performance Robert I’d have to disagree and say he has just found out the joys of alcohol. 😀

Bugger (the Panda)

@ Grouse Beater
22 March, 2015 at 7:13 pm

“Where to start?” was his opening remark to his turn to speak on BBC’s Question Time … and then the lights went out behind his eyes.

and with it his chances of retaining his seat.

carjamtic

Labour Party Bullshit

Sometimes you have to step in it to learn how to avoid it.

We have,we do.

Joemcg

As predicted by Stu and many others on this site the choice of Murphy would be manna from heaven for the SNP and that’s how it’s turned out. The red Tories should have paid attention.

De Valera

It will be a pretty dull election if we keep going on about 1979, oh hang on……

thorbor

What gets me is that labour don’t plan to form a government if they get less seats than the tories

galamcennalath

If the SNP take only one seat, then please let it be his. He has to go down.

I hope they win an extra 40+, but no Labour MP deserves to have their snout banned from the trough as Murphy!

Tired? As my granny would have said, “He luks lik bile’t shite!”

[…] Under pressure […]

uilleam_beag

As we say round Inversneck:

“Thon boy Jim Murphy is a fackeen wonker.”

Does he not have a single person in his team willing to point out the obvious: ” If you aren’t even able to come clean to your constituents whether you’re standing for one year or five, how do you expect the country to believe a single thing you say?”

Stoker

DUM DUM DE DUM DUM DE DUM DE DUM DE DUM
(that’s my pathetic attempt at the death march)
link to youtube.com
🙂

Marcia

If Labour do lose most of their seats I doubt if he will be around that long.

Lesley-Anne

Is it OUR collective birthday today or something folks? 😉

I mean we have had the elloquence of Anna Soubry on the Marr show, the Tory P.P.B, the new Labour P.P.B., Murph the Smurph being ripped to shreds and now this in the Guardian.

For those who have not yet witnessed the Smurph’s latest extravaganza: 😉

link to youtube.com

link to archive.today

The last paragraph reads:

One senior Labour figure fears “civil disobedience” if the SNP accrues too much power over the English. For now, such a prospect is surely remote. But in how many elections are such fears even voiced? So much more is at stake this time than who gets to walk into No 10.

I think this is just the icing on an absolutely super duper califragilistic sunny Sunday! 😀

Iain Gray's Subway Lament

He’s jist no up tae the job and nivver wis.

Murphy actually thinks “a list” of Labour lies and PR slogans is a positive reason to vote for the red tories when the scottish public desperately wants to see an honest politician they can look in the eye and who clearly means what they say. That sure as fuck isn’t Murphy and he looks and sounds more slippery, fake and dishonest by the day.

BrianW

god, that’s a car crash..

Usual tactic of talk blindly over anyone.. la, la, la la.. I’m not listening… la, la, la 1979 .. la, la, la..

Did like how Mr Neil brushed aside Jim’s 50millionth mention of 1979.. tutting as you would at a 5year old clyping..

I think he’s looking close to a break down.

Paula Rose

Big Dim Jim keeps going on about letting his constituents know his plans first – how does he intend to do this? A personal hand-written letter?

Joemcg

Lesley-Anne-I concur,today probably has been our best day for months. Must have added thousands of votes to the cause.

stonefree

Watching that, I find it hard to imagine that getting elected to Westminster,but there lies a good probability. Followed up with him as a List MSP
Truly depressing,
I just wonder if Milliband finds him a millstone?

Nuada

Total and utter cant (did I spell that right?)

a supporter

If Labour DO run with the 1979 nonsense then here is a picture with comment to post to whoever makes the claim be it on Twitter Facebook or elsewhere.

comment image

Pic is of Callaghan castigating the 34 LAB MPs who really brought down his Government in 1979.

Fiona

@ thorbor and others

It may be that Labour plan to allow the tories to govern if they are the largest party. But for that to be true we have to believe that they would forego ministerial wages and perks without a fight. Do you believe Milliband can carry that within his party?

I don’t.

Lesley-Anne

Joemcg says:

Lesley-Anne-I concur,today probably has been our best day for months. Must have added thousands of votes to the cause.

