Scottish, UK and Geopolitics, reviewing the policies and personalities, speaking out and up for those whose voices needs to be heard.
Monday, 28 August 2023
The Epic Statement of Nicola Sturgeon, 'there are no reasons to be concerned about the party's finances', but supporters say Nicola Sturgeon 'may claim she was too busy running country to know how SNP funds spent', just how many items of evidence was taken by Police Scotland from Nicola Sturgeon's home, who used them, who bought them and was anything bought with indyref2 funds?
Monday, 31 July 2023
Political Death looms in Rutherglen, SNP leader Humza Yousaf’s facing certain defeat in possible upcoming by-election in Margaret Ferrier’s seat, activists don’t want to sell the party, SNP stabbed previous MP in the back, party mired in lgbt sexual and financial sleaze, police probe, and Nicola Sturgeon and her husband in hiding
In
the not too distant future, the voters of Rutherglen and Hamilton West maybe
going to the polls, if the petition to remove the sitting MP Margret Ferrier
passes the hurdle of 10% of the electorate. The by-election on paper seems to
be a ‘shoo in’ for the Labour Party who traditional pull a sizeable vote in the
constituency. The SNP leadership jumped on the bandwagon against Ferrier when
it came out she had travelled to London despite knowing she had tested positive
for covid. Of course, she wasn’t the only who broke the rules, but sometimes in
politics a political goat is staked out for the public. Ferrier is the poster
child of anyone who broke the covid rules at Westminster. What happens to these
other people, some in government? Well simply nothing, they are going on with
their lives so problems there. In many ways, the use of the political goat isn’t
new, in the Westminster expenses scandal; a few goats were needed to protect
the bulk of the MPs being exposed to the bright light. You could argue the
merits whether Margaret Ferrier is being treated unfair; after all, her own
party disowned her for political reasons during the Nicola Sturgeon era, the
rest of the parties are just ‘playing the game’. In other words, its politics,
justice, fairness or ethical reasons play no part in that, in the race to
attain power, destroying a person is acceptable, under the guise of being noble.
One thing I have learned in politics, there are very few white knights, and you
should learn this too, and keep remembering it.
Speaking of non white Knights, the Muslim leader of the SNP or ‘albatross’ Humza Yousaf isn’t having a good pre election cycle; Rutherglen is a test of his ‘new’ leadership. Or to be more accurate, this is Sturgeon’s leadership by proxy in action. Of course, it seems there is no sign of Nicola Sturgeon on the stump yet, which would cause a flurry of questions, mostly relating to alleged missing SNP funds. No, Sturgeon is being hidden from sight, as she constantly points out to anyone appearing to listen, she is innocent, but she wouldn’t give the same endorsement to her husband Peter Murrell. Don’t expect to see Murrell out campaigning either, not in a campaign office or on a doorstep, he has like Sturgeon decided to stay hidden. Oh, before I forget, he is innocent until proven guilty, just like everyone who has been arrested. In my time as an SNP activist, I noticed that SNP HQ effectively decamped from Edinburgh to run a big by-election. Everyone who was seen to be a serious activist turned up at this type of event, minor election like council didn’t rate a presence of many well known kiddie on faces, but Westminster and Holyrood by-elections rated as special. In fact, you could say, the SNP ran these type of elections well. They had all the bases covered, money, staffers and resources all lined up.
This election if it comes off will be different, as well as the current situation of having a party seen as corrupt, incompetent and ultimately useless, Humza Yousaf has picked a dud to take the hit and lose gracefully. Katy Loudon, a councillor from South Lanarkshire is Madam Escosse Donkey in this election. Although Loudon takes the public hit at the podium when the result is released, the real loser is Humza Yousaf, this is his first big electoral test since taking over as SNP leader. The question is how badly will he lose? Even party insiders think the defeat will be major; words like thumping are being bandied around inside his camp. For a party used to success having a weak leader, poor candidates and policies that the public doesn’t want is only part of the problem. The real issue for Humza Yousaf is how to get rid of Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell, if there was ever a man praying for the cops to kick the door in and cart people off, it’s Humza Yousaf.
At present, we sit and wait for a countdown, for the petition to close; to see if the required number of signatures has been reached that triggers the by-election. If it happens, all the political parties will invade Rutherglen and Hamilton West for the next six weeks of the active election or ‘short campaign’. Humza Yousaf is committed to fight this election, he has no choice. Sturgeon backed him into a corner, if there was ever a guy praying for the petition to fail, I suspect it would be Humza Yousaf. Everyone else is baying for blood; they want Rutherglen to be the catalyst of collapse. If the SNP support collapses, it calls into question should there be a change of leadership? The bad taste of how Humza Yousaf was elected by the Sturgeon cabal is still strong in the mouths of the SNP members; they have a legit reason for not turning up at Rutherglen. One SNP councillor has privately admitted they could not “in good conscience” ask people to vote for the SNP at the present time. In politics at by-election, you sell not just the candidate but also the party, where is the positive spin, that you could put on the Humza Yousaf and the SNP? Yousaf is seen as fake, false and insincere, I campaigned with him; I know firsthand, he is lazy and not very bright.
