Iain's Brain and Jennifer's Ear

Well it was threatening to happen and it has.

After months of using individual's cases in an attempt to paint a picture of their alternative reality it seems like the first casualty in this tactic is none other than Iain Gray himself. And it's not only just any old person plucked from obscurity for Labour's propaganda purposes but one of Iain's very own constituents. A double whammy boomerang you could say.

Young Lewis Doig must be rueing the day he ever agreed (even if he did) to Iain using his case as an example when Iain then went on to embellish it. Obviously Iain didn't also tell his constituent that raising Lewis's name into the public name would also have the presserati looking into other aspects of his life even if that is a bit of adolescent bravado on YouTube.

Considering what comes up on YouTube now there has obviously been some negative thoughts about the mess Iain is creating for ordinary people's lives when he drags them into Labour propaganda.

Now every party has got their fingers burned from time to time in using individual cases only to discover the story didn't stack up, there was an impasse based on different perceptions or the individual in question has some embarrassing back story.

However Labour seems particularly addicted to these cases. In the 2007 election which Labour lost they were caught out using their former deputy secretary general as an "ordinary" family man. But it is another election they lost that has epitomised this tactic - the War of Jennfer's Ear which was described thus.

The story of the broadcast was described by one press officer - Julie Hall, Neil Kinnock's press secretary, as based on an actual case. In fact while a particular case had been the starting point of the creative team that had produced the broadcast - working from a letter by the girl's parent to Robin Cook, the shadow health secretary, they denied it was meant to be a recounting of her case.

Unfortunately for the Labour Party, the girl in question was the granddaughter of a Conservative Party member, who gave the Conservatives advance warning of the claims to be made in the broadcast. Conflicting accounts of the details of the case quickly surfaced. The mass circulation tabloid, The Sun, ran the story: If Kinnock will tell lies about a sick little girl, will he ever tell the truth about anything?.

You can relive that failed 1992 experience here.

Now Labour's use of these individual cases has become endemic - usually with health cases. But it is the Glenrothes by-election where almost every issue was framed by Labour in terms of an individual or an individual family.

With Doigy's Apprenticeship shining a light on Labour's use of this tactic CyberNat would not be surprised if Her Majesty's Scottish Press Corp start looking back at the veracity of these other case studies.

Less a case of the War of Jennifer's Ear but more the Collapse of Iain's Brain. What was he thinking?

Testost-ironic

You know you sit down to watch a Scottish Labour leader's speech and it turns out to be another repeat. When he made his autocue remark I thought they were reshowing the Newsnight interview all over again.

Iain seems to have a taste for this since he's already ripped Labour's own 2007 manifesto.

And when he was unceremoniously booted out of his previous seat it was after he, as Enterprise Minister, and his fellow Labour Meenisters had junked half of their 1999 manifesto. I love this bit.

"Labour has failed to keep almost half of its promises to the electorate in its first four years in office, a Sunday Times survey has revealed."

But which whizz in his press office has advised him to come up with this unusual trade mark. Certain politicians develop waves or thumbs up as a trademark. If Iain Gray were ever doing a walkabout in my area I'd be warning people to hide their book and magazine covers lest Iain gets that urge again.

You see it's a very bad bit of advice to carry on doing this which makes CyberNat wonder if he needs some feminine help in the press office. They would then be able to calm Iain down as he storms around the office ripping up curry shop leaflets and tell him that it's the type of testosterone filled aggression that puts of female voters. Maybe he has got a female press officer but the image he conveys is of a boys club slapping each other on the back at how tough they are. Let's hope he carries on.

But what was supremely ironic about Iain's performance was that it happened on the day Gordon Brown was getting lambasted on the conference floor for, erm, breaking a manifesto vow.

Maybe someone with a track record in honesty can help him rip up a further manifesto.

Geography according to Labour

WarDog takes up Gordon on his claim that an independent Scotland would not have been able to save the banks. Again we are back into Labour's Alternative Universe where Scotland is somehow unique amongst the world's countries that it cannae dae anythin withoot the UK.

For a start even the Scotsman (not exactly the inhouse journal of the SNP) has said it's a load of rubbish.

Would an independent Scotland have been able to bail out RBS and HBOS?

Unionist politicians have claimed an independent Scotland could not have afforded the £37 billion the UK Treasury has found for the banks. That is more than the annual Scottish block grant and would have left Scotland with a huge debt – far greater in percentage terms than the debt the deal will be worth in UK terms.

