The business of politics
Politics can be a brutal business.
In Glasgow City Council, by custom and repute, they have tended to elevate such toughness to an upper level.
Now we learn that the leader of the city council, Steven Purcell, has stepped down, blaming "stress and exhaustion".
It is said further on his behalf that he has agreed to seek medical help and is consequently under doctor's orders.
The origins of Mr Purcell's stress are said to originate in the challenges of dealing with the umpteen pressures at his local authority, the largest in Scotland.
Pressures cited include the upcoming Commonwealth Games and the continuing controversy over Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.
Mr Purcell has hired the PR firm, Media House, to represent his interests.
Here at Holyrood and in the city council itself, there is an effort underway to understand, appreciate and sympathise with the personal challenges which would appear to have beset the leader: at 37, relatively young in local authority terms.
His deputy, Jim Coleman, steps up temporarily, assuring the people of Glasgow that it will be "business as usual".
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)
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Why does he require the services of a PR media firm to "represent his interests"? Why can't he be like us mere mortals and use a solicitor?
"Umpteen pressures".
Has he not heard of delegation? One of the biggest factors in stress these days is caused by an inability or unwillingness to relinquish control to others. Even in such a high profile role, he should be able to work fairly normal hours and take time off.
Perhaps he should keep a diary like his erstwhile colleague, the SoS himself.
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Stress can be a terrible thing. I hope that he gets the help he requires.
I have disagreed with Mr Purcell on some of his politics and his handling of the GARL disagreements but I wish him well.
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Govanhill - Labours bequest to Scotland - sums them all up perfectly.
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R the mods at lunch - how long does it take to look at a few lines????????????????????????
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This time lapse is a disgrace - WHO is responsible????????
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What new scandal is about to emerge from the CIty Chambers?!
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Why has my comment about the disgraceful 19th century housing in Glasgow and the " great " Labour councillors there been deleted. It is the truth. Are the Bias Corp the Nu Labour Stasi in Scotland?????????
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OVER 1 HOUR - to have a comment published - WHO is checking - Mandelson????????
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Modding seems to be sensitive on this topic!
I trust that today's good weather improves Mr Purcell's health.
Will that get through?
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re: This comment has been referred to the moderators. Explain
Are the Mods on a go slow on this board?
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Brian you say:
“Mr Purcell has hired the PR firm, Media House, to represent his interests”.
But why does he need to hire a ‘spin firm’ to represent him. It is these neep’s who have repeatedly told me ‘if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to spin….whoops meant fear.’ Hard question need asking Brian.
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i hope this has nothing to do with a visit from the pope. the guy seemed to be able
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The BBC, and their mods, are ridiculously biased in favour of the 'Scottish' Labour Party. This comment wont make it through, but neither do half of the reasonable ones.
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Purcell - one of Labour's few non dinosaurs in Scotland has had enough and flown the coup. Maybe he is just fed up of the donkey's in his party and council who keep on balancing up any good he has done with their crass stupidity.
Maybe it is because they who the BBC will not name are now only 2% behind in the Scottish polls for Westminster and 9% ahead for Holyrood ...... I am still trying to fathom the 'Glencampbelly' moment of how this is bad news for those who the BBC will not name?
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Its not at all clear what the relationship is between the brutality mentioned in the opening sentence, and time off on account of stress.
There seems to be a hint that there's more going on here than is being reported.
Why so coy?
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Is there any point in commenting on a blog that takes over an hour for the comments to appear? This completely ruins any attempts to debate the issue at hand.
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Have the moderators resigned along with Purcell?
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The origins of Mr Purcell's stress are said to originate in the challenges of dealing with the umpteen pressures at his local authority, the largest in Scotland.
No they aren't, there is only two specific areas mentioned
Pressures cited include the upcoming Commonwealth Games and the continuing controversy over Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.
Yep, these are the only two mentioned - now what controversy is continuing Brian?
Mr Purcell has hired the PR firm, Media House, to represent his interests.
Yes, I mentioned that on the last blog - quite a move from Mr Purcell and one that is interesting.
Will the Scottish media simply take Mr Purcell's reasons at face value or will they scrutinise and question. The scandal that has engulfed Labour in Glasgow over SPT expenses demands that journalistic professionalism replaces notices of public sympathy.
If I am ill then the last person I call is a Public relations firm.
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If the only thing about this resignation is that Mr Purcell is suffering from stress, then I wish him well and hope he has a speedy and full recovery. However given we are now so used to everything having a spin on it, does tend to create an atmosphere of doubt. For such a young man to effectively end his political career is a worrying thing, hiring a PR company to handle the matter does raise my eyebrows a bit, seems a bit unusual.
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I'm sure he will recover to full fitness in time to stand for one of those vacant safe Labour seats
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As a Yoker resident, Steven Purcell done well for our area, but unfortunately as far as the Glasgow labour party goes and it being more anti-Scottish than the Tories, no doubt well be getting another London lacky.
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I presume that some comments - hopefully not mine :( - have been passed to Solicitors - Sue, Grabbit & Runne?
Slainte Mhor
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Perhaps the BBC '£600million claw-back' has started with the moderators..
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Glasgow has had amazing bad luck with poor health amongst its city officials in one position or another. Of course, one wishes Mr. Purcell a *ahem* fast recover, it is the people of that city one should be concerned about.
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To be fair to the Mods, it looks very much like the BBC has been nobbled by somebody. Brians blogs often get variously criticised for not asking the questions some people would like to see asked, for picking an apparently innocuous topic rather than something more controversial, or all too often for not appearing at all.
That being said, what he does write is usually written well and often insightful. This particular blog however, while timely, is bland to the point of saying nothing, or at the very least a great deal less than the actual news report.
Moderation of the comments appears slow, but it is happening, albeit with a near unprecedented number of posts being referred, while those that have slipped through are totally innocuous.
It seems pretty clear that both Brians own comments and those being posted are being restrained by some kind of legal action – which can only raise questions as to why?
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I just realized that now the MSM has no one in a public position to quote about complain about Glasgow being “cheated out of GARL” without Mr Purcell? Why this is a SEVERE loss of headlines and no doubt revenues! This is a much worse suffering than that of the people of Glasgow.
Of course, that spin doctor that Mr. Purcell hired may be able to fill in the gap. One can only hope!
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Slum housing in Govanhill to come under the spotlight in Holyrood
GLASGOW City Council leader Steven Purcell is to face a Holyrood grilling on slum housing in the south side of the city.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Since Mr. Purcell will be looking for a new position soon
should Ian Gray be worried ?
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It would seem the mods are strugggling with this topic. Bound to happen when spin doctors and lawyers get involved with a "health issue".
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It seems that Mr Purcell has started a chain reaction.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8543334.stm
The sooner Mr Purcell is better the sooner the BBC will ask the difficult questions ?
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Hi Brian
Interesting day?
Any idea why on earth Mr Purcell would hire Mr Irvine as his PR Spokesperson. Given what Mr Irvine said about Gordon Brown - see below, just last week - and given his lead role in the Section 28 Debacle of yesteryear - why choose him? Strange? Curious?
Slainte Mhor
“The whole PR operation behind Brown is disastrous. Piers Morgan’s interview, although it gave him a lift in the polls, in the long-term I don’t think it will have done him much good. I think it was a shockingly bad piece of judgement and this bullying story has confirmed what people have suspected for a long time, which is that he is an ugly individual, possibly a sociopath in many ways.”
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Wow! I've never seen anything like this. 37 comments so far, 7 referred to the mods, 2 removed, 20 awaiting moderation (For up to more than an hour), and only 8 passed.
Somebody's touchy today!
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Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
You'll have to remove the blog otherwise BBBC Scotland just looks as stupid as the Herald with its whinging protests..
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Hopefully, the Mods are not going off their Rockers over the BBC cuts to web based services. On that subject, it is strange, with the rest of the World going on-line for personal communication, streaming audio & video, news, and even sports, that Auntie Beeb is cutting back on web content?
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Sort out your modrators BBC
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22. Slaintmha
"flown the coup."
LOL An excellent metaphor for Labour politics!
