A FEW SHORT MONTHS AGO.

Posted byiainlawson27Posted inUncategorizedTags:

CHRIS HANLON….A GOOD GUY!

Leading up to the November SNP CONFERENCE a group of members organised as best they could an attempt to wrest the Party back from the small group of minority zealots who had seized control of the NEC and were wreaking havoc with reckless policies that were splitting the Party asunder. They were successful but since their electoral success they have been sidelined as they saw their resolutions and attempts at change rejected by the Chair with the full support of the Party Leader.

I originally printed below Chris’s full communication which laid out his experiences since winning his post and how he, and all the other reformers who won election had tried to implement the mandates Conference delegates had given them to wrest the Party back from the control of the minority zealots who were pursuing an agenda alien to the traditional broad church policy approach of the past. 

Chris contacted me this morning to express his preference that I do not use the actual entire text of his letter but confirmed it’s accuracy and granted me his permission to quote from it or summarise as I wish. I have therefore complied with his wishes and what follows is a summary of his actual communication.

His letter recounted the difficulties they had experienced despite having won the majority of Conference elected posts it wasn’t sufficient to have control as they were faced with a host of appointed delegates from affiliates who operated an agenda  against those who had been elected by the membership.

Of particular concern were moves to once again to use the vetting procedures to exclude those not sufficiently enrolled into the minority faith as had happened during the selections for the Holyrood May 6th elections, this time for the Local Elections next year. 

He explained the reformers had tried to be constructive and to offer an easy path to reunite the Party but their attempts were totally rejected with the cabal operating independently of NEC control aided by the full time staff of the Party under the direction of the Chief Executive. These actions included being allocated resources to follow paths in direct conflict with NEC, against their wishes and where no approval of such allocation of resources had been agreed.

He explained that unlike others he held no public elected posts and therefore could not be threatened or bullied into submission as he did not rely on any posts to provide him with income or finance his home and was therefore able to follow his conscience.

He states it is unclear as yet whether sufficient good people remain to recover the situation and doubts the now severely depleted committees (because of people leaving and joining Alba) have the will to try and defend members interests but he undertakes to stay and try to do his job which is to create policy for any Referendum campaign. He highlights his difficulty as it is currently being done by Ministers, paid advisors and staff with no input from his policy committee or the ordinary membership.

My Comments

I wish Chris every success but I think without a change of Leader and Chief Executive it won’t be long before we will be welcoming Chris and many thousands of other SNP members to the Alba Party, a party dedicated to operating on a broad church basis where all supporters of Independence are welcome.

That this has happened to the SNP, a Party famed until the last few years for its exemplary democratic traditions is a clear warning of the dangers of allowing a cult mentality to develop.

I hope and expect the Alba Party develops to build strong democratic principles where members always retain control over the direction of the Party and have a huge say in its Policy Development. The Party has already attracted many talented and experienced people, we have nothing to fear in ensuring everyone has a fair say on how the Party develops in the future. A wise Party uses all the talents. I am sure Alba will.

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BEAT THE CENSORS

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GETTING READY FOR THE COUNT FOR THE BOTH VOTES SNP BALLOTS.

24 thoughts on “A FEW SHORT MONTHS AGO.”

    1. Being an EX SNP member I wish you all the best and great success BUT the Murrell dynasty are in control and until both of them are binned and a few people end up in jail the SNP is not fit for purpose. Corrupt to the core and with a spinless lot of MSP’s who are really not interested in Scotland or Independence only their cushy career and nice pension.

      Like I said I wish you well BUT until you have an army behind you all motivated to get the SNP back on track I cannot see how you can be effective against what looks like a well constructed Stalinist government.

      Sheesh they even have the Lord Advocate on board and the head of the Civil Service in Scotland.

      That operation and organisation will take some dismantling, and sadly we need to vote SNP 1 (this time) to help ALBA MAX their MSP’s

      What we have effectively is a one-party totalitarian state with even the police complicit. Thank God ALBA are here and IF we can have all 32 ALBA MSP’s in the Scottish Parliament then we may have a real chance of sorting this mess out.

      A BIG ASK but so is what you are going to attempt to do. I truly wish you well.

      Liked by 12 people

      1. ‘Like I said I wish you well BUT until you have an army behind you all motivated to get the SNP back on track I cannot see how you can be effective against what looks like a well constructed Stalinist government.’

        As a nonSNP person, who had considered joining to be of assistance on removing the blight from the Party, would you consider that exSNP members rejoin and those, like me who wish the real SNP to be reinstated, also join?

