Andrew Skinner
5 Mar 2015: The 2015 General Election
Unionist supporters strategy for the 2015 General Election included tactical voting in 30 constituencies aimed at defeating the SNP and stemming the nationalist tide.
A group of young Labour party activists, led by Andrew Skinner, spent a morning distributing Tory election campaign leaflets in the Labour stronghold of North Muirton, in Perth, trying to persuade people to vote Tory.
Victor Clements, Director of “Forward Together”, a local tactical voting campaign said, “they did really well and the Tory’s bought them lunch afterwards, it’s quite surreal when it comes down to it.”
Skinner said, “One of our main motto’s is country before party.” His group, “United Against Separation”, were also very busy in Gordon, delivering thousands of leaflets urging Labour and Tory voters to back the incumbent Liberal Democrat, Christine Jardine.
Skinner said, “We got Tory voters galore in Gordon. We hit the Tory areas pretty hard and we saw nothing of the SNP. They can try painting us as Tories or Lib Dems and we can show them the areas we’ve hit for Labour. We are of every party and no party.”
Edinburgh South West is Edinburgh’s most middle and upper class suburb, with a strong core of Tory and Lib Dem voters (42 per cent of the vote in 2010). If sufficient numbers switched to labour they would be able to hold onto the seat. The same argument apply’s to Oxgangs and Wester Hailes.
Former army officer, Alastair Cameron, one of the leaders of “Scotland-in-Union” another pro-UK group said: “They were massively over confident in the week before the 2014 referendum, but if people who are positive about Scotland in the UK vote sensibly, they will be proved over confident again.”
“I’ve resigned as a member of the Lib Dems to vote tactically. I know a Lib Dem who is a party member and has been out campaigning for Labour and I’ve spoken to a few party organizer types who are going round delivering leaflets, but will vote tactically.”
The Lib Dems openly advocate tactical voting in the seats they hold whilst other Unionist parties are officially hostile but at local level quite the opposite.
Skinner said, “I totally get that they have to distance themselves from us. But we’ve had full support from a number of candidates. We’ve delivered their material, they’ve fed us, given us maps for the right places to hit for the tactical vote.”
One interesting feature of the 2014 independence referendum was that many long-standing rural SNP heartlands – Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire – voted heavily “No”, perhaps turned off by the SNP’s shift to the left and the “Yes” pitch to the urban Labour vote.
In Perth and North Perthshire, the SNP’s Pete Wishart was in the unusual position of being challenged by the Tories.
The tactical voting group, “Forward Together” claimed to have delivered 55,000 leaflets in his seat, advising people to vote Conservative, and a similar amount of leaflets in the adjoining South Perthshire constituency, where the advice was to vote Labour.
Leader Victor Clements said, “We’re mindful not to be too forceful about it, all we’re doing is putting the information in people’s hands.” (Andrew Gilligan)
Skinner & his Haghill friends
Summary:
The outcome of the subsequent general election was an SNP landslide in which the party just failed to achieve a clean sweep of Scotland.
Tactical voting had failed to make an impact. But the seeds of this form of voting had been sewn in many marginal seats and the multi-faction unionist supporting groups, (having gained valuable experience in the promotion of tactical voting) realized there was a need for change and merged the groups forming “Scotland-in-Union” under the leadership of Alastair Cameron.
The newly formed, well financed, Unionist propaganda group made significant inroads in the next Scottish general election and its value to the Unionist cause should not be underestimated.
Its management team (except Alastair Cameron) is comprised of a number of flawed characters, some with dodgy political backgrounds and these weaknesses need to be continuously brought to the attention of the Scottish electorate.
Mass leaflet distribution favoured by the group is also worthy of comment.
Targeting 30 constituencies for a blanket distribution of leaflets incurs a need to print upwards of 1m at a cost of around £40 @ 1000. Total cost £25,000. Add distribution costs:
30 teams of 10 persons (assuming volunteers) plus transport and expenses = 300 * £8,000. Also to be added is the cost of doorstepping constituents , around £20,000.
Total cost active support (marginal constituencies only) incurred by “Scotland-in-Union” £53,000.
The formal position of mainline Unionist Party’s deprecated any promotion of tactical voting and raises the question so just who is funding Scotland-in-Union?
The involvement of Alistair Cameron, a highly qualified professional director and leader lends the view that the Secret Service might well have an interest in the organization.
