Save our Scottish Police from the SNP, Conservatives and Labour plans

There is a massive campaign brewing here in Scotland and the political parties are lining up on one side or the other.

The SNP put forward proposals to scrap the current eight Scottish Constabularies and replace it with just one.

The cost will be at least £92million and cost between 3,000 - 4,000 frontline police officers.

Both the Labour party and Conservatives have joined the SNP and now all three also want to create just one fire service as well. Labour also want to centralise care and NHS services.

Although the Liberal Democrats are often against centralisation, the proposals by Alex Salmond, Iain Gray and Annabel Goldie just don't make sense in many areas of Scotland - especially in the rural communities and the many islands that make up this great country.

Their expensive proposals must be stopped.

You can watch Tavish Scott and Charles Kennedy explain why below.




You can sign the online petition HERE and like the facebook campaign page HERE.

Angela Constance MSP is new Scottish Minister for Skills & Lifelong Learning

So, a promotion for Angela Constance MSP and another woman into the Scottish Government cabinet.

Angela Constance is MSP for Livingston, which at the election in May is to become Almond Valley, with an SNP notional majority of just 242.

I am sorry, but this appointment as Keith Brown's to Transport Minister prove that Alex Salmond is just playing politics with these appointments rather than thinking of governing Scotland and it's people.

Both appointments are nothing more than a sham.

Keith Brown MSP is new Scottish Transport Minister

Following the shock resignation last night of Stewart Stevenson MSP as Scotland's Transport Minister, it appears that his replacement is to be Keith Brown MSP.

I am a little concerned that this is political rather than playing to his skills.  He is currently Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning and according to his biography has no transport experience.


Keith Brown is MSP for Ochil, which is to change to Clackmannanshire and Dunblane at the election and which the SNP will be entering the election with a notional majority of just 354.

So, is this the SNP once again playing politics within government?  It certainly looks like it.

All eyes will be on Keith Brown during the next cold snap, but as a former soldier I wouldn't expect his resignation because of snow and ice.

Have the SNP lied about the tax raising powers Scotland no longer has?

Michael Moore MP, the Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland has announced today that the SNP Government has let the tax varying powers for Holyrood lapse, but yet, just yesterday the SNP finance minister John Swinney MSP failed to mention it to the MSPs in Holyrood.

The SNP has constantly demanded more powers and a referendum but yet has now killed off the only tax power expressly voted for by Scottish people in the 1997 Devolution Referendum.

The Scottish Government has tried to sweep this under the carpet. It was fundamentally dishonest for Scottish Ministers not to make it clear during the Budget statement that they have killed off the tax varying power for this and the next Parliament.

According to the Scottish Office press release;

The Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has today written to the First Minister and other Holyrood leaders to inform them that a decision by the Scottish Government not to commit resources to maintain the Scottish Variable Rate (SVR) tax power means that HMRC could no longer collect such a tax.

The SVR is the power to lower or raise the basic rate of income tax by 3p.

The Scottish Government’s decision doesn’t just affect the SNP, but binds the hands of the next Government following the elections on May 5th 2011.

John Swinney told MSPs yesterday that he would not raise the Scottish Variable Rate of income tax but Michael Moore MP makes clear in his letter today that decisions taken by the Scottish Government mean the SVR power could not now be used before the 2013/14 tax year, so did John Swinney mislead Parliament?

The Scottish Secretary has written to the other main parties to advise them that they will not be able to use this power until the penultimate year of the next Parliament.

Michael Moore MP goes onto say;

"It is worth saying that the forthcoming Scotland Bill that I will publish in the next few weeks will contain the biggest transfer of financial powers from London since the creation of the UK. Our expectation is that these greater powers would be available to MSPs from 2015."

I really am concerned that John Swinney and the SNP government are not being entirely honest with voters on this, and if they can cover things like this up what else have they covered up since 2007?

The SNPs John Swinney MSP said yesterday in Holyrood;

"Within the Parliament's existing revenue powers, we have explored options for maximising our income.  We have been mindful of the need to considers the effect of the significant tax rises that the UK Government has announced before we act.  I therefore confirm that we will not raise the Scottish variable rate of income tax."

So, either he didn't realise the SVR power had been cancelled (which means he is out of touch and lost the trust of his staff) or he has mislead parliament or at the very worst knowingly lied to parliament.

It is time for the SNP to be honest and tell us where they stand and what they knew and when.

