Keeeerchiiiiinng!

Was it only a few days ago that our beloved First Minister was raging against the Westminster consensus that had given us the expenses scandal?

Strange then this is the raging First Minister and member of the Westminster parliament who was not enraged enough not to take his £60k golden hand-shake from the Palace of Westminster.

As the Times reports: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7082116.ece

"Alex Salmond will accept a golden handshake of more than £60,000 from Westminster when he stands down as an MP at the forthcoming election, it emerged tonight.

The First Minister faced criticism after he admitted he would take the pay-off, equivalent to a year's salary, which is given to MPs when they lose their seats or stand down.

The payment is being scrapped after this election following a review of the expenses system.

The news that Mr Salmond is to take the money, despite continuing his political career at Holyrood, sparked a row which overshadowed his final speech to the House of Commons."


Now some would call this the worst kind of hypocrisy - but then again this is Alex Salmond - a man not averse to saying one thing and doing another.

Can't believe it will go down well with the public - but hey Alex's retirement nest egg must be mounting up now.

Otherwise occupied the Grumpy SD hasn't had much time to blog of late. Apologies.
But I have been reading the Scottish newspapers and keeping one eye on the polls.

With Labour's poll ratings rising north of the border and the SNP's going nowhere - despite the Westminster expenses debacle and the SNP being in government for the last 3 years - its clear that Alex Salmond's empty headed boast that his party would capture 20 Westminster seats was a tad optimistic.

Which begs the inevitable question - has Eck in his sixteenth year as leader of his party - shot his bolt?

While not wanting to tempt fate or indeed second guess the decisions of the Scottish electorate - what if the SNP don't get their 20 Westminster seats - or anything like it? And there's precious little evidence they will.

The lustre has already come off the Salmond government - losses in byelections and the failure to bring forward an independence referendum - leave Mr Salmond far from the monarch of all he surveyed - even a year ago.

Of course he will want to hang on for another year to fight the Scottish parliament elections but there must be nagging doubts in nationalist ranks that even he can deliver independence.

If I were a nationalist - I would ask myself - if the SNP are no longer soaring in the polls and there is no evident increase in support for independence - despite having a nationalist government and a huge taxpayer paid-for propaganda push for independence - can Alex Salmond - deliver.

There's no doubt Mr Salmond has been the SNP's main asset in that quest - but maybe the sands of time are running out even for Eck.

Sixteen years on and off is a long time for any politician to lead a party - the harsh truth that nationalists have to face is that 16 years after taking on the leadership - the SNP are no nearer to convincing the vast majority of the Scottish people that independence is the way forward - than they were in 1990.

Alex Salmond hopes for voter rage at the polls

ALEX Salmond has revealed he will make widespread anger at Westminster sleaze and banking bail-outs a key plank of the SNP's general election campaign as he warned Labour and the Tories yesterday of a growing "rage against the system".

Salmond said: "The people decided they would have their say. They raged against the machine. They voted - and they won.

"There is much to make us rage with politics today. Westminster expenses, greedy bankers, an illegal war, the deepest recession since the 1930s.....

He added: "There is rage at the metropolitan political consensus. A consensus of cuts that has left the ordinary people of this country out in the cold."

Errmmmmmm... tha would be the Westminster consensus Alex Salmond has been part of since being elected as an MP in 1987......23 years of not raging against that system.

Expenses.....that would be Westminster expenses that Mr Salmond never claimed as an MP then? Apart from those food allowances he did claim even when he was north of the border or the hotel stays or the mini bar bills charged to the taxpayer...

Oh, and then there's the bankers.... that would be the bankers that Mr Salmond didn't criticise when HBOS and RBS went into meltdown and the self same bankers and part time hedge fund managers he has on his council of economic advisers then....

And the banking bailouts - that would be the banking bailouts he's publicly supported....

Rage against the machine .... indeed....

In Mr Salmond's case, given his daft boast that the SNP were set to claim 20 westminster seats - its rage against the dying of the light - more like.

He's funny.....

The SNP Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, MP, said: "The SNP have stood up to sustained attack of an unprecedented nature, and detailed poll analysis demonstrates that there was a major turning point over the course of last week - with SNP support up six points by the end of the week, compared to last Sunday.

"Labour's orchestrated complaints to the Standards Commissioner were completely dismissed, and Nicola Sturgeon saw off opposition attacks over her constituency issue with a hugely impressive performance in the chamber.

"We have succeeded in stopping the negative issues, regained the initiative with the publication of the draft Referendum Bill and are now on the front foot as we approach the general election campaign.

"It is a sign of the resilience of SNP support that this poll shows a swing from Labour to the SNP since the last general election - with SNP support up three points and Labour down two - and we plan to improve our position further in the coming weeks.

"Almost three years into government, we remain in a strong position despite the difficulties."


SNP hit by big slump in supportScotland on Sunday

ALEX Salmond's support is slumping ahead of the UK general election and he faces being defeated at Holyrood in just over a year's time, according to a major new poll published by Scotland on Sunday.

The SNP has fallen a full 17 percentage points behind Labour on Scottish voting intentions for the Westminster election and is now just a single point ahead of the Conservatives.

And the party is five points behind Labour on voting intentions for the Holyrood constituency vote, dropping below 30 per cent for the first time in its three years in power.

The YouGov poll of 1,000 Scots, taken after a flurry of bad publicity for the SNP government in recent weeks, suggests that the party has lost around 4 per cent of its vote since the turn of the year.



Angus Robertson - he's a funny guy....

"They're not capable of saying sorry. They just don't get it. They've never had this kind of light shone on them before, and I don't think they can handle it."

The Sunday Herald 14/02/10 an SNP member quoted on Nicola Sturgeon's and Alex Salmond's handling of the convicted fraudster Abdul Rauf affair.

KERCHING! MONEY THAT'S WHAT I WANT........


In all the fuss surrounding the tawdry spectacle of Scotland's First Minister selling access to himself to the highest bidder - the grumpy spindoctor has a simple question?

