When two tribes go to war....

The Scottish election is played out in the media as one large battle. Alex vs Jack vs Nicol vs Annabel. With a few independent skirmishes and fisticuffs along the way.

That's the national picture and it is somewhat misleading as we are not electing a leader. The real struggle, where the war is won or lost, is in 73 separate pitched areas. Battle lines drawn long ago and contenders pitted against each other gladatorial style. Some battle-hardened and others wet behind the ears, ready to get their sleeves rolled up and their hands dirty.

Ideological warfare, no holds barred.


Are you not entertained?




For those who need more enticement to be wooed by this spectacle, I have picked out 5 of the bloodiest and more evenly matched contests that will no doubt be among the most exciting moments on the morning of May 4th.


Sturgeon vs Jackson

This is a belter, really. I will be totally honest, I was never a fan of Nicola. Too often I thought she got a topic between her teeth and got so wrapped up in it that (1) she didn't know when to let go and (2) she got so het up that she couldn't land the devastating blow even when the Labour cheek, head or butt was there for the slapping, thumping or kicking.

But time has made me warm to her more and more, and I think with her elevated position in the parliament she has really done fantastically well. Have there been any murmurings or suggestions about displacing her? (except for me stupidly having just done so there). Not at all, and for the SNP that's pretty damn good as they can be a bit SSP-like in building themselves up only for them to bring it all crashing down to earth again.

Anyway, Nicola is on the crest of a wave. She is perhaps unlucky to be standing in Govan but you have to respect her decision to persevere in the deepest, darkest Labour territory. Maybe having something stuck in your teeth isn't such a bad thing after all.

As for Gordon Jackson, a (rather outdated) SoS article says it best...

Despite strongly indicating he would give up his legal work for his political career, last year (2005) Jackson earned £243,500 in legal aid fees on top of his £50,300 Holyrood salary.

An investigation by this newspaper showed that Jackson was one of the least active of all Holyrood's 129 MSPs. Between May 2003 and October 2004 he asked only one written parliamentary question: a query placed for him by ministers about a wind farm in Ayrshire.

Senior Labour insiders also claim he does not attend meetings of party MSPs at Holyrood, meaning he may miss out on vital briefings and discussions.

About that 243,500 legal aid fees. Check out this quote from Jackson in 1999: "I think being an MSP would be so demanding, and it is my first priority, that the legal work would tend to wither and disappear." So a quarter of a million is law work that has been withering away for 5 years? Damn, I knew I should have gone for the bar exam at university instead of simply going to the bar.

Thought this was rather amusing also (courtesy of Wikipedia) - his habit of spending large amounts of time away at Court and then returning to Parliament just before the vote at 5.00pm has earned him the knickname "Crackerjack" - after the children's programme Crackerjack that famously started at 4.55pm.


If you were a Govan constituent, would you want your issue dealt with by Mr Laissez-Faire or by Ms Bit-between-the-teeth.


Well, amazingly, this seat is still probably too close to call. It'd be a tough blow for Nicola were she to lose it and whether the blow was a slap, thump or a kick, she'd feel it for a long, long time.



Four further showdowns to follow...



EDIT: I often check out the member's interests page on the parliament website, it is worth a look for your local MSP though don't expect to find "has one flat in Edinburgh, one in Glasgow and runs a secret corrupt diamond business in deepest Sudan". (Guess what movie I watched last night!)


Anyway, Gordon Jackson's was interesting so I thought I'd add to the post here...

He is Queen's Counsel (at 120k a year, not sure if that's on top of the quarter million). And also, this seems like there could be a potential conflict of interest, advising the queen and voting on devolved matters? Actually, probably not. He also owns six flats which, as a wannabe property tycoon myself, is rather impressive. Not to mention the unremunderated director at Kilmarnock Football Club. I love these wee tidbits about people. Seriously, get on that site.


As for Nicola, a few trips to Europe, nothing worth shouting about really.. Though flights, accommodation and meals for a trip to Catalonia came in at only 300 quid. Good effort!