I have to admit Joe that if I ever was a floating voter, after this week ends barrel load of fun I would no longer be floating I would be firmly and securely tied to the S.N.P. 😉

It may just be me, but every time anyone from Tory, Labour or Lib Dem open their mouths the vote count for the S.N.P. across Scotland goes UP! 😀

Edward

@Marcia – Oh I think Murphy will hang around like a bad smell if he manages to get elected, even if the rest don’t

Why? (I hear you ask 🙂 )
Simple Murphy, in his own selfish interests, must get elected. If not, he will be unemployed and as he most definitely IS unemployable will not get anything short of flogging fries at your local McD’s

So only if he is not elected, will he disappear

Paula Rose

Total and utter can’t have a majority – Nuada xx

BuckieBraes

This ‘biggest party gets to form the government’ and ‘the SNP could help David Cameron stay in power’ stuff falls apart under so little scrutiny that a child of five could explain it.

Someone go fetch the mainstream media a child of five.

Mealer

Britboy Murphy is trying to hold on to what’s left of the Labour vote,which is mainly elderly.No future in that.

GM_Dundonian

Woah. They really have nothing else, do they? They really think such obvious lies will still work somehow in changed political climate of post referendum Scotland.

I read that Jim admitted he didnt need to work for his seat before now, Blair won it for him back in the day. Only time he’s ever told the truth, based on this performance.

No more blanket labour safe seat coverage across Scotland. Happy days. No wonder he looks so stressed.

robertknight

Here was I thinking he was simply hiding under his desk, but it seems he’s also sleeping under it!

Sandra

“Murphy’s been seen very little the past week. Don’t you think he looks tired?”

Probably been busy getting his CV up to date and scouring the job ads. He’ll need one come May.

Sandy

Niel : “Your own personal ratings are now on the slide
too. 51% think you are doing badly as Scottish leader, it’s not going well is it ?”

Murphy : “Well we’ve got a long way to go. I’ve said that. these …

Niel : “But you are going in the opposite direction !

Epic fail from Murphy !

Andrew Walker

@David S Briggs

No David. I am actually normally a fan of Alex. But I don’t know what he was playing at plugging his book with this election coming up. He could have been doing what Murnaghan later failed to do and bursting Murphy’s lies. No-one seems to be doing this. Alex seemed content for Murnaghan to keep on the book. Missed opportunity.

handclapping

Its such a shame, that just when all these troughers Labour stalwarts get their p45s, the Labour Party says it doesn’t represent them. Sort of poetic justice in there if you look.

It would be soo nice if Rachel Reeves lost her seat

Tam Jardine

O/T laughing at John Snow- Richard III was the last king killed on the battlefield and before him Harold back in 1066.

King James IV was killed in battle at Flodden/Branxton what, 28 years later… I watched C4 tonight and was surprised that there was no mention of the last monarch to be killed on British soil.

As far as I know James IV’s remains have similarly been lost – there are similarities though I believe James was a hero and a great King, crushing defeat notwithstanding.

This is where I need Robert Peffers to come in – would be interested to hear his take.

cynicalHighlander

Murphy is only were his because of a totally inept MSM promoted way above his voting fodder station.

Meanwhile this is what Nick Clegg calls Home Rule that has been delivered. The cuckoos have arrived very early this year.

Wrinkleyreborn

You have to admit that the people of East Renfrew who would trust Murphy with two well paid jobs with expenses probably deserve him but surely this is much bigger than that, it’s about Scotland getting the representation at Westmonster that it has been denied for so many years. That is of course until Independence Day

Lollysmum

Lesley-Anne
Did you notice in the Murphy film you linked at 7.47pm (published today) there wasn’t a single reference to SNP?

That has to be a first for Jim. I see that as a change of direction-now he’s talking about beating the Tories. How do you beat the Tories when you & your party are the Red Tories & don’t have anything to offer the electorate?

Also if they’re going to beat the Tories, what do they say to everyone they’ve told to vote tactically? Sorry folks, we got it wrong! I don’t think that will go down well.

On this performance & today’s TV shenanigans Labour voters are surely going to think Labour has gone mad or daft, probably both. Would you want this person as your MP? I certainly wouldn’t.