Did Donald Dewar ever use the parliamentary restaurant to host party fundraising lunches or dinners?

Did Henry Mcleish or for that matter, Jack McConnell use the taxpayer subsidised restaurant as a thank you and or, prize to party donors?

I think the answer to the question in each case is - a simple no.

That fact alone should indicate to the First Minister and those who seek to defend or condone another example of his attempts to play the rules to the limit - what exactly is out of order about his conduct.

His tacky behaviour as regards using the highest office in the land to tout for cash to fill party coffers is certainly a first in the history of devolution.

It has to be said though, that its not a first that he or his party should be proud of.

So the SNP are to go down the legal route of stymie-ing the great UK party leaders debates because they've not been invited.

And what great company they keep in their bid to get a cheap headline - sorry - change the line-up of the debates.

Plaid are with them all the way and so are UKIP - those reasonable people who want Britain out of Europe. All they need now is to add the BNP and the Monster Raving Loony Party and they'll have the full set....

And there was me thinking that the SNP thought they were a big party...

"This week we have seen a huge issue with the collapse of Globespan and the enormous planetary issue that is being debated in Copenhagen, and yesterday we saw the first drop in unemployment in Scotland in 18 months. Does Iain Gray not consider that those are some of the issues that the people of Scotland would expect the Opposition leader in Scotland to raise, rather than to focus on personality and process?"
Alex Salmond, First Minister, 17th December 2009

That was last week. This week, the First Minister is much exercised by the 'rigged' general election debate by UK party leaders and is hinting that his party may contemplate legal action so they can take part too.

Now remember these debates are where UK party leaders, standing in forthcoming UK elections discuss UK issues.
Correct me if I'm wrong but a) Alex Salmond is not standing for election in the UK General Election next year b)he is not Westminster leader of his party c)he doesn't believe in the Westminster Parliament in the first place.

So why on earth should he be entitled to a place in these debates? Exactly. He shouldn't.

This is yet further proof that Scotland's First Minister rather than concentrating his undoubted abilities and energies on the real issues that matter to Scots would rather engage in an artificial row of his own creation - demanding parity for a party that while it may be in minority power at Holyrood is not likely to increase its Westminster representation to anything like the 20 seats their leader claimed earlier in the year.

Of course talking up a row on being excluded from leader debates diverts attention - it diverts attention away from the First Minister's official spokesperson's (paid for by you and I the taxpayer) involvement in the MacLachlan affair.
It diverts attention away from his justice minister's continued cackhanded handling of the Al-Megrahi affair.
It also diverts attention from the job the First Minister should be doing and the manifest failures of his administration in education, health and his inability to deliver manifesto commitments.

As with the referendum Bill - Alex with his debates whinge - is putting his party interest first rather than the interests of the people of Scotland.
It is leadership in search of the next newspaper headline.

Scotland most definitely deserves better...

The Grumpy SD has an admission to make. I started this blog in January and in the course of the last eleven months - hand on heart - have not spoken to or consulted a single Labour politician either at Westminster or Holyrood about the content of 'The Grumpy Spindoctor.'

It has been and continues to be, my own work and my own 'independent' view of Scottish politics.

I can't claim that my blog entries have been influenced or dictated by the politicians of the party that I am a member of - the Labour Party.

It's a fair bet that the SNP are wishing that Mark MacLachlan had acted in the same way.

Last Thursday, Scotland's First Minister attempted to suggest that 'attack' blogs were prevalent across the political spectrum. Michty me - he probably thinks this blog is akin to those of his own party's fellow travellers and that I take my orders straight from Labour HQ or from some cat-stroking Labour svengali based in Holyrood or Westminster.

Shame to disappoint him - but no one has told me what to write and no Labour politician has ever suggested I attack the SNP on x or y.

No one should be under any illusion though - there's a real difference between the cheerleaders of the SNP and the rest of us who seek to highlight the hypocrisy and hubris at the heart of the SNP government.

And as the Grumpy SD has said before, the chickens are coming home to roost.

The MacLachlan affair goes to the very heart of the way the SNP government, its ministers, spindoctors and researchers have behaved.
At the root of the problem is the fact that while they like dishing it out - they are unable to take criticism.

A while back (March to be exact) some readers will remember that this blog highlighted some of the dafter comments of SNP researcher Mark Hirst about the Northern Ireland peace process.

http://grumpyspindoctor.blogspot.com/2009/03/mark-hirst-and-theres-more.html..

Not long after, I was contacted by an adviser at the Scotland Office who told me that the Scotland Office had received an FOI request requesting information about what expenses I had claimed as a special adviser when I worked there from 1999-2001 for Dr John Reid.
Unfortunately the Scotland Office had no records dating back to then about my expenses which they could pass on and I was being contacted to inform me that they had received the request and were replying that they did not hold the information requested.
As it happens, I could have saved the person requesting the FOI and the Scotland Office time and energy.
I've never been a great expenses claimer - and from memory - didn't claim a penny when I was a special adviser* - a fact I would have been happy to confirm had I been contacted directly.
(*I even once took a tent to Labour Party conference at the seaside when working for Reid because neither the Labour Party or the Scotland Office were willing to pay for accomodation).

The point of this tale - is that someone clearly wasn't happy that I was giving Mr Hirst a hard time - who knows, the person requesting the FOI information may have been Mr Hirst himself - there's no doubt in my mind that someone wanted to discover some 'dirt' on me to hit back.

Now I don't pretend to be perfect - but in my book, my blog entries on Mr Hirst were merely putting on the record, what Mr Hirst had said elsewhere - there's no doubt embarassment was caused but hey - that's politics. And as I say, the SNP are very good at dishing it out.

But back to the current farago which has now embroiled the First Minister, his spindoctor and the education minister. It's clearly not going away, given how Mr MacLachlan feels he's been treated.

Had the First Minister at a much earlier stage disowned the cybernat tendency in his own ranks it would never have come to this pretty pass.
He didn't.

