This is Murphy’s legacy to East Renfrewshire. The huge red cross hovers over Barrhead
The crosses are pharmacies, the bigger and redder the cross, the more methadone is dispensed. It could be that the junkies in the rest of the region are defiantly sticking to their heroin – maybe they have enough money and a reliable source so can be high-functioning junkies. Or…
November 2014: Jim Murphy was last night dragged into claims of dirty tricks in an increasingly fierce Scottish Labour leadership contest, after facts which could have helped his main opponent were not supplied to voters.
Jim Murphy was last night dragged into claims of dirty tricks in an increasingly fierce Scottish Labour leadership contest, after facts which could have helped his main opponent were not supplied to voters.
The super-union Unite wrote to Labour’s UK general secretary, Iain McNicol, demanding to know why trade union nominations for the leader and deputy had been excluded from publicity material sent to eligible voters.
Unions overwhelmingly backed Murphy’s left-wing rival, Neil Findlay MSP, for the leadership, and left-wing MP Katy Clark as deputy. But the material sent by the party to voters contained only nominations by MPs, MEPs and MSPs – the bulk of whom backed Murphy for leader and MSP Kezia Dugdale for deputy.
Also omitted were nominations from constituency Labour parties, slightly more in favour of Murphy and Dugdale.
A senior union source said: “It does not feel particularly clean as a process. Jim Murphy is an establishment figure within the Labour Party. He will have very good relationships with the party at a high level.”
In a letter to McNicol, Unite’s Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: “You can imagine my surprise when I looked at the candidate election booklet to find that my union’s nomination, along with all the other trades unions, had been omitted from the publicity material. This strikes me as a gross error of judgment. To intentionally or otherwise exclude the nominations of the trades unions feels disrespectful to all trades union members in Scotland.”
Rafferty added last night: “We are urgently seeking clarification from the Labour Party to find out why this has happened and if needs be will join other unions and affiliated organisations in making a formal complaint.
“Unless the party deals with this situation urgently they will stand accused of trying to skew this election for favoured candidates.”
Findlay said he was also seeking clarification. He said: “Over the last 24 hours I have been made aware of a deep frustration from local Labour Party branches and affiliated organisations that their nominations for the leadership campaign have been excluded from the candidates booklet … It is insulting given the effort and expense members, constituency Labour parties, trades unions and socialist societies went to organise special meetings and consultation events, only to be ignored.”
A spokesman for Murphy declined to comment. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Scottish Labour said candidates must have at least 10 nominations from MPs, MSPs and MEPs which are included in the candidates booklet.
Supporting nominations are a separate process.
The spokesperson added: “The deadline for supporting nominations was three days before ballots were despatched so there was no way to include them in the candidates’ booklet.” http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/scottish-politics/row-over-insulting-booklet.25947400
What the Readers Said:
The only thing surprising about Jim Murphy running a dirty campaign is that people find it surprising. For those activists in what’s left of the labour movement who fought for a NO vote, you might say this is karma tax dollars at work.
Too true; same old, same old. If you can lie to OAPs, why not to each other. Also another fine example of hiding the truth. R L Stevenson: ‘The cruellest lies are told with silence.’
It is sad that so many within the Labour party now only care about winning and not in the manner of their victory.
It’s the old ‘end-justifys-the-means’ Machiavellian philosophy. Voters beware.
Except there are no longer any ends. They have lost sight of any left wing policies.
Murphy is a particularly mendacious example of this type of campaigning but it is becoming a trait of Labour tactics in general. When Andy Burnham compiled a list of MPs with private health investments he failed to include ANY labour mps which a cursory glance at original list includes such pillars of integrity as former chancellor Alistair Darling
The same Andy Burnham admitted on QT the other night that if Labour forms the next government “Down There”, he will continue with the NHS Tory reforms and Health and Care Act 2012 legislation….yet somehow he will stop the drip drip privatisation of the English Health service? Burnham’s capitulation is like Ed Balls’ commitment to the Lib Dem /Tory austerity cuts and IDS’ Welfare ‘reforms’, it looks like the Labour Manifesto will be written on one side of an A4: “No change, nothing to see here, move on.”
How can we trust a Labour Party who plays dirty tricks on its self
According to Johann Lamont that’s the reason for this election in the first place.
Very good point John! Simple answer – you can’t.
It’s only a party called labour not the original idealist socialist group who were for the people
Yet the Unions cash goes towards putting out this document which simply ignores the workers point of view in favour of the high heid yins choice
Bit of an ironic description in a party whose leaders routinely over-rule constituency parties choice of candidate, and even more frequently ignore votes by their party conference on policy in favour of policies made by press release by the party leader
The problem is that the active portion of the Labour constituency parties has grown so small that they have become vulnerable to special interest groups, as recent events in Falkirk have shown.
Labour democracy is an oxymoron
When are the unions finally going to see sense and abandon this morally corrupt Scottish branch of the labour party and advise their membership to vote for the SNP, the only truly socially democratic left of centre party in Scotland.
Never, the unions are all controlled from the south. Unionist and Trade Unionist mean essentially the same thing.
One day the penny will drop in the collective minds of the union bosses instead of into Labours pocket – the Labour party does not protect the average voter or the disadvantaged any longer – it is simply struggling to protect itself.
So sad that this is the state of the Labour Party. It truly has lost its way.
This party lost its way back in the 1960s. Fortunately I have never been taken in by them, and I am now 60.
Indeed Douglas the Labour party has worked tirelessly against Scotland for many decades.
Since I first became politically aware in my teens, I have never trusted the Labour Party in Scotland. Jim Sillars summed them up beautifully with his story about Janey Buchan saying that the Scottish people had no right to claim the revenues of North Sea oil as “they hadn’t put the oil there in the first place”!
My realisation came when I was working offshore in 1975 and heard the lies being told by the labour government about the life of oil production
It certainly lost its way in the 60s when Willie Ross acted like a colonial governor keeping the troublesome natives in their place.
