Political Death looms in Rutherglen Part Two, Humza Yousaf lose 15,000 votes as support for the SNP collapses to 2010 election levels, the decaying stench of Nicola Sturgeon hangs over the party like a ship in a bank of fog, how long can Sturgeon be allowed to stay in the party while dragging it to its death, Humza Yousaf is no leader of men, the calls for a new leadership in the SNP have gained new momentum for a Kate Forbes leadership bid

On the 31^st July 2023, I did a blog post called ‘political death looms in Rutherglen’, my contention was that the by-election on paper seemed to be a ‘shoo in’ for the Labour Party. The Labour Party traditionally pulls in a sizeable vote in this constituency, and here is a link to wiki to see this information. Fast forward 3 months later, and indeed the result confirm my theory that the shoo in result was to be correct. The defeat of the SNP wasn’t a mystery, the Labour Party worked the area solidly for six months; this means they were highly active in the two phases of the campaign, the long campaign and the short campaign. Their activists  worked to win the seat for the Labour Party, was seeded entirely in the long campaign as the party managed to garner 17,845 votes. The SNP vote on the other hand went from 23,775 to 8,399, a total collapse of support in a tale of two campaigns of contrast. The Labour Party threw people, money and resources at Rutherglen, the three key elements that make up the “political economy”, they “outspent” the SNP in every critical area. The SNP who historically were very good at by-election were reduced to using their “payroll vote” as ordinary political activists have deserted the party.   

Down below, I will put up the numbers of the voters for each candidate and here is a link to my earlier post.  

https://thelairdreport.blogspot.com/2023/07/political-death-looms-in-rutherglen-snp.html 

By-elections traditionally are a vehicle to give the government in power a bloody nose, and the SNP certainly got one in a huge 20 per cent swing to Scottish Labour. The SNP is as I have said an lgbt controlled party which at present is fronted by a Muslim, Humza Yousaf. Yousaf is a Sturgeon proxy, in Rutherglen one thing missing, very noticeably was Nicola Sturgeon. Although Yousaf is the leader on paper, his position isn’t secure, he isn’t popular with the public despite a Sturgeonesque makeover to make him appear acceptable. Humza Yousaf looks more like a caretaker leader each day, caretaking for Nicola Sturgeon return. Nicola Sturgeon knows that if Humza Yousaf falls her prospects for survival in a Kate Forbes’ SNP world are reduced considerably. In the previous election contest for SNP leader allegations of a possible rigged contest circulated on social media as everything seemed geared towards a Humza Yousaf win. Despite this, the win by Yousaf with the entire Sturgeon lgbt machine wasn’t decisive for him, the worst candidate won, and was seen to have won. 

Michael Shanks from Scottish Labour overwhelmingly won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election due to a huge run in time along with other advantages. In 2024, he seems a clear favourite to retain the seat; it is unlikely that a continuation of a Humza Yousaf leadership will recover circa 15,000 lost votes. Today for the SNP is a day of excuses, the reality is the SNP is as I said over a decade ago, was turned into a rat ship. Alex Salmond was asleep at the wheel as a sub organization was built up all around him, the LGBT wing who waited to Salmond stepped down than acted as Nicola Sturgeon’s gatekeepers. As I also pointed out, four groups make up the SNP, LGBT, Muslim, Sein Fein Lite and the Rich, little is known about the Rich who remain in the background and away from the day to day operations of the party. The other three groups vie for power, expect to see more Muslim candidates because the ‘diversity’ campaign by Humza Yousaf will be coming down the pipeline. When Yousaf did his anti white people in top jobs speech, you must have known that diversity meant Scottish Muslims and Muslims of Pakistani descent, not Poles, Chinese, Norwegians or East Europeans. The diversity campaign blog is for another day; today is mostly about Rutherglen and Hamilton West. 