        Like

  3. Haha, lol, I like the bin picture at the end.

    Good to hear that there is still some folk able to stomach and try and retake, wrest control back of the party. It does truly look like the SNP has been wholly hijacked by a narrow interest faction and it really does not represent the interests of the majority – you can’t have this as a main vehicle for Indy, it won’t work. I think you are right Iain, we will see most transferring to Alba and even though I wish it was otherwise, we might need to go through another Holyrood election – if we do, I think the topography will be significantly changed with Alba taking on all the constituency seats and many list seats, if they don’t already have them by then,,, hmm, maybe there will be significant moves towards Indy before then,,,

    Liked by 10 people

  4. Many good people remain in the SNP.

    However it is pointless in my view to fight on! The clique and cult have rigid control. No mechanism exists to challenge the leadership. Democracy has been removed from the Party process.

    The control of the Party is under the vice like control of HQ. They forced people to leave in order to tighten that control.

    I wish you well Chris but those of us who tried hard to fight the destruction of internal democracy had to give in and leave. She sits in her bunker planning her victory with imaginary armies funded by creative accounting. She will send in her Wokerati division to turn the tide in her favour.The sacrifices of Independence, Women’s Rights and our children’s health a small price to pay in order to keep her secrets secret.

    I hope you prove me wrong Chris. I will happily admit that you were right and I was wrong if you do.

    Meanwhile I will put my coat on an ALBA seat for you to keep a place, just in case.

    Liked by 15 people

    1. Julia I have responded to you on previous posts and pointed out what I felt at the time was an uncritical support of Sturgeon and her machinations . I have never been or wish to be a member of any political party but I can feel the hurt and disappointment in yours and other former SNP members words . It is unbelievable that a group of self interested deviants have managed through infiltration and manipulation of people’s dreams and desires to capture and destroy what was considered to be the prime party of independence.

      What makes it even worse is this infiltration and corruption of the party has been going on if not under the direction of Sturgeon but surely with her complicity , it obviously has been a godsend that the senior hierarchy have the same deviant tendencies as their twittler acolytes as it would have been impossible to gain the support and popularity if they formed their own political party , so they just HIJACKED and corrupted a ready made one

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Forget the news today, it’s a disaster, no not coronavirus deaths, no not famine and wars, no not even climate change, or the condition of a certain Russian prisoner on hunger strike. No something much worse, seven of the top football teams in the UK are off to join a super-league in, wait for it, Europe, oh no, help ma boab, murder polic’.
    But not to worry Boris is on the case and he vows to stop these upstarts in their tracts, even if it means legislation to stop them. Now I don’t no about you but I thought football clubs were businesses run by powerful men and nothing to do with governments, companies will always do what is best for their shareholders and not what is best for the government, and if Europe is a bigger richer pond to swim in than The UK, then that is where they will go. Companies leaving the UK in their droves for Europe since Brexit sort of confirms that.
    Just a thought – if Boris is so upset about seven football clubs leaving the UK that he is willing to change the law in order to stop them, how far Does he go to stop Scotland from leaving the UK? Exactly, Scotland needs ALBA –

    Now, where did great-grandpa put that old rifle of his?

    Liked by 5 people

  6. The SNP is in a bad way and needs to be sorted- after the 6th May- because Scotland needs it to do well. I will do whatever I can to help Chris and everyone else to sort out the mess. For the moment , I am leafleting every day for SNP 1 ALBA 2 . I post about Tory Sleaze, the Power Grab and the dangers to Holyrood – as well as the positive future ahead with independence.
    WHY on earth Iain are you not doing the same on this blog? Why are you focused on SNPBAD?? We are supposed to be asking people to vote for SNP1 ALBA 2.
    Let’s hear from this blog about the liars and corruption at Westminster and what the two unionjackery buildings in Glasgow and Edinburgh threaten us with- if we don’t vote SNP! ALBA2.
    Today the ALBA leaflets and the SNP leaflets will be going through letterboxes in Ross-shire- together- from the same bag.
    If only the leaders would do the same.
    For Scotland’s sake!!!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I take the view that we need to open the eyes of SNP members to the lies they are being told my their discredited leadership. Abandoning both votes SNP is the objective I am after. That is crucial before the 6th May. That will not happen if we give the cabal a free ride until polling day. More leave the SNP every day and join Alba. That is what I am trying to encourage.

      Liked by 10 people

      2. So true a big vote for the SNP is needed in the constituency (this TIME)

        BUT the more people who vote SNP the more they think they are safe and have the support of the electorate, never mind that almost every AMS/List vote for the SNP is wasted…….

