And ah yes, the "suspension". I'm already picking up a great deal of anger from Alba members, because the very fact that McEleny is able to seek nominations for depute leader reveals an important piece of information that was not previously known - his party membership has not been suspended. How can that possibly be? If he's been suspended from the most senior party staff role for "gross misconduct", how can he possibly still have the official status of a "party member in good standing"? Ironically, his candidacy poses as many awkward questions for the current leadership as it does for himself and his own allies. I gather some people are on the brink of leaving the party if McEleny's suspension isn't extended to cover his party membership.
I don't think McEleny has a cat in hell's chance of defeating Neale Hanvey for the depute leadership, but just imagine the implications if he actually did. He would almost certainly be the deputy of the very leader who had sacked him for gross misconduct. That is not a sustainable situation - one of the two would have to resign, or the party itself would fracture, or both. He knows that as well as anyone, so exactly what game is he playing? I can think of two main possibilities -
1) He thinks if he polls a respectable minority vote in the depute leader election, it'll be his get-out-of-jail-free card and prevent MacAskill from getting rid of him. I'm not sure that's right, though. Remember that I had a decent record in Alba internal elections - I'm a former NEC member, I came within 0.5% of being elected Member Support Convener in December 2023, I was a serving member of three national committees, and I was the incumbent Organiser of North Lanarkshire LACU, but they still didn't think twice about expelling me at McEleny's own instigation. Similarly, I believe Sean Davis was the Convener of a LACU in Ayrshire before McEleny maliciously took disciplinary action against him, but he still ended up effectively being indefinitely suspended from the party.
2) McEleny may be looking beyond his own defeat in the depute leader contest and his ally Ash Regan's defeat in the leader contest. The idea may be to keep peddling the line that "Scotland needs a serious independence party, not a sideshow" so he and Regan can later claim that Alba have chosen to be a sideshow by electing the MacAskill/Hanvey ticket. He and Regan would then claim to be acting in the national interest by providing a "serious independence party" in a different form.
I'm not sure if we're witnessing the death spiral of Alba as a whole or merely of McEleny's career within it, but it's likely to be one or the other. In the meantime, we can look forward to one of the great comedy spectacles of our time as McEleny runs a depute leadership campaign almost entirely on the basis of his claimed "telepathic communion" with the late Alex Salmond, which apparently means that he and he alone is equipped to take forward Mr Salmond's secret-but-brilliant strategy for next year's Holyrood election. Leanne Tervit set the scene rather well for what we're about to witness in this tweet from a few weeks ago.
Does he communicate via a ouija board?
ReplyDeleteNo, it’s a weegie bored.
DeleteWOS are big fans of Alba. No surprise there. What a shower. SNP on the Constituency vote. The party most likely to gain list seats on the list vote, so almost certainly the Green candidate. The Greens have I suspect learned their lesson, although they will need to be constantly reminded of where a large chunk of their vote comes from. Carefully managed, they are helpful.,
ReplyDelete“Carefully managed “- that’s a joke. You cannot manage a bunch of bampots.
DeleteBoth votes SNP is always the best option.
DeleteHow?
DeleteHow no?
DeleteVoting SNP in both votes in 2026 ensures a strong mandate for Scotland’s right to choose its future, because people look at both percentages when guaging the SNPs popular mandate.
DeleteArtificial majorities that are the quirk of a voting system don't.
This matters.
SNP will offer a government committed to protecting public services, tackling the cost of living crisis, advancing the case for net zero, among other things.
A both-votes SNP strategy maximizes the party’s ability to deliver progressive policies and stand up for Scotland’s interests.
7.56pm - a de facto referendum does a lot more.
Delete8.53: Voting both votes SNP best option if you view election as de facto.
Delete9.36pm Voting both votes SNP best option if THE ELECTION IS A de facto.
DeleteBoth votes SNP is always the best option. (And look we're back to 5.22!)
DeleteAnon @ 7:56 PM you forgot to mention the word "independence" anywhere in your comment.
DeleteIf you want to hand list seats to unionists go for both votes SNP. That will do the trick.
