Since I declared my support for the Alba party, I’ve been receiving hate mail from SNP members – in particular, repeated emails from two individuals. I’ve ignored them until now, but come on, chaps, enough is enough. You know perfectly well that what you’re doing is inappropriate, and that this isn’t what the contact address is there for. Just pack it in.
Perhaps disappointed that screaming blue murder at me hasn’t affected my choice of party, one of the two correspondents has recently changed tack and started messaging me with rants about my constituency profiles in The National. Anyone who has read those profiles will know that they’re not influenced in any way by my own party preferences – I’ve just been giving my honest assessment of the knowns and the unknowns. However, even if they were influenced by partisan considerations, they most certainly wouldn’t be anti-SNP in nature, because I’ll be voting SNP on the constituency ballot, and the whole independence movement will be praying that the SNP win as many constituencies as possible. The idea that I’m in any way trying to undermine the SNP is, frankly, idiotic.
The specific complaint today is about the profile of Caithness, Sutherland & Ross, which I quite reasonably stated is a Lib Dem target seat in which the SNP remain slight favourites. Apparently that’s not good enough – in this era of “you’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists” I was supposed to demonstrate my loyalty by saying that the SNP victory is beyond all question and that Maree Todd will be pelted with flowers by the adoring crowds on her way to the declaration (although that would breach the pandemic restrictions, of course).
Here are some responses to the specific points that are raised in the email –
‘Gail Ross won the seat with a comfortable majority last time’ – Yes, she did, and at that point the equivalent Westminster seat was also held by the SNP with a similar majority. It’s since been won twice by the Liberal Democrats – in spite of the fact that on one of those occasions the SNP won the wider national election by a landslide.
‘Maree Todd is better known than the Liberal Democrat candidate Molly Nolan’ – That’ll probably be why I said so in the article.
‘The Westminster constituency has different boundaries’ – Yes, it does, but on absolutely any boundaries this is a seat with a strong Liberal Democrat tradition.
‘The popular and much-loved Jamie Stone almost lost the Westminster seat to a complete unknown from the SNP’ – In that case, why are you placing so much emphasis on Molly Nolan being an unknown?
Today’s other constituency profile is Orkney.
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You can catch up with Episode 5 of the Scot Goes Popcast, with special guest Len Pennie (Miss PunnyPennie) HERE.
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