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| Ed was always very much in touch with what was happening in Scotland. He was running it personally, with his usual fine attention to detail. |
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| Who, me? No wonder she looks miserable sitting next to the face girner... |
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| What ? |
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| You lot are better together...pooling and sharing our resources but we need to make out own decisions and control our own resources. Modern Scottish Labour... utterly out of touch with people And the contenders? |
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| And he dobbed in his sister...when he thought it might suit his purposes |
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"Jim Murphy is like the MP that the SNP Press Office invented to embody
all their stereotypes about Scottish Labour." Callum McCormick (Twitter).
But someone did actually run a competition on Twitter to find the most despised politician in Scotland, and this one won hands down. Good choice to lead your party!
Never really a contender. He would have
to work again for his living
Oh yes... there's the favourite.
Given that Labour recognised some 4 years ago that they
must make their party more distinctly Scottish,
it might be better to look for a
leader from Edinburgh and a deputy from London.
But then you look at the Edinburgh possibilities.
Jenny Marra...
...And Kezia Dugdale.
And you begin to see Labour's problem.
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Waiting in the wings is this Labour defender.
ReplyDeleteAh yes Mr Susan Deacon, nice to see how well they keep it in the family. The knew buzz word from Labour the Labour Family with something Scottish in the title.
DeleteI'm sure the BBC will have nothing but good to say about the new leader... Fortunately a small proportuion of the country gets its "news" from the BBC!!
ReplyDeleteThe person with the sharpest elbows should win but who would want the job as the time limit of the job seems to be rather short based on the previous holders. A job that ends your political ambitions quickly it seems.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that, miracles notwithstanding, the person will lead the party to a defeat in 2016, at which point they will have to resign...or look like some crazy hanging in there when should really go.
DeleteAny serious politician won't want to risk that.
Apart from Brown they still have careers left, and, I doubt that they would want to be associated with failure at this point.
I'd say they should wait till 2016, then they will have 5 years again to shape the Labour Party into something that could win, particularly as the SNP will have been in government by then for 14 years!
It will be time for a change.
Of course, whoever does this in 2016 would have to be hard with whoever is in charge in London (because I doubt it will be Ed) and make sure that they have the power to shape Labour into a party that Scots would want to vote for... ir left of centre, socialist, nordic...call it what you will, but most assuredly a pale imitation of the tories, which is what they are now.
Frankly I'd suggest Marra for just now. I doubt she will ever really be going anywhere.
Marcia, I have to say I agree, the next contestant and winner of this job will have it for 18 months tops. Whether they are any good and to be honest Donald Dewar's legacy to the Labour Party was that he recruited a plethora of non talent regardless of what George ( police batterer) Ffoulkes says.
DeleteNow I cannot see Jim Murphy taking it on he will not leave the HoC and GB would not doing it, too afraid of the doing he might get should he decide to. Gordie is not one for competition, he would fair badly against the much more nimble on her feet Nicola and he knows it. No we will get some nonentity to take this over in the short term.
I've a pair of old hillwalking socks, around thirty years old. Surley they have enough experience, to be made into the next Slab puppet, to be mastered from London.
ReplyDeleteGenerous of you to offe J!
DeleteI hope there are holes in them Jim, so that we can see them being manipulated, though to be fair we all knew they were.
DeleteThey are quite down at heel and washed out, so; the perfect candidate.
DeleteFolk humiliate themselves for 15 minutes of fame on reality TV.
ReplyDeleteGetting a job as 'Scottish' Labour leader is a dream for a certain type of person.
I suggest they go for John Barrowman.
He's got the jaiket!
DeleteWell Tris he is such a ham actor he would be good for Labour, that and the American Accent.
DeleteDoes it really matter? The Labour Party have brought on their own demise in Scotland by climbing into bed with the Tories and fronting their campaign of lies and propaganda.
ReplyDeleteWe've seen through the "New Labour" lie, and all there is underneath is greed and personal ambition.
A sad end to a once - proud party of the working man.
The thing is Lochee, we need a good opposition. It's not good for the country to have opposition parties led by numpties.
DeleteBut I agree with you about the sad ending... Real Old Labour men who fought for decency for the NHS, for free education for all, for the NHS... what must they make of this load?
Are they courting Ruth Davidson yet?
ReplyDeleteShe turned it down. She needs a job after next May.
