I'm going to offer some more analysis, probably tomorrow, of the fateful decision the SNP have made on independence strategy. But if you'll bear with me, given that conference delegates have only a few short hours left to vote in the SNP internal elections, I think my priority for now should be to give one last plug to my own candidacy in those elections. I know from my own experience that with so much going on at conference, the internal elections completely went out of my head for quite a while on Saturday, and when I eventually remembered them I had to set aside some time to vote. So I'd be willing to bet that there are still quite a few delegates who have been meaning to vote but have so far forgotten to do it.
All delegates, regardless of where they come from in Scotland, can if they wish vote for me in the Conferences Committee election - that's a nationwide vote. And if you happen to be a delegate from the Central Scotland region (or Central Scotland & Lothians West as it's now become under the new boundaries), you can also vote for me in the NEC election. I'm also standing for the Policy Development Committee. You can watch my pitch for the elections HERE.
I actually had a really good second day at conference. I skipped lunch to go to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign fringe meeting, which had one speech in particular that I think everyone in the room found truly remarkable. I can't remember what the name of the speaker was, but she was a young woman from Al-Haq, which is described on Wikipedia as a "Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation based in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank". She explained how difficult they had found it to operate after Israel baselessly branded them a "terrorist" group, with banks dropping them out of fright and problems like that, and how there was recently a repeat performance after they were informed by Marco Rubio that the US was sanctioning them for so-called "lawfare", defined as engaging with the International Criminal Court without Israeli permission!
About half an hour after the fringe meeting ended, I was back in the main conference hall to hear the historic speech from the State of Palestine's newly-upgraded Ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot. And as you can see below, I even found some time late in the day to do some impromptu sightseeing and then go to the beach. I have actually been known to stick my feet in the sea as late as October, but I thought better of it today.
As you may have seen, there was a tribute to Alex Salmond as part of the "In Memoriam" segment in the morning, and it included the famous clip of him announcing "I heard a rumour, I think we won the election" in 2007. That was a classy thing to do, and it was the right thing to do, and it was very much appreciated by many people in the hall, who burst into spontaneous applause when he appeared on screen. There used to be complaints that the SNP were editing Mr Salmond out of their history, but that certainly hasn't been the case since he died. As I always point out, the Scottish National Party has existed for ninety-one years, and Mr Salmond was leader of the party for no fewer than twenty of those years, so regardless of what happened in the final years of his life, he's very much woven into the party's story.
Nobody will speak ill of the dead even though not many liked him
ReplyDeleteDr Jim at 8.12am Rubbish - you speak ill of Salmond nearly every day on SGP.
DeleteGood luck!
ReplyDelete"As I always point out, the Scottish National Party has existed for ninety-one years, and Mr Salmond was leader of the party for no fewer than twenty of those years, so regardless of what happened in the final years of his life, he's very much woven into the party's story."
ReplyDeleteThey do need to do a bit more though. Perhaps a well-written article on SNP.org.
Well, I never! Sarwar double jobbing as a tour guide at the Trevi Fountain in Rome? Aren't his other jobs enough?
ReplyDeleteI know it's been criticised as being too short, but it's a start at some kind of healing. I'm a big supporter of Salmond and at one time of Sturgeon but if we want independence we have to move forward as a movement away from our obsession with personalities and push the process forward. Hopefully, somehow, we can also heal the divisions in the movement. I find it hard to kid myself that Swinney's election policy is anything but another waste of time and one that is damaging to the movement on the whole. However, any movement towards healing is the start of a process (possibly) let's hope this in the long term will help. As for the flaws in Swinney's policy, they do not bind any future leader or any future independence party. A section 30 request is obviously NOT the route to independence. It's not going to happen. Westminster has made that abundantly clear.
ReplyDeleteFor those saying the tribute to Salmond was too short (and I see that our old friend Stew has been stirring it), I'd just note that George Reid was also a titan of the SNP. Salmond himself would have been the first to acknowledge that - he was a huge admirer of Reid. And yet the time given to Reid's tribute was roughly the same as Salmond's. A bit more time was devoted to paying tribute to Christina McKelvie, but that's understandable because she was the partner of the current deputy leader, and it was entirely natural that he spoke about her at length in his own speech.
DeleteI don't read wings but I saw the comments in the National. Let's hope we can 'bleed' this and get back to the task of getting Scotland free.
