Lazy assumptions about John Mason don't add up

"The SNP man in Glasgow this time is one John Mason, a local accountant and councillor who has been dubbed John "Whatever-his-name-is" owing to his unimpressive demeanour."

Ian MacWhirter, writing in the Guardian.

What a shame Ian MacWhirter repeats the same rubbish about John Mason that his colleagues in London have written. Unlike the bitter careerist Curran (whose TV manner is truly awful by the way) Mason has a track record of service to the area as a Councillor which is second to none. Margo MacDonald and Jim Sillars [who MacWhirters refers to as a comparison] are both tremendously talented individuals, unusually so and far more competent than any existing Labour MP, however Margo has already stated that Mason is an excellent candidate and in fact she claimed the SNP was holding him back (still as an independent you might expect her to say that).

I find it rather sad that MacWhirter would join the London hack pack dazzled by the celebrity of Alex Salmond and ignore the fact that Mason has answered all questions honestly and succinctly. Unlike Curran he has made no gaffes. His opinion on a referendum is shared with every other member of the SNP and any leader who ignored his view would not be leader for long.

Salmond is a powerful asset and the SNP are right to use him upfront in their campaign, anything else would be distinctly odd but their candidate is entirely competent and obviously honest. That will be a rarity for Glasgow East given the expenses scandal which was about to engulf their last MP. David Marshall was good at keeping his money and expenses within his immediate family but he was less successful in standing up for the interests of the people in the area. (There are obviously pockets of deprivation however when I went there on Saturday I don't think it seemed substantially different from any other area in Scotland, certainly no worse than where I live just now. I have tended to live in Labour supporting seats all my life, and from my own experience their vote is soft because it is based on a mistaken assumption, that Labour care what the working classes think, when in reality they don't).

These grim coupons say it all!

Margaret Curren lied about living in the East End all her life. She put out a letter to her proposed future constituents that she didn't even bother to read! She hypocritically says she can do two jobs after attacking Salmond for his own joint role. (I'm sure as Labour leader, which she will no doubt be rewarded with if she wins she will find it handy to get her orders from London based Labour MP's and then take them back to her MSP colleagues).

She pretended she was standing beside a 93 year old war veteran when in fact it was a Labour activist. Her only celebrity endoresement is a man who bwelieves the UK is dead and buried. Her campaign has been utterly disastrous and Labour have lied about having two thousand activists on the street when in reality they can barely muster 200.

If this is a great campaign with a competent candidate give me some of the drugs you are on Ian! If Labour win it will be because they have successfully pulled the wool over the people's eyes yet again but you can't fool al lthe people all the time. Their day of reckoning will come.

John Mason said there was no difference between Gordon Brown and David Cameron, how right he was. Both Labour and Tories want to stigmatise the unemployed and make them scrub the streets and pick up litter! Socialist values? Labour don't know the meaning of it and they haven't done for years. The best jobs they can provide are making their biometric ID cards so repressive regimes across the world can spy on their citizens. Wow!

The SNP are well to the left of Labour and they are proudly Scottish. When Labour attack Mason (by putting his face on their leaflets, which suggests despite their spin they do regard him as a serious candidate) for saying he wants to break up the UK they should realise that most people in Glasgow East are not actually as proud of the union as they are. In fact at the last census no less than 96 per cent chose to say they were Scottish rather than British, more than in any other Scottish constituency! Britishness is dead just like the 'socialist principles' of Nu Labour. Hopefully Glasgow East's voters will give Labour the kicking they deserve at the ballot box on Thursday.

If however the worst happens, Curran scrapes through and wins and is subsequently elected Labour's Scottish Leader I can't imagine a greater gift for Alex Salmond. The press can maintain she is wonderful all they like but the reality is that Wendy was at least personable on TV even if she was a poor tactician.

The abysmal attacks in this by-election on the SNP (which have all the hallmarks of being dreamt up by a delusional David Cairns MP) would be easily slapped down in the Scottish parliament. SNP are tartan Tories, oh really! SNP want independence, what a shock! SNP would keep trying after a referendum, good God I thought they would all go home!

This is political ABC and shows that Labour thinks the voters in glasgow are thick as mince. They are not and this rubbish can't sustain any serious politician and one who doesn't read her own leaflets isn't serious or committed to any genuine change. "I will phone Alastair Darling and ask him to change policy!" Gee, Maggie don't you have a phone in your MSP's office?
The reality is Curren would be lobby fodder just like David Marshall. Marshall voted against greater financial transparency at Westminster (what a shock!), he was in favour of ID cards despite saying "I remain concerned about the compulsory nature of the scheme and the cost. People living on benefits are genuinely poor and are unlikely to be able to afford the costs" yet he still voted for it. What a surprise! He also supported the Government over foundation hospitals, top up fees and 42 days detention.

Want an MP with a spine? Vote SNP!