If Michael Shanks is smart, he will get himself setup, office etc, and his first order of business is to restart his election campaign to be in place before xmas 2023, work out the kinks, he won’t have the manpower afforded him in the by-election. Shanks needs to cement his victory, as some people know I did Paul Sweeney’s campaign in 2017, this overturned the biggest SNP majority in the city of Glasgow, two years later, he lost the seat. I worked on both campaigns, although in the second campaign I started late and had to leave early for health reasons. What I saw in the second campaign was problems in how the campaign was being run, but there was more to this loss than just the events in the short campaign. Although I passed on my thoughts on campaigning, the Labour Party isn’t a vehicle that accepts new ideas readily, and the lack of ability to adapt ruined Paul Sweeney’s chances in 2019, couple with the SNP who actually did some work to recover lost ground. Although I give advice, I accept not all people are willing to take it onboard, and losing is never a good time to remind them I told you so. But that is politics, you play your cards your way, and sometimes you get beat, Paul Sweeney didn’t deserved to lost, but the essential ground work wasn’t done to cement his victory, a lesson painfully learned. I went to get him elected in 2021; he sits as a list MSP in Holyrood for the Glasgow region. 

One aspect of the campaign of note was the result for the Conservatives; they lost their deposit, with Thomas Kerr finishing on 1,192. From what I could tell and from what I learned from members inside the party, the party leadership didn’t rally their membership effectively to come out as activists, they didn’t put the work in during the long campaign, and managed to lose circa 7,000 votes. What the Conservatives in the Glasgow region need is new leadership, a new engagement strategy with members and a new campaign model to get ordinary members active. You don’t win seats during the short campaign; you need to work an area 10 months minimum, during the year. To go from 8,054 to 1,192 is to be blunt ridiculous. It has been voted that Conservatives voters switched to the Labour Party to rout the SNP and get rid of them, but I seriously doubt that to be true to any significant number.

14 people stood in the by-election, a huge number each paying a £500 deposit; only two candidates get their money back. By-elections can be incredible fun, but more than that, they are a very useful learning tool for activists to gain practical experience and also learn from others. I am a big fan of by-elections, the more you do; the better and sharper you are, when meeting people. The wooden spoon of the evening went to Garry Cooke who amassed 6 votes, but in reality there can be only one winner, like showbiz, politics can be a tough gig. Learn to live with disappointment because at sometime, you will experience it politically. Politics isn’t about the best candidate winning, it’s about who tells the best story. 

This by-election was caused by a petition to remove Margaret Ferrier after she broke Covid rules. Since Nicola Sturgeon was trying to appear tough on covid rule breakers, she flung Ferrier under the bus for political reasons. The decision to do so is telling about Nicola Sturgeon, she is a vicious horrible nasty individual. Just as Sturgeon got rid of Ferrier who won Rutherglen and Hamilton West for the SNP in 2019, it seems that the weight of destiny may see the SNP into the reality that it has to get rid of Nicola Sturgeon. Nicola Sturgeon is still under police investigation since her arrest as is her husband and the SNP treasurer. £600k of indyref 2 funds is gone, and someone or others has to be held to account. You can’t walk back from missing money, or use a bullshit excuse to get off the hook. Of course, we must have a link to Rishi Sunak’s epic quip on Nicola Sturgeon, she done a lot of harm to Scotland and its people, that is historical fact, but this is worth a laugh. 

The turn-out was particularly low in this by-election, and the news reports with ordinary people showed why, they are sick of the political class who are making their lives bad to worse. Only just 30,531 people could be bothered to vote;, only 37.19 per cent of the eligible electorate is the damning indictment of this election. I personally favour compulsory voting because it would force the political class to up their game considerably. Although voter ID was required in this election, ironically this is being used as one of the excuses why the SNP lost. The National (SNP pravda) is actively looking for people turned away from polling stations for having no ID to explain away SNP defeat. Do you think 15,000 former SNP voters were turned away from polling stations? A more viable reason is that the Scottish National Party has become the party of the crook, the party of the deviant, the party of the nonce and the leading anti woman party in Scotland. 

Basically the SNP is a stinking cesspool of low grade humanity. 

Finally, I noticed on twitter that Iona fyfe was having a dig at the Scottish Family Party for gaining 319 votes as if that is some sort of judgement on the party, and its candidate Niall Fraser. The Scottish Family Party pretty much stood on a single issue, their result was 1.05% of the vote. The party seems happy, they are trying to establish a brand, but perhaps they may make a wider policy platform to have more appeal in future contests. Iona Fyfe who is referred to as #Bignose by some on social media isn’t a fan, I assume it is maybe because she is woke and buys into this trans debate nonsense that a man can become a woman. Iona Fyfe has her critics, as this tweet makes an opinion on her lifestyle. Fyfe has been hanging around the SNP leadership for possible personal advancement, just in case the singing career doesn’t pan out, as the old saying goes, opinions vary! Although the win was solid for Scottish Labour, a single by-election of this type isn’t tablets of stone of future success, but I would say, Michael Shanks has a better than decent chance of retaining the seat in 2024, I doubt the SNP can recover in Rutherglen and Hamilton West to make a real challenge at the next election. Here is the full result, enjoy, large field but no Alba candidate, they obviously think their united for indy candidate strategy is still something worth pursuing, it isn’t. 