Alastair Cameron and his team of staunch Nationalist supporters
Alastair Cameron
I recently published articles providing information about Cameron. See:
Skinner future intentions
Skinner claims that the Saltire belongs to the nationalist. But there is little evidence of its use.
Andrew Malcolm Skinner
Skinner is well worthy of a write up. Born 1985, and raised in the Haghill area of Glasgow, he attended Glasgow Caledonia University between 2010-2014 and gained a degree in politics.
His biography contains no reference to employment before attendance at University, (at the age of 22y) and no indication of employment since, which if correct would mean that he has lived off the state his entire life. But he may have served a few years with HM Forces since he often posts information pertaining to the military.
From that time he has devoted his efforts to the support of Unionist causes in Scotland, to which end he conducted a number of ineffectual campaigns, each of which was noteworthy for the pervasive use of vile propaganda and insult aimed at warping the will of a vacillating Scottish electorate who wavered between supporting the Unionist and Nationalist causes.
Vote Naw: 2011-2014: (he was enjoying studies free of any charges at Caledonia University courtesy of the government that was funding his attendance)
United Against Separation: 2014-2015
Scotland-in-Union: 2015-to date
His thuggish behaviour, from the time he first arrived on the political scene in Scotland, is completely at odds with the conduct of the leader of Scotland-in-Union, Alastair Cameron and it is surprising Cameron has retained him in an important role.
But it might be Scottish politics will need to accept Skinner, warts and all.
He intends to stand for election, as a Labour MSP, in Paisley in 2021.
To be to be fair Skinner enjoys the backing of many of his Glasgow Rangers and Ulster Loyalist supporters who heavily promote the benefits and history of the notorious “Haghill Powery”
Logisrock Blog – Expose of Andrew Skinner
It makes me feel all nostalgic for Art Deco, Hercule Poirot and the 1930s.
This time it isn’t Rothermere cosying up to and supporting Moseley’s Blackshirt’s, but Graham Grant, self-appointed Witch finder-General for Scotland, (officially Home Affairs editor) cosying up to and working hand in glove with a Britnazi thug and internet troll by the name of Andrew Skinner with links to the fascist English Defence League and other right-wing nutjobs.
Graham Grant published the results of a Scottish Daily Mail week-long “Probe” into “vile” Cybernats, which actually turned out to be an excuse to doorstep, photograph in the street and published prurient details about ordinary Scots who happen to support independence and most of whom have never tweeted anything remotely offensive in their lives.
http://logicsrock.blogspot.com/2014/01/cybernats-continue-to-perform-valuable.html
Who is Andrew Skinner?
Andrew Skinner ran a Facebook page entitled “Vote No to Scottish Independence and Protect the Union”. However, it wasn’t always called that. He re-branded it, prior to that it was called “British Unity”.
You didn’t need to look far down the page before you find foul language and puerile insults against leading pro-independence politicians and any ordinary Facebook user who posted a pro-independence comment.
Skinner tried to clean up his act and to distance his “Vote No” page from its English Defence League (EDL) Neo-Nazi past.
However, not being that bright traces remain, such as an old advert for his “BritishUnity” Twitter account which he opened on September 2013:
Let’s have a wee look at that Twitter account. (https://twitter.com/britishunity) Oh, surprise, surprise!
He or his colleagues were in conversation with former (EDL) leader and convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson and posted some “vile abuse” to boot. Here they were having a go at Muslims, a favourite (EDL) pastime.
Here they tweeted a friend, KevC57 asking him to support a petition.
Who was he? Only Kevin Carroll, Ex-leader and Co-founder of the (EDL).
(https://archive.li/o/cOFaG/https://twitter.com/KevC57)
Here they asked for support from Mark Caine, another right wing, Muslim-hating nutjob with a blog and “UKPrideMedia”. Well, click the link.
(https://markcaine.wordpress.com/)
Somewhat incongruously, they also had links to the “Nationalist Review”. Innocent enough until you click the link and find it’s a Neo-Nazi Britnat review. (https://twitter.com/New_Nationalist.)
Since Graham Grant took over as “Homophobe-in-Chief” at the “Daily Hate” from “Wee Free” John MacLeod, after MacLeod had been outed as a self-loathing closet queen in the late 1990s.
Now that poof-hating is considered impolite poor Graham has thrashed around looking for another easily-identifiable group to bully.