If you’re an SNP Activist is the smart bet to stay away? Many apparently report “embarrassment” at being asked to promote a party on the doorstep which is mired in sexual and financial sleaze, a police probe, and lack of progress on independence. The public have wised up to the running gag that a vote for the SNP is a vote for independence; this is the trick that Nicola Sturgeon used post 2014 time and time again, I dubbed it ‘the mandate con’. Every election was a mandate for the Sturgeon cult to continue to slice off public funds to keep their luxury lifestyle going. In return, the public got crumbs, crumbs, crumbs and more crumbs. So sure was Sturgeon of her power, she openly pissed on Scots and didn’t even pretend to call it rain. Everything post Salmond in the SNP was all about protecting and promoting Nicola Sturgeon, it was never about Scotland, it was about her. Labour sources say the SNP vote is “very soft” with an unusually high proportion of former SNP voters now describing themselves as don’t knows. The Great Awakening is happening, of course when you stab your former candidate in the back, you can’t expect public support. The previous election with Margaret Ferrier saw the SNP having a majority of 5,230 in the seat, I think we can say that majority is gone or seriously dented.
If 10% of the registered electors in Ferrier’s seat, or 8,113 out of 81,124 people sign the petition in person, it is game on, it triggers a by-election which in theory Margaret Ferrier could also stand. The SNP plans to move the writ for the by-election as soon as Westminster returns from summer recess in September. If the timetable goes to plan, it means a by-election in early October. For those unfamiliar with by-elections, they can prove very educational for activists, generally fast paced and with a variety of activists who have extensive experience. I always recommend campaigning in these special events as a way of gaining valuable insight into how the party works. The Labour Party has a strong base of support in Rutherglen to work from, they need to tap into the previous soft SNP voters and make a serious pitch for their vote. In a whiff of how defeat is running through the Yousaf camp, an SNP source believes the party would be lucky to get 25% in a by-election. Their words give you a sense of the mood,
“It’s a goner. It’ll be a total thumping. Folk are embarrassed to go out and push for the party. Katy Loudon is a good person but she’s not a unifying candidate.”
Katy Loudon is the dug to be kicked about the streets for the next six weeks. She is the person who doesn’t want to speak to the press except at stage managed photo ops. Scottish Labour isn’t just looking for a win, they want to see low double digit SNP voters. SNP MSP John Mason, who won the Glasgow East Westminster by-election in 2008 by 365 votes, and whose Shettleston seat is next to Rutherglen & Hamilton West, said it was too early to predict the result. Is it really John? I did 16 days on John Mason’s 2008, it was a hard fought campaign, the SNP had a better situation then, their current predicament is beyond terrible.
Mason added:
“I think it’s going to be a challenge for the SNP but I’ll certainly be going over and campaigning if it goes ahead. I think if Labour don’t win it, I think it will be quite embarrassing for them. The SNP has had a few challenges recently. You can’t go on forever being the party of government and winning every single election. When you’re older and you’ve been involved in this longer, you’re maybe a little bit more relaxed about it. But every party is going to have ups and down along the way. Labour used to control everything in Glasgow and Scotland and that eventually came to an end. So the SNP’s not going to ride high forever and ever. I certainly hope that we’ll hold this by-election and I’ll certainly be out there campaigning and I’m sure a lot of other people will as well, but ultimately it’s in the hands of the voters.”
Hardly upbeat is he?
Finally,
the last time the SNP fought a by-election it spent £98,958 out of the £100,000
legal limit, yet it failed to gain Shetland from the Liberal Democrats,
who spent £64,534. The SNP is committed to spending big, not for Katy Loudon,
but to shore up its vote. If there is a spectacular implosion, this will damage
Humza Yousaf severely as leader. The makeover by the SNP to make him ‘likeable’ has
bombed something which the KateForbes camp can't have failed to notice. He is as I have mentioned, fake, false and insincere, his man of the
people act is rather unimpressive; he literally has nothing to offer the people
or Scotland. Rutherglen and Hamilton West could prove to be his Waterloo. Humza
Yousaf’s activists don’t want to sell the party, they don’t want to be there,
and really can you blame them? This election for the SNP might be dubbed the ‘payroll
campaign’ because why would anyone not being paid want to turn up.