DeleteThere's no one who didn't love Christina McKelvie , that's the difference
DeleteActually there are loads of people who didn't love Christina McKelvie and they all post on Wings.
DeleteWhat a horrendous speech by Trump. He actually had the gall to say that Israel has never been more respected. The truth is that Israel has never been more despised throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteHe's nuts. The only people listening were in Israel and Buttwipe, Kentucky and the latter thought he was speaking Spanish.
DeleteThis is a different point but maybe linked and maybe doesn't prove anything, but my husband and I go on holiday regularly with my cousin and his wife. I was just thinking if my cousin was called Becks and his wife was Posh, we could say we go on holiday with Posh and Becks. But that's not the end of the matter. If we said that then said important things about world affairs people would sit up and listen. They might say, "Did you hear that? Posh and Becks are against the Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Maybe we should be too."
This could be an important tactic in politics from now on.
The Britnat media making a big deal out of the release of 20 Israeli hostages yet 10,000 Palestinians remain as hostages in Israeli jails.
ReplyDeleteJohn Swinney on the BBC programme called Salmond and Sturgeon: A Troubled Union says this:
ReplyDelete" And I can remember saying to Nicola as she was formulating the message she was going to convey in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum was she sure that she wanted to say so firmly that she was opening up dialogue about a further referendum"
Swinney also says:
" I have to say I was nervous because I was still concerned by how we were able to motivate people in Scotland when we had just had one in 2014."
Beats me how people think this is the words of an independence leader. It was in the SNP manifesto to have a referendum if Scotland was taken out of the EU against its will but here we have Swinney in his own words freely telling independence supporters on TV he wanted to backtrack on the SNP's own manifesto commitment. It's clear to me that such manifesto commitments were only inserted in manifestos to garner votes for the SNP and people like Swinney were never serious about independence and still aren't.
At that stage Swinney’s caution was warranted, not now. Your comments are utterly disingenuous. We all know what you are.
Delete“ We all know what you are.” Who is the we you refer to? You got multiple voices in your head?
DeleteAnon at 11.16. One of idiot for Scotlands wee pals? More likely just him in his anon disguise. Cretin.
DeleteAnon at 1.27pm more likely that you are one of the SNPs paid employees desperately trying to keep yourself on the gravy train by polluting all independence blogs with your inane comments. Independence is for Scotland not to keep useless characters like you in a lifestyle your abilities do not warrant.
DeleteThe motivation was obvious - the numbers joining Ng the SNP and the numbers voting to stay in the EU. I'm not sure he's a liar, just timid. Timidity over making radical decisions are holding independence back. Sometimes you have to put things on the line.
ReplyDeleteAl-Haq. Not a surprise that Israel doesn’t want any Palestinians to have any human rights. That has been the case since Israel was established in 1948.
ReplyDeleteAl-Haq. Not a surprise that Israel doesn’t want any Palestinians to have any human rights. That has been the case since Israel was established in 1948.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with you candidacy James.
ReplyDeleteThe SNP could well do with your expertise and insights.
Unlike those who do nothing but carp from the outside of that party, you might actually have the ability to assist the SNP in some areas.
All electorally successful political parties need help at some stage and SNP are no different.
On the other hand, parties which consistently completely fail
to garner any popular vote worth the name, like Alba, are simply not worth the effort.
Now that Swinney has had his plan endorsed by a majority at the SNP conference we must do our very best to make it work, even if it seems less than perfect in its detail.
I believe that a very substantial number of Yessers who formerly voted for us can be brought back into the fold as they realise that the SNP are the only game in town as far as keeping Reform and the rest of the unionist parties out of power in Holyrood, let alone keeping the journey to independence feesible.
As has been said many times on here, Stewie and his tiny band of misfits will play no part in any of the above and will inevitably disintegrate as time moves on.
They will not be missed.
I am one of the substantial number you refer to. I have moved from active member to current position of having resigned and after the weekend vote deciding not to vote SNP for the first time in over 40 years. Nothing is happening with the current Swinney/Sturgeon cabal. They need to read the room and they can’t or won’t. No doubt I’ll be tarred as a unionist by people who weren’t even born when I was out canvassing but I am not coming back until a strategy is outlined and acted on. I think the upcoming election is going to be a rude awakening for Swinney. Such a shame.
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