His need to bully someone and landing on the “Cybernats” left him holding the baby for clearly identifying the “Daily Mail” with a “Nazi” thug for the first time since the 1930s. A final piece of 1930s nostalgia for you:
So Graham Grant enjoyed the plaudits from vile people who seem incapable of acknowledging irony.
This is the same Ian Alexander who posted:
(https://archive.li/cOFaG#selection-303.0-303.46)
We have verified that he DID NOT eat the child.
Are we surprised that he too maintains links to Andrew Skinner @Askinner2011.
Not to fond of Nelson Mandela either.
Threats of Violence.
So Graham Grant from the Daily Mail recruited some of Scotland’s finest Bigots, Nazi sympathizers, Foulmouthed, Trolling, Anti Muslim, Anti Catholic citizens to help portray others as Foulmouthed etc. etc.
The foregoing details confirm that the Daily Mail had links to right wing extremists and brought them into the Independence debate.
But just what drove these people to so fervently defend the union? Darling, Cameron and Co wanted to save it, since their highly paid jobs and excessive lifestyles to protect but what about the 3 amigo’s mentioned above?
The Union has not been kind to them and the cartoon sums it up pretty well.
Haghill might well be a fine place to live but that is for others to judge. A couple of photographs may assist viewers.
Ian Alexander: Haghill
Andrew Skinner: Haghill
It is impossible to guess the “normal” demographic of those who voted “Yes” but polls suggest that those in low rental housing, council housing or housing agency tenants polled more likely to vote “Yes” (possibly due to wishing improve their living conditions or perhaps fed up seeing the gap between them and the rich become so wide).
Without ambition or drive it must be assumed that there are other as yet unidentified reasons they love the union so much….
It was also unfair that the power of the Daily Mail’s extensive financial resources were used against Scots by harassing them on their own doorstep, then eviscerating their character:
(http://www.weourselves.com/witch-hunt/).
The Daily Mail & Graham Grant need to be advised that they will not be allowed to get away with it.
Gilligan and his pal on holiday
14 Oct 2016: Wings over Scotland – expose of the Ultra-Yoons
Hardcore nutter collective Scotland In Union are already the de facto unofficial “No” campaign group for the second independence referendum.
Evidently very well-connected and already flush with cash from sources unknown, the limited company recently raised a reported £300,000 for itself at a “charity” dinner attended by such luminaries of the great and the good as Lord Alistair Darling, Lord Dunlop and (um) Willie Rennie, auctioning off exotic high-end goodies like hunting trips to Africa, polo parties with the Maharajah of Jodhpur and Alpine holidays described in the lavish 60-page auction catalogue as featuring:
“A fabulous chalet and a family home, with six bedrooms sleeping 12, all en suite. Although the chalet does not come with a chalet girl, we will provide one for you.”
(There were also some signed JK Rowling books for the paupers.)
So that’s nice. Extremely wealthy people – just getting into the dinner was £250 – who are doing very well out of the way things are, donating big wads of money to some other people trying to ensure that the rich folk stay that way. No law against it. But just who are the true believers rushing bravely to the defence of the Union’s elites?
The organization puts on small and secretive speaking events featuring lunatics like Jill Stephenson and Tom Gallagher for elderly audiences of Unionists, and its directors and advisory board include the likes of perpetually-furious social media mad-case Neil Lovatt (below left with Archie MacPerson) and all-round nasty piece of work Andrew Skinner (below right, and above cuddling super-rich BBC posh boy Dan Snow).
Skinner is a man who regularly wipes his Twitter history so that no record of his more intemperate and distasteful raging’s can be found, unless people have fortuitously had the foresight to take screenshots of them.
Another advisory-board member is Jim Gallagher, a former Whitehall civil servant who was Director Of Research for “Better Together” during the referendum, and appeared in numerous newspapers this week as author of a deranged fantasy piece about how wonderful life would be for Scotland inside a unicorns-and-kittens post-Brexit UK, with no mention made of his positions in either BT or SIU.
But relatively little is known of the group’s “Executive Director”, Alistair Cameron, other than that he successfully menaced a £10,000 charity donation out of troubled Glasgow East MP Natalie McGarry with a threat of legal action, after she accidentally confused him with Holocaust-denying super-Unionist loonjob Alistair McConnachie. (Despite her deleting the inaccurate tweet within hours and issuing an apology)
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