In the same way he didn't condemn the politically motivated complaints to the police and the Standards commissioner about my former boss Wendy Alexander which contributed to her decision to stand down as leader of the Labour group in the Scottish Parliament.

The fact is, the SNP have a defective gene at the heart of their DNA - they have a liking for the political dark arts. Now that gene has come back to haunt them big time. And who knows what political careers it will destroy.
The real irony is that the first real political casualty of the cybernat tendency will be the political career of a politician on their own side.

If I were Mr Michael Russell I'd be a very worried man.

Scotland's First Minister has had his Hebdomada Horriblis (a week to forget) and surprise surprise, weekend newspapers print a story linking Scottish Labour's leader and a 'donations sleaze row'.

We've been here before - have we not?

Maybe the timing is coincidental - then again, maybe not.

Maybe the fact that the political leadership of an SNP-led council - East Lothian - has decided at this time to raise the issue of council support for a Labour branch barbecue - a branch which just happens to have donated to Iain Gray's leadership campaign - is coincidence.

The Grumpy SD smells a rat however. SNP in trouble. Labour leader finding his parliamentary feet and giving SNP leader a hard time week after week in Parliament. Time to engineer a Labour 'scandal'.

This kind of smear politics and guilt by association - brought down the last Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Let's not forget the complaints made to standards chiefs by SNP activists and researchers against Ms Alexander.

Iain Gray, despite all the bluster from SNP cybernats and politician decrying his political abilities and record, is a far better political operator than Wendy Alexander ever was. That's why they fear him.

Gray has been very effective in recent weeks holding the First Minister to account - on the basis of his handling or mishandling of political issues. In thanks in part to Gray's forensic criticism, Salmond is on the back foot and the SNP don't like it.

Cue what amounts to a smear story to divert attention away from the SNP's travails.

Coincidence maybe. Dirty politics most definitely.

No one should be under any illusions that this is exactly what today's Sunday stories are about.

The Grumpy SD has said it before and will say it again - imagine if any of the current First Minister's predecessors had failed so comprehensively to keep their policy promises the way he has.

On class sizes.

On school building.

On replacing PPP.

On dumping student debt.

On a replacement for the council tax. The list goes on. Failures every one.

The current First Minister would in opposition have pursued his government oppposite number with a vengeance had they had a similar record of failure.

Now the boot is on the other foot - pledges made to win votes but which were never realistic are coming back to haunt Mr Salmond and his government.
And of course he doesn't like it. Like most playground bullies - he enjoys dishing it out but doesn't like it in return. That's politics though.

Worth noting however that unlike Mr Salmond - his predecessors tended to make policy promises they could and did keep.

Maybe in the lead-up to the next Holyrood elections Mr Salmond may have learned his lesson - and makes his manifesto policy promises one's that his party can keep.

In the meantime the SNP have only themselves to blame for the mess their government is now in.

Political recklessness is a hallmark of the First Minister. On the evidence of his government's education meltdown - that recklessness and devil-may-care attitude, may suit opposition but in government it's a non starter.

Re-arranging the deckchairs on the deck of the Titanic.

So, after months in which Scottish ministers refused publicly to admit that there was a problem with reducing class sizes and with Scotland's deteriorating education sector - apparently the opposition 'scaremongers' were right all along...

If not - why get rid of the responsible minister?

Make no mistake, Scotland's First Minister's decision to reshuffle his cabinet pack -sacking a failing education minister and replacing her with the Constitution minister - a minister who has failed comprehensively to win hearts and minds for the great independence neverhappen-dum, is a sign that the SNP government is in deep, deep, trouble.

Now is not the time any First Minister would have chosen to reshuffle the deckchairs - it is a desperate attempt to regain the political advantage and buy time - using a mini-reshuffle to give the impression that the Scottish cabinet is taking stock - when in actuality what Mr Salmond and his sidekick Mr Pringle is trying to do, is to stem the stream of damaging headlines that have contributed to the SNP's falling poll numbers and diminishing credibility.

Now Alex has taken 'personal' responsibility for the constitution, as if the First Minister, prior to today's ministerial changes, somehow was at arms length from the strategy to advance the case for the independence referendum and white paper.

By taking charge, all the First Minister has done, is reinforce the notion that his government is a one-man-band. Does he not trust any other senior SNP minister to do the job? Clearly not.
It is not a sign that the FM has confidence in his cabinet.

I doubt that the German film Downfall about the last days in Hitler's bunker, is likely to be on the First Minister's christmas DVD viewing list. Pity, because there too, a leader who thought himself infallible and felt let down by his senior commanders took personal charge of the defence of his empire. And we all know how well that ended...

Today's panicked response to the SNP government's slide is a genuine turning point.

Never glad confident morning again.

The Scottish Government has expended a lot of energy in the last two years advancing the case for Scottish independence. Hundreds (nay thousands) of hours of civil servants time has been spent on numerous policy papers to make the case (and millions of pounds of UK taxpayers money) - but to date the Scottish public remain unconvinced - as poll after poll continues to show.

The time, energy and taxpayers cash has been spent in vein.

For all the Salmond bluster and less than subtle threats to opposition parties about opposing the will of the Scottish people - a few things to remember:

Scots oppose independence 2-1.

The SNP's position is a minority one. The majority oppose the SNP's raison d'etre.

The culmination of the SNP's current attempt to force its will on the Scottish people is of course the referendum white paper.

A white paper that will do nothing for Scottish jobs.

Nothing to create apprenticeships.

Nothing to get the Scottish economy out of recession.

Nothing to deal with climate change.

Nothing to tackle poverty and social deprivation.

In short it's a white paper that does nothing to advance the interests of Scotland - and everything to advance the interests of the Scottish National Party.

Some may think that independence's time has come.
The polls and public opinion tend to suggest otherwise.

What the independence white paper is - is a monument to the hubris of the leader of the Scottish National Party.

And like the SNP leader - it promises much but delivers precious little.

No doubt Alex Salmond is a tad miffed that the St Andrew's day launch of his independence referendum has been overshadowed by the exposure of one of his party's cybernat brigade in today's News of the World.

