The Glasgow East By-Election........10th July Margaret has decided NOT to give up her seat. I was under the misaprehension that this course of action was automatic whenever an MSP stood for Westminster i.e. David Mundell and Mary Scanlon, but after seeking clarification from the Electoral Commission it is now clear that both David and Mary opted to give up their seats before contesting to stand for Westminster of their own accord.Margaret Curran CAN remain as an MSP even if she wins in the Glasgow by-election.While this may be expedient as far as Margaret is concerned , in my opinion , this does little for the democratic process because it is not possible to fulfill both jobs at the same time. OK, so Alex Salmond is currently doing this and only claiming one salary, but this bears out my own opinion that we are actually over represented by having MEPs, MPs, MSPs and of course Councillors. The double representation at Holyrood AND Westminster is a spin off from the very start of the Scottish Parliament after devolution. In the 1999 Holyrood elections there were well over twenty MSPs elected who were at that time actually sitting Members of Parliament. The vast majority, if not all of them, did not stand for re-election to Westminster and the problem of dual representation died away until Alex Salmond returned to Holyrood once again after his mysterious resignation which took him away from the seat of government in Scotland to head south to the House of Commons once again. He is of course still a sitting Member of Parliament. The problem of finding a Labour Leader will entail an elaborate process which could spin out until AFTER the summer recess is over. It would indeed be a sorry state of affairs if a Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland takes as long as some of the forecasts seem to indicate. By the way, if a List MSP decides to stand for a constituency vacancy as an MSP then the List MSP WOULD require to resign from Holyrood to enable him(or her) to stand.Richard Lochhead actually did this and WAS elected in my time in Holyrood. Only lack of funds prevents the SSCUP from standing in Glasgow. The Labour Leadership...8th July I forecast a couple of days ago that Margaret Curran could win the contest in Holyrood to become the next Labour Leader.Lo and behold, when I turned on the news this morning she was being tipped to become the Labour candidate in the Glasgow by-election. There are about one million pensioners in Scotland. They are very poorly rewarded by the State for their efforts and contributions to the welfare of our country during their working lives. A very high percentage of senior citizens turn out to vote at elections and traditionally they tend to vote for the party to which they have given a lifetime of support.For me, if this does come to pass, this conjures up a completely fresh scenario. So hold onto your seats and I will explain my theory. If Margaret Curran does stand in Glasgow,this will entail her giving up her seat in Holyrood just as David Mundell and Mary Scanlon were required to do in the previous session in Holyrood when they stood for Westminster.This would bring about aother by-election in Margaret's safe Labour seat for Holyrood.Now here is the my fearless forecast which if it comes to pass will really electrify Scottish politics.Do not be surprised if John Reid MP stands in Margaret's constituency as an MSP and then goes on to become the Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland.At the testimonial match at Parkhead for Phil O'Donnell, I asked John Reid what his plans were for the future and he said that as Chairman of Celtic he had the best job in the land and that he would be standing down from Westminster at the next general election.I then asked him why he didn't stand for Holyrood at the first available opportunity and sort out all Labour's problems. He laughed and stated that would be an interesting situation but to be fair he did NOT say that this was his intention. Nevertheless, this could actually come to pass in the very near future. One thing is certain- peak viewing on national television would be Alex Salmond and John Reid going head to head at First Minister's Question Time. REMEMBER --- YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST !AND MORE FROM JOHN......... As I have mentioned on numerous occasions in the past, I was once asked by an elderly gentleman-"Who do you represent?" My easy answer was -"Senior Citizens." "But surely all parties also represent Senior Citzens?" he responded. "Yes indeed they do," I replied,"But - VERY BADLY!" The proof of this is obvious. If all other political parties made a good job of representing pensioners then Senior Citizens would not be in the sad financial position that actually exists for far too many of my generation in 2008.The frustrating part about all this is that far too many Senior Citizens seem to be incapable of seeing the obvious fact that all that the major parties really want from them is that big X on the ballot paper at election time which will elect more voting fodder for the various party machines. Once the 'voting fodder' is elected they will touch the forelock and blindly obey their party 'whips' and vote for the party line on all issues.This automatically means that they will NEVER step out of line and vote for anything outwith party policy. All that they are really interested in is SELF INTEREST and making sure that they will never be de-selected for stepping out of line. Rebels in political parties are as scarce as hens' teeth. That is one of the main reasons that I started the SSCUP. I rather naively thought that this was OBVIOUS to everyone who had reached retiral age.Older voters have yet to grasp the fact that the traditional parties are happiest when pensioners continue to suffer quietly. Gordon Brown promised in 1993 that Means Testing would be abolished in the first term of a Labour Administration.What a hollow promise from a man who removed the 10p threshold and disadvantaged the poorest in our country! The party line as expressed by the Minister for Pensions Reform, Mike O'Brien QC MP on means testing, is that this is to ensure that the very poorest get the first benefit of means testing. They are the winners in this system, he alleges, and this gives the needy full pension credits and takes them out of Absolute Poverty into a happier state which is described as Relative Poverty. What a sad, sick concept. The idea that a pension of £90.70 is acceptable because they can means test and eliminate from their equation all those who have worked hard and who have been fortunate enough to earn an additional works pension and therefore find themselves marginally above the pensions credit limit is ludicrous.
The Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party is a Unionist party. However, we do believe in greater powers for Holyrood.On a personal basis I have submitted an
E-Petition to the Petitions Committee in Holyrood on Fiscal Autonomy
which would mean that Scotland would raise its own taxation and also
control its own expenditure. Could we afford to attempt this, you may
ask. I would simply point out that the recent strike at the Grangemouth
Refining Plant cost the exchequer at Westminster £25Million for EVERY
DAY OF THE STRIKE and that is outwith the normal taxation which goes on
apace on a daily basis. Yes we would be better off with fiscal autonomy
and one spin-off would be a solution to the long standing West Lothian
Question. Our big task as a party is to persuade ALL SENIOR CITIZENS to join with us and give US their votes.We will then make certain that the quality of life of the elderly in Scotland will improve beyond measure.
This could become a reality if only older voters would STOP and THINK before voting for those Parties responsible for our current unacceptable situation. |
