caltonjock

 

 

2,500 assault rifles & 1.5 million bullets supplied

 

 

 

17 December 1995: Illegal Arms Supply to India

The Purilia Arms Drop was an illegal transfer of arms to an unknown group in West Bengal, India. Central characters in the deal included Peter Haestrup.

He surfaced again in 2013 when, together with Tory, Richard Cook and the late, 83yo, Prince Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz, former head of the Saudi Arabian intelligence agency, he co-founded another company called Five Star Investment Management Ltd.

The company was registered at Cook’s Glasgow address. The firm filed no accounts with Companies House, and was dissolved in December 2014.

This explanation of events is complicated by many intrigues but the article need to be read in its entirety to be sure of a clear understanding of recent actions and activities of Richard Cook, former vice chairman of the Conservative Party in Scotland.

I intend to add to the content routinely with the purpose of easing the burden of assimilation of information

 

Loadsa weapons supplied

 

 

21 May 2007: The Purilia Arms Drop – A Story of intrigue and Secret Service Bargaining With Lives

There was a slim chance the mystery behind the Purulia arms drop case would be resolved, but this required one of the accused, Kim Davy, the Danish pilot, to be extradited to India.

Davy was the key conspirator in the crime but managed to escape from Mumbai’s high security area and had been on the run ever since.

He was finally tracked down by Interpol in 2002 in Copenhagen.

The progress of the case since 17 December 1995, when a cache of arms was air dropped over Purulia in West Bengal, is now becoming a distant memory for most but behind Davy’s possible extradition is a tangled web of diplomatic intrigue, questionable bargaining and an investigation that has covered more than 12 years and a dozen countries, including the UK, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Italy.

His co-conspirator, Peter Bleach, spent years in a Kolkata jail in India, before being released under pressure from the British Government.

The Purulia arms drop conspiracy had its origins in Copenhagen in August 1995 when Davy met with British arms dealer Bleach and two other dealers, both Danish nationals, Peter Haestrup and Brian Thune, to discuss the mission, dropping a cache of arms and ammunition in West Bengal breaching the air defence and security of India.

The consignment was reportedly intended to arm the Anandmargi sect which had a strong presence in the Purulia district.

Ten days later the group, basically mercenaries for hire, flew to Bangkok. Bleach had acquired an AN-26 aircraft bought in Latvia for $250,000 while Davy had sourced the weapons from Bulgaria on forged papers that showed it was intended for the Bangladesh Army.

They included AK-47s and rocket launchers which were loaded on to the aircraft in Bulgaria. The plane then left with the arms cache, making a mysterious stopover in Karachi on 13 December 1995.

It then flew over Indian air space and dropped the cache in Purulia in West Bengal, and flew on to Phuket in Thailand instead of Yangon as had been scheduled earlier.

On the way back from Phuket to Karachi, the aircraft landed at Chennai on December 21 1995, for refuelling. As it took off, Indian Air Force jets intercepted the aircraft and forced it to land at Mumbai airport.

There, another drama unfolded. While the others were arrested, Davy managed to escape and flee the country.

The Latvians, who were the crew members of the aircraft, were let off following pressure from Moscow on the eve of a visit by the Russian President Vladimir Putin in July 2000.

Bleach was also released after intervention by the British Government in January 2004.

 

 

 

Deportation From Denmark to India

The successful deportation of Davy might have revealed who financed the operation and the supposed recipients of the arms together with Pakistan’s involvement, as Karachi was a key hub on the flight route.

But there was a problem: The Repatriation of Prisoners Act 2003 did not permit transfer of custody of a prisoner if the act for which he was to be convicted of is prejudicial to the sovereignty and security of India. The others had been charged with waging war against the state. Davy was not extradited.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/davys-arms-drop-case/1/155854.html

 

 

 

 

But What the Hell Actually Happened?

On 17 December 1995, unauthorised arms were dropped from an Antonov An-26 aircraft in the Purulia district in West Bengal.

The arms dropped included a very large consignment comprising 2,500 assault rifles and 1.5 million rounds of ammunition were scattered over four villages in the district.

The aircraft reappeared in Indian airspace within a few days and was forced to land. Its crew, comprising five Latvian citizens and a British mercenary, Peter Bleach, were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

But the chief accused, a Danish citizen named Niels Hock (aka Kim Davy) escaped arrest and was able to ship himself out of India.

An investigation into the incident pointed the finger of fate towards ‘Anand Marga’ a spiritual organisation operating in India since 1955, as the intended target of the weapons.

This claim was validated later by the court, citing the Pilot’s testimony and photos of Anand Marga headquarters found in the aircraft as credible evidences.

Ananda Marga, had been, since the 1980s, in a continuous confrontation with the ruling authorities and its cadres in West Bengal.

The organisation had also been facing staunch opposition from the locals and were labelled as ‘child kidnappers’ with numerous instances of violent confrontation between the two groups.

The investigation reports claimed that the arms were dropped so that the the organisation would be able to defend themselves against continuous threats and attacks. Kim Davy, himself a member of the Ananda Marga brokered the ‘transaction’.

All the arrested crew members were released by the government after persistent pressure from Russia and Britain. The Latvian crew were released in 2000 while Bleach found his way out in 2004.

Davy was arrested by Danish authorities in 2007. On April 9, 2010 he was due to be extradited to India but the Danish court refused the extradition request.

Kim Davy later came up with a stunning revelation that both the Central Government (under the Congress) and RAW (India’s spy agency) had prior knowledge about the arms drop and the weapons were dropped to help the Anti-Left forces in Bengal and thereby creating a pretext to impose President’s rule in West Bengal.

He also revealed that prominent politicians from Bihar, Pappu Yadav, had masterminded his escape from India.

Later Peter Bleach aligned with the ‘Davy story line’. But the CBI ruled out any conspiracy involving the Central government in the arms drop and considers these revelations by the accused as attempts to block their extradition which has continuously been rejected by the Danish high court.

 

 

 

 

Oct 15, 2015 Villager’s comments:

Those were the winter days, in an area inhabited by Santhal tribe in Purulia an old man had died. His remains were being cremated,

but the funeral pyre was mistaken for a beacon for dumping arms. As it was twilight, the pilots too didn’t notice the difference.

Seeing a huge haul being dropped from sky, the terrified innocent villagers notified the local administration and soon everyone came to know about it.

If it weren’t for them, these arms would have reached their intended buyer. Locals still laugh about it.

Yes, It is true. The arms were dropped near Khotonga village in Jhalda Block on 17 December 1995 from an Antonov An-26 aircraft in Purulia district in the state of West Bengal in India.

By chance, that day someone died. The body was being burned and the arms were dropped on the village by mistake. Next day the villagers informed the police. (quora.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 May 2010: Richard Cook The Man Behind the Rebirth of the Conservative Party in Scotland

The former Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party said “I believe deeply in our party, its membership and in the need for a centre right party to represent the hundreds of thousands of Scots who believe in the same things we do.

Putting it bluntly, our General Election results were not good.

In all but a few seats the people of Scotland turned out to stop the Tories and not to support us despite the worst economic disaster in British peace time history.

It is time the Party strengthened the Scottish (CFS) Conservative Future.

Conservative Future Scotland did a fantastic job of mobilising its members to help in constituencies across Scotland at the 2010 General Election.

Now we need to do everything we can to support and grow this organisation.

They move faster, get through more and have a different view on life than our more mature members, and while they bring with them certain challenges they are an essential part of a vibrant political party.

In East Renfrewshire I was blessed to have the support of a large and very dedicated bunch of young people, largely students, who dedicated Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings – right through the bitter cold of last winter – to the canvass activity that helped grow our vote.

Richard Anderson, Ross McFarlane and Colin Taylor, to name just three, did everything they could to coordinate a group of 20+ young activists from Conservative Future branches at Glasgow University, Strathclyde University, Caledonian University and beyond – and what a job they did.

Not that their activities were restricted to canvassing.

There were the numerous thousands of leaflets they dropped through doors and the myriad of new ideas they brought forward to the benefit of our campaign.

These guys are from a generation of people who are among the first to have grown up with Labour as the political establishment.

They look at the state of our economy and blame lack of job opportunities on our opposition, not the Tories.

For them the word “Tory” does not throw up bad memories of Conservative government and in seeking to end perceptions of a toxic brand we should be asking CFS members to be active participants in brand modernisation.

How do we help them? First of all we need to ask them what they need in order to be able to continue to grow and prosper.

We are talking about a generation of people who have grown up in an online world and for whom modern campaign techniques are second nature.

As a result they have a very different outlook on life and will want to take us in exciting new directions – both in our structure and our campaign activities.

Then we need to help them deliver exciting organisations on the ground.

This is particularly the case on University campuses where political celebrity is often used to attract new members.

People like Boris Johnson are extremely popular (hence the range of Boris material produced for CF use at Freshers’ Fairs) and with a young and dynamic new Prime Minister we need to use the positive images we have to there best advantage.

So, we need to help CFs branches organise good local events, with a good profile of speaker, and to support these events in person, where appropriate.

Finally we must recognise than in return for their support of campaigns in our constituencies we need to support them.

I hope to organise a CFS summer get together (come conference) in Glasgow to thank them for their support of my campaign in East Renfrewshire.

More importantly, I hope this will show Conservative Future Scotland we value their involvement and want to hear from them what direction they believe our Party should now take.

http://revivingourparty.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Richard Cook and Cameron

 

 

19 May 2017: Senior Scottish Conservative Richard Cook At the Centre of a £425,000 (DUP) Major Brexit funding scandal.

A modest, semi-detached house in Clarkston on Glasgow’s southside seems an unlikely source for a secretive, £425,000 donation to the Democratic Unionist Party’s Brexit campaign.

But the occupant – Richard Cook – is the only person publicly connected with the Constitutional Research Council, a shadowy pro-union group that funnelled dark money to the DUP ahead of June’s EU referendum.

And Richard Cook is not just connected to Northern Irish unionism – he has links that go to the heart of the Scottish Conservative Party, the Saudi intelligence service and a notorious Indian gun running scandal.

Mr Cook is also a former vice chairman of the Scottish Conservative party and Tory election candidate (for which he was fast-tracked through the selection, according to reports on ConservativeHome).

He has campaigned with Ruth Davidson and David Cameron, and his Facebook friends list is a roll-call of prominent Scottish Tories.

Scottish politicians are now calling for the Scottish Tory leader to clarify her relationship with Cook, who in the 2010 general election lost out to Labour’s Jim Murphy in East Renfrewshire.

Key activists in his team were subsequently found burning the EU flag and posting Northern Irish loyalist song lyrics on Twitter.

Cook is also at the centre of a political scandal raging in Northern Ireland.

Back in February, an openDemocracy investigation found that donors had taken advantage of Northern Ireland’s secretive electoral laws to funnel hundreds of thousands of pounds to the DUP’s pro-Brexit campaign.

Under pressure, the DUP revealed that the party had received £425,622 from a group called ‘the Constitutional Research Council’.

Over £32,000 of this money was spent on data analytics company AggregateIQ, a small Canadian outfit that has been linked to Donald Trump’s billionaire backer Robert Mercer and Cambridge Analytica, who are now at the heart of an investigation by the Information Commission.

We know almost nothing about the Constitutional Research Council.

The outfit has no formal legal status.

What we can say for sure is that it is chaired by Cook, and he has promised to fund the pro-union campaign in any future Scottish independence referendum. “More people with more money are ready to step up to the plate this time compared with the last referendum” Cook told the Sunday Times earlier this year.

He didn’t reveal who those people are.

The DUP has also refused to say who the backers behind the CRC are, and there is little to suggest that Cook himself is a major donor.

Former Conservative colleagues describe Cook as “a nice guy but not a rich guy”. Cook – who could not be contacted for this piece – appears to retain an interest in Scottish politics.

He is listed as an advisor on Think Scotland, a conservative-minded website funded by Scottish unionist businessman Robert Kilgour.