If SNP high command are furious, they only have themselves to blame. Salmond and his inner circle have for a very long time singularly failed to condemn the anonymous nationalist 'bovver boys' who use the internet and media websites to condemn anyone and everyone who do not share their singular view of the world.

The Grumpy SD has and will continue to criticise the SNP and their political goals - but like most thinking Scots I accept they represent a shade of Scottish opinion and while I disagree with the SNP on most things I don't condemn nationalists the right to hold their views.

By contrast, cybernats and their ilk on a daily basis, display the kind of intolerance of others who have different political outlooks or views - which is frankly undemocratic and authoritarian - and a far cry from the kind of civic nationalism the leaders' of the party they claim to support, espouse.

Mark MacLachlan, Mike Russell's now former constituency office manager, is not an isolated case.

There are lots more like him - and if anyone doubts that, they need only follow some of the comment threads following today's coverage of his behaviour.

The cybernats are the unacceptable face of Scottish nationalism. Alex Salmond can't pretend he doesn't know they exist.

He has pointedly failed in the past to condemn their conduct and the ugly politics they represent.

Now is the time for Mr Salmond- in the interests of Scottish politics and civic society - to publicly condemn the intolerant in his own ranks.

If he fails to do so in the next 24hrs, it will speak volumes about his leadership and the kind of political behaviour he is prepared to condone.

Enough is enough Alex - it's time to tell the cybernats that their brand of political discourse isn't acceptable in 21st Century Scotland.

If as the First Minister tells all ad nauseum that he and his party/government are so popular - how come support for independence is going backwards - (and even if you follow the Angus Robertson argument that support goes up and down depending on poll question)- why has it not made headway since the SNP formed their minority administration?

Me thinks that as I said earlier this year, the recession and the collapse of Scotland's major banking institutions and knock-on effects on confidence - have done for Mr Salmond's independence dream.

The SNP's failure to keep their promises in government and their obsession with a referendum and the independence haven't helped and if anything, has been a turn off to the Scottish voters.

And then there is the Salmond question itself - the man's ego and his insatiable desire to hog the headlines - might be proving a teensy wee counterproductive with the punters.

Put all of it together and the unwelcome conclusion is that the sun is slowly setting on Mr Salmond's independence daydream and his chances of personally delivering independence as SNP leader are diminishing with every passing day.

But hey Alex - rage against the dying of the light. Keep talking up your independence referendum and please keep publishing your (expensive) little government documents making the case for divorce - they are making the case for Scotland's continued place in the Union, better than any opposition politician could manage.

And one final thing Alex and Kevin (Pringle) please keep those endless First Minister photo-ops going - again the Scottish public on the basis of this week's Telegraph You Gov poll are lapping you up.

Keep up the good work.....

See you in the Union in 2017..

The Scottish people give independence the thumbs down - again


Another day, another poll that confirms that independence is only wanted by obsessive nationalists and not the vast majority of Scots.

The Daily Telegraph reports - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/6638471/Alex-Salmonds-Scottish-Nationalists-are-sinking.html - that a You Gov poll for the paper shows:

- support for independence has reduced.

- that there is a healthy two-to-one majority against independence among Scots.

- and that most do not regard the question as a pressing matter for Scotland.

"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."

"By a sizeable majority, most Scots wish to remain part of the United Kingdom and consider a referendum on independence to be irrelevant. 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."


Ever get the feeling that the political tide is going out on Mr Salmond's bid to make Scotland independent?

The Telegraph poll also begs the question - given how much taxpayers money the SNP have spent on pro-independence propaganda - why is the separatist cause going backwards?

Could it be anything to do with Mr Salmond's leadership??

Maybe he should seek alternative employment as a bingo caller - then again maybe not....

"Presiding Officer, let me turn now to the important issue of patient safety.
Let me firstly assure the public that NHS Scotland is safe by international standards.
But there is no room for complacency. I want NHS Scotland to be a world leader in patient safety.
The Scottish Patient Safety Alliance has been established to achieve significant, measurable improvements in patient outcomes through the implementation of specific evidence based interventions.
This work will ensure that robust quality improvement methodologies are implemented and embed a culture of patient safety in all of our NHS hospitals.
One of the key aspects of patient safety is our work to tackle Hospital Acquired Infections. The prevalence of infection in our hospitals and other healthcare settings is understandably a matter of considerable public concern.
That is why we will introduce a range of new measures to tackle Healthcare Associated Infection and invest more than £50 million to support their implementation through the HAI taskforce. These measures will include the introduction of a national MRSA screening programme, tougher hospital cleaning standards and a more rigorous approach to hand hygiene."
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing
Nicola Sturgeon,Statement on Health and Wellbeing at the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood, Edinburgh, December 12, 2007

'Scotland will move to the forefront of the UK and Europe in the fight against antibiotic resistant hospital infections such as MRSA thanks to a £1.25 million investment, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said today.'
Scottish Government Press release 17/03/2008

"Presiding Officer, the position at the Vale of Leven is deeply concerning. I expect the highest standards of surveillance, infection control and care to prevail everywhere in our NHS and I hope that my statement today shows that we are willing to face up to the challenges of delivering them.
"The safety of our patients is paramount. A thorough review will take place over the coming weeks to identify the circumstances that led to the situation at the Vale of Leven and I am determined to ensure that the lessons to be learned from this exercise will help us to drive C.diff infection rates down and reduce the risks to patients." Nicola Sturgeon, Official Report 18/06/2008

Ms Sturgeon said:
"I have made tackling hospital infections a top priority and I am encouraged that today's figures show our strenuous efforts appear to be reaping rewards.
"We are confident that we now have the right initiatives in place and the figures back this up. We are seeing significant and sustained reductions in infections which is good news for patients throughout Scotland.Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Parliament Official Report, 18th June 2008

"On the seriousness with which the Government treats infection control, I hope that all members accept that I have made it clear in my time as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing that I take infection control seriously. Over the next three years, the Government will invest record sums of money to fight the battle against infection. We are updating the cleaning specification to make it much tougher for hospitals, and we want improved hand hygiene compliance in hospitals. However, as Mary Scanlon said, we must ensure that policies are delivered on the ground, which is why there is now regular monitoring of, and reporting on, such issues. We must ensure that measures are robust." Nicola Sturgeon 18th June 2008 official report


"Cleanliness is crucial in our hospitals and is a simple way to help combat infections like MRSA and C.diff.
"Tackling healthcare associated infections is my top priority because it's vital that the public have confidence in the care they will receive if they need hospital treatment. Nicola Sturgeon 01/03/2009

"Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the sustained drop in infection rates showed efforts to stamp out the so-called superbugs appeared to be reaping rewards."Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Government press release 07/10/2009


Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has demanded "urgent improvements" at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

It follows a Healthcare Environment Inspectorate report highlighting issues needing to be addressed, including cleanliness and infection control.