John Sm.

@ Andrew Walker

I hear what your saying but remember that Alex’s book IS part of the campaign.

boris
Kevin Evans

He almost told Jim Murphy to “fuck off”, or at least he really wanted too.

Even the media are gettin tired of murphy.

Graham MacQueen

The audacity of this man knows no boundaries! Mr Murphy, if you truly wanted to tackle the problems of poverty then why the hell do you support their austerity measures? Piece of advice: stick your size thirteens in your mouth!!!

JLT

Another week where he wishes he hadn’t given up the glue.

Don’t worry, Jim …roughly 7 weeks to go, and you can take as many substances as you want. After all …you’ll have plenty of time on your hands…

Grouse Beater

People like Andrew Walker got empowered by Salmond to discuss Scotland’s democracy. Back in the dark days he would be liable to censorship, or losing his job.

In any event, Nicola Sturgeon is leading the battle against Murphy and his drones. Salmond was invited to discuss the contents of his book.

Better we read that than listen to Murphy’s sad mantra.

Phronesis

Talking about eradicating poverty can only be realised by the anti-austerity parties. The inequality gap increased under the New Labour government so I don’t really think that they can now convince us given their support for the recent coalition budget that they will make any meaningful inroads into the disgraceful levels of poverty in Scotland.
We now have the greatest difference in life expectancy since 1880 between one of the poorest areas of Glasgow and one of the most affluent in London. There are no local authorities in Scotland with child poverty rates in single figures.
There is an alternative vision of course (many of the child welfare groups who replied to the Smith Commission were very clear about all welfare matters being devolved to Scotland) and it is through Scotland becoming independent and totally in charge of its own resources.

Lollysmum

Andrew Walker
You are being unfair on Alex. He wasn’t invited onto Sky to talk politics, he was there to talk about his book. Right now it’s in the top 10 best sellers & those sales are doing the work for him by getting out the message about what happened during IndyRef. Apparently, he doesn’t mince his words & actually persuading people to buy it means that the message about the dirty tricks gets out to the wider world.

If SNP try to talk about the referendum on MSM the conversation gets shut down or derailed by the interviewers. The same happens when GE15 is discussed. Alex doesn’t miss opportunities. He uses them to advantage.

I would also guess that he wasn’t interested in talking about the election & what might happen. Nicola is the leader of SNP now & perhaps he is now reinforcing that message too.

Paula Rose

@ Tam Jardine – the end of the Plantagenet line, the rise of the House of Tudor – or actually not. A lineage stolen, but by then the inbreeding was already proving destructive.

Robert Kerr

O/T a little.

Please counter the “SNP let in Thatcher” meme with the actuality of SLAB’s “Feeble Fifty”

Useless timeservers!

link to petewishart.wordpress.com

Lesley-Anne

Aye that was rather surprising Lollysmum. I can only make the assumption that someone in the branch office has sort of maybe possibly twigged that by constantly attacking the S.N.P. they are driving folks TO the S.N.P. 😀

The only problem they now have is that everyone sees the Labour branch office as a branch office of the Tory party. Therefore this new avenue of attacking the Tories will not end well for them either. 😛

heedtracker

cynicalHighlander thanks for the link

“The draft clauses for a new Scotland Bill are “a bit of a guddle”, do not meet the brief of the Smith Commission and contain a “legally vacuous” and “potentially contradictory” commitment to enshrine the Scottish Parliament as a permanent institution, a report by the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee states”

THE VOW said vote NO for a “permanent” institutional Scottish government and Crash Gordon kept punching that bit of their THE VOW home really hard.

So now UK.gov says its actually legally vacuous and this odd lad was Smith Commission BetterTogether legal expert, haha.

link to twitter.com

Check out Prof’s rather sad cheers for Sourby this morn. Another chancer that thought Scotland was finished 18 Sept 2014.

iclare1

The angry ones all start off extreme and leave themselves nowhere to go but up.

Stoker

@ a supporter (8.08pm).

Thanks for that link.

Now bookmarked for future use and reference.
😉

Ian Brotherhood

‘Don’t you think he looks tired?’