Willie Ross? Ah! I remember now – the Secretary of State for Scotland who said he’d resign if Scottish unemployment went over 100,000. It did, but he didn’t!
The spokesperson added: “The deadline for supporting nominations was three days before ballots were despatched so there was no way to include them in the candidates’ booklet.”
Typical Labour – the melange of deals, wheels and committee retreads. Dirty tricks? The Labour Party? Nah!
A recent post of mine conjured up the picture of the Labour Party teetering on the brink of a deep political grave with one foot hovering over the abyss and the other on a banana skin. Murphy has switched from rotten eggs to mouldy bananas.
After all Mr Murphy had to say about UNITE and Falkirk too! Irony, irony!
Well there’s a surprise! Murphy and dirty tricks go together. No doubt advised by London HQ. despite the fact that the ballot has been open for a week, you can still join the party and get a vote. You can join for a discounted price of £5, instead of £45. Two points arise from this. Will they publish there figures after this great offer. How busy is Murphy at signing up members and stick it on his expenses. He might also offer a free Irn Bru as an incentive.
Iain McNicol KNOW your place man, IF the labour party want your opinion they`ll give you it. Must be pretty hard to, just NOW, realize how corrupt this labour party really are?
I got a ballot paper through this week from my union and for the first time I’m sending it back with a note on it telling them why I refuse to vote on the leadership…. I say this as a now former labour voter and a YES voter and If the vote happened again tomorrow ,10 or 15 years or whatever I would still vote YES……
I know other union members who have faced the same dilemma as yourself. What they did though was vote for Murphy. They did so simply because they are YES voters and wanted a Labour leader in Scotland who would be a guaranteed vote loser.
They were expecting a fair and transparent election from the people who made the Vow. Eggs should not be wasted on men like Murphy.
You can’t make a Murphy without breaking a few eggs, Tim.
Same old labour,never ever going to learn ,the public hate duplicity and negativity of which Murphy is the king.
This is not about Murphy. It’s about keeping these pesky socialists out!
You have to laugh at the utter stupidity of it all. Labour have come apart at the seams and instead of applying more thread they’ve approached the problem with a pair of scissors instead. Hell mend them.
Let the 2 minute hate commence! As a lifelong trade unionist I always find it amusing when the current set of trade union officials lecture us on openness and honesty. Let them tell us how open and honest their consultation processes were before they decided which candidates to back. Personally it reminds me of the stuc when these same people or those like them used to lecture us on the freedom and workers rights in the workers paradise of the Soviet union.
So there is no part of the Labour movement you can stomach?
Trade unionist seemingly happy that trade union views are not on Labour document….lol What goes through some people’s heads when trying to justify the actions of others.
There are a choice of candidates, therefore you are not required to follow the advice of your elected Union official, or are you upset that your colleagues do not favour your preference? My understanding is, Unite consulted 5,000 employed members, to reach their recommendations.
Since you Know about all the back stabbing in the unions Why don’t you tell everyone?
There are some things we have in common. I feel the pain of your dilemma and genuinely sympathise. It is easier for me though I reluctantly abandoned the hope of seeing a decent, honest UK wide Labour party a long time ago. I do hope we get such a decent Labour party post-Independence and with it a better stuc.
I cannot understand your view. “Two minute hate”? “Union officials” decisions on candidates undemocratic, ergo, ignore unions and their members and support the Party, again. I support the SNP now, formerly Labour. When I give them Carte Blanche and blind loyalty then they should refuse my membership fee. Infallibility remains elusive but a nod to the electorate might go a long way.
The anonymous spokesperson for “Scottish” Labour is being typically disingenuous when they say that there was no way to include supporting nominations in the package which was sent out to eligible voters in the leadership ballot. This totally, and one suspects quite intentionally, misses the point that the issue was a matter of balance and full disclosure. If all nominations could not be included then none should have been. Let’s imagine for a moment that it had been the other way around. Let’s suppose that it was only the trade union nominations which were available while those favouring Murphy – London’s chosen man – could no be included. Does anyone seriously think that the party managers would have allowed Murphy to be disadvantaged? British Labour’s contempt for voters is certainly inclusive. It includes those within the party.
Please, if there is a god, let Murphy be crowned in a rigged election. It will be the final nail in New Labour’s Northern Branch coffin, and Darling and Brown will be poll bearers at the funeral. The UK Labour Party has completely lost it Up Here.. When Murphy ascends the throne, Labour membership will dissolve into the hundreds. Vote vote vote for Irn Bru Murphy!
This news doesn’t surprise. Saw worse when I was in the party during the era when Broon and Darling were climbing the greasy pole: the mafia had more open democratic practices.
If a party continues to have a Union block vote is it any wonder that we have dirty tricks in an effort to force the issue? No disrespect to any of the candidates but if a Union can wield a large number of votes it has the potential to create this exact situation….I.e the very situation that Scots find themselves with national politics….I.e “no matter how you vote individually, we will get our man/woman in!”. Add the centralised control room from Labour Central Office, the “branch office” grass roots have less power and influence. Is it any wonder why Labour has become unpopular, and almost irrelevant.
Its probably already in the hundreds and they are just not letting on!
Has he lined up an egg thrower yet? Anyone know where the auditions are being held? Nothing this man stoops to surprises me anymore.
“The deadline for supporting nominations was three days before ballots were despatched so there was no way to include them in the candidates’ booklet.” If the leadership election is being run without attempting to skew the vote, Labour can’t coordinate an internal mailshot in accordance with their own processes and a timetable that they set themselves. Incompetence or corruption? There is no third way.
A party where trades union block votes and the Islington Mafia compete for control is perhaps more suited to a long boot shaped country and the past. Hopefully the boot is exactly what they will get in May. Their supporters, such as are left and not on the payroll, deserve better.
Drawing comparisons between the Labour Party and long,boot-shaped countries is, I would suggest, a dreadful slur on long, boot-shaped countries.
Sounds like ‘loading the dice’ to me.