SNP drop prescription charges when NHS is laying off nurses

I don't understand the SNP.

Why cancel prescription charges for everyone when we are in the middle of a major recession?

The SNP's, Nicola Sturgeon announced to the SNP conference in Perth that the sick should not have to pay for "Labour's economic mess".

Erm, sorry Nicola but your own SNP run Scotland's NHS, not Labour and it is you as Health Minister who is taking the money away from frontline NHS services and in return giving everyone in Scotland free prescriptions.

What a backwards way of prioritising funding.

I am able to afford a prescription should I need one, as can many people across Scotland so surely, instead of offering what is just a basic election grabbing headline shouldn't the SNP be more government like and do this in a more systematic way?


Universal benefits are not a forward way of running the country's finances.
 
Over on Caron's Musings she said;

This reminds me of research done by the Scottish Liberal Democrats last year which shows that over the whole of their four year term, the SNP will have given 133 times more every year to a household on £100,000 than they have to households on £15,000. That doesn't seem very fair to me.

At that point last year, Tavish Scott said;

Over four years, the SNP will have spent £950m on a set of distorted priorities and hand-outs that give more to the rich than to the poor.



“If you have two children and earn £100,000 then you will have gained £802 per year from the SNP.


“But if you have two children and you earn £15,000 then you will have gained just six pounds and seven pence.


“So that’s enough champagne and lobster every night for the rich, but a fish supper for the poor.


“So I mean it when I say that, in Scotland, the only party at the General Election for a fairer society will be the Liberal Democrats.”

Caron is spot on, the SNP are in denial, first they offer us a council tax freeze, ensuring Councils will cut frontline services and now Nicola Sturgeon is guaranteeing more cuts in Scotland's NHS by giving universal free prescriptions to everyone in Scotland.

I am all for helping those on low incomes and those who need prescription drugs constantly, but I and anyone on salaries over £35,000 can all afford a prescription charge if it is required.
This is just another example of the SNP putting even more money into the pockets of the richest people in Scotland and not governing responsibly - next May it is time for change and only the Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Tavish Scott are offering a programme for a fair and prosperous Scotland.

SNP spend £1million on ministers limos

As hundreds and thousands of us face tightening our belts and watching the household spending the SNP ministers carry on living a life of luxury at taxpayers expense.

A total of £929,899 has been spent on ferrying around ministers and senior government officials, and a further £65,759 on private hire vehicles.

The cost of running and maintaining a 25-car fleet, plus staff costs, had increased compared to previous years.

The SNP finance minister John Swinney was criticised earlier this year for making a 200-yard journey to a television studio in a chauffeur-driven limousine.


Perhaps he like other ministers should learn to put their left foot in front of the right and then carry on as before, it's called walking.
 
Ironically the figures were unearthed by Labour's Lord George Foulkes who himself had claimed, according to the SNP £27,576 for his taxpayer funded trips to and from London, over £15,000 of which went on flights since his election to the Scottish Parliament in May 2007.


It is great to see Labour and the SNP are as hypocritical as each other.  STV have the full story and figures.

SNP government scrap energy saving home grants

I remember when the SNP announced they were scrapping the first time home buyers grant of £2,000 thinking on the scale of their spending commitments this was short sighted if they were genuinely trying to get more homes built and people to live in them.

Now we see they are scrapping energy saving home grants.

How does this tie in with their climate change targets and strategy?

Home energy use accounts for over a third of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions and improving efficiency is considered to be one of the cheapest and quickest ways to meet climate change targets.

The energy saving grant provides residents with up to £4,000 towards the cost of installing solar panels and other renewable energy devices in their home.

Almost 3,000 households have taken up grants of varying amounts since 2007, giving residents the chance to cut their fuel bills and help the environment at the same time.
 
The grants provided up to 30 per cent of the cost of installing a home renewable heating system, up to £4,000. Renewable energy devices that the grants could be used for include ground source heat pumps, wood fuel stoves and solar thermal water heating.

However, it appears the SNP government have not been so good in letting everyone know as reported in today's Scotland on Sunday;

John Conway, operations director at Renfrewshire company Solar Panel Scotland, said:

"We had no knowledge, despite being the major provider of solar panels in the Scottish domestic market, that the scheme was to be shelved.

"It's very disappointing because it has been an important and successful method of promoting renewable energy to people across Scotland."

