caltonjock

1. January 18 2013; City Council leader’s future in doubt over sex act http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/fears-for-glasgow-council-leaders-future-over-sex-act.19955589

a. Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson, 46, was apprehended by officers after they witnessed him carrying out the act in a car on the city’s south side. The council confirmed police reported the matter to the procurator fiscal but it has been decided no further action will be taken.

b. Comment

i. David: I’m not disagreeing with you about the facts concerning the case. I wasn’t there either. However, when you take into account the amount of scandals that seem to be flowing out of Glasgow City Council concerning corruption, strange goings on behind closed doors, police warning Labour leaders about cocaine, money going missing, dubious payments to people connected to the labour party and NO convictions it makes one think that there is something going on. The fact that NO one has appeared in court suggests that the ‘establishment’ doesn’t want this to happen. If that is the case then the whole system is corrupt to the core and is in need of a drastic make-over, and that is not going to happen under this current system. Just to add, according to news updates, that it seems that Mr. Matheson, himself, has admitted that he was involved in an illegal sex act so, I say again, why wasn’t he brought to justice? http://wingsoverscotland.com/bread-and-circuses/

2. January 18 2013; John Mason MSP – weekly video blog: Labour’s misconduct with public money https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LUsl9cYNYo

a. SNP MSP John Mason exposure of Councillors Coleman and Redmond requesting that they be removed from charities and boards, on which they represent Glasgow City Council.

3. January 21 2013 Council u-turns and abandons £15m George Square transformation

a. Glasgow City Council today bowed to popular demand and abandoned its widely condemned plan to spend £15m on transforming George Square. Leader Gordon Matheson said the city’s civic heart would now undergo a substantial facelift rather than a radical redesign. Details of the facelift are to be announced later, but it will include retaining the statues and grassed areas, and replacing the red tarmac.

4. January 23 2013; Architect attacks council over George Square fiasco

a. The acclaimed architect who won the ill-fated competition to redesign Glasgow’s George Square has accused the council’s leadership of incompetence and attempting to bully him out of the process. John McAslan attacked officials at Glasgow City Council as “not that bright” after they pulled the plug on the £15 million plans, despite spending in excess of £100,000 on the initiative. He said the debacle had given the local authority an unwelcome reputation among the world’s architecture and design community.

5. January 26 2013 Matheson scraps George Square revamp. http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/matheson-told-the-judges-this-is-the-winning-design-after-they-disagreed-he-announced-the-whole-project-

a. The Labour leader of Glasgow City Council told his fellow judges which design should win the competition to revamp the city’s George Square at the outset of the judging process, two independent council sources have told the Sunday Herald. And when the judges instead picked a design that Gordon Matheson strongly disliked, he scrapped the project in what the sources described as “a fit of pique”.

6. January 26 2013 Architect goes public on square http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/architect-goes-public-on-square.20021715

a. The acclaimed architect behind the scheme chosen for the redesign of George Square in Glasgow is planning to meet the public following the rejection of his plans by the council. John McAslan has demanded a meeting with city council leader Gordon Matheson after the council effectively scrapped the George Square competition. Mr McAslan, whose practice won the £15 million contest to revamp the square, accused Mr Matheson of playing political games. Now he plans to meet people in George Square to discuss what they want from the square following the council move.

7. March 31 2013; Thousands march and say ‘Axe the bedroom tax.’

a. The biggest protest rally Glasgow has seen in years had more than 3000 people marching from Glasgow Green to George Square, united in their opposition to the bedroom tax. Seasoned campaigners, families with their children and baby buggies, trade unionists, people in a wide variety of mobility carts and folk walking their dogs, took more than an hour to wend their way to the city centre. Many of them shouting: ‘Axe the tax.’ Facing the City Chambers, a series of speakers explained why their campaign was part of a wide strategy to protect the most vulnerable in the community.

b. Labour MP Ann McKechin, MSP Frank McAveety and Glasgow City Councillor George Redmond were among the group who marched. Arriving in George Square, Westminster MP Ann McKechin said to this website’s reporter: ‘I’m not surprised at this turnout. People are shocked by the scale of this unfair and unjust tax. The Westminster government doesn’t understand the full impact it will have.’

c. But Labour politicians were castigated by different speakers. Said one: ‘They might have marched near the front but it is inconsistent with what they are doing to the families they are victimising in the learning disability community in Glasgow. Glasgow City Council has these families on its hit list by closing three of the seven day centres they use.’ Campaigners against the closure of Glasgow’s day centres were out in force. Another speaker put it more bluntly: ‘Glasgow City Council should be ashamed of themselves. They have influence and power. They should tell all Housing Associations in Glasgow and Glasgow Housing Association that there must be no evictions in the city. We need to know who’s side they are on.’ http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/tag/msp-frank-mcaveety/

7. April 23 2013; Matheson should ‘consider his position. http://www.glasgowsnp.org/Council/SNP_Glasgow_City_Council_Group/_Labour_council_leader_Gordon_Matheson_should_%27consider_his_position%27/

a. SNP Group Leader of Glasgow City Council, Graeme Hendry has urged Labour Council Leader Gordon Matheson to consider his position following a series of alleged offences while investigations are underway. Councillor Matheson is to be investigated by the Major Crimes Unit over alleged misconduct during the £100,000 contest to redesign George Square. He has been accused of trying to breach procurement law and coerce officers to do so. Councillor Graeme Hendry said: “Councillor Matheson has been accused of some very serious offences and it is only right and proper they are investigated by all the appropriate organisations including the Police. “It would be appropriate for Matheson to consider his position in the Council due to the great embarrassment he has caused the city, and the damage he has done to the Council’s relationship with the business community. Check out the many links contained in the SNP Newsletter. Scary stuff. Even if only 50% is true the Labour run City Council ae dammed.