Ms Sturgeon said: "This report makes difficult reading. I am disappointed that so much room for improvement has been identified."

BBC News Scotland website 23rd November 2009


Two years on .... a problem in Scotland's hospitals still not under control. Minister in charge throughout - Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

'Praised by judges for his handling of the economic crisis.'

No disrespect intended but.. the Herald Scottish Politician of the Year awards are a bit of a joke.
Well, the judges must be having a laugh if they can give John Swinney the Scottish Politician of the year award for his 'handling of the economic recession.
Have they forgotten the dogs breakfast that was the Local Income Tax or the SFT? Or the debacle of the SNP's budget handling this year?

There was me thinking that maybe two other Scots - Alistair Darling and G. Brown, might have had a stronger case, with regard to steering the economy through choppy waters., saving Scottish banks etc etc....

No disrespect to Mr Swinney, who most folk seem to think is the accceptable face of Scottish nationalism - but does anyone really believe under his helmsmanship that the Scottish economy has reached safe harbour? If they do, maybe they should look at this week's Fraser of Allander report which shows that the Scottish economy is more deeply in recession than any other part of the UK.

And you had to love Robbie Dinwoodie's gushing prose in the Herald today: "His (Swinney's) steely determination to steer Scotland through the recession, his ability once again to secure support for his budget in spite of the SNP being a minority administration, and his willingness not to flinch from tough decisions all weighed heavily with the judges."

It got better: "In winning this brace of trophies he emulated his colleague, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, who achieved the same double last year, and continued the trend of the SNP dominating the awards which was established when the party made the breakthrough to forming the Government.
He saw off competition from Ms Sturgeon and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to win the top prize."

That would be the Nicola Sturgeon who has so deftly handled the issue of hospital aquired infections in the last couple of years - not.

Or Mr MacAskill's whose handling of the Al Megrahi release, won so many plaudits internationally this year - not...

Face facts boys and girls - to give John Swinney - the man who cancelled Garl and who's yet to come up with a way to finance a new Forth Bridge crossing - the title of Scottish Politician of the Year - is farcical.

Yes he means well, and yes he's quite competent - but politician of the year - hud on..

And as for Robbie Dinwoodie's gushing pro SNP prose - yes Robbie, they are the bestest, bestest politicians ever to lead Scotland (if only we had independence)...meanwhile back in the real world where the SNP government have failed miserably to step up the plate when it comes to a coherent response to the recession..... the Grumpy SD is left wondering has the Herald allowed itself to become the sole cheerleader for the SNP government and in doing so are they in serious danger of becoming a laughing stock as their political awards' credibility goes out of the window.

I fear so.

What next....Alex Salmond to win the Scottish Politician of the year humility award?

Flush from his awards success, I look forward to Mr Swinney using his undoubted gifts to get Scotland out of recession a week past Thursday... well he must be that good if the Herald judging panel say he is - isn't he....

Just ask Scotland's business community - most of whom I can only presume spluttered into their main course or dessert when they heard of his triumph at the Prestonfield House Hotel.

PLease somebody tell me , that the Herald was having a laugh......

George Burley, Alex Salmond - quite a lot in common..

Who'd have thought Scotland's national football manager and Scotland's First Minister would have so much in common?

Both saw their respective teams 'humped' in the last few days...

Both have angered their teams respective supporters with strange tactical decisions.

Both men's team selection in crucial matches looks slightly wayward.

Both men used to talk a good game but have come unstuck when their rhetoric has come back to haunt them.

Both men don't look any closer to attaining their respective goals for their teams.

Both men's long term job security looks as if its on the proverbial 'shuggly nail'.


At least after Scotland's tanking in Cardiff at the weekend, Burley had the guts to show up at the post match press conference to face the music - unlike the First Minister after his party's Glasgow North East debacle.

And speaking of the FM - while he may have dodged his party's post by-election media inquest, he was a busy boy at the weekend - nedwspapers were filled with new Salmond initiatives on the independence referendum wording, standing up for Scotland's banks, lobbying to make the HQ of the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh, bailing out the Commonwealth Games - one could be forgiven for thinking that with this plethora of headlines he was trying to divert attention away from his party's miserable byelection performance. Surely not.
(If nothing else he must be trying to get some kind of record for the most headlines by a politician in a three day period.)

One thing's for sure this new improved super-enervated FM won't approve of Herald columnist Iain Macwhirter's latest column in that paper.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/iain-macwhirter/struggling-nationalists-could-be-staring-into-electoral-abyss-1.932592

The FM is unlikely to welcome the following:

"The SNP has no excuses here. It may mutter about intellectually-challenged Glasgow voters, but the people have spoken, even with the lowest turnout in Scottish by-election history, and the SNP needs to listen.

The scale of Labour's victory - 8000 votes - was a profound shock to the SNP and, following the Glenrothes debacle, people are already betting on how long Alex Salmond will remain as leader. His critics will round on him for his obsession with an independence referendum that was never going to happen and for his vainglorious forecast of "hanging Westminster from a Scottish rope......