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This is odd. After two hours of pre-moderation my post suddenly changes to referred. I do not believe it had enough time visible to have been reffered by a reader.
This is most puzzling.
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I will not attempt to express my feelings nor my extensive thoughts on this matter. I do believe though, the pressure of the Glasgow 2014 Games may have been the root of this poor laddies problem.
I remember my stress problem, it was down to having to admit that I had failed to deal with a problem and face up to the fact that I had got it wrong. I do feel sorry for Steven, a good psychiatric consultant; of a private funded nature will surely help.
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If Steven Purcell is unwell he deserves sympathy. But to resign as suddenly as he did, before almost immediately engaging a spin doctor, only serves to encourage further speculation.
After the Blair/Brown years with Campbell and Mandelson the general public will rightly view this appointment with a jaundiced eye.
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So the Max Clifford of Scotland is on the case. That only raises the irresistible spectre that there is something to hide ... something we are not being told. Not a clever move. Do politicians think the voters are all naive? How crass.
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The reason for the slow moderating is that people keep having the nerve to actually MENTION the subject of the blog and such mentions, of course, have to be removed. Commenting on Mr. Purcell and the rather peculiarity in the "state of Denmark" is NOT allowed.
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Stress builds up over time and it is not always obvious to people that a person, even someone very close to them, is under stress until it manifests itself suddenly and devastatingly. This I know from personal experience so I am not surprised at Mr Purcell's sudden resignation due to stress.
Nor am I particularly surprised that he, or someone close to him, has appointed someone to field all enquiries. I fulfilled that role when my husband was suffering from stress. In the first days and weeks after the stress manifest itself he could not cope with answering the telephone or dealing with anyone from work. So I can sympathise with Mr Purcell's predicament and take it at face value.
Recovery can take a long time and I hope he gets all the help and space he needs to make a full recovery.
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34. JRMacClure
Apparently it is verboten to mention that Mr. Purcell's resignation will bring suffering to the city he so "ably" represents.
Oh, dearie me.
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This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain
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I've no insightful comment on the matter to make, just thought I'd be the 27th of 56 posts awaiting the moderators :p
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Prime Ministerial Debates approved - but the details are fascinating
Principle 4 "Each of the three broadcasters, the BBC, ITV and BSkyB will be responsible for producing their own individual debate programme in three separate locations in England.”
That has implications, I think, for what will actually happen in Scotland, Wales and NI.
As will Principle 17 “This proposal is subject to each broadcaster complying with its duties on due impartiality and election coverage across the nations of the UK.”
For Scotland - now the fun starts!
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8545991.stm
Not a mention of the Beeb, ITV and Sky's deliberate exclusion of the largest party in Scottish politics over the last 3 years! Why do you even bother reporting the news? I am sure a large sign on the BBC website stating 'Move along, nothing to see here (vote Labour)' would suffice!
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42. Diabloandco
Congratulations on winning the CallyMerc Award. Be sure that it's not going to cause you stress. If you feel it might, I'd be prepared to take it off your hands! :-)
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/7350042/Oh-the-joy-of-Gordon-Browns-political-humiliation.html
'Having Mr Brown still in charge in 2010 is as if Neville Chamberlain had still been Prime Minister in 1942. And at least Chamberlain, whatever his faults, was not a liar.'
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Fascinating. After five hours, 33 out of 62 comments have been allowed.
Oops! I almost mentioned Denmark again. *covers mouth*
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Doesn't seem to be a lot of point in commenting here.
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I guess sheer incompetence can be stressful too... the poor dear. I'm bemused thought that we (some people?) have reached a stage in our sociopolitical evolution where a resigning head of council needs a PR manager.
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Like Estelle Morris, Steven Purcell's greatest political achievement will go down as being self-awareness of "not being up to the job".
It is a measure of greatness in a leader that he/she has the ability to delegate, and it appears that Mr Purcell was found wanting in this regard - perhaps attributable to being a potential high-flyer on the way to greater things, rather than someone contented to excel in local government administration.
It was a bit unnecessary, however, to hype the retention of a PR company, albeit somewhat surprising that it appears to have been a personal retention - why could not Glasgow City Council's Press Office have handled competent enquiries? - and I was left wondering who received the first call, Mr Purcell's medical doctor or his spin-doctor...
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Well id better add my comment as well since it will probably be blocked. The first thing to enter ones head when hearing the words ' leaving due to ill health' leads me to think oh oh ...whats about to break newswise ? Why not just take some time off and not just quit totally ?
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To the moderators:
Please come home. All is forgiven.
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#47 : I'd imagine the invisible "referred" posts have not been referred after publication but instead referred upwards prior to publication by Mods treading on eggshells strewn by legal advisors.
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BAD NEWS DAY FOR LABOUR, GO SLOW DAY FOR THE BBC MODS.
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Firstly I'd like to express sympathy and the hope that Mr Purcell makes a speedy and complete recovery. I may dislike his policies and strategies, however we are in the business of the human race and trying to do our best by them. So, disagree, dislike or no - get well soon Mr P.
Secondly: "Mr Purcell has hired the PR firm, Media House, to represent his interests". Why? And who's paying and for what? I assume that the city council have a full PR unit - do we need another?
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"Mr Purcell has hired the PR firm, Media House, to represent his interests," or as reported in a certain Glasgow paper, "Mr Purcell has employed crisis management specialist Jack Irvine, of Media House, and a lawyer to handle his resignation."
I just hope he is paying, not GCC council taxpayers! That aside, while I am happy to disagree with Mr Purcell on items of substance, I wouldn't wish to see anyone ill.
But why does someone - even a council leader - feel the need to hire an Executive Chairman who "specialises in international litigation and is a founding partner of Tactical Response, a confidential consultancy that advises boards on sensitive matters such as extortion, terrorism, fraud and abduction."
http://www.mediahouse.co.uk/jack.htm
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#44 Auld Bob - "Hopefully, the Mods are not going off their Rockers" - I think this pun is crepe - all the way to the soles of my blue suede chelsea boots!
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What is the point of this topic Brian?
Because it makes a reference to a medical condition, why on earth has it been chosen as the subject?
The moderation has gone potty here. Huge delays and because of the nature of the topic, mass referrals.
Political blogs are supposed to encourage debate, not have people waiting round for hours only for the comment to be referred.
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By the way, on a topic that PERHAPS the moderators will allow, I like to occasionally remind people that The Herald Scotland is not and has not for sometime been a Scottish newspaper.
"The Herald is owned by Newsquest (a division of Gannett), which acquired it with the purchase of the publishing arm of the Scottish Media Group in 2003 in a highly controversial £216m sale."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Herald_%28Glasgow%29
It is owned and controlled from outside Scotland for interests other than those of Scotland. Just a reminder for anytime you buy it, buy something advertised there or give them an online page view.
Of course, whether or not to do so is an individual choice as it should be.
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Methinks there is a lot more to come and not just re SPT a wee birdie tells me there are problems in a Glasgow Housing Association a CE suspended Chair etc suddenly resigning and gag orders abound for staff and committee. When the dirt is dished then those who got into the laundry basket first can coorie in and hope none of it goes their way. They are deperate to keep the lid on until the election is over but my monies on the Media eventually putting it out there sooner rather than later.
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With the slow speed of moderation, it looks as though the BBC moderators are sitting with the BBC lawyers looking over their shoulders.
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This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain
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Let me see if I can uncover what is objectionable in my post ;
"Let me get this straight - a number of labour councillors have resigned on "health grounds", they were all involved with SPT and dodgy expense claims. Obviously Brian and the BBC couldn't possibly think of any "hard questions" to ask them."
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Mr Purcell, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, asked another labour councillor to clean up the mess at SPT. That is the mess left by the previous labour councillors. Obviously Brian and the BBC couldn't possibly think of any "hard questions" to ask this labour councillor.
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OH MY GOD...
Someone's been busy refering posts! There's nothing worth reading!
I can surmise what everyone's thoughts were about anyway. I have to say I feel the same way.