But the UK government does not have the money either and will borrow it from the world money markets in the form of a gilt auction. An independent Scotland could, arguably, have done the same.

And this new kid on the block has pointed out that bank bail outs in the Low Countries and Scandinavia didn't need to be part of a single state. In fact in the case of the Bradford and Bingley the UK had to have the help of Bank Santander. Correct me if I'm wrong but which part of Spain is Bradford in?

Which brings us to Labour's childish spin. Because RBS and HBOS have the word "Scotland" in their titles it follows that they are wholly Scottish banks with no significant interests elsewhere.

But hang on a minute. HBOS has the word "Halifax" in it as well and last time CyberNat looked it was in Yorkshire...England. But in Labour's alternative universe it's just Scottish. So in Labour's geography lessons this is what a map of Great Britain would look like.

And since RBS was a banking group which also included NatWest south of the border and Ulster Bank over the watter Labour's map for RBS would look like this.

But then why deal with the facts elsewhere in the world. In Labour's vision for Scotland fear and insecurity are more important than hope and confidence. In the world they want people to believe in the UK is so great that everyone is queueing up to join.

Just one teensy weensy problem with that as today's news shows. If Gordon's "swift action" was so brilliant in October and made the UK a world leader that everyone wanted to join why are they still having to shovel more cash in?

Like a puppet on a string

Wasn't it strange that at First Minister's Questions it was Iain Gray who raised the issue of an independence referendum and Tavish didn't despite the fact the amendment against an independence referendum had been tabled by, er, the Liberal Democrats.

CyberNat was being rather tongue in cheek when I suggested that Tavish would become deputy leader of the Labour party but it seems to have come to pass. Well what can one expect when he wants to be part of a Commission that tells them to sod off even before they put in their (late) submission.

It must be a joy for Iain having someone who actually does what he says since his own group of MSPs are not so united when it comes to nuclear power, the budget and Richard Baker.

Dear Santa...

Cybernat notes that the other Adam Ingram (no, not this Adam Ingram) is at the centre of storm of who actually wrote letters to the local papers defending his £170,000 in consultancies and non-executive directorships on top of his £63,291 salary.

CyberNat wonders what things were like in years gone by.

Calman Commission cancelled

Well that's it. It's all over as far as the unionist parties are concerned. They've cancelled the Calman Commission since we shouldn't be talking about the constitution at this time - regardless of the obvious argument that a change of policy and who has responsibility for it may actually have a positive effect.

What's that my microphonal lugs hear you ask? When did they do this? Well today if you read their comments here. Well Jim Murphy was doing it a week earlier but he just repeated himself today.

Well that's the only logic that can be assumed from their remarks. If we shouldn't be talking things constitutional when facing economic hard times then surely that applies to them as well. Conclusion? Cancel the Calman Commission. Or at least suspend it until they deem to declare we can talk about such matters again.

A question I'm sure many a journalist will now be asking them considering they don't think we should be talking about something that cannot speak its name.

Strange behaviour no less from Tavish since as a supposed "liberal" he's meant to defend people's right to speak freely. Stranger still when you consider that his "demand" for supporting the budget was a letter to the Calman Commission on the constitution.

It might be good fun as well for the boys and girls in the press to ask if he will chastise both John Farquhar Munro and Paddy Ashdown for talking about the constitution instead of the economy?

And CyberNat would smile if I had a muscular mouth at how Jim Murphy keep a straight face when he accuses the SNP of "picking fights with Westminster" because it states its position on the constitution. What a true example of the democratic politician respecting free speech.

But more germane is the story CyberNat was told that when the meeting between the First Ministers and the PM broke up Jim rushed out the meeting in unparliamentary haste to be seen running through the House of Commons to tell the media the untruthful claim that Salmond had conceded on Gordon's demand for cuts. Hmmmm, picking fights indeed Jim.

Anyway CyberNat thought he would check out the Calman Commission website in light of this devastating news. It looks like the No 10 website team have been at this one as well.


Never mind. It will let the Lib Dems off the hook as they forgot to put their submission in to Calman. I take it that's what it means since Tavish thinks things constitutional are a waste of money and there is no support for his preferred option.

Maybe a question to ask him.

Was Gordon Brown happy appointing Fred Goodwin? ... asks Iain Gray

Calum Cashley takes up the case of Iain Gray "doing a Wendy" at First Minister's Questions.