So, what does the SNP do to counter the resurgence of Scottish Labour? Dump Salmond? No, he is still a formidable political asset, a powerful leader who is still immensely popular in Scotland, but he has to stop sounding like the spokesman for the Edinburgh banking community.

Dump independence? Well, it could do with laying it to rest after their referendum Bill is defeated. It is beginning to look like an obsession and a distraction.

Give up? Well, if it can't win in west-central Scotland, it can't really expect to command Scotland.

The SNP needs a new formula for social democratic nationalism, if it isn't to end up, once again, bitter and divided, and on the sidelines of Scottish politics. It has happened before, and, after Glasgow North East, I fear it could happen again."

Oh dear......

George Burley - in trouble.

Alex Salmond in doo-doo.....

Neither have their troubles to seek.

The SNP leadership response to Glasgow North East

"Salmond set to rewrite independence referendum question

Alex Salmond is holding high-level talks with civil servants about rewriting his plan for an independence referendum, it has emerged." The Sunday Herald 15 Nov 2009



"Mr Salmond is campaigning for 20 SNP MPs. "Fantasy politics," said one SNP source. "Fantasy and vanity."As Mr Salmond's party reflects on the lessons of Glasgow North East, activists may well question the value of such optimistic boasts." Scotland on Sunday, 15 Nov 2009

"There are lessons to be learned and we will learn them"

The quote above, from SNP leader Alex Salmond comes, not in the aftermath of Thursday's poll disaster for the SNP at the hands of Scottish Labour in Glasgow North East - but a year ago - in the wake of the nationalists previous failure to win in Glenrothes from Labour.

Twelve months ago the SNP's seemingly infallible leader accepted the blame for his party's poll failure:

"That's my fault, for not having my finger on the political temperature in that constituency," he said yesterday, less than 48 hours after declaring the SNP would win Glenrothes. "Perhaps I should've spent more time on the doorstep to see how the temperature was changing.

"An unusually contrite Salmond admitted a series of personal and tactical errors by himself and his party: he had failed to recognise how effective Labour's attacks on his party's policies in Fife had been, failed to engage with voters, and failed to react quickly enough to Labour's tactics. Daily Mail 8th November 2008

"The failure is of the campaign leadership, which is me effectively, for not recognising that we should have changed our campaign to face down a scaremongering campaign,"

And he went on...

"The job of confronting a setback is to learn lessons, to overcome it and come back stronger.

"That's what we intend to do.

"I wish we had been able to make this by-election a contrast between the records of the SNP government and the Labour Government in London.

"If we had been successful in making that the issue, as we did in Glasgow East, then I think we would have had a very different result.

"The Labour Party were successful in changing the issue of the by-election into something quite different." Scotsman 7th November 2008

Far be it for the Grumpy SD to intrude into the SNP's private grief, but 12 month's after the SNP's last poll defeat at the hands of Labour, it is legitimate to ask, if lessons were indeed learned by Mr Salmond and his party a year ago - where was the evidence for this in their woeful Glasgow North east campaign?

It would of course have been nice if the First Minister had been on hand yesterday to explain why the 'lessons learned' from Glenrothes - had been 'unlearned' in Glasgow North East - but of course the SNP leader had a prior engagement - no not a reception in Edinburgh or Stirling Castle this time - but another in Jersey - so sadly he wasn't on hand to explain to the Scottish media why his party has gone backwards in terms of fighting and winning by-elections.
(Memo to SNP high command: Leader not being on hand to take the rap for losing to Labour, doesn't look too good - either to the media/public or to party members - it looks instead like an attempt to disassociate the Salmond brand from the SNP.)

SNP activists this weekend have every right to be angry, confused and upset - not just by Salmond's no-show to defend his party's performance in Glasgow North east - but the palpable failiure of the SNP to change its tactics in the wake of Glenrothes to combat a Labour campaign in Glasgow North East which was always going to fight in opposition to the record of the SNP devolved government in Holyrood.

It would be easy for SNP activists to delude themselves that as Glasgow North east was a rock solid Labour seat that overturning Labour was an impossible task - but in the cold light of day they should ask - how in the depths of a recession, with the spectre of MP's expenses, an unpopular war in Afghanistan and a Labour government in power for thirteen years - the SNP singularly crashed and burned in Glasgow North East - and to this observer clearly learned nothing from their poll humiliation in Glenrothes - only a year ago.

It would disingenuous for the Grumpy SD to say I'll be shedding a tear for west of scotland SNP activists, but if i were them I'd be worried -

Poll expert John Curtice reflecting on the SNP's Glenrothes performance and their failure to deal with Labour's insurgency campaign against the SNP controlled local authority, last year said:

"the SNP has been warned that it will need to be more effective in future in responding to this line of attack if its reputation for good governance in Scotland's interests is not to be undermined."

On the evidence of Thursday and the SNP campaign in Glasgow North East - the SNP didn't take heed of John Curtice's warning.
They have shown a catastrophic failure to defend their record in government and a slow footedness in responding to Labour tactics which must alarm anyone with half a brain in SNP ranks. They also took key decisions like cancelling GARL in government and in party terms,selecting a candidate that the local party did not want who was gaffe prone.

On this basis the last year has been less 'yes we can' and more 'no we canna'.

If I were a nat I'd be asking today - who was responsible for the mess that was the SNP campaign and why was Mr Salmond so unwilling yesterday to repeat his defence after Glenrothes?

Time to learn a few lessons.

Ah, the stuff that dreams are made of.

Yesterday's comfortable win by Labour's Willie Bain in Glasgow North East, makes Alex Salmond's boast that the SNP will win 20 Westminster seats at the coming general election look like the pie in the sky it was.

Another Salmond prediction (to add to a lengthy list) that's been shown not to stand up to close scrutiny.

There was no earthquake, no tremor in Glasgow North East. Make no mistake this was a poor by-election for the Scottish nationalists and as in Glenrothes last year, the SNP found itself held to its record of delivery in government - and were found wanting.

Of course nationalists will argue this was the safest of safe Labour seats, the SNP had no political base in the constituency etc etc .. but it must worry SNP high command that this is the second by-election in a row - despite positive poll ratings for the First Minister and his government, that he keeps telling us about - that the SNP have failed to make significant inroads into Labour majorities.