Maybe with Glasgow City council under less partisan leadership, we can see a more progressive style of representation for Glasgow. I don't think the conflict and altercations benefited anyone over the last 5 years.
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Mr Purcell has now resigned on health grounds. He may be genuinely unwell and if so I wish him a speedy recovery.
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However I am puzzled - Mr Purcell has hired a PR firm. Can Mr Purcell be the only person in Scotland who thinks there is a snowballs chance in hades that a labour politician will ever be asked a difficult question by the Scottish media ?
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Or is someone outwith the Scottish media asking difficult questions ?
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Maybe the disabled in Glasgow will now see the resumption of a Shopmobility service, as Purcell did not see the real need for one in a city the size of Glasgow,-a poor reflection on one of the most prominent cities in the UK.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
56. RyogaHibiki
"I've no insightful comment on the matter to make, just thought I'd be the 27th of 56 posts awaiting the moderators :p
"
Perhaps we need to send out search parties for the absconding moderators. =)
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It would seem the BBC are aiding and abetting the labour party - again.
I am now much more aware of the situation - The "difficult question" (That Brian will not ask) is was the news "leaked" by Mr murphy ?
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Denmark and the state of things there (rotten or otherwise). Moderators seem to hate that subject for some reason.
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awaiting moderation... Makes it very difficult to maintain debate or progress a point of view. I expressed my sympathy to anyone suffering stress (in this instance Mr Purcell). I then followed on though to express concern at spin doctors who use stress as a get out of jail card for public figures and in so doing risk trivialising the very real and often tragic issue of mental health. Too often the "s" word appears to be used as expedient for PR purposes only for the alleged stressee to recover in double quick time.
This is not aimed at Mr Purcell as I have no knowledge of this case however it is clear this is a technique widely used in politics, celebrity and big business.
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Nothing against Mr Purcell personally, but he has presided over a city with the worst drink and drugs problems in Europe. The housing debacle is a disgrace. The schools are the worst in Scotland. The cities health record is appalling. Yet Mr Purcell has been a really successful council leader? Eh? What tosh.
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MODS - NO PURCELL CONTENT!!
It doesn't matter what the debates are called, it doesn't matter who the party representatives are, it doesn't matter what the content is - if they're broadcast during an Election Period, then they have to provide equal amounts of coverage to "Major Parties" which, in Scotland, includes the SNP. Accordingly any debate broadcast in Scotland has to include the SNP. If it doesn't, they can apply to the courts for an order to block transmission in Scotland.
Incidentally, this isn't credibly disputed by anyone. The real question is whether Salmond wants to risk becoming unpopular by blacking out transmission in Scotland (and, by extension, the whole of the UK if a technical solution is not available which permits transmission in England but not here).
For completeness, same rules apply to PC in Wales as apply to the SNP in Scotland.
The renaming of the debates as "Prime Ministerial" and the staging of all 3 in England (not Scotland or Wales) looks to me like a tacit admission that there is a legal battle to come.
I, for one, hope that Salmond enforces broadcasting law to the max either to block transmission or get a seat at the table. Any other outcome would be an affront to democracy.
CC
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Angus Robertson said: "London-based parties are going to receive exponentially more exposure and coverage than other political parties, I think licence fee payers and voters in Scotland will be asking themselves why they are being treated as second class citizens."
The fee payers and voters in Scotland MAY also want to ask why, when domestic affairs are discussed, that domestic affairs in England will be discussed but obviously they CAN NOT discuss devolved domestic affairs in Scotland--since the devolved government is being excluded.
So only domestic affairs in England count. Now one does understand.
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59. Patrick Kirkwood
"Not a mention of the Beeb, ITV and Sky's deliberate exclusion of the largest party in Scottish politics over the last 3 years!"
In the long period of waiting for this topic to appear! I've had time to look into it. It's clear that I suggested in my #59, that this deal is essentially for England. The broadcasters, I think, have ensured that this agreement is very carefully worded. The core of the deal that Salmond and Sky had reportedly come to, for example, could still be implemented.
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Goodness I don't think I've seen anything quite like this - I knew this was bad news for Labour but didn't quite believe how bad.
I am pretty certain that most of the comments that have been censored are rational and sensible statements - I know that my own comment at #55 was.
This is effectively suppression of free expression and an indication of the arrogant conceit prevalent at the BBC, a barrier has been erected around this story. No, I don't buy the excuse that fear of litigation is the reason as there was little if anything actionable in my comment.
It is though an indication of just how fragile this oasis of free expression is and the power the BBC yields, remember that we actually pay for this - Taylor blogs at our expense.
Meanwhile the state broadcaster tells us all that there is Agreement reached on rules for live TV leaders' debates. Yes, in much the same way that there is agreement when bullies gang up on a single individual.
Is this what the Union has become? Ignoring the smaller partner in the hope that the rumblings of discontent will disappear?
When Jim Murphy stated that the SNP were going to be ignored in the election campaign I didn't realise that he meant by BBC Scotland.
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I am feeling a bit sorry for Mr. Purcell. Is he by any chance being fed to the proverbial wolves to deflect attention from the refusal of the BBC et al to allow the SNP a voice in debating DOMESTIC AFFAIRS which--let me repeat--are for a large part devolved.
Supposedly this has nothing to do with the SNP. Oh, really?
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66. The Alchemist
"why could not Glasgow City Council's Press Office have handled competent enquiries?"
Since they were apparently threatened with legal action if they commented, I suppose that made such a thing difficult. =)
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Look at all the comments that have been "referred to moderators".
Looks like the Glasgow branch of Brit-Nat Neo Labour are pulling the strings at Pacific Quay tonight! LOL!!!
BBC Scotland, our own Izvestia with Glasgow Labour as Presidium! :-D
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I am forced to comment that none of my comments today have been really much more than innocuous, including the deleted ones, and frankly to see how far the moderators would go in deleting innocuous comments.
May I mention rotten and Denmark again? Just to see if that gets THIS one deleted? ;-)
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This blog is now officially a disaster area with the moderating so slow the general election will be here and gone by the time you get a post cleared........
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This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain
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75. JRMacClure
Unfortunately, the same argument applies to whisky! :-)
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With all these windows open, it's easy to get confused which one I'm on.
Education is little different from other fields of endeavour. I have known of a new Head Teacher driven from post due to massive bullying from colleagues. His "mistake" was to try to get them to change from being a staff who ran the school in their own interests- and damn the kids - to one which saw their role as putting the kids and their parents first.
I'm sure that happens in other walks of life as well.
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Oh Dear my 71 has been referred and it was only alone the lines of post 83 and 84. Ah well, I'm in good company tonight!!
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Firstly, I hope Mr. Purcell makes a good recovery from his health problems.
Secondly, what on earth is going on, on this website. Why all the posts not moderated? The very least the BBC could do is explain what the problem is.
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102. enneffess
"This blog is now officially a disaster area with the moderating so slow the general election will be here and gone by the time you get a post cleared........"
Only if GB someday calls an election and if I will be glad when that eventuality happens, I can only imagine how people over there feel. We felt somewhat similar about our last presidential one but at least we KNEW exactly when it would be.
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Google "Chyrnside Community Initiative"
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105. oldnat
"Unfortunately, the same argument applies to whisky! :-)"
I'm not sure it's quite the same thing. =)
Is there a whisky that is still actually owned in Scotland by the way? I'd change my buying habits if there were.
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Good heavens, it really is a disaster area. I don't know about anyone else but I haven't bothered with serious comments the way the moderating has run much less something deserving of being moderated. This is absurd and if it were capable of such a thing, the BBC should hang its head in shame.
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And now someone should ask -- she spelled whisky with NO 'E' which may mean she is secretly a SCOT!! *gasp of horror*
I also know the word 'outwith' which I'm quite proud of and several rather Scottish curses as well--however, those I cannot blame on Oldnat (although I'm sure he knows them and more ;) )
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108. Robabody
"I'm in good company tonight!!"
I'm feeling discriminated against! None of my posts on this thread have been referred! Is there active discrimination at the Beeb against oldnats?
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Have a look at Jeff Breslin's blog.
