It’s not often that I agree with Jack McConnell but his view that the Scottish Labour party is in a quagmire of its own doing and heading to implosion, if not annihilation, had an air of candour that the Arran baron is not renowned for. Several commentators have taken a similar position. The ‘winners’ of the referendum are increasingly acting like losers and, vice versa, the ‘losers’ are going from strength to strength. Of course, it shouldn’t come as too big a surprise. The referendum campaign lasting over two years, imposed a strict discipline on most parties, but especially the Labour party. The private grumblingsRead More →

If I appear ill informed please excuse me; I have just returned from a two week holiday in Tenerife and have been deprived of two weeks of Herald headlines. I also only saw occasional flashes of David Cameron and a smirking Nigel Farage, but I am a stoic so will not complain. Better Together I found it amusing to watch the performance of Mr Barosso, outgoing President of the European Community. It is not so long ago that he was fulminating about Scotland’s accession , or rather assimilation into the European Union. His pompous threats were music to the English Unionists’ ears, said Unionists includingRead More →

As I write this I am also preparing a wee talk on the structure of the SNP and how it works for a branch meeting later this week. As of yesterday we now have 223 members. We have had to hire the theatre space at the local high school, just in case everyone wants to come and participate. It is scary but at the same time exciting. Nothing about a branch meeting will ever be the same again, hopefully. Wonder how it will all pan out? What exciting ideas will these new members have? At the same time there is a 6 hour debate happeningRead More →

To win in every single constituency in Glasgow, but lose the referendum was quite a surreal feeling; we’d given it our all in Shettleston, the culmination of everything we’d learned. Volunteers worked incredibly hard; we surpassed all canvassing and leafleting targets. Ballot box sampling giving encouraging results. Standing in Emirates Arena with my baby daughter in my arms, hearing the returning officer confirm that Glasgow had voted Yes, when we all knew Scotland had, with a few notable exceptions, voted No was bittersweet. But yet, the strangest thing was yet to come; out of Friday and Saturday’s despair, people began joining the SNP in droves.Read More →