        BUT NS will be happy to count every one and tell us how much support she has for their crazy policies.

        They are really comfortable siting on their bums being happy devolutionists running Scotland like it is their own fiefdom, while milking the system for their own financial benefit, while pretending that now is not the time to move towards an Independent Scotland.

        BUT SOON voters SOON!!!!

        Liked by 4 people

  7. My attitude is the SNP is a lost cause while Sturgeon is leader although within the SNP they have committed members and I question some of the supporters, I mean how can you not get it in your head SNP both votes is suicide for our goal of Independence and you’ve got to question the leadership of a party advocating that the supporters do it, its counter productive to the Majority the SNP so desperately need. The Alba Party already has two MP, even if we say the Alba Party get no MSP then there presence is enough to start pushing why the SNP and the green agenda isn’t focused on a referendum during the next 5yrs. These are facts, Scotland is entitled to have a referendum and the Greens and SNP have stated they will deliver it during the next 5yrs and also Sturgeon has stated it’ll be legal and binding on the UK government because she been stating Boris won’t refuse, when he will. Sturgeon’s dilemma is, while she is denying the Alba Party existence because she has a vendetta against Mr Salmond in spite of Sturgeon’s famous quote “Independence isn’t about one person” there will be a quite large majority who have stood by Sturgeon, surely they will then start questioning her commitment to Independence, if it isn’t achieved or delivered in the next 5yrs. This is where the Alba Party has to stay focused and play the long game, it will only be to Scotland’s benefit in the long run, I fell sure. Do I think the greens or the SNP want a referendum not at all, not during this parliament or the next, they are happy with the status quo, and why wouldn’t Sturgeon and her high earners be content with being part of the UK and keep telling us (the Yes Movement) a referendum is coming, when she know its not. The only way Sturgeon can prove me wrong is, on first day of the new parliament contact the PM to start discussions with the UK government granting that Gold Standard, Sturgeon has talk about so much.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. We need SNP to win constituencies. Like I said, I am putting ALBA and SNP leaflets through letterboxes together. If we concentrate on the positives about independence- and on the nightmare of unionjackery coming at us- voters can surely be trusted to their best for Scotland.

      Liked by 3 people

      2. I strongly agree that the positive case for being an independent country needs to be balanced with information about what lies ahead if we stay in the union. Those who are content with devolution must be made to realise that devolution in its present form will no longer exist once the Tories put their plans into action. The electorate cannot vote for the status quo. They have to choose whether they want to live in an independent Scotland or in North Britain.

        Liked by 5 people

  8. Good stuff Chris Hanson trying to change the party from within. Many have tried, and all have thus far failed.

    Changing the constitution on a Saturday morning in a rigged NEC is one thing. But removing, censoring, cutting off email communication is another. In both North Ayrshire and Dumbarton constituencies branch and constituency secretaries had their email communication with members during the candidate selection process whilst in Dumbarton the HQ cancelled at the very moment, ergo the night before, the constituency’s schedule£ hustings to replace it with one chaired not by the constituency chairman, but by the MSP for the adjacent constituency Mike Russell.

    And of course when Russel and his woke backers ran the show hustings, many many members were denied access because the format had been deliberately set to accommodate around 90 attendees. ( plus candidates, chairman and HQ technical support )

    And of course the lead up to the Dumbarton hustings were further compromised by the malign vetting and rejection of a widely respected candidate who was, surprise surprise, not the apple of one of the vetting committee’s panel, and an individual now sitting at the top of the SNP list as a Hollyrood candidate. Tells you all when a candidate for Hollyrood can vote against another candidate. Conflict of interest, rigged process, I’ll Leave that to readers to decide.

    But for the erstwhile Chris Hanlon I am sure the many us will wish him very well. But one thing to remember Chris, and something I think NEC members need to be wary of, is the legal concept of joint and several liability. The SNP is in a very bad way financially. Were it to go bust, who would the creditors go after as an unincorporated association. Peter Murrell, Sue Ruddick, the National Treasurer, the finance and audit committee, and or the members of the party ‘ management committee ‘ the NEC.

    Murrell May have plenty of personal assets to lay on the line, but do others. Something as I say to check out Chris and be very wary of.