Monday, 19 June 2023
Operation Branchform; Sturgeon proxy Humza Yousaf and the SNP try to deflect attention away from breaking story as Police Scotland fraud detectives probe 'cash in envelopes' claims, explosive letter sent to Police Scotland, the Lord Advocate and the Mail on Sunday raises more questions, again, new questions how much was the 'cash in envelopes', why wasn't it allegedly not declared to the Electoral Commission, who decided that and what was it spent on?
On the 11th of June, SNP MSP Nicola Sturgeon was interviewed by police; she was in fact arrested, not interviewed as a witness but arrested as a suspect. Sturgeon’s arrest wasn’t unusual, already her husband, Peter Murrell was arrested, followed by Colin Beattie, the SNP Treasurer. So, the idea that the Police were going to pull Sturgeon was a racing certainty. Three people were responsible for the Scottish National Party finances, Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell and Colin Beattie. Now, at this stage, it is worthwhile mentioning the word of caution by Police Scotland citing the Contempt of Court Act 1981, all the suspects named above have the presumption of innocence in law. It seems that as Operation Branchform is an active case although no one has been charged with any crime. The Police started this investigation circa 2 years ago over the issue of indyref 2 crowd funder which raked in £600,000; this money was said by the SNP to be woven through their accounts. A serious bit of journalism by Wings Over Scotland trawling through the submitted accounts of the SNP pointed out that an issue regarding cash flow held by the party. The sum in the accounts didn’t match the sum raised by the indyref 2 crowd funder.
In the wake of being arrested and held for 7 hours, the press gathered outside the home of Nicola Sturgeon presumably to welcome her home, but she didn’t go home, she went into hiding. Not only did she go into hiding, so did Peter Murrell, this might have seen strange to ordinary people which lead me to ask the question is there academic data between innocent and people going into hiding after being arrested by Police? Also, it is worth mentioning that Sturgeon proxy, Humza Yousaf who appears to be the ‘caretaker’ put in place by the Sturgeon Cult is not going to suspend Nicola Sturgeon. And he is also not going to suspend Colin Beattie and Peter Murrell, which has raised some eyebrows. Why does this raise eyebrows? Basically because when Sturgeon was First Minister and leader of the SNP, she would suspend memberships of elected SNP Politicians even without them being arrested under the catch all of bringing the party into disrepute. Lots of questions now specifically about Humza Yousaf’s behaviour which goes beyond his defence line of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ will be coming down the pipeline.
Why
the double standards by Humza Yousaf?
Why
did Humza Yousaf allegedly threaten members by saying back Sturgeon or leave?
Why
did the SNP send flowers to Nicola Sturgeon post arrest?
Why
does there appear to be an SNP led campaign to declare Nicola Sturgeon
innocent?
Why
did SNP MP Anne McLaughlin effectively tweet that Nicola Sturgeon is incapable
of committing any crime?
Why did SNP MSP James Dornan say that the press and police have colluded together?
What is happening inside the SNP under Humza Yousaf is strange, but I come back to the question, who is this campaign targeted at?
In
the wider sense, you might opine and assume that the Nicola Sturgeon is innocent
campaign is targeted directly at the public. But is the public support for
Nicola Sturgeon still there? Well, no, in a recent polling her popularity sits
at -7%, she enjoyed a +28 favourability rating as recently as December 2020
when she was doing her staged managed Joan of Arc routine, the savior of the
nation from Covid. Oh, how the less than intellectually mighty have fallen now.
One recurring concern for me which begs the question, why at this stage of
Operation Branchform, with no one being charged with anything, would this ‘support
Nicola Sturgeon’ be needed?
What did Police Scotland ask her on Sunday 11th June, and what answers, if any did she provide to the Police? If you had the opportunity would you sit through the 7 hours of her taped or videoed interview? Did she explain where the £600,000 indyref 2 cash is? In a recent Holyrood session, an SNP Minister tried to change the meaning of what the word ‘ring fenced’ actually meant, they’re appear to suggest that money taken from a budget could be taken away and spent, and then when more money came in, this money would go back into the budget. Is this a ploy to be used at any future criminal trial relating to Operation Branchform? If this was used, such a tactic would hold no weight with a judge or jury. Can you imagine SNP Government Ministers going into a court to attempt to explain what their version of ‘ring fenced’ means?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK6rWD00-jw
Basically what is said in this video, we have an IOU, and at some point it will be honoured because we have said so. Or, if you prefer, we spent the money but when more comes in, we will put it back.