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I am convinced that what happened is that the "scandals" against the SNP misfired and didn't cover the desired period when this new agreement on the SUPPOSED Prime Minister debates (supposed since to the best of my knowledge no one votes for a prime minister). Therefore something had to be shoved into the news. Now Mr. Purcell has been having his little problems in Glasgow with various scandals there and being a rather minor player in the British Labour Party is quite expendable.
Will this be allowed to see light of day? I doubt it. But that IS my opinion about this whole stooshie (another Scots word I've stolen ;) )
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#107 oldnat...
'With all these windows open, it's easy to get confused which one I'm on.'
I hope your referring to windows on your pc and not in your house ..and more alarmingly if they are in your house ...'don't jump..its not worth it ..the mods will be back to normal on Brians next blog'
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On the face of it a report of any resignation by a political figure on health grounds is a matter for wishing the political figure well and a speedy recovery. The only out of kilter thing is the PR man. Why would reasonable speculation about whether there is something behind the resignation cause moderators to be twitchy about it? Mayhap it is just sick leave, sair heids, or personal problems at the office. If so may I wish THEM well and a speedy recovery, but I suspect, it is much more likely they know something we don't. Truth, as ever, will out.
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#113 JrMacClure
"I don't know about anyone else but I haven't bothered with serious comments"
LoL! you consider your comments serious!. That's really funny LoL!.
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What happens in these debates if a member of the audience asks a question on a devolved matter i.e Health. Will the person being asked have to specify that this only applies to England ..since the audience would mostly be made up of English. Some Scottish people have to infiltrate and ask these type of questions to bu**er up the format. How can you answer a question on an issue you have no control over ?
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112. JRMacClure
"Is there a whisky that is still actually owned in Scotland by the way?"
Bruichladdich is one of my favourites. I think Dallas Dhu is still being sold. The distillery is owned by Historic Scotland. I like Lochranza Malt (partly because it's produced on Arran which is just across the Firth from me.
You may find this interesting
http://www.scotland.org/about/entertainment-and-sport/features/business/islandwhisky.html
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115 Oldnat - You're too cool a dude to get referred.
Yes, I did read that comment but was keeping it in the shot locker for a rainy day........and by the looks of this site, it's pouring!
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116. cynicalHighlander
"Have a look at Jeff Breslin's blog."
However, there may of course be more to it than wanting a minor scandal to draw attention away from the way Tories/Labour/LD are playing fast and loose with the electioneering regulations.
We'll soon see I rather think.
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BBC still promoting cover up on radio.
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115. oldnat
"I'm feeling discriminated against! None of my posts on this thread have been referred! Is there active discrimination at the Beeb against oldnats?"
They don't like you. That's why they're not moderating your posts. While I am OBVIOUSLY loved. About mine have been yanked. =)
Just to clarify I have said not a single bad thing about Mr. Purcell. They just wuves me is all ;)
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This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain
I'll post one word in the next comment to see if it passes the mods.
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Expenses
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1 paper will have the news tomorrow and could be devastating.
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123. Robabody
I am NEVER going to live that down! :-)
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129. Online Ed
"Expenses
"
Possibly. ;)
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I sometimes wonder if there would be anything that would change the political narrative in Glasgow. Yet, past events do show that it's possible--difficult but possible.
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#129 Online-Ed
Wow!
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Well expenses isn't the bogey word - I'm stumped.
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122. oldnat
"Bruichladdich is one of my favourites."
I've never tried that one. Thanks for the recommendation. :)
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A little more on this story:
Click Here
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121. Scarymannie
"What happens in these debates if a member of the audience asks a question on a devolved matter i.e Health. Will the person being asked have to specify that this only applies to England ..since the audience would mostly be made up of English. Some Scottish people have to infiltrate and ask these type of questions to bu**er up the format. How can you answer a question on an issue you have no control over ?"
My question exactly.
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No Brown, Murphy or Elmer comment and "Yousuf" has taken a sabbatical.
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136. JRMacClure
"Bruichladdich"
It's certainly exported to the USA, as I used to buy it in Baltimore in the specialist liquor store near my son's house. The owner was improving his knowledge of malts, and I used to take out some rarer examples for him to try. In return, he and I did some long tasting sessions!
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This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain
I see at least one of the yapping unionists has crawled out of the hole. =)
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I suffered a nervous breakdown 2 years ago. During the initial stages I couldn't answer the phone and if anyone had asked my doctor to comment she couldn't have due to confidentiality.
If I had been the leader of Glasgow City council in Scotland instead of another worker it's not improbable that a PR firm would have been brought in to make a good spin on a very horrible thing to experience. After all, it's not like his name is unknown in the nation...granted, not a household word, but known well enough that the media would be interested.
The Record as oldnat said seemed to be dropping hints but until more is known I would be really reluctant to say that Purcell has resigned for any of the reasons hinted at or blatantly stated by the Nats here. BTW OnlineEd, your reasons for why Purcell shouldn't feel stressed were rubbish. As if there are only two people in the nation with stressful jobs and their names are Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.
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this is very strange the way that mr purcell has quit and there are no comments from the likes of iain gray or gordon brown or even jim murphy. whats that about?
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#119 auld bob
There's a reason that BBC mods are cagey about letting wilder speculation about Cllr Purcell's illness through and it's not that they're ebil Stasi sympathising apparatchiki with New Labour cards burning a hole in their trouser pockets. It's because there's something in the UK called "libel law".
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Newsnicht on "that man" and his achievements.
"He pushed through a Council Tax freeze for 3 years". Eh?
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143. fourstrikes
"If I had been the leader of Glasgow City council in Scotland instead of another worker it's not improbable that a PR firm would have been brought in to make a good spin on a very horrible thing to experience."
A PR firm and one of the biggest LIBEL firms in the country? There are all kinds of things about this that look darn odd. I'm not sure that Mr. Purcell did anything wrong. I suggested earlier that perhaps he was being asked to "fall on his sword" for the party. I still think it's possible but I am pretty convinced there is more to this than appears on the surface.
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It seems like there is more than meets the eye with this story. Its a sad state of affairs when someone suffers from exhaustion. There's plenty of times at work when i've felt snowed under but sometimes you just have to plough through it. I hope he gets well soon.
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Well that didn't last. The story's out in the blogosphere now. "Stress" will prove to be a flimsy line of defence.
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I always find this blog very interesting:
http://scotlandunspun.blogspot.com/
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145. fourstrikes
"There's a reason that BBC mods are cagey about letting wilder speculation about Cllr Purcell's illness through and it's not that they're ebil Stasi sympathising apparatchiki with New Labour cards burning a hole in their trouser pockets. It's because there's something in the UK called "libel law". "
I can assure you that not a SINGE one of my moderated posts contained "wild speculation" of any kind. In fact, they were no more speculative than the ones that were posted. I suspect that was true of most of the posts.
It looks darn odd. Anyone who says it doesn't hasn't been paying attention to Scottish politics--he's flying high Friday seated at the table with the PM and turns around and resigns the next day. Very odd.
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#147
JRMcC,
I sense the oddness, especially in oldnat's Record piece, but I think guessing on what the oddness might be (if anything but a perception or a rumour) is a bad idea.
It might be my inner Chekist ;) but the reason these speculations are blocked is sound IMO.
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I find the moderation of my posts extraordinary
I checked the House Rules in case I had infringed any
# re considered likely to disrupt, provoke, attack or offend others
I do not believe so
# Are racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive or otherwise objectionable
Definitely not
# Contain swear words or other language likely to offend
Alas no
# Break the law or condone or encourage unlawful activity. This includes breach of copyright, defamation and contempt of court.
Again nope
# Advertise products or services for profit or gain
Hardly
# Are seen to impersonate someone else
A big negatory good buddy
# Include contact details such as phone numbers, postal or email addresses
That would not be yes.
# Are written in anything other than English - Welsh and Gaelic may be used where marked
BJ might disagree but I do believe my English usage was unmistakeable as anything else.
