Labour's Claire Baker MSP posted up this seemingly innocuous 'tweet' up on Tuesday:
snp msps spotted outside Tolbooth pub smoking and eating chips
I've been informed that this is a blatant mistruth. Apparently the MSPs who were supposedly spotted in the Tolbooth aren't even smokers.
Not that it matters too much of course but if a Labour MSP is willing to get it spectacularly wrong on the small things, one can only wonder how badly wrong things can get on a national scale...
Perhaps Claire will be willing to name the MSPs that she saw and, if unable to, issue an apology for spreading around unfounded rumour?
Salmond vs Trump
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27 comments:
As the election draws nearer; expect a lot more from Labours Dirty Tricks Campaign Department.
What amazes me is the number of folk still willing to vote for Labour.
Perhaps if they realised what is coming down the tracks to hit their wallets - thanks to 12 years of corrupt Labour Government - they wouldn't be quite so stupid with their vote.
Hmmm...perhaps she mistook her own leader for an SNP MSP as he can be regularly spotted around Holyrood
smoking like a chimney.
More important point though...who cares?
I'm more concerned that in a tweet apologising for previous bad spelling, she used the word 'grammer'.
And I'm almost certain she wasn't being ironic.
Scottish Labour - Getting people of abnormally low intelligence cushy jobs since 1999.
Fully agree with the "who cares" but I couldn't pass up an easy blog post that dropped into my inbox out of the blue from an excellent source.
And it'll be interesting to see if Ms Baker seeks to clear her name or not...
I'm trying to think of who smokes. Tricia Marwick, Sandra White, Mike Russell used to smoke but I think he's stopped.
Not many of our elected members smoke really. Their electon agents/campaign managers - that's a different story.
Show me an SNP organiser and I will show you a smoker 9 times out of 10.
Pollster 2000
I once saw him outside the St.James Centre,wearing jeans, leaning against a wall,puffing at a fag, with his plastic bag at his feet. Rather GREY-looking.
I thought he was a Big Issue seller, but not so well-dressed.
Of course I didn't have my camera with me, so my chance of capturing on film the Labour Leader (Holyrood only)was dashed...
'I once saw him outside the St.James Centre,wearing jeans, leaning against a wall,puffing at a fag, with his plastic bag at his feet.'
Anon
I think there's a possibility that that would've HELPED the image rather than damage it....
I think this says more about twitting than smoking. What Ms Baker does here is at best clyping in class. At worst she is building a police state. What a twit.
Any politician who smokes nowadays is showing an estimable independence of mind and gets my respect. I'm a committed drinker myself.
"Fully agree with the "who cares" but I couldn't pass up an easy blog post that dropped into my inbox out of the blue from an excellent source.
And it'll be interesting to see if Ms Baker seeks to clear her name or not..."
Jeff, seriously?? A twit over some MSP's eating chips and having a ciggie? I could be wrong, but I think that the SNP have taken the bait hook, line and sinker. I can see the glaring bit of humour in that wee bit of mischievous Labour twittering, sometimes the SNP need to stop being so predictable and raising to the bait so quickly in a chippy manner over every little dig.
Stop demonising us smokers.
We get a bad enough press without the anti-smoking nazis thinking we are in the SNP too!
Rab, dinnae you worry yourself over the anti-smoking nazi's, we smokers are made of sterner stuff. We need to be to brave the Scottish winter to nip outside for a ciggie.
No, maybe its my sense of humour, but I think this was more a dig at spotting some SNP MSP's eating their chips rather than wearing them. I will now quickly retire to brave the sub zero temperatures outside for a wee fly puff.
The real smoker in Scottish Politics is the "anti Scottish" Labour Party who have been holding a smoking gun against the heads of a lot of people in Scotland. This gun has been repeatedly loaded with lies, deciept, discloser, spin and unfounded SNP smear campaigns.
http://www.scottish-labour-party.co.uk/
Hopefully at the next election or referendum the London Labour Party will not get the chance to reload, their machine gun of smear, lies and deception.
Did you know that in 1999 The Labour Parties made 6,000 miles of Scottish Sea English.
http://www.oilofscotland.org
They also overturned the will of the Scottish People who wanted a devolved Government in 1979. In this 1979 Referendum 52% of Scottish voters said Yes to a devloved government. (32.7% of the Population) - (if every one in Scotland voted the same way) with a 40% of the population ruling. However if the entire population had voted the same way which was unlikey by the Labour Parties fondness of disclosure of forth coming elections. 52% not 40% of the population would have said yes.
Why so Scotland could continue to give London £22,831 a minute, £32 million a day, £12 billion a year in oil revenues LOCK STOCK AND BARRELL in return for stolen seas, a large amount of the population living in poverty and bad health.
Lies and spin spread by Newspapers controlled by people with an allegiance to Labour due to the Tories.
In today's society the Labour party have similar ideals to the Tory parties. Which are line their own pockets and the pockets those in power and lie to the population about the economy, the massive mistakes and the need to start international wars.
The tory were good in the 80's riding on the bonaza of oil revenues plundered from Scotland.
This money from oil would be better spent.
This money equates to an additional £2300 per year for every living person in Scotland.
If Scots were in control of this
money they could erect 16 wind turbines a day. Bringing yet another "World's largest wind farm" with another 15 days of Scottish Oil Revenues.
How much is Scottish oil worthThe European Union costs every UK Citizen £234 a year. The UK Union costs every Scottish resident £2300 a year.