It was a rather odd route for Iain to take and he appears to have well and truly fluffed his lines in what was obviously a co-ordinated day of action by Labour in trying to divert attention away from the fact they've taken us all here. However they forgot Lord Myners role which has also rather spoiled their latest attempts at taking us into their alternative universe.

So if Iain question was about Alex Salmond's level of karma on appointing George Mathewson doesn't logic dictate that the same question should be directed to Gordon Brown since he appointed, erm, Fred Goodwin to many a post and "received his knighthood, on the advice of Mr Brown"?

Whoops! Gordon won't be happy if the pressaratti start asking him the very same question Iain asked.

CyberNat did want to do a simple picture of Gordon chastising Iain for "doing a Wendy" but Google images strangely doesn't have such a prominent display.

Never mind. I've concocted this for the occasion.

Cut off!

And yet more on the theme of Labour's Alternative Universe. Iain Gray's claim that hundreds of millions from the Treasury is misleading has not only looked a bit fantastic because Welsh Labour say it's on the cards, but so does the head guy at the Treasury - a one Alistair Darling.

CyberNat did ask in the previous thread who the white rabbit in Labour was to make us all believe six impossible things before breakfast. Well if needs must.

Rocketman!

Following on from yesterday's post about how Scottish Labour are trying to make us believe six impossible things before breakfast (I wonder who's playing white rabbit) I am indebted to Sub Rosa for drawing my attention to this article in today's Sunday Times in which Joan McAlpine pulls apart the economic actualite of Glasgow council leader Stephen Purcell.

As Ms Rosa says:

Ms McAlpine tells Mr Purcell he is acting like a child caught misbehaving in the playground, who then points the finger at an innocent child. But he is easily found out because his timing is terrible.

Now we know why Steven is in another universe. He thinks he's rocket man.

The Alternative Universe of Labour in Scotland

As recession bites and gets worse CyberNat has been struck with how much Labour's arguments have become both detached from their fellow party members (it's as if they think people won't notice the inconsistencies), and from overall reality as well.

We are meant to believe Gordon Brown telling us the UK is "best placed" in the world to weather the economic storm. This at the same time as the IMF is telling us the "British slump will be worst in developed world".

We are also meant to believe Gordon when he calls for global co-operation to tackle the economic crisis. This at the same time the Icelandic authorities blame him for the rapid collapse in their economy because he was far from co-operative.

We are meant to believe Iain Gray telling us that his old employer Alistair Darling is not going to cut hundreds of millions from Scotland's budget in the midst of recession. This at the same time as his opposite number in Wales is telling anyone who will listen that that is what is exactly going to happen.

We are meant to believe that Andy Gray was angry that the local income tax policy was held over until the next elections by the Scottish Government. Yet we are also meant to believe he was so angry that we may have it before the next elections!

Labour's Glasgow leader Steven Purcell is trying to convince us that it depresses him when he looks "down south and sees Public Private Partnership contracts being signed week after week" and he can't build schools because of the nasty SNP. This at the same time the FT is reporting that £4 billion of taxpayers' money will have to be pumped into private finance deals stalled by the credit crunch, can be completed; and that smaller English schools projects may be given priority because of difficulties in raising private finance.

We are meant to believe Jim Murphy is really focused on economic issues rather than with "Scotland's constitutional position" - and his party's position - even though he is, erm, talking about the constitution. This at the same time that he and Iain Gray are talking about "Scotland's constitutional position" in the Calman Commission.

With Labour's "narrative" (I hate that expression) not just all over the place and at odds with itself and reality no wonder Douglas Alexander has had to go public to try and close the stable door. But by doing that he has only added to the air of Labour spinning out of control and into another universe as they say things that are "at odds with reality" (to use a Parliamentary term so Mr CyberSpeaker doesn't eject me).

In short CyberNat wonders which celestial object all these fellows are revolving around and if they have wished upon that star?

So how does that pay the bills?

A rather odd, nay imperious, argument from the Gover... sorry, Secretary of State for Scotland on why we should be part of the UK in these economic time.

Apparently being "part of the world's fifth largest economy and [having] top-table seats on the UN Security Council, G8 and EU" means we can pay the bills and our mortgages far better.