Think Scotland is owned by former Tory MSP Brian Monteith. Monteith was head of press during the referendum for Leave.EU, the campaign group run by Arron Banks and Nigel Farage.

Cook’s interests are not confined to politics.

Since general election defeat in 2010, he has been involved in a number of international business deals.

In 2012, his company Cook Consulting (UK) Ltd held a press conference in Glasgow announcing its involvement in a £640m water desalination project in Pakistan.

The firm failed to submit accounts in 2014 and was dissolved by Companies House via compulsory strike-off in 2015.

In 2013, Cook founded another company called Five Star Investment Management Ltd with the former head of the Saudi Arabian intelligence agency, Prince Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz.

The prince’s son is the Saudi ambassador to the UK.

The other director of the company was Peter Haestrup, a Danish national who has been connected to the Purulia arms drop case, a long-running multinational scandal that involved weapons being dropped over the Indian province of West Bengal in 1995.

Five Star Investment Management Ltd was registered at Mr Cook’s Glasgow address.

The firm filed no accounts with Companies House, and was dissolved in December 2014.

Cook also has connections with right-wing pressure groups in the UK.

He was Scottish spokesperson for Conservative Friends of Israel and for the Campaign Against Political Correctness, a campaign allied to the Freedom Association, a right-wing Eurosceptic pressure group that supported apartheid in South Africa.

Back in 2009, Richard Cook spoke alongside current Tory MSP Murdo Fraser at a Freedom Association fringe event at the Conservative party conference in Perth to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 election victory.

Freedom Association Chief Executive Simon Richards later praised Cook as “one of the hardest working PPC’s (Parliamentary Prospective Candidates) anywhere in the country”.

The Freedom Association has historical links with Northern Ireland.

Among its original founders was Ross McWhirter, a controversial journalist who campaigned for strict restrictions on Irish people in Britain, including making it compulsory for all Irish people in Britain to register with the local police and to provide signed photographs of themselves when renting flats or booking into hotels and hostel.

McWhirter was shot dead by the Provisional IRA in Enfield in 1975.

The Freedom Association boasts of “friendly links” with the Democratic Unionist Party.

In 2007 and 2008, leading DUP politicians Jeffrey Donaldson and Sammy Wilson were involved in Freedom Association “fact finding” events in Northern Ireland.

At the time, the Freedom Association said it had “taken a close interest in Ulster matters from its earliest days and is keen to strengthen its ties with the province and to demonstrate its support for the Union.”

Donaldson was the chair of the DUP’s Brexit campaign – his name appeared on the election material that the CRC’s £425,000 donation paid for – and Wilson was a prominent pro-Brexit DUP voice throughout the campaign, regularly appearing in the media.

After his defeat in the 2010 general election, Richard Cook wrote: “I believe deeply in our party, its membership and in the need for a centre right party to represent the hundreds of thousands of Scots who believe in the same things we do.”

Among the activists he singled out for praise during the campaign were Ross McFarlane and Colin Taylor.

McFarlane was subsequently sacked as a Holyrood assistant by Ruth Davidson in 2011 after footage emerged showing him setting fire to the EU standard while dressed in the robes of Glasgow University amid anti-Catholic taunts.

McFarlane had been Davidson’s election agent.

Around the same time, it was discovered that Belfast born Colin Taylor had posted song lyrics on Twitter glorifying Northern Irish loyalist terrorist group, the Ulster Volunteer Force, while serving as president of the student Conservative Association from 2009 to 2010.

The social media posts were picked up when Taylor was working for the Tory Press and Research Unit at Holyrood.

An SNP spokesperson said: “These are deeply concerning allegations The fact that we still do not know the source of such a significant amount of cash used to help bankroll the Brexit campaign is unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to continue.

Just as concerning are the apparent links to the highest levels of the Scottish Tory party.

Ruth Davidson must clarify what links she has with Mr Cook, and whether her party has helped itself to money from the same murky sources.”

https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/brexitinc/peter-geoghegan-adam-ramsay/meet-scottish-tory-behind-425000-dup-brexit-donation

https://caltonjock.com/2016/03/16/scottish-tories-a-party-of-political-eunuchs-managed-

by-mundell-and-davidson-left-in-place-by-cameron-to-watch-over-rebellious-scots-part-2/

 

 

 

 

 

 

2010: Conservative Future in Scotland

The Tory Party youth wing in Scotland is comprised of all party members aged 30 and younger.

Members are both professional and students alike and participate in the life of the Party in many ways.

They enjoy an active membership life participating in the campaigns of their local MSPs, MP or Councillors at all levels of the Party structure and often meet to socialise and debate together.

Many are office holders at constituency level and some are elected members of Local Councils.

In Scotland the Tory Party membership (many aged between 50-80) at 2011 numbered around 8000.

This created problems since it was not possible to conduct any meaningful electorate canvassing without troops on the ground.

Ruth Davidson’s strategy resolved her problem when she turned away from the “Tory Old Guard” instead preferring to raise the profile of her personally selected “Conservative Future Footsoldiers” so that they would cement and implement her doctrine in all areas of the Party in Scotland.

But there was a price to pay for creating this two tier Party and the behaviour of a number of young Tory thugs associated with an increasing number of unsavoury incidents gives warning to the electorate not to provide unfettered support to a political group closely modelled on the ideals of a National Socialist Party.

 

DUP leader at No10 Downing Street for talks

 

12 September 2011: Ruth Davidson’s Conservative Future President & Colleagues in Drunken Anti-Catholic Rant

Footage has emerged of Ross McFarlane, who was also the MSP’s election agent, setting fire to the EU standard while he was wearing Glasgow University robes.

Davidson fired him after being told of the incident, which happened after a St Andrew’s Day dinner last year.

Video footage shows McFarlane and some friends in Hyndland, in Glasgow’s West End, at 2am after the dinner, which was attended by Ms Davidson and a guest speaker, right-wing Tory MEP Roger Helmer.

The footage shows three people, including McFarlane and another individual draped in a Union Flag, trying to burn the EU flag on the pavement.

Struggling to set the cloth on fire, McFarlane says “F**k sake”, before adding: “Get a lighter.” An off-camera voice is heard to say: “Douse it.”

At this point it becomes clear the group is planning to burn the flag using alcohol and a lighter.

McFarlane is then seen to pour liquid on to the flag, prompting an associate to say: “What a waste of vodka, by the way.”

A frustrated McFarlane exclaims: “Somebody get a lighter.”

The failure to destroy the flag then becomes a source of merriment for a member of the group off-camera.

He can be heard saying: “There’s more chance of f*****g seeing the Pope confess to paedophilia.”

The group laughs. The same person then says: “There’s more chance of Hugh Dallas telling us he’s a f*****g tarrier.” – a derogatory term for an Irish Catholic.

The jibe prompts more laughter. McFarlane finally sets the flag alight.

The group expresses its approval before one of them starts to sing God Save The Queen.

The fire peters out and McFarlane says: “S**t disnae burn, lads.”

 

Davidson and her Conservative Future Team at Glasgow University

 

 

Ruth Davidson’s Press and Research Unit Assistant and Conservative Future Member in Anti-Catholic Rant

Also in her first week as national leader of the party, it emerged that Belfast born Colin Taylor, a Glasgow University graduate and former President of Conservative Future Scotland (CFS) and now employed at the public’s expense at Holyrood in the Tory press and research unit, tweeted lyrics from the song “Here Lies a Soldier”, which sings the praises of the Ulster Volunteer Force, an anti-Catholic Northern Irish terrorist group.

In his tweets Taylor casually refers to “tims” another offensive name for Catholics. The account has since disappeared.

As embarrassing as such behaviour may have been for Davidson, it was her response to Taylor’s tweets that has earned her the most criticism.

Taylor was allowed to keep his position, his punishment for his behaviour being no more than a “formal warning.”

Labour MSPs have called this “insufficient” and demanded more “disciplinary proceedings.”

Peter Kearney, of the Catholic Media Office, said: “The Catholic Church in Scotland condemns in the strongest possible terms any sectarian behaviour or criminality, from any quarter whatsoever, as having no place in a civilised society.”

The sectarian incidents occurred at a time when the ruling SNP was steering its anti-sectarianism bill, which would see much tougher punishments dealt to those who make sectarian comments at football grounds and, like Mr Taylor, through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Scottish Tory objection to the bill led to the late Roman Catholic criminal QC Paul McBride quitting the party, just one week before Taylor’s tweets became public knowledge.

http://scottishpol.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/talking-bout-ruths-generation.html

 

Stewart Green

 

 

 

25th September 2011: More Trouble For Ruth Davidson As Former Secretary of Conservative Future Scotland Posts Racist Comments Online

Stewart Green, Glasgow University Graduate and former secretary of Conservative Future Scotland and a key figure behind the “Tory Hoose” blog, claimed it was not possible to be racist against “blacks” and said it did not matter how many black people went to university.

Green was one of the Tory members embroiled in a flag-burning row that resulted in party leadership hopeful Ruth Davidson firing one of her aides.

Toryhoose.com was formed by senior party supporters in 2011  as a Scottish version of the acclaimed Conservative Home website.

The blog describes itself as a forum for “fresh thinking” in the Tories and is edited by activists.

Contributors have given extensive coverage to the Scottish leadership contest and organised an opinion poll of members’ views last week.

However, Green has posted his controversial views on race elsewhere online. Green, the site’s webmaster and “leadership editor”, said in a post on university admissions on microblogging site Twitter: “Why’s it ‘racist to conclude no blacks good enough’? Wasn’t aware black was a race.”

On the same day, he tweeted: “Shock: Oxbridge has only few black students. However, They have zero single armed, black, lesbian mothers. How outrageous.”

He later said: “As far as I can see, racism is discrimination against a particular race.

So you can be racist against Jews, but not against black people.”

Green also tweeted: “An Asian festival is taking place a few doors up, either that or several cats are being strangled. Can’t quite decide which.”

On UK Government policy towards Pakistan, he said the Asian country’s “first mistake” was “ending imperial rule”.

Green was one of those present when another young Conservative, Ross McFarlane, set fire to a European Union flag on a Glasgow street last year.

McFarlane was sacked as Davidson’s parliamentary assistant after footage of him burning the flag emerged.

It clearly shows Green and another individual holding the cloth as McFarlane tried to set it alight.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13037019.More_trouble_for_Tories_as_website____master____posts_racist_comments_after_EU_flag_burning_shame/

 

Conservative Future St Andrews University

 

 

 

20 September 2016: St Andrews University Investigation Confirms Conservative Future Society Election Fraud

An investigation conducted by the Students Association has found that allegations of “election fraud” and other allegations of abuse of authority, against the St Andrews Conservative and Unionist Society Chairman and committee were in fact true.

There were a number of serious allegations including an anti-Roman Catholic sentiment within the Society.

Stephan Maier, (member) said that at times there was a “general sentiment” of anti-Roman Catholic feeling in the Society stating that, anti-Roman Catholic remarks were made.

He said: “I’m not someone who feels very uncomfortably easily myself, but I believe others would.

People would easily be put off by that immediately, I completely agree with that.

Certain people would feel their presence was unwanted, and their opinion carried little or no value because they were Roman Catholic.

It put off people from joining or attending.”

A spokesman for the membership said: “It is some relief to be vindicated by the Union, and that our claims that the election had been unpleasant and corrupted have been confirmed.”

http://www.thesaint-online.com/2016/09/association-investigation-confirms-conservative-society-electoral-fraud/

Richard Cook and his supporting team East Renfrewshire

 

 

 

4 May 2017: Callum Purves, former Conservative Future Society President found Guilty of Election Foul Play at University is Newly Elected Kinross Councillor.

Callum Purves (Society President) and Ian Donnell, (Ulsterman: believer in Faith, Flag and Family and Society Chairman) were investigated and found guilty of serious electoral foul play.

The odious behaviour of senior officers of the Society, many since promoted to senior positions within the Scottish Conservative Party is symptomatic of a failure on the part of Ruth Davidson and her colleagues to provide leadership and guidance to younger members of her Party.