They find a Scottish Labour machine that has upped its game since last year's defeat to the SNP's John Mason in last year's other Glasgow by-election and they find themselves as a party of government having to defend their record - and palpably in Glasgow North east they found it difficult to adjust from acting as opposition and reacting as a governing party.

The Salmond magic touch has lost its lustre somewhat this morning.

About that poll Mr Salmond.....and how exactly do you plan to pay for your referendum?

The SNP - and above all its leader is fond of opinion polls. Well, specifically those done for the party by YouGov that show that Scotland loves the SNP and more importantly, its ever so humble leader.

SNP bosses though will have been less pleased by the poll in yesterday's Herald by TNS-BMRB which shows a sharp fall in SNP support.

The Herald noted: "Although the decline in the SNP vote for Holyrood is not so stark, the poll as a whole offers the first real evidence that the honeymoon enjoyed by party leader Alex Salmond with the Scottish electorate may be coming to an end."

"The swing in Westminster intentions is dramatic. In April Labour had just a four-point lead over the SNP, by 36% to 32%. Six months on, that gap has stretched to 14 points, putting Gordon Brown's party back up to 39% and almost the level achieved in the last General Election, while the Nationalists have slipped back to 25%.
The results are a blow not just to SNP prospects in Glasgow on Thursday but also to Alex Salmond's target of winning 20 seats at the coming General Election, and the crucial leverage that could bring in the event of a tight outcome at Westminster."

But if the poll on the eve of the Glasgow North East byelection wasn't bad enough - the SNP's day on Monday went from bad to worse - with the admission by Finance Secretary John Swinney - that the SNP government for all the hot air about its plans for a referendum on independence - hasn't actually budgeted for the estimated £9 million cost of holding the referendum.

In a bid to staunch the PR damage, the SNP government says no public services would be put at risk if the cost of the referendum was to come from existing budget lines.

But here's the rub - they refuse to say exactly where the cash would come from.

In refusing to say what other budget line would have to be cut - and admitting that they have not budgeted for their flagship policy, John Swinney and his party have handed a political gift to Holyrood opposition parties.

It's not just the credibility of the referendum that's in doubt, not for the first time it's the credibility of the SNP in question too.

After all, the independence referendum is supposed to be the centrepiece of their programme in government, but with Scotland in recession and Scots expecting their government to justify every penny of their money - a nationalist government yesterday couldn't tell the people of Scotland how they were going to pay for their (doomed) referendum.

If this was an isolated case of a government failing to be straight with the public it just might, be inexcusable - but this is a government whose plans for a local income tax had more holes than a Swiss Cheese and had to be dumped.
A government whose alternative to PPP, the Scottish Futures Trust, has zero credibility and has failed in just over two years to lay a single brick upon another in a capital project.
And whose plans for alcohol minimum pricing have hit the buffers.

That's not a record to be proud of.

So is it any wonder that the SNP's poll ratings, like the autumn leaves, are beginning to fall to earth?

Like I say, yesterday wasn't a good day for the SNP.

It's up to opposition parties to capitalise on this sudden frailty.

Day in, day out, opposition MSPs' should keep up the pressure on how the SNP plan to pay for their referendum?
What budget will have to be cut? Who will lose out?
Until such times as the SNP answer that question - they are on a hiding to nothing - and their credibility and poll ratings will take further knocks justifiably - and not before time.

"Disability firm into liquidation. Glencraft has provided work for many years in Aberdeen.
An Aberdeen furniture factory which employs blind and disabled workers is to go into administration, it has been announced.
More than 50 "devastated" workers - including 31 with disabilities - are set to lose their job as a result.
Glencraft's board said there was no other option, blaming the city council's lack of support for a modified business plan. Glencraft has been in operation since 1843." The BBC Scotland website 06/11/09

"This Government is investing record levels of funding in local government, and we have halted that decline in the share of spending that is allocated to local government. Thankfully, the Scottish National Party Government has started to reverse the vicious trend of reducing local government's share of the budget — a trend presided over by the previous Administration. We have increased funding to local government by 5 per cent for 2008-09. In the next three years, there will be an overall increase of 13.1 per cent." John Swinney, The Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 27th March 2008.

"We want local authorities, community planning partnerships and the third sector to work together increasingly closely and collaboratively to deliver better services to their communities. The sector's ability to reach people who are currently not economically active, but who are desperate to reconnect with the world of work and to gain increased economic wellbeing and a renewed sense of purpose, should be used. That is what we are about. We are also about ensuring that the third sector helps to design public services that more closely meet the individual needs of real people and their communities, and that that sector can be the catalyst that pulls together and fills the gaps in other public services....
New opportunities exist for councils, which are now free to decide what their priorities are and are free to choose how to secure those priorities. Our approach also creates the opportunity and the motivation for councils to scope and assess both the needs in their areas and the capability of the communities to be involved in meeting those needs. That demands a new and positive approach from councils and communities. Consequently, we are focusing strongly on how the third sector plays into this burgeoning sense of localism. The new arrangements bring a strong focus on the community planning partnerships, offering them a heightened sense of purpose and the means to increase community spirit.
Jim Mather, The Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 17 April 2008.

"The overall generous settlement that we now have highlights the fact that the proportion of the Scottish budget that was going to local government had been in steady decline. When Labour left office, it was as low as 28.9 per cent, which emphasises Mr Swinney's point about the 35 per cent average that was claimed by a Labour spokesperson. At the end of this spending review period, it will be up at 33.6 per cent.
We have a sensible proposal to distribute the money that people want to go to local government that will help to maintain council tax freezes in the coming year. I look forward to two more years of that, by agreement with the local authorities."
Brian Adam MSP, The Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 27 March 2008.