# Contain links to other websites which break our Editorial Guidelines
Not guilty
# Describe or encourage activities which could endanger the safety or well-being of others
Not the sort of thing I do
# Are considered to be ‘spam’, that is posts containing the same. or similar, message posted multiple times
Nah
# Are considered to be off-topic for the particular message board
Now then.
I posted about the story, but more concentrating on how the story was handled in the media.
I think that is the reason for the moderation. That is what is being kicked upstairs in case it is problematical for Auntie.
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150. JRMacClure
Currency markets were ditching Sterling for Mugabe' Dollar, best placed and all that.
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Check out Tory Bear.....
CC
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Incidentally, is it really wishing the man ill that it be something other than an emotional collapse? I have no reason to wish Mr. Purcell ill nor, I think, does anyone on this blog although many disagree with his politics.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
#151 JRMcC
I don't accuse you or anyone in particular (apart from Online Ed who was sailing fairly close to the wind). I haven't seen the moderated posts natch but I understand the burden of the moderator, and especially on the BBC boards because of the extra obligations coming from taking the TV licence.
It's a complex business and there seems to be more to it than the news report, for sure. But some of the speculation was both nasty and unhealthy.
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152. fourstrikes
What I found odd about the Record piece was that it contained hints about aspects of human behaviour which should not be the subject of comment nowadays. If the current Internet tales of which medical facility he is in are true, then they would seem unrelated. Hence my wondering if there were some internal Labour Party machinations at work - not unusual in any Party!
The only issues worth discussing are political ones.
Is there dissension within Labour? Where the hell are Labour going to find some talent?
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#146. At 11:09pm on 02 Mar 2010, oldnat wrote:
Newsnicht on "that man" and his achievements.
"He pushed through a Council Tax freeze for 3 years". Eh?
...ABSOLUTE JOKE *ANGRY*
This is for the BBC management. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH.
If you (the BBC) go through with the 3 leader debate, then I will be writing you a letter stating that I will be witholding the licence fee due to your breech of contract regarding your obligation to be fair and balanced.
If you then pursue me in the courts, I will take you to the European court of human rights. It is my right as a human being to be able to view other television channels other than the BBC without being held to ransom by an organisation which is CLEARLY opposed to my own nationalist political beliefs.
This post is not a threat, it is a promise. As a member of the European community, I expect the same rights as those in France, Spain, Germany or any other member state. The BBC have pushed this FASCISM too far and I will not let the injustice of your continued propaganda continue.
Saor Alba.
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#88
It would be a bit of a shock if the Labour leader of Glasgow Council was a socialist
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Anyone on quirky nats please read my post, as I doubt it will clear moderation here.
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Newsnight Scotland ran the Purcell story tonight. Nothing very new and mainly reiterating what has been said in comments on this blog.
Could this mean they are nipping the story in the bud and burying it before anything contentious emerges?
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#159 oldnat
A very good point re the Record coverage...that was what I took from it as well. There seem to be a lot of hints and raised eyebrows and some of the line of thought seems to be, as you say, oldfashioned? I just don't know and I'm definitely not well enough connected with Labour circles to even guess!
He does seem to be a person of talent within Labour. Do you feel they are wholly lacking? Reckon there's a handful of half decent ones on the Labour benches at Holyrood at the moment, but the problem is it's only a handful and a lot of them are in the wrong positions both in oor wee Parly and in Westminster.
I could write a book on internal Party machinations ;) but at the moment Labour seem to be taking such things to an unusual level. The birth pangs of something new? If so, what?
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#145
In Scotland it's "defamation"
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"It is my right as a human being to be able to view other television channels other than the BBC without being held to ransom by an organisation which is CLEARLY opposed to my own nationalist political beliefs"
Eh, naw. It isn't.
Don't like the Beeb, no one's holding you to ransom. Stop watching the telly and turn off your set. You don't have the "right as a human being" to get a TV channel in tune with your own politics any more than I do.
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there's got to be so much more than stress. Maybe having to support the rubbish that was GARL? Hiding that brown envelope? Why does GLW airport need a station right in the terminal? Theres a nearby station - use it and a free shuttle bus like most other european airports have no need for millions to be spent!
So is it this, or the impending doom of GHA thats done it? Come on brian ask some questions!
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159. oldnat
"What I found odd about the Record piece was that it contained hints about aspects of human behaviour which should not be the subject of comment nowadays. If the current Internet tales of which medical facility he is in are true, then they would seem unrelated. Hence my wondering if there were some internal Labour Party machinations at work - not unusual in any Party!
The only issues worth discussing are political ones.
Is there dissension within Labour? Where the hell are Labour going to find some talent?
"
You've seen the same stories I have then and, if true, I really am sorry for the man. I won't comment on that situation which is only sad.
I still suspect there is some kind of Labour machinations at work. What lord only knows.
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167. fourstrikes
"Don't like the Beeb, no one's holding you to ransom. Stop watching the telly and turn off your set. You don't have the "right as a human being" to get a TV channel in tune with your own politics any more than I do."
Actually I believe one does have a human right to unbiased news coverage. And if that wasn't biased (not to mention an out-right lie) what is?
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#167. At 00:03am on 03 Mar 2010, fourstrikes wrote:
"It is my right as a human being to be able to view other television channels other than the BBC without being held to ransom by an organisation which is CLEARLY opposed to my own nationalist political beliefs"
Eh, naw. It isn't.
Don't like the Beeb, no one's holding you to ransom. Stop watching the telly and turn off your set. You don't have the "right as a human being" to get a TV channel in tune with your own politics any more than I do.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The licence fee IS a ransom... Please engage your grey matter before crunching your mouth into first gear!
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152. fourstrikes
"I sense the oddness, especially in oldnat's Record piece, but I think guessing on what the oddness might be (if anything but a perception or a rumour) is a bad idea. "
What matters (to those other than Mr. Purcell), it seems to me, are the political ramifications of this whole thing.
As Oldnat asked--where does Labour find talent and what do they do now in Glasgow with an election looming?
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Clearly the last few months have been a great strain on Steven's health, which any decent person of whatever political background should at least try to empathise with.
Whatever successes or ongoing challenges he faced, he did so out of a desire to see Glasgow better, which I believe most councillors operate from.
I met him on holiday in October and wish him a restful holiday again so that he can regain his strength and serve again the people he clearly loves
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#173... I agree with your sentiment regarding Purcell completely, but you can bet your sorry backside that if this was an SNP leader of a council, we would not get the same sob story from the BBC and MSM as we are here.
I can just imagine what Glen Campbells reaction would have been on Newsnight tonight???
It is that fact that has made me angry and nothing else!
Along with the proposed leaders debates, I have passed a threshold in the fight against what I see as a grave injustice to the people of Scotland. The threshold is from a position of anger to a position of action.
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###173 Are you for real ?????????
There is far more to this than the media are allowed to tell us........
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Maybe the man could get a job presenting afternoon radio for the BBBC.
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#171
Still, naw. It's only a ransom if you think it's your human right to watch the telly. Which it clearly isn't.
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173. Football Referee
"wish him a restful holiday"
I very much doubt that he is having that.
This is a political site, and we look at the political implications of events.
If the original statement was accurate and he is suffering from stress through having political power, then he needs to find a different way to serve Glasgow. Sadly, political leaders need to be able to withstand the stressful aspects of what is a very demanding job nowadays.
If there is a more serious underlying medical condition, then the reality is that neither the party nor the media will forgive it, if it is seen as self-imposed. I can think of a current Scottish MP whose career was destroyed in such a way. It's not how things should be, but it's how things are.
Purcell seemed to me to be streets ahead of his Labour colleagues in Glasgow. All parties need to be far more aware of the need to select quality candidates to serve, instead of rewarding party hacks.
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#73. Robabody wrote:
chuckle: I just could not resist it.
Like the reply, though.
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#170 JRMcC
This is probably a function of our differing politics, but I don't believe "unbiased news coverage" is possible or even desirable.
When Mr Taylor just recites the facts, people berate him for not going indepth on the issues behind it (as with the coverage of Cllr Purcell here). That would, however, be the only "unbiased" coverage...and I put "unbiased" in quotation marks because even the selection of facts is biased!
