Labour has tonight selected their candidate for the Glenrothes by-election. He is Lindsay Roy, Head Teacher at Kirkcaldy High School (Gordon Brown's old school).
When challenged by a BBC Scotland journalist on when the by-election would take place, David Cairns MP waffled on about the constituents getting used to the death of their MP, and said that an election would take place in due course. Naturally, this wasn't challenged, despite the glaring contradiction that Labour was desperate to hold the Glasgow East by-election as soon as possible because, it said, the constituents should not be without an MP! Or indeed, the Crewe & Nantwich by-election, which was called before Gwyneth Dunwoody was buried!
22 comments:
Oh I am going to love it! I am within spitting distance of Glenrothes (I can spit across the Firth of Forth).
But Please, please, nobody say "this is the tipping point" or "if Labour lose, Gordon is toast". Why? Because he was toast after Crewe and Nantwich, and certainly after Glasgow. These bastards will not admit defeat until they have destroyed the United Kingdom. Beware, Ed Balls will become Chancellor and you will think Darling was a birthday present.
I am not sure that putting someone with no direct political experience into such an exposed by-election is sensible. He has such a direct link to GB that it makes it even more of a referendum on him than it was going to be. The SNP have been working for several weeks already and will put up a formidable fight.
GB will stagger on - no matter what. The danger is what his spiteful nature will lead him to do as a result.
My old headmaster! He was known as "Batman" as he wore an academic gown, in contrast to his predecessor. I cannot honestly think of any other information, titbits, gossip or innuendo about him.
The other 2 were another Fife teacher and an Edinburgh Labour activist and blogger.
My money is on a quick election in early October to try and capitalise upon a relaunch, both in Scotland (new leader...bet they wish they had one south of the border!) and in the UK with the party conference and end of the recess. They will want the election out of the way before too much Parliamentary scrutiny is brought to bear.
The BBC needs to employ fewer journalists with wider briefs, their current crop just aren't knowledgable enough because they're too contained within their own bubbles of focus.
Iain,
As a tie man you would probably have a view on this: Is there a new Labour PR strategy involving ties? Both Brown and Darling seem to have taken to wearing shiny silk ties with a luxurious sheen, and I could have sworn that Jack Straw was wearing a blue Hermes during his interview with Emily Maitlis.
See the pictures of Brown and DSarlinh on the front page of ConHome abd compare their ties with the scraggly schoolboy number round Osborne's neck a little lower on the page.
Is neckwear key to the New Labour relaunch?
The BBC.
Why don't they challenge anything anymore?
Remember when unemployment was last at 2 million they started every news bulletin with a total of jobless rolling counter in the corner, like the one at county hall.
then the story was ALWAYS ALWAYS..
"A factory closed in the poor North somewhere today with the loss of 500 jobs.A Cinema closed in Wales costing 10 people their livelihoods.
But a job WAS created in Greggs the bakers in the Old Kent Road. We asked "The "Employment"{stroke chin with thumb and fingers to display sarcasm] Minister was invited to comment for the 300th day in a row but surprisingly was unavailable{roll eyes disbelievingly}
Ok it was awful, but at least they tried. Has Hutton frightened them so much? Now look at the news. The biggest, most obvious contradiction in Labour's policy of holding by-elections has been made yet..
Not even a feeble 'isn't this just because you don't want a failure to occur during conference time?'
Nothing. No wonder people think they are biased.
Personally I don't think that. They are just bloody awful journalists, sending perky Percival's and Pavel's and Paula's and Panyin's who haven't the wit or the knowledge to ask an obvious question.
Silly gushers.
}
A comment on the Kezia Dugdale blog (worth watching, she was one of the candidates) points to a good old stitch up to get Brown's man through.
http://keziadugdale.blogspot.com/2008/09/glenrothes.html
Maybe he taught Gordon Economics and that is why the country is doing so well.
On the other hand he may have taught Modern English with a speciality in fiction writing.