It is conjectured that, had the information contained in this article been made available to the Kinross electorate it is doubtful Purves would have been elected to serve as a councillor.

Might be he will do the right thing and stand down and submit himself for re-election. But “pigs might fly” before that happens.

Full report: http://www.thesaint-online.com/2016/10/whatever-happened-to-the-st-andrews-conservative-and-unionist-society/

 

 

Ian Donnell behind Ruth and members of the St Andrews University Conservative Future Tory Club

 

 

Ian Donnell – Strabane – Northern Ireland

Ian is a descendent of one of four Donnell brothers, all of whom were first members of the Tullywhisker Border Guards before serving with the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR.

One brother, Winston, was the first Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) casualty at the start of Operation Demetrius (internment) in 1971.

Ian excelled academically at school in Strabane and qualified for then gained a degree in Medicine, from St Andrews University.

A brilliant orator he commands an audience when he speaks (as did the late Ian Paisley.

He is well connected politically and socially with the Unionist community of Northern Ireland and easily transferred his loyalty to Ruth Davidson and the Conservative and Unionist party in Scotland at the start of his University studies in 2014.

Within the year he manoeuvred himself into the powerful role of Chairman/President of the Conservative Future Movement.

Membership of which comprises all of the Scottish Conservative Party’s members under the age of 30 or who are currently in higher education.

His leadership brought with it an increased political campus profile of young conservative activists.

St Andrews and Glasgow Universities became hotbeds of political intrigue as different factions battled for supremacy.

Davidson’s side won the day by the end of 2015.

Donnell and Davidson had established total control of the party in Scotland. This is how they did it:

https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/14/newly-elected-kinross-tory-councillor-guilty-of-agm-election-fraud-callum-purves-society-president-and-ian-donnell-ulsterman-believer-in-faith-flag-and-family-and-society-chairman-were-inves/

Davidson’s next move was to nurture long lapsed links between Scotland and Ulster and in this she had a willing and well versed assistant in Donnell.

Around 40% of the population of Northern Ireland are Ulster Scot’s.

Very many retain very strong family links and voting influence with Scotland and value their Scottish heritage.

Ulster Scot’s elect DUP candidates to office.

Next month will provide confirmation of the foregoing.

Monitor the number of Belfast bands marching in Scotland.

Each one is sponsored by the DUP and Unionist “Better Together” Orange Order supporters.

 

 

Donnell, second from left with Liam Fox and members of Conservative future

 

 

 

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) manifesto for the 2017 General Election

The manifesto was published not long before the election and many might have missed reading it.

It was a truly remarkable document in many ways, revealing a hitherto modernist approach to government in Northern Ireland and a number of policies of relevance to Scotland.

There was no mention whatsoever of gay marriage, abortion, Christianity or churches, probably because these aspects of policy are already addressed rendering Ruth Davidson’s pointless

 

 

Donnell “Ulster” Young farmer of the year

 

 

 

Policies that would impact on Scotland, if implemented:

1. The manifesto pledges to “freeze, then cut or abolish the TV licence fee and reform the BBC”, describing the licence fee as a “highly regressive tax”.

2. Proposal for improved [energy] interconnection with Great Britain, pertinent as the current electricity inter-connector has been running at part-capacity for a long time due to problems with the undersea cable.

3. Pursuit of a “Hard Brexit” establishing formal border controls with the Republic.

There are 300+ crossing points so this could be interesting if implemented.

Why a hard Brexit?

A “soft Brexit” would provide an open border between Ulster and the Republic but a closed border between Ulster, Scotland and the rest of the UK. Bit daft.

 

Glasgow University Conservative Future members with Ruth

 

 

 

Informative links

http://www.thesaint-online.com/2016/05/st-andrews-conservative-society-under-fire-over-allegations-of-agm-foul-play/
http://www.thesaint-online.com/2016/10/whatever-happened-to-the-st-andrews-conservative-and-unionist-society/
http://www.thesaint-online.com/2016/09/st-andrews-conservative-society-disafilliates-from-students-association/
https://thestand-online.com/2016/12/29/st-andrews-students-join-national-political-organisation/
https://thestand-online.com/2017/05/08/stauca-members-confront-visiting-lib-dems-market-street/
http://www.thesaint-online.com/2016/09/association-investigation-confirms-conservative-society-electoral-fraud/
http://www.pkc.gov.uk/media/39332/DeclarationOfResults-Report-Ward-8-Kinross-Shire-05052017-140744/pdf/DeclarationOfResults_Report_Ward_8_-_Kinross-Shire_05052017_140744
http://www.thesaint-online.com/2017/05/dominic-nolan-elected-to-fife-council/
https://thetab.com/uk/stand/2015/09/15/a-quick-guide-to-student-politics-at-st-andrews-14332
https://thestand-online.com/2017/03/29/sallies-chapel-fly-union-flag/
https://www.facebook.com/University-of-St-Andrews-Students-for-Britain-984563828247658/?hc_ref=SEARCH
https://www.facebook.com/dergvalley.victimsvoice/posts/1381194718573682:0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2015 General Election

The General Election in Scotland in May 2015 was completed only 6 short months after the 2014 referendum.

The election provided a unique opportunity for Scots to confirm the results of the 2014 referendum and there appeared to be no definitive reason why this should not be the case.

But the result stunned Westminster who even when faced with the reality that the fiddled postal vote in the 2014 referendum had been tumbled by Scots went into denial mode big time.

The final result was:

Total votes cast: 2,911,391

Total votes for SNP: 1,424,424

Equates to: 50.5% in favour of “Yes”

 

 

 

 

 

32 constituencies voted “Yes”

70378: Glasgow East, “mp”:”Natalie McGarry MP”:1970-2.80% 53.49% 24116 56.90%

58875: Glasgow North, “mp”:”Patrick Grady MP”:1582-2.69% ***** 19610 53.10%

66678: Glasgow N E, “,”mp”:”Anne McLaughlin MP”:1300-1.95% ***** 21976 58.00%

68418: Glasgow NW, “mp”:”Carol Monaghan MP”:2126-3.11% ***** 23908 54.50%

70945: Glasgow Cen, “mp”:”Alison Thewliss MP”:1717-2.42% ***** 20658 52.50%

74051: Glasgow S, “mp”:”Stewart McDonald MP”:2175-2.94% ***** 26773 54.90%

66208: Glasgow SW, “mp”:”Chris Stephens MP”:1960-2.96% ***** 23388 57.20%

59350: Inverclyde, “mp”:”Ronnie Cowan MP”:2230-3.76% 49.92% 25585 55.10%

83071: East Kilbride,”mp”:”Dr Lisa Cameron MP”:3157-3.80% ***** 33678 55.60%

82701: Rug & Hamilton W, “mp”:”Marg Ferrier MP”:2918-3.53% ***** 30279 52.60%

66715: Airdrie & Shotts, “mp”:”Neil Gray MP”:2296-3.44% 51.07 23887 53.90%

73813: Coatbridge,”mp”:”Philip Boswell MP”:2158-2.92% ***** 28696 56.60%

70269: Motherwell, “mp”:”Marion Fellows MP”:2169-3.09% ***** 27375 56.50%

67009: Cumbernauld “mp”:”Stuart C. McDonald MP”:2140-3.19% ***** 29572 59.90%

69193: W Dunbarton, “mp”:”M Docherty-Hughes MP”:2060-2.98% 53.96% 30198 59.00%

61281: Paisley & Ren S, “mp”:”Mhairi Black MP”:2031-3.31% ***** 23548 50.90%

69982: C Ayrshire, “mp”:”Dr Philippa Whitford MP”:2728-3.90% ***** 26999 53.20%

75985: N Ayr & Arran, “mp”:”Patricia Gibson MP”:2631-3.46% 48.99% 28641 53.20%

75283: Kilmarnock & Loudoun, “mp”:”Alan Brown MP”:2285-3.04% ***** 30000 55.70%

67745: Aberdeen North, “mp”:”Kirsty Blackman MP”:1829-2.70% ***** 24793 56.40%

66960: Dundee East, “mp”:”Stewart Hosie MP”:2029-3.03% 57.39% 28765 59.70%

66287: Dundee West, “mp”:”Chris Law MP”:1338-2.02% ***** 27684 61.90%

69781: Glenrothes, “mp”:”Peter Grant MP”:1523-2.18% ***** 28459 59.80%

75941: Kkcaldy & Cowden, “mp”:”Roger Mullin MP”:2193-2.89% ***** 27628 52.20%

78037: Dun & West Fife, “mp”:”Douglas Chapman MP”:2890-3.70% ***** 28096 50.30%

82373: Livingston, “mp”:”Hannah Bardell MP”:3065-3.72% 44.84% 32736 56.90%

21744: Na h-Eileanan Iar, “mp”:”Angus MacNeil MP”:674-3.10% 46.58% 8662 54.30%

67875: Midlothian, “mp”:”Owen Thompson MP”:2182-3.22% 43.70% 24453 50.60%

83380: Falkirk, “mp”:”John Mc Nally MP”:2764-3.32% 46.53% 34831 57.70%

66208: Paisley & Renfrew N: Gavin Newlands MP: 3158-4.77% 47.19% 25601 50.70%

72447: Perth & North Perthshire: Pete Wishart MP: 3033-4.19% ***** 27379 50.50%

86955: Linlithgow & E Falkirk, “mp”:”M Day MP” :3570-4.11% 46.53% 32055 52.00%

78037: Dun & West Fife, “mp”:”Douglas Chapman MP”:2890-3.70% ***** 28096 50.30%

82701: Rug & Hamilton W, “mp”:”Marg Ferrier MP”:2918-3.53% ***** 30279 52.60%

65792: Angus, “mp”:”Mike Weir MP”:2355-3.58% 43.68% 24130 54.20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

24 constituencies confirmed the 2014 referendum result. Of these 10 improved the “Yes” vote by 1-5%

77268: Inverness, Nairn, “mp”:”Drew Hendry MP”:3073-3.98% ***** 28838 48.10%

54109: Ross & Skye, “mp”:”Ian Blackford MP”:2038-3.77% ***** 20119 48.10%

47558: Sutherland, “mp”:”Dr Paul Monaghan MP”:1679-3.53% 47.80% 15831 46.30%

34551: Orkney & Shetland, “mp”:”Al Carmichael MP”:1062-3.48% 35.00% 8590 37.80%

68875: Argyll & Bute: Brendan O’Hara MP: 3277-4.75% 41.48% 22959 44.30%

67236: Stirling: Steven Paterson MP: 3175-4.72% 40.23% 23783 45.60%

77379: S Perthshire: Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP: 3645-4.71% 39.81% 26620 46.00%

73445: W Aberdeen: Stuart Blair Donaldson MP: 3961-5.40% 39.64% 22949 41.60%

68056: Aberdeen South, “mp”:”Callum McCaig MP”:3618-4.65% ***** 20221 41.60%

71685: Moray, “mp”:”Rt Hon Angus Robertson MP”:2995-4.18% ***** 24384 49.50%

68609: Banff & Buchan: Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP: 2772-4.04% ***** 16283 48.00%

79393: Gordon: Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP: 3711-4.68% ***** 27717 47.70%

66178: Edinburgh E, “mp”:”Tommy Sheppard MP”:1854-2.80% ***** 23188 49.20%

71749: Edinburgh West: Michelle Thomson MP : 4388-6.12% 38.90% 21378 39.00%

65846: Edinburgh South: Ian Murray MP: 3579-5.44% ***** 16656 33.80%

80978: Edinburgh North & Leith: Deidre Brock MP: 4280-5.29% ***** 23742 40.90%

79481: East Lothian:George Kerevan MP: 3676-4.63% 38.28% 25104 42.50%

72178: Edinburgh South West: Joanna Cherry QC: 3283-4.55% ***** 22168 43.00%

62003: North East Fife: Stephen Gethins MP: 2937-4.74% 44.95% 18523 40.90%

78037: Lanark & Hamilton East: Angela Crawley MP: 3272-4.19% 45.33% 26976 48.80%

69982: East Renfrewshire: Kirsten Oswald MP: 4241-6.06% 36.81% 23013 40.60%

66966: East Dunbartonshire: John Nicolson MP: 3977-5.94% 38.80% 22093 40.30%

68483: Dumfriesshire: Rt Hon David Mundell MP:2816-4.11% 34.33% 19961 38.30%

74179: Berwickshire,& Selkirk: Calum Kerr MP: 3026-4.08% ***** 20145 36.60%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2017 General Election

I first posted this forecast 6 weeks before the GE and am following up with this before and after report which makes interesting reading.

