Heaven help us but the opposition in Scotland is useless... and this time I include Ms Goldie too.
What’s all this about? OK. Let me explain.
The Herald is running a story by Brian Currie, their political editor no less (although you’d think he’d have something a bit more akin to politics to deal with, given that we are approaching a Westminster election). This piece of amazing journalism echos Gray and Goldie's calls for Alex Salmond to apologise for some half witted SNP supporter.
The person concerned is Mr Clayton, 74, a party contact in the Argyll and Bute constituency and, in my humble opinion either age has rendered him soft in the head or he was born tasteless, thoughtless and unlikeable. Whatever the reason the unlovely Mr Clayton sent out an email newsletter to some SNP activists and ministers in which he claimed that poor wee Danus McKinlay, who collapsed and died outside Glasgow City Chambers last week, may have (note: may have) died as a result of drug addiction.
Right. Let’s get this straight from the getgo. I deplore this. I think that people who defame the recently dead are pretty low; I think that when they do it for possible political gain they are even lower, and when the death is that of a young lad just beginning his adult life, I’d happily give the guy a good hard smack on the nose. It is, if this is possible, even lower because he says that Danus “may have” died as a result of drug addiction. So he doesn’t know an
d he didn’t bother to find out before he started spreading this low-life muck around the place.
So that’s pretty much how I feel about it... You maybe guessed that I’m not one of this Clayton’s fans, and I’m willing to bet that most decent people of most parties feel the same way.
But why, oh why are wee Willie Winkie Gray and Auntie Annabel calling for the First Minister to get involved? What on earth is that about? The person responsible isn’t a minister, or an MSP or MP or councillor. Neither is he some kind of a candidate for any parliament, nor any council... He’s a bloke that is some sort of contact for an Argyle branch of the SNP. Alex Salmond will probably never have heard of him as he hasn't heard of me. He really can’t possibly take personal responsibility for him or for every other person in the SNP. No more indeed than Iain Gray or Annabel Goldie can take responsibility for every tasteless blogger or member of their respective parties who madeout of order remarks about the death of a certain cancer victim, and installed count downs to his death on their blogs.
Yes, what the blogger did was shoddy in the extreme. So he has been referred to the party’s disciplinary committee and I hope he gets a good hard kicking... but an apology from the First Minister? Clearly neither Gray nor Goldie has any idea ... nor will they ever... of what being the First Minister involves. Mr Salmond has a country to run. I have no doubt that he is very angry with Clayton; it may even be that he will say something about it, but it is really not his business to run local SNP branches.
Now if neither of you "opposition leaders" can find any opposing to do over the policies of the Scottish government, or if you have no suggestions to make as to how we can better the lives of our citizens, I suggest you resign and find other employment. You’re certainly wasting your time and our money if this is the best you can do.
Pictured: Annabel Goldie and Iain Gray
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What’s all this about? OK. Let me explain.
The Herald is running a story by Brian Currie, their political editor no less (although you’d think he’d have something a bit more akin to politics to deal with, given that we are approaching a Westminster election). This piece of amazing journalism echos Gray and Goldie's calls for Alex Salmond to apologise for some half witted SNP supporter.
The person concerned is Mr Clayton, 74, a party contact in the Argyll and Bute constituency and, in my humble opinion either age has rendered him soft in the head or he was born tasteless, thoughtless and unlikeable. Whatever the reason the unlovely Mr Clayton sent out an email newsletter to some SNP activists and ministers in which he claimed that poor wee Danus McKinlay, who collapsed and died outside Glasgow City Chambers last week, may have (note: may have) died as a result of drug addiction.
Right. Let’s get this straight from the getgo. I deplore this. I think that people who defame the recently dead are pretty low; I think that when they do it for possible political gain they are even lower, and when the death is that of a young lad just beginning his adult life, I’d happily give the guy a good hard smack on the nose. It is, if this is possible, even lower because he says that Danus “may have” died as a result of drug addiction. So he doesn’t know an
d he didn’t bother to find out before he started spreading this low-life muck around the place.So that’s pretty much how I feel about it... You maybe guessed that I’m not one of this Clayton’s fans, and I’m willing to bet that most decent people of most parties feel the same way.
But why, oh why are wee Willie Winkie Gray and Auntie Annabel calling for the First Minister to get involved? What on earth is that about? The person responsible isn’t a minister, or an MSP or MP or councillor. Neither is he some kind of a candidate for any parliament, nor any council... He’s a bloke that is some sort of contact for an Argyle branch of the SNP. Alex Salmond will probably never have heard of him as he hasn't heard of me. He really can’t possibly take personal responsibility for him or for every other person in the SNP. No more indeed than Iain Gray or Annabel Goldie can take responsibility for every tasteless blogger or member of their respective parties who madeout of order remarks about the death of a certain cancer victim, and installed count downs to his death on their blogs.
Yes, what the blogger did was shoddy in the extreme. So he has been referred to the party’s disciplinary committee and I hope he gets a good hard kicking... but an apology from the First Minister? Clearly neither Gray nor Goldie has any idea ... nor will they ever... of what being the First Minister involves. Mr Salmond has a country to run. I have no doubt that he is very angry with Clayton; it may even be that he will say something about it, but it is really not his business to run local SNP branches.
Now if neither of you "opposition leaders" can find any opposing to do over the policies of the Scottish government, or if you have no suggestions to make as to how we can better the lives of our citizens, I suggest you resign and find other employment. You’re certainly wasting your time and our money if this is the best you can do.
Pictured: Annabel Goldie and Iain Gray
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