Nicola Sturgeon's time is up

[