I said the other day that Craig Murray was naive for sticking to the article of faith that Alex Salmond must have had very good reasons for stitching up Alba's 2023 internal elections and that those reasons were related to the pursuit of independence. But in fact I think Craig's naivety went a bit further than that, and we're already starting to see the evidence. Having revealed for the first time
how Mr Salmond pressurised him to give up his slot on the NEC immediately after being elected, he said that he hoped the party would "come together again now and those who left will rejoin", as if he somehow lived in a world where people's reasons for leaving had been resolved or even a world in which people were free to rejoin if they wanted to.
Despite the vote-rigging, Leanne Tervit was actually elected to the NEC in the notorious 2023 vote with a big mandate, but she stood down afterwards in protest and spoke out about the subversion of democracy the party had just witnessed. Over the last few days she attempted to rejoin Alba, as apparently Craig assumes people like her are able to just choose to do, as if Alba was a normal political party in which it works like that. When she announced what she was doing, she was enthusiastically welcomed back by dozens of Alba members - and a measure of her popularity within the party is that one or two people who seem to absolutely hate my guts were among the loudest and warmest in welcoming her. You might think the strength of that reaction would have given the party leadership some pause for thought if they had any notion of playing silly buggers - but no. This is the Alba Party, remember, where factional hatred, dictatorialism and petty points of "discipline" trump absolutely every other consideration, including common sense and basic political nous.
Leanne was one of a large number of former Alba members who the disgraced former General Secretary Chris McEleny (aka "that's Mad Dog PRIMUS to you") maliciously certified as having "publicly resigned", which is a form of insta-expulsion that bypasses the normal disciplinary process and effectively leaves the individuals concerned banned from rejoining for life. The only theoretical way around that is to "apply to the NEC for permission to rejoin", but in practice McEleny tended to either refuse to even pass such applications on to the NEC, or just did his usual trick of pretending not to have received the email containing the application. It's a minor miracle that Leanne's application even reached the NEC, but the miracle went no further than that - they rejected her application out of hand, and thus stuck two fingers up at the members who had been so happy about her return to the party. It's a very clear signal that none of the other people who resigned in protest at the 2023 vote-rigging are welcome to rejoin either - so what does Craig have to say to those people now?
There really is no alibi here for the "Alba's leadership aren't as bad as portrayed" brigade or the "it was only one or two bad apples causing the problems" brigade. McEleny is long gone now but the suffocating authoritarianism continues unabated. The cultural problems in the Alba elite go a lot deeper and wider than just McEleny, or Tas, or even the Corri Nostra. The people running the party actually want Alba to continue to be the narrow, inward-looking, paranoid sect that it's become - they are not remotely interested in having the type of broad church membership that Craig takes as read everyone is aspiring to.
You gotta love Brian's deadpan delivery there.
Incidentally, reliable ol' Shannon Donoghue responded to Leanne's thread with yet another immature outburst on Twitter that once again drove a coach and horses through Alba's social media policy, which expressly forbids the "targeting of individuals". So will Shannon now face disciplinary action? Och, don't be daft. She's in the Corri Nostra, she's the daughter of the General Secretary. The rules are for the oiks. (And if those words are giving you déjà vu, there's a reason for that.)
This is bang out of order.
ReplyDeleteAnd Shannon Donoghue gives me the ick.
I believe that the Celine Gottwald League should now take disciplinary action against her drinking companion Carole-Anne Puffnidge.
My dear friends, Celine and Carole-Anne, would be appalled to seeing themselves portrayed as 'drinking companions'. As are all their friends. Both enjoy an aperitif, perhaps a bone-dry manzanilla before dining, accompanying wines or a delicate mineral water with the meal and possibly a vin santo to round off a dinner rich with allusive conversation. Your inference, sir, is that of a bounder and a cad.
DeleteWe should always remember what Celine Gottwald has done for us and strive for unity to fulfil our cultural mission.
DeleteAnd Edna should not have been referred to as 'Sir'. A man of Constantine's sophistication was surely being mischievous when he uttered that remark. But I would remind him of the C.W.L.'s Approved Code Regarding Sex & Gender.
#IStandWithCelineGottwald
May I plunge into this controversy and offer my contribution? ... Thank you.
DeleteI must leap to Constantine's defence in his misuse of "sir" in reference to the esteemed Edna Puddlephatt. I remember Admiral Horthy's niece, Nágy Márika, telling me that Constantine always presumed that rudeness emanated from the male sector of the population whilst the lovely ladies tended towards reticence. Very much a view de ses hours, I know.
Ease may we forgive Constantine his genderist lapse on this occasion?
#IStandWithCelineGottwald
Delete#MeToo
Delete#CulturedLivesMatter
I stand open to correction but I had never considered Edna Puddephatt to have been admitted to Celine Gottwald's inner sanctum. I am unable to gloat as I feel excluded from certain activies of what I call the inner circle.
DeleteI'd of said I'm not putting my eggs in your basket thanks very much and walked a way.
ReplyDeleteAnother blog featuring ME! It’s fair made my day
ReplyDelete. I need attention.
I love it when you speak butterfly language, Shannon. I am your most humble caterpillar.
DeleteSome people cant realy handle my unfiltered talk. & They have a lot of jealosy and they just run away.
DeleteThen they scratch at the door to get back in.
But -- it's not my problem!!
La-la-la-la-la
You are destroying the Alba party ya fucking clown. Its just a vanity project to you
DeleteShe is too stupid and (normally) intoxicated to care. She doesn’t need attention she needs help, including alcohol counselling. Sad.
DeleteIf Ash doesn’t win Alba is finished. The current NEC are not the members first choice and they’ve been easily manipulated.
