Friday, 9 April 2010

Labour candidate maybe didn't understand that Twitter could be seen by everyone


Oh dear, oh dear...when Labour Party goes off message they show just how unlovely they are....

Stuart MacLennan, who had been standing in Moray, has been sacked because he posted highly offensive comments about voters, politicians and others on Twitter.

What a damned fool. Is this really the calibre of people they are putting up as candidates for the London parliament? Half a brain cell should have told him that Twitter is not exactly a confidential means of communication.

He branded the elderly “coffin dodgers”; he talked about chavs; he called Commons speaker John Bercow a twat, Nick Clegg a bastard and Dianne Abbot, a f****** idiot (well duh, you thicko, she’s in your party, you’re supposed to pretend to like her!!!!!). And he actually complained about being “up north again”. You really have to wonder at him.

One of his tweets read: “God this fair-trade, organic banana is shit. Can I have a slave grown, chemically enhanced, genetically modified one please?

The sitting MP is Angus Robertson who is defending a 5,676 majority. He called the remarks “totally unacceptable”, while Annabel Goldie, Tory leader, said his comments where "disgraceful".

One of the really amusing things about the whole sorry tale is that MacLennan in followed on Twitter by a host of what passes in Labour circles for "glitterati", including Sarah Brown, Ed Balls, John Prescott, Jim Murphy and Labour’s 'Twitter Czar' Kerry McCarthy (some all-women shortlist MP for Bristol).

Of course, it's fair to say that none of the people concerned would give a fig for what he called them. I guess they have all be called much worse and a little oink's opinions are hardly likely to cause them much lack of sleep. It is the fact that he didn't think that bothers me.

MacLennan, a taxation lawyer, said: “Some of the things I twittered before I became a candidate were very, very silly and I can see they are offensive. I have let myself and my friends down and am really sorry.”

Amazingly he appeared to have predicted his own downfall when he wrote: “Iain Dale (Tory blogger) reckons the biggest gaffes will likely be made by candidates on Twitter – what are the odds it will be me?” Err, pretty high, I'd say Stewie.

So in summation, this guy is a lawyer (therefore potentially bright), he is a candidate for a constituency, he knows that saying daft stuff on Twitter can lead to the downfall of candidates because Iain Dale told him so, and yet he says daft and offensive things about people on Twitter. Nob!

Right. Sorted. I hope he’s never my lawyer.

Pic: Stuart MacLennan

47 comments:

  1. Apart from him being a complete tit for doping this............

    I noticed Iain Gray came out this am and said " it was an error and he still has the full support of the Scottish Labour Party"

    Bwahahahaha ..... Well if you get told that at 8am and your arse is in a sling by 12 noon thats the kid of support I do not need.

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  2. If he was my candidate I would still vote for him

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  3. They can say whatever the like, do whatever they like, when and where they like.

    They are the New Aristos, NuLabour.

    Normal rules for the Chavs don't apply to them, they are above all these rules.

    A bit like the RC Church?

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  4. Yes Niko, you are nuts.

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  5. Niko

    Do you have these soft roll-up keyboards where you are?

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  6. Please let there have been one really obnoxious racist one to Spud Murphy alone, please.

    Then we ask he what he knew about the racist obnoxious behaviour of his potential flock in Scotland and why he didn't step in to stop him.

    Maybe he did know all the time and he had his pals in the Press sit on it.

    tooooooooooooo laaaaaaaaaaaate

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  7. Bugger

    Nah! using me wifes laptop.......

    Anyway I only regret i have but one vote to give to my candidate!

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  8. The guy deserves to be forced to resign, there is no place for rude, offensive, crass people in politics...while there naturally must be room for people to express personal views, calling old pensioners "coffin dodgers" and youths in Stirling City "chavs" is simply unacceptable for a prospective MP.

    That said, I'd agree with "Bwahahahaha ..... Well if you get told that at 8am and your arse is in a sling by 12 noon thats the kid of support I do not need."!!!

    deanthetory

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  9. Are you sure he is only 24? He looks 34 in that pic. Do you think that they aged him to give him veritas?

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  10. NIko says:

    "I only regret i have but one vote to give to my candidate!"

    But he is prepared to give it over and over and over and ....

    Personally I think this is a breath of fresh air - a politician saying what he really thinks! If only the rest could be so honest. Instead we get milk sop platitudes that are so sterile they couldn't give offence to a slug but inform us of nowt.

