So some personal news - a few minutes ago I emailed Chris McEleny to inform him that I wish to appeal against the Disciplinary Committee's decision last Thursday night to expel me from the Alba Party, and to set out my reasons for appealing - which, as you can imagine, are extremely extensive. I would have preferred to take a bit longer over the preparation of my appeal submission, but one of the frustrations of this process has been the way that Alba HQ has allowed it to endlessly drag on, and I don't want to give them any excuse for further delay.
As I've noted before, Mr McEleny has completely ignored all of the emails I have sent him throughout the "disciplinary" process (with the possible exception of one). It must be hoped that he would not pull a stunt like that again, given that under the Alba constitution, my right to lodge an appeal is absolute and unconditional. Unfortunately, though, I was told by one of the people who were expelled from the party earlier this year that he had tried to lodge an appeal but his email was completely ignored. As far as I know that appeal never took place. So, as a precaution, I've copied my email to the Deputy General Secretary Corri Wilson, to the party chair Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, and also to Suzanne Blackley, who as far as I know is still convener of the Appeals Committee. I haven't copied it to the acting party leader Kenny MacAskill yet, but I will do if it becomes necessary.
I would hope that things will be done by the book this time, but I've learned to have extremely low expectations.
Anon at 5.56: I've deleted your comment and I'm sure you know why. Your first question was inappropriate. Your second question was fine, and here is my answer: I am appealing because the process was marred by extreme unfairness throughout. I was found guilty of 'secret' allegations that I was never informed of and had no opportunity to defend myself against (and that I'm still in the dark about to this day). Some of the allegations were non-allegations: I was accused of disclosing confidential information but without any hint of what that confidential information actually was. I was accused of unspecified wrongdoing in social media posts, but not a single example of this was provided. In a nutshell, the Disciplinary Committee's decision was perverse, and it is in the overwhelming interests of not only me but the whole party that it should be overturned.
ReplyDeleteJames, You have the right to be heard and it is beholden of those in “power” to listen and behave appropriately.
ReplyDeleteWhat they do or don’t do may well determine the future of ALBA as a political party and not just of yourself.
He completely ignored all emails from me (Sean Davis). Also, ignored my counter complaint.
ReplyDeleteThere's now an explicit policy on the part of both Chris McEleny and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (who between them hold 100% veto powers over all complaints) that counter-complaints will almost always be dismissed out of hand regardless of their content or validity. What that means in practice is that if there is a dispute between two party members, and if they both want to make complaints about each other, the one and only thing that will matter is which of them gets the complaint in first. It's ludicrous, but that's the policy.
DeleteComplaints that go forward are almost always the ones instigated by McEleny himself, so naturally he makes very sure that his own people get their complaints in first.
DeleteThe success or failure of complaints is much more to do with who you are complaining about. If it's about someone who is an acolyte of those holding power, whether or not they have been doing the bidding of that person, you can forget it.
DeleteJ K at 8.14. Surely it’s a question of who the respective complainants are, and not really to do with who complained first?
DeleteWell, as Anon at 8.20 implied, it's a combination of both. If the leadership are targeting someone, either Mr McEleny does the deed himself or a complaint from someone else is 'arranged'. And then if the target attempts a counter-complaint, the line is "sorry, we can't be having counter-complaints".
DeleteI assume at some point they will stop taking your subs. That might be the only 'reply' you get.
ReplyDelete- They're crackers.
Delete- They are.
See me, Ah'm pure mental.
Delete"I assume at some point they will stop taking your subs."
DeleteFrom some of the things I've heard being said, I could totally imagine them continuing to take my subs indefinitely even if my expulsion is upheld. I'll obviously make sure that doesn't happen.
Sorry this is happening to you, James.
ReplyDeleteGreener pastures exist beyond Alba, to be sure. You will soon be rid of this bunch of clowns, albeit not of your own volition.
Myself, I’m without party loyalty or home since my old party, the LibDems, entered a disastrous coalition government with the Conservatives.
A bit like a Third Lanark supporter but in the absence of the club disappearing.
I hope the same fate does not await you.
Oh, and Nick Clegg went onto Facebook. Says it all.
ReplyDeleteClegg was out of his brain on ginger snaps. And I don't mean THAT type!! Ooh Mercury!!!
Delete"I haven't copied it to the acting party leader Kenny MacAskill yet"
ReplyDeleteI think that's a mistake. The sooner the better, then you can see if the leadership is remotely interested in democracy. It's like when you've been charged a bill twice and get told it's your fault, only a letter to the Chief Executive works, and works fast as well. You need to get past the baboons as soon as possible.
I almost did it - if I could have found his official Alba email address, I would have copied it to him, but all I could find in my contacts was his Gmail address from my time on the Finance Committee. But if all else fails, I'll forward it to his Gmail account.
DeleteAll 'official' correspondence goes through party HQ. As such, it will almost certainly be intercepted by the General Secretary (unelected position in the party's constitution and also paid employee and line manager to staffers) or his Depute (unelected position not mentioned in the party's constitution). Even if you send your email to Kenny McAskill and c.c. it to Neale Hanvey and Ash Regan, as I did, you will probably not get the courtesy of a reply nor even an acknowledgement.
DeleteI’m sure he knows.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm sure he knows what's going on in general terms, but that doesn't necessarily means he knows about each specific email that Mr McEleny ignores.
DeleteHe knows enough to know that there's basic unfairness and he's not interested in the detail. Very disappointing - but no other conclusion can be reached.
DeleteEveryone sane still in Alba should come home to the SNP
ReplyDeletelol
DeleteNope, the less sensible members should join ISP or Peter A Bell
DeleteWhat does "joining Peter A Bell" involve? Does he have you for lunch?
DeleteYou haven't heard of Bell's new party? Neither has 99% of the population 😄
DeleteGrumpy Scottish man says “ The reality is with Swinney, Sturgeon, Robertson, etc all still hanging around like a fart in a lift no matter how many times the British unionist parties provide us with open goals we will still fail to score because the people currently at the top don’t want to win, will not go the extra mile, will not put it all on the line. “
DeleteThe current guff from Swinney that 2026 is about Hope is no better than 2024’s get rid of the Tories message. Note he failed to get rid of the Tories but got rid of a big bundle of SNP MPs. There is no hope of indyref2 with
Swinney in charge. Just as there was no hope with Nicola and Humza.
@12:07 Entirely correct, sadly. And there’s bugger all we can do about it. We need leadership, but we’ve got completely the wrong ones.
DeletePeter Bell 's yer man !
DeleteDeath to the Salaban
ReplyDeleteHummingbird twits
DeleteDeleted Anon: "Not going to lie" but I can spot trolling from an interested party a mile off. "If I'm really really honest" I do tend to spot it straight away.
ReplyDeleteOt/ Just had the misfortune of watching the MP from Cumbernauld with her pre-prepared question to Starmer over housing in Scotland and telling the Scottish Government what to do. Cringeworthy in the extreme and that is saying something.
ReplyDeleteChris Law shut the Scottish red tories up.
DeleteI have a question regarding McEleny’s size? Is he tall? How big is he really? Is his size intimidating? How many seats does he occupy on a bus?
ReplyDeleteI know you're asking about his penis, and I truly can't help you. Have you tried Andy Swan?
Delete