DeleteMcEleny taking a lead from Trump.
ReplyDeleteAt the time of this posting this is the current status:
ReplyDeleteNeale Hanvey (Threshold Achieved)
100/100 nominations received
Across 20/20 Local Authority areas
Christopher McEleny
15/100 nominations received
Across 6/20 Local Authority areas
He'll probably get to the threshold, he only needs about 2% of members. But I expect him to be humiliated in the election itself. What fun.
DeleteMad Dog McEleny living down to his name. Has Ash Regan approved his dad's message punting a joint ticket with Ash Regan?
ReplyDeleteShannon D
ReplyDeleteI see you can’t manage 150 words here either like your statement on the Alba website .
DeleteNorma Sharter
DeletePlease copy and paste Shannon's candidate statement and post it here. We can't miss this.
DeleteAlba won’t be able to take the moral high ground now that McEleny is taking a leaf out of the SNP playbook in copying Sturgeon’s tactic of sheer brass neckery in passing vetting for 2026 candidacy. Quite frankly, this is just embarrassing and confirms the thoughts of many that Alba is a wee pretendy joke party. Bully boy McEleny was highly unsuitable for the position of General Secretary where he pursued a vendetta against many hardworking dedicated members and he is eminently unsuitable as a Depute Party Leader. What the hell is Alba even thinking about in allowing this travesty? But then again nothing surprises me as they were never known to pay attention to their “constitution” making it up as they went along on the whim of the high head yins.
ReplyDeleteWishing Neale Hanvey all the best in this ridiculous farce of an election - he’s going to need it to get the party back on track and taken seriously.
I'm not sure any of this matters, frankly. Alba have established no presence at all with the electorate and there's no chance at all of that changing. Any positive future the party had died at Rutherglen. It was Salmond's biggest mistake.
ReplyDeleteIn the bonkers colony of Scotland created by Sturgeon, the rest of her bonkers gang and the bampot Greens a newspaper has been reported to the polis for referring to a man as a man. This is Sturgeon's legacy. Instead of doing what people voted for - independence - Sturgeon has created this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteTrans women are women, they say.
DeleteIt is an opinion. No more than that.
IFS, that take is totally out there.
DeleteFirst off, calling Scotland a "bonkers colony" is just straight-up nonsense. Nicola Sturgeon was a democratically elected leader doing what she believed was best for the people.
Yeah, independence was one of the SNP's long term goals, but it's not like Nicola could just snap her fingers and make it happen—there were major political and legal hurdles, plus a ton of people in Scotland who weren’t fully sold on the idea.
Meanwhile, she had to govern in the real world, dealing with a pandemic, the economy, and social policies that a lot of people actually supported.
And let’s be real—respecting people's LGBTQ+ identities and holding media accountable isn’t some wild dystopian nonsense. It’s just basic decency. Acting like this is some huge scandal is just manufactured outrage. Sturgeon’s legacy is way better than this take gives her credit for.
7.45pm Another anon rewriting history when he says “independence was one of the SNP’s long term goals”.
DeleteAnon @7.45pm - men wanting to change in women’s changing rooms is just basic indecency. Nothing decent about it at all.
Delete7.45pm Dealing with the “economy “. Sturgeon had little control over Scotland’s economy. Liz Truss in a few weeks had more impact on Scotland’s economy. Can Swinney prevent Grangemouth closing - no. Scotland is England’s colony.
DeleteAnon at 7.45pm - the person involved had no GRC and as Sturgeon's self ID is not law then reporting a newspaper to the polis for de facto bad manners is the height of bonkerism. So anon you are wrong. Sturgeon created this nonsense and yes Scotland is still a colony because Sturgeon dud nothing on independence.
DeleteSo you have a bonkers colony created by Sturgeon and all your pathetic excuses are just that. There was no pandemic in 2016/17/18/19 when her and Blackford promised a referendum and said Scotland would not be taken out the EU. So anon you try being real.
19/10/23 another Sturgeon falsehood.
IFS, relax.
DeleteScotland ain’t a "colony"—it’s got its own government, and Sturgeon worked within legit political realities.
