At NUMBER FIVE, it's..."Deny everything, Baldrick"
Holding steady at NUMBER FOUR, it's...Del Boy falls through the bar
Climbing to NUMBER THREE, it's...Bernard is both for and against National Service
So near and yet so far: at NUMBER TWO, it's...Morecambe and Wise meet André Previn
And a new entry, straight in at NUMBER ONE, it's...Kevin McKenna says the Alba Party's disgraced former General Secretary Chris McEleny is "likeable"
It's a form of instant immortality, Kevin.
In case you're wondering, he's not being ironic or sarcastic or even playful. He actually means it. There's a lengthy section later in the article in which he expresses his total mystification that this thoroughly "likeable" chap is so loathed within the Alba Party, and the only possibility he can even think of is that it might have something to do with anti-Catholic bigotry. Hmmm. Yes, Kevin, I'm sure that's a far more plausible explanation than the purges and the lying and the cheating and the abuses of power and the "Andy Swan" incident that landed him in Greenock Sheriff Court on a charge of threatening behaviour.
Incidentally, Kevin, I'm a Catholic too. If you go back far enough, two-thirds of my ancestry is Irish, and some of the rest of it is French-Canadian (also Catholic). I went to Catholic schools all the way from the age of four to the age of seventeen. I've been through baptism, first communion, confirmation, the full works. And yet I was still one of the targets for the McEleny Purges last year. Perhaps I should take some sort of action against McEleny for bigotry against his own kind? After all, he can't possibly have had any other motivation...
There is, though, a serious point in all this, which is that Kevin's article has finally produced the smoking gun proving beyond all doubt that Ash Regan regards McEleny as an ally. Some of Regan's supporters have until now been in denial about this, and have insisted that McEleny's vocal support for her is a one-way street. I can understand why, because she might be a more attractive proposition if you could have her as leader without McEleny tagging along, but the quote makes clear that you can't, and that she is absolutely determined to bring him back in a senior position.
It really is an impossible choice for the remaining non-expelled Alba members. Elect MacAskill and you'll still be lumbered with Tasmina and the Corri Nostra, but if you elect Regan you'll be re-lumbered with "Mad Dog". I don't envy you that decision.
Or the members could abstain, leave the party and watch it rip itself apart before the summer.
ReplyDeleteI've been busy at Brodick today. Can anyone update me on the rugby, please?
ReplyDeleteFrance v Scotland has yet to start. But there will be certain consolations if it goes the wrong way.
DeleteI actually thought that your blog was genuinely going to be a light-hearted diversion into the glorious past of British comedy (let's face it, the current crop of 'comedians' are pretty woeful). You had me hooked in! I was hoping that someone with a Catholic background would take on Kevin McKenna's take on McEleny, so - well done. I have no doubt that, through McEleny's extensive contact with the meeja, he has persuaded a few of them that he's a thoroughly good egg. After all, he could scarcely be anything but on his very best behaviour, if he wanted to persuade them to take his latest press release and - if he has any talent at all, it must be in media relations because how else does he manage to get such guff into the press?
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily - journalists have to play the game too. Protect their "sources," so that they continue to be leaky, so sensationalist stories can be written and published.
DeleteFair enough, but McEleny can't afford to behave towards the press the way he conducted himself towards party members - especially those whose complaints were spiked, those he suspended or expelled and those who he treated with such casual disdain and contempt, like Jacqui Bijster
Delete... ah! yes, if all else fails play the anti-Catholic Religious card ... that auld chestnut, which Mr McKenna has considerable form on.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you, James, scotched that one with your families Religious & ethnic background .... once again McKenna has 'tried it on' when the result hasn't been to his script.
If they ever make a movie or play on the life and double-dealings of Benedict Arnold .... the lead role is 'a shoe-in' for McKenna
I think you must be wrong. There is a movie (AKA film) about the Benedict Arnold story called Me and my Gal starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. There's nobody called McKenna in it although the first person to win the first ever Oscar [back in 1926 for Best Cinematography] was a chap called Fenton McKenna, if that's any help.
Delete.... only if I required to take that reply to a psychiatrist for evaluation.