He looks cream-crackered and desperate, and has no-one to blame but himself.

The day after he announced he would stand for the leadership, he had to face an angry mob outside Central Station. It’s been going downhill ever since. How often has he appeared in public since becoming leader? He daren’t show his face anywhere.

Remember all the speculation about his leadership bid? All the will-he, won’t-he nonsense that seemed to drag-on for weeks? He’s behaving like a blackmail victim, and his reluctance to take the job makes sense if viewed in that light – I don’t know what dirt there is on Boney-M, and I don’t want to know, but there’s no way the guy is daft – he knew he was being passed a poisoned chalice and, for whatever reason, he was not allowed to give it a miss.

BTW, I’m not feeling sorry for him – I’m trying to find a logical explanation for the man’s extraordinary, disturbing behaviour. For him to say, one minute into that interview, ‘We’re in this to come first’ indicates Blairesque levels of brassnecked bawbaggery.

Fiona

It was noted at the time that they could not legally make the Scottish parliament permanent. It is not within the power of any government to bind a sovereign parliament in the future.

desimond

When faced with the choice of Labour or Tory Leaders, the people of Scotland said “None of the Above” and chose a different option.

Jim Murphy still astonished

iclare1

He has been around, in Kilmarnock.
Bigging up Cathy Jamieson.
Labour are famous for turning up in residential homes right around the time for Postal Votes.
He even posted pics.

Grouse Beater

Right now Salmond’s book is in the top 10 best sellers. Sales are doing the work for him getting out the message about what happened during IndyRef. Apparently, he doesn’t mince his words.

You’re right about that! 🙂

I’ll post my review just after midnight.

Giesabrek

To all those who think Labour will throw the toys out of the pram and refuse to form a government if they have less seats than the Tories and then blame the SNP, imagine this.

Labour refuse to form a government, giving it back to the Tories. The SNP then call for a vote of no confidence in the Tory government. For this vote to fail Labour would have to abstain or even vote to support the new Tory government – checkmate!

Clarinda

The three panel guests with Mr Neil are so utterly riveted by the scintillating warmth, reason and personality of Mr Murphy that they can’t keep their eyes off their tablets throughout the entire spectacle.

Perhaps a teenzy-weenzy bit of understanding behind the fear at Westminster if they expect this calibre of muppetry to be the exemplar of Scottish MP (he is a leading branch operative after all)- along with some other notable incumbents. They can’t really appreciate the SNP MPs as they are generally shouted down on every occasion but that boorish bawling will be unlikely to succeed with the numbers hoped for holding balance and power? Oh please let it be so.

cearc

Paula Rose,

‘…but by then the inbreeding was already proving destructive.’

That is a very contentious opinion. Many historians consider it was due to the morris dancing.

Lesley-Anne

I don’t want to be treading on Marcie’s toes here but just to let folks know the National has yet antother cracking Front page tomorrow. 😉

Over to you Marcie. 😛

Lollysmum

L-A

I can live with that 🙂

Sinky

Very O/T but a good win for Més que un club Barca this evening in El Classico.

Spanish Press have taken to referring to the Real Madrid forward line as BBC and Barcelona front three as MSN.

Makes it difficult to be neutral!!!

Wayne

How does Keiza The Dug Dugdale feel taking all the flak and pish that is hurled at her because of Jims utterances, only to be told TO MOVE ALONG DEAR , when Jim enters Holyrood ( aye right) in 2016.

Someone needs to waken her up and say listen .KEIZA ..your being SHAT ON BY JIM MURPHY ..and you will be down the lavvy when he appears in 2016′

An Excellent new ATTACK point for the SNP

Paula Rose

@ Cearc

Morris dancing – nope he never did it for me.

Dave McEwan Hill

O/T

“Whatever state the accounts are in, it is the result of the Union.”

Wise, wise words from Derek Batemen today. We have to stop idiotic contesting of figures achieved in an economy trapped in a bust British economy and which would be run entirely differently if we were in control.
The GERS figures are irrelevant – except perhaps as an illustration of how you can beggar a naturally rich country

Dave McEwan Hill

Oh no! Richard the fecking Third again. He’s done an Andy Murray. He’s become “British”

Iain Hamilton

@steveasaneilean

Thank you for that summary of the largest party scenario.

