Mole-gate

Remember the wall-to-wall press coverage of the Balmoral footpath "scandal" back in January? Clearly the vast bulk of the Scottish press do not. As reported yesterday in the Sun, the mole that leaked details of the paths is alleged to be Tom Greatrex, Labour's candidate for Rutherglen, although at the time he was a special adviser to Jim Murphy. Mr Murphy apparently denies any knowledge of the leaks.

Which way to Balmoral?

Juicy allegations one would have thought, so why are the Scottish press not following this story up? If the allegations are true there would be some pretty serious questions to answer. Presumably the Scottish press are concentrating on the rather bigger stories from yesterday, in the shape of bigot-gate and the Court of Session ruling. Perhaps they are keeping their powder dry until a slower news day.

In the meantime it has been left to the Rutherglen Reformer to pick up the baton, although neither Mr Greatrex nor his election agent returned their calls yesterday. So as yet there has been no confirmation and no denial of the Sun's allegations against Mr Greatrex. Watch this space...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIucU1AcSdGWE1W1J9RmZBDz5aRTRmCmC9n9MJCn-fxj6c-epAaIkW1zL3g5JwLoWcnkRcd8zjsDZE5bIPPwdnYqpvCbLucmWzJ1m_Tda4QFkaHabcTZh8CHQgXCbW4VKAvxMUfuBKsU0T/s1600/Mole.jpg

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Twins

Well, the past few weeks have been very busy here in Brigadoon. Not enough time for eating, sleeping and entertaining forfar-quine, let alone for blogging. Looks like the next few weeks could be similarly busy (the mist machine is making an ominous clanking noise) so just to keep things ticking over here's some puerile fun in place of the substantive political commentary and insight that I normally indulge in (ahem).

Whilst browsing the news I was struck by the eery similarity between the two images below. One shows a snarling, treacherous beast operating from the basest of motives, interested only in the preservation of its hideous brethren at the expense of any human being foolish enough to stand in its way. And Sigourney Weaver saw to the other one (her husband is a Forfar loon in case you didn't know).

"Murphy"

"Alien"

Spot the Bawbag

Competition Time! Roll up, roll up for your chance to win an Easter e-Egg*! Simply guess which square in the picture below contains a bawbag:

"Heids you loser!"

* e-Egg may contain nuts, but probably not. I wouldn't bet on any chocolate either.

Murphy: Gonnie gies twa pandas?

So Jim Murphy spent his time in China wisely, asking his hosts for a pair of pandas to bring back to a Scottish zoo. Sweet Lord have mercy on his soul, are pandas really what Scotland needs in these dark economic days? It certainly seems that Murphy's hastily arranged jolly was simply an exercise in one-upmanship, getting in ahead of Alex Salmond's long-planned trip. And if he really had to have some souvenirs, could he not have chosen something to fit in his suitcase?

Bamboo-zled

Besides, it's not as if Scotland is exactly lacking in pandas. Indeed, on my morning constitutional through the woods of Brigadoon I managed to snap these two, admittedly rather straggly, specimens. Devoid of energy and utterly impotent, the prospects for this sad pair and others of their ilk are grim. Their future survival hinges on their ability to find a few green shoots, but their chronic short-sightedness leaves them blundering around, trampling all over any signs of growth. A mass extinction looms...

Poll results: trade trip to China

Who should represent Scotland on a trade trip to China?

Alex Salmond: 33
Jim Murphy: 1 (good of you to drop in Jim!)
Both: 1
Fred Goodwin: 1 (on a one-way ticket presumably?)

Jim Murphy: "Intolerant and dictatorial"

Hot on the heels of the red-tops digging out Mike Russell's 10-year old book, the Loon has scoured the parliamentary archives and unearthed an interesting Early Day Motion about one Jim Murphy...

MR JIM MURPHY AND THE NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS 12.06.1996

Livingstone, Ken

That this House condemns the intolerant and dictatorial behaviour of the President of the National Union of Students, Mr Jim Murphy, who has unconstitutionally suspended NUS Vice President, Clive Lewis, because he took part, in a personal capacity, in an open debate at Queen Mary and Westfield College on the issues raised by the Campaign for Free Education; further notes that along with President Elect, Douglas Trainer, both men have warned NUS Executive member, Rose Woods, that if she attends the Scottish launch of the Campaign for Free Education she too will be suspended from the NUS Executive; reminds Mr Murphy and Mr Trainer that freedom of speech is a right in the United Kingdom, that they have no power to overturn the results of elections that went against their preferred candidates and that, whilst these methods are a common practice in dictatorships around the world, they are not acceptable behaviour from someone such as Mr Murphy who is putting himself forward as suitable for election to the House of Commons.

Amongst the 17 MPs who signed Red Ken's motion were such luminaries as Dennis Skinner and Tony Benn.

All you Glenrothes conspiracy theorists out there might particularly enjoy the line: "they have no power to overturn the results of elections that went against their preferred candidates". Of course, hypothetically speaking, if a result is already in the (postal ballot) bag, then there would be no need to overturn it.