We’d hoped not to have to write any more about this for a while, but a story broke this evening on left-wing Labour website Skwawkbox that we thought those of you not on Twitter would want to see.
Following a previous piece casting huge doubt on Dugdale and the Scottish media’s version of events, the site got hold of a letter (dated yesterday) from Labour’s general secretary Jennie Formby to Mary Fee MSP, who’d sent a complaint about the party’s decision to stop funding Dugdale’s legal costs.
And it’s quite the read.
The yellow highlighting, we assume, is Skwawkbox’s:
Ouch. The bit about how Dugdale hasn’t even said thanks for the £94,000 Labour have spent so far is especially stinging. But the most interesting section is this one:
According to our lawyers, the appeal is likely to cost Dugdale somewhere in the ballpark of £10,000 to £20,000. If successful it would end the case completely, and we’d become liable for a large chunk of her costs to date.
(It’s impossible to say exactly how much, and probably not the full £94,000 because that’s such a ridiculously excessive amount to have spent, but it’d be a hefty slice.)
So having already spent £94K, Labour decided they’d prefer to write off every penny rather than risk another £10K or so on an appeal that could potentially recoup the bulk of it. That can only speak volumes about what they think the appeal’s chances of success are.
That does NOT, of course, guarantee that it’ll fail. We’re taking absolutely nothing for granted. We expect that it’ll go ahead sometime next year anyway – because the Daily Record will be picking up the bill for it and Dugdale has little to lose – and we hope the sheriff’s original judgement will be upheld.
(We’ll probably hold another small fundraiser in the aim of covering our side of the costs for it soon, because our lawyers have to attend it too.)
But it’s nice to hear their legal advisers’ considered opinion all the same.