Independence isn’t a solo mission; it takes strategy, timing, and, yeah, public support.
Also, social progress ain’t "bonkers"—respecting people’s identities isn’t some crisis.
Sturgeon did **way** more than you admit.
9.23pm - demonstrating his ignorance. Most British colonies had their own colonial government installed by Westminster. Holyrood was established by a Westminster act of parliament.
DeleteOh, of course! A colony where the population votes in UK elections, sends MPs to Westminster, and even had a referendum on independence. Just like India under the British Raj. Top-notch historical insight! 🙄
DeleteAnon at 9.23pm. You clearly are very relaxed punting this independence must take many many years etc etc . The sort of stuff Britnats punt.
DeleteWhat is bonkers is complaining to the polis that a newspaper called a man a man. That is not social progress that is just plain bonkers and a waste of police time. I never said respecting people's identities is a crisis. That was you. It's just good manners to respect someone's identity. It's not a police matter. Should I complain to the polis every time David Francis demonstrates a lack of manners and calls me assorted names.
Kindly tell us the ** way ** more Sturgeon did on independence.
9.48pm. Is Scotland under political control of England. Yes. It was demonstrated very clearly when Scotland was refused self determination when the people of Scotland voted for indyref2. Sending MPs to Westminster from Scotland means nothing. England can and will always outvote Scotland. The referendum in 2014 was GRANTED by Westminster only because it was sure it would win. The media is totally controlled by England and it favours the English controlled political parties. England installs its people in positions of influence in Scotland. The English controlled media denigrates Scotland, its culture, its people and its language.
DeleteIt’s not a historical insight it’s a current fact. Scotland is England’s colony. Britnats love to deny this truth.
I challenged anon at 9.23pm to tell us the **way ** more Sturgeon did on independence. Not a word from anon. He cannae even remember anything not one thing. Typical of the nicophants they are just full of bullshit.
DeleteAs for that other anon diddy at 9.48pm - Ireland sent MPs to Westminster and was a colony as well.
The trans debate (more accurately: shouting match) is a distraction. So is the Alba Party.
ReplyDeleteNicola is a failed has-been vainglorious in pursuit of an unearned comeback tour.
The SNP government has choppy waters to chart a path through. The aim should be to win a HR outright majority so they don’t have to rely on the plonkers otherwise known as the Scottish Greens.
What did iScot look like in the Trump 2.0 era? If the SNP have an answer to that they are yet to articulate it. Hopefully it’s at least work in progress, a credible answer is badly needed.
* what will
DeleteIssue is though if Nicola is a failed has-been... what does that make the man who stood by her side during her entire tenure as her Deputy?
Delete10.11pm It makes him First Minister.
DeleteIn the human relationships world of Alex adapting from the more formal First Minister culture/Holyrood/Westminster atmosphere to the more 'we're all chums' more casual atmosphere of Alba, who is to say that his 'hail fellow well met' new Alex didn't lend itself to him casually blethering thoughts and ideas to whatever person he was spending time with and wanting to keep up a chummy persona? He could quite easily wax lyrical to one person and change the tune with another a dozen times a day. This was a whole new unfamiliar mix of people he was around in Alba, many with no background of being in the more formal political sphere's Alex was more used to. It's not unlikely that his manners of expression and content of his chat would differ if he was talking to MacAskill, or Regan or McEleny - at times he was having to act down with the wee sma folk when that wasn't his natural habitat. He would adapt so as not to be seen to alienate different individuals who he needed on side with him.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't seem to, as leader, have set out to shape Alba into a more formal professional party - and his previous life was that there were many many minions and tiers of individuals who organised all of that for him. Alba was stranger in a strange land but I need all of those strangers in this strange land and need to adopt a 'chums' persona with everybody. That was maybe a big mistake - but something he needed on a personal basis at the time. Alex was never immune to saying one thing to one person - and telling the next person he wasn't of course going to stand by what he said, he was going to freelance, throw that one in the bin and go his own way.