The General Election in Scotland will be a re-run of the 2014 referendum and the landslide victory achieved by the SNP in the last GE cannot realistically be achieved.

My analysis suggests the under-noted 37 seats are safe and should be retained by the SNP:

 

 

 

82373: Livingston, “mp”:”Hannah Bardell MP”,”signature_count”:3065-3.72% SNP Hold

59350: Inverclyde, “mp”:”Ronnie Cowan MP”,”signature_count”:2230-3.76% SNP Hold

83071: East Kilbride, Straven, “mp”:”Dr Lisa Cameron MP”,”signature_count”:3157-3.80% SNP Hold

77268: Inverness, Nairn, “mp”:”Drew Hendry MP”,”signature_count”:3073-3.98% SNP Hold

54109: Ross, Skye & Lochaber, “mp”:”Ian Blackford MP”,”signature_count”:2038-3.77% SNP Hold

69982: Central Ayrshire, “mp”:”Dr Philippa Whitford MP”,”signature_count”:2728-3.90% SNP Hold

72985: Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock, “mp”:”Corri Wilson MP”,”signature_count”:2751-3.77% Tory Gain 2044 65.9%

A tricky area, at one time the mining communities in the East of the constituency ensured a strong Labour vote.

But this is no longer the case and the voting direction is centred on Ayr where there is assured Tory support.

The Tory activists were aware of this and conducted a sustained well organised campaign and it bore them results, a transfer of 15% of voters from the SNP.

The low turnout also benefited the Tory Party to the detriment of the SNP

 

 

78037: Dunfermline & West Fife, “mp”:”Douglas Chapman MP”,”signature_count”:2890-3.70% SNP Hold

82701: Rutherglen & Hamilton W, “mp”:”Margaret Ferrier MP”,”signature_count”:2918-3.53% Lab Gain 265 64%

The SNP candidate was caught in a pincer movement orchestrated by Davidson and Dugdale.

This one would normally be a straight fight between the SNP and labour.

But the spoiler Tory took enough votes from the SNP to achieve the removal of the SNP candidate

65792: Angus, “mp”:”Mike Weir MP”,”signature_count”:2355-3.58% Tory Gain 2645 63%

The very low turnout favoured the Tory candidate. Angus voters rejected independence in 2014 56% – 43% and sustained campaigning was required so as to be certain of a positive result.

The Tory candidate was a pocket dynamo from the first day of campaigning.

She was backed by her entire family and a wider team who believed the seat to be winnable.

She is a farmers daughter and well connected to many people in the Farming sector.

The SNP candidate failed to match his opponents efforts and suffered the consequences

 

Kirstine Hair (Centre) and some of her helpers

 

47558: Caithness, Sutherland, “mp”:”Dr Paul Monaghan MP”,”signature_count”:1679-3.53% Lib Gain 2044 65.9%

His high profile negative media presence was very much a factor and most likely the reason for his defeat

34551: Orkney & Shetland, “mp”:”Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP”,”signature_count”:1062-3.48% Lib Hold

21744: Na h-Eileanan an Iar, “mp”:”Angus MacNeil MP”,”signature_count”:674-3.10% SNP Hold

67745: Aberdeen North, “mp”:”Kirsty Blackman MP”,”signature_count”:1829-2.70% SNP Hold

66960: Dundee East, “mp”:”Stewart Hosie MP”,”signature_count”:2029-3.03% SNP Hold

66287: Dundee West, “mp”:”Chris Law MP”,”signature_count”:1338-2.02% SNP Hold

69781: Glenrothes, “mp”:”Peter Grant MP”,”signature_count”:1523-2.18% SNP Hold

75941: Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, “mp”:”Roger Mullin MP”,”signature_count”:2193-2.89% Lab Gain 259 63.5%

Labour vote increased by 3.5%. Corbyn’s manifesto helped rally the troops a wee bit.

The Tories canvassed the area hard and persuaded (13% of the voters to move their vote to the party from the SNP.

 

Ross Thomson Aberdeen South Tory

 

 

75249: Dumfries & Galloway, “mp”:”Richard Arkless MP”,”signature_count”:2498-3.32% Tory Gain 5643 69.5%

This was a Tory stronghold from 1931 – 2005.

It slipped away from the Tories in the period 2010 2017.

The trend has been reversed significantly.

The Labour vote shrunk by another 4% over the 21% they had already lost to the SNP in 2025.

9% of SNP votes transferred to the Tory Party who canvassed the area very hard over the weekend before the election and reaped the benefits.

75985: North Ayrshire & Arran, “mp”:”Patricia Gibson MP”,”signature_count”:2631-3.46% SNP Hold

75283: Kilmarnock & Loudoun, “mp”:”Alan Brown MP”,”signature_count”:2285-3.04% SNP Hold

70378: Glasgow East, “mp”:”Natalie McGarry MP”,”signature_count”:1970-2.80% SNP Hold

58875: Glasgow North, “mp”:”Patrick Grady MP”,”signature_count”:1582-2.69% SNP Hold

66678: Glasgow North East, “,”mp”:”Anne McLaughlin MP”,”signature_count”:1300-1.95% Lab Gain 242 53%

Ultra low turnout.

Tory activists canvassed area extensively and increased vote by 8%.

Labour recovered 9% of the vote they lost in 2010 due to the positive impact of the labour manifesto

 

Christine Hair Tory Angus – Poster placed in every field in the constituency – But at what cost?

 

 

68418: Glasgow North West, “mp”:”Carol Monaghan MP”,”signature_count”:2126-3.11% SNP Hold

70945: Glasgow Central, “mp”:”Alison Thewliss MP”,”signature_count”:1717-2.42% SNP Hold

74051: Glasgow South, “mp”:”Stewart Malcolm McDonald MP”,”signature_count”:2175-2.94% SNP Hold

66208: Glasgow South West, “mp”:”Chris Stephens MP”,”signature_count”:1960-2.96% SNP Hold

66715: Airdrie & Shotts, “mp”:”Neil Gray MP”,”signature_count”:2296-3.44% SNP Hold

73813: Coatbridge,& Bellshill, “mp”:”Philip Boswell MP”,”signature_count”:2158-2.92% Lab Gain 1586 63%

Low turnout compared to 2015.

Labour Party fortunes improved by around 9% due to the positive impact of the labour manifesto.

Tory vote improved by 10% due to very active canvassing of the electorate.

Internal difficulties within the SNP local branch disadvantaged the Party.

70269: Motherwell & Wishaw, “mp”:”Marion Fellows MP”,”signature_count”:2169-3.09% SNP Hold

67009: Cumbernauld & Kilsyth “mp”:”Stuart C. McDonald MP”,”signature_count”:2140-3.19% SNP Hold

69193: West Dunbartonshire, “mp”:”Martin Docherty-Hughes MP”,”signature_count”:2060-2.98% SNP Hold

61281: Paisley & Renfrewshire South, “mp”:”Mhairi Black MP”,”signature_count”:2031-3.31% SNP Hold

66178: Edinburgh East, “mp”:”Tommy Sheppard MP”,”signature_count”:1854-2.80% SNP Hold

67875: Midlothian, “mp”:”Owen Thompson MP”,”signature_count”:2182-3.22% Lab Gain 885 66.4%

Labour increased vote by 6% due to the positive impact of the labour manifesto.

Tories canvassed the seat extensively for many weeks before the election and persuaded 13% of SNP voters to switch alliances.

This is a bad loss and could have been avoided if a more intensive local campaign had been conducted

63380: Falkirk, “mp”:”John Mc Nally MP”,”signature_count”:2764-3.32% SNP Hold

 

 

 

Election Summary

The SNP won 35 seats polling 977,569 votes. The SNP vote share was 36.9%. This was down from 2015 when it got 1,454,436 votes, half of all the votes cast. The SNP came second in 24 seats. he loss of 9 safe seats need investigating.

The Conservatives got 13 seats and 757,949 votes. In 2015 they got 434,097 votes and just one seat. Their share of the vote went up from 14.9% of the Scots who voted to 28.6%, almost double. The Scottish Tories were only second in 9 seats.

Labour only added about 10,000 voters in Scotland. In 2015 they got 707,147 votes and this time they polled 717,007. Their share of the vote rose from 24.3% to 27.1% but their seats went up from one to seven. Labour were the runner-up in 25 seats

The Lib Dems dropped 40,000 votes from 219,675 to 179,061 but they also increased their number of seats – from one to four.

The Greens slumped from 39,205 to just 5,886 – but this was mainly because they only stood in three constituencies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2017 General Election

The freak landslide victory achieved by the SNP in the 2015 GE was a one off.

In view of this and the downward adjustment that would surely follow at the next GE I completed a voting analysis of the Scottish electorate and published it around 6 weeks before the election

My analysis indicated 22 seats would most likely be lost to the SNP.

I am aware of many interpretations, both negative and positive being bandied about the internet and in the right wing British press and the BBC and other television media outlets.

All are distinctly unfriendly to the cause of Scottish independence and their uttering should be judged in that context

Supporters of independence for Scotland should be guided by the information that follows:

 

 

 

 

 

The heads of the Tory and LibDem Unionist parties in Scotland agreed an election strategy which included sustained attacks on the credibility of the SNP government, concentrating on the character assassination of persons they perceived to be the guiding lights of the independence movement.

Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond were singled out for the complete treatment package aimed at destroying their credibility in the eyes of voters in Scotland.

In combination with the foregoing they created the “No Indy 2” movement which required every unionist activist to repetitiously write and or speak the phrase at every juncture.

The tactic is well used in the US and works creating negative feelings in the minds of those it is aimed at. In this case anyone who supported the cause of Scottish independence.

The final part of the strategy was to ensure a target number of seats would be taken away from the SNP at the time of the election by fair means or foul.

This necessitated tactical voting to ensure the seats selected would be assured and transferred to the Unionist cause

The 22 seats listed below were targeted many months before the election and a great deal of work was completed by activists softening up the constituencies.

Mission success was clear and unambiguous. Every seat would need to be won over to the unionists for the campaign to be declared a success.

Anything less than a full house would only serve to confirm that the independent movement in Scotland was a powerful medium and impossible to defeat.

The unionists failed to win all of the target seats.

Eight SNP candidates weathered the unionist storm in which everything but the kitchen sink was thrown at them.

The Scottish independence movement is live and well and with the added numbers of European immigrants to Scotland and the under eighteens the future is clear.

Scotland will be independent soon.

 

 

 

Electorate: 71749: Edinburgh West: Michelle Thomson MP :

Lost votes: 4388 – 6.12%

Result: Lib Gain: 10% switched  from the SNP to other parties.

 

Electorate: 69982: East Renfrewshire: Kirsten Oswald MP:

Lost Votes: 4241 – 6.06%

Result: Tory Gain: Tactical voting: 7% Lab voters switched from Lab to Tory. And 9% switched from SNP to Tory.

 

Electorate: 66966: East Dunbartonshire: John Nicolson MP:

3977-5.94% Lib Gain 5339 78.8% 10% switched SNP to other parties.

65846: Edinburgh South: Ian Murray MP: 3579-5.44% (Labour) Lab Hold 15514 74.1% 11% switched SNP to Lab.

73445: West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine: Stuart Blair Donaldson MP: 3961-5.40% Tory Gain 7949 71.2% Tactical voting 13% Lib to Tory. Plus 9% switched SNP to Tory.