DeleteIt really would be an improvement for all of the readers here if commenters did not have to do the legwork and provide the references and quotes! ;-(
ReplyDelete'2026 election is make or break for Alba'
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25010277.2026-election-make-break-alba/
“I have huge respect for Chris McEleny,” Ash Regan says. “There will always be a prominent place in my team for him.”
Absolutely no need for you or anyone else to provide anything. Google is freely available and remarkably easy to use.
DeleteI'd settle for a good encyclopedia or a fact file. My first factfile was about the boyband called Big Fun. It was fantastic
DeleteAnon Troll: James has been pretty tolerant with "aLurker" but that's no excuse for you to demand that people be "journalists" for you. If you're too lazy to use Google, you should be too lazy to post the whinge. This is a blog, not the f***ing Daily Telegraph (thank Christ).
DeleteIf it’s a choice between who’s worse Chris or Tasmina. Tasmina is much, much worse.
ReplyDeleteOf course Kenny is keeping the fact Tasmina will stay as Chair if Kenny wins whereas Ash is being honest about Chris.
In a previous blog you said that Salmond phoned you about Jacqui Bijster
Don’t you think Chris was acting on Salmond’s instructions ?
It might even have been Salmond that wrote the email about Jacqui to all members
"Don’t you think Chris was acting on Salmond’s instructions ?"
DeleteThat's not really consistent with the theory that SNP-era Salmond never expelled anyone, and therefore the difference in Alba-era Salmond must have been due to the malign influence of Tas and McEleny.
James but Chris no longer has any influence and Alba is still malign. Salmond is no longer with us RIP so that leaves only Tas as the malign influence.
DeleteWhich would match with Salmond / Sturgeon. It’s a pattern
Salmond liked the big picture and left control freaks in charge
Sturgeon was a lot more competent than Tas
The Alba party died at Rutherglen. The wind dropped out of the sails when Alex opted not to stand. I'll never understand that decision.
ReplyDeleteAlex set it out **very** clearly at the time. He was giving the SNP a last chance to see if it could win on its own without other pro-independence parties. Note that the election clearly demonstrated that the SNP cannot win without other pro-independence parties such as Alba, paving the way for Alba to increase its electoral intervention.
DeleteYes, I remember clearly his reasoning. It came as a huge surprise to me and many others at the time. It put the handbrake on the momentum Alba was steadily growing and has never since regained. It felt like a decision based on bad judgement at the time and it turned out to be catastrophic for Alba from that point. My statement above holds. The Alba party died at Rutherglen.
DeleteAlba didn’t stand in Rutherglen because they would have got a minuscule vote. That would have stopped the jobs for the family and associated perks in an instant. They were also desperate to see the SNP get a bloody nose and wanted to be able to point out that it was entirely of their own making. There was some element of truth in that. Astonishingly Alba have got worse since. Hopefully they will expire due to lack of funding before 2026. They are cannon fodder for the BBC and MSM if they feature at Holyrood 2026 and will be used to cast aspersions against the entire Indy movement.
DeleteAlba didn't stand in Rutherglen because Alex and Tas thought were pitching for a TV show based on the Ayes Have It and they would be too busy with the show and they would be on TV so wouldn't need to actually campaign.
DeleteSo they had no interest in anyone from ALBA getting elected at any point. Very insightful.
DeleteIt's lovely that they didn't let Alba get in the way of their showbiz career.
DeleteAnon at 1.31. They had no prospect of anyone being elected, not no interest. You’re not very insightful are you?
DeleteWhat are the chances of Alba becoming a significant force - not much.
ReplyDeleteWith a significant herd of migrating troughers in the SNP looking for places at the Holyrood water hole it's going to be difficult enough trying to exert sufficient influence for a bit of pro indy backbone to re-emerge there.
Alba had it's chance and is simply not good enough to be worth the efort with such minimal support. The SNP, of course, is also pretty crap but it has the voter base from which progress might be made.
Oh, absolutely—because leading Scotland for over a decade, securing free prescriptions, expanding renewable energy, and consistently winning elections is just *so* "crap." But hey, if "progress" means ignoring the actual achievements of a government voters keep choosing, then sure, let’s pretend the SNP isn't delivering anything at all.
Delete8.19am that’s a pretty short list of achievements.
Delete“ expanding renewable energy” to send even more electricity down to England while we continue to have the highest energy prices in Europe. I don’t see that as an achievement.