It's not impossible he didn't outline wants to McEleny - and then express something different to someone he regarded as being at a different level of usefulness and understanding. He was obviously a man with one foot astride the past - and one foot adapting to a completely different kettle of personalities who because of less decades of familiarity working with them (Kenny MaK excepted) - he was outwith his 'dependable crack team behind him' comfort zone.
Thanks for that, Aldous.
DeleteThis is all too comfy a reading of his failure as Alba Party leader. Seems like your forte is making excuses for him. Truth is that he wasted the opportunity to make Alba a meaningful, significant force and ended up helping to forge a tragic/ comic soap opera collective instead.
DeleteReads more like a load of nonsense to me.
DeleteImplies Salmond never really did much and just realised on people around him... despite the fact he's largely responsible for taking the SNP from the fringes of Scottish politics to a majority Government. Breaking the electoral system.
I guess now that he's dead it's easier to rewrite our history.
I'm sure that Alex Salmond, with 30 years as a professional politician behind him, had as much experience as anyone could have, in dealing with all sorts of people. As was noted by Prof James Mitchell, his judgement of character left a lot to be desired. He didn't just choose Nicola Sturgeon to be his Depute, he employed Peter Murrell in his Peterhead office, he created the chief executive role in the SNP and installed his former campaign manager, Mike Russell, in that role. He gave Yousless his first job. And, to cap it all, he set up a political party with his business partner, installed her as his choice of unelected Chair and handed the powerful unelected role of General Secretary to a man who has continually abused his power. Salmond was undeniably a hugely talented politician, but he wasn't a details man, according to the press - and that's also very clear. However, the devil is so very often in the detail. Running a political party on the sloppiest of constitutional practices is no way to convince people who have been let down and lied to that you are a credible alternative.
DeleteSalmond let the party degenerate into bitter infighting. But who was doing the fighting, smearing and cheating?
DeleteSalmond himself definitely a nasty bully.
Tas spider at the centre of the web using Salmond to fight her battles
Who knows what Tas had on Salmond but he did whatever she asked him to do
Neale Hanvey actively smearing women office bearers
Chris McEleny doing his masters bidding
Corri Wilson doing Tas’s bidding
Kenny McAskill knowing about all the problems but too lazy and compromised to do anything about it.
Remaining supporters of Alba Party are approximately half of the difference between SNP getting an overall HR majority, measured from their current polling. These voters need to come home to the SNP and leave behind the Alba Party hopeless venture. With that extra momentum, the SNP must repay faith by going on to win over yet more voters. The goal is a SNP majority free of any reliance on the Greens, the gaol is precisely such reliance.
ReplyDeleteThe goal is independence.
DeleteA SNP majority government with the freedom of movement that comes with majority control has a far better chance of achieving Indy than if a governing arrangement for votes is required with the wayward Greens.
DeleteI suppose it is possible that Chris McEleny was suspended from his post as an employee of the party but not as a member of the party. If that is the case, he is entitled under the constitution to stand for election. Whether he should do so is another matter. If he reaches the threshold I do not give much for his chances of success.
ReplyDeleteWhether he should have been suspended from party membership is another matter. I am not a lawyer, but might there be an issue in suspending him from his party employment and from party membership at the same time?
This gives me so many more Leitmotife for my opera, McEleny in Macedonia. Thank you for the inspiration. My librettist Dr Adalbert Moga has already begun to jot down some preliminary lyrics. The buzz of creativity is as a thousand bees 🐝 at their labours in the hive.
ReplyDeleteIf Reform hit 35% we are awe doomed!
ReplyDeleteYon Nurse Peggy has just shown yet again the SNP are not just fuckwits but a danger to women!
What has the court case got to do with the SNP? TheHealth Board are completely in the wrong, and that is coming out. You seem to struggle with the difference between the law and its wrongful application. The law did not allow the Health Board to do what it did. The Health Board broke the law by doing what is did. Jog on back to WOS and the Daily Heil.
DeleteThere’s a band called HENS BENS who keep saying that one of their songs was written about a “Scottish politician” that one of the members went to school with. I think it’s McEleny. Lyrics fit too well.
ReplyDeleteSong title starts with ‘W’ and rhymes with ‘Tanker’, it’s on Spotify.