"You see, I'm a little confused here, sir...why have I lost the election?"
However, there are a couple of much brighter spots. The Tas lieutenant Debbie Ewen (who presided over the kangaroo court that upheld my expulsion on 8th January) has not been elected Women's Convener, with Kirsty Fraser instead being the successful candidate. As previously mentioned, I know almost nothing about Ms Fraser but I'm informed by people I trust that she's infinitely preferable to Ms Ewen. The most stunning upset of all came in the Local Government Convener election, where the highly-regarded Frank Anderson overcame all the odds to defeat the ultimate machine politician and leadership darling Chris Cullen. Everything seemed to be in Cullen's favour - as Shannon Donoghue's fiancé he's the future son-in-law of the General Secretary Corri Wilson, and thus a full member of the so-called "Corri Nostra" that has such a toxic grip on the party. He's one of Alba's only three elected politicians (like the other two, he was elected under the SNP banner before switching parties), and has repeatedly made the leadership purr with delight by using his positions on the Constitution Review Group and Disciplinary Committee to snuff out any hope of internal democratic reform and to get good independence supporters like Geoff Bush expelled.
Alba Local Government Convener election result:
Frank Anderson 56%
Chris Cullen 44%
Cullen will forever be known as "Lieutenant Columbo" due to the celebrated moment of unintentional comedy during Denise Somerville's disciplinary hearing. He had obviously been pre-briefed by either Tasmina or Corri with a supposed "Gotcha" to use against Denise, but he tried to make it sound like his own spontaneous thinking. His acting was truly dreadful as he eased his way in with the immortal words "you see, I'm a little confused here, because..."
I don’t know who any of these people are.
ReplyDeleteLucky old you.
DeleteGavin Bain very impressive as Interim Membership Convener. His Office Bearer report at National Conference held in Aberdeen was excellent. He is very straight down the line type of person.
DeleteDefinitely worth a vote.
Most of them don’t know who they are either.
DeleteComparing Suzanne Blackley's picture on her victory card with the picture she uses for her online avatar, one could be forgiven for believing a certain degree of deception was in her character.
ReplyDeleteTo explain: her avatar is of a coy, slim
20-something with a certain come- hither quality...
Symbolic of what Alba has descended into?
Im using my 'Blondie filter'.
DeleteThe tide is high but Im holdin on.
And Crossmaglen Columbo's day will come.
Excellent - someone has come up with Armagh-specific alliteration. "The Connemara Columbo" never really worked.
DeleteDeleted Anon: I didn't "leave Alba". I was expelled on ludicrously vague trumped-up charges. I think I may have mentioned that once or twice, so I'm surprised you didn't know.
ReplyDeleteJames, these are the people on the ballot for the 'Ordinary Members of the ALBA National Executive Committee'.
ReplyDeleteAny good people in these lists?
Female Members;
• Amy Madden
• Catherine McKernan
• Christina Hendry
• Debbie Ewen
• Deborah McAlpine
• Fiona Campbell
• Judith Reid
• Maggie Chetty
• Shannon Donoghue
• Suzanne Blackley
• Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
• Yvonne Ridley
Male Members;
• Abdul Majid
• Alan Ross
• Alexander Wilkin
• Angus Brendan MacNeil
• Charlie Abel
• Chris Cullen (Cllr.)
• Daniel Jack
• David Maitland
• Dhruva Kumar
• Frank Anderson
• Gavin Bain
• Ghazi Khan
• Graeme Spence
• Iain Cameron
• John Caddis
• Josh Robertson
• Kevan Shaw
• Mike Baldry
• Morgwn Davies
• Nick Durie
• Robert Slavin
• Steve Chisholm
• Tommy Sheridan
• Tony Osy
Yes, there are some good people in there. This is not an exhaustive list, but I'd certainly be voting for Deborah McAlpine and Maggie Chetty on the female ballot (Judith Reid has also been mentioned to me as a decent person), and on the male ballot I'd be voting for Mike Baldry and Morgwn Davies. Mike was the only reformer left on the Constitution Review Group after my expulsion. It'll no longer be possible to vote for Frank Anderson because he's already an office bearer. The unreconstructed lefty in me still has some sympathy for Tommy Sheridan, but his closeness to the leadership worries me. And Angus MacNeil is impossible to dislike, although what his exact relationship with the likes of Tas is, I'm not sure.
DeleteAs it's a preferential system, I'd also be voting tactically by ranking everyone else ahead of the worst candidates of all. The worst of the worst are: Chris Cullen, John Caddis, Daniel Jack, Josh Robertson, Yvonne Ridley, Shannon Donoghue, Christina Hendry, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, and possibly Debbie Ewen and Robert Slavin.
Tommy Sheridan always impressed me. I was on an Edinburgh march, stayed in a hostel just off the Royal Mile after, and he was up and down the Royal Mile, checking things out, talking to people, tireless energy. Yes, he's human - good!
DeleteI'm human too and a lot of people afore me
DeleteI see Ghazi Khan and Alan Ross are on the list for NEC. Nobody had ever heard of Khan in Dundee until he was suddenly elevated to candidate after the coup in Dundee, never delivered a leaflet, campaigned canvassed attended a meeting or event And of course Alan Ross a wee snake who has been on the make since his miraculous conversion to Alba in time for the council elections so he had a ready made campaign team and someone to pay for his election materials. A 2-faced wee snake and lazy to boot! Unsurprised to see both of them trying to elevate their status on the NEC ☹️
DeleteGraeme Spence is a must for NEC
DeleteI have told people that their is always the bigger snake.
DeleteBut they laffed!!
DO NOT VOTE for Steve 'Freeports' Chisholm. He failed to get a candidacy with the SNP, then joined the Alba Party within about six months. His middle moniker tells you everything you need to know. The party leadership somehow thought he was a good catch, in spite of the fact that he was the lead negotiator for Cromarty Freeport and the party passed an excellent resolution against Freeports from former National Office Bearers and Morgwn Davies, who is standing for a place on this year's NEC. Chisholm has submitted an amendment to the resolution on 'Transportation', effectively making the party accede to the creation of Freeports. Complete capitulation to the worst of capitalism.
DeleteOut of the male list, only Mike Baldry, Morgwn Davies, Kevin Shaw and Tommy Sheridan are worth the effort of voting. James has already recommended Mike and Morgwn.
DeleteOf the female list, Deborah McAlpine and Maggie Chetty are good people. Amy Madden seems reasonable too. Almost all the rest are not worth your consideration, as they are nodding dogs or just out for themselves - although these are not mutually exclusive categories.
DeleteBut shouldn't Abdul Majid have retired after he won the Treble and lifted the European Cup?
DeleteDouble the amount of men going forward for NEC and they dispute that Alba has a “woman problem”?
ReplyDeleteGavin Bain very impressive as Interim Membership Convener. His Office Bearer report at National Conference held in Aberdeen was excellent. He is very straight down the line type of person.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely worth a vote.
Really why bother?
ReplyDelete