Let us hope the SNP government assess the impact that removing the grant will have on their climate change targets and the level of greenhouse gas emissions that will now increase.

Is Alyn Smith fed up being an MEP?

It appears that just a year into the new term of the European Parliament, the SNP's Alyn Smith MEP is already bored and getting itchy feet.

News filters though to me from Strasbourg that Alyn Smith MEP will be seeking the nomination to stand as an MSP in next years Holyrood elections.

Not a great shock although this is yet another SNP politician who clearly doesn't get the whole issue of dual mandates and why they are a bad thing.

However, Alyn is possibly looking to stand for the SNP in East Lothian against Labour's leader Iain Gray.

For now Alyn is "playing it by ear".

Annabel Goldie in wee Borders rant (getting it all wrong)

So, despite knowing that there were no flights David Cameron missed the Scottish Conservative manifesto launch (I say Conservative as there is only one Westminster seat they hold up here in Scotland) in Melrose, a beatiful town in the Liberal Democrat constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

There are trains "Dave".  But "Dave" was in fact still in London.

Anyway, Annabel fell into a trap yesterday, and spent around five minutes of her speech ranting and attacking the Liberal Democrats (you know you have them rattled once they start attacking you) with a mild dose of hypocrisy and nonsense.

Perhaps a change by the Conservatives following Nick Cleggs performance on the Leaders debate and recent polling.

"If you vote Liberal Democrat, then you will get Labour." said Annabel.

Nonsense.

If on May 6th you vote Liberal Democrat Annabel, then Michael Moore will be re-elected as the hard working MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk.

Annabel and call me "Dave" Cameron insult the voters intelligence when they peddle this stupid line.

She then said to John Lamont MSP - "John, you have won this seat once now go and win it again."

Nonsense.

John Lamont MSP won the seat of Roxburgh & Berwickshire - which as any person in the Scottish Borders will tell you, is entirely different to Michael Moore's seat.

Ironically, Annabel then went on to talk about the thousands of people who have lost their jobs in the recession, BUT failed to justify why John Lamont MSP is then seeking a second job and will NOT stand down for twelve monthsafterwards as the MSP.

Two jobs John and Annabel?

When thousands of people have lost their only job? 

Hypocrites.

David Cameron claims he wants to clean up politics and yet two of his MSPs (obviously already bored of their jobsas MSPs) are seeking a second job and have no intention to stand down immediately but will try and do the two jobs part-time for at least one year.

John Lamont is clearly an embarrassment to both of his leaders, Annabel Goldie and David Cameron as they are both on the record now accepting the Kelly report in full - will either of them be telling John Lamont to drop one or other, or have they changed their minds?

In fact the Kelly report states that this practice of sitting in two legislatures should end before the 2011 elections so in fact John Lamont should decide to either (a) quit as an MSP now and fight the general election or (b) quit as a candidate now and focus on what he was elected to do which was a be a full time MSP.

Annabel Goldie has constantly hassled Alex Salmond about this dual mandate issue for a while but is now on the back foot and looking rather stupid because of both John Lamont and Alex Johnstone (another Tory MSP who wants two jobs).

The only people that lose out with these "Tory two job types" are the voters who deserve a full time MP and a full time MSP - not a part time one trying to do both jobs.
 
Annabel Goldie also defended rates relief for businesses yesterday, great I hear you all cry, then why did John Lamont, Annabel Goldie and the other Conservatives in Holyrood vote against the rates relief package just last week that would have save hundreds of businesses in the Scottish Borders thousands of pounds?
 
Yet another case of don't do what I do, just do what I say from Annabel Goldie and the Scottish Conservatives.
 
Annabel went into rant and attack mode against the Liberal Democrats yesterday saying we cosy up to Labour.
 
So, Annabel Goldie I ask you this why, have you spent the last three years as Alex Salmond's Holyrood bedfellows?  You support them in so many votes instead of standing up for the Scottish people it is nothing more than shameful.
 
The Scottish Conservatives are just propping up the SNP minority Government in Holyrood, nothing more and nothing less.
 
If people want change then it is time for Nick Clegg and the Scottish Liberal Democrats - already the second party in Scotland in votes and MPs (more MPs than the SNP and Conservatives combined).
 
It is the Liberal Democrats that challenged the Labour Government and Conservatives over the Iraq war.
 
It is Nick Clegg who led the campaign to clean up politics and put forward proposals to Parliament - voted down by Labour and the Conservatives.
 