Surely he never taught Brown that'd make him over 90 ! A bit risky fielding a candidate that age - if he won he may not last until the General Election.
"Naw naw young Broon - ye were niver any good at maths I ken 'tis a wonder ye ever matriculated! Ye've got ye sums wrong agin laddie. Anymore o' this nonsense an' I'll be 'avin' t' tak' the strap to ye !"
I see your mate Hazel is working the tv and radio stations this morning Ian. She looks a very happy chipmonk indeed.
The BBC needs to be privatised - these lefty journos and researchers earning huge salaries are feather bedded by the license payer - the sooner that they face the reality of the market the better. I have written to Cameron to ask for this, as yet I have not had a reply, but im sure he must agree with me that the BBC is a hot house of socialist sedition. Why is that Emily (Canadian born - need I say more) Maitlis decide to grill some poor Republican about the whole tennage pregnancy thing! It is a deloberate atempt by the media and the BBC to ignore the raft of policies that the Republicans have to nake the US great again.
If the Republicans have a lot to offer, why is the USA in such a terrible state?
The USA is not in a bad state - and where it is, it is because the Democrats have been in charge.
I hope you noticed Obama talking about his "gay friends" if he wins it will be a license for sodomy to prevail.
" he was toast after Crewe and Nantwich, and certainly after Glasgow"
Yes, he was and he is.
What we have now is Zombie Government. The Political Undead stagger on.... for what purpose we do not understand, they simply exist doomed to roam the earth until released.
When would you suggest this by-election should take place Iain? During the conference season would be cool perhaps? Or perhaps not.
Please make your suggestion. I think early October. Is it my imagination or did we have one or two going on during conference season in 2005?
The idea that the USA economy is NOT mashed and that Bushonomics didn't do it is hilarious. Thanks anon 8:56 am.
chris paul
Why should 2 recent by-elections take place soon after the retirement/death of the sitting MP, and not the Glenrothes one?
And don't give us the "David Cairns" flannel.
To be frank, Iain, what's the point in a journalist challenging this? A political party will call a by-election when it suits the party. Any party would do exactly the same. What's so bad about that?
The only alternative is to have a system whereby there is a rigid timetable. I would support that, along with fixed-term parliaments (of which you are of course a supporter), but that's the issue here, not the party's actions.
Good point Tom FD. BBC World Service have got a couple of hacks at the RNC - err.. surely Justin Webb could earn his keep or am I failing to miss the fundamental 'organisation' that the BBC operates?!?!?!?
bill quango's memory is deceiving him: surely it was News at Ten which had the running total of job losses?
"Emily (Canadian born - need I say more) Maitlis decide to grill some poor Republican about the whole tennage pregnancy thing!"
For goodness sake, do get a grip.
I watched the interview and she dodn't 'grill' her at all. She asked a couple of questions just the same as all the other journalists have done.
'hot house of socialist sedition' Puleeese.
The three cases are utterly different. The first was a death in office not during recess. The family wanted a quickie. So did the parties. And there was.
The second case was a strange retirement of a tired old MP and also not during recess. Again a fairly speedy timetable seemed sensible enough to all involved. It was too quick in fact. I can't see how having it when there were local holidays made any sense at all.
This third one was a long-expected (though not by the MP who had vowed to defend the seat in 2010) death in office. During recess in the month when more people take holidays probably than any other. And just before the conference season. Of course there are the means to read the writ of of session but the (assumed) timetable of "shortly after conferences" does not in fact seem unreasonable.
The fourth and fifth by-elections of the period that are not being mentioned here (for some reason) are HaH and HoT where the Tories had the choice I suppose. HaH was a farcical quickie. HoT was called after a period of pissing about by Mayor Boris, candidate sacking and so on.
It is not sensible to make this some kind of party political matter. All the parties get some flex when it is one of theirs. the same is true in local government to an extent. Stop throwing silly stones.
Ps what is this David Cairns flannel?
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