To take this further, I would say that all "mainstream" news sources in the West have an incredibly strong bias towards capitalism. But saying "be nicer to anticapitalists" would still be asking those sources to change the stance to "being nicer from a capitalist perspective and inasmuch as one can do this while still serving capitalism." It's not unbiased.
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#166 sneckedagain
I don't know the fine points, sadly, so thanks for the explanation.
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#75. JRMacClure:
There are many things regarded as Scottish owned by outsiders of Scotland.
Even the national drink has foreign to Scotland owners. I suppose that's a sign of normal Globalisation - perhaps Scotland is considered part of it and not a total backwater. Are not the much claimed bailed out, "Scottish banks", also not quite 100% Scottish?
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#172 JRMcC
Exactly. I'm not sure...
I know some people in the Labour Party but we're not the best of pals so I can't give any exciting insights. Purcell was a talent in the Labour Party, no doubt about it. I wonder how Scottish Labour will be invigorated...it might actually take a heavy defeat and a complete evaluation to see something rise from the ashes.
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177. fourstrikes
"if you think it's your human right to watch the telly"
But it is my inalienable right to pursue happiness. Consequently, I can sit with remote 24/7 switching channels vainly searching for a programme worth watching!
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#92. BlooToon:
Of course there are different versions of, "stress", for different groups of people.
For the Hoi Polloi it is a distressing medical condition.
For the Celeb, it often means drying out, or coming off some substance or other, that is distressing the Celeb.
For the Politico it has several conditions and they are not all distressing for the Politco, more distressing for the people they represent.
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With the usual turnout at elections of recent times, I suggest there could be political advantage for Salmond as many of those voters who change channel for any political matter, but who are loyal to certain parties for other than political reasons. Sectarian, Folla the maister, Trade Union, and do as Dad/partner does, springs to mind.
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The Grauniad has more information about the BBC's plans for "fairness" over the English "leaders' election debates" than is available on this website. There's a shock!
Both the Herald and the Scotsman seem to be expecting an SNP legal challenge, but their coverage is otherwise not worth reading.
5 days without internet access thanks to the flooding in Andalusia has left me newsless, a state it seems that ITV, Sky and the BBC seem determined to perpetuate.
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180. fourstrikes
"This is probably a function of our differing politics, but I don't believe "unbiased news coverage" is possible or even desirable.
When Mr Taylor just recites the facts, people berate him for not going indepth on the issues behind it (as with the coverage of Cllr Purcell here). That would, however, be the only "unbiased" coverage...and I put "unbiased" in quotation marks because even the selection of facts is biased!
To take this further, I would say that all "mainstream" news sources in the West have an incredibly strong bias towards capitalism. But saying "be nicer to anticapitalists" would still be asking those sources to change the stance to "being nicer from a capitalist perspective and inasmuch as one can do this while still serving capitalism." It's not unbiased.
"
You are conflating news coverage with news commentary. What this blog is -- or is supposed to be -- is news commentary and opinions are and are supposed to be expressed and are labeled as such. The title of this blog (and the fact that it is a blog) indicates such.
News papers quite legitimately have columnists and editorials which express opinions and positions on issues. There is nothing wrong with this in fact it is considered both appropriate and desirable. But varying newspapers or news channels will normally present very differing positions. In the US, believe me I can switch between Fox News and CNN and get very differing news commentary. (I consider it a real problem that this does not happen in Scotland)
That bias and opinion is supposed to be left behind when it comes to news coverage.
When the same news channels or papers either refuse to cover news because it is "inconvenient" or out-right lie about it in the news coverage we have gone into a very different place. If you don't know that what was said about his pushing through three years of council tax freeze was a lie, most of this do.
This is especially so when the news channel (as in the UK) is STATE SUPPORTED.
In order to have access to any on-air news coverage, someone in the UK HAS to pay for the BBC license fee or else they are deprived of all such news coverage. Telling someone who KNOWS that the BBC has just lied to them on the news, that they therefore should be deprived of ALL on-air news is indeed telling them that they must accept a violation of their human rights.
What's more I have read that this is considered a violation of human rights by the EU--now you may or may not consider that important but it is something you might want to take into consideration in your responses.
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From the Scotsman
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Turmoil-after--Steven-Purcell.6117743.jp
"His sudden departure deprives Labour of a key figure in the coming Westminster election. Mr Purcell was understood to have been heavily involved in planning for the campaign alongside Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy.
......
Mr Irvine denied reports Mr Purcell had been admitted to an addiction treatment centre and said he was staying with relatives."
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182. Auld Bob
"There are many things regarded as Scottish owned by outsiders of Scotland.
Even the national drink has foreign to Scotland owners. I suppose that's a sign of normal Globalisation - perhaps Scotland is considered part of it and not a total backwater. Are not the much claimed bailed out, "Scottish banks", also not quite 100% Scottish?"
I am not sure that the banks are Scottish -- at all.
That does not mean that supporting local enterprise is not both desirable and acceptable.
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174. Alba4eva
"I agree with your sentiment regarding Purcell completely, but you can bet your sorry backside that if this was an SNP leader of a council, we would not get the same sob story from the BBC and MSM as we are here.
I can just imagine what Glen Campbells reaction would have been on Newsnight tonight???
It is that fact that has made me angry and nothing else!
Along with the proposed leaders debates, I have passed a threshold in the fight against what I see as a grave injustice to the people of Scotland. The threshold is from a position of anger to a position of action."
Unfortunately, I suspect you may be right that were the political parties reversed that the situation would NOT have been treated as Alex Salmond chose to treat it.
This is a sad statement on politics in Scotland.
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The Herald on the topic of this thread
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/mystery-still-surrounds-events-leading-to-purcell-resignation-1.1010578
I did love this assessment of one of the possible candidates to replace Purcell
"Gordon Matheson
Another former City Treasurer who was also head of education, councillor Matheson has been council spokesman on most things where there is an opposing view to the Scottish Government. Whether he has sufficient support within the Labour group is debatable."
Isn't that the most damning indictment of Labour's attitude to the democratic election of 2007?
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#167, must be nice being part of the choosen few who actually believe the nonsense being pumped out by the partisan BBC crowd by the river.
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189. oldnat
Awwww.... Cool Dude™ finally got a comment referred. I'm proud of him. ;)
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#114. JRMacClure:
Oh! I'll give you another very nice one that will be of great and effective effect - the phrase is, "Heaven forfend", the word, "forfend", is English too and means, to protect,(arch);to avert;to ward off.
The phrase, though seems to be still used in Scotland but fallen out of use in England.
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187. Brownedov
Peter Kellner was doing a Q&A on PB this afternoon. Once again I asked him about YouGov's use of inappropriate newspaper readership for weighting in Scotland. No response.
I also asked him about their weighting of Scottish voters as part of the GB cohort instead of separately as AR do. No response.
I have no reason to believe that YouGov indulge in deliberate distortion, but that Scotland is such an unimportant market for them, that they just can't even be bothered to look at such issues.
I think it's something called "the Union dividend"? Little information provided, and that is inaccurate.
Sorry to hear of the flooding.
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189. oldnat
I've now joined the rest of you!
My post was a link to the Scotsman report and had two short quotes from it.
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195. Auld Bob
"Oh! I'll give you another very nice one that will be of great and effective effect - the phrase is, "Heaven forfend""
I will add it to my vocabulary. Thank you. :)
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197. oldnat
The political quote from the Scotsman was
"His sudden departure deprives Labour of a key figure in the coming Westminster election. Mr Purcell was understood to have been heavily involved in planning for the campaign alongside Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy."
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You want words? I'll give you yet another, "Clamjamphry, or,"Clamjamfry",= company;crowd;rabble;jumped-up people;junk;rubbish.
(places tongue in cheek), Now I wonder just how one would use that in a political connotation?, (removes tongue from cheek).
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The Scottish Sun's treatment of the Leadership Debate story
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2875801/SNP-fury-at-party-leaders-TV-show-snub-general-election-debates.html
Wonder how that will play with their readership?