ReplyDeleteExpelling James and now not letting Leanne return are acts of self harm.
You are a new party you have a choice of keeping or gaining a supporter or turning that supporter into an enemy. What do you choose ?
It seems Alba chooses to make enemies every time.
It makes no sense unless you understand many of those in the inner cabal are deeply stupid and vicious and not there by merit.
It is now existential for Alba. And what makes it worse is Alba has poisoned the well a second independence party is a good idea if Scotland is ever to become independent but the Alba crash and burn means no one else is going to fund another attempt after despite all its advantages Alba failed.
For what it’s worth here’s who I’d choose for office bearers
Organiser Euan McGlynn he helped me a lot with wee Alba book events and is a great guy.
Women Kirsty Fraser a woman that won’t wheesht
Membership Morgwn Davies a very principled hard worker
Local Authority Frank Anderson ex-councillor and committed independence activist and lovely guy
Equalities Tony Osy who was wonderfully supportive of Jacqui and I when we were bullied out of Alba.
Mainly men but so many women have left Alba
If we had a mole to report on the latest Alba financial situation I wonder what we'd find.
DeleteCould it be that the prospective leaders already feel that getting by in that area limits what they can do to reform the party?
Are you still using the “wheesht “‘ nonsense. Try engaging with people with differing views instead of resorting to infantile tropes. If you represent hope and change in Alba they are clearly completely fucked.
DeleteId dump it in a box
DeleteCouldn't Kenny win but they still end up with a new/fresh NEC?
DeleteAlba ARE finished.
DeleteFinished? I never knew they’d started.
DeleteDozens of members? That many. Alba, do us all a favour and die. Ta.
ReplyDeleteThere is wisdom that politics is a jungle. But I will show that I am the bigger snake.
ReplyDeleteNow I have formed elite Pythons Of President Jamez Snatch Squad.
First we tap you on head with concrete-bound copy of The Alba Files, then...
Viva President Jamez!
The extremely determined month-long attack on Wings is still ongoing, and some of you may have experienced some brief issues today. Our excellent hosts are on the case and it should be working fine now. Please do continue to report any problems.
ReplyDeleteWe will fight on without the support of trans-atlantic bloggers.
@James for a laugh you should go along to one of the Leadership Hustings.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to find my false moustache.
DeleteCraig Murray’s credulous faith in Alex Salmond’s probity regarding Alba’s flagrantly manipulated 2023 internal elections is profoundly misguided, as the party’s entrenched authoritarianism remains unrepentant. Despite egregious electoral malpractice, Leanne Tervit secured a resounding mandate but resigned in defiant protest. When she endeavored to return, greeted with rapturous enthusiasm by members, the leadership summarily proscribed her, exemplifying Alba’s despotic ethos. The ignominious Chris McEleny’s Machiavellian purges persist, and the NEC’s disdain for democratic legitimacy is unassailable. Alba’s oligarchy subsists on paranoia and suppression, annihilating internal plurality. Craig’s aspirations for reconciliation are delusive—Alba’s ruling cabal luxuriates in schismatic tyranny.
ReplyDeleteIs delusive even a word?
DeleteYes it is a word. Rooted in the Latin word deludere, it often characterizes perceptions or beliefs that create an illusion of truth, leading individuals to erroneous conclusions. Putting it another way, its essence manifests in epistemological fallacies, beguiling cognition with illusory verisimilitude.
DeleteGoogle/wiki is god. Zzzzz
DeleteIs Craig so naive that he believed everything that was said to him. Does he not realise he was being played? The fact he also trusted WoS and Barrhead boy to provide them with insight was also naive. There are no secrets it seems.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think Craig’s just having us all on.
DeleteThen he goes and proves me wrong again.
Salmond played the lot of them and the Sturgeon haters fell for it
DeleteDoes anyone else agree that "The Macedonian Purges" could be a rather promising title for a novel in the Political Noir genre?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've been having a jolly good think about things - and I've noticed that no-one has denied that Carole-Anne Puffnidge was responsible for introducing the disruptive idea of a giant snake into Scottish political dialogue.
So it takes Rodders to show you the smoking gun, right there!
Apart from the sensible comment from Denise and a few others, many of the comments on this blog are now some unfunny nonsense , presumably from bored ten years olds, or one-liners from trolls. Is more moderation needed?.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The majority of the btl comments are shit.
DeleteAbsolutely, although I think it may be slightly more sinister. Anyone remember the toxic poster tracked down to Ardrossan? Turned out to be a wee nasty clique, including prominent
DeleteBBC presenters.
That’s a mean wee nasty thing to say about David Francis. You take that back!
DeleteWhere's IfS these days ?
DeleteJohn Swinney is a skilful gondolier gently propelling the Cornetto of independence along polluted constitutional canals to the open sea.
ReplyDeleteA gondolier cannae sail the sea. His pole only works in the shallows of the canal.
DeleteSo right enough, he’d never venture there.
There are no shallows in Scottish politics, it's all deep dark hatred right to the murky bottom
DeleteJohn Swinney has had a long and consistent career in Scottish politics.
DeleteHe has held several important positions in addition to First minister , including Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Education and other key areas.
Swinney is known for his diligence and ability to navigate complex policy matters.
His leadership has been steady, and he has contributed significantly to government decisions over the years.
His experience and commitment to public service are evident in his long tenure and various responsibilities.
John Swinney deserves praise for steady-handed leadership which exemplifies resilience, wisdom, and pragmatism, guiding Scotland with unwavering dedication, thoughtful decision-making and a commitment to stability, ensuring progress through measured, strategic and responsible governance in challenging times.
ReplyDelete