It is Nick Clegg who first demanded the right to sack your MP for the voters - voted down by Labour and Conservatives.
 
Whose Party are the hypocrites Annabel?

Tories £5million donor to stand candidate against SNP MP Pete Wishart

Stuart Wheeler, who in 2001 gave £5million to the Conservative Party, and was subsequently thrown out for giving £100,000 to UKIP last year, will announce tomorrow in Westminster that he has set up a new political party that will stand just three candidates at the general election.
One in England, one in Scotland and one in Wales.

Stuart Wheeler, who will stand himself, is going to stand against Conservative MP, Greg Barker in Bexhill.

Greg Barker, the Conservative Shadow Climate Change Minister and close friend of David Cameron, was accused of pocketing £320,000 from buying and selling a flat he bought with the help of expenses.

He owned a home in Pimlico, near the Commons, for 27 months before selling it and moving back to his old address.

The new party's second candidate, accountant Douglas Taylor, will stand against SNP MP Pete Wishart in Perth.

Pete Wishart was asked to repay £1,632 in respect of a duplicate claim for flat rental and a utility bill after an investigation into his expenses.

Mr Wheeler hopes a third Trust Party candidate may stand in Wales.

Stuart Wheeler, who made a fortune from online gambling, says his new anti-expenses cheats party could field three candidates in the Election and has vowed that if elected, he will claim no expenses.


That is easy for a multi millionaire to say, obviously.

You can read the full story in the Mail on Sunday.

SNP candidate for Glasgow North East David Kerr quits

No, I am not re-running the Glasgow North East by-election stories about the the first and second candidates quitting and David Kerr being the SNPs third choice.

This is about David Kerr quitting himself as the SNP candidate and now very happy to talk about the Opus Dei sect, something during the by-election he was not so keen to talk about.

David Kerr is quitting politics (short time and not a good effort) to join the Catholic Church media office and will play a key role when Pope Benedict XVI comes to Scotland.

According to the Scotland on Sunday;

[SNP] party managers are understood to be unhappy at having to find a new candidate at such short notice, with 6 May the probable election date.

David Kerr added;

"The papal visit is of huge significance not just to Scotland's Catholics but to the country as a whole.  I am looking forward to working with people across Scotland's faiths, parties and communities in putting this visit together."

I bet Scotland's LGBT community can hardly contain it's excitement of the Pope's visit, I for one am certainly looking forward to it and letting him know how utterly ridiculous his views on safe sex and condoms really are and the damage that view does to hundreds of thousands of people across the world.

Now four more SNP MSPs pay tribute to Hugo Chavez

When I did the original blog post earlier this week, SNP and Labour MSPs pay tribute to Hugo Chavez!, I really did not think that even more MSPs would have signed the Motion tabled in the Scottish Parliament by SNP MSP, Jamie Hepburn.

As Lib Dem Hugh O'Donnell MSP said on my blog in a guest post;

"The indecent haste of some Members of the Scottish parliament to rush to the aid of the Chávez administration, by signing up to a sugary sweet motion in the name of Jamie Hepburn MSP reveals a naivety which beggars belief."

Well, sadly four more MSPs have also added their signature to this ridiculous motion, all from the SNP.  So that is now nine MSPs, eight from the SNP and one from Labour.

The four new signatories are Aileen Campbell, Joe Fitzpatrick, Sandra White and Gil Paterson.

I say the same to these four as I said to the original five, it is easy to praise from afar, but let us see what they say when they have been there, spent a year there, not in the luxury of the presidential palaces or the 40% of the country's residents who are 'looked after' but in the slums with the real people, where their choice of TV, if indeed they can even afford one will only be able to access channels approved by Hugo Chavez.

I am astounded at the sheer audacity of these MSPs and their obvious lack of care about human rights in countries such as Venezuela - is that what's on the cards for an SNP Scotland?

SNP prove their irrelevance at Westminster

This morning in the House of Commons MP's were debating "Fuel duty on petrol prices in remote and peripheral areas" in a 90 minute Westminster Hall debate called for by Alistair Carmichael MP.

However, none of the SNP MP's bothered to show to participate.

I would like to add in here that Angus MacNeil MP wasn't in Westminster following the death of his Father.  I would like to pass on my sincere condolences, it is hard losing a parent as I know myself only too well.

The remaining six MP's from the SNP could however have made the effort to attend this debate covering a very important topic to the voters of Scotland.

