Elections in Scotland next year

[Igneococcus]

I just saw this in the Times and put it here for anybody interested:

Shirley Anne Sommerville (strong supporter of self ID) is facing a challenge to be reselected to stand in Dumbarton:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c23c1672-10b2-11eb-91e1-2b943ee95958?shareToken=453984a9377fe2188f3e8a55b31e2e18

And yesterday's article about Caroline McAllister (convener of the Women's Pledge group) being barred from standing as an MSP, also in Dumbarton:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/73f629c4-0fec-11eb-94f0-d7c8706d29dd?shareToken=601b6b8c0fe897a7820ff6be7006b1fb

Obviously the NEC are trying to push their preferred candidates through before conference and hoping that the electorate will vote SNP regardless of the person standing.
It's a gamble. They're relying on the fact that lots of people won't vote Conservative, Labour or Green.
If the ISP gets enough votes it could pressure the SNP on these issues. Or if Scottish Labour suddenly opposed self-id and remembered their class analysis depends upon the ability to correctly identify sex class...

@fatblackcatspaw

yes... and a French trans bloke... and Rhiannon Spear.... and and and

What relevance does Fanet being French have?

@ArabellaScott

They are going for Mridul Wadhwa, over Joanna Cherry?

[blinks].

Okay then.

Yes, that is quite the thing! At least Ed Central (unlike Stirling where MW is also standing) isn't AWS.

Fascinating that the word is MW failed vetting but was approved at high level...

'hoping that the electorate will vote SNP regardless of the person standing.
It's a gamble. They're relying on the fact that lots of people won't vote Conservative, Labour or Green. '

The SNP seem to overestimate themselves. Doesn't hugely surprise me - there's so much arrogance baked in there, they are a party that seem to be utterly incapable of listening as they're too keen on the sound of their own voice.

What's the source for Mridul failing vetting, is this known for sure?

Didolamenting quite a lot .... I have quite close connections with the SNP. My Great Aunt and Uncle were founding members when it was formed from the amalgamation of a fascist party and a left wing party in the 30's. There were only about 30 members then. Because of my Great Aunt's connections I made a film about the SNP when devolution came in and interviewed a lot of old nats and also associated nationalist groups particularly the ones who were on the wrong side of the law. One thing I kept on coming up across was of non Scottish people joining SNP or other nationalist orgs and becoming more ultra nationalist as a way of proving themselves. Sonja Strathjunker if I remember rightly a German woman in Aberdeen was jailed or convicted of harrassment of English people living in the Aberdeen area. The man who ran Settler Watch in Dumfires has a Danish mother. Angus Robertson's mother is German (very irritating women who lived near my parents). So my oh my god my alarmbells do go off when I see people who are not Scottish enthusiastically joining nationalist parties.

It's mentioned in the Wings article and seems to be widely credited - heard rather a few "whispers".

to clarify.. the wrong side of the law ones we did not interview but we did extensive files on them from press cuttings. The result was I'll never vote SNP.

16 year olds can vote so I suspect that will sway things in SNP's favour - I was a staunch independence supporter at 16, at 60 not so much (especially now the oil industry's collapsed)

@fatblackcatspaw

Didolamenting quite a lot .... I have quite close connections with the SNP. My Great Aunt and Uncle were founding members when it was formed from the amalgamation of a fascist party and a left wing party in the 30's. There were only about 30 members then. Because of my Great Aunt's connections I made a film about the SNP when devolution came in and interviewed a lot of old nats and also associated nationalist groups particularly the ones who were on the wrong side of the law. One thing I kept on coming up across was of non Scottish people joining SNP or other nationalist orgs and becoming more ultra nationalist as a way of proving themselves. Sonja Strathjunker if I remember rightly a German woman in Aberdeen was jailed or convicted of harrassment of English people living in the Aberdeen area. The man who ran Settler Watch in Dumfires has a Danish mother. Angus Robertson's mother is German (very irritating women who lived near my parents). So my oh my god my alarmbells do go off when I see people who are not Scottish enthusiastically joining nationalist parties.

Sorry I'm still falling to see what the Fascist history of the SNP has to do with Fanet being French.

As for people who aren't "Scottish" - what's that supposed to mean or what relevance is it supposed to have? Is this harking back to those who don't support separatism not being truly Scottish?

For what it's worth I live in Scotland, I don't identify as "Scottish"

The only person I have heard using the expression "white settler" was born brought up in Scotland. I can't say too much as it would be identifying but she is a very, very close relative of an SNP MSP.

White settler was common in rural north eastern areas, it also wasn't directed at non Scots it was used by the rural population at incomers from other areas telling locals how it was. At least I grew up hearing it often in north east farming communities.

Me, too, Eachdubh. Directed at my family often enough. We moved to the NE from England.

@EachDubh

White settler was common in rural north eastern areas, it also wasn't directed at non Scots it was used by the rural population at incomers from other areas telling locals how it was. At least I grew up hearing it often in north east farming communities.

I grew up in a similar community. I've only ever heard it used by that particular woman and she was referring to English people- although it's pretty awful to use against any incomer.

Every day I fall out of love with living in Scotland and wish a little more to go back home to England. This is one awful, divided, vicious place to live and it's only going to get worse.

White settler was a way, in some of these rural areas, of coping with the changes that came fast and furious. It didn't matter if you came from Edinburgh or London. Rightly or wrongly it was used to describe a removal of lands (through purchase or renting) from the traditional families in the area. I imagine most rural areas in the UK that underwent population explosion and an erosion of traditional families and lifestyles had their own descriptive words, I doubt it is unique to the NE of Scotland. It's not a word I have heard used for many years and in the last 15 only from elderly tenant farmers who lost farms when estates were sold on. It's an expression that is painful for both sides and will hopefully die out within a generation.

'This is one awful, divided, vicious place to live and it's only going to get worse.'

Blimey, Arran, it's rainbows and sunshine compared to 30 years ago! It's not that bad, surely?!

I do think it takes a period of adjustment for English people who move here - we share a language but the cultures are very, very different.

I really feel for people who hate where they live. What a miserable existence to spend every day wishing you were somewhere else and thinking you see division everywhere. It must take its toll on your MH. I don't think social media helps. It is very divisive and is constantly used by people pushing particular political agendas. I'm always glad it bears little resemblance to RL.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-snp-trans-rights-and-the-war-on-women

Sorry, just dumped this one here. Stephen always writes a good article in support of Scottish women.

Sounds like it wasn't enough for some that Councillor McAllister's selection was blocked.

mobile.twitter.com/CallieMac88/status/1317884988294049793

It's always the same names (male and female) that jump in with apologies over unsubstantiated allegations and yet keep silent when women like Joanna Cherry and Joan McAlpine are obviously abused. They are a liability, an embarrassment and aren't fooling anyone.

"It's always the same names (male and female) that jump in with apologies over unsubstantiated allegations and yet keep silent when women like Joanna Cherry and Joan McAlpine are obviously abused. They are a liability, an embarrassment and aren't fooling anyone."

Unfortunately ,some of those people have quite a lot of influence in the Scottish establishment

Yy I agree. It's a big problem and it can't be blamed on entryists because those particular online bullies have been involved for a long time.

[quote 334bu]Sounds like it wasn't enough for some that Councillor McAllister's selection was blocked.

mobile.twitter.com/CallieMac88/status/1317884988294049793[/quote]
These horrors!

This lot have been involved in some pretty nasty stuff - Jordon especially.

twitter.com/Yvonne_Biology/status/1318104966310092800?s=20