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  11. Ah'm wi' you scunnert, it's refreshin' tae see a politician be honest for once. The guy's apologisin' for tweetin' thae things, but no for thinkin' them. He's jist lettin' us in oan the odious corners o' his brain.

    Dae we really think that Jim Murphy's no thinkin' even worse things aboot McLennan jist now? Mibbe he's even sayin' some o' them. What he'll no be daein' is publishin' them oan the Internet, where onybody in the world that wants tae see them can.

    Are some folk no half stupit?

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  12. If he had half a brain Sophia it would have been a distinct improvement.

    Having read some of his blog it is almost as if he wished to be caught.

    What next, coming out? Serious question.

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  13. Niko.... 10/10 for loyalty...I think

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  14. Och Bugger... he got what he deserved... he's been punted.... bye bye career, at least for the moment. He wasn't a serious candidate anyway. If the SNP don't get in there there are 2 parties between Labour and a seat. This was a training ground, and he's failed badly.

    Scunnert has a point when he says that all the rest keep it nice and you can't believe a word they say. This guy was at least saying it the way it was. I mean... can you fault anything he said (well personally, I don't think Nick Clegg is a bastard, but the rest ......). It was daft though. That's not how candidates behave.... and the worst thing about it was that he showed bad judgement.

    I'd much rather listen to him that his half witted mad assed leader.

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  15. Now, as I understand it, this MP who can't even properly manage his Twitter account, has been "sacked." Does this mean that the party leadership just decides he has to go? And he goes? If so, how refreshing.

    In the US, stupid offensive comments, at least on the Republican side, often delight the Tea Party people, and may assure you a comfortable victory in the Republican primary. But sometimes such comments then cause you trouble in the general election campaign when your opponent in the other party plays them back at you.

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  16. TLOTF.... he he he ... couldn't have put it better myself.

    Iain Gray should learn not to say anything about anything until he checks with someone who counts..


    "One Lump of two Mr Gray?"

    Erm, can I ask a friend?"

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  17. scunnert

    You are so right..best to be honest

    Scunnert..you are an arse ole!.........he he he

    couldnt help it..........only a joke dont start sulking

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  18. Dean

    I agree, but whilst he's an idiot, and he's paid the price... it was quite funny...

    I mean seriously, Dianne Abbot.... eeeek...

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  19. Tris

    get it right in Labour Circles you need 15/10 to pass the loyalty test.......Left trouser leg rolled up Left nipple exposed that sort of thing

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  20. Yes...He does look ratehr elderly for 24. Maybe it's unkind lighting.

    By the sounds of it he already had the veritas... he says it the was he sees it.

    He should know you NEVER do that in politics.

    "What a nice doggie; what a charming child...."

    yuk!

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  21. Aye Scunnert. I'm already sick of hearing them lying through their teeth.

    As it they'd tell us what they have in store for us over the next few years....

    Not likely.

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  22. Sophia... stupid is the word dear... He was stupid. And who wants a stupid MP....? hum.... that was a stupid question wasn't it?

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  23. Bugger... what's the link for his blog?

    May as well get a laugh........

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  24. Niko.... very good.... one of your funnier moments.

    (He's always having funny moments)

    Do you know who it was that got rid of him?

    Can you explain for Danny please?

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  25. Danny: I’m not sure who sacks them.

    Local committees usually pick the candidate and can remove them, I would think. (Feel free to correct me anyone who knows better.)

    I think that in an election campaign it is possible that the leadership would override anything that the local committee might want to do.

    The constituency is about as far as you could get from a Labour seat as possible, so in honesty his candidacy, in a first past the post system was no more than a gesture. He was as likely to win as George W Bush is to becoming an intellectual or even halfway bright.

    Niko may have more of an answer for you.

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  26. Mr Myzlkcowinoxxyzzyxzyxyxyinwcinw

    You must have been an Oriental lLodge then?

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  27. Domain here

    www.stuartmaclennan.co.uk/

    Twitter etc here

    twitter.com/Stuartmaclennan

    Life

    Down the cludgie

    here

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  28. Bugger: I'm getting your emails, and... thanks for the links. They won't open on the computer here. Has he taken them down do you think?

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  29. Danny

    The American way
    http://www.freewebs.com/brinkworth-music/Gun%20Fight.jpg

    The British way

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xrzXzlR52A8/SrvIjccUJII/AAAAAAAAAxA/NeI5x_5k9-Q/s400/A+nice+cup+of+tea.jpg

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  30. It's interesting to see what the Edinburgh University Labour Club have to say about him.

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  31. Thanks Niko....