RUTHERGLEN AND HAMILTON WEST RESULT IN FULL

Michael Shanks (Lab) 17,845 (58.55%, +24.08%)

Katy Loudon (SNP) 8,399 (27.56%, -16.64%)

Thomas Kerr (C) 1,192 (3.91%, -11.06%)

Gloria Adebo (LD) 895 (2.94%, -2.25%)

Cameron Eadie (Green) 601 (1.97%)

David Stark (Reform) 403 (1.32%)

Niall Fraser (Scot Family) 319 (1.05%)

Bill Bonnar (SSP) 271 (0.89%)

Colette Walker (IFS) 207 (0.68%)

Christopher Sermanni (TUSC) 178 (0.58%)

Andrew Daly (Ind) 81 (0.27%)

Ewan Hoyle (Volt) 46 (0.15%)

Emperor of India Prince Ankit Love (ND) 34 (0.11%)

Garry Cooke (ND) 6 (0.02%)

Some turds aren’t meant to float or be polished; Nicola Sturgeon's attack dug Mhairi Hunter eyes up possible Holyrood seat in 2026, if Nicola Sturgeon is at Holyrood and with no high profile job lined up, Hunter isn't getting a Holyrood seat, Nicola won't be giving anyone especially Hunter a leg up if it endangers her re-election

There are lines in literature that causes you to raise an eyebrow. Just recently a puff piece was done in the Herald where Kevin McKenna was trying to raise someone up in the eyes of the public. He wrote without sarcasum, “There’s something about Mhairi Hunter.” 

Personally, I would have gone with another more brutal punch line, ‘my day at the computer polishing a turd’. Yes, turd polishing in politics is not un-common, usually this is started off by the leadership in a party done for some people deemed to be ‘rising stars’. The only problem in turd polishing is usually the person selected isn’t a ‘star’, never has been and has no track record of achievement. Although there are many clear examples of turd polishing in the SNP, the most obvious is Humza Yousaf. He used to be referred to as ‘the chosen one’ in the SNP, but as we have seen by his record of failure in government and now as SNP leader, he has risen to the top or more aptly ‘the bowl’. Humza Yousaf like Mhairi Hunter was part of the Glasgow SNP Southside cabal which surrounded Nicola Sturgeon. 

McKenna rightly points out, Hunter did have a stint as a long-serving local councilor and at the same time was a Cllr in the same area she worked for Nicola Sturgeon. Effectively getting paid twice for doing the same job, she was also Sturgeon’s eyes and ears on the SNP Council until the public wised up and gave her the shaft by voting for a Green Party candidate thus levering her out the door. In the SNP, Hunter acted as Nicola Sturgeon’s election agent, and in terms of doing quite well out of that positioning, she made a cushy living raking in two salaries from the public purse. Before the Glasgow bubble, wider Scotland doesn’t know ‘English’ Mhairi, much in the same way that no one really knew her mother, who was also Sturgeon’s election agent. In fact, most people I talked to in the Govan by-election 0f 2013, had never heard of her mother who was the SNP Councillor for the area. Previously myself as an SNP activist used to campaign in Govan, SNP Cllr Allison Hunter rarely came out to work in the area. I have of course written about how lazy Mhairi Hunter’s mother was and how she treated me, the woman was an arsehole. Like mother, like daughter. If anyone is going to say you’re speaking ill of the dead, I am and freely, because the truth can sometimes be brutal. And I previously wrote of how I was abused by Allison Hunter at an election count. My one real regret was remaining polite when I should have been equally abusive back. 

