Who benefits from move to 'De-Tox' Scots Tories?

The Conservatives. It doesn't help the SNP one iota but it does suggest that the SNP are daft enough to believe David Cameron's cynical rebranding exercise.

I hope the SNP activists prove to be wiser than SNP MSP's and vote to maintain the complete bar on working with the Conservatives. The ban shows the party's rightful disdain for the Conservatives who have a long history of being both anti-Scottish and of completely ignoring Scottish views.

The Tories are the party of Thatcher. Cameron's 'Mr nice' persona doesn't fit with the grassroots of his party. The SNP should do nothing to help the Tories get back involved in the Scottish mainstream, they are irrelevant to Scotland like ALL their fellow unionists.

The SNP is a democratic party so despite the fact that this is being raised there is no guarantee that it will be passed. I think the SNP activists will be likely to decide that continuing to keep the Tories at arms length is a good idea and will vote accordingly.

Des Browne - I give very little time to Scotland job

Des Browne the Defence Secretary has admitted that he hardly gives any time to his Scottish Secretary job and claims he spends most of his time on defence matters (he is joint Defence and Scottish Secretary).

Browne has admitted he carries out his duties as Secretary of State for Scotland in his spare time as he attempts to fight claims he is a "part-time" Defence Secretary. His dual mandate at the Ministry of Defence and the Scotland Office has sparked anger from former military chiefs and opposition MPs, who say he needs to devote his entire time to defence matters.

But Mr Browne yesterday insisted the armed forces should not feel insulted by his juggling act, as he spent the same amount of time on defence as he did before he was landed with the Scotland Office portfolio in June.

His admission came after the Tory leader, David Cameron, called on Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, to appoint a full-time defence secretary on the back of a row sparked by five former military chiefs. Although Mr Browne was in Glasgow yesterday attending a conference on regenerating the city, he made clear that defence took up most of his diary.

"I would put my record on commitment and delivery up against anyone's," he said. "The amount of time that [the job of Scottish Secretary] takes comes out of what was my private life, my family's life and my constituents' time."

Mr Browne added: "I devote as much time to being Secretary of State for Defence as I did in the time that I was not Secretary of State for Scotland. "I have been with more regularity into the operational theatres than any secretary of defence ever has been, and when I go out and talk to troops they don't raise these abstract issues about what other title you may have. They look to see what I do. And if you have some criticism about a part of the job I should have been doing and I'm not doing, I will answer it."

The Conservatives were quick to blame the dual mandate on the Prime Minister. Mr Browne was already Defence Secretary when the Prime Minister added the Scotland portfolio to his workload nearly six months ago.

In a letter to Mr Brown, Mr Cameron said: "At a time when our forces are engaged in two highly dangerous missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for the Defence Secretary to be able to concentrate full-time on his role is surely a matter of plain commonsense.

"People do not understand why you have chosen to combine the job of Defence Secretary with Scottish secretary at such a crucial time."

Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said Mr Browne was "having to spend time fighting the SNP and the Taleban", calling this "an insult to the men and women of our armed forces".

----

What utter contempt for Scotland. We don't need Des Browne, we don't need a Scottish Secretary or a Scottish Office, what we do need is independence, soon.

Determination's Coull is still desperately attacking IF

Had the misfortune to go on Our Scotland website and came across this thread:

http://ourscotland.myfreeforum.org/sutra51431.php#51431

...where my former colleague in Independence First (now part of 'Determination') Dave Coull is trying (and failing) to tarnish another IF member (Kevin Williamson)'s reputation.

Contrary to Mr Coull's interpretation of events, it was his own nit picking and dubious approach to debate which led to IF closing down our member's forum. If he wants to blame anyone for it he can blame me and not Kev who wasn't at the meeting who decided it (and indeed objected to the decision afterwards).

Members at the meeting which decided to close the forum felt it would be better (and politer) if any grievances were addressed at meetings face to face rather than through an online forum which tended lend itself to pedants who wouldn't let any point go and would waste everyone's time.