80978: Edinburgh North & Leith: Deidre Brock MP: 4280-5.29% SNP Hold 1625 71.2% 7% SNP switched to Tory. An excellent hold.

66208: Paisley & Renfrewshire North: Gavin Newlands MP: 3158-4.77% SNP Hold 2613 69.1% 13% switched SNP to Tory. an excellent hold.

68875: Argyll & Bute: Brendan O’Hara MP: 3277-4.75% SNP Hold 1328 71.5% Tactical voting 10% Lib to Tory. Plus 8% switched SNP to Tory.

62003: North East Fife: Stephen Gethins MP: 2937-4.74% SNP Hold 2 71.3% 8% switched SNP to Tory. An excellent hold.

67236: Stirling: Steven Paterson MP: 3175-4.72% Tory Gain 148 74.3% Tactical voting 3.5% Lab to Tory. Plus 9% switched SNP to Tory.

77379: Ochil & South Perthshire: Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP: 3645-4.71% Tory Gain 3359 70.6% Tactical voting 9% Lab to Tory. Plus 10% switched SNP to Tory.

79393: Gordon: Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP: 3711-4.68% Tory Gain 2607 68.4% Tactical voting 21% LibDem to Tory. Plus 10% switched SNP to Tory.

79481: East Lothian:George Kerevan MP: 3676-4.63% Lab Gain 3083 70.7% 5% voters switched SNP to Lab. Plus 7% switched SNP to Tory.

72178: Edinburgh South West: Joanna Cherry QC: 3283-4.55% SNP Hold 1097 69.4% 8% voters switched SNP to Tory. An excellent hold.

72447: Perth & North Perthshire: Pete Wishart MP: 3033-4.19% SNP Hold 21 71.8% 8% voters switched SNP to Tory. An excellent hold.

78037: Lanark & Hamilton East: Angela Crawley MP: 3272-4.19% SNP Hold 206 65.3% 16% voters switched SNP to Tory. An excellent hold.

68483: Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale: Rt Hon David Mundell MP:2816-4.11% Tory Hold 9441 72.4% 8% voters switched SNP to Tory.

74179: Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk: Calum Kerr MP: 3026-4.08% Tory Gain 11060 71.5% Tactical voting 14% LibDem to Tory. Plus 4% SNP to Tory.

86955: Linlithgow and East Falkirk, “mp”:”Martyn Day MP”,”signature_count”:3570-4.11% SNP Hold 2919 64.7% 16% voters switched SNP to Tory. An excellent hold.

68609: Banff & Buchan: Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP: 2772-4.04% Tory Gain 3693 61.6% 20% voters switched SNP to Tory.

71685: Moray, “mp”:”Rt Hon Angus Robertson MP”,”signature_count”:2995-4.18% Tory Gain 4159 67.4% 11% voters switched SNP to Tory.

68056: Aberdeen South, “mp”:”Callum McCaig MP”,”signature_count”:3618-4.65% Tory Gain 4752 68.5% Tactical voting 6% Lab to Tory. Plus 10% switched SNP to Tory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2014 Independence Referendum and the Tory Blunders After

Cameron blundered hugely: having actually signed a vow promising Scotland substantially extended devolution, the very day after the result, he turned around and retrospectively slapped conditions on it.

The point is —– Cameron took a giant public dump on a signed pledge just days old.

A huge kick in the teeth to the “no”voters in Scotland. Unwise.

The British Nationalists of the Tory, Labour, Libdem party’s were determined to continue with their unparalleled economic incompetence holding the union together regardless of the adverse impact of their policies, promoting austerity, inequality and privatisation.

Nicola Sturgeon said that it would be up to the people of Scotland, at some future date to decide if there would be another independence referendum.

But even provided with an explicit statement of intent Unionist politicians continued with their ridiculous claims that those that Scots choose to send to Westminster to represent them are akin to fifth columnists infiltrating parliament.

This is offensive, beyond understanding and will bring forward the date when the Scottish parliament will be petitioning for another referendum.

It is the case that Scots are only a part of the Union just as long as they do not have the temerity to attempt to participate in its governance.

The Conservative position on Nicola Sturgeon is starting to sound a bit like: Tory HQ: She’s a witch! Burn her! Electorate: Did you dress her up like this? Tory HQ: No, no, no! Yes, yes. A bit. But she’s got a wart.

Independence is not all about the SNP. The Scottish Greens also support independence and they now have more members than the Scottish branch of the Labour party.

And there are one or two smaller parties that are also pro-independence.

The Tories burned their legitimacy in Scotland, promising devolution that they had no intention of delivering then, when their votes in Scotland plummeted, they indulged in petty acts of revenge, using Scotland as testing site for their most bloody minded policies. ……Tories making dishonest promises to Scotland and then indulging in petty acts of spite…sounds familiar.

It is ironic that during the 2014 referendum the “yes” side was persistently accused by “Better Together” of supporting entities of paranoia and seeing conspiracy’s everywhere against them.

In some cases, their fears were entirely justified, in others the right wing press, covering the outcome of the referendum in the months before Xmas 2014 confirmed their fears.

So it is amusing in 2017 to witness the Unionists seeing secret plots, pacts and alliances everywhere…..”The SNP have been negotiating secret deals with Labour” say the Tories,……”No, the SNP are actually in unholy alliance with the Tories ” say Labour……….”Actually it’s both of them !!” claim the Lib Dems…….Any wonder that people in Scotland see and hear this and then decide to support the SNP

The Tories started “Operation Totally Terrified”, demonising Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

Entire pages of daily newspapers were devoted to the “evolution” of Nicola, complete with “comments” such as “Jimmy Crankie” “Mary Doll” to the “vile” “nasty” and wishing she has an accident or car crash. Way over the top.

 

 

 

 

Lord Forsyth – Former Secretary of State for Scotland – Why Scots are determined upon another Independence Referendum

Forsyth challenged the way in which Cameron played the English card in the immediate aftermath of the Scottish independence referendum by offering English MPs a greater say over English only laws.

Later toughened up to a “veto” in the Conservative 2015 election manifesto.

He said: “David Cameron, instead of going up to Scotland the next day [after the referendum] and saying ‘look we’ve got to look at this now from the point of view of the whole United Kingdom’, started the English votes for English laws thing which was not a unionist position and that shattered the unionist alliance in Scotland against the breakup of the United Kingdom.

I personally don’t support English votes for English laws.

It doesn’t seem to me to be a very good policy to try and deal with the rise of Scottish nationalism by stirring up English nationalism.

We need to find ways of binding the United Kingdom together, of binding that partnership together.”

He added: “questioning the legitimacy of SNP MPs is unwise and runs counter to the assurances offered during the referendum about guaranteeing an inclusive UK.

And I have limited sympathy for Labour, which is paying the price for adopting the language of nationalism in the 1980s then claiming that the Tories had no mandate to govern in Scotland.

They now find themselves being devoured by the nationalist tiger.”

Forsyth’s remarks add resonance because he is an ardent Thatcherite and unionist who played a leading role in fighting Labour’s plans for a Scottish parliament in the 1997 election campaign.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/20/tories-playing-dangerous-game-scotland-lord-forsyth

 

 

 

 

Ruth Davidson Hires a spin doctor from a controversial private healthcare firm to work for her at Holyrood.

Gordon Hector will head up her press and research team, from offices based at Holyrood.

He was previously head of communications for Circle Healthcare, the first private company to run an NHS hospital in England in an experiment that went badly awry.

Circle took over struggling Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridge, which had 250 beds, 1,500 staff and a Pounds 111 million budget, in a 10-year contract in 2012.

Three years later the Care Quality Commission branded the hospital “inadequate”, it was put into special measures.

Circle then pulled out of the deal early admitting it could not find the savings needed to make the hospital financially sustainable.

He was previously a senior speech-writer at the Department for Education, writing for Conservative junior ministers and Michael Gove, the then Secretary of State.

He also worked for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, where he was its public affairs manager.

He began his career at Fishburn Hedges (Media Management), working on public affairs and media accounts.

 

 

 

Profiling Ruth Davidson

Davidson’s profile has risen in recent months, in recognition of her party’s improved performance at the last Scottish parliamentary elections.

She has also moved the party to the “right” of Scottish politics and now claims, with some pride that she leads the only Unionist party in Scotland.

Labour and the Libdem’s have been sidelined in preference to their support of a “Federalist” UK within Europe.

The result in Scottish political terms is a return to the two party politics.

Ruth Davidson now has a media Svengali (Gordon Hector) who provides advice, direction and guidance, in the presentation of her policies in Holyrood, the media and in public.

Under his mentoring she has distanced herself from the images of, “Buffalo Bill from Maryhill” and “Tommy the Tank Engine” to stateswoman.

Evidenced from her recent bellicose performances in parliament she is basing her character on Margaret Thatcher and in this venture she could have no better mentor than Gordon Hector who wrote his thesis at University on his favourite politician.

(https://conservativehistory.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/chj-winter-2009-10.pdf)

Other aspects of promoting the new image include referring to the party as “Unionist” since the word “Conservative” still rankles Scots of all political persuasion.

Another tactic favoured by Hector is the use of the “Content Seeding” strategy through extensive re-broadcasting of mind manipulating information (using internet social media sites Facebook and twitter are two examples) greatly favouring Ruth Davidson and constantly attacking Nicola Sturgeon.

In Nicola Sturgeon’s case this entailed allocating a group of staff to search Facebook and Twitter creating a database of any any person that may have posted a negative comment about Nicola. The database is the driver for negative “Content Seeding”.

 

 

 

 

Public Relations Strategy – Content Seeding

The internet and the accompanying fast growth of Social media provides opportunity for the rapid spread of information targetted at specific individuals and groups and is being increasingly used by marketing and journalist professionals to get their messages across to a widespread community numbered in the millions.

The title of the innovation is “Contract Seeding”.

Content Seeding aims to ensure widespread awareness for a politician by planting positive “seeds” across the web.

These “seeds” consist of little content pieces, aiming to trigger the interest of a pre-determined target group.

To ensure control all seeds are linked back to the main platform of corporate communication (this can be an article, a landing page or even the website itself).

Content Seeding triggers the interest of target groups reaching well beyond press releases and written content to promote the politician.

Strategic planting of content on targetted platforms ensures fast forward sharing of the information through its target audience.

Balance is imperative and Content Seeding uses multimedia content across channels.

The primary focus is to create content which target groups will be keen to receive, and consume, for information and strategic purposes but also for sharing with its peers.

The result can be an instantaneous sharing of seeded content well beyond that which the information was designed to reach.

Seeding campaigns are time consuming and staff intensive, ranging from the use of free sites to costly ventures.

 

 

 

 

15 March 2017: Petition against a second Scottish independence referendum

A petition stating;

” A second Scottish Independence referendum should not be allowed to happen” has reached 123,000 signatures. It stated:  “We in Scotland are fed up of persecution by the SNP leader who is solely intent on getting independence at any cost. As a result, Scotland is suffering hugely.

The majority of Scottish voters wish to remain in the British union, despite Nicola Sturgeon’s latest demands for a Scottish referendum, according to the latest polling from YouGov.

Some 57 per cent of Scots would vote No in an independence referendum, according to the poll, although younger people aged 18-24 were overwhelmingly in favour of independence.

The petition, on the Government’s official website is growing daily and is well in excess of the 100,000 signature threshold required for a debate on the issue at Westminster.

 

 

 

 

Ruth Davidson’s Media Manipulation Team In Action

The passage of time might reveal that the petition was a “spoiler” prepared and submitted to the internet social media by Ruth Davidson’s recently appointed high profile media manipulation team headed by Gordon Hector.

But fair play the ploy worked since it succeeded in raising the public profile of the possibility of another Independence referendum, which (at the time) had not been given mention by anyone other than Ruth Davidson.

The bellicose behaviour of Ruth Davidson at First Ministers questions, in the period after publication of Mundell’s pronouncement gave impetus to this review and analysis of information arising from the petition.