Alistair Carmichael and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have campaigned tirelessly for fairer island fuel prices since 2001 and believe that the government not only has an opportunity to help in this issue, they have in fact a duty to do so.

It is appalling and shocking that Labour have been reluctant to introduce a duty rebate system or even to trial one.
The fuel price issue has been addressed in other EU countries and recently George Lyon, the Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland asked the European Commission to look into the issue of derogation.

The Liberal Democrats are demonstrating joined up politics unlike Labour and the SNP, who spend more time attacking each other rather than working on issues such as this which are vitally important.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland said:

“Immediately following my parliamentary debate earlier this morning, I was approached by Treasury Minister Sarah McCarthy Fry MP who informed me that she has now instructed her officials to carry out a proper examination of how reduced rates of fuel duty for island communities which are operated in other EU countries are made to work in practice.

“Treasury Ministers in the UK have always claimed that a reduced rate of fuel duty could not be made to work in the UK, this is the first time that they have ever been prepared to look at how other countries manage to do what they seem to find so difficult. We are far from getting what we need and want on this important issue but it is a significant and important piece of progress.”

The fact that six of the SNP MP's could not be bothered to attend just proves their irrelevance in Westminster and once again proves it is the second party in Scotland, the Liberal Democrats who are standing up for a fair deal for the people of Scotland.

SNP Government spend £265,000+ on flags

I am all for flags on every public building, but is spending in excess of a quarter of a million pounds on promotional flags the best use of public money?

The majority of these promotional Saltires were also bought in the SNP's first year of minority government.

The SNP in the first two years spent just £1657.83 on ceremonial flags including two car flags, compared to over £263,000 on promotional flags!

As NHS Boards are considering drastic measures like cutting the number of nurses, or hospital beds to save money as they try to cope with a funding squeeze we have a minority goverment spending excessive amounts of money on promotional flags.

Imagine what this money could have bought in the NHS?  I know on the overall budget figures this is a small amount of money, but in a time when the government should be leading the way in tightening belts we have a First Minister with a large ego waving flags.

What was the point of the SNPs 2007 Election Manifesto

Every political party in the run up to each election put a lot of work into their election manifesto, it is their selection of "pledges" for the election campaign so that voters can make their clear and informed choice when they go into the polling station and make their mark on the ballot paper.

I know from the European election earlier this year and the work already going into our general election manifesto that this is a major piece of work for the staff of political parties.

Thinking through the ideas, ensuring the costings are correct and that each idea is affordable and deliverable and for democratic parties then selling them to their members.

So what were the SNP thinking back in 2007? I have to be honest, I have never known a party break so many of it's election pledges;

This is the list of their election promises that they have failed to deliver or just dumped;

• Reducing class sizes


• Teacher numbers


• Abolition of council tax/replacement with Local Income Tax


• £2000 first-time homebuyers grant


• Kinship care allowance


• Dumping student debt (and replace student loans system)


• Matching brick for brick the school building programme from the previous Lib Dem/Labour government


• Nursery teacher access


• Dualling A9 (and endless other transport commitments from STPR)


• Recruiting more doctors


• PPP/PFI alternative (Scottish Futures Trust not a funding mechanism)


• Lighter business regulation


• Support for renewables

This is pathetic, basically Alex Salmond and the SNP made all of these promises just to get elected and once they had formed their minority administration they have dumped their promises one by one instead concentrating on trying to deliver Alex Salmond's one sole obsession of independence.

Yet, this is the one promise that (a) cannot be delivered because 75% of Scottish people do not want it and (b) is a complete waste of £12million when we have a major recession on and that money could be better used instead of the SNP forcing a poll next year where they will be seriously humiliated.

The other major thing the SNP tried to do, was to try and sell off 25% of Scotland's forests including the most profitable parts of the forestry industry but following a major campaign launched by the Scottish Liberal Democrats and many environmental groups the SNPs minister at the time, Mike Russell was forced into a u-turn and then was sacked.

Can you really trust the SNP and Alex Salmond?

They have broken 13 of their election promises from the 2007 election, tried to sell off a quarter of Scotland's forests but are determined to waste £12million on independence.

SNP Minister Mike Rusell's Aide Mark MacLachlan in smear campaign

Alex Salmond and Mike Russell will not be happy chaps this morning as the often talked about cybernat bullying is finally exposed as the News of the World uncover (now former) senior aide Mark MacLachlans disgraceful online bullying/hate campaign.

