There’s still nearly three weeks to go in the SNP leadership race and already the clown-car moments are clocking up. A new Ipsos Scotland poll is out today which shows that Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes neck and neck, with the pair on 33 per cent and 32 per cent respectively, followed by Ash Regan on a distant third with 10 per cent. Below is a list of the lowlights so far…
Regan invokes 1776
The contest got off to a fairly inglorious start when Ash Regan referred to the American War of Independence as she proof that referendums were not the only way to secede from the UK. Appearing to compare Scotland to a British colony, the Edinburgh Eastern MSP said that this was ‘the normal way’ for independence to be achieved if Westminster refuses to negotiate.
She told the BBC’s Sunday Show that: ‘There’s 65 countries have become independent from either the UK or the British Empire over the last while, and most of them actually didn’t use referendums.’ Good luck leading that struggle without an army Ash…
Hustings blackout U-turn
After the first few days of candidate attacks on each other, the SNP grandees decided in their infinite wisdom that the best way to stop party infighting was to, er, ban the journalists from attending hustings. This genius policy was reversed within 24 hours of it being announced, following an outcry about a lack of transparency.
Regan demanding a giant thermometer
Surely the most bonkers policy proposed thus far. Regan said the installation would help build confidence among the public, with a dial that would move forwards when certain milestones were reached. She told an event in Glenrothes:
We could put it up in Glasgow or in Edinburgh, and it can be outside and it has a dial on it that moves. So when we’ve made all the plans for the currency for instance, or we’ve set up how we’re going to do something to do with defence, or whatever it is, that dial will move and it will inch forward. And the media can look at it, everyone can look at it, and it builds that confidence with the public so that when we get up to the 100 per cent, everybody in Scotland knows we’ve solved all these problems.
Given the last nine years, somehow Mr S doesn’t think the dial will be moved very much…
Peter Murrell door-stopped in pyjamas
Talk about a blast from the past. After five months of not being seen in public, Murrell was doorstepped last week by the Daily Record amid a police fraud probe and voting transparency concerns in the party’s leadership campaign. The SNP Chief Executive and husband of Nicola Sturgeon declined to answer questions after opening the door at his Glasgow home at 2.30pm in slippers, striped pyjama trousers and a blue T-shirt. Stylish stuff.
Regan’s STV’s Borders offer
Just days after her giant thermometer wheeze, Regan unveiled her latest policy offering at the SNP hustings in Dumfries. She said she wants to ‘look into’ ensuring people in the Borders can watch STV rather than ITV because she believed there might be a correlation between watching ITV Border and voting Tory. She then called for pro-independence TV channels, presumably to broadcast such nonsense 24/7…
SNP members attack the press
Following the shambolic start of the leadership race, it was no surprise that both SNP members and candidates turned their fire on the media for, er, daring to accurately report what the latter say. At the first SNP event, Humza Yousaf said one question about tackling ‘daily misinformation’ from journalists was an ‘excellent opening question’. Kate Forbes meanwhile responded that these were still live issues because ‘journalists want to keep going back to those problems’. Those dastardly journalists, always going on about problems…
Claim of right
It wasn’t just the SNP’s hatred of the media that was on show at that first hustings. Also on display were some of the less reality-based members of the SNP grassroots, including one who asked the three candidates ‘Would you be prepared to invoke our claim of right to self-determination under the international law at the UN on a 50 per cent plus one vote?’
None of the three candidates disavowed the premise of the first question; only Ash Regan, clearly and unequivocally disagreed with the proposal contained in the second. Talk about pandering to your base…
Forbes scrapes the barrel
Of all the incongruous places to hold a press conference, why would you do so behind a barrel? On a trip to an Edinburgh whisky factory, the Finance Secretary answered questions about the campaign while simultaneously looking as though she was trampling grape with her feet. Cue much talk about her being at the bottom of the barrel…
Regan’s ‘voter empowerment mechanism’
Still, at least Forbes’ photo opportunity wasn’t as bad as Ash Regan’s Q&A at FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, which resembled a Bond Villain’s undersea lair. Standing in front of a giant pool shooting up water in a fountain, Regan tried to explain her ‘voter empowerment mechanism’ plan. This claims that any majority for independence supporting parties at a Westminster or Holyrood election can be taken as a trigger for negotiations to start on a second referendum with Downing Street. How exactly is that different to the existing SNP playbook?
Regan refusing to loan the Stone of Scone
In a move to further emphasise her credentials as the ‘Salmondite’ candidate in this race, Ash Regan has backed backed Alex Salmond’s plan for Scotland to refuse to hand over the Stone of Scone for the coronation of King Charles. She wants ministers to try to block the transfer of the historic relic to London if she becomes First Minister as Scotland is its ‘rightful place’ – even though the legislation which enacted its return in the 1990s made clear it ought to be loaned back for future coronations.
Regan and Forbes attack ‘serial attendees’
Amid party mutterings about an establishment stitch-up to favour Humza Yousaf, both Ash Regan and Kate Forbes opened their remarks at last night’s hustings by referencing ‘serial hustings attendees’ in the room. Take the wins where you can guys: at last some people are keen to come because…
Even Sturgeon isn’t watching the debates
Given the ongoing embarrassment of the party hustings, it ought to be no surprise that even Nicola Sturgeon has told STV that she isn’t watching them. Talk about losing the party faithful…
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