Sunday, February 04, 2007
Don't mention the war
Hot on the heels of Rhodri Morgan's attempt to concentrate the minds of voters onto Welsh issues in May's Assembly election, it seems that the Scottish First Minister is also anxious to avoid discussion of wider UK issues in his election campaign.
According to The Scotsman, Scottish Labour Party members have been banned from discussing the Iraq war, the future of Britain's nuclear arsenal or any other "non-Scottish" issues in the run-up to the Holyrood elections.
The paper reports that the decree has already led to one branch in the west of Scotland being forced to ditch a formal debate on the replacement of the UK's Trident weapons, prompting fury from party members who believe open discussion is being barred. Understandably, Labour Party members north of the border are unhappy:
Critics last night accused the party of "control freakery" and said it smacked of growing panic in the party that it was losing voters because of the unpopularity of its nationwide policies.
Quinn's letter comes with some Labour MSPs admitting they are suffering from the constant deluge of bad headlines from south of the Border centring on the cash-for-honours affair and foreign policy. Party chiefs commonly send out instructions to members during the official campaign period, urging them to focus on the election ahead. But the campaign proper does not start until early April, so angry Labour members have been shocked to receive Quinn's instructions so early.
One member, David Torrance from Clydebank, said: "We were told there was a letter from Lesley Quinn stating that no business should be discussed at branch meetings other than business pertaining to the election in May. This has gone to every Labour branch. This is usually the position during a campaign, not months beforehand."
Another party source said: "No explanation has been given. It has caused irritation. It would be better if we were given more time to get through our normal business."
However, as one commenter to the on-line version of this article says 'Don't worry, everyone else will be mentioning these issues'. He goes on:
While the nuclear bases are in Scotland, they're a matter for us. While young Scots men and women are dying in wars of colonialism, those wars are a matter for us too.
I await the instructions not to mention PFI, that shameless waste of money; the costs of keeping rail in private hands; or the criminal charges against Blair's associates.
Every other shameful thing that London Labour and Lanarkshire Labour have done will be a banned topic. Clydebank Labour may even get an ASBO for accepting Blair's offer of a debate.
Sounds like it will be a very lively election campaign.
According to The Scotsman, Scottish Labour Party members have been banned from discussing the Iraq war, the future of Britain's nuclear arsenal or any other "non-Scottish" issues in the run-up to the Holyrood elections.
The paper reports that the decree has already led to one branch in the west of Scotland being forced to ditch a formal debate on the replacement of the UK's Trident weapons, prompting fury from party members who believe open discussion is being barred. Understandably, Labour Party members north of the border are unhappy:
Critics last night accused the party of "control freakery" and said it smacked of growing panic in the party that it was losing voters because of the unpopularity of its nationwide policies.
Quinn's letter comes with some Labour MSPs admitting they are suffering from the constant deluge of bad headlines from south of the Border centring on the cash-for-honours affair and foreign policy. Party chiefs commonly send out instructions to members during the official campaign period, urging them to focus on the election ahead. But the campaign proper does not start until early April, so angry Labour members have been shocked to receive Quinn's instructions so early.
One member, David Torrance from Clydebank, said: "We were told there was a letter from Lesley Quinn stating that no business should be discussed at branch meetings other than business pertaining to the election in May. This has gone to every Labour branch. This is usually the position during a campaign, not months beforehand."
Another party source said: "No explanation has been given. It has caused irritation. It would be better if we were given more time to get through our normal business."
However, as one commenter to the on-line version of this article says 'Don't worry, everyone else will be mentioning these issues'. He goes on:
While the nuclear bases are in Scotland, they're a matter for us. While young Scots men and women are dying in wars of colonialism, those wars are a matter for us too.
I await the instructions not to mention PFI, that shameless waste of money; the costs of keeping rail in private hands; or the criminal charges against Blair's associates.
Every other shameful thing that London Labour and Lanarkshire Labour have done will be a banned topic. Clydebank Labour may even get an ASBO for accepting Blair's offer of a debate.
Sounds like it will be a very lively election campaign.