Apart from the obvious one about the EU top table members - Cyprus (pop. 778,700), Denmark (Pop. 5,482,266), Estonia (Pop. 1,340,935), Finland (Pop. 5,312,415), Ireland (Pop. 4,339,000), Latvia (Pop. 2,266,000), Lithuania (Pop. 3,357,873), Luxembourg (Pop. 483,800), Malta (Pop. 407,810), Slovakia (Pop. 5,400,998), and Slovenia (Pop. 2,025,866) - CyberNat does wonder how the others are good arguments for people to pay their bills and live a better life?

Time out

Was going to blog about budget and Glenrothes again but this is not the time.

Bashir Ahmad
1940-2009
R.I.P.

"Bashir made history by being the first Scots Asian MSP therefore giving the Scottish Parliament something indefinable.

"He made it representative of the whole country for the first time.

"He was the kindest, most decent human being it has ever been my pleasure to meet.

"And lastly, although he would have considered it to be first, he was the most patriotic of Scotsmen.

"He was a credit to both his faith and to his country."

First Minister Alex Salmond MP MSP

"Bashir Ahmad was an exceptional person, and I will miss him deeply.

"He made all of us immensely proud when he took his Holyrood seat wearing traditional Pakistani clothing, swearing in using both English and Urdu.

"Bashir represented the best of Glasgow and the very best of Scotland."

Nicola Sturgeon MSP

"It is with great regret and sadness that I heard of Bashir Ahmad's death.

"I know all Scottish politicians will unite to send our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

"His election as the first Muslim and Scots Asian MSP marked the moment the Scottish Parliament began to reflect the many communities and cultures of Scotland.

"He was well-liked and universally respected, and all his fellow MSPs will miss him."

Iain Gray MSP

"Bashir Ahmad was a real gentleman, much liked and respected across the political spectrum.

"To be the first Asian Member of the Scottish Parliament was a real achievement, one of which he was rightly proud.

"Bashir will be sorely missed and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and many friends."

Annabel Goldie MSP

"I'm desperately sorry to hear of Bashir Ahmad's passing.

"He was a decent and honourable gentleman and a good man to speak to.

"Parliament will miss him, but our thoughts are with his family at this time."

Tavish Scott MSP

"His office at Holyrood is just a few doors from mine, and he always struck me as one of the most scrupulously polite people I've ever met.

"I'm so sorry that he had such a short time at Holyrood, but his contribution to political life goes back long before he arrived here, and his memory will be respected by very many people both inside and outside Parliament."

Patrick Harvie MSP

"Both as a city councillor and an MSP, Bashir had no problem in working with colleagues across the parties in Glasgow's interest.

"He was a gentleman in all he did. I will miss him."

Cllr Steven Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council
.

Is that why he looked so unhappy?

Conspiracy theories are rampant on the interweb following this story in the Dundee Courier with political betting guru Mike Smithson casting some serious questions about how unprecedented it is:

I’ve been associated with many elections over several decades and I have never known a marked register to have been lost like this.

Then there's Guido also joining the fun:

Mike Smithson over at PoliticalBetting.com remarks that the "startling thing about Glenrothes was the massive increase in postal votes compared with the general election - up four-fold if I recall correctly. It all sounds fishy." Quite.

CyberNat is just enjoying watching Labour make fools of themselves by even addressing the issue of a conspiracy theory when no-one from the SNP accused them of any foul play. Instead of just simply joining the calls for an inquiry they've helped place the notion of a conspiracy higher up the news agenda. (Who are these people they employ?)

Anyway Cybernat has always wondered why Lindsay Roy looked like he was chewing a Dalek when Iain Gray introduced him at First Minister's Questions.

Is Charlie losing his touch too?

Iain Dale reports that one time pre-1997 Labour spinner Derek Draper is losing his cool with bloggers and phoning them up in great umbrage.

But is another supposedly famed pre-1997 Labour spinner also losing that Golden Touch? Has Gordon Brown's jinx returned with a vengeance?

CyberNat has already reported on Labour's confused and dangerous position over recent wildcat strikes and the forces they may be stirring up. However one thing that hasn't been reported is that one of the unions at the centre of the dispute - Unite - has a one Charlie Whelan as its Political Director.

Now as a wildcat strike it doesn't have official backing but as Paul Mason reported on Newsnight last night it was revealed that union leaders are involved in the background.