I enjoy comedy, but where is the comedy in trying to take an idiot, and elevate her to a national profile and attempt make Hunter into a politician of significant standing. The experiment failed in middle class educated Humza Yousaf, he is nationally known as Humza Yousless, he is a joke figure. In put his piece together, Kevin McKenna decided it seems to go do a bit of back ground digging, stopping by the City Chambers, he found someone willing to describe Mhairi Hunter in thse terms, as a “stalwart” and “formidable” and “no-nonsense”. To cover all the bases, they also chimed in with hard working, committed and real. The marketing of the SNP superwoman really doesn’t hang well on ‘English’ Mhairi, yes; Mhairi apparently was born and raised in London, England. She is one of the many English people ‘earning a coin’ out of campaigning for the SNP. On twitter, Hunter is seen as an arch-defender of the party’s official line on everything, she is Sturgeon’s dug, and as noted by Kevin, there is a growing band of critics, both inside and out the SNP. You see the tenure of Nicola Sturgeon has come to a sudden grinding halt. In what must seem like sarcasm, McKenna notes that Hunter’s exchanges are done with a touch of class and no little elegance, personally, I thinking polishing the turd that hard will break the surface. The next bit may seem farfetched, well, it did to me when I read did. Someone else who apparently disagrees with Hunter “on just about everything” says that she would be an asset to the SNP at Holyrood. 

I have to say….. oh please fuck off (and with utter distain).  

At the 2021 Council elections, she lost her Southside Central seat, this was a great comic moment after she was squeezed out by a combination of issues, an SNP backlash among the people of Govanhill and beyond, aided by Green and Alba performing better than expected. 

Hunter in her usual ungracious way said; 

“Well I didn't expect today to go like this. A combination of Green and Alba votes leaves me no longer a councillor. Pretty ironic really. Still, more time to campaign for independence.” 

Beaten by a guy in a dress who calls himself Elaine Gallagher, he identifies as a she and curiously also as someone who is behind in paying their council tax. 

At this point, feel no sympathy for Sturgeon’s dug, this is as they say a ‘laughing matter’. 

Before, I can continue, a thought popped up in my head, as it did with some other people, Mhairi Hunter, firstly bizarre, and secondly whose seat? Dornan’s in Cathcart? Sturgeon’s in Glasgow Central? Or Humza’s in Pollok? Given Humza Yousaf bailed on Glasgow for Dundee, where would there be a seat for her? It is highly likely that even if there is Humza flight to a new seat in Dundee or even the Dundee list, would Hunter be welcomed in Pollok? Would she get the votes, if you discount Pollok, the obvious two seats in Glasgow are Sturgeon’s and Dornan’s. My main point here is, does this signal the SNP is preparing for Sturgeon leaving either voluntary or involuntary? After all, with £600,000 of indyref money missing, could there a criminal trial, could previously arrested Nicola Sturgeon be charged? Of course, the usual, everyone accused in the current police operation Branchform is innocent in the eyes of the law. If Sturgeon is still in place as an MSP come 2026 for Holyrood, would she stand again? Would she want to keep her ‘I am innocent’ campaign going with a MSP seat to use as her pulpit? 

So, what could we expect from Mhairi Hunter, well let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth. 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QNhEz3WIXGs 

The SNP inaction in Govanhill allowed the place to be turned into a cesspit, a modern day third world slum, a ghetto right in the heart of Glasgow. There are too many stories from Govanhill’s decline to mention, murder, robbery, slum landlords, flytipping and child prostitution, it’s all there for a quick google search. The interesting part is the laid back attitude of Nicola Sturgeon who came to visit the place doing a series of staged show face events, normally not only to the general public in the area. There for anything that made her look good but never there to discuss the real issues with the real people. Another treat which you could see from Hunter, if anyone would vote her in is a crusade from her as a staunch defender of transgender rights. Bad housing, bad roads, bad healthcare, bad council services et al, but if any guy in a dress is unhappy, Mhairi Hunter will be straight to the barricades. Mhair Hunter along with Nicola Sturgeon represents what is rotten in the body politic in Scotland; both of these people are like a stinking sewer in high summer, spreading a bad smell beyond their immediate area. An example is Hunter backing the official Scottish government position on permitting self-ID. Self id is a pervert charter, this allows rapists to access women’s prison complete with their ‘lady dick’. A huge stink caused Nicola Sturgeon to lose public support, although she probably didn’t care; that and police appearing at her house showed that her time was up.

What is interesting to me; is why the press seems to think that Mhairi Hunter has a future outside the Sturgeon bubble. Once Sturgeon is gone, the SNP really doesn’t have much use for Hunter. Touted as a “key ally” of Nicola Sturgeon is being to sound something which is tainted now, other key allies of Nicola Sturgeon will be familiar to you too such as Derek Mackay and SNP MP Patrick Grady, both homosexuals and both with an interest in young teenage boys. Sturgeon’s certainly has strange friends. 

