April 7, 2023 - 1:18pm
A period of febrile speculation follows Wednesday’s arrest of former Scottish National Party chief executive, Peter Murrell — released without charge after 11 hours of questioning in a police station. Earlier today, SNP auditors resigned in response to the probe, but concern remains about the possibility that police chiefs delayed the move until after former First Minister — and Mrs Murrell — Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and the election of a new leader in Humza Yousaf, her preferred successor.
Supporters of the former Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, only narrowly beaten into second place in spite of her fundamentalist religious beliefs, were particularly suspicious: her high vote count seemed to be at least partly formed by her stern demolition of Yousaf’s previous responsibilities for justice, transport and health. Little is now certain, except that the SNP poll numbers will continue to fall. Even Yousaf, the much-mocked “continuity candidate”, said on Thursday that the party’s governance was “not as it should be”.
Sturgeon’s prominence depended on an insistent dualism between Holyrood’s idealistic decency and Westminster’s moral decay. In her eyes, the Tory Party carried about it the “stench of sleaze”; there was “corruption at the heart of Westminster”; Boris Johnson “disgraced the office of prime minister”. The haloed-attack-dog style disguised the murmurs arising over her husband’s dealings with the SNP, with little space left between political and administrative authority as she rose to power. The disquiet over this arrangement within usually deferential nationalist ranks was summarily dismissed by the First Minister: the party chairman had overall surveillance of the party’s finances, she said, so no problem.
It was a flimsy justification: no-one could be in any doubt where command lay. No one dared question Murrell as a result. Yousaf said it would be “a little bit daft” to dispense with the services of “a proven winner, especially in politics” — implicitly acknowledging that winning meant doubts over Murrell’s financial stewardship would be squashed. Success allowed, and screened, everything.
Murrell did resign, after supplying figures showing the party membership 30,000 above reality. It was not the worst instance of SNP malpractice. For instance, questions remain on the misuse of over £600,000, raised from party members in 2017 as a war chest for the battle for independence, which is now suspected of diversion to other uses. But this was sharply pushed aside, even after party treasurer Douglas Chapman, MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, resigned in 2021, saying he had “not received the support or financial information to carry out the fiduciary duties of national treasurer.”
Sturgeon’s departure leaves other large ignominies to be examined. Ferries under construction by Ferguson Marine on the Clyde are many years overdue and many millions over agreed prices: in 2017, one was launched in a gala ceremony even though it was only partially finished, replete with fake funnels and windows painted in to simulate completion. It was an extraordinary display of the arrogant conviction that you can fool all the of the people all of the time.
Jim McColl, the Glasgow businessman who had rescued the yard from closure, said the fake launch had been organised by the Government’s PR office — and later blasted Holyrood for negligence and cover-ups. The yard was then nationalised in 2019: ferry services are now substantially reduced, as are ten of the ageing CalMac ferry fleet awaiting repairs. The first new vessel is not expected to be finished before the end of this year.
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SubscribeJust one more post-2016 example of sleaze, unaccountability and authoritarianism given air cover 24/7 by British media because the SNP (in this instance) was their convenient ally in discomforting the Tories specifically, and UK generally.
Independent voices in Scotland have been giving this lot pelters for ages, yet they have no expectation of a just outcome as the #scottishceaușescus still own Police Scotland, courtesy of Mr Yousaf and Murrell’s election.
Just one more post-2016 example of sleaze, unaccountability and authoritarianism given air cover 24/7 by British media because the SNP (in this instance) was their convenient ally in discomforting the Tories specifically, and UK generally.
Independent voices in Scotland have been giving this lot pelters for ages, yet they have no expectation of a just outcome as the #scottishceaușescus still own Police Scotland, courtesy of Mr Yousaf and Murrell’s election.
Oh, we may comment here. That’s a first…
Anyway, this article is already out of date as a couple of hours ago the SNP auditors, too, resigned…
Oh, we may comment here. That’s a first…
Anyway, this article is already out of date as a couple of hours ago the SNP auditors, too, resigned…
The article mentions the ferry (the Glen Sannox; still not completed) “launched” with fake funnels and windows in 2017. At the time, the wags were saying that it should have been renamed Potemkin.
Nicola took a gamble that legislation such as gender self-ID was a good bet because it would win the votes of the snowflakes and schoolkids (voting age is 16 for Scottish elections) and the rest of us wouldn’t have a clue what it was all about. But those sort of policies meant that the SNP was haemorrhaging 50,000 members, though Nicola’s hubby was in denial. SNP membership costs £12 per head and £12 times 50,000 comes to £600,000. Now there’s a coincidence.
The article mentions the ferry (the Glen Sannox; still not completed) “launched” with fake funnels and windows in 2017. At the time, the wags were saying that it should have been renamed Potemkin.
Nicola took a gamble that legislation such as gender self-ID was a good bet because it would win the votes of the snowflakes and schoolkids (voting age is 16 for Scottish elections) and the rest of us wouldn’t have a clue what it was all about. But those sort of policies meant that the SNP was haemorrhaging 50,000 members, though Nicola’s hubby was in denial. SNP membership costs £12 per head and £12 times 50,000 comes to £600,000. Now there’s a coincidence.
Too long a tenure and ‘Power corrupts…’ as the saying goes.
How much the current problems relate to the arrogance of power or to inevitable unravelling of the Independence coalition and it’s thesis isn’t yet clear. But does seem the SNP heading for a large fall with Labour primarily set to gain.
Too long a tenure and ‘Power corrupts…’ as the saying goes.
How much the current problems relate to the arrogance of power or to inevitable unravelling of the Independence coalition and it’s thesis isn’t yet clear. But does seem the SNP heading for a large fall with Labour primarily set to gain.