This has proven to be the case. Of course this was not the real reason Dave Coull and others left to form Determination, the real reason was that their pal Neal Caple was bumped as Convenor in a democratic vote and replaced with our current convener, Eric Canning.

They've bumped their gums about Canning's membership of the Communist Party of scotland (which supports independence) yet have overlooked Canning's massive experience as a former Vice Chair of the Scottish Constitutional Convention. Sadly they could not accept democracy when it didn't go their way and even had the cheek to mis-use our database to send out their propaganda.

Independence First has organised two rallies for an independence referendum, we have also organised an online petition for a referendum and have received answers from the British Government (unsatisfying answers but answers nonetheless).

The departure of Coull and his friends has left us with less activists, however at least we don't have to put up with the childish behaviour of Mr Coull and can ignore most of his outbursts.

Independence First is now working with the Independence Convention to create a new and stronger petition demanding an independence referendum. We believe that after 300 years the Scottish people need to have a direct say on the self determination of their country.

The fight goes on and anyone who wants to join Independence First should come to the Wash bar in Edinburgh tonight at 6.30pm.

3rd Time Unlucky for Alexander as she appoints spin doctor who admires SNP!

(from Sunday Herald)

SCOTTISH LABOUR'S new spin-doctor made a series of damning criticisms of his colleagues weeks before he accepted the job as the party's head of communications. Gavin Yates used his blog to describe Wendy Alexander as "abrasive", labelled shadow health minister Andy Kerr as "simply uninspiring", and blasted Jack McConnell for being a "lame duck leader" when in office.

He also said the fledgling SNP government had a "long and impressive" list of achievements, while describing first minister Alex Salmond as "a great example of a politician on top of his game".

The online blasts are the latest PR disaster for Alexander who, as Labour's newly appointed Holyrood leader, has watched two spin-doctors quit in as many months.

The first press aide, Brian Lironi, quit his post in September, days after she had been formally installed as leader.

Then her media chief, Matthew Marr, resigned in disgrace eight days ago after shouting the c-word at Salmond during an awards ceremony.

Alexander is set for further embarrassment after it emerged that Yates - the Labour group's new head of communications - attacked his future bosses weeks before accepting the new job.

His comments featured on his WordPress-hosted blog, GYmedia. A message on the blog page now states: "The authors have deleted this blog. The content is no longer available." But the Sunday Herald has uncovered a number of Yates's postings, many of which portray the Labour leadership in a negative light.

On Alexander's speech to the UK Labour conference in September, one of his internet postings states: "New Labour leader Wendy Alexander was rather less positive, using her conference speech to apologise' for losing the last election in Scotland. Rather odd: and certainly doesn't bode well for her renewal agenda.

"The news yesterday that her spinner-in-chief Lironi had resigned after a month, to be replaced by a man who ripped up his party card a few years ago, does not augur a speedy return to government either."

The same entry, which was made days after Alexander became leader, saw him aim a jibe in her direction: "As Gordon Brown considers taking the biggest political risk of his life, the Scottish government can go along unhindered by a competent opposition."

Brits 'R' now Bhoys as Reid becomes Celtic Chairman

Celtic Football Club have recently appointed John Reid MP as their club chairman. Reid is a London orientated British unionist who has shown a constant and visceral hatred of his own country's aspirations towards independence.

A former Communist, Reid embraced the New Labour project for the sake of his own career. He worked besides Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as they neutered Labour into a washed out shadow of the Conservative party and they all went along with the US in the ill thought out and ultimately illegal invasion of Iraq.

As Home Secretary he demanded that immigrants should speak English and used internment camps where asylum seeking families were kept in captivity by the British Government.

This is the man who every year got up and waffled a lot of hypocritical drivel about socialism at Labour's party conferences (while his colleagues tried to privatise the NHS and introduced student loans!). Reid has been praised for his political 'X-factor' but in fact he is a brazen demagogue who could and would say anything to retain political power. Whenever Tony Blair needed someone to defend the indefensible John Reid would be wheeled out on Newsnight. (One time the old hypocrite used the fact he was Scottish to whinge that Jeremy Paxman was being racist towards him. Paxman had called him Tony Blair's attack dog, which is exactly what he was, someone who could argue black was white with fake conviction on the orders of his boss.)