Without taking the so-called ‘democratic’ union side, this is the ‘new, progressive, respecting the people labourites. ‘ Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose’.
Eggstastic Murf and aspersions of dirty tricks, how dare they try to drag him out of the gutter politics he’s so well adjusted to.
If he is not being backed by the unions will he be sponsored by Irn Bru ?
I would not be surprised if a ‘lawyer’s letter’ from the Barr Family isn’t winging its way Murhpywards as we speak. Do they really want their name associated with this Tammany Hall farce?
I was talking to a old man I know who is old school labour and I commented on labour being in a bad way, In a bad way son ? he said its deid, all we are need to know noo is when’s the funeral
If this has been a deliberate attempt to skew the vote in favour of Murphy because the Unions did not back him the vote should be declared null and void and re-organised to allow all of the information to be available. Those organising the vote were aware of the timescale and should have ensured they had enough time for everything to be done fairly and squarely. Labour meddled in the referendum and now it seems there is evidence of internal meddling to produce the result required by head office in Westminster. They are really plumbing the depths but all the while expecting the electorate to trust them on credibility. Frankly they deserve everything they get both in Scotland and the wider UK.
Labour have been guilty in gerrymandering and nepotism across Scotland over the years. It would appear this self serving attitude is alive and well in the upper echelons of London labour too. Control freakery at it’s finest.
Cheating their union paymasters — Shureley not ?
The only surprise here is that some people seem surprised,the labour party in Scotland,they stabbed Scotland in the back at the referendum, so why the surprise that they stab each other in the back first chance they get, they are unionist politicians they cannot be trusted
Murphy should do what his one time leader has done ‘retire gracefully (if that is possible) from the contest’. The ‘vibs’ by this time must be telling him, there is no place for New Labour in Scotland. Ignoring them he risks humiliation.
perhaps the votes will be rigged?
London want Murphy to be in charge given his Blairite credentials….that is the simple answer.
Dirty tricks? Labour? who woulda thunk it?
What fun, the rats are feeding on themselves. Is this the time for a recount of the referendum vote?
Surprise Surprise. Its funny how these tactics “become dirty” when they are used against you. The labour party is in such disarray that it is turning on itself. The wise thing for any Scot is to vote for some one who is NOT controlled from anywhere outside of Scotland.
The mendacious Murphy up to the usual Blairite tactics,this pathetic crew of “Labour” montebanks could not organise a p*** up in a brewery.Labour cannot get out of the gutter politics Murphy inhabits,this latest farrago should surely consign “Scottish” Labour to political impotence after the General Election,Brown has already bailed out after reading the runes,how many more of the serial Labour troughers jump before the G/Election?,Labour, the tragic comedy that just keeps giving!
“Dirty tricks row over Labour leadership voting booklet” Naw! Yer joking…surely! Next time…Vote “Yes”!
Hahaha. London labour running the show in Scotland shocker! Sleekit stuff from London labour.
Pat Rafferty thought the White paper/SNP Propaganda sheet was wonderful: “The White Paper will contribute towards the growing ranks of worthy publications…” Worthy? What a joke. Meanwhile at the end of this tendentious piece there is the clear statement: “Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Scottish Labour said candidates must have at least 10 nominations from MPs, MSPs and MEPs which are included in the candidates booklet. Supporting nominations are a separate process.” Is Rafferty the only one surprised by the rules and who is pulling the dirty tricks?
Look dirty tricks are a political standard lets go back to the 50,s who knew and for how long about philby burgees etc, but is was politicaly expedient for us not to know, we do not need or want the political westminster establishment in any form up here, it has had its day ,its gone and yes I would like to see Labour, the old labour, its values , its purpose,its soul even to have a damacusean road travelled, but not with any of the current self proclaimed shammen, I as a former member cringe at these cheap penny theatrics, have they no self respect, have they no respect for us, it would seem not
To be fair, I don’t think it would make sense if a right wing party paid attention to trade unions anyway.
Two incidents of graffiti attacks:
* One is covered extensively by the Scottish and UK press placing the blame on “Scottish Nationalists” and by implication the SNP without any evidence to support their allegations.
* The other is covered by a local newspaper on one occasion then dropped. The incident is very clearly the work of “British Nationalists” in support of the Westminster immigation policy to which the SNP does not subscribe.
Yet another example of the Scottish and UK media contolling the minds of the electorate before the election. I doubt there will be very many muslims voting in support of the “fear campaigners”. They should vote SNP so that their future is assuredly happier than being contolled by the “British Nationalists”
A Conservative building in Scotland has been sprayed with graffiti by ‘nationalists’, a Tory councillor claimed. A swastika and the word ‘scum’ were sprayed in white paint on the window of the offices in Aberdeen last night. A ‘Q’ was also added to the blue front door, which some people said stands for quisling – a person who collaborates with an enemy. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3035067/Aberdeen-Conservative-Party-headquarters-targeted-graffiti-Scottish-nationalist-vandals.html#ixzz3XEqZ8DQD
Thugs Target Muslim Graveyard in Glasgow Cathcart
A visitor spotted the graffiti, claiming to be by Britain First, sprayed over the Muslim graveyard sign at Cathcart Cemetery on Tuesday. They returned yesterday to find the vile slogans still there.
Amjid Bashir, an entrepreneur from East Kilbride, is one of the organisers of Islam Awareness Week and has been sickened by the act of hatred.
He tweeted The Evening Times about it. Mr Bashir said: “Someone saw it on Tuesday and went back on Wednesday and took a picture of it. Myself and most other people see this as hate crime. “It is no different to desecrating graves of the Jewish or Christian Community.
“There was a big campaign last week for Islam awareness week about the need to tackle Islamophobia and how much it bis affecting every day Muslims, who are really trying to give back to dispel the negativity. “We do have a problem on our doorstep and it needs to be addressed. “The police have been involved and they are going to hopefully get out there this morning.