Mike Russell's office manager Mark MacLachlan has now resigned (or been sacked) not only from his job but also membership of the SNP.

Mark MacLachlan hid behind the pseudonym Montague Burton on his blog, “The Universality of Cheese”, this blog has now been taken down, although we have had a bit of a period of blogs closing in Scotland, this is one we are all happy to see the back of.

Jeff over at SNP Tactical Voting does offer a small bit of defence of Mark himself, after having met him twice. Although on this occasion I do feel Jeff is wrong about this not being the SNPs "Damian McBride" affair. The SNP will suffer more than blog damage from this.

On the eve of the SNP's attempt to waste time and money by introducing the Referendum bill this is not only bad timing for Alex Salmond but this smear gate will no doubt take column inches away from his beloved independence campaign.











Tavish Scott says in today's Scotland on Sunday this is Alex Salmond's "Damian McBride" moment - spot on Tavish.

"This is Alex Salmond's Damian McBride moment," said Tavish Scott, the Lib Dem leader.

"We need an apology from him and for him to disassociate himself from this blogger immediately.

"This poisonous SNP bile attacking anyone who dares criticise Alex Salmond's nationalists was paid for by the Scottish taxpayer. I want a full investigation by the Permanent Secretary into what other SNP special advisers, researchers and hired hands are involved in this kind of odious politics.

"Scott added: "If Mark MacLachlan posted any of his defamation's and smears in office hours, while being paid by the taxpayer and while using facilities provided at the taxpayers' expense, Mike Russell's position is untenable and Alex Salmond should sack him."

In The Sunday Herald they report "He also alleged a married Labour MSP visited gay cruising spots, badmouthed the daughter of Lord David Steel, the former presiding officer at Holyrood, and described several opponents as “c***s”. Mr MacLachlan had been employed at public expense since 2007."

The News of the World who exposed Mark MacLachlan's trail of hate, smears and lies seems to have gone on for some time. I do however wonder if Mike Russell knew what his office manager was up to? Given how close knit the SNP operation is and everyone is told what to do and say and when to do it I don't see how others including Mike Russell didn't know about it.

That is one thing I am sure we will never really know the answer to.

The one thing that has been very obvious to me is that the SNP may have got rid of Mark MacLachlan quickly, but this won't go away as many of those that he has attacked and spread rumours about may now well take legal action against him.

David Maddox called last Wednesday "black Wednesday" for the SNP, this is a much blacker Sunday and the SNP should be ashamed of the actions of this former senior member of staff and congratulations to the News of the World for uncovering the actions of this person and bringing to a halt this trail of hatred and bullying type of political action from within the top levels of the SNP minority government.

The end of the concordat as teacher numbers plummet?

Finally, oh finally the Scottish media are starting to criticise the SNP minority government just a little more as the gloss comes off, instead of standing scared on the sidelines of the SNP bullies.

Now we see the SNP getting stroppy and threatening to take control of schools in a war of words between the SNP minority government and the councils over plummeting teacher numbers.

For around twelve or so months Scottish councils have been starting to realise that the concordat was a con and that despite the First Minister and his ministerial team treating all the council leaders and their teams as part of the government and making them feel loved it really was nothing more than the SNP just trying to manipulate councils and the whole system.

As David Maddox says in today's Scotsman; "Row caps miserable week for beleaguered, friendless SNP."

David Maddox goes on to call 25 November "Black Wednesday" where in the morning Scottish councils reacted with fury when ministers tried to force them to borrow £10million to get rid of 500 experienced teachers and then in the afternoon the SNP lost their vote on minimum alcohol pricing "...the SNP would have no major achievments in government to boast about."

Finally, the councils across Scotland run by some fantastic councillors, including many Liberal Democrats have had enough of the SNP and their bullying management technique.

As teacher numbers have plummeted by 1,300 in the last twelve months the SNPs election promise for smaller class sizes has gone, they also halted the school building the previous Lib Dem/Labour government started and have only recently given it the go ahead again.

Fiona Hyslop MSP is struggling now, to be fair she has been for a while now but this week she has threatened to centralise education under government control only weeks after defending councils controlling education over school trusts.

Come on Fiona Hyslop, it is time to decide one way or another. However if you get this wrong now it could mark the death knell for the SNP administration!

Independence and Alex Salmond - dead ducks or deflated bubble?

