By Bill Heaney
Blood on the walls … vomit on the carpet and deep feelings of resentment and dismay as Dumbarton’s SNP Constituency Association falls apart … and not for the first time.
On Monday at midnight, the banned and boycotted Dumbarton Democrat revealed exclusively what we have always known – that the local SNP was at war.
Only this time we had the chair of the local party, lawyer Graeme McCormick, holding his hands up and admitting it in a long, detailed letter to party members.
Not only had the ceiling collapsed around the administration of West Dunbartonshire Council led by Cllr Jonathan McColl, but now the selection process for an SNP candidate to take on Labour’s Jackie Baillie for her seat in the Holyrood parliament was circulating in a cesspit of the kind of lying and backstabbing we have become used to from the Nationalists.
The Sturrells – FM Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, Peter Murrell.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that that the Sturrells as they have become known, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, were having their names dragged through the quagmire of a parliamentary inquiry into the Alex Salmond sex allegations affair, where we now had entering stage right the WOKE Brigade.
They are the ones who are on a special mission to give gay and trans people what they see as their rightful place in politics and – contrary to the beliefs of the main Christian churches in Scotland, who are pro-life – to campaign for a woman’s right to choose abortion.
Although the Church of Scotland is avowedly pro life, many people believe this is a dispute between Protestants and Catholics, which it is very much not.
The first victim of this in the local SNP has been Cllr Caroline McAllister, who has been vocal in support of a woman’s right to choose.
The Vale of Leven councillor has been dumped unceremoniously from the short leet of prospective candidates who want to take on Jackie Baillie.
Anyone would find this strange since Cllr McAllister sees herself as a champion of women’s rights who regularly takes a stand against serious, emotive issues such as domestic violence (and abortion) in which West Dunbartonshire unfortunately leads the Scottish league table for this type of violence.
Coming through as the most likely candidate to be successful in winning the SNP candidacy is Cllr Karen Conaghan, the education committee convener.
Cllr Conaghan is the daughter of former SNP councillor Ian Murray, who is a prominent member of the Catholic Church and a former chief executive of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child in Scotland.
Now retired, he was a prominent member of lobby groups which came to the Scottish Government headquarters at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh, to plead their cause.
Mike Russell, who was brought through to Dumbarton to conduct selection interviews.
Meanwhile, letters in response to Constituency Associations’s chief executive Graeme McCormick’s controversial letter have been pouring on to Facebook and other social media sites and it would appear from the comments in them that it will be some time before peace breaks out in Dumbarton SNP.
Here is a selection of the letters:
“What do the heads in the sand brigade say now?”
Probably the same as before, i.e. that you’re an attention seeker while insisting that we all just look the other way. I see one accused you on FB of being a “foreign agent”! Got to say that one made me laugh! Sadly, these folk are going to cost us independence if they don’t wake up to what’s going on. There’s loyalty and there’s what they’re doing.
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That is what happens when you come from Paisley lol
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As a member for fifty years, former branch convenor/secretary etc, councillor for 25 years and twice a Westminster candidate my comment is ‘Why are people surprised’? The NEC as always behaved in this way. It is interesting to note that some who colluded in this in the past are now caught up in difficulties in being re-selected
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Seems Covid’s been a very convenient inconvenience to the SNP leadership; ‘not able to campaign’ but more than able to scheme against democratic choice. This is abhorrent, when will it end?
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Bloody hell. Words fail
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Oh my goodness, though have a question, if the CA was able to send that to the members don’t they therefore have a list? Also given we know Caroline McAllister was turned down NOT by the NEC but the CA, that Cllr Karen Conaghan, who is also standing, was on her selection panel, that it’s clear the CA wanted this email leaked, surely we have to deduce neither the CA OR the NEC come out of this well? From what I hear Cllr Conaghan is the CA’s favoured candidate, now that can’t be right either?
And presumably the Chris Jones referred to is the one I’ve been looking at in relation to the further Carol Cadwalldr revelations on Cambridge Analytica yesterday. We knew that Kirk J Torrance had been to the meeting when in fairness he told them where to go but a Chris Jones chatted to them as well. He is currently the SNP’s ‘Head of Data and Technology’ a post created in 2014? He started in Dec 2014. And why is he involved with hustings and branches?
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Same Kirk J Torrance who was recently blocked (Sept 26) by Nicola Sturgeon.
Indeed, he was interviewed recently by Alex Salmond for RT. He has a new company.
He left not that long after Salmond stood down along with all the other talented backroom people, Stephen Noon, Kevin Pringle etc.
The problem, from what I can see, is that the Sturrells have surrounded themselves with less able people. As I said above I’d love to know if this Head of Data and Technology job that Chris Jones currently holds was a new creation in December 2014, when he started, and of course how much of members subs, individual donations are paid. Does anyone have a clue just who the SNP employs at HQ and what the costs are?
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No matter what else happens we SNP voters will vote our own candidates in no matter what, if their names are not on the ballot for any reason then we will vote for OUR alternative and isolate these who would try to take illegal control of our S N P. We will no tbe denied.
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Reblogged this on Ramblings of a now 60+ Female.
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And yet they expect people to vote for them, I’d rather not vote at all than vote for these crooks because that is exactly what they are. The party that I voted all my adult life for no longer exists, Covid has certainly saved Sturgeon’s arse, for now.
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I feel exactly the same way, I will not vote for corruption, & that is what the SNP is today, they have replaced LABOUR for sure in EVERYWAY under this present leader..