“My understanding is that it will be treated as a hate crime.A Spokeswoman for East Renfrewshire Council said: “This is a disgraceful act of vandalism that does not reflect the views of our local community or the wider Scottish community. “We have reported this matter to Police and our graffiti removal team are on their way to the site. “East Renfrewshire Council has a zero tolerance policy to any form of hate or racism and would urge local people to contact Police if they have information about this incident”.
No mention of Britain First
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/thugs-target-muslim-graveyard-in-act-of-hatred-201505n.121662932
Ken McIntosh
Inverness born and University educated he was employed by the BBC as a television producer, working on news broadcasts and election coverage between 1987 and 1999.
Entered the Scottish Parliament in 1999, as the Labour MSP for Eastwood and retained his seat in 2003, 2007 and 2011. But failed in his bid for re-election in the 2016 Scottish election, but ever lucky Ken was returned to Holyrood on the regional list.
In his 19 year career in Holyrood he maintained a low profile preferring job retention and advancement over confrontation.
Indeed he was so anonymous that his party leader couldn’t remember his name at the time he stood for the leadership of the Scottish Labour Party.
Macintosh was elected Presiding Officer at Holyrood in 2016 and suspended his Labour membership upon taking office, per the tradition that the Presiding Officer is strictly nonpartisan. A condition of office which he blatantly ignores.
17 Dec 2010: McIntosh accused Alex Salmond of downplaying Antisemitism in Scotland and attracts the wrath of Jews who charge him with grandstanding
An article in the Jewish Telegraph, written by Sharon Mail, quoted Eastwood MSP, Ken McIntosh, telling the publication:
“I am concerned that the Scottish Government and the First Minister, in particular, is downplaying antisemitism as if in some way Scotland was immune to or above such prejudices”
A Jewish Labour Supporter was so incensed by McIntosh’s assertion he felt compelled to write and set the record straight. He wrote:
“McIntosh is a politician and unfortunately, he is politicizing antisemitism for his own benefit – he obviously thinks there are votes in playing this issue from within the Jewish community and this reflects very badly on him. There is absolutely no substance to this outrageous personal attack on the First Minister who has shown during his time in office an admirable commitment to understanding issues within this community and listening to concerns. He has addressed open meetings of the Jewish community not once but twice and took questions on any subject from any member of the audience. He has visited community organizations and one of his Ministers, Fergus Ewing, spent an entire evening with the youth of our community listening to a programme on racism, antisemitism and prejudice. If McIntosh was encouraged to take this stance by any party or organization within the Jewish community he has acted with utter stupidity. If he thought accusing the elected head of the Scottish Government of downplaying antisemitism would benefit the Jewish community he is astonishingly ignorant of grassroots opinion within our community. He should be ashamed of his conduct and he will not get my vote.”
18 Dec 2010: Another politically unaffiliated Jew wrote:
“McIntosh accusing Alex Salmond of downplaying antisemitism reflects dreadfully on the Labour Party and McIntosh himself. My bet is that he thinks that the Jewish community will thank him and that it will win him votes. Antisemitism thankfully is not a major problem in Scotland. The First Minister has never said that it doesn’t exist and when I sat in the audience I heard him say we need to be vigilant. McIntosh is a 3rd rate politician who is badly misguided”. Memo for McIntosh: “Your behaviour will cost you support because no reasonable person will think you have done this for any other reason than to try and win a few extra votes. It is one thing to turn up at Jewish community events like your mate Jim Murphy but acting in the best interests of this community is something different. Unfortunately, both of you fail to understand that most of the community can see through your behaviour.”
10 Dec 2010: Jewish Ex Labour voter wrote:
“Mcintosh has let this community down. There can be no excuse for his behaviour. It is reprehensible to abuse his position as an MSP for his own political benefit and potentially cause alarm and insecurity within the Jewish community. Salmond’s behaviour towards our community has been absolutely first class. Mcintosh has lost my vote.”
19 Dec 2010: Yet another Jewish voter wrote:
“Sell your Granny for a Fiver. Mcintosh has been taking lessons from his colleague Jim Murphy. Murphy ended up in opposition and backed the wrong brother Miliband to become the leader. Lo and behold our Jim is now in the Shadow Cabinet and has no doubt been a strong supporter of Ed Miliband all his life. Would Murphy and McIntosh support the Jewish community if it wasn’t in their own political interests? I very much doubt it.”
19 Dec 2010: A Concerned Jewish Citizen wrote:
“What is wrong with you lot? This is the same McIntosh that thinks it wise to cosy up to the Scottish Friends of Israel. For those in the dark that is a horrible organization that distributed material that broke all the rules of decency. They indulged in some of the worst excesses of stereotyping minorities and became a pariah organization within the community. Mackintosh had no problems associating himself with Scottish Friends of Israel (SFI) and wrongfully attacking the First Minister is not going to trouble his conscience one iota.”
21 Dec 2010: Another Jew wrote:
“McIntosh has been an MSP since 1999. His record as a Parliamentarian is particularly undistinguished. He seems preoccupied with plans to build one of the biggest waste recycling plants in Europe within the constituency, just north of Newton Mearns. Can anyone tell me what he has achieved, and I mean real notable achievements, since being elected?”
23 Dec 2010: Concerned Jewish voter said:
!McIntosh, Labour MSP for Eastwood, a constituency in Glasgow with a sizeable Jewish community, criticized the Scottish Parliament for taking a passive stance on antisemitism. He also expressed concern that there was no Scottish representation on the cross-government working group on antisemitism, stating;
“I would like to see us represented on the group, or at the very least to comment on its findings. It’s a national initiative, so why don’t we participate?”
The secretary to the Westminster all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism commented:
“The Scottish government has not been deliberately excluded and I am sure any interest would be welcomed.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish government replied:
“Unfortunately, we do not have a locus to participate in Westminster parliamentary working groups.”
McIntosh added:
“For some reason, this has broken down at the devolved barrier. For example, they’ve just announced increased funding for security at Jewish schools, but this will not be going to Calderwood Lodge Jewish Primary School.”
