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Maurice Golden is in fact the candidate for Central Ayrshire.
Four Scottish selections
The Scottish ToryBoy blog has spotted some new selections on the Scottish Conservatives website: Former MP and MSP Phil Gallie has been selected to fight Central Ayrshire. The seat is held by Labour MP Brian Donohoe who has a 10,000 majority over the Tories who finished in second place last time...
‘On a more partisan note, I hope they ignore my musings and the Labour party does carry on regardless and the underbelly of the Scottish Labour party is exposed to the full glare of the media.’
Quite so, Scotty. While it seems quite obvious that, in terms of the relevant legislation, resignations and/or criminal convictions should be on the cards, I can’t help but give in to my own partisan instincts on this one.
It seems clear that there is a lot more bubbling under the surface and the prospect of a fatally wounded Labour leader struggling on, bereft of moral authority, public sympathy or the support of her backbenchers is simply in our interests in the context of the coming general election.
Ian MacWhirter’s analysis in today’s Herald is bang on the money in noting that:
“We know that all is not well in the Labour leader's inner circle, since this story has been driven by a series of damaging leaks from people with access to the most sensitive inside information. The Sunday Herald document, for example, could not have been widely circulated within Labour, but it found its way into the public domain. Someone somewhere harbours a very deep grudge against Alexander and is prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to settle accounts.”
In terms of the simple electoral calculation, the longer that situation can be prolonged the better. As other commentators above have rightly noted, while the SNP may be overall beneficiaries of a long-term bout of matricide, there are key constituencies where we are the accepted challengers to Labour which could, and I stress could, come into play as a result of this. The legal process will take its course, as it should, but a gradual attrition is what suits us best.
Murdo Fraser MSP: Wendy Alexander's attempts to cover up her wrongdoing may be her undoing
Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives. Today the Scottish Labour Party is in meltdown following a weekend of immensely damaging media headlines. This all surrounds the Scottish Labour leader, Wendy Alexander MSP, and her acceptance of an illegal donation to her leade...
No point in trying to reason with him, Boy Blue; the closing line of his last post gives the game away.
You’ll also notice he now merely claims that lack of progress in the polls demonstrates the absence of a ‘Cameron effect’ in Scotland, whereas his previous contention was that DC was in fact a ‘liability’ north of the border – a claim that he has conspicuously failed to substantiate.
Amazing that someone would so obviously prefer to beat up their own side than discuss how we might best capitalise on the present circumstances.
Murdo Fraser MSP: Wendy Alexander's attempts to cover up her wrongdoing may be her undoing
Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives. Today the Scottish Labour Party is in meltdown following a weekend of immensely damaging media headlines. This all surrounds the Scottish Labour leader, Wendy Alexander MSP, and her acceptance of an illegal donation to her leade...
“In fact, it is more likely that Dave is a liability in Scotland.”
An assessment based upon what?
Murdo Fraser MSP: Wendy Alexander's attempts to cover up her wrongdoing may be her undoing
Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives. Today the Scottish Labour Party is in meltdown following a weekend of immensely damaging media headlines. This all surrounds the Scottish Labour leader, Wendy Alexander MSP, and her acceptance of an illegal donation to her leade...
A succinct analysis. The thing that’s most astonishing is the dreadfully poor media handling of the matter on the part of the Scottish Labour machine. While the coincidence of this blowing up at the same time as the Abrahams scandal was always being to afford it significance disproportionate to the sum of money involved, you can’t help but feel that it could have been closed down with a simple admission and apology at the very start.
Even if it proved not to be possible to close it down completely, at the very least the accusations (now proven) of lying both on her own part and on the part of members of her campaign team, which are what has really fuelled the media firestorm, would have been avoided.
It's not the crime that gets you, it's the cover-up.
As Murdo says the question is how long the line can be held, but I am bound to say that - much as the political demise of yet another Scottish Labour leader would be welcome - how much more welcome would it be for her to manage to cling on, irreparably damaged.
Murdo Fraser MSP: Wendy Alexander's attempts to cover up her wrongdoing may be her undoing
Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives. Today the Scottish Labour Party is in meltdown following a weekend of immensely damaging media headlines. This all surrounds the Scottish Labour leader, Wendy Alexander MSP, and her acceptance of an illegal donation to her leade...
Anon,
Who would your choice be?
Brian Monteith: Poor Scottish result augurs change
Former Conservative MSP Brian Monteith is unimpressed with the Tories' performance in last Thursday's elections to Holyrood. Now that the understandable distraction of the bourach that was the Holyrood election meltdown has subsided and the actual results can be assessed with some cold detachm...
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