If proof were needed that Independence is not wanted by the majority of the Scots and that a referendum now would be nothing more than a sheer waster of £9 - £12million then here it is in yesterdays Daily Telegraph.

With a big hat tip to The Grumpy Spindoctor for spotting this one yesterday in the Daily Telegraph.

I appreciate that we will see a few YouGov and other surveys having results produced within this next week as Alex Salmond prepares to produce his break up the UK bill to our MSPs in Holyrood on St. Andrew's day.

Well these figures won't make great reading for Alex Salmond and the SNP.

Asked to rate a referendum on independence in a list of national priorities, only one voter in eight said it was the most important of seven options – well behind the 63 per cent who saw "reducing unemployment" as the top priority.

Only 29 per cent of voters back independence now, compared with 31 per cent last year, while 57 per cent are opposed – an increase of four per cent on 2008.

The Daily Telegraph went on to say "In the aftermath of his bad defeat by Labour in the Glasgow North East by-election, the survey shows that Alex Salmond's bubble, if not burst, is seriously deflated."

The SNP bubble is slowly, very slowly deflating now, since the Glenrothes by-election this has been happening. The Glasgow North East by-election result in my opinion was a much worse result than Glenrothes.

Glenrothes was in Gordon Brown's backyard so was always a harder fight there for the SNP. However Glasgow North East was a year alter, when Gordon Brown's government was more unpopular than ever before and yet the SNP couldn't eat into that and defeat them in Glasgow.

It shows that Scottish elections are very different to English elections, it also shows that Labour's unpopularity south of the border doesn't resonate up here in the same way.

Glasgow North East by-election - the aftermath and analysis

So, finally the Labour Government have gained a seat in a parliamentary by-election in this Parliamentary term. Labour have finally turned the corner in campaigning terms in Scotland in my opinion.

Watching them in three consecutive by-elections in just over 12 months has been really interesting.

In Glasgow East Labour ran not only the wrong campaign, they took so long getting their campaign into gear it was quite obvious they were going to lose, plus the SNP pushed them onto the back foot and stole their thunder.

Then we moved to the Glenrothes by-election where Labour once again took a little time to warm up but then got into it and got into the groove and although the SNP were quite obviously on a high after Glasgow East they became arrogant.

Tavish Scott was right to highlight during the Glenrothes campaign that Alex Salmond as First Minister should be busy running the country not gallivanting around Fife in a by-election campaign.

The Glenrothes result was a catastrophic result for the SNP and they had Angus Robertson running around the media scrum at the count telling people they had won, with me and Graeme Littlejohn, our press officer telling everyone it was a Labour hold.

In fact the Labour Party were coming to us for clarification of their own victory, they weren't 100% sure. We were, we got the result from our box counts within 0.2%.

Even the infamous Michael Crick got it wrong, despite us telling him minutes before he went on air. Willie Rennie MP had great fun the following morning rubbing his nose in it.


And then there was Glasgow North East, Labour waited 144 days to fill the vacancy and maybe that was their strategy all along. As both Glenrothes and Glasgow North East were played as the long game, whereas Glasgow East was just three weeks.

Labour hit the ground running this time, third time lucky, local candidate, in fact the only one to vote in the by-election, although by postal vote, good local messages and rebuttals plus the added bonus of a not so good SNP candidate who made gaffes as the campaign hotted up.

On day one the media stated it was a two horse race between the SNP and Labour, and to be fair it was because the SNP didn't have the deceny to observe to protocol of not standing against The Speaker, while we do. The Conservatives also had to do well as the Government in waiting.

We didn't have the pressure on us despite us being the second Westminster Party in Scotland.

The media storm following the BNP appearance on Question Time definitely helped their vote, but the fact the newspapers gave them more column inches than the four mainstream parties at times, including the Daily Mail who dedicated two, yes two, front pages to the BNP.

No wonder they did so well.

Obviously I am disappointed by our result but I am also aware that when the media dictate the horses in the races, the remainder are pushed out.

I suspect from yesterdays line up of candidates there will only be two names back on the ballot paper at the General Election, Willie Bain and our own Eileen Baxendale.

Well done Eileen, you and the team did us proud.

SNP Crash and Burn

Not a good day for the SNP.


As the Liberal Democrats launch their brand new federal party website, the SNP have gone offline.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats website is also fine and accepting visitors todays. Feel free to visit.