The Glasgow Jewish Educational Forum got involved stating:
“McIntosh is not very bright!!! As an MSP I would have thought he would understand the basic concepts of devolution. It is not the purpose of the Scottish Parliament to merely replicate Westminster and the fact is that antisemitism in Scotland nowhere near the same level as in England. He is clearly not doing any of this in the best interests of his constituents. I find it astonishing that he is prepared to talk about security issues to a newspaper and it is time that he shut up before he could actually harm the interests of the Jewish community. His ill-conceived campaign to use the Jewish community to attack the Scottish Government is not acceptable. Politicians of his ilk should be shown the exit door.”
17 May 2017: Presiding Officer, McIntosh Invites Israeli Ambassador to Holyrood
Without advising the Scottish government, Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh invited the Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev to visit Holyrood as his honoured guest. The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) and the Association of Palestinian Communities in Scotland (APCS) said they would protest outside parliament, at the time of the visit which was at odds with Holyrood’s diplomatic policy in regards to Israeli
Why did he do it?
The Labour Party had, for 100 years supported the growth of Israel. A policy ended with the election to Party Leader of Jeremy Corbyn, who, together with many Trade Unions backed the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
With Corbyn’s backing, the Labour Party endorsed the principles of the: Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement; (BDS) which is beginning to impact on Israeli exports.
The perceptions of the Scottish public towards the Israeli government and its policies are becoming increasingly negative and the Ambassador was instructed to use his political office to counter the Palestinian successes.
For many years, as the Eastwood MSP, McIntosh developed, maintained and exploited a network of very close links with Israeli politicians which made him an ideal conduit to convey good news about Israel offsetting the impact of (BDS).
The Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign Hit back
“McIntosh, MSP in East Renfrewshire, was appointed Labour spokesman on Communities and Social Justice. Filling this specific position with a vocal supporter of a Jewish supremacist state built on the ethnic cleansing of the native Palestinian population is scandalous. The Palestinian community in Scotland can hardly address their concerns to McIntosh with any confidence, to a man who shares, or claims to share, Israel’s view of the world. An open advocate for a state that systematically discriminates against its Muslim and Christian citizens is now Labour spokesman for Communities and Social Justice.”
A further sinister aspect of McIntosh’ appointment is that he has a history of dishonestly smearing supporters of Palestinian rights as “anti-semitic”.
This goes beyond the common Zionist intellectual dishonesty in claiming a surge in “anti-semitism” in the only country in Europe that has no history of state persecution of Jews. The slightest acquaintance with the theory and practice of Zionist organizations world-wide suggests great caution in evaluating Zionist claims of antisemitism. After all, the movement claims that antisemitism is always widespread, ineradicable, something to be accepted since Herzl, and even welcomed as an incentive for Jews to leave their homes and emigrate to Palestine (after 1948 to Israel).
But McIntosh doesn’t only repeat the Zionist mantra that supporting Palestine – even flying a Palestinian flag – generates antisemitism. On at least one occasion, an excess of zeal led McIntosh to apparently invent a racist campaign against Scottish Jews. The April 30th 2010 edition of the Jewish Telegraph provided space for McIntosh to announce that SPSC members “target Jewish people living here in Scotland because of their own blinkered hostility to Israel”. This was based on a claim that he had seen an anti-Semitic leaflet calling for a boycott of kosher food in the Giffnock branch of Morrisons.
His claim of a hate crime against Scottish Jews by Palestine human rights advocates was totally unfounded and according to a senior police officer some months later:
“Police enquiries established that no offence had been committed.”
Contrary to what McIntosh had alleged. McIntosh declined to discuss the matter further when challenged by one of his constituents. He lost any interest in the matter and cavalierly wrote to a constituent who asked him about such a serious matter that:
“I cannot find the original email”.
McIntosh’s outrage had quickly evaporated at what would have been – if real – a clear example of hate crime against his Jewish constituents. If he really believed that he had seen an antisemitic leaflet calling for a boycott of kosher food, then it was his clear duty to share that evidence with the police. His inability to do so lends extra weight to the suspicions of the Glasgow Jewish Educational Forum’s Jeremy Stein who wondered whether McIntosh was motivated primarily by the hope of “electoral advantage” in his zeal for ferreting out antisemitic, both real and imagined.
Jim Murphy’s record of virulent pro-Israeli advocacy puts him very far out of step with Scottish, UK and world public opinion. And his selection of McIntosh as Labour Party candidate for Communities and Social Justice Minister, in a Scottish Government, sent a grim message to Scotland’s Palestinian community, campaigners for justice for the long-violated Palestinian people, Scottish Muslims and Scottish Christian churches, and anyone in Scotland of any or no political affiliation, whether pro- or anti-independence, who takes social justice seriously.
How can we trust someone who fabricates racist incidents to create tensions between different Scottish communities to be our Minister for Communities and Social Justice?”
Another Example of McIntosh’s Close Ties With Israel
The aftermath of the 2010, murders of over 1,400 Palestinians in which Palestinian civilian areas were used as a testing ground for the development of its military hardware, brought worldwide condemnation of Israel. But not McIntosh, who was the sole sponsor of a grotesque exhibition, celebrating Israeli technology at Holyrood, which was met with protests. The same year, he falsely accused the (SPSC) of targeting Scotland’s Jewish community in its opposition to Israel, claiming to have seen antisemitic leaflets calling for a boycott of kosher food in his constituency. When it was suggested to Macintosh that he ought to contact the police, it became clear that what Macintosh had actually seen was a sticker bearing the slogan ‘Free Palestine, Boycott Israel’. Glasgow Jewish Educational Forum Chair Jeremy Stein speculated that Macintosh was motivated primarily by the hope of ‘electoral advantage’ in his botched attempt to confront antisemitic, rather than any anti-racist imperative.
the pro-Israel lobby in Scotland has been invigorated.