In talking about her future she said:  

“I have no fixed plans for the immediate future. I had care responsibilities for my dad for 10 years and then when my sister became very ill. So, this is the first time I’ve had some time to think. I’d certainly stand again for the Council and I’d certainly consider standing for a Holyrood seat. Right now though, our priority is on the next Westminster election. But I’m certainly thinking about Holyrood.” 

The only way Hunter gets to Holyrood is possibly the Glasgow list, in a first past the post seat, this oddity when seen by the public spouting her trans rights crap is a vote loser. She isn’t a heavyweight political figure, she is the exact opposite. She tied herself to Sturgeon’s apron strings, now that attachment seems like a problem. Kevin McKenna makes much of Hunter self publicizing herself on doorsteps as if this translates into concern and action, I refer you to the video above, Mhairi Hunter, the great escape for Govanhill. If you see her at your door, it’s to get your vote and your personal information, and all of that is for the SNP to use to keep people like Hunter on the gravy train. Hunter done quite well out of being Sturgeon’s enforcer, and with no UN, WHO or EU for Sturgeon, the prospect for Hunter at Holyrood to me borders on zero! If Sturgeon is still an MSP, Hunter isn’t going to even get the vacant seat by Dornan; or even John Mason’s old seat across the river.   

Some turds aren’t meant to float or be polished; Mhairi Hunter proves this in spades. 

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?

 

Do you like a laugh? Do you find glee in listening to someone trying to dupe you? Have you ever had someone tried to take the rip roaring piss out of with a straight face and know that is what they are up too? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then you might find yourself in for a real treat. It seems more than highly likely that in the not too distance future the probe into SNP finances is doing to yield criminal charges. You may ask why, because it allegedly appears according to the SNP own financial accounts, that the money raised for #indyref2 isn’t in the SNP accounts. And for the purposes of ass covering the three people, Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell and Colin Beattie who were arrested by Police Scotland are ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Yes, these three have the right to be considered innocent, whether as they can publicly claim they are innocent, no one can say they’re guilty because that may prejudice their right to a fair trial. 

So far, two people out of three have gone on record as saying they are innocent of any wrongdoing, Nicola Sturgeon and Colin Beattie. Operation Branchform was launched in 2021 after several complaints were made to Police Scotland regarding the SNP's finances. At this point, it would remiss to not mention the ‘man of the hour’, Sean Clerkin. Although seen as a maverick and a fringe outsider, this guy has blown the SNP to bits more effectively than a 105 mm howitzer. Scotland raised an eyebrow when Police Scotland storm into the SNP and the private home of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon. We watched with interest as Police Scotland went 'the full bhoona' during their search of Sturgeon’s house with a tent erected on the front lawn and the press pack hovering about outside. We rejoiced as Police took away boxes of evidence, Poice probing SNP finances looking into designer pens, burner phones, pots and pans, and a fridge freezer among other things in a search that last 30 hours. Even teabags weren’t safe from being ‘tagged and bagged’. It was revealed Police were examining an Amazon shopping account, and 1000 allegations of fraud in relation to this fraud probe, the ‘amazon card of destiny’, lighter than the stone of destiny but with more value. 

In the aftermath of the Police raid, we saw Former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon passionately declare her innocence. Sycophants emerged from the shadows and made interventions that ‘oor Nicola’ isn’t bent, including one from her buddy SNP MP Anne McLaughlin. Flowers were organized to be sent to her, which many people found rather odd. It seems that more work was being done on ‘Nicola is innocent’ than on indyref2. One interesting point was said by Nicola Sturgeon in terms of her defence, and that she was, she was speaking for herself and herself alone. No rubber stamp of innocence was available it seems for husband, Peter Murrell; he had to do his own declarations, but is notably silent. When I heard about this, I immediately thought of the Tammy Wynette song, ‘Stand by your man’. Whether Nicola Sturgeon is standing by her man is a question which might be relevant at some future date, in the event of any possible unpleasantness. 