Reid has no interest in Scotland whatsoever and has consistently claimed that we are too wee, too daft and too poor to be independent. Who next? Could an Ulster Unionist be chairman of Celtic? An Orangeman? If not, why not? After all they pretty much share the same opinions as Doctor Reid about Scotland and Ireland when it comes to their rights to independence.

It is a sad fact that some people in Britain have a hatred for the Irish, a hatred which is promoted by the Orange Lodge and by other organisations like the Masons which are effectively anti-Catholic societies.

The continued prescence of the ubiquitous Irish joke, clearly designed to portray the Irish as thickos undeserving of independence (a bit like the tight Jocks) shows a society which has racist opinions at it's core.

The loud mouthed bigoted types who originally demonstrated against Irish immigration nowadays turn their hatred on Poles and other new migrants but it is all part of an imperialist mindset which talk of 'them' and 'us', us being assumed to be the Brits, the false imperial identity designed to justify an Empire which doesn't fit Scotland or Ireland well and never has.

The most obvious representatives of this imperialist misplaced hatred is the Orange Order, which is not only against Irish independence (and Catholic Schools and anything else to do with promoting Roman Catholism) it is also actively campaigning against Scottish independence. Last year the order had one of their biggest ever demonstrations in Scotland, specifically against Scottish independence. 10,000 Orangemen marched through Edinburgh to oppose our rights to rule ourselves!

For Celtic to appoint John Reid an arch enemy of both Scotland and Ireland as their club chairman beggers belief, the fans might as well burn all their Tricolours and join their old rivals Rangers in waving the Butcher's Apron because that is what this pompous jingoistic cretin has built his 'career' on waving.

Answer received from German Consulate re Potterings remarks

I put in a complaint to the German Consulate in Scotland about the comments of the EU President (and German Euro MP) Hans Pöttering who said he felt that Scotland should not consider independence and would be better of remaining in the UK, an extraordinary comment from a supposedly neutral official who is supposed to represent the whole EU. I was interested to find out exactly what the German Government thought of Mr Pottering's ill judged comments.

This was the consulate's reply:

Dear Mr Middleton,

Thank you for your e-mail of 18 November 2007 regarding a recent interview by the President of the European Parliament, Mr Hans Pöttering, MEP on regional policies in Europe. As you are undoubtedly aware, Mr Pöttering acted in his capacity as Member of the European Parliament, which is an independent institution of the European Union.

As a Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany, I am not authorized to comment on any of Mr. Pöttering´s statements. All I could say on the matter is that – at the end of the day - it is up to the Scottish people to decide whether the actual devolution settlement should be altered or not.

May suggest, that you put further questions directly to the European Parliament, which might be done via the following link
https://www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/citizensMail/secured/cmRequest.do?cmLanguage=en

You may also write to the European Parliament Office in Scotland ( The Tun, 4 Jackson's Entry, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8PJ or email: ependiburgh@europarl.europa.eu ).

Yours sincerely,

Ingo Radcke

Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany 16 Eglinton Crescent Edinburgh EH12 5DG tel.: 0131-337 2323 fax: 0131-346 1578 www.edinburgh.diplo.de

Life without Scotland? Lies about Scotland more like.

Visitors to the Guardian website may be attracted by the link described as "Guardian writers examine what the UK would be like if scotland were to go it alone."

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/scotland/story/0,,2211295,00.html

Sadly on arriving they will be subjected to a rather childish, pathetic piss take which examines no issues and instead simply waffles pure drivel. That the Guardian (usually a decent paper it has to be said) should run this contemptous garbage and pass it off as genuine analysis shows that Scotland is neither treated seriously or fairly by any of the English press.

Edinburgh Independence First Meeting - 26th November

Well our dreams of football glory may have been smashed but the fight for political independence goes on!

Independence First's next big event will be the National Petition for an Independence Referendum 'Let Scotland decide' which is being organised by the Scottish Independence Convention with the assistance of IndependenceFirst.