The Israeli Government set aside £20 million a year to fight (BDS) and has become proficient at reaching out to socially conservative Christian groups developing political networks. Example:
Former Free Church lay preacher: Nigel Goodrich, a Christian Zionist who is the founder of the Confederation of Friends of Israel in Scotland,
The SNP too became a target, although this effort was discredited when Sammy Stein, a new SNP member who organized a pro-Israel stall at the SNP’s Autumn Conference, was disciplined by the Party for campaigning against pro-Palestine SNP MSP Sandra White in the 2016 Holyrood election.
It is clear that the overwhelming bulk of public sentiment in Scotland remains sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Check out the global resonance of Celtic fans’ display of solidarity during their Champions League match against Hapoel Be’er Sheva last year, and the £176,000 raised for organisations in Palestine is its aftermath.
Scots Will Protest at Holyrood against the Visit of Regev
When activists gather outside Holyrood in opposition to Mark Regev, they did so not just in narrow opposition to his visit but to express deeply-held solidarity which ran counter to the British state which this year will celebrate the centenary of its complicity in Zionist colonization in Palestine.
The protestors stood in solidarity with over 1,500 Palestinian hunger strikers who were facing their gaolers in the prisons of the Israeli occupation. The grassroots swell of solidarity with Palestine is not something which can be replicated by its antagonists. (scottishpsc)
28 Feb 2018: Brexit – Hollyrood’s Presiding Officer Rules SNP Proposal Out of Order
Nicola Sturgeon’s attempt to force Theresa May’s hand in a row over devolved powers after Brexit was dealt a blow after a flagship bill was ruled outside the remit of the Scottish Parliament. Ken Mcintosh, Holyrood’s presiding officer, said the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill was not within the Scottish Parliament’s competence.
The bill, meant to be the SNP’s alternative to the UK Government’s EU Withdrawal Bill, was brought forward amid a furious row about what happens to powers being returned to the UK after Brexit.
But Scotland’s Lord Advocate, James Wolf, overruled McIntosh stating:
” The bill, like all Scottish Government bills, was accompanied by a Ministerial statement cleared by me, that it is within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament”.
Ken Macintosh – a member of “Scotland in Union” is in breach of the conditions of his appointment to the post of Presiding Officer
The secretive anti-independence group, funded by a rich and powerful elite group of high society peers, politicians, businessmen and landowners, faced questions about its viability after admitting its supporters are turning off the financial raising fears about its long term viability
But the claim is at odds with the company accounts which show that 170 rich and powerful individuals gave just over £650,000 to the Unionist group between 2015 and mid-2017.
Summary
McIntosh has not impressed the public nor displayed absolute impartiality in his chairmanship of parliamentary business and his contribution to politics in Scotland in the months to come will need to be carefully monitored since his role of presiding officer allows him to influence events.
Scottish Labour is at risk of being “reduced to driftwood”, a former senior Labour Party in Scotland figure claimed. His Quotes:
* “The party’s stance on devolution will cost them during the referendum, the future of the party was more important than the future of the UK.”
* “While the wind of home rule blew, the Scottish Labour party was revealed as the most Westminster-centric of all Scottish parties and it was “damaged” by joining forces with the pro-union parties of Better Together during the referendum campaign.”
* “Rather than grasp the initiative on the agenda of new powers for the Scottish parliament, the Labour leadership saw the reforms only through the prism of what it would mean for a future Labour government at Westminster.”
* “The future of the United Kingdom was at stake but for Labour the future of the party was more important.”
* “It speaks to a belief that too many of our Scottish MPs regard Westminster as a way to escape Scottish politics rather than a way to represent Scotland.”
* “Some say the party has been damaged by joining with the coalition parties in Better Together. I think the real damage is that the Tories and the Liberal Democrats saw first hand that the ‘Labour machine’ didn’t exist.”
* “They even saw that some Labour figures were more willing to share a table with them than share the same airspace with their own Labour colleagues in Scotland”
Paul Sinclair, spin-doctor for former leader Johann Lamont and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown (STV News Dec 2014)
The CIA and New Labour – 1984-2010
CIA-backed fronts such as the Labour Committee for Transatlantic Understanding (LCTU) continued to attract right-wing trade union and Labour Party figures well into the 1980s.
LCTU was formed “in order to develop a better understanding of the objectives and democratic values of the Western Alliance in the ranks of socialist and trade union movements in Europe and their counterparts in the United States”.
It distributes a news service amongst the trade union movement and provides regular seminars and conferences for senior trade unionists and politicians. Speakers at LCTU’s conferences have included Dr John Reid MP (later to become Tony Blair’s armed forces minister) Peter Mandelson MP, and George Robertson MP (Blair’s defence secretary).
Another example of infiltration into the Labour Party was the case of MI6 officer Margaret “Meta” Ramsay. She had attended Glasgow University and had been elected President of the Scottish Union of Students. In 1962, she became associate secretary of the CIA-front the International Student Conference at Leiden, Holland.
From 1965 to 1967, Ramsay was secretary of the Fund for International Student Co-operation, which was later identified as another recipient of CIA funds. She became an active member of the Labour Party, attending conferences where party officials were “unaware” of her intelligence connections.
In late 1981, she was even on the short-list to become the new chief of MI6. (In the event, Sir Colin McColl, who was due to retire as chief in September 1992, was asked by John Major to stay on for another two years).
In August 1992, Margaret Ramsay was appointed to the position of foreign policy adviser to Labour leader John Smith, who was a friend of hers since university days. As well as raising a few eyebrows, this appointment begs the question: What was the leader of the Labour Party doing employing a known high-ranking MI6 agent in such a senior position?
With friends like these, the opportunities that the intelligence services have had for manipulating Labour politicians have plainly been many and varied.
Today, Tony Blair maintains the CIA’s designs for the Labour party, with a commitment to the largest military budget in Europe and an unswerving allegiance to NATO.
The assortment of transatlantic study trips, scholarships, trade union “fellowships” at Harvard and seminars paid for by U.S. agencies and the CIA continue to mould and influence Labour Party policies.