May I post it to my FB page?

liz

I have also met 2 people out canvassing who are worried about letting the tories in so might consider voting Lab, remember I’m in East Ren so that means Murphy.

The way we have dealt with that is to ask them if they would like the candidate, Kirsten Oswald, to visit and go through their concerns.

She is a very capable, down to earth person and it has gone well as people feel they can trust her.

We are also arranging a ‘coffee morning’ visit in local sheltered housing for a Q&A session.

We are hoping to have a hub soon and this will make access to her easier- it is difficult getting MSM exposure because of the ‘love-in’ with Murphy in Scotland

phyllis buchanan

I’m sitting here in East Ren and Jimbo has told us nothing. I was never voting for him anyway, but the arrogance of the man is astounding. A few weeks to go and we don’t know if he’s going to resign a couple of months in and cost us a by election. What a cheek!We are angry here in East Ren.

cynicalHighlander

@heedtracker

Aye and our MSM is asleep at the wheel because the whole charade is utter garbage dressed up as prime steak.

DerekM

Hey Jim ya fud we dont care which one of you scumbags red or blue tories is in UK government you are both shite,but one thing we can do is remove you and your party from Scotland just like we did with the blue tories yer teas ooot ya muppet
bye bye.
Hehe Neil really tore him a new butthole and left poor Jim looking like the bumbling fool he is,what a plonker.

Thepnr

If you believed the media then Gordon Brown and Jim Murphy between then them won the referendum for the No side.

The dynamic Jim Murphy on his 100 day tour of Scottish towns galvanised the No voter and demoralised those that would vote Yes.

The problem with believing the media spin about your own efforts is that they might not even be true! All I remember (apart from the egging) is his deliberate ignoring of one wee auld woman pulling him up and his refusal to answer.

Before taking this job Murphy obviously believed that everything written about him was true. All the Labour party had to do was get rid of Lamont, parachute Jim into the role of leader at the Scottish branch and watch their prospects soar.

What a self deluded tube, he looks tired alright as everything he thought he had is unraveling before his eyes.

It’s interesting that although he stated he would be standing for Westminster this election he still hasn’t answered whether he will resign in a year to stand for Holyrood.

I’m so pleased Jim took the job, would have preferred Sarwar myself but Jim Murphy as is now apparent, is just as much a loser.

I must say though, well done JM on choosing McDougal and McTernan as your campaign team. That was the icing on the cake, even Johann Lamont wouldn’t have made that mistake.

Lesley-Anne

Oh ye gawds!

I’ve just seen the front page of tomorrow’s Daily Mail on Sky news. What a howler! 😀 😀 😀

Ssorry I don’t make a habit of tripling up my emoticons but really. 😀

“Salmond holds Ed to Ransom”

That’s it MSM ramp up the anti Scottish rhetoric. You are doing a GRAND job there of driving MORE people to vote S.N.P. Please don’t let us too wee, too poor and too stupid Scots stop you. 😛

Lesley-Anne

wee update to my last post.

The Times has the same story! 😀 😀 😀

Oh dear the MSM that just keeps giving. 😀

liz

@Thepnr – agree 100%. Murphy probably didn’t get much scrutiny when at WM by the London bubble press.

They assumed he was going to be brilliant when he came to Scotland because they had heard of him.

The Lab centric Scottish press were always going to promote him but he is way outside his pay grade and it shows.

McTernan is an odd one, he failed miserably in Oz, so why hire him?

Ian Brotherhood

@Thepnr –

That wee wummin was Alison. She’s a hardy perennial in the Ayrshire Yes movement. I don’t know an awful lot about her apart from the fact that she’s as sharp as a proverbial, and utterly charming.

I don’t know her second name, but I met her a few times at the Wallace Tower in the run-up to the ref, and at a big post-ref meeting in Ayr Town Hall late last year.

She knew exactly what she was doing that day. I’m sure it was in Ayr. Can’t locate the full video, but it’s out there somewhere, and you can see her virtually winking into the camera as Morph goes off on one, unable to answer her. She trussed him like the big chicken he is that day, and would no doubt do so again if she ever got the chance.