 

 

 

 

Methodology – Analysis of Petition Figure’s

Information was sourced from official lists and records providing numbers of acceptable signatories by Scottish Constituency.

Electorate totals were included and a percentage signatory total was established for each constituency.

From that the mean figure of 3.75% was used to forward project the outcome of an Independence referendum, should one be held after Brexit.

The figures suggest that from an electorate of 4,021,203 the outcome of another referendum would result in a: 48.00% “Yes” vote in favour of independence with 52.00% preferring to remain with the Union.

The information would be best used to forward plan strategy.

Edinburgh, Aberdeen, East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire recorded higher than average figures favouring remaining with the Union.

Others appear to be less dogmatic which is encouraging.

 

 

 

 

The 2017 General Election

The General Election in Scotland will be a re-run of the 2014 referendum as such the landslide victory achieved by the SNP in the last GE cannot realistically be achieved.

My analysis suggests 25 seats might change hands with the Tory Party being the main benefactor:

SNP activists will need to get out in force in the under-noted constituencies otherwise they could be lost.

 

 

This group of seats are marginals – Risk decreases as the % number drops

71749: Edinburgh West: Michelle Thomson MP : 4388-6.12% Lib Gain

69982: East Renfrewshire: Kirsten Oswald MP: 4241-6.06% Tory Gain

66966: East Dunbartonshire: John Nicolson MP: 3977-5.94% Lib Gain

65846: Edinburgh South: Ian Murray MP: 3579-5.44% (Labour) Lab Hold

73445: West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine: Stuart Blair Donaldson MP: 3961-5.40% Tory Gain

80978: Edinburgh North & Leith: Deidre Brock MP: 4280-5.29% SNP Hold (brilliant performance)

66208: Paisley & Renfrewshire North: Gavin Newlands MP: 3158-4.77% SNP Hold (brilliant performance)

68875: Argyll & Bute: Brendan O’Hara MP: 3277-4.75% SNP Hold (brilliant performance)

62003: North East Fife: Stephen Gethins MP: 2937-4.74% SNP Hold (brilliant performance)

67236: Stirling: Steven Paterson MP: 3175-4.72% Tory Gain

77379: Ochil & South Perthshire: Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP: 3645-4.71% Tory Gain

79393: Gordon: Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP: 3711-4.68% Tory Gain

68056: Aberdeen South: Callum McCaig MP: 3618-4.65% Tory Gain

79481: East Lothian:George Kerevan MP: 3676-4.63% Lab Gain

72178: Edinburgh South West: Joanna Cherry QC: 3283-4.55% SNP Hold (brilliant performance)

72447: Perth & North Perthshire: Pete Wishart MP: 3033-4.19% SNP Hold (brilliant performance)

71685: Moray: Rt Hon Angus Robertson MP: 2995-4.18% Tory Gain

78037: Lanark & Hamilton East: Angela Crawley MP: 3272-4.19% SNP Hold (brilliant performance)

68483: Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale: Rt Hon David Mundell MP:2816-4.11% Tory Hold

74179: Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk: Calum Kerr MP: 3026-4.08% Tory Gain

86955: Linlithgow and East Falkirk, “mp”:”Martyn Day MP”,”signature_count”:3570-4.11% SNP Hold (great performance)

68609: Banff & Buchan: Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP: 2772-4.04% Tory Gain

73445: W. Abdn & Kincardine, “mp”:”Stuart Blair Donaldson MP”,”signature_count”:3961-5.40% Tory Gain

71685: Moray, “mp”:”Rt Hon Angus Robertson MP”,”signature_count”:2995-4.18% Tory Gain

68056: Aberdeen South, “mp”:”Callum McCaig MP”,”signature_count”:3618-4.65% Tory Gain

 

 

 

 

All of these seats should be retained by the SNP

82373: Livingston, “mp”:”Hannah Bardell MP”,”signature_count”:3065-3.72% SNP Hold

59350: Inverclyde, “mp”:”Ronnie Cowan MP”,”signature_count”:2230-3.76% SNP Hold

83071: East Kilbride, Straven, “mp”:”Dr Lisa Cameron MP”,”signature_count”:3157-3.80% SNP Hold

77268: Inverness, Nairn, “mp”:”Drew Hendry MP”,”signature_count”:3073-3.98% SNP Hold

54109: Ross, Skye & Lochaber, “mp”:”Ian Blackford MP”,”signature_count”:2038-3.77% SNP Hold

69982: Central Ayrshire, “mp”:”Dr Philippa Whitford MP”,”signature_count”:2728-3.90% SNP Hold

72985: Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock, “mp”:”Corri Wilson MP”,”signature_count”:2751-3.77% Tory Gain (once a Tory stronghold)

78037: Dunfermline & West Fife, “mp”:”Douglas Chapman MP”,”signature_count”:2890-3.70% SNP Hold

82701: Rutherglen & Hamilton W, “mp”:”Margaret Ferrier MP”,”signature_count”:2918-3.53% Lab Gain (only 265 votes in it)

65792: Angus, “mp”:”Mike Weir MP”,”signature_count”:2355-3.58% Tory Gain (SNP candidate well outflanked by local farmers daughter)

47558: Caithness, Sutherland, “mp”:”Dr Paul Monaghan MP”,”signature_count”:1679-3.53% Lib Gain (Local issues at play)

34551: Orkney & Shetland, “mp”:”Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP”,”signature_count”:1062-3.48% Lib Hold

21744: Na h-Eileanan an Iar, “mp”:”Angus MacNeil MP”,”signature_count”:674-3.10% SNP Hold

67745: Aberdeen North, “mp”:”Kirsty Blackman MP”,”signature_count”:1829-2.70% SNP Hold

66960: Dundee East, “mp”:”Stewart Hosie MP”,”signature_count”:2029-3.03% SNP Hold

66287: Dundee West, “mp”:”Chris Law MP”,”signature_count”:1338-2.02% SNP Hold

69781: Glenrothes, “mp”:”Peter Grant MP”,”signature_count”:1523-2.18% SNP Hold

75941: Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, “mp”:”Roger Mullin MP”,”signature_count”:2193-2.89% Lab Gain (Labour polled 259 votes more than the SNP.)

75249: Dumfries & Galloway, “mp”:”Richard Arkless MP”,”signature_count”:2498-3.32% Tory Gain (Tories held seat from 1931 to 2005) Not a surprise.)

75985: North Ayrshire & Arran, “mp”:”Patricia Gibson MP”,”signature_count”:2631-3.46% SNP Hold

75283: Kilmarnock & Loudoun, “mp”:”Alan Brown MP”,”signature_count”:2285-3.04% SNP Hold

70378: Glasgow East, “mp”:”Natalie McGarry MP”,”signature_count”:1970-2.80% SNP Hold

58875: Glasgow North, “mp”:”Patrick Grady MP”,”signature_count”:1582-2.69% SNP Hold

66678: Glasgow North East, “,”mp”:”Anne McLaughlin MP”,”signature_count”:1300-1.95% Lab Gain (Previously the safest Labour seat in Glasgow)

68418: Glasgow North West, “mp”:”Carol Monaghan MP”,”signature_count”:2126-3.11% SNP Hold

70945: Glasgow Central, “mp”:”Alison Thewliss MP”,”signature_count”:1717-2.42% SNP Hold

74051: Glasgow South, “mp”:”Stewart Malcolm McDonald MP”,”signature_count”:2175-2.94% SNP Hold

66208: Glasgow South West, “mp”:”Chris Stephens MP”,”signature_count”:1960-2.96% SNP Hold

66715: Airdrie & Shotts, “mp”:”Neil Gray MP”,”signature_count”:2296-3.44% SNP Hold

73813: Coatbridge,& Bellshill, “mp”:”Philip Boswell MP”,”signature_count”:2158-2.92% Lab Gain (Internal political wrangling in SNP. Needs sorting)

70269: Motherwell & Wishaw, “mp”:”Marion Fellows MP”,”signature_count”:2169-3.09% SNP Hold

67009: Cumbernauld & Kilsyth “mp”:”Stuart C. McDonald MP”,”signature_count”:2140-3.19% SNP Hold

69193: West Dunbartonshire, “mp”:”Martin Docherty-Hughes MP”,”signature_count”:2060-2.98% SNP Hold

61281: Paisley & Renfrewshire South, “mp”:”Mhairi Black MP”,”signature_count”:2031-3.31% SNP Hold

66178: Edinburgh East, “mp”:”Tommy Sheppard MP”,”signature_count”:1854-2.80% SNP Hold

67875: Midlothian, “mp”:”Owen Thompson MP”,”signature_count”:2182-3.22% Lab Gain (Labour by 885 votes. SNP squeezed but should have won this)

83380: Falkirk, “mp”:”John Mc Nally MP”,”signature_count”:2764-3.32% SNP Hold

 

 

 

Election Summary

The SNP:

The SNP won 35 seats polling 977,569 votes.

The SNP vote share was 36.9%.

This was down from 2015 when it got 1,454,436 votes, half of all the votes cast.

The SNP came second in 24 seats.

The loss of 9 safe seats needs to be investigated.

The Tories

The Conservatives got 13 seats and 757,949 votes.

In 2015 they got 434,097 votes and just one seat.

Their share of the vote went up from 14.9% of the Scots who voted to 28.6%, almost double.

The Scottish Tories were only second in 9 seats.

Labour

Labour only added about 10,000 voters in Scotland.

In 2015 they got 707,147 votes and this time they polled 717,007.

Their share of the vote rose from 24.3% to 27.1% but their seats went up from one to seven.

Labour were the runner-up in 25 seats

LibDem

The Lib Dems dropped 40,000 votes from 219,675 to 179,061 but they also increased their number of seats – from one to four.

Greens

The Greens slumped from 39,205 to just 5,886 – but this was mainly because they only stood in three constituencies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pen-Profiles – Key Scottish Constituencies – Twelve Tory Candidates and Two Labour

 

Tony Miklinski – North East Fife

https://caltonjock.com/2017/06/06/i-started-off-liking-tony-miklinski-tory-candidate-for-north-east-fife-but-after-digging-around-a-wee-bit-i-have-concluded-he-is-as-bad-as-the-rest-of-ruth-davidsons-bunch-of-chancers/

Stephen Kerr – Stirling

https://caltonjock.com/2017/06/04/stirling-candidate-for-westminster-stephen-kerr-first-counsellor-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-what-takes-priority-when-the-head-of-spiritual-organisation-decides-to-take-on-a/

https://caltonjock.com/2017/06/05/2017-g-e-stirling-tory-party-candidate-stephen-kerr-the-doctrine-of-his-church-is-at-odds-with-the-lifestyle-choices-of-many-of-his-tory-party-colleagues-an-uneasy-fit/

Paul Paterson – East Renfrewshire
https://caltonjock.com/2017/06/04/update-on-the-unaccountable-finance-finding-its-way-to-the-tory-coffers-east-renfrewshire-linked-to-hard-line-unionists-scots-are-not-gullible-they-will-reject-paul-masterson-and-his-secret-back/

Kirstine Hair – Angus
https://caltonjock.com/2017/06/02/election-hustings-angus-ms-hair-admitted-she-could-not-bring-forward-a-party-manifesto-for-discussion-of-policies-since-there-were-none-she-only-wanted-to-discuss-the-referendum-thats-it-folk/

Sheila Low  – East Lothian
https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/28/sheila-low-tory-party-candidate-for-east-lothian-political-purpose-protection-of-the-union-standing-up-to-the-snp-thats-it-folks-i-dont-need-the-money/

Grace Okeefe – Aberdeen North
https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/24/little-rich-girl-grace-okeeffe-tory-candidate-for-aberdeen-north-her-wish-is-to-be-successful-just-like-daddy-she-needs-to-set-her-sights-lower/

Ross Thomson – Aberdeen South
https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/23/ross-thomson-braden-davy-charlatans-both-surely-the-scottish-electorate-will-reject-these-two-wannabees/