When Nicola Sturgeon returned home on Sunday 18th June after a week in hiding, it was very noticeable that her husband Peter Murrell wasn’t standing beside her. And it was very noticeable that her demeanour and body language screamed that she didn’t want to answer any questions or be there in front of the press. She couldn’t look anyone directly in the eye, but she was keen that the press meets up with her later in the week, to ask questions. This appears to be part of her and the SNP’s campaign to declare her innocent of any wrongdoing.
Why does she need a campaign to declare her innocence?
After Sturgeon proxy, Humza Yousaf demand back Nicola Sturgeon or leave the party, at the next FMQs, it appears that 20 plus SNP MSPs didn’t turn up. As the nationalist camp implodes, those who hold seats are fearful of their future and rightly so. Polling shows 20 plus losses of SNP Westminister seats to Scottish Labour. In trying to save Sturgeon’s party membership, is Humza Yousaf or whoever controls him willing to risk the party’s future? It appears so, so what is in it for Yousaf? In the recent Bellshill council by-election, the result was a disaster for the SNP, even Humza Yousaf campaigning made no difference; Scottish Labour polled twice as many votes. A real test though will be the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election for Westminster. The SNP were traditionally good at organizing the big by-elections for Holyrood or Westminster, pulling in activists from right across Scotland, but as donations dry up, will the same happen with the experienced activists not showing up? What does a loss at Rutherglen and Hamilton West mean for the SNP Westminster group?
An answer to the question above might be rebellion, you see when you threaten people’s future and money; people become less compliant to authority. Already the shift away from the party leadership has started the party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn has said Nicola Sturgeon, her husbandPeter Murrell and Colin Beattie MSP would no longer be welcome in the SNP if they were charged by the police. In Flynn’s mind, a criminal charge alone would be the material grounds to eject someone from the party, rather than waiting for a lengthy court verdict to happen. He told BBC Radio Scotland:
“In terms of my views at the moment, if someone is charged by the police for wrongdoing, then they shouldn’t be in the Scottish National Party.I am not aware of anyone being charged by the police in relation to any matter who is in the Scottish National Party. If that changes, then I’m sure people will act accordingly.”
People will act accordingly? Does that mean coup against Humza Yousaf? Does that mean vote of no confidence and a leadership challenge? Are there grounds to challenge for the replacement of Humza Yousaf? If so, does this mean a Kate Forbes for First Minister campaign is primed to go? If you have watched the SNP closely, you will know they operate to the cult of personality, in the case of Humza Yousaf, this pitch has flatly bottomed out. In their attempts to make Humza Yousaf credible and loveable to the masses, it just isn’t happening.
Although all eyes of the public are fixed on Operation Branchform, and let’s face it, everyone loves a good crime story, there are also two more criminal investigations working their way down the pipeline. In total, as of this day the SNP and the Scottish Government are embroiled in three live criminal cases.
Alex
Salmond investigation leaks
The longest-running one apprently is the perjury investigation into Peter Murrell, which Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie instigated 19 months ago in January 2021.
Finally, it never rains but it pours, my eye was drawn to this gem. It appears that Police Officers are assessing allegations that SNP MP’s relative handed over thousands to the Scottish National Party but that donations were never declared to the Electoral Commission. It is said that SNP officials accepted envelopes stuffed with cash from a relative of one of the party’s own MPs. Begs the question, which SNP Officials? When? How much? And whether the money was paid into the SNP bank account? And just to show hard feelings, the new explosive claims were made in a letter sent last week to Police Scotland. A copy was also sent to the Lord Advocate, the country’s chief prosecutor, and The Scottish Mail on Sunday. So, I guess some people already interviewed and possibly others who haven’t been might have a trip to the police station in their futures. Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, parties are legally obliged to declare donations worth more than £500. Failure to do so is a criminal offence which can result in a party being fined and ordered to forfeit the undeclared donations. And, the cherry, who took the cash in envelopes of cash and what did they do with them?
I
am sure there are many questions, but an indicator of withdrawal of human
capital might be exposed when the SNP members are expected to turn in Dundee for #HumzaFest
when for the price of a tenner members can hear pure drivel. Followed by the standard SNP
con trick that 2024 Westminster election is a de facto referendum on
independence. Quite frankly, the whole thing looks more like an exercise in
raising a few quid to pay the party’s spiralling legal fees via ordinary
members’ pockets, because let's face it, these people appear to have a track record when it comes to using other people's money to pay for things.
Tuesday, 6 June 2023
The Laird Report Episode 26, Don't trust the Government & Media, No one cares about Phillip Schofield, and Andrew Tate destroys BBC Reporter Lucy Williamson
Sunday, 21 May 2023
Tuesday, 2 May 2023
There is a problem Houston.
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