To this end we are organising a working conference to help make sure the petition is effective at grassroots level. All members of IndependenceFirst will receive notification by mail about this with more details shortly.

Our next local Edinburgh branch meeting is on:

Monday 26th November Starting at 6.30pm, Wash Bar, 11-13 North Bank St,Edinburgh, EH1 2LP.

** ALL WELCOME **

http://www.independence1st.org

ID Cards fight steps up a gear

The NO2ID campaign is calling in it's 11,360 £10 pledges to take the anti ID card campaign to the next level, a campaign of civil disobedience against this totally unnecessary measure.

If anyone out there would like to donate to the campaign the link is here:

http://www.no2id.net/pledge/

Scotland goes down - but the fight goes on!

We were robbed. A last minute goal from a free kick which should never have been given. Sometimes it seems to be almost inevitable, Scotland puts in a brave performance yet every time we eventually go down to a heartbreaking defeat.

Yet let's face it we did well to even get into this position. we played well and had Italy on the ropes for much of the game, We can therefore be proud of our performance and hope to do better in 2010 in South Africa.

Our strong run of results in the qualifying stages of the European championships SHOULD mean we get a better draw this time and hopefully we WILL qualify for the next world cup.

Our footballers did us proud.

Well done all.

Typical bias by the Britman against SNP over Police numbers

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1794842007

This headline would tend to suggest that the SNP are CUTTING spending on the police and removing police men from the beat. In actual fact the SNP are INCREASING spending and are planning to recruit 500 extra officers at a cost of £54M.

It is perhaps predictable that the press would try and stab the SNP in the back over this as polls show that 'Law 'N' Order' is one of the most emotive issues around. However the fact is the SNP are spending more than Labour on the police and if they can't yet deliver the 1,000 extra police they wanted to that is because Labour in London have cut back on the parliament's funds in real terms.

Colin McKerracher, Grampian Chief Constable and president of Acpos, has said the association welcomes the announcement of the 150 extra officers.

WILLIAMSON TO LAUNCH BELLA CALEDONIA

Kev Williamson has sent out the following info re the launch of the new magazine he is publishing 'Bella Caledonia':

An event coming up this Saturday, 27th of October in Edinburgh

Time: 7.30 Location: Out of the Blue Drill Hall (former TA drill hall)

30-38 Dalmeny Street (just off Leith Walk) Edinburgh Map here: http://tinyurl.com/2xf3vu

This an event to celebrate and discuss the launch of Bella Caledonia, a brand new paper for the emergent Scotland. The newspaper is pro-independence, republican, internationalist, and anti-authoritarian. The first edition has a flagship article by Andy Wightman ("Who Owns Scotland") on ownership and control of The Balmoral Estates. It will prove The Queen does not own Balmoral Estates - and explain who does - and why we have been misled on official documents and websites about this.

These facts have never been published before and are central to the argument about land reform and taking control of all Scottish lands back into the hands of Scots.

Alasdair Gray has re-designed Bella Caledonia (a character illustrated in his novel Poor Things) and provided the artwork to create the masthead for the newspaper. Radical historian James D Young is interviewed.

There will also be a libertarian left analysis of the Veneuelan revolution 1999-2006 included in the magazine.

Rejecting the centralism and authoritarianism of the old Marxist left, promoting movements rather than parties, Bella Caledonia intends to join the dots from the political processes in Scotland, to the stateless nations of Europe, to the revolutionary Bolivarian processes at work in Latin/South America, and throughout the anti-globalisation movement.

The newspaper - which is not associated or linked to any political party or organisation - will be handed out free to all Scots who want one. First edition available on the night. 5000 print run. The discussion panel will include editors Mike Small (who helped set up IndyMedia Scotland) and Kevin Williamson (founded Rebel Inc), as well as one of Scotland's foremost radical historians, James D. Young.

(Note: Lesley Riddoch - who has contributed a piece to the newspaper about women in the Outer Hebrides and the renaming back of the Western Isles to its original Celtic name of the Hebrides - but has had to pull out of the discussion.)