8. May 14, 2013 Eleven Tales From Glasgow’s Quality Council http://athousandflowers.net/2013/05/14/11-tales-from-glasgows-quality-council/

a. If New York is the city that never sleeps, Glasgow is the toon where some fly bastard is always up to something. The rot starts at the top, with the city council synonymous with corruption, cronyism and sheer incompetence. Labour have run the show for 60-odd years, almost as long as the Communist Party ran the Soviet Union, and all that power seems to have gone to their heads… alongside the cocaine (allegedly) (definitely true).

9. June 1 2013; SNP demands George Sq cash probe http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/snp-demands-george-sq-cash-probe.21228387

a. The SNP last night called for Audit Scotland to investigate the financial side of the George Square redesign contest after claims Glasgow City Council paid judges thousands of pounds in expenses without receipts. The spending watchdog is already looking at the £100,000 competition as part of its annual audit of the council’s management. The contest ended in farce earlier this year after Labour council leader Gordon Matheson announced the revamp of the square had been scrapped just minutes after the judging panel had picked a design he detested, and had ranked his preferred option fourth out of six. Now it has emerged that the council paid two of the four external judges £6000 on top of their fees as “expenses” without asking for any receipts to justify the expenditure.

10. October 6 2013; Rampant Corruption Exposed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPYWz3iGyec

a. Unedited i-phone interview with Arthur Gemmell who travelled from Scotland to join the UK protests outside Royal Courts of Injustice on 4th October 2013. Arthur provides extremely interesting information exposing rampant corruption rife throughout Scotland and in particular within Glasgow City Council. He exposes the tactics used to evade liability when caught out.

11. November 15 2013; Campaigners accuse Glasgow City Council of corruption http://www.sacc.org.uk/news/2013/campaigners-accuse-glasgow-city-council-corruption

a. The 100 Promises Campaign is the community campaign formed during the last local election to hold politicians to account. It took on the name when Labour was re-elected on the basis of its 100 Promises manifesto document.

b. The campaign has found corruption to be a barrier to the Council fulfilling its manifesto. After several occasions where corruption became a barrier to the Council enacting their promises the campaign decided to challenge this corruption.

c. The launch on Tuesday of the dossier will bring to light everything that the campaign has been made aware of. A press conference is being held in Johann Lamont’s constituency to draw attention to these issues at the highest level within Scottish Labour. Following the publication of the dossier, the dossier will be passed on to the police.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgTf8cZdMMk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s5PmcW9y9w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExcJcSGSJPY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ISV_l6YvvE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxXRF_ta5P8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLiEsBaJM_U

12. November 24 2013; Celtic FC getting sucked into the Labour Party Co-operative Bank Scandal https://footballtaxhavens.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/celtic-fc-getting-sucked-into-the-labour-party-co-operative-bank-scandal/

a. As well as the evolving local Glasgow scandal of Celtic receiving cheap land deals from a Scottish Labour controlled Glasgow City Council and Greater Glasgow Health Board. Celtic have been using that land as security to obtain cheap interest rate loans from the Labour riddled Co-operative Bank, most likely through former Chairman John Reid and Director Brian Wilson, both Labour party heavyweights. Now that’s what you call doubling up on corrupt leverage.

b. The Co-operative Bank, due the drug dealing antics of ex-chairman, ‘Crystal Methodist’ Paul Flowers, a Labour ex-Councillor, is soon to experience a forensic examination of it’s ‘policy’ of giving risky loans at low interest rates to Labour party connected entities. In 2006, when the Labour party was close to bankruptcy, the Co-Op Bank bailed the party out and in March this year gave them a loan of £1.2 million at the preferential low rate of 4%. http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Finance/article1304380.ece

c. Compare this with Celtic’s Co-op Bank debt facility of £34 million at 1.5%. Celtic’s interest rate is ridiculously low and market loss-making. Obviously this has implications for UEFA’s FFP and SFA/SPFL, for both competitions, if Celtic has been seen to have been financially advantaged. Any investigation by either footballing body could involve the return of winnings, the cancelling of titles, loss of points and demotion for unfair advantages obtained during the period of the corruption. Celtic’s cheap Co-op Bank debt facility is still operating today.

13. November 28 2013; Co-op Bank slammed for dishing out £33m in cheap loans and overdrafts to Celtic Football Club http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2514682/Co-op-Bank-slammed-cheap-loans-Celtic-Football-Club.html

a. The Co-operative Bank has come under fire for dishing out £33.2million in cheap loans and overdrafts to Celtic Football Club, which was chaired by former Labour home secretary John Reid. MPs last night demanded an explanation for the rock bottom interest rates and accused the mutual of using the ‘hard-earned cash of millions of savers for political gain’. It is the latest twist in the row over the troubled lender’s links with the Labour Party.

b. Co-op’s hugely generous terms once again highlight the close links between the scandal-hit lender and the upper echelons of the Labour Party. The political connection has come under the spotlight after former Labour Councillor and former Co-op Bank chairman the Reverend Paul Flowers was caught out allegedly organising drug-fuelled orgies with rent boys.

See my post about the possible collapse of the Co-op Bank and the aftermath.