For those who have watched Nicola Sturgeon and her political career over the years closely, you would have homed in on theme she used time and time again in relation to SNP scandals, her constant use of don’t know to any scandal. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y77yxzM74s4 

Now, in the event of any future trial into SNP finances, and if Nicola Sturgeon is charged, it seems renewed speculation has surfaced that Nicola Sturgeon may claim she was too busy running the country to know that bizarre purchases at the centre of a criminal investigation were made with SNP funds. The claim is apparently been made by party insiders who think this is the most viable route in the event of her facing a possible criminal trial. Senior nationalist sources expect Sturgeon arrested in June, to insist she did not know that a string of assets, including a luxury motorhome seized from her mother-in-law’s driveway, were paid for by the party she led. It should be point out that Sturgeon was responsible for the SNP finances. In a trial any old tosh can be used as a defence, ‘it wisnae me’ being the most popular, ‘it was that bastard over there’ being also accepted or a combination of both. It is for a jury having been fed a story during a trial to analyse fact from fiction. It is at the end of the day for a jury to take all information/ evidence presented and mull over claims and counter claims made. However associates of Ms Sturgeon; have admitted that her claims may test the credulity of the public. The tricky problem for her lawyers is the many of the items detectives are examining were apparently seized from her own home such as a women's razor. 

Does your husband use a women’s razor Ms Sturgeon? If so what for? Then there is the issue of designer pen and jewellery, and many more interesting questions which may come up. 

Murray Foote, the SNP’s former media chief and now SNP CEO, told the Daily Record: 

“Some of these items are more likely to be on a shopping list than on Interpol’s most wanted. The hunt for a lady’s razor does make you wonder if the police are investigating a bad case of botched beauty treatment”. 

Given the humour displayed by Foote, that crack would die a death in a court, because the joke isn’t about the alleged proceeds of crime where spent, only that the money was taken. And the prospect a guilty verdict could see some people have years stuffed up their arse by a court. Have we all forgotten Natalie ‘I am innocent’ McGarry so soon? Her defence was so laughable, that a jury rather speedily concluded that her defence of being no good with numbers just wasn’t credible. It is said Senior SNP figures believed Sturgeon’s denials, claiming that “sometimes the explanation that is hard to believe is actually the one that is true”. And sometimes the opposite of denial based on emotion is more applicable, such as the duck test, this is a form of abductive reasoning, usually expressed as "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck." So, what is the Senior SNP figures belief based on, fuck knows, however, it should be pointed out that in an interview years ago, Sturgeon did allegedly say that she and her husband would discuss things in the morning together before they started their day. 

In the SNP finances case, the elephant in the room is not exactly an elephant, it is a campervan. This is a luxury campervan which was parked up on the driveway of Ms Sturgeon’s mother-in-law’s home in Dunfermline. Over the years we have heard how important family is to Nicola Sturgeon, but in the case of Sturgeon’s mother in law who apparently lives alone and is in her 90’s, Sturgeon’s recent claim that she rarely visited her mother-in-law is touted by her believers as “significant”. You may ask significant of what exactly;"see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"? Others apparently less generous see her comments as an attempt at “floating a possible explanation”. Begs the obvious question, would the police logs from her police protection log her as visiting the mother in law at the same time the campervan was there? I don’t know about you but if a £110k campervan was sitting in a 90 year old woman’s driveway, would you ask about it on a visit? Of course, detectives of Operation Branchform will be able to access her travel logs as part of their investigation. 

Original complaint, the one that is your moneymaker right there is of course, the investigation by the police that £600,000 of donations solicited for independence campaigns that never happened had gone “missing” from party accounts. The questions of who took it, who spent and what was it spent on are rather relevant because according to the SNP own recent accounts, it appears to be gone. Words like ‘woven through the accounts’ were previously used, but if you can weave thin air of something which is gone, let me know, oh, and as far as I can tell, no one left a IOU note to pay it back in. Iain Livingstone, the former chief constable, has suggested that detectives had “moved beyond” initial complaints and were now looking at fraud, potential embezzlement and misuse of funds. When I read this, it reminded me immediately of ex SNP MP Natalie McGarry, she was an SNP official and women for indy official who pocketed tens of thousands of donations and spent them on luxury items for herself including a holiday. 

“Sometimes the explanation that is hard to believe is actually the one that is true,” a senior SNP source said, and sometimes shit talk is just shit talk. 

As part of her ‘innocence tour’ at the Edinburgh Fringe, when quizzed by soft interviewer Iain Dale about whether she was confident her husband was innocent, Ms Sturgeon insisted nothing should be read into her refusal to say. She said: 

“I am not going to speak for anybody other than myself. In not answering that question, that’s not to say yes or no. I’m not going to try and speak for anyone else, whether it’s my husband or anybody else.”