Katie Mackie – East Lothian
https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/18/katie-mackie-tory-born-and-bred-twice-rejected-by-edinburgh-voters-got-lucky-in-musselburgh-in-2017-candidate-for-east-lothian-westminster-seat-short-changing-the-electorate/

Miles Briggs – Edinburgh & South West
https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/17/edinburgh-and-south-west-tory-party-put-up-the-jolly-green-english-born-unionist-giant-for-election-but-ho-ho-ho-nice-but-dim/

Penelope (Penny) Alison Veronica Hutton – West Dunbartonshire
https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/16/west-dunbartonshire-bad-news-day-the-parcel-of-rogues-are-back-seeking-to-blind-side-you-into-voting-tory-good-news-early-warning-so-you-dont-fall-for-the-hype/

Ian McGill – Edinburgh North and Leith
https://caltonjock.com/2017/05/15/iain-mcgill-fantasist-twittererati-and-tory-candidate-for-edinburgh-north-and-leith-hopefully-voters-will-realise-just-how-right-wing-he-is-and-place-their-trust-with-the-snp-candidate/

Blair McDougall – East Renfrewshire
https://caltonjock.com/2015/12/24/blair-mcdougall-wannabe-politician-never-worked-a-day-in-his-life-paid-over-2-million-by-the-state-over-20-years-career-a-litany-of-lies-renfrewshire-should-reject-this-pompous-twit/

John Lamont – Ettrick-Roxburgh-Berwickshire
https://caltonjock.com/2016/04/25/the-most-expensive-msp-in-holyrood-john-lamont-re-elected-in-ettrick-roxburgh-berwickshire-how-the-hell-did-he-do-it/

Ian Murray Edinburgh South
https://caltonjock.com/2015/04/28/ian-murray-elected-labour-mp-for-edinburgh-south-on-a-parcel-of-lies-manufactured-by-a-labour-journalist-voters-should-reject-this-toxic-wee-man-in-favour-of-the-snp-candidate/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anthony Miklinski Tory Candidate for North East Fife – Military Service

Tony’s parents were Polish born upholsterer, Anatol and Williamina Miklinski.

They married in 1947 in Yorkshire and had a daughter Elizabeth before moving to Dundee where Anthony was born in 1951.

Educated in Dundee, Tony’s vocation was teaching and he joined the Training and Education Branch of the Royal Navy in 1977.

He passed the Royal Marines Commando Course and served with 42 Commando R.M. in the Falklands War.

He left the Royal Marines after 7 years and took up teaching, training and administrative roles ending his military career as the Defence Director of Training and Education in the M.O.D.

He was awarded the C.B.E. in 2006.

In a service career spanning 30 years he, Like most military personnel established temporary residence in a number of locations throughout the world.

He finally put down roots, around 2 years ago near his home-town of Dundee, when he purchased a lovely old Grade 2 listed farmhouse (value between £500-£600K) near Ceres, where he lives with his wife and adult autistic son Sandy.

Tony is actively engaged with Autism Improvement Groups.

Required Reading (http://harrisfps.co.uk/tony-miklinski.html)

 

The Hustings Cupar

 

Political Career

2017 Scottish Council Election: results Fife: Ward 20 Cupar: Elected to serve as a councillor: Tony Miklinski, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
Tony Miklinski: Elected to serve as a councillor thinks so little of the honour bestowed upon him by the voters abandons the post after one month seeking fame and glory at Westminster.

But he covers his options, saving the lower class job just in case he fails at the higher level. Cynical abuse of the electorate.

https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/11014/pete-macleod-dear-tory-msps-stop-treating-scottish-parliament-entry-your-cv

2017 General Election: Tory party candidate for North East Fife. Now a pensioner, 66 year old Tony has thrown his lot in with Ruth Davidson and her ultra right wing unionist party which surprised me given his family background and bad treatment of his son at the hands of the Tory contracted hatchet people employed by A.T.O.S.

 

 

 

 

11 April 2005: Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, Surrey – The Nightmare From Hell – Commodore Tony Miklinski RN, Director of Training and Education at the Ministry of Defence Says The Army Will Stamp Out Its Brutalising Culture
Private Sean Benton, Private Cheryl James, Private Geoff Gray and Private James Collinson were found shot dead at the training centre between 1995 and 2002.

All were found dead while on guard duty and the Army quickly pointed to suicide, while inquests delivered open verdicts.
Private Cheryl James

When Private Cheryl James was preparing to move from Leconfield to Deepcut Barracks for the next stage of her Army training, an instructor gave her and her friends ominous advice:

That the young woman, just turned 18, should get through the training and out of the Surrey base as quickly as possible.

But a few short weeks later Cheryl James committed suicide and the coroner ruled that her officers had ‘failed in duty of care.’

For six weeks, the inquest into how Private James came to be found shot dead on guard duty heard claims of why the Surrey base merited such a warning.

Woking Coroner’s Court heard the barracks in the mid-1990s described as a chaotic, demoralised, highly sexualised place, where teenage trainees were largely unsupervised.

Heavy drinking, sex and drugs were rife and some of the non-commissioned officers (N.C.O.s) supposed to be in charge routinely propositioned young female recruits, who they saw as a “sexual challenge”.

The inquest heard at times there was just one corporal in charge of up to 300 trainees.

There were no women N.C.O.s for the female recruits to go to.

Anyone being bullied had no one to turn to and there was no effective system for complaints against staff.

As N.C.O.s tried to keep control, they resorted to handing down heavy punishments, including solitary guard duty.

WO Sarah Ditchfield, who did her training with Private James, told the inquest there was heavy drinking and drug taking.

She said: “We were 17-year-old kids who had money in our pockets, there was nothing else for us.

“There wasn’t enough N.C.O.s to control the amount of recruits they had at the time.

Recruits were running about and didn’t know what we were doing from one minute to the next. “We would tend to ourselves, there was no accountability.”

Sex was so rampant among the teenage soldiers that the clean-up of one wooded area on the site found more than 600 condoms.

Sexual advances from N.C.O.s were common, another trainee at the time recalled. Marina Fawcett said staff “had a power trip and they got a buzz off it.

They were corporals or sergeants and we were recruits and they thought they could take advantage.” Witnesses said Private James had confided she had repeatedly had to rebuff advances from sergeants.

The Army’s head of personnel, accepted at the inquest there was a “highly sexualised atmosphere” at the barracks at the time and an “abuse and misuse” of power.

He conceded it could be a “morally chaotic environment” for a teenage woman, and that the pressure could be “intolerable”.

 

 

 

The Old Army Con Trick – An Internal Review

The Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) was tasked by the Ministry of Defence to conduct an independent inspection of army training establishments and methodology.

The inspection was in response to a recommendation by Surrey police in their report into the deaths of four young soldiers at Deepcut barracks between 1995 and 2002.

Anyone expecting an equivocal response from (ALI), with perhaps some technical recommendations about how training might be improved, was disappointed.

Not only did the report maul the army’s training methods, it lambasted its entire culture.

Poor management, organisation and control of initial training and care practices were leading to bullying, harassment, self-harm, injury and high dropout rates, it concluded.

Attempts to tackle problems were made ineffective by a “disconnection” between strategy and practice. It didn’t stop there.

The report found that recruits lived in barracks that were little better than slums, and that the army’s understanding of issues of equality and diversity was out of step with society.

Even the most elementary safety precautions were lacking.

Inspectors found a “laxity in safely storing weapons and accounting for ammunition”, which, according to the report “poses an unnecessary risk to the safety of recruits”.

Simply improving training techniques will not, it seems, be sufficient to remedy this.

A complete cultural overhaul is required.

Perhaps surprisingly, the army agreed.

“The (ALI) report tells it like it is,” said Commodore Tony Miklinski R.N., director of training and education at the Ministry of Defence.

“We were not surprised that it found harassment and bullying, just that we have still not managed to do better and change behaviour.”

Miklinski went on: ” the army is determined to stamp out its brutalising culture.

It has set up bullying helplines and it is slowly changing what is deemed acceptable.”

Joanna Bourke, professor of history at Birkbeck College London, a keen student of the military’s attempts to modernise its attitudes, is sceptical.

She said:  “In the past, levels of abuse in the army have been equalled only by levels of denial.

They have admitted to this problem before and nothing happened. I’m not at all convinced that it will happen this time.”

 

Comment
Over 20 years after the events at Deepcut nothing has changed and the parents who suffered loss of their children are still seeking answers to why they supposedly committed suicide.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/03/deepcut-inside-the-chaotic-demoralised-and-highly-sexualised-bar/
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/apr/12/furthereducation.uk1

 

 

 

 

30 September 2009: Tony Miklinski  – Director of Training Solutions – Excited About £150 million Contract awarded to his company SELEX Systems Integration
SELEX Sistemi Integrati S.p.A. was an aerospace, defence and security-related electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Rome, Italy and a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational multi billion pound company Finmeccanica.

The company designed and developed systems for homeland security; systems and radar sensors for air defence, battlefield management, naval warfare, coastal and maritime surveillance; air traffic control; and turn-key airport solutions.

SELEX Systems Integration Director of Training Solutions, Tony Miklinski, (who joined the company in October 2007 after retiring from the Royal Navy as the M.O.D.’s Director Training and Education, responsible for Defence policy) said: “We are excited to have been awarded this contract, which clearly builds upon our heritage and expertise as a defence training supplier over the past 20 years.

FIST is a critical project to the future of the UK Armed Forces, and SELEX Systems Integration looks forward to working closely with Thales and the MOD to deliver this essential capability upgrade for years to come.”

https://www.realwire.com/releases/selex-systems-integration-to-provide-training-for-150m-fist-programme https://www.realwire.com/rss/company.asp?c=17314120170606

 

 

 

 

07 May 2012: Italian Firm, SELEX Sold Syria Secure Radios – The Company worked around US and EU sanctions and Built a Secure “Emergency” Network in Syria
As the US and Europe levelled increasingly severe sanctions on Syria, Western tech companies were still working eagerly with the Assad regime and Syrian government-owned entities.

Italian networking and systems integration vendor SELEX (a subsidiary of Finmeccanica) worked around the ever-tightening political noose of trade sanctions to bring a joint project in Syria to completion.

The project?  A secure software-defined radio network for the Syrian government based on the company’s trunked radio network hardware (a grid of ground stations connected by a fibre-optic network)

The contract, officially issued by the Syrian Wireless Organization, was signed by Imad Abdul-Ghani Sabbouni (Syria’s Minister of Communications).

Sabbouni was individually named in EU sanctions in February 2012 for being involved in the censorship and monitoring of Syrian citizens’ Internet access.

The company had to work around US bans on technology shipments to Syria, since many of the connectors for the fibre-optic gear Syria ordered from SELEX were manufactured in the US.

One invoice for the project totalled over 66 million euros. Nice money but tainted.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/wikileaks-italian-firm-sold-syria-secure-radios-as-crackdown-raged/

 

 

 

 

23 April 2013: A.T.O.S. benefits tests: Retired Royal Navy commodore warns his autistic son faces more agony over benefits shake-up

Tony Milkinski says his 27-year-old autistic son son Sandy has already been hit hard because of a lack of understanding about his condition and now he fears things will get worse when disability living allowance (DLA) is replaced by personal independence payments.

Experts fear people with autism will be particularly badly hit by the new system, which will require claimants to undergo assessments by consultants A.T.O.S. more frequently.

The interviews and tests are particularly stressful for people with autism.

Tony fears that the condition will also cause his son to give misleading answers.

He said: “It’s very frustrating. In a face-to-face DLA interview, Sandy will give answers he thinks you want to hear.

Where the people who are meant to help Sandy have limited understanding of autism, this can cause profound misunderstandings.

He finds communication incredibly difficult and will keep saying ‘yes’ because it seems to him the best way to keep a conversation brief and simple and draw it quickly to a close.

But this can lead to Sandy agreeing to suggestions such as holding down a full-time job in a busy office, even though it’s something he can’t conceive of and couldn’t cope with.”