John Swinney's leadership in the renewable energy space is substantive. He deserves praise for his commitment to Scotland’s green future which has seen initiatives to ensure continued investment in wind, hydro and emerging technologies. This is among the most important work Swinney has done, solidifying Scotland’s position as a renewables powerhouse. Prioritizing sustainability ensures that Swinney drives progress towards a greener Scotland capable of reaching net zero.
Delete10.24am is AI bullshit.
DeleteAlt clut- SNP has the voter base. How terrible. It must be annoying to those parties who don’t.
DeleteJohn Swinney's leadership in flogging-off the renewable energy space for peanuts is substantive.
Delete1.41pm - another comment that shows these people are all just about the party and nothing about independence. They could be Labour Party supporters.
DeleteSNP is better than Alba.
ReplyDeleteWhile Alba fails, for all the reasons given in the blog article, SNP under Nicola Sturgeon and now John Swinney has run up nearly 20 years in continuous government, a rare achievement in progressive politics, and this looks set to continue at the next election.
SNP in 'continuous' government under Sturgeon and Swinney but no mention of Salmond? Another one trying to airbrush him out of SNP history.
DeleteLongevity in (devolved) government is hardly an achievement of a party whose prime objective ostensibly is to break up the British state and restore Scotland's full self-government.
DeleteYour comments epitomise the 'party before country' attitude.
9.20am. Your post neatly describes what is wrong with the SNP. The SNP under Sturgeon/ Swinney have turned into just another political party who want to win elections full stop. They have completely ignored the original and core mission that the SNP was founded on - Scottish independence.
DeleteYour just making things complicated shut up
DeleteAnd ALBA’s core reason is what exactly? Regan cosying up to McKenna of the Herald and McEleny’s to the Record is nauseating. Face the Facts, ALBA has imploded. MacAskill looks done in. His main pal has passed away and left chaos in his wake. Look forward 10 years maybe even 5 ALBA won’t have a membership base or voters.
DeleteSNP member and ex MP Stewart McDonald writing for the extreme right wing English nationalist Spectator magazine is nauseating. Taking money from the Spectator which was edited by Boris Johnson when he published an article saying Scots are like vermin that should be rounded up and exterminated is disgusting. Too many unionists in the SNP like Lisa Cameron and McDonald is another.
DeleteAgree shouldn’t support the unionist party papers. Nor should ALBA
DeleteAs you have obviously never read the Spectator, why are you commenting on it?
DeletePersonally, I find the chess page to be extreme right wing, as are the book reviews. Have you heard of books, or music, or chess, or plays, or dance, or satire, or multi-faceted political comment?
1.49pm why are you commenting on anything.
DeleteAnon at 1.49. You come across as a pretentious wank.
DeleteAnon at 9.20. Party before country. Brilliant remark. Wish I’d thought of it.
DeleteI often read stuff about Regan and McEleny with bemusement, because nobody ever seems to mention that he works for her. That is not to say she likes him, but you know... context.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun reading stuff about them because nobody knows who they are. It's like reading about Katie McKay and Tommy White.
DeleteWho?
DeleteMcEleny does not work for Regan. He was sent by Alex to Holyrood as now Alex/Alba via Ash had a presence there. He has works for the Alba Party otherwise Kenny wouldn't have been able to sack him would he?
Deletewhen the SNP win another mandate westminsters position will be untenable
ReplyDeleteand steady oarsman swinney is the grand strategist who will steer the galley of Scotland between the scylla and charybdis of green woke death cultism and cuckold devolutionist anglo imperialism
oh yes
10.33am “untenable” the SNP have been saying that at every election but Westminster just ignore them. The SNP are not even strong enough to be described as a paper tiger.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 12.20. You are replying to a wind up. Ignore the Albarati.
DeleteOT- Just had the misfortune of listening to Mark McInnes, Baron McInnes of Kilwinning. ( know never heard of him either). A Tory whose main claim of fame appears to know ex PM Johnson. He talked about Britishness but just demonstrated that Independence is essential to remove permanently the House of Lords and House of Commons forever. Another plus to put forward of Indy benefits.
ReplyDeleteAnd people with silly, made up names.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
ReplyDeleteWhere do elephants go to die?
ReplyDeleteGive in. Do tell. Bath? Rutherglen?
ReplyDelete