For example, both Gordon Brown and John Monks (an important Blair ally as head of the TUC) were welcomed by the secretive Bilderberg Group (one of the key organisations of the European-American elite.) Brown and his economic adviser Edward Balls were both at Harvard. David Miliband, Blair’s head of policy, was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 1986, Tony Blair went on one of the myriad of U.S.-sponsored trips to America that are available for promising MPs and came back a supporter of the nuclear deterrent. In 1993, he went to a meeting of the Bilderberg Group.
Jonathan Powell, Blair’s foreign policy advisor, used to work in the British embassy in Washington and is suspected by some of having been the liaison officer between British intelligence and the CIA.
In 1976, Peter Mandelson was Chair of the British Youth Council, which began as the British section of the World Assembly of Youth, which as we have seen, was set up and financed by the CIA. By Mandelson’s time in the mid-1970s, the British Youth Council was said to be financed by the Foreign Office, though this was thought to be a euphemism for MI6. http://www.bilderberg.org/bap.htm
The CIA and New Labour 2010-2015
In recent times we witnessed the revelations of a staunch Labourite and former friend of Donald Dewar, the veteran commentator Ruth Wishart came out in support of the Yes campaign on the eve of a huge independence rally in the capital.
She explained: “The over-riding reason why I will come out loud and proud today is because I truly believe this to be a historic opportunity to shape the kind of nation we want our children and grandchildren to inherit and grow up in. The de facto privatisation of the English health system, the wilful fragmentation of their education sector, and, most damaging of all, the imposition of appalling tax and benefit “reforms” which will hit the most vulnerable while protecting the wealthy are all anathema to a large majority of Scots of all political persuasions.”
Her speech at the rally was widely thought to be the best. Senior Labour figures were said to be appalled.
Sadly at the end of the week, the question: “What are Scottish Labour for?” remains unanswered. Trident and the Union is about the closest you could get. They’re certainly against Alex Salmond and universal benefits but have no clear alternative policies to speak of.
So there it is the modern Labour Party is a carbon-copy of the Toy Party with no fresh ideas who aren’t worth the effort of voting
http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2012/09/26/the-lady-is-for-turning/
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown – Labour MP – Ex British American Project member
The venerable John Pilger wrote about the British American Project (BAP), an Anglo-American network set up by the Right in the US in 1983. Alumni include the arch strategist, Mr Powell, (he of Tony Blair infamy) and several New Labour ministers, Tory top boys, business leaders and powerful media people – Paxman, Evans and Naughtie among them. Many US Masters (and Mistresses) of the universe are also members.
Pilger’s view is that the BAP is modern-day freemasonry but without the silly rituals, dark secrets, and deep misogyny. It seeks to preserve the rapacious power and wealth of the Anglo-American alliance. It draws in future power merchants and trailblazers, and gets them to commit to nuclear weaponry and world domination. Journalist members keep guard and stop the public from finding out about the suspect club.
So here’s the story of how I got involved with BAP, what it was then, what is has since become, its influence, good and bad, and why I no longer attend the annual junkets.
It was 1988 and I worked for the brilliant New Society magazine, my first proper media job, scary and exhilarating. I had come to journalism late.
An invitation arrived from Chatham House to a posh lunch, to possibly get to go to the US with other young Turks of this land. I must have eaten well enough with the baffling cutlery for I was among the chosen. A nobody like me, I thought, to join the somebodies. I was flattered.
It was off to St Louis, and oh my world, how posh was theirs! How we were dined and wined and how terribly hard it all was, and what a good thing I had gained entry, to go and put up a fight against the fat complacency of Reaganites and Thatcherites.
The neocons were then at the toddler stage, noisy but not yet fully formed. The British side was dominated by white men while the US ensured gender and race balance.
The debates were hard and mostly won by the Right from both sides. We argued about US arrogance, Israel, royalty and republicanism. There are some uplifting memories. An American delegate who looked like William Hurt was delightfully attentive and I brushed off a lecherous Thatcherite minister who invited me to be his mistress in exchange for the use of his Knightsbridge flat.
I attended six gatherings (I think) and was glad to, mainly because it gave me insights into the workings of power. Jonathan Powell, the silent operator, who stood and watched and said nothing unless it was privately to this general or that senator.
Vanessa Gilmore, a dynamic US judge from Texas, networked and intervened so efficiently it dwarfed us all. Police chiefs hobnobbing. And so on.
So why did I stop going? Because I became increasingly queasy about this special relationship, because of Iraq, because New Labour has, without public consultation, made the UK into a client state of the USA.
The British American Project – Searching for the Successor Generation – The US Embassy’s International Visitor Program Gordon Brown and the Labour Party in the 1980s
The IV Program (US Embassy’s International Visitor Program) is a subtle exercise that trades heavily on America’s considerable cultural and social capital, in other words its soft power.
The altruistic aspect of providing the trip is always balanced with the intention of some kind of return.
An invitation offered at the start of a young, talented politician’s career can pay off later if, as expected, that politician rises through the ranks in the following years.
An IV trip has the potential; thanks to the extra information sources or contacts it can provide, to be career enhancing, particularly for those in the media or academics but also for MPs.
It is not a case of undue influence but of pragmatically attempting to establish favourable, constructive relations early on with someone expected to achieve greater influence in the future.
In 1984 the IVP showed the first signs of this approach, with an invitation offered to Gordon Brown.
Selection of candidates for the IVP was not easy due to the lack of talent available within the Labour Party.
Indeed comment was made that the majority of the 209 Labour MPs in the Commons after the 1983 election were, distinctly unimpressive.
Of the party’s 32 new MPs, Gordon Brown certainly stood out as among the pick of the intake.
A US Embassy telegram from early 1984 described how Brown was;
“already being seen as a leading light among the new members. He is an articulate, hard working and dedicated MP who is likely to go places within his party . As he has never been to the US the IV Program will give him an ideal opportunity to learn first-hand about the US political system and meet his American counterparts early in his career, which could have immense value to both sides of the Atlantic”.
