Today is a big day for the Alba Party's General Secretary, Chris McEleny, because he's standing as his party's candidate in the Gourock by-election. So this may be as good a day as any to post an update on my own personal situation, which was set in train at Mr McEleny's whim rather a long time ago now. By my calculation, it is now 44 days since he unilaterally suspended my party membership, a decision which he justified with extremely vague objections about the contents of posts on this blog and also unspecified posts on social media (presumably Twitter, because that's the only social media presence I have at the moment).
The suspension is supposedly "pending a disciplinary hearing", but that has still not taken place. It was originally set for 17th October, but it was indefinitely postponed after Alex Salmond's sudden death, and I have heard nothing since. Now, I have no problem with the fact that a postponement was inevitable - everybody needed space to grieve. But what I absolutely *do* have a problem with is the fact that my arbitrary suspension remains in force at Mr McEleny's whim during this increasingly lengthy delay, even though I am still being charged on a monthly basis for a party membership I do not actually have (I'm blocked from even viewing the contents of the party website). I'm not the first Alba member that Mr McEleny has casually left in purgatory in this way, and on those previous occasions there was no satisfactory explanation.
I would also note that the need for time and space to grieve has not precluded Mr McEleny and his supporters from running a full-throated by-election campaign in Gourock. I would suggest that if it's got to the point where a by-election campaign is perfectly feasible, a disciplinary hearing should also be perfectly feasible.
Mr McEleny has totally ignored almost every email I've sent him during this Kafkaesque process. However, I know he monitors this blog, so let me say this to him directly. The situation you have created is totally unacceptable. It was unacceptable right from the start, but it's even more so after *44 days*. Please resolve it in one of the two following ways. Either -
a) Lift my arbitrary suspension
or
b) Immediately set a new date in the near future for the disciplinary hearing
And if you refuse to do either of those things, at the very least stop charging me for my "membership" and refund me for the last two months. Many thanks.
James, I do realise that they just want you to resign but I can't say I would want to be a member of a party that treats you like that.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that more than one membership is hanging by a thread pending the resolution of your problem. Grouser
ReplyDeleteThis is a breach of natural justice which requires that the defendant in a disciplinary case is given an opportunity to be heard and present his defence against charges levelled against him within a reasonable timeframe.
ReplyDeleteAn arbitrary and open ended suspension without a hearung is unreasonable IMO and will be a ground of appeal in due course.
Why waste time and energy on fighting to remain within such a demonstrably undemocratic party?
ReplyDeleteWhy cling to this party , you obviously have problems with it , you won't be the first to leave.
ReplyDeleteI have problems with *it*? *It*, or at least the person who in practice runs *it*, has problems with me, and that's the beginning and the end of the story. I've made clear over and over again that I intend to remain an active member of Alba indefinitely if Mr McEleny and co would simply leave me in peace to get on with it (although admittedly that looks highly unlikely).
DeleteHonest question: what does success look like? McEleny gives you a hearing, you argue your case, your suspension is lifted, he comes out weakened and you resume your membership in a party whose heart and soul died the other week, and whose most active insider has a sharpened grudge for you?
DeleteI agree with IfS on this one. You can only expect more trouble. And really, for what? A party that will fail, yet again, to get elected even in McEleny's own home patch.
I don't see how he'd be weakened if my suspension is lifted, I think both he and the whole party would be significantly strengthened because it would be a long-overdue sign that the party is returning to fairness and due process, and without that Alba is going to struggle to retain members in the long-term. A large party of government like the SNP can to some extent get away with trampling all over its members, but in a small party people are eventually going to turn to each other and say "actually, what's the point?"
DeleteI'll be interested to see what Mr McEleny's result in Gourock is. I was really surprised that he didn't seem to bring any personal vote to the table at all on the previous occasions he stood as an Alba candidate, but the bubble effect of a by-election campaign may have given him a greater opportunity to remind people that he is a former councillor and former group leader.
I saw yesterday that Brian Topping had left Alba and rejoined the SNP. My advice to you would be to do something similar.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't been calling for the head of Nicola Sturgeon enough, do that and you're golden
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that anyone in the Alba hierarchy was related to Salmond, and he's been dead for three weeks.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness Salmond's niece is a member of the Conduct Committee, but it would hardly be unusual for one person to skip a meeting for personal reasons. (And remember James himself is a member of the Conduct Committee, and he'll be forced to sit this one out!)
Delete