    Liked by 8 people

  9. I have to say I admire Chris’s tenacity. He is prepared to stay and fight the wokerati from within. One of my last acts as an SNP member was to cast my vote forPolicy Development Convener in his favour. I spent the last approximately two years of my membership arguing with myself that the party couldn’t be fixed from the outside. The rallying of the membership to oust the worst wokerati offenders gave me hope, but it was soon dashed by the probably illegal actions of the NEC to ‘fix’ the selection of list candidates. Even tapping out that last sentence on my iPad makes me shake my head in disbelief. This is what the once über democratic SNP has been reduced to.
    I’ve heard you speak at conference Chris on several occasions. You struck me as a man who gave careful thought to his ideas and beliefs. I wish you well, but if ever you feel overwhelmed and outnumbered, please make the move to Alba. I’m sure you’ll find a comfortable home here, as many others, myself amongst them, have already.

    Liked by 10 people

  10. Good luck Chris, and watch your back.

    One thing is certain, this internal destruction of the party – is a well practised operation now, first with Labour, and now (more obviously) with New SNP.

    Keep a diary, those changes, the wee clues along the way – that were dismissed or given the benefit of the doubt, policy alterations, structural overhauls for no apparant reason,unsuitable staff placements – a light needs shown on them, because they are going to do (or attempt to do) the same to Alba.

    And I’d love to tell you that lightining won’t strike twice, but it already has, and many of the New SNP members, had already decanted from New Labour, frequently stating ‘I never left labour, Labour left me’.

    Any political party, needs to be open to new members – that is its strength, and its weakness.

    One thing Alba can do just now is to anticipate this and install certain safety measures, say for example a big issue is coming up and the Alba leader wants to do plan A, however a significan chunk of membership want plan B – and it is going to be voted on by the membership to decide….

    The danger of a huge influx, (not necessarily genuine supporters of A or B) is great, only joining at the last minute in order to influence that policy.

    How about a rule that new members vote counts as a 1/2 vote for the first year, and a full vote thereafter, and in times such as the one mentioned, no discounts provided for membership in the run up to an internal vote such as that.

    Likewise a constitution that prevents them pulling an Angus Robertson policy change whereby numerous special issue groups get privileged positions on the NEC and cannot be voted off.

    Liked by 9 people

    1. I’m glad to read your comment, it made me realise that I’m not the only one who is worried about the wokerati jumping ship yet again. I’m hoping that when we have our first conference that we take the necessary steps to ensure that doesn’t happen.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. This is something that concerns me and I am sure many other Alba members. How to prevent a similar situation occurring in Alba. I don’t think the wokerati will give up easily and we now know they are very capable of deception and gerrymandering. Another commenter said they were parasites and that is a very accurate description of them. They would be incapable of forming a party of their own so they hijacked a well established, well thought of party to fulfill their needs. Let’s hope they will go elsewhere and disrupt one of the other parties.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. If there is one key lesson from the past few years, Scotland needs a strong ‘SNP’ as well as an ‘Alba’ and maybe a handful of other parties as well. Those parties may be called AFI or ISP or something entirely different in the future but we need more than one flavour of party in favour of the Scottish people’s sovereignty to keep all the parties honest (or as honest as we can hope any political party to be).

    Personally, my journey with the SNP is over (as things stands, anyway) but right now we need good people like Chris Hanlon, Joanna Cherry & Joan McAlpine (& many others) to remain in the party to give us all a future. If all the good people migrate to Alba & the SNP fades to the size & status of the LibDems or Greens we run the risk of being right back where we were before Alba came on the scene.

    And the big problem I’ve not seen mentioned yet is: what is Alba doing to ensure that the wokerati don’t jump ship from the SNP to the new party? After all, not that long ago those sorts would all have been Labour Party members…

    Liked by 6 people

  12. I appreciate Chris’s commitment, to stay on board. But echo the financial liability warnings given above.

    While he is right to give the NEC an opportunity to adhere to democracy, he would be well advised to have a plan B. The obvious one, with the constitution being routinely flouted, is a direct challenge to the legitimacy of those in charge: A legal claim that they have departed from the founding principles and constitution and no longer form a legitimate executive body. Probably accompanied by a request for temporary de-registration by the electoral commission, until that is resolved. (FC vs UFC, 1900, Court of Session, gives a precedent for this process.)

    Whatever route he takes, contemporaneous, detailed record keeping is crucial.

    As regards the potential of ‘SNP bad’ articles to suppress the SNP 1 vote, is there. Ideally it would be best if this article were shared to the ‘Both votes SNP’ type Facebook pages, rather than more widely. (Or even Chris’s communication, extracted from it, in an attempt to reach those it was addressed to?) However I have left most of those pages so I can’t help much there.

    I agree that a positive campaign strategy has to be urgently happening! We only have a fortnight to be getting a demotivated electorate out to vote AT ALL.

    Liked by 2 people

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