DeleteGot to admit Jenny Marra is quite pretty. I wonder if the Guardian would get her mixed up with stairheid rammy Curran?
ReplyDeleteThe good old Guardian...
Delete"They all look the same to me"!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Ed (with his unusual incisive finger on the pulse of things that are going on in his party) will remember who his candidates are this time round. Remember last time when he was asked on radio who was standing and he couldn't remember Ken Macintosh's name. And later had to phone the Eastwood MSP and apologise!
ReplyDeleteOh and of course he forgot Anas's first name too, rather amusingly dubbing him "Anus" instead,
Doesn't bode well for John Murphy, Jimmy Marra or Kezia Bogdale does it?
LOL. No, Munguin, it doesn't.
DeleteI suppose that may be because people keep calling him David!
The games up. Can the next possible opposition to the SNP please step forward?
ReplyDeleteWell Dean the previous opposition were all for putting forward ideas, sometimes good ones like more apprenticeships and when they got what they wanted would vote against it because the SNP brought it forward.
DeleteAfter the Seventh Leader since the Parliament reconvened you think they might have got the right one. Mind you they haven't had a decent leader of Labour in my lifetime so that is probably how it goes with them.
Well... Ms Lamont recently predicted that when Alex Salmond was gone, she would still be there working "for" the people of Scotland (as opposed to hiding things from them on orders from London).
ReplyDeleteAlex has now seen off Jack, Wendy, Iain and Johann, because come Thursday he'll still be taking FMQ and Johann probably won;t even be in the chamber.
Unfortunately, all this plastering around isn't good for our democracy. Parliamentary democracy needs opposition. Frankly there is none in Holyrood, and that's neither good for the SNP nor for us.
Anyway.... Next....
Well predicted, Dean
We will worry about "needing opposition at Holyrood" Tris, once we are a proper country again....
DeleteIn the meantime, the SNP are ALL Scotland requires...
I still think that a government does a better job ...even a good one like the current one... if they have an effective opposition.
DeleteMaybe if London had an effective opposition some of the crap that they get up to would have been stopped.
So I take your point, but I still would like to see someone there to challenge for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.
Did I not say it earlier...this makes the referendum result easier to bear. I am getting giddier and giddier awaiting May 2015.
ReplyDeleteMe too and I was absolutely miserable a month ago, now I am smiling.
DeleteOh yeah, I wish everything I lost turned out this well for me :) Totally agree.
DeleteI bet Anus is going around desperate to get someone, anyone to put their hat in the ring otherwise he wins by default. Get your popcorn here.
ReplyDeleteOops genuine typo honest.
DeleteWell considering those who know him better make the same mistake, I believe you, on both the name and the fact he is trying to get someone to take the job. I expect he has been on the Phone to the Governor all weekend asking his advice.
DeleteFunny... there are only four days available to put up candidates and towards the end of the first one, all we have heard is "no, thank you".
DeleteDo you think they know we have moved on from the referendum?
According to the Guardian, Anas has ruled himself out and Jim Murphy is the favourite. And Severin is back from holiday so the articles read like SLAB press releases. Or should that be LLAB (London Labour)?
ReplyDeleteAs Malcolm Chisholm said, a London leader would turn a crisis into a catastrophe.
DeleteNo one in Scotland good enough, or confident enough to take it on, because it is being run from London.
That's going to encourage people to believe that Slab is independent!
Phones will be flying every Thursday after FMQs if the big clunking fist takes over. to think that I actively supported him to be Labour leader confirms all suspicions that I'm not the full shilling......
ReplyDeleteTut tut John, you surely didn't, you had a wee breakdown in the common sense department, it happens to us all at times.
DeleteMy mum said she always thought that about you.
DeleteStill, you can't be perfect all the time...
That'll be eleven pennies and three fartings then!
DeleteWhat's that in kilometres?
DeleteHelena, yes I did but I was young and foolish at the time which you will probably understand was the lessor of two evils and as for cynical I'm not that bloody old - appearances can be deceptive. As for Tris that is certainly not what your mum told me - after a couple of Pinot Grigios - from Aldi. I know she prefers the Asda one but one has to stand by their principles!
DeleteFartings or farthings?
DeleteDerek
Jeez, what some people will say for cheap plonk, John.
DeleteDerek, if it's Brown we are talking about ...which one do you think is most likelyl!!?