Sandy, who lives with Tony and mum Norma was first called for an A.T.O.S. test in 2009 to assess whether he was entitled to DLA.

He was originally told he was not eligible for support despite the assessor admitting she had limited knowledge of autism.

The decision was overturned after a tribunal, but Sandy has had further interviews and now faces the prospect of enduring the same stressful process regularly.

“A.T.O.S. and the Government don’t appear to accept autism is a permanent disability and the condition does not change,” said Tony,.

He added: “We have now been informed by the Job-centre that Sandy will likely be called for a personal independence payment interview this autumn.

We are deeply concerned that the whole stressful process, involving medical practitioners with little or no understanding of autism, will start again.

How much public money is to be spent pursuing an individual with autism whose disability doesn’t change and who is doing his best to get a job?

I believe people with autism may be treated as a soft target because the condition can make you very vulnerable.

Many people with autism have little or no support and can’t present an accurate picture of the severe challenges they face every day.

Reforms to the benefits system need to be made.

But they should be robust and intelligent.

Identify those who are genuinely deserving, especially those whose disabilities are difficult to understand, and focus effort on helping people who are in society’s margins.

To do this demands a level of experience and competence that A.T.O.S. practitioners have hitherto lacked.”

Tony  said: “Sandy struggles with communication, understanding the world around him and situations that involve unpredictability and flexible thinking.

He lives with us and is supported by us.

But Sandy will always need substantial support.”

Tony added that his son is desperate to get work experience and find a job but has struggled to hold down employment.

“He’s definitely happier when he’s working,” he said. “But anything that involves interaction with people, Sandy finds very difficult.

He spent some time in a role with Royal Mail, filing post.

A job involving a logical approach and limited social interaction suits him very well. But unfortunately there’s a limited amount of these types of jobs available, and even though the local Post Office like Sandy, they have no ability to recruit him.”

National Autistic Society Scotland National Director Dr Robert Moffat said Tony’s story echoed their fears about the A.T.O.S. tests.

He added: “We have serious concerns about the face-to-face assessments people with autism will have to undergo in order to claim personal independence payment.”

The introduction of PIP started in April 2013 and is due to be completed across the UK by December 2017.

The Record has revealed A.T.O.S are in line for a £40million bonus windfall for carrying out the P.I.P. tests on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the DWP defended the tests.

She said: “Disability living allowance is an outdated benefit introduced over 20 years ago and needs reform to better reflect today’s understanding of disability, particularly for people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities.

The personal independence payment will include a new face-to-face assessment and regular reviews – something missing in the current system.

This will ensure the billions we spend on the benefit gives more targeted support to those who need it most.”   (Daily Record)

Comment
Sandy Miklinski, a 27-year-old with autism, and his experience of assessments for D.L.A. and for work capability does not make for easy reading.

The people who assessed him admitted to having little understanding of autism and what it entails, but he has been put into work situations that are clearly not suitable for individuals with autism.

Welfare reform might be necessary, but what is also necessary is an understanding of the conditions with which people present, so that people can be treated as humanely as possible.

Autism is a difficult disability to recognise, because it does not present through physical symptoms, but it is crucial that people understand it before they consider putting a person into a workplace that might prove stressful and counterproductive for them.

Quite how Tony Miklinski finds it possible to be an active member of the political party (and candidate for Westminster) responsible for the angst suffered by his son and family defeats me.

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=2013-04-23.4.70

 

The Hustings Cupar

 

 

7 February 2017: Listen to voice of people – The Courier & Advertiser

Sir, – When a government holds a referendum it is saying “we will let you, the voters, decide this issue”.

The question is asked, the answer is given and the government then implements that answer, no matter how unpalatable that may be.

That is the promise implicit in the referendum process.

Theresa May has the integrity and class to keep that promise.

Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t share those attributes and she hasn’t “earned the right to ask Scots for a second chance” either.

Tony Miklinski. Whitehill Farm, Cupar.

 

The Hustings Cupar

 

 

7 February 2017: Scare tactics start again – The Courier & Advertiser

Sir, – It was disappointing to see Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, resort to such scaremongering comments in her speech at the David Hume Institute last week.

To describe the movement for Scottish independence as a “fratricidal conflict” demeans her status as leader of a major political party which is currently the opposition in the Scottish Parliament.

The dictionary definition of fratricidal conflict is the killing of one’s brother or sister and Ms Davidson’s language, comparing legitimate political debate with such an act, is clearly inflammatory and beneath her.

To exacerbate this further by saying that should a referendum be called, this would put Scotland “at this year’s point of global instability” is also scarcely credible, especially given the Donald Trump’s presidency.

This is rather reminiscent of the scaremongering in the last independence referendum campaign.

One can only hope that should there be another independence referendum, such tawdry scaremongering can be put aside, however, given these comments the prospect of this happening does not look promising.

Alex Orr. 77 Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh.

 

 

North East Fife

 

 

18 March 2017: Play hard ball with SNP – The Courier & Advertiser

Sir, – We don’t want or deserve another independence referendum but if we are forced down that route, then the Conservative leadership must not repeat former prime minister David Cameron’s mistake of complacently granting the SNP control over the referendum timing, question and above all, electorate.

Timing has to be post Brexit; no argument over that one.

The question must allow the unionists to campaign for a yes vote; the SNP had their turn in 2014 and the electorate must include Scottish military serving outside Scotland and anyone of Scottish birth living in the UK.

After all, it is their Scotland too, and their union.

Appeasing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon does not work and any risk that these decisions will drive voters into the hands of the SNP is a risk we’ll have to take.
So, Mrs May and Ms Davidson, don’t let us down.

It is time to play hard ball and make it a level playing field this time.

Tony Miklinski. Whitehill Farm, Cupar.

 

 

 

21 March 2017: Small countries can have strong economies – The Courier & Advertiser

Sir, – It is often said by opponents of Scottish independence that Scotland is too small to stand alone as an independent country.

Well, recent evidence suggests otherwise.

In its Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017, The World Economic Forum, the very prestigious Swiss-based foundation commonly known as Davos, ranked the world’s advanced and developing economies.

They were measured for how well they functioned and for the financial well-being of their national populations, based on “robust growth and employment, high median living standards, strong environmental stewardship and low public debt”.
Norway, with the same population as Scotland came top, followed by Luxembourg, Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark, all small, independent nations.
On average, the top ranking countries have a population of just under four million people.
The UK, with a population of 64 million, was ranked 21st.

Scotland, with a population of just over five million people, would seem to be very well placed to be a successful independent country.

Les Mackay, 5 Carmichael Gardens, Dundee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But a closer look at Stephen Kerr is justified.

 

 

 

 

 

1 April 2006: A Fellow Mormon Questions Stephen Kerr’s Integrity – Does he believe in the Mormon church’s teaching prior to 1978  that skin colour is a curse.

1 April 2006: Elder Stephen Kerr, a native of Dundee was sustained as an Area Seventy (top of the Mormon tree) in the Europe West Area of the Mormon Church.

A fourth-generation Mormon on his mother’s side, after completing his first mission he progressed through the various ranks of the Church culminating in his appointment as leader of the Church in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A post comparable with an arch Bishop or Moderator in the established church

In September 2006 Ensign Elder Kerr addressed the youth of the Mormon Church. He confessed to a passion for books and spoke to a list of things young Mormons might want to do while they are still young. Three things are especially important;

(1) Being worthy to go to the temple.

(2) Regular attendance at seminary and institute classes to learn more about the faith.

(3) The companionship of the Holy Ghost and receiving revelation.

Is this the same Stephen Kerr to whom I wrote in 1998 following his appearance in one of a series of TV programmes that looked at various faiths?

A panel quizzed him and another Mormon about their faith.

Of particular interest was the question of Negroes and the priesthood.

We have addressed this issue before and I need only say that, until 1978, Negroes were disbarred from full involvement in the Mormon Church because the colour of their skin marked them out as “unworthy”.

In 1978 this changed under enormous pressure from the wider society.

This is common knowledge and I don’t imagine that I am telling you anything you don’t already know.

Imagine my astonishment when I heard Stephen Kerr, a fourth-generation Mormon, a lover of books, a priesthood leader of long-standing and someone who encourages youth to learn more about their faith – imagine my astonishment when I heard him deny any understanding of this teaching.

He would have been 18 years old at the time of those momentous changes in 1978, when the official declaration announced from Mormon pulpits across the world that, “all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or colour (sic)”.

He would have been preparing for his mission, if not already serving, and this would have had a profound effect on the way missionaries responded to coloured people on the door.

He was challenged repeatedly and, repeatedly, he said, “I don’t know why this was so, nobody knows why.”

It might be argued that I am in no position to know what he knew or didn’t know.

That is right.

It might be argued that I couldn’t prove that he was being disingenuous in his answers.

That is correct.

It might be said that I must take the man at face value and accept that he spoke in good faith.

That is something I struggle with simply because it is not true that “nobody knows”.

It is common knowledge.

This is the doctrine of recent memory, practised by Mormons of my generation.

Especially poignant was the fact that his Mormon companion was a young Negro woman who, I feel, was quite innocent in her endorsement of Elder Kerr’s claim to ignorance.

My generation and his would have been taught as a matter, of course that skin colour other than white is a curse. a curse.

Hers would have been denied such understanding as new opportunities opened up, post-1978, for Mormonism in Africa and among African communities across the world.

Now a new generation of young church members is deliberately kept ignorant of their own heritage.

http://reachouttrust.org/mormons/group-amnesia/

 

 

 

 

Same-Sex Attraction and the Doctrine of the Mormon Church

Same-sex attraction refers to emotional, physical, or sexual attraction to a person of the same gender.

The experience of same-sex attraction is not the same for everyone. Some people may feel exclusively attracted to the same gender, while others may feel attracted to both genders.

The Church distinguishes between same-sex attraction and homosexual behaviour.

People who experience same-sex attraction or identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual can make and keep covenants with God and fully and worthily participate in the Church.

Identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual or experiencing same-sex attraction is not a sin and does not prohibit one from participating in the Church, holding callings, or attending the temple.

But sexual purity is an essential part of God’s plan for our happiness.

 

 

 

 

Sexual relations between a man and woman who are not married, or between people of the same sex, violate one of our Father in Heaven’s most important laws and get in the way of our eternal progress.

People of any sexual orientation who violate the law of chastity can be reconciled with God through repentance.

As followers of Christ, we resist immoral behaviour and strive to become like Him.

We seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the help of the Saviour, who knows how to succour us when we are tempted.

If we give in to sexual temptations and violate the law of chastity, we can repent, be forgiven, and participate in full fellowship in the Church.

We may not know precisely why some people feel attracted to others of the same sex, but for some, it is a complex reality and part of the human experience.

The Saviour Jesus Christ has a perfect understanding of every challenge we experience here on earth, and we can turn to Him for comfort, joy, hope, and direction.

No matter what challenges we may face in life, we are all children of God, deserving of each other’s kindness and compassion.

 

 

 

When we create a supportive environment, we build charity and empathy for each other and benefit from our combined perspectives and faith.

Church leaders have emphasized that simply being attracted to someone of the same sex is not a sin and that God loves all of his children.

But those wishing to maintain full membership in the Church are required to commit to a life of celibacy.

The Mormon Church states unequivocally that marriage and sexual relations can only be between a man and a woman who promise complete loyalty to each other and that homosexuality is contrary to God’s plan for his children.

Members in same-sex marriages are considered to be apostates which is an excommunicable offence.

Children living in same-sex households are excluded from religious rites, such as baby blessings and baptism until they turn 18.

Once they reach that age, they have the option to disavow same-sex relationships, move out of their parents’ house, and ask to join the Church.

 

 

 

 

Mormon Church Doctrine

From 1849 to 1978 Mormon church had a policy against the ordination of Black people to the priesthood and forbade black men and women from taking part in ceremonies in Mormon temples.

In 1978, the church’s leaders declared that the ban had been lifted as a result of a revelation from God.