---

Mike Small has written a number of excellent articles for the Guardian recently and Indy Media Scotland (which is also edited by Gus Abraham of the 1820 blog) is the most effective local Scottish news website around. - JM

Archie Stirling's Uncle wasn't as clean as he pretends

Scots' generosity of spirit stretched by MacKenzie's laughable criticisms

Following Kelvin MacKenzie's outburst on Question Time (your report, 13 October), the research assistant to Christine Grahame MSP has, presumably with approval, made complaints to the Tayside and Metropolitan police forces under Section 155 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

This neatly sums up the complete uselessness of some of our MSPs and their assistants. Where's their confidence in the Scottish people? Are we so feeble that we have to go running to nanny every time anyone says anything unpleasant? Are we Scots - the greatest inventors in the world - so over-sensitive that we can't choose to either ignore or laugh at something so obviously puerile and untrue?

What MacKenzie - a talented ex-tabloid editor, journalist and broadcaster - apparently said, was that the Scots were not entrepreneurial and that they relied on the clever English for handouts. That, of course, is to paraphrase because MacKenzie was bent on milking the situation for just such a reaction as he has got. Now the office of one of our less thoughtful MSPs has decided, instead of ignoring and laughing at something so clearly untrue, to take action. The truth is that the Scots are one of the most entrepreneurial and talented races on Earth - or at least used to be - but may have occasionally been accused of being a bit dour in the humour department by those who were not subtle enough to understand "dry".

This reaction to Kelvin MacKenzie is truly sad. With crime rates rising, police time at a premium and most police stations unmanned where is our sense of proportion? Apart from anything else, the comments made MacKenzie look stupid and bigoted - we should leave it at that.

ARCHIE STIRLING
Craigarnhall
Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire

--------------

Archie Stirling's party despite being given blanket coverage by a compliant media received an extremely low vote. This was deserved becaused it termed itself 'Scottish voice' while ignoring almost everyone in Scotland's views!

His letter tries to suggest that the SNP should be blamed for a 'nanny state' attitude because of the actions of one of their researchers, who isn't even a member of the party! "This neatly sums up the complete uselessness of some of our MSPs and their assistants."

Does it really? I don't think so, it shows that in fact our MSP's are employing people with brains who know the law of the land.

Individual political activists can take action without necessarily being asked to do so by any political party. This doesn't neatly tie in with Mr Stirling's top down 'Big Daddy knows best' type of politics however.

Stirling's 'big idea' seemed to be at the last election that he was intrinsically 'better' than all the other candidates for MSP. Presumably due to his money, his snobbery and his 'status' as the nephew of the founder of the SAS.

In fact his uncle was also involved in a coup to bring down the democratically elected Wilson Labour Government! To use this 'pedigree' was ridiculous and his right of centre unionist politics fell on deservedly deaf ears in Scotland.

More Tories? Why? The ones we have just now are bad enough.

GOOD RIDDENCE TO POMPOUS IRRELEVANT BRIT MING

Steve Bell summed up Ming's political future with this cartoon.

In a media obsessed age any personal faults are magnified. Ming might have been clever but he came across as pompous and his love for the Britain that he represented at the Olympics was out of place in modern Scotland.

His leadership has led the Scottish Lib Dems into the political wilderness with their undemocratic disdain for a referendum on Scottish independence, while at the same time demanding one on the EU. (the Tories are hypocrites in this area as well).

Dynamic politicians have charisma and earn respect no matter what their age is. Age might have been the excuse to get rid of him but the reality was that Campbell wasn't an effective leader of his party. Also, his own attempts to draw attention away from his age - claiming recently that he had 'married a young turk himself' were cringeworthy.

Since Labour have moved to the right and the Tories have moved to the left (marginally) both are attempting to occupy the voter friendly, politically muddled ''centre ground'.

In this situation the Lib Dems become irrelevant because they can't seriously compete with the 'big two'. In Scotland the SNP are a much more logical alternative to Labour and the Tories.

This leads to the question, what is the point of the Lib Dems? The answer is not a lot and they would be as well to throw their lot in entirely with the Labour party who they kept afloat in Scotland for many years. Those genuine home rulers who would balk at Labour's unionism (there doesn't seem to be a lot of them left given the non-reaction to the blocking of an indy referendum) could then move over to the much more relevant SNP.