Brown’s programme in the United States was dominated by three issues:
1. The American political process at federal and state levels.
2. US defense policy, and regional and urban redevelopment schemes.
3. Defense policy and NATO missile deployment at the Departments of State and Defense.
On redevelopment questions, the Embassy was aware that Brown’s constituency of Dunfermline East was suffering from high unemployment and was also deeply involved in the miners’ strike.
This was the background to his visit to Pittsburgh to view its urban renewal schemes, and his meetings with union officials.
But, the main focus was on the apparatus of the political parties.
Brown was interested in the organization, fundraising, campaigning and the role of political action committees in both major parties.
Brown was definitely fascinated by the United States.
While he went back at every opportunity in subsequent years, it was his IV trip that initially opened the door.
Reference: Searching for the Successor Generation – Public Diplomacy- The US Embassy International Visitor Programme and the Labour party in the 1980’s
British – American Project for a Successor Generation (BAP)
An American-funded network which promotes American interests among British political opinion formers in support of the foreign policies of the United States of America
The BAP journalistic membership includes senior BBC journalists and leading figures from The Independent, The Economist and News International. What better for the international status quo than a well-heeled freemasonry of politicians and journalists setting the news agenda?
Other members come from a wide variety of backgrounds and include rising stars from the world of business, government, the voluntary sector, the media and the armed forces.
Scotland had no chance of winning a Yes vote in the referendum. Can anyone remember any of the under-noted media presenters voicing even a morsel of support???
They Even Held A Meeting In Edinburgh During The Referendum campaign
The next event was in April in the midst of the Scottish Referendum where we debated “Scotland’s place in the World”.
Chaired by Jim Naughtie, (presenter of BBC’s Today programme) the discussion covered what an independent Scotland would mean for the transatlantic relationship and how far the Special Relationship automatically extends.
The panellists included, representatives from all political parties, journalists, business and civil society and succeeded in conveying a real understanding of the complexities of the issues involved.
http://www.britishamericanproject.org/essentialrelationship.asp
British American Project Members
Evan Davis. Recently appointed anchor of “Newsnight” . Took over from Jeremy Paxman.
Davis began work as an economist at the Institute of Fiscal Studies, and while there he was seconded to help officials work on early development of the Community Charge system of local government taxation (better known as the Poll Tax).
As the BBC’s economics editor, Davis was responsible for reporting and analysing economic developments on a range of programmes on BBC radio and television. He also had a role in shaping the extensive BBC coverage of economics across all the corporation’s outputs, including online.
He is a member of the British-American Project
Jeremy Paxman senior member of the British American Project (BAP).
From the safe confines of the Newsnight studio, Jeremy Paxman introduced his Russell Brand interview in archetypal world-weary mode like some kind of venerable patrician inviting a precocious, innocent upstart to join an exalted circle, just for a few moments. The trivial diversion to the topic of Paxman’s beard meant that Brand’s question, ‘Well how come I feel so cross with you?’ was left hanging in mid-air.
This is the point where Brand could, and should, have gone on the offensive about Paxman’s privileged position as a supposed fearless interrogator of power, the BBC man’s connection with the British-American Project once described as a ‘Trojan horse for US foreign policy’, and then extending to a critique of the BBC itself. There is no shortage of examples of BBC propaganda that could have been raised.
Jane Hill. Senior Political reporter and newsreader.
Hill is openly Lesbian. She lives in North London with her partner Sara, a camera operator. They have entered into a civil partnership.
She is a member of the British American Project, an organisation which exists to promote Anglo-American relations. The organisation has been criticised for its links to the military establishment and neocon politicians.
Senior BBC producer (Newcastle) Murphy Cobbing. (left)
Diane Coyle. is an economist and former advisor to the UK Treasury. She is Vice-Chairman of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the BBC
Long time member of the BAP. Joined at same time as Mandelson and Naughtie
Rona Fairhead. Chair of the BBC trust. 2014
Very close friend of Chancellor George Osborne and Lord Stevenson, (a key figure in the BAP network and in the 2008 banking collapse.)
A former executive at Pearson, she was appointed BBC Trust chair in 2014 and has since run into a series of controversies that have weakened her position.
In the aftermath of the tax avoidance scandal involving HSBC, where Fairhead is a non-executive director, Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, called for her to go. Harriet Harman, the acting leader of the Labour party, has also said BBC Trust independence appears to be lacking.
Senior Political Commentator/Presenter. James Naughtie. A VIP of the (BAP)
James Naughtie was born and brought up in Milltown of Rothiemay near Huntly Aberdeenshire. He is a Fellow of the British-American Project
In July 2015 he announced, via the BBC, that in early 2016 he would retire from regular presenting duties on the “Today” programme and would, instead, be its ‘Special Correspondent’ with ‘responsibility for charting the course of the constitutional changes at the heart of the UK political debate’. The notorious Nick Robinson has been parachuted in taking over the “Today” programme.
Laura Kuenssberg. BBC Political Editor BBC News..
As well as their annual conference BAP organise a number of high profile events during the year. A recent BAP event featured the Chief Political Correspondent of BBC News Laura Kuenssberg.
Sarah Smith BBC political presenter
Sarah is the daughter of the late John Smith, ( Bilderberger) and former leader of the Labour party.
Her sister is married to Malcolm, son of Labour Party royalty, Lord George Robertson ex-NATO Secretary General, UK Defence Secretary and founding figure of the British American Project
Those familiar with BBC Scotland bias will be aware that much of the criticism is because it is riddled with figures connected to the labour party in Scotland.
The mistress of the delivery of rehearsed written questions Sarah is incapable of intelligent response when answers are clearly codswallop.
She is also too entrenched in the British establishment to be able to give any non-unionist politician a fair hearing.
The New World Order Is Decided
Gordon Brown 10 November 2008 “As America stands at its own dawn of hope, so let that hope be fulfilled through a pact with the wider world to lead and shape the 21st century as the century of a truly global society.”
The New World Order – The dogma that Drives the labour Party
Gordon Brown and His Vision Of A new World Order
caltonjock 