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#196 oldnat
"Peter Kellner was doing a Q&A on PB this afternoon. Once again I asked him about YouGov's use of inappropriate newspaper readership for weighting in Scotland. No response."
Yes. I caught up with UKPR first, saw your post there and looked at what Kellner didn't have to say. Not too impressed. After only two Scottish polls in 2010 (even counting the small, YouGov dodgy one, I was also surprised to find three coming along while I was offline, with the disparity between MORI and YouGov becoming even more pronounced than the ARS vs the rest GB figures. I've posted briefly on that here, having noted that YouGov's political ID weightings are back to where they were in January, making me all the more suspicious that the first mini-poll was reverse-engineered. They have been more careful to make the numbers in the newer ones consistent, but I'm still sceptical of their adding together multiple sub-samples, even if they do weight them properly.
At least we should have reasonable evidence of whose methodology is leastworst pretty soon, which may improve prediction accuracy for Holyrood 2011.
"Sorry to hear of the flooding."
Nothing serious, and no injuries I've heard of locally, unlike more northerly parts - just exceptionally heavy rains taking reservoirs that were at record lows last summer to overflowing. Unluckily for me and my neighbours, a small deposito overflowed, bringing down two telephone poles just before a public holiday week-end, Sunday having been Andalusia day and Monday the holiday in celebration of it.
Getting late for me now, so goodnight all.
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#145. fourstrikes:
Libel is telling lies and, far as I can, see no one has done so. There is no law to stop speculation on the lines of, "it is strange", "What is about to break", "Has he perhaps". If one said, "He has done *****", and it was not true - that's libel. Tell you a wee true tale, I had a old skilled labourer called Sam. Sam liked a pint or ten. One evening Sam bumped into, (literally), a local Councillor and gave him a piece of his mind. Sam was lifted by the police, spent the weekend in clink and was haulled before the beak on Monday Morning. The charges Drunk and disorderly + verbal abuse likely to cause a breach of the peace. Sam had called the good Councillor, "A stupid lying Bastirt". The Sheriff explained to Sam, who pleaded freedom of speech, "You cannnot call people Stupid lying Bastards". Sam asked, "Kin Ah think it, but", and was told that he could think whatever he liked but could not call a person, "A stupid lying Bastard". Sam's reply was a real classic, "Weel yer Honour Mr Sherrif sir, Ah still think the Cooncillor is a stupit lyin Bastirt".(There was laughter in court).
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You have no defence in law to withhold your fees as what you pay for is the right to recieve wireless broadcasts - from any broadcaster.
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143. At 11:00pm on 02 Mar 2010, fourstrikes wrote:
BTW OnlineEd, your reasons for why Purcell shouldn't feel stressed were rubbish. As if there are only two people in the nation with stressful jobs and their names are Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.
I think you may have misunderstood.
What I said was that the level of stress was nothing to that experienced by Sturgeon and MacAskill, especially MacAskill, at no point did I say that Purcell shouldn't feel stressed.
I'll put your comment down to skimreading instead of misrepresentation.
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David Marshall, former MP for Glasgow East stood very suddenly down due to 'ill health.' Margaret Curran stoood in the by election,and lost, she constantly refused to answer any questions on Mr Marshall's situation as certain journalists (Newsnight) asked 'difficult questions'.
One wonders if the BBC will fly in the same journalist to interview Mr Purcell's legal representative or even his public relations team the same 'difficult questions'?
The Commonwealth Games has been cited as one of the contributing factors, so Mr Purcell, fun n' games it is not ?
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This story has caught the Scottish media cold - completely cold. This blog is the Scottish media in microcosm - a barrier has been erected and damage limitation mode has set in.
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206. At 07:01am on 03 Mar 2010, Wansanshoo wrote:
David Marshall, former MP for Glasgow East stood very suddenly down due to 'ill health.' Margaret Curran stoood in the by election,and lost, she constantly refused to answer any questions on Mr Marshall's situation as certain journalists (Newsnight) asked 'difficult questions'.
Yes, I remember - not one Scottish journalist pursued this story throughout the by-election and since. The Newsnight interviewer had flown up from London and started asking awkward questions.
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Quite a few blogs being moderated / rejected, I'll tread carefully. Lots of back-slapping for this individual on his great achievments and leading the biggest council and working with opposition parties. Lets not forget the many hundreds of workers that also do the vast amount of collective work for the same ends, but very rarely, if ever get mentioned including unpaid volunteers. If indeed this gentleman is medically certificated as ill, then allow him the opportunity to recover, but here's the but why also make it public that he's hired an image consultancy firm, WHY? In politics that's like hiring Clint Eastwood in a Fistful of Dollar's, is there some kind of high noon in the offing?
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Oldmat ,thanks for the offer ,indeed I would gladly share and raise a glass with yourself and many others in the blogosphere.
Since that is not possible I will have to drink it all by myself while thinking kind thoughts of you all!
Interestingly ,there was a "soft drinks offer if you would prefer"
I spent many micro seconds trying to work out the equation
? crates of Irn Bru = 1 bottle of Jura .
Perhaps that mathematical genius Brian Taylor could help - though the First Minister would probably be more accurate!
I have to say ,I won this bottle with a less than erudite observation, particularly when Traquir was in full flow.
It got me and my suspicious mind working, one has to give ones address for delivery and that Glaswegian gangster threat ," Ah know whaur you stay" sprang to mind.
It also allows a check on those irritating multiple moniker users.
Anyway , cheers , slainte,bottoms up ,skol,a votre sante ,nostrovia!
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#190. JRMacClure:
Ah! Sorry"! too much slant by me - The slant was just as you say but my point was, perhaps, the only thing Scottish was in the actual name of the company.
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#203 auld bob,
Liked the story :) and understand the temptation.
We dunno what the posts said which are hidden and I'm defending the Beeb moderators...they have to be hyper cautious in a way that a quirky place for nats doesn't just because this is the BBC. They are wound about by rules and so sensibly they will hold a dodgy post back. I've seen about four different scenarios for Cllr Purcell's illness hinted at here but stating these blatantly as being the case would probably not be a good idea. Unless Cllr Purcell has lived a far more bizarre life than any of us had possibly guessed, all four can't be true at once so at least one would have to be libel.
As for words is there a Scots equivalent of "inshallah"? This very useful Arabic phrase seems to lose something when it becomes "God willing". :)
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#193 patrick
Dinnae be daft, I don't believe everything put out by the BBC. I know folk that have worked there, sausage factory and all that.
Having said that it amuses me when people make up human rights and "my human right to watch the telly" and "my human right to have a TV channel that agrees with my political beliefs" are absolute classics.
I'm going to complain to the ECHR that no one's yet seen fit to have a cable channel devoted solely to Trotskyism. OK, the actual subscribers would fit comfortably in a phone box and spend all our time arguing about which of the 57 varieties of Trotskyism the channel was biased towards (a bit like people do with Mr Taylor's blog here). But IT'S MY HUMAN RIGHT!
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#205 (possibly) Online Ed
I still disagree, levels of stress can't be quantified so easily. I used to work in the DWP and people left in huge amounts because of the stress dealing with difficult cases and the like, getting threatened physically and even stalked back to their houses. Now granted none of them were running a country or even a huge big council with multiple issues, but the stress was enough to send them off sick.
Different stresses and levels impact different folk differently, so I didn't want to write off Cllr Purcell's explanation for his departure as him being a bit weedy compared to the FM which is how I read your post.
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#188 JRMcC
I'm not trying to conflate commentary and coverage, but there are nuances. For example:
"Terrorists attacked the building." "Insurgents attacked the building." "Resistance fighters attacked the building." "The building was attacked."
All of those look on the face to be statements of coverage, not commentary. But all of them are open to challenge. It'd be possible to show they all contain bias in separate ways.
Like when one of the Nats on here read Tavish Scott's statement about "no support for independence" as not being one of the boilerplate statements that politicos come out with, but as a statement of intent putting him in the same camp as Felix Dzerzhinsky with regards to the fate of his political enemies. I thought this was a parody of the paranoia some Net denizens suffer until I read the other posts this guy had made...
(I don't think people compare Tavish Scott to Dzerzhinsky very often.)
What I'm saying is it's all in the reading.
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#184 oldnat
Just avoid the roulette channel! It's strangely hypnotising....
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#201. oldnat: Anent your link:
If becoming leader of the next Westminster government is the cryterion - What is Cleggie doing in the debate? I don't see either Labour or Tory making statements like, "Tho only real choice for voters is to vchoose between Labour & Tory". Even they don't rate the Lib/Dem chances. Furthermore, neither does Cleggie - his ambition is only to hold the balance of power, no hope of being PM. So what is the difference in the expressed ambitions of the Scottish Nationalists?
JRMacClure See, "anent"? In English Dictionary is(Scots) and means- with regard too;concerning.
Lowland Scot, as opposed to, "Scots standard English", has a far more extensive vocabulary than English and is a beautifully descriptive language.
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According to this very website he's now out of rehab - hence the need for threat of litigation, spin doctors etc. It's a great shame and I do hope he graces the political scene in the future. Meantime Elmer will probably lay the blame at the Garl decision, but will anyone at the Beeb ask any diffciult questions.
Apropos whisky I'm afraid that much as scotch becomes a great hobby, I really can't see past whiskey - a little drop of Redbreast always goes down well, though those nice people at the Cally are arranging a bottle of Jura and no complaints there.
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Just to complete the sacrilege the finest juice to come out of a Scottish distillery of late is Caorunn - the latest small batch gin, delicious. From the same stable though comes Balblair and there have been many fine bottlings from this little gem on the Dornoch Firth.
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201. oldnat
"The Scottish Sun's treatment of the Leadership Debate story
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2875801/SNP-fury-at-party-leaders-TV-show-snub-general-election-debates.html
Wonder how that will play with their readership?"
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said: "Scots viewers will get the best of both worlds - live debates between the Prime Ministerial candidates and live debates between the four parties in Scotland."
The UK PM is not directly elected. There are no elections for UK PM. There can be no "candidates" for a non-existent election. Murphy either knows this, or he doesn't. He's either dishonest or ignorant. Both of which appear to be qualities highly valued by the Tory/BLP alliance.
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As always a very good arcitle on the subject by Keneth Roy in the Scottish Review entitled
"Let us have no more talk of stress"
he ends with this classic line
"But it would be good to hear no more of stress or exhaustion from public figures. If they don't like it, they could always get a proper job.
"
http://www.scottishreview.net/KRoy215.html
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The Purcell affair has once again illustrated a tale of two Scotland's should you be a Scottish politician who finds themselves under intolerable stress.
If you're SNP then the media will form a crowd carrying long pointy sticks, brandishing loud hailers and shout abuse as they try to push you over the abyss and if you're Labour they will fall into caring mode, pulling the screens round, managing the news of your "devastation" (like Mr.Devine) and unfurling an industrial sized roll of cotton wool for you to lie on until it blows over with the remainder stuck in their own ears.
Kudos too to the person who recommended the other day that in the face of the hostile media onslaught, the SNP should keep their powder dry.
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201. oldnat
"The Scottish Sun's treatment of the Leadership Debate story
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2875801/SNP-fury-at-party-leaders-TV-show-snub-general-election-debates.html
Wonder how that will play with their readership?"
And a Scottish Conservative spokesman added: "Alex Salmond is not even standing in this election and the SNP will not form the next British Government."
But the Tory/BLP alliance claim that Brown, Cameron and the no-hoper are participating in these debates in their role as party leaders. Hence the title "Party Leaders' Debates". Alex Salmond is leader of his party and is, therefore, the counterpart of Brown, Cameron and the no-hoper.
Salmond could only be excluded on the grounds that he is not standing in the election if the debates are Party Election Broadcasts (PEB). But if they are PEBs then they cannot be broadcast in Scotland without including a representative of the SNP.
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I hope that all those good people who suffered similar stress-related conditions without the benefit of private clinics, lawyers or PR firms during Purcell's purge of Glasgow schools and his destruction of GHA find it in their hearts to wish him a speedy recovery. Bitter? Just a wee bit.
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Michael Foot has passed away! a giant amongst the labour movement, Michael did indeed take Thatcher on in 1979.Michael never recognised new-labour, Michael said "new-labour was a new political party". Many might remember Michael and his infamous Donkey Jacket, Me! I remember Michael for his commitment to the real labour values.
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#163 enneffess
I concur with your thinking Neil.
My post at #19 was rather innocuous and only 3 lines long, 1 of them was Brian’s, but got referred to purgatory.
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#210. fourstrikes:
I do realise the moderators must, well!, moderate, anything that would bring trouble to the BEEB. I have already defended the morerators pointing out it could be illness, absenteeism or such like. The point of the story was that there is no way anyone can prevent people thinking what they wish but they must not say what that, "anything", is actually so, unless of course it is true. However, speculation is a different matter.
Sorry, I cannot think of a Lowland Scots word for, "inshallah", there probably is, but I just cannot think of it. I sometimes find it rather hard to translate Scots into English. Whats worse I think in Scots. There are Scots words that do not really have an English equivalent. Here's a single Scots word that I could never translate into a single English equivalent:- "knapdarloch", this single word has two meanings and depends upon context. 1. a knot of hardened dirt and dung or matted hair hanging from an animals coat or tail: 2. contemtuous term for an undersized , dirty, cheeky person. See how many English words it took to say the same thing? Now I wonder, (AHEM!), how one could apply that word in a political manner? (Grin).
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#227 kered
Not often I agree with you, but amen to that.
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#227 kered
That Labour could put a man like that in the top spot kept many people voting Labour long after it lost it's soul. Fond memories of an honest man.
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#232 handclapping
Honesty is a good ploicy.
Gallagahan and Healy sent Michael out to deal with the winter of discontent, Michael was the man who sorted out the 1974 miners strike, Michael had the vision to see that the strike's of the late 1970's were a gift to the conservative party, of course Michael would later say that he wished he had settled the pay dipute.
Michael took on the leadership in 1980, he had to endure the labour right wing and the famous four, while taking on the Thatcher era.On policy and intent Michael thrashed Thatcher, however the Falklands war came in 1982 and the rest is history.
Kinnock would go on to change the movement and start the birth of new labour.Kinnock quickly removed the opposition to WMD's and Blair would end the clause four chapter.
Todays, we have people living in slum poverty and they are no better off than they were in 1945.Michael was Bevins apprentice, sadly, Kinnock, Blair and Brown chickened out of the fight and took up the Thatcher mode.
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This has been the best Spot the Real Story contest for a while. Could it be "Media unleash avalanche of hints in attempt to enlist cybernats to do some dirty work for Labour Party" ?
I'm rubbish at headlines though. "Small earthquake in George Square: only one casualty" ?
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kered
I agree with your sentiments exactly.
So what are you going to do about the sad travesty masquerading as the Labour party today?
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Claims of "stress and exhaustion" now countered by a claim of "chemical dependency".
This is a public interest story that clearly does not add up.
What is required is some public interest journalism.
However, the chances of that happening in Scotland seems remote as ever.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7479167.stm
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As a Glasgow City Council worker I can say that Mr Purcell wont be missed and his resignation is the best thing to happen to Glasgow in a long time.
In his tenure he has managed to bring the council to it's knees and staff morale is below rock bottom. Over the last 4 years we have had staff survey's that continually say that no-one is happy in the council, does he listen? No. He closes schools and nurseries which and has "consultations" which his cronies attend and cant even justify why this is happening. He's sold off culture and sport and direct and care services (and going to sell off more) to private companies (or trusts if you like) it looks like his policy is for him to sit on his throne in the city chambers and collect his fat pay cheque while the council has no staff left. Services are all over the place and cant deliver anymore and yet he still says cutting jobs wont affect services, believe me they most certainly do. He is the most despised person in the council and I think i can speak for the very heavy majority of workers in wishing him never to come back. Wake up Glasgow, Labour are just a waste of space and Purcell the biggest of the lot.
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