SNP ARE RIGHT TO BACK SCOTS FARMERS

The SNP did the right thing. Scottish farmers were promised compensation and then cynically denied it. If Labour had still been in power then this would have been swept under the carpet.
Instead the SNP tried to talk to the UK Government about it but when they refused to listen they made the only possible choice and backed our farmers interests and demanded that the Goverment pay the planed compensation.

The Scotsman has become used to a supine boot licking Labour Executive which meekly follows orders whether they are in Scotlands national interest or not. We now have a Scottish Government which is prepared to fight our corner, that is a fact to be welcomed by all who have ambition for our country.

BROWN BOTTLES ELECTION AND SHOWS HIS TRUE COLOURS

Mediawatch have it absolutely right.

'Wha' will fill a cowart's grave?'

'Wha sae base as be a slave?'

'Let him turn and flee!'

Sums up Gordon Brown. The man who writes voluminous books about courage and heroism saw a couple of positive opinion polls for 'call me Dave' Cameron's Tories and ran like a big fat scared rabbit!

Brown feels 'we need some time to get to know him' yet we already know him! We know his fake bluster about Britishness and his new dodgy accent are designed to cover up his Scottishness. We know his new found love for the England team and his love for Gazza's goals are either a fabrication or an act of treason against his home country, we know he was up to his neck in the 'New Labour' project and is just as responsible ultimately for the Iraq debacle as Tony Blair.

Brown bottled it when he had the chance to defeat Blair for the leadership, he sat in the sidelines moaned and griped to journos but kept schtum while Blair sold the Labour party's soul. Now he has a chance against just as light weight a contender, against a simpering boy from the home counties and he can't even face up to him.

This individual is not fit to be British Prime Minister, he's hardly fit to be a Scottish MP, he has sold out everything and he is now sitting on borrowed time, a lame duck PM, fearful to go to the electorate because he knows he'll get humped. Good riddance Brown, you've muffed your chance and you won't get another.

LET SCOTLAND DECIDE

Isn't it ironic that the first genuinely Scottish Prime Minister we have had in some time sounds more like a 'Little Englander' than any of his predecessors? Gordon Brown has adopted the language of the far right, threatening deportations and shouting for "British jobs for British Workers". He has even embraced Margaret Thatcher's legacy and is now being given warm praise by people like Norman Tebbit.

The question is what priority does Scotland have in Brown's vision of Britain? The obvious answer is not much. Ever since James VI and I moved his court to England in 1603 we have been ruled by people who may be nominally completely Scottish but whose first thought has been to their new adopted home in England's green and pleasant land.

Who speaks for Scotland in London at the moment? Certainly not Des Browne our 'Scottish Secretary' who doesn't even listen to Wendy Alexander. It seems to be nobody at all, apart from the small current SNP Group in Parliament. If a General Election is called the Scottish people may well decide that to increase that group would be a very smart option.

As for David Cameron's Conservatives their call to 'Let the People Decide' on Europe is fair enough but it is also somewhat hypocritical when they and their fellow unionist parties are blocking a referendum on independence in Scotland. Why not let Scotland decide?

I believe that increasingly the UK parliament will be seen for what it is, an unnecessary obstacle in the path of Scotland's people which is preventing us from moving towards the type of free and social democratic state most Scots would prefer.

BOOM! MacWhirter shoots down Brown and Labour

Excellent piece from Ian MacWhirter in the Sunday Herald:

Getting the blues from Brown’s conference spin

IT'S THE eyes that are the give-away. In the sci-fi comedy Men In Black, you could tell the aliens who had stolen the bodies of Earthlings because their eyes always behaved in inhuman ways. Well, the Brownite young Turks have similar oracular ataxia: think of the thousand-yard stare of Ed Balls; the manic gleam in the eyes David Miliband; or Douglas Alexander's cross-eyed glaze, which makes the development secretary look as if he is too exhausted to see straight.