I never thought of you as an Auld man John and everyone is allowed to be stupid in youth. I have to say though that I do not think age confers wisdom just years, We have a large proportion of Scotland as an example. Hey no scurrilous comments about the wine from Aldi, some really good wine there. An excellent Australian Riesling from the Clare Valley and and an excellent Rioja as well as an superb Shiraz from Australia among many many more. You really want to get down there.
DeleteJohn's just a bit of a lad, Helena.
DeleteThe trouble with Aldi for him is that the nearest one is 200 miles away! :)
Source unidentified, says Gordy has ruled himself out
ReplyDeleteApparently slim Jim has not picked up his phone in the last 48hrs suddenly turned shy he,s probably enjoying the attention he's getting
Wonder if Jola has perfected the desk thumping along with the other monkeys
We are hearing a lot about who has ruled themselves out, but we hav4en;t heard of anyone ruling themselves in yet.
DeleteI think it was Cllr Braveheart this morning on the Scotsman saying how terrible it was that Nicola was having a coronation rather than a contest (conveniently forgetting Brown), but Labour would have an open and fair contest (not one member one vote though).
The question is, is anyone going to stand?
And if it's only Murphy, what will Malcolm Chisholm do?
Tris
ReplyDeleteI suspect that whoever does get the job will be from Westminster. Labour MPs from the northern branch in Scotland will not want to give anyone at Holyrood any real power, a bit like how they view Scotland, and that will backfire on them badly. I suspect that the Scottish branch of Labour, or it's members, might just be willing to sacrifice the likes of Marra and Dugdale, yes women, to go it alone. The YES alliance may have lost the battle but is more than half way to winning the war. Labour in joining the Tories and shifting to the right have alienated their Scottish vote and that core vote might just have had enough, interesting times.
Personally I hope it's Murphy, he is a clown and loyal to the Blair Tory element and will go down like a bad smell in a phone box up here in Labour Northern Jock land.
Bruce
If they appoint someone form London (and I agree it looks like Murphy will be the only contender) then the leader and deputy will be London MPs.
DeleteAs mr Chisholm said that will turn a crisis into a catastrophe.
They will still have to appoint someone to take FMQs and both their leaders will be in London taking orders from Ed.
Have they learned nothing?
I do not envy whoever it is, he/she will have to convince left wingers in Scotland despite their Westminster equivalent having to convince right wingers in England. Going by previous comments if I was still a Labour party member/employee I would plump for Nico who occasionally talks sense. but I suppose that Is too much to expect from a party which produced and nurtured the odious Jim Murphy............
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be interesting seeing Murphy, who is to the right of Thatcher, convincing anyone of the left about anything. He's a war monger, benefit slasher, university fees supporting, expenses fiddling trougher, but morst of all he's Blair's man.
DeleteDunno how he's gonna get on with Margrit going around telling people that they are going back to good old fashioned Labour policies... He wouldn't know a Labour policy if it bit him on the arse.
Well it will be interesting to see who ; if any, stand against him for the role.
DeleteIt also does not change labours problem - Murphy still needs someone to be his mouthpiece in Holyrood. Someone who can follow instructions, not rock the boat - someone who can read the speeches written for him/her. If this person is as woeful as Lamont, then you can imagine the car crash debates in Holyrood or on the TV as they cannot think or act beyond the pre-scripted message they are to deliver. It was those moments when you saw the real Lamont imo. The real dilemma is the Holyrood elections - since murphy will not be able to stand as first minister, the role would go to this flunky. Now the SNP by 2007 had changed their viewpoint, making Holyrood centre to their objectives. Salmond resigned as an MP then became an MSP. Retaining his leadership role and now leader of the party in Holyrood made it obvious were the priorities were. WM became secondary, Holyrood was seen as the prize. Labour thought this highly amusing at the time - not laughing now. But it is obvious that they will be unable to make the same reorientation as the SNP. The decision to allow a Westminster back bencher their leader in Scotland will bite them on the arse come 2015/16.
They really are in the most awful mess. They can't get it right one way or the other.
DeleteSarah Boyack has has thrown her hat into the ring, Murphy will now throw in the towel.
ReplyDeleteWasn't she the one who privatised road mending... That worked well, didn't it?
DeleteI wonder if Murphy will pull back, or if this was done so that it wouldn't be a coronation of a far right Londoner?
That would be a top hat being Boyak,and Murphy will be claiming expenses on the towel(filched from a roach motel).
ReplyDeleteLOL...
Delete