For more views and facts secrets conspiries and labour lies and deciept visit.
Norway the only independent Nation extracting oil and gas from the North Sea. Has manage to build up a £259 Billion Soveriegn Wealth Fund whilst the London Unionst parties at Westminster have manage to get Scotland £62.5 Billion in debt.
http://www.oilofscotland.org
It may have been intended as a joke as Fitalass says, but then wasn't much of what appeared in 'The Universality of Cheese' intended (however misguidedly) as humour as well? Well, there is one difference, which is that Claire Baker is an MSP and not just the constituency aide of an MSP, in which case surely logic dictates that she must be castigated all the more for deliberately spreading false information about opponents?
Note: That "Fitalass" poster looks awful like notoriously "chippy" Aberdeenshire Tory ChristinaD from politicalbetting.com
Anyhoo, thought you might like this:
'Ex-Welsh Secretary Ron Davies urged the Cabinet to publish UK Government minutes relating to devolution'
“I read through it all very carefully, as I am wont to do, and came to the firm conclusion that there was nothing in the material which should not be released. I wrote back to the Cabinet Secretary saying ‘Publish, please’.”
The former MP and AM for Caerphilly added: “To be fair, the arguments for and against disclosure were set out clearly, and there was also a discussion about whether the public interest would be best served by publication or not. It’s clear to me that Jack Straw – who is essentially an English national constitutionalist – doesn’t want to have the material published because of the theoretical argument that the confidentiality of Cabinet meetings and Cabinet documents should be maintained. Otherwise, the argument runs, people would not give their point of view freely.
“For Jack Straw, it’s a point of principle that material of this kind should not be published – it can’t possibly relate to the content of the documents themselves.
“I’m afraid this kind of argument is one that only a certain kind of civil servant and the conservative establishment go along with these days.
“The problem is that by making a big issue out of this through using the veto, it gives ordinary people the impression that there is something to hide. But the fact of the matter is that there is no big secret.”
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/12/12/ex-welsh-secretary-ron-davies-urged-the-cabinet-to-publish-uk-government-minutes-relating-to-devolution-91466-25375116/
EstagoJog
rdeg
I wouldn't pull Clare up. Standing outside a bar having a fag sounds quite human to us other humans.
Don't know about the chips 'though.
Personally I wouldn't vote for anyone who tweeted, I reckon they should have more important things to do than silly gossip worthy of a teenager.
"Note: That "Fitalass" poster looks awful like notoriously "chippy" Aberdeenshire Tory ChristinaD from politicalbetting.com"
Stuart, I have been 'outed' as ChristinaD on this blog so many times now its getting boring. I am also the other half of a Scottish blogger called Fitaloon, and its is he who gave me the tag of Fitalass. I am neither chippy or notorious!! I just have the temerity to belong to another political party in Scotland with differing views to yours. Last time I looked that was called my democratic right.
But by using language like notorious to describe me implies that I have done something wrong other than to simple disagree with your views.
I think that the Scottish blogsphere should be open to those differing opinions to encourage debate and give us a wider understanding of the political scene up here.
The current state of the Scottish blogsphere is not pretty, and I stated my anger and disgust at what happened to Subrosa on here just recently.
But I have got to say this, some cybernats are currently in danger of strangling all debate and dissent to their message in the Scottish blogsphere. There is a genuine attempt to successfully dominant this outlet, fair enough. But that is a very different beast to sucking the life out of it right now. What we are seeing is some trying to turn it into a rather aggressive rebuttal machine.
I visit Jeff's blog everyday like I do Iain Dale's and others, and I do so for no other reason than because I enjoy his articles. That is the very positive side of enjoying online politics. But the continued need to out me nearly every time I put up an the occasional post on here is not.
Fitalass, maybe if I can describe you as one of Lord Snooty's Scotland colonising Head girls, you can call me a chippy cybernat.
Or maybe it's only you who is allowed to take umbrage?
Anon, only one problem, I didn't personally call you a chippy cybernat. But you go ahead and wear that cap if it fits.
"But I have got to say this, some cybernats are currently in danger of strangling all debate and dissent to their message in the Scottish blogsphere. There is a genuine attempt to successfully dominant this outlet, fair enough. But that is a very different beast to sucking the life out of it right now. What we are seeing is some trying to turn it into a rather aggressive rebuttal machine."
apologies Fitalass, which cybernat was that aimed at then?
Okay - SNP Tactical Voting was selective in the use of the quote - I did tweet 'In true Holyrood Magazine fasion, spotted etc' as anyone who has read the vacuous column with MSPs buying sandwiches and crossing the road may or may have not appreciated. Sorry no offence intended if any taken.
So we don't get to find out who the puffing Parliamentarians were then.
Oh well.
Claire Baker MSP reads SNP Tactical Voting, jeesh, who would have adam & eved it.
Next you'll be telling us that Richard read Wardog.... oops
Ohhh more nonsense from Labour - shock and horror. I may just tweet everytime Mr Gray pops outside for one.
I also have a very reliable source who says that no MSP in the Tollbooth that night was a smoker. Big chance that staffers had nipped out, but MSPs? no.
Alas, Claire refuses to name the MSPs focussing instead on the spurious point that I didn't put in the full tweet (not that the truncation changed the meaning in anyway).
Unsuprising evasiveness but disappointing nonetheless.
Bit strange to call the Holyrood column "vacuous" just after indulging in that same vacuity.
Yawn....
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