Evening Times article ITS Christmas time, theres no need to be afraid. Stewart Paterson Stewart Paterson Political Correspondent Unless you are a Labour MSP and Jim Murphy has his eye on your Scottish Parliament seat of course. Jim picked up his security pass at Holyrood this week and will be working out of an office of sorts. I hear he will be mostly working standing up because he has to wait until 2016 for a seat. He also conducted his first shadow cabinet meeting around the corner in a room rented from Edinburgh University. Given the amount of time Jim spent as an undergraduate he would have felt right at home. At least he has to hire a room for his meetings. The LibDems have their entire group meetings in the back of a hackney on the way to Waverley station. Mr Murphy got to work straight away and announced his shadow team and moved every single one around some in and some out. There is no truth in the rumour that he delayed his final decisions when he heard MSP John Wilson, was joining another party, having left the SNP on a matter of principle over a decision taken years ago. For some people the wheels turn slowly, I suppose. He joined the Greens, but wont be a Green MSP. The SNP shouldnt be too despondent however as former Labour then Glasgow First councillor Stephen Dornan has joined the nationalists. He was deselected by Labour so he left the party and stood for Glasgow first and got elected. He campaigned and voted no in the referendum then joined the SNP a few months later. Its a long road, that one to Damascus. John Wilson was elected as an SNP list MSP, he owes his election to the party. Stephen Dornan would have been elected in Govan if he stood for the SNP, He probably wouldnt have been selected as a candidate. If Mr Wilson and other list MSPs who no longer want to be in their party, then they should resign and let the next person on the list take the seat. If Mr Dornan wants to be an SNP councillor he should resign, force a by election and stand for the SNP, if they select him. At least the English Tory defectors to Ukip had the decency, (yes, I know, words that somehow shouldnt and normally dont go together) to resign and take their chances with the electorate at a by election. While these guys dont want to represent the party they were elected to serve but still keep their seat, we have Jim Murphy taking over his party and looking for a Labour seat to contest. Im sure he has a plan. Hes that sort of man. The problem, for someone, is it will involve them stepping aside and in a manner that doesnt look too contrived to the voters.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 10:16:38 +0000
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