"It has been a pleasure for the Government to ensure that we have a local authority settlement that delivers investment in public services above the level that local authorities could have expected; a fully funded council tax freeze; and the opportunity for local authorities to operate with flexibility and freedom to deliver for their communities. That is what the Government expects them to do."
John Swinney, Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 27th March 2008

Richard Baker: "How can effective partnership working or added value be achieved in Aberdeen when council funding for voluntary sector groups is being slashed as part of £27 million of budget cuts? What action will the Scottish Government take to alleviate the effect of Aberdeen City Council's decision—highlighted in today's Evening Express—to threaten with closure the Glencraft factory, which has for decades enabled people with disabilities to have meaningful jobs?

Nicola Sturgeon: Another day, another bout of scaremongering by a Labour member. I remind the member that the Government has given local authorities record funding for the next three years. In addition, the Government has relaxed ring fencing to allow local authorities to meet their communities' needs flexibly. I stress again for the member's benefit the Government's commitment to the voluntary sector. Every day of my working life I have the privilege of seeing examples of how the voluntary sector and social enterprises add value to the work of the national health service and other parts of the statutory sector. The Government is keen to support that. In the next three years, we will invest £93 million in the third sector. The people of Scotland will look on that commitment very favourably."
Nicola Sturgeon, The Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 28 February 2008
.

It is hard to stand by and watch a company which has been part of the fabric of life in Aberdeen for so many years go under. Glencraft did more than simply make furniture: for generations, it also provided a working lifeline and sense of purpose for its disabled workers. Now it appears only a miracle can keep it alive before today's board meeting, which is expected to start winding it up."For many, the death knell was sounded last year when Aberdeen City Council pulled the plug on the company's subsidy of almost £500,000. This was due to savage budget cuts ordered to claw back Aberdeen's burgeoning debts crisis. The council attempted to gloss over its PR gaffe with a survival package which forced Glencraft to rent back its premises from the council and become self-sufficient. This was always going to be a tall order without the previous cushioning effect of generous council support." Press and Journal editorial, 06/11/09


As the quotes above from Scottish Government Ministers' last year show, the SNP couldn't have been clearer.

Scottish local government thanks to the SNP was the recipient of a better financial settlement than those provided by previous devolved governments.

Backbench SNP MSP, Brian Adam went further - describing it as 'generous'.

Yet today, as the editorial from Aberdeen's morning paper makes clear, an institution which was part of the fabric of the city - providing work and much, much more, for disabled people in the city for the best part of 170 years - will soon be no more - because of the cuts imposed by SNP and Lib dem councillors in the City.

It's likely liquidation makes a mockery of the claims by John Swinney, Jim Mather, Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Salmond and Brian Adam that local government has been the recipient of unparalled generosity.

Glencraft's demise, also shows that the accusations of scaremongering by SNP ministers - and Salmond and Sturgeon in particular - against Labour politicians who had the nerve to warn that cuts in support for voluntary organisations were likely - was well wide of the mark.

The so-called 'scaremongers' - have been proved right.

Glencraft, despite glib promises by Scotland's First Minister 'not to leave Aberdeen in the lurch' - will close, and with it the jobs and hopes of the people with disabilities who worked there loyally, in good times and bad.

The SNP spuriously blame historic financial mismanagement at the council for cuts - even though the problem is a very recent one.

No doubt Ministers will also claim that it is entirely a matter for the local council how it spends its financial settlement or where it makes cut.

But to say that is to evade responsibility.

Glencraft is the casualty of a government more interested in freezing council tax for populist electioneering reasons, than in the provision of and protection of council services across the country.

A government that crowed about how much more money it was giving local authorities last year, cannot now stand idly by - and Pilate-like - wash its hands of the consequences of allowing local government 'freedom' to make swingeing cuts because it has irresponsibly budgeted elsewhere.

Nicola Sturgeon in February last year suggested that the Scottish people would look favourably on her government's commitment to the Third Sector.
That self same government - that will be spending £500,000 on St Andrew's Day celebrations and £1 million on its 'National Conversation' - has failed to step in to save Glencraft.

The people of Abe

Fantasy..


Tory leader David Cameron has said that the economy not Europe is his priority.

The Grumpy SD wonders, if asked, could Scotland's First Minister say hand on heart that the economy, not independence is his priority?

I very much doubt it.

Ad if proof were needed that Scotland has a First Minister with the wrong priorities for Scotland then one need only look at today's Herald headline:

'Independent Scotland would have seen 'rapid recovery' from recession - Salmond'

Or watch the First Minister's total failure to answer Labour's Iain Gray's charge that Salmond has been posted missing during the banks crisis - attending receptions rather chairing the Financial Services Advisory Board, as he should have been.

Today's FMQ square-up between Salmond and Gray - was game, set and match to the Labour leader.

It's very rare for Salmond to be caught out, or for him to fail to talk his way out of a tight corner.

But for whatever reason, today, Salmond was caught with his pants down and instead of offering any explanation as to why he has failed to chair FSAB meetings as he had previously promised, he feebly attempted to turn First Minister's Questions, into questions to the leader of the Opposition - and whether Gray would support the retention of insurance jobs in Glasgow.

It never looks good when any government minister - instead of answering a question, decides to ask his interrogator a question.

And in this case - Salmond's failure to do what he said he would do was exposed for all to see.

And in doing so, revealed yet again, that Scotland has a First Minister who is 'all talk' but more often than not - little action - especially when it comes to the economy.

We know where Alex is happiest - waxing lyrical about how Scotland could be - after independence - see the Herald story above.

Sadly it's a pipe dream - not reality. And if anyone doubts that Salmond's assertion, that Scotland would be better off in this recession if it were independent - they need only look across the water at the plight of the Irish economy and Irish banking sector.

Salmond is less comfortable using his existing powers and responsibilities to genuinely alleviate the effects of the recession.

If the economy were his priority he would have chaired the meetings of the Financial Services Advisory Board, as he said he would - instead he's been exposed as showing a preference for attending receptions.

I'm afraid opening a new Tesco's financial HQ doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to straining every sinew.

With every day that passes the First Minister and his government's fixation with independence - at the expense of everything else - is becoming their achilles heel.