However it would appear Unite's higher echelons - like Charlie - have lost control of the message that was promoted. Embarrassing Gordon Brown with his "British jobs for British workers" slogan about fears that they were being discriminated against in place of other EU workers was one thing. However it would appear a lack of discipline has allowed it to appear that it is a less than positive message that is being promoted and it is attracting less savoury types.

As Paul Mason pointed out this original message:


Was replaced with this:


So if Unite bosses were involved why didn't the likes of Charlie see the potential pitfalls of using the "British jobs for British workers" slogan? Surely he would have realised how damaging it would be to his friend?

Has Charlie lost his touch or lost his friend? Or will he lose his job for not doing it properly?

Here boy, here boy

So it has come to this from Labour as a Labour press release on Calum Cashley's blog shows. As the first paragraph says:

Foreign workers are likely to benefit from future Scottish public works because of funding delays caused by the SNP government.

Considering the heat being created by recent wildcat strikes it doesn’t take a political genius like Iain Macwhirter to work out what emotions and feelings Mr Duncan McNeil is trying to appeal to.

It's what they call dog whistle politics - a phrase imported from Australia whish means using coded language to say one thing to the general public something more specific to a targeted audience.

But Mr McNeil is in some prominent company within his party for pressing this button since it was Gordon himself who pressed this one way back in June 2007. It wasn't noticed until October by Danny Finkelstein of the Times.

However with Brown taking flack for coining this slogan we now see him backtracking like mad.

Which begs the question of where Duncan McNeil's ill considered and barmy attack came from? It has all the hall marks of Labour officialdom coming as it did from their spindoctors. Could Labour be trying to ride two horses at the same time on this one?

As Andrew Rawnsley reports in the Observer:

The prime minister's pollsters are increasingly anxious about the feelings which lie beneath those headline figures. When they put together focus groups of voters to find out what people think of the government, they don't like what they are hearing...Someone very familiar with Labour's focus groups tells me that people are no longer embarrassed to declare to the rest of the room that they intend to vote for the BNP.

It must make the likes of Labour activist Yapping Yousuf very uncomfortable with the fire his party are playing with and how far they are prepared to go in giving such views a veneer of acceptability.

Or is Duncan McNeil on a mission to get the plaudits that Enoch received?

Will Gordon regret not getting out of Fife?

Gordon must have thought the Lewis Moonie link was bad enough but the Sunday Herald has just raked up more on his esteemed Lordliness.

It can't be long now before Gordon is asked about how close his relations with Lewis are.

Labour's tactics...and the public say...

So after using the cover of serious budget negotiations with John Swinney to spend their time attacking the SNP all the time - see the SNP's secondary news site at www.snp2.org - the public's response would be to deprive Labour of even more seats at Holyrood.


That's what happens Iain when you put the negative feelings of what has just become a political club before the public good.

Run! Run away!

It would be churlish to say that Gordon Brown has ignored the story about allegations of Lords take bungs for questions. After all he does say it is "very serious".

Though obviously it does cause discomfort for the Labour party considering they aren't meant to like privilege and cronyism.

However Gordon appears to have avoided defending his good friend Lord Moonie which must come as hurtful to Lewis. After all Lewis gave up his seat for Gordon to carry on being an MP.

Mr Moonie told the Press: "I have said I will not stand against Gordon Brown and there is no change to that at all."

Lewis's elevation has been a constant source of embarrassment what with him being "fast-tracked by a government appointments watchdog to take up work with a Labour donating lobbying company which ignores a voluntary code of conduct not to pay or employ politicians"; and his very elevation raising eyebrows.

Fife Labour have no qualms and kindly have a website detailing Labour's representatives in the Kingdom from Gordon Brown, Lewis and Marilyn Livingstone MSP who says:

I have been very lucky to have shared a Constituency Office with Lewis Moonie and now Gordon Brown.

I very much believe in working as part of a team and without all those who have helped we would not have been able to achieve our ambitions.

Such team loyalty and name recognition is admirable. But where is it from Gordon?

What programme was he on?

A good question by Scots and Independent. What happened to Iain Gray on Question Time?

Here's a screen grab of the panel that was finally on the programme.

But here's a screen grab of the panel they said would be on. Spot the difference?

Surely if this was a week of triumph for Iain he would have been on shouting about his party's good judgement? He was around on Thursday as Robert MacNeil reported.

So what programme was he on?

Kerr takes one from Swinney on the chin

Realising how voting against a budget doesn't make you any friends Andy's feeling a bit of an idiot now as this photo on a newspaper front page shows.