This much is guaranteed – the Morph will never ever forget her, and the mere sight of her would be enough to send him running (giving it Foghorn-Leghorn)for the hills.

Martin

I keep hearing the line “let’s not make this about what happens after the election”, and not just from Murphy.

Aren’t all elections a means to an end? Aren’t they entirely about what happens after the election?

ScottishLass

They wanted all the answers before the referendum though about what would happen after a Yes Vote though didn’t they? What a car crash of an interview…wash, rinse, repeat “politics”..if that’s what you can call it.

ronnie anderson

If Murphy can do all that damage in 3 months, whit kin he dey in ah year OBLIVION.

Thepnr

Here is the wee wumming from Ayr right enough. 1m 25s in.

link to youtube.com

Morag

Having started the day with “Ave Verum” at 10.15 and spent the entire afternoon and evening sweating over the St. John Passion, I finally got time to watch this. My God, what a train wreck. He’s running out of straws to clutch.

turnip_ghost

How come it’s always about the public listening to the Labour party?! Why aren’t the Labour party listening to the people?!

North chiel

O/T However is there any truth in the rumour of “Wingers”
Organising a “bus trip” to the “upcoming” “state funeral” for
Richard 111.?Is it Leicester or Derby?(historical significance in these
Parts)

Ian Brotherhood

@Thepnr –

Good job mister, finding that.

From memory, it continues – Alison gets stuck intae the Morph, then turns to the camera in much the same way that Oliver Hardy would turn to the audience when Stan had committed yet another unspeakable cock-up.

All of this material is potentially priceless – if it helps even half a dozen voters decide that JM is an untrustworthy bounder? Fair do’s. If it persuades another half dozen that he’s a bullying, crass, loudmouthed fud? So much the better.

Patrician

+1 for the Doctor Who quote; “Four little words can bring you down.”, “Doesn’t she look tired?” although in this case it is “he”.

gary

Jim waz just his normal slightly creepy robotic self. Not exactly appealing to real human voters.

Onwards

@liz says:
22 March, 2015 at 10:16 pm

“I have also met 2 people out canvassing who are worried about letting the tories in so might consider voting Lab, remember I’m in East Ren so that means Murphy.”

I think the easiest way to explain the situation is that SNP and Labour MP’s in Scotland are BOTH against a Tory Government.

So the balance of SNP/Labour MP’s in Scotland makes NO difference that way.

The big difference is that SNP MP’s are far better to fight for Scotland’s interests.

icyspark

1979. Do you remember?

link to youtube.com

JaMur

That was magic. So funny I watched it twice.
Thanks Jim.

Casper1066

and another one bites the dust… Murphy’s stance has fallen.

john king

Morag
If you enjoy singing Ave Verum
why dont you get your choir to sing this, its beautiful
link to youtube.com
Eh you might need a full orchestra, 🙁
or a brass band would work. 🙂

[…] We have to give Jim Murphy credit – on this week’s Sunday Politics he started off with the subtle, misleading but technically-accurate version of Labour’s line about the “biggest party forming the government”, which involves making the true but irrelevant observation that in the past it’s usually been the case. (Mainly because UK elections almost always give the biggest party a comfortable majority.)  […]

Robert Peffers

@Edward says: 22 March, 2015 at 8:10 pm:

” … So only if he is not elected, will he disappear.

James, “Frances”, Murphy, (That’s right he is an official Fanny), has only one string on his bow. He began his political career with a nine spell at University from which he gained absolutely no degrees but led the Students Union.

This career move ended after the NUS dropped opposition to student fees, (in line with the Labour Party line but against the NUS vote at their national conference). He was then subject to a Westminster Early Day Motion, (Led by Ken Livingston and signed by 17 UK Labour MPs), accused of, “intolerant and dictatorial behaviour”.

This Westminster move by Labour did not stop Scottish Labour appointing him, “Special Projects Manager”, and then selecting him as candidate for the safe seat of Eastwood at the 1997 general election.