    I say Bugger.... what have you done with Niko's Sunday name. Makes him look like an aristocrat!

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  32. Niko - if the left hemisphere of your cerebral cortex had the intelligence your right hemisphere is so obviously lacking you'd be formidable:o)

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  33. Scunnert... I think he already is formidable... just probably not in the way he'd like to be....

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  34. Doug... it is indeed. I feel; a bit sorry for the poor wee sod now.

    On the other hand, if you read the story right under your link (for which thanks btw), you can see what they said about Willie Bain...

    "cracking candidate who’ll make a great MP"....

    Yeah, right. I nearly choked. Turns out he's a lazy little tosser who seems to have done next to nothing in the constituency or in the House. He has, however, picked up his salary, and doubtless completed his expenses forms as quickly as possible. Cracking!

    If they thought Willie was good... then their opinions clearly leave much to be desired. Unless cracking means something different in Edinburgh....

    Seriously, that would be a Labour seat if they put up a dead mayfly as candidate. He didn't need to be cracking to win.

    God knows they put up with that lazy old tosser the Noble and Rt Hon Baron Martin of Springburn for long enough, and they have The Hon Mr Martin as their MSP...

    Suckers.


    PS: Apropos of nothing (but I bet Danny will be interested) Did you know that the legitimate spawn of a life peer is styled The Hon for life?

    I didn’t. I might have known that these people would arrange for some sort of title for their offspring.

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  35. PS Doug. I looked farther down that page till I got to the bottom, and there's this image of Iain Gray sitting just above the words "Youtube"... How I laughed!

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  36. Niko....thanks. It all comes clear now. :-)

    Sort of ironic though that in America even the "Tea Party" people are violent.

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  37. Tris....Indeed it's interesting to know that there is an hereditary "Honourableness" for the life peers. Sort of surprising actually that they didn't manage to be Rt Honourablenesses.

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  38. Danny....

    Here's Mr Brown being decisive. It appears you can throw phones but not tweet rudely

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7093061.ece

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  39. Follow uk politicians at http://www.politwecal.com and see how politics in uk is all about twiter and absurd comments to get atention.

    You can also follow up the highlights of thus uk elections and comparisons as well.

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  40. He was right about Bercow, Clegg and Abbott, though! :-)

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  41. I see that it was all over the ITV news both local and national. What a laugh! Especially Captain Beaky making a total fool of himself by supporting him at 10am and then saying he had to go at 12 noon. Not much better than Elmer there Spud!

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  42. Aye Barking...well, I don't agree about Clegg, but the rest are pretty much fair assessments. However, if you want to be an MP it's not, by convention, the thing to say.

    It's probably not too good an idea to complain that you have been sent somewhere "up north" instead of a nice cozy billet in Edinburgh.

    The lad stood no chance of getting the vote out in Moray, but he is only 24. It was a training exercise and he failed it.

    It would actually be better if MPs were a bit more honest. If they hate pensioners they should say so instead of pretending to give a stuff; if they don't like babies, why kiss them. Just tell the mother that it's an ugly smelly bundle of rags. If they think their own MPs are f****** nutters, say so. The world would be a better place. But of course no one would vote for them.
    LOL

    Aye Spider, like I said, the world would be a better place.....

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  43. Gina: Thanks for the link.

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  44. Munguin: Side splitting insight into who decides what in Scotland.

    Elmer supports him, Spud supports him... and then Lord English Longtitle tells Gordon to get rid of him.

    Gordosarah speaks out and lo, he is gone....

    have you noticed by the way how Gordon and Sarah have become one person now. Joined at the hand. Awwww.

    I wonder if they get back in will they reign together, like William and Mary in England, with Mr Madlebottom as the third one in the marriage, just like Mrs Parker-Bowels was.

    Talking of Princess mrs Parker Bowels. I wonder how long she had to wait in casualty when she broke her leg?

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  45. Danny,

    Give them time.

    They are never slow at getting honours and riches for themselves and theirs.

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  46. Joined at the weep surely!

    When Lord Petronella Voldermort speaks the back pedalling can really begin.

    I see Tom Harris has made an attempt to explain the mechanics of twitter. Apparently the twits don’t know who all the people they are twittering with actually are. Saint Sarah Brown of bubble apparently has thousands of twits to tweet with and that is why her halo slipped on this occasion.

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  47. Oh...right... thank you Munguin. I wasn't too sure how Twatter worked actually, but bless him, Tom, whom I like enormously, always has the excuse, erm I mean, reason....

    I'll nip over there and have a read....

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