Everyone has praised Gordon Brown's conference for its unity, cleverness and presentation. How he has shafted the Tories by stealing their clothes. But there was something alien about this Labour conference, a strange look in its eyes. They behaved a little like The Stepford Wives, or some religious sect. Come to think of it, the last time I saw someone looking like David Miliband they were trying to sell me a copy of The Watchtower...

There were 81 references to "B-word" [British] in Brown's speech. He was using techniques of repetition drawn from American advertising, but it sounded neurotic, insincere, protesting too much. Then there was the ham-fisted celebration of John Smeaton, have-a-go hero of Glasgow airport. It was all so clunkingly, transparently manipulative. As Brown got up to speak, the colour of the conference stage backdrop changed from red to Tory blue to make sure TV viewers got the message.

Read full article here:

http://www.sundayherald.com/oped/opinion/display.var.1724139.0.0.php

GORDON BROWN'S LATEST FAN - NORMAN TEBBIT!

Labour's traditional supporters will surely love this, not! Not only has Brown grasped Mrs Thatcher to his buxom, now he is embraced by the grotesque Norman Tebbit, with friends like these and slogans like "Real jobs for Real Britains" Brown has proven that he is not only out of touch but like David Blunkett he'll use the race card when required. If Tebbit is supporting him, and former top Tories are welcomed at their conference, Labour must realise in their heart of hearts that they have lost their way.

Norman Tebbit - Right wing loon who invented the 'Cricket Test' which suggested that people shouldn't be allowed to stay in Britain unless they supported England at cricket.

A right wing former Tory minister praised Gordon Brown and attacked David Cameron today as the party geared up for its conference next week. Lord Tebbit, the former Conservative party chairman, said that voters believed that Mr Cameron was out of touch and had "no experience of the world". By contrast, he praised Gordon Brown's "courtesy and political nous" in inviting Lady Thatcher to No 10 at a time when the Tory leadership was attempting to distance itself from her.

In an interview with the Times, Lord Tebbit said that Mr Brown was a "very clever man and I have considerable regard for him", adding that the prime minister was not "tacky" in the manner of his predecessor, Tony Blair.

Lord Tebbit, who served in Lady Thatcher's cabinet, said that the former prime minister knew exactly what she was doing when she was photographed in Downing Street with Mr Brown earlier this month.

"I'm quite sure that Margaret Thatcher knew exactly what she was doing," he said.
"She's, first, too well-mannered to rebuff the prime minister and, second, of course, the present Conservative leadership has been at great pains to distance himself from her - and she is, after all, a woman."

He said that the present Tory party "lack somebody of the standing of Margaret". He said that the prime minister's invitation to Lady Thatcher was "Gordon Brown at his very best, a wonderful mixture of his courtesy and his political nous".

He added: "After all, Cameron described himself as the 'heir to Blair'. It's only natural that Brown should make himself the 'heir to Thatcher'. It's the perfect response, isn't it?"

LABOUR'S LOVE FOR BRITAIN WILL BE THEIR UNDOING

Alexander says sorry for letting SNP gain power at Holyrood - Wendy Alexander has apologised to the people of Scotland for allowing the SNP to be victorious over Labour in the May elections (reports the Britman).

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1531252007

How can Wendy Alexander apologise "to the people of Scotland" for "allowing Labour to be defeated"? The fact is that the people CHOSE the SNP because they had a positive uplifting message and faith in their own folk something Labour will never understand in a million years.

While Wendy actually apologies to her Labour chums (when in fact they should be grateful the Scots have given them the benefit of the doubt for years) and pleads for help to defeat the SNP, her boss tells us exactly why Labour will never deserve another vote from a Scot again:

Quote from the Scotsman's front page article: "And that nation, as ever, is Britain, an identity the Prime Minister again made clear he believes must come before and above those of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom."

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1531142007

Aye well there's the rub, if Brown doesn't care about Scotland and puts Britain first as he so clearly does, why should we care about him? The more Brown trumpets his love for Britain the more Scots will flush his party down the toilet of history. His hingers on like the Alexanders will enjoy the u-bend right beside him.