So Jim, “Fanny”, Murphy has really only ever been a willing tool of the Scottish branch, Labour Party since his secondary school education ended. A career politician of the very worst kind.

Pauline

The man has a nasty streak that he’s just about managed to keep in check so far. It’s my fervent hope that someone needles him enough with a camera present to send him into meltdown and show his true colours. Neill nearly had him.

Robert Peffers

@Tam Jardine says:22 March, 2015 at 8:55 pm:

” … This is where I need Robert Peffers to come in – would be interested to hear his take.

Jings! Tam, there’s no way to keep this short and you have just about nailed the fact that as far as Englanders go History is what they say it is and, anyway, Scotland isn’t important enough to be included. Here, though, is a potted history of Jaimie IV. Not really a lot to tell relevant to today that you haven’t covered.
: –

James IV (born 17 March 1473 –died 9 September 1513) became King of Scots on 11 June 1488 and reigned until his death. He was probably the most successful Stewart monarch. His reign ended in disaster with defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from both Scotland and Great Britain, killed in battle.

James was son of James III and Margaret of Denmark. James, is thought to have been born in Stirling Castle. (Now note this one, “by tradition, as the heir apparent to the Scottish Crown, he immediately became Duke of Rothesay”). In 1474, his father, (not a popular monarch), arranged for James to marry the Princess Cecily of England, which marriage negotiation, and the dowry payments, kicked off the invasion of Scotland and capture of Berwick in 1482.

This invasion was by James’ uncle Alexander, Duke of Albany and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. James IV remained at Stirling and James III’s army rebelled against the king and the English army got as far as Edinburgh. This led to the rebels setting up the 15-year-old James as their, (notional), leader. James III was killed fighting the rebels at the Battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June 1488. Thus James IV was crowned at Scone on 24 June. James IV later realised he had played an unwitting roll in the death of his father and did penance for his sin for the rest of his life.

James IV was a good ruler and a wise king. He defeated a rebellion in 1489, directly administered justice and controlled the Lord of the Isles. James supported Perkin Warbeck, (pretender to the English throne). This involved a short invasion of England in September of 1496. During that August of 1497, he laid siege to Norham Castle, using his Grandfather’s famous Mons Meg.

James established good diplomatic relations with England which kingdom was ending a period of civil war. He ratified the Treaty of Ayton in February 1498. and, in 1502. signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Henry VII. He also maintained good relations with France. James built up a naval fleet that provided Scotland a strong naval presence founding two new dockyards for that purpose. He acquired a grand total of 38 ships for the Royal Scots Navy that included, “The Margaret”, and, “The Great Michael”, which ship was built at great expense at Newhaven and launched in 1511. It was 240 feet (73 m) in length, weighed 1,000 tons and was, at that time, the largest ship in Europe.

Gary

Wings, I appreciate your quest for openness and sourcing quotes, really. But I just can’t watch ten minutes of this nonsense, I’ll take your word for it…

Morag

Thanks for that, John. We studied the Missa l’Homme Armé by the Scottish composer Robert Carver some time ago.

link to en.wikipedia.org

There are about a squillion versions of this material, and Carver’s (he died in about 1570) is actually one of the later ones.

link to en.wikipedia.org

I’m not sure about the modern versions but the Jenkins one does seem very popular.

Frazerio

From 10 mins in, Jim Murphy says;

“We can’t have an election surely where the whole campaign and the whole contest and the whole debate is based about what happens after the election”.

Incredible.

Shona Gourlay

This man never has anything new to say. Why do they insist on interviewing him. I think Andrew Neil personally hates him!

Davy

I was lucky enough to have recorded the Murphy interview and watched it this morning, and it rare to see someone dig themselves a hole so quickly.

Andrew Neil was having a great time juggling Jim-bo up and down just as he felt like, it was a heck of a car crash. But not to be outdone I have to admit Willie Rennies interview was at the same level, it was like two puppets being danced around by both presenters.

Can we get the same again next Sunday, please.

Paul McNicol

As an East Renfrewshire voter I wish he would just say whether he wants to be our MP for 1 or 5 years. Most people would vote SMP. I don’t really know why he has the following in my area as he has done absolutely nothing for us.


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