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Under what rules are they trying to do this, certainly this seems clear to me though i’m only a councillor
Online Hustings and Campaigning by Candidates
8.1 The only permitted means of campaigning are—
(a) participation in online hustings;
(b) contact with members through the authorised email system;
(c) the use of a website, a personal Facebook page or a personal Twitter
account; and
(d) communication through a candidate’s own personal contacts.
8.2 Constituency organisations must ensure that at least one online hustings
takes place before ballot papers are issued to members and that all
candidates and members are advised of the arrangements for the hustings.
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At least one online hustings…
So why not go ahead with their planned format, as well as the NEC mandated one? Inform all candidates, if some choose not to participate, on their own head be it.
Is it a democratic party or not? If it doesn’t have democratic processes at the lowest (most local) level, then it simply is not fit for purpose.
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I think the problem might be timeframe. Voting starts very soon.
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JB.
The local constituency association were instructed NOT to hold their arranged hustings meeting. The National Secretary then confirmed this to around 950 member with online access that the hustings was cancelled to be replaced by a hustings to be arranged by him as National Secretary.
The email communication of local branch secretaries was then put in lockdown with access credentials to the party systems disabled, thereby denying all communication save for HQ sanctioned activity.
Now when the leadership of a party suspends meetings, locks down and takes control of all communications then I think you can take it that democracy has gone. These are the actions of a junta of control and not that of a Democratic Party.
And now with a replacement hustings arranged by the National Secretary with less than 24 hours notice has advised some, but certainly not all of the Dumbarton membership that there will be an online hustings to be convened by a chairman he is appointing.
So JB, how many democratic selection meetings were people free to hold in 1930s Germany. Did the ruling party there not suppress political assembly. Did they not remove alternative voice leaders. Yes they did, and sadly JB that is where we are today.
And by what authority does the coterie of control operate its diktats. By what authority does it suspend meetings, lock down local areas, remove local party structures, appoint its place men and women. By the authority of the raw power of control taken by unconstitutional means.
The new Nasti Party with its Gauleiters in every town?
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Dumbarton Wingers post on the subject The Seizure of the Means on WoS [Wings Over Scotland] October 19 @ 8:57 pm gives another side/version to this story.
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Seen it, discounted it after checking.
I should explain what appears in the Wos comment comes from an unidentified source. The decision in the Constituency came following a unanimous decision by the entire CA Executive including, according to what he writes, the delegate from his own branch. Not really hard to choose which has more credibility.
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Iain,
If it was a physical meeting it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine party police breaking up the meeting because that is now the coterie of controls modus operandi to political opponents.
Salmond, Murray, Hirst are all example of police intervention. And then of course there is Manny Singh who was jailed for organising the last 100k plus AUOB Indy March in Glasgow.
These are dark times and the Dumbarton lock down is just another example a now out of control party clique. And just wait till the Hate Crime Bill hits to play its part in silencing the masses.
Truly it is time we either took democratic control back. We must either kill or cure this cancer before it overpowers us all.
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” Extinction Rebellion Scotland has dumped mounds of manure outside BP’s Aberdeen offices, proclaiming that BP “can’t be trusted.”
The protest marks the third week of non-violent direct action campaign ‘Make The Connections’ to highlight the threat of climate change across Scotland and “putting profit before people.” ”
Not hard to imagine a few places where Nation Extinction Scotland might do the same. But would they be in Edinburgh or London?
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Edinburgh – the newSNP cannot be trusted
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BREAKING NEWS :
Dumbarton Constituency still in chaos.
Reports emerging suggest that members have been denied access to the NEC / National Secretary arranged Dumbarton Constituency hustings being convened tonight.
Further reports suggest that branch and constituency secretaries are still in lock down being unable to access the party mailing systems and other systems having had their access credentials disabled.. Communication is therefore still in lockdown / under HQ control.
Further details will be reported as soon as they emerge.
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Spent the evening fully engaged in a well organised Dumbarton Hustings all candidates seemed at ease and Mike Russel chaired it immaculately.
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As I would expect. He is a good guy and regularly acts as the rescuer from potentially damaging situations.
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Absolute nonsense Bryan Ritchie.
Dumbarton hustings was a totally stage managed show by Mike Russell. No one allowed to speak. Not one. Hundreds excluded from meeting. One candidate has already hit Twitter criticising the event.
And that is why the local constituency hustings was cancelled by the National Secretary to be replaced by a hustings arranged by him.
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And for the folks denied access, denied questions, denied contact from their branch officers, to the candidates denied positive vetting, it truly is time to ask if its members SNP anymore – because that is what this is all about.
Russell was put in to a stage manage a show. No local party involvement in a HQ communication lockdown. Russell fully understood the task he was charged with, and came supported by one of the party’s IT gurus. He knew the anger and resentment at HQ cancelling the hustings and even started the meeting saying that he wanted things kept peaceful. But of course no member was allowed to speak.
A party political broadcast on behalf of the Nasti party, who motto is “ we ask the questions “ And yes Bryan Ritchie local branch officers still have their communication and access in lockdown.
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Willie I’m sorry I don’t agree with you I know we all love a drama but it wasn’t my experience nor others I’ve spoken with.
Anyway I not about to add fuel to the fire of this internecine wee war as I see the Herald is sniffing around always looking for SNP Bad stories if this shit goes on I’m out of the party putting up with the Tories and Labour and the Media is bad enough without it happening in the party.
I’m sure you think it’s necessary however you’ll loose many along the way and end up like Labour after Militant…unelectable