Sturgeon also refused to say when she became aware of the campervan outside her mother-in-law’s house, an upmarket Niesmann + Bischoff model, which neighbours said never left the driveway. Does that mean she visited the house when the van was there, and it could be confirmed by police logs? If there are no police logs, then her mobile phones data cell tower logs could be used as evidence. Remember when police used this data to convince the killers of Kriss Donald? Your phone pings cell towers all day long. 

A source has said. 

“Nicola’s only conceivable defence is to say that she knew nothing about it. There had to be a reason for her agreeing to do a very public interview with Iain Dale at such a sensitive time. Her response to the question about the campervan that she never visited her mother in law was very strange. Nicola is not famous for her small talk, but even she couldn’t credibly claim that she didn’t notice a huge brand new campervan on her elderly mother-in-law’s drive or think to ask anything about it. So to say she was never there struck me as her floating a possible explanation.” 

Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the Court. It is worth mentioning that it is also possible that someone else will be charged, like in football, anything can happen in 90 minutes. A new player being charged at this late date seems very doubtful. Is it possible that no one will be getting charged by the police acting under orders from the Crown; this seems highly unlikely in this situation as well! And as the Crown Office cannot accept the ‘I’m innocent’ defence like in Life of Brian, the key question is, who if anyone gets a police revisit to take them down to the station for charging? 

Finally, when Alex Salmond got charged, I was shocked, unlike most of the public, I had met him on several occasions, when his case came to court, I couldn’t wrap my head around the notion he was guilty. Then later on, I found out who was accusing him, not employees spread over a vast Scottish government network, but people close to Nicola Sturgeon. I was sure that if Alex Salmond went to court, he would be found not guilty. Salmond was a threat to the Sturgeon regime, and many believe he was stitched up in an attempted to get him in prison and out of the way. Personally, in the event of any future trial involving anyone charged in the SNP finances scandal, I don’t have the same confidence or belief as I had in Alex Salmond in their ability to walk into court innocent, and more importantly, walk out innocent. 

Who knows who will be charged, but I remember Natalie McGarry’s bullshit defence, and think to myself, some people better get their act together, and their act needs to be truthful, because juries are fickle, they don’t like being played or conned. As Tommy Sheridan and Natalie McGarry found to their cost, being a good talker doesn’t work in a criminal trial, something others should bear in mind.

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.

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 11^th 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 11^th 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 18^th 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. 

Operation Branchform

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.

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

The theme of this video is manipulation, on both an industrial and smaller scale; the Governments of the West have betrayed our trust and do not act in our best interests. Governments did this by working hand in glove with willing third party organisations, the mainstream media, big tech and celebrities. The use of propaganda has never been as visible or as unethical as it is today. The defence against propaganda is to look at other sources. 

Organisations such as the BBC have shown during covid and during the recent Andrew Tate interview that they do not act in our interests. Anyone who doesn't conform is de-plaformed, polarized, attacked and censored. Bad people are hailed as heroes, when they are in fact villains, why are they heroes, because rotten people are easily controllable by the establishment. The same malign people found in the media, and government can be found in the political class, 

Phillip Schofield has no value to the elite now after his brother was jailed for 12 years for being a paedophile, and Schofield had an affair with a young boy. A media campaign is underway to make Schofield appear as a victim, the public isn’t buying that, some of the public see Phillip Schofield as a groomer and openly say it. 

In a recent BBC interview with Andrew Tate, reporter Lucy Williamson was destroyed after she carried out an uncivil, unprofessional and counterproductive interview. How did Tate win, by using the only source of light which cannot be countered, the truth. Tate speaks out, so Tate is to be silenced, use the link below to watch the full unedited raw interview and see how far the BBC has sunk as a professional organisation, it cannot be trusted, it has shown this multiple times now. We live in an age where alternative media has taken the mantle in part of being the real voice of the people and speakers of truth. This video is longer than normal because the way we as the public are continually being deceived and manipulated is a matter of grave concern for the future of our society. Truth is one of the cornerstones of any civilized society and we are losing it, how long to our society collapses? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNdSgfgA1Kk&t=1119s

The Laird Report Episode 25, sex, lies, and cover ups, the SNP grasp on power can be broken, the public need to see that they can make a real change to break the status quo