I don't know about anyone else, but I've had just about enough of being told to shut up about the SNP leadership because I'm no longer an SNP member. I'm afraid once you put yourself forward for election, and particularly once you form the government and once your leader is the First Minister of Scotland, the fitness for office of that person becomes quite properly a matter of interest and discussion for every single voter in Scotland. If that's uncomfortable for you, resign from government and become a secret society instead.
But it goes further than that, of course, because independence supporters have a special stake in what goes on inside the SNP. Almost all of us have voted SNP at some time. Many of us are former SNP members and have made financial contributions to the party. In my case, I was a member until 2021 and made a number of standalone donations. I have also voted SNP in all but one of the Scottish elections I have ever participated in - the sole exception was the 2021 Holyrood list ballot. (I even voted SNP in the local council elections last year because there was no Alba candidate in my ward.) The idea that SNP voters and those who have contributed financially to the party have no right to an opinion is pushing credibility beyond breaking point.
I mentioned on Twitter a few days ago that the SNP leadership election reminded me of the 1999 Welsh Labour leadership election, when the Blair puppet Alun Michael was installed even though the much more popular Rhodri Morgan would plainly have won if nature had been allowed to run its course. In that case, the dice were loaded due to a dodgy electoral system that gave the bulk of the vote to parliamentarians and unions who were in Blair's pocket. In the SNP's case, a similar effect was achieved by breaking party rules with a rushed contest, by ensuring crucial information was withheld from members until most or all of the votes were cast, and by pressuring members with a string of 'shock and awe' endorsements for Humza Yousaf secured by calling in favours or promising ministerial positions. Both Alun Michael and Humza Yousaf won by very narrow margins, which - rightly or wrongly - left the impression that their opponent would never have been 'allowed' to win, and if necessary there would always have been some additional measure taken to drag the puppet candidate over the line.
Alun Michael was, of course, deposed by the Welsh Assembly less than a year later, with his defeated opponent Rhodri Morgan succeeding him. Michael and his defenders repeatedly deployed the argument that his leadership was a private matter for the Labour party, and that the Assembly as a whole and the people of Wales had no right to any view. That type of hubris was never going to wash - not least because it was written into law that the First Secretary (as the First Minister position was then known) was accountable to the elected Assembly and could only continue to hold office with the Assembly's blessing.
Absolutely spot on article James. The arrogance of the SNP politicians and some SNP members is so Labour like. They take the voters support and money for granted - the old what other choice do they have type of comment.
ReplyDeleteCrikey, my neighbour bought a new motorhome a couple of years ago. Can I expect the polis to turn up later today?
ReplyDeleteWell said.
ReplyDeleteRemember all those people who quickly got suspended from the SNP for a range of reasons - some very minor. So why are the Murrells not suspended from the SNP?
ReplyDeleteThat's a very fair point, actually. It's not the way it should be, but in the SNP mere suspicion seems to be enough for suspension (pending investigation).
DeleteI always do my best to be fair James.😀
DeleteYeah, the retro-attacks on Salmond (the individual who created a viable SNP) seemed to have no limits - seems reasonable to apply the same logic to the Murrels. As I said, spousal privilege - but she and he can get their asses suspended - she suspended people for fk all - the same applies to the Murrels.
DeleteAnyway the near future : separation, divorce, out-of-closet, new (at least as far as the public is concerned) partner... approximate order of events.
DeleteI thought Humza winning was the worst possible result. However, I think it might have been the best possible result. He's going to take the electoral annihilation for this, and hopefully the whole sturgeon clique will be deposed. Kate and Ash will be clean candidates. And it'll solve the problem of them trying to manage a party run by Murrell.
ReplyDeleteJames your article refers to donations made. I certainly have been a lot more reluctant to make donations since I realised what the SNP and WGD are. Nobody likes to think they have been scammed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I had to laugh at Alex Birnie, who has posted on SGP in the past, and is an ex labour voter, declaring he wanted his money back from his donation to Salmond's crowdfunder to progress his judicial review of Sturgeon's persecution. Birnie stupidly equates the ring fenced fund for Indyref2 with Salmond's fund raiser. It's obvious what the difference is Mr Birnie - Indyref2 didnae happen but the Judicial Review did happen.
This numpty was always telling me I was a unionist because I told him and others that Sturgeon would not deliver independence. Yet despite everything that has unfolded the numpty is attacking Salmond. What are these people like.
Well WGD numpty Alex Clark thinks Sturgeon is a class act because she came out her house to ask for privacy from the media. What are these people like. Well to my mind they are like Trump supporters.
The vote for leader is up to SNP members but the vote for FM is up to the electorate and that's where the SNP will regret voting Humza Yousaf as leader. I personally would have voted Ash Reagan but I am not a member
ReplyDeleteSo we have poor old SNP President Mike Russell who must be thinking - I put my name to a phoney 11 point plan for independence to keep them happy and what do I get - a stinky old horsebox and all the time a nice motor home is sitting doing nothing in Dunfermline.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone got a list of the SNP MPs and MSPs who are most likely to lose their seats if Labour can squeeze the SNP vote? Some of them might be prevailed upon to join the gang of 15 rebels if the polls don’t improve in the next weeks. Maybe then we could get a proper clean break, with a new leader coming in to fully cleanse the Augean stables. It’s hard to imagine Humdrum being the one to do it.
ReplyDeleteI think Humsa was the best of the 3 candidates : Forbes too young and too airy-fairy on indy; Ash, too obvious and not smart enough; Humsa at least postulated indy as a goal within the politics available.
ReplyDeleteIt's rare that I can reply to someone's opinion and honestly say that it is just flat wrong, but this is one of those occasions. The idea that Humza was stronger on independence than Kate Forbes is objectively, irrefutably false. Humza is essentially an opponent of independence in all plausible real world circumstances. Our hopes of independence remain firmly alive, but only for one reason: it's likely that Humza Yousaf will be deposed within two years at most. If I thought he was going to be around for much longer than that, it would be game over. The problem is that he really needs to be dislodged *before* the general election - if he leads the SNP through that election, the damage to the independence cause may be too severe to recover from.
DeleteEntirely correct. The only reason anyone voted for Humza was because party brass made it very clear he was the Chosen One, and he himself embraced the cherished mantle of Continuity Candidate. That and the GRR guff.
DeleteHumza’s just as disappointing as the rest of us feared. But right enough the Murrell meltdown is happening on his benighted watch, so it’s not all gloom and doom. Hopefully he’ll be dislodged by a fearful contingent of MSPs and MPs who know for a fact their careers are over come the next elections. Self interest is what they know best.