Friday 6 November 2009

Why Smeaton?

It's a common question. Why Smeaton? What gives John Smeaton the right to think he can stand as an MP? How does his role in the events at Glasgow Airport equip him to represent 80,000 people?

The answer's obvious really. It's not so much his actions - I don't think John did any more than most of us would have done given the opportunity, it was the voice he gave to a nation the morning after when a camera crew grabbed him for a quick interview.

Let's not forget the sense of shock in Scotland at the time. We pride ourselves in being different from the rest of Britain, that we are a happy-go-lucky nation comprised of people loved the world over. Terrorism is something that happens everywhere else, not in Scotland. But as those images of a burning car at the airport filled the news-stands and the flames flickered repeatedly on tellys in shop windows it hit home that maybe the world doesn't really love us. Maybe Jocks are as vulnerable as anyone else and any one of us could have been engulfed in tragedy just by going to an airport to fly out on holiday.

As we collectively held our breath, up stepped a glaikit ginger Weegie babbling excitedly and swinging his arms in the air, descibing what he did and more importantly coming out with a line that caught the imagination - "This is Glasgow - we'll set aboot ye".

The relief in us all was tangible. Across the nation people laughed and said "Good for you son". Suddenly, we were back in our rightful place. Jocks are different after all. The terrible evil that was almost perpetrated by religious fanatics intent on burning holidaymakers to death had been thwarted by Scots. A tale of heroism was being told to us by a baggage handler - who was quick to downplay his own role and point out that others did as much, if not more.

That's why John Smeaton deserved his medal. Not for saving Glasgow Airport but for saving a nation from doubt and self-pity. He took away our fears and made us smile again. The immediate fear amongst the Muslim Community in Glasgow was that there would be an unfair backlash against them. That there wasn't can largely be put down to John Smeaton puncturing the pontificating terror "experts" who flooded our tv screens with dire warnings about the "enemy within". All nonsense of course and a nonsense that we Scots instinctively knew, but it took the excited tones of John Smeaton to help us see through that.

John Smeaton is the everyman for our times. His Sun column regularly strikes a chord with the public in a way that more highbrow, more educated, more academic tomes fail to. He doesn't make any claim to being better than anyone else, he just tells it as he sees it, just as he did outside the airport in July 2007. It's that refreshing straightforwardness that endears him to thousands of his readers and so infuriates rival newspapers.

And it's that same welcome gauche approach that makes him an ideal candidate for Westminster. We know that if we send John Smeaton to Westminster, we're going to get some more straight talking answers. Somebody wrote that John wouldn't be smart enough to fiddle his expenses - well he's smart enough to know that taking money that isn't yours is theft, something that a few hundred MPs failed to recognise so he's ahead of 50% of them right away.

Sending John Smeaton to Westminster might be the smartest thing Glasgow has done in ages. Who can doubt that the media circus will descend upon Glasgow North East if Smeaton leads them. As an Independent untainted by the machinations of Scottish politics he can point to Labour and SNP failures equally and cry "enough". He can embarass the sitting governments in Holyrood and Westminster into finally doing something in the constituency. And be sure of this, after such a slap in the face, if Labour regain the seat in the future they will never neglect it again.

In July 2007, John Smeaton made us proud to be Scots. On November 12th, he can make Scots proud of Glasgow.

Thursday 5 November 2009

The Questions Wee Willie Bain Isn't Even Being Asked

It's amazing how compliant the media in Glasgow have been with the Labour Party and their poodle candidate, Willie Bain. They quite happily regurgitate spin-doctor's blurb about how Bain has lived in Springburn all his life whilst somehow managing to work in London. Good trick that.

Here's some more questions the Scottish Press won't ask wee Willie.

- how long has he worked in London at London South Bank University?

- how many hours is he contracted to work in London each week?

- how much is he paid?

- does he have a home in London, and if not where does he stay and with who?

- does he have a partner or any children?

- what did he do between graduating in 1995 and going back to Strathclyde for his Masters in 2003-4? Who did he work for?

- has he ever been employed by Michael Martin or by Parliament or the UK or Scottish Government?


It's amazing how little we know about Wee Willie Bain.

Maybe Labour are hoping no-one will ask.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Public Money means Public Accountability, Harriet.

Harriet Harman is bleating that MPs should continue to be allowed to employ family members. Like Nadine Dorries and her £28k a year daughter I suppose?

Wrong.

MPs should have assistants appointed to them by the Civil Service, who will recruit, interview and assess their suitability. This is public money. How would Ms Harman react if the PM made his fragrant wife his Deputy? Would she be upset at not even being offered an interview?

When will politicians get it? This isn't a "grace and favour" society any more. They don't get to lord it over the rest of us any more.

Here in Glasgow North East, Labour think they can dump a party hack off on the constituency. The London South Bank law lecturer Willie Bain seems to be a bit confused. He's claiming that he's always lived in the constituency. Either his neighbours are liars or Willie must have the biggest loudhailer in the world to teach in London and live in Springburn.

Why don't they just get real? We know Willie is just showing up cos his bosses have ordered him to. He got out of Glasgow years ago and settled in London. David Kerr will stand wherever his bosses point him too. First Falkirk was his one true love, now it's Glasgow. In a few months it'll be Falkirk again when he goes for three defeats in a row. Is that what they mean by "Taking one for the team"?

And through it all, we've got Harman the huggable harpie bleating that life's not fair.

Tough. Maybe when we clear the liars, crooks and party lickspittles out of Westminster we'll start to see real representative democracy. Remember that? When MPs represented their constituents? Seems to me they look after themselves and their mates at all times.

John Smeaton in Glasgow North East is doing things differently. He helped an ex-serviceman set up a football team to keep youths off the streets. As Jamie Robertson said -

No councillors or politicians listened to us - John is the only person who has. We approached him and he helped. He's already better than any other MP as far as I'm concerned. The rest of them say they are going to do this or that, but John actually does it
Sunday Post 1/11/09

Parties refuse to trust voters

I see Tavish Scott of the Lib Dems has whipped his members back into line. No doubt harsh words were exchanged at anybody daring to speak their minds. The issue at question was that of giving the people of Scotland a referendum on a constitutional matter. The Nationalists have maintained for years that Scots want Independence, despite the evidence of opinion polls.

Why don't we just hold the referendum? Now. Next month. Do it and get it done with.

What are politicians so scared of? Why do the Nationalists want to rig the question and hold a referendum at an exact time of their choosing? Why do the other parties fight so hard to make sure that Scots do not have a say in the future of their country?

This is the 21st Century. The days of sending off some member of the landed gentry to far-off London to take care of our interests are long gone. We are better educated, better informed, better capable of reaching a rational decision on our own than at any time in our history.

We've seen what comes of trusting politicians - they screw us for every penny they can get, then give themselves ermine & grand titles. Politicians are intrinsically untrustworthy, or so it seems. Given all the evidence, isn't it outrageous that THEY don't trust US?

Jury Team believes in putting the whip back in the hands of the people. Politicians work for US. They've managed to twist democracy into some perverted feudal system which sets them up as our lords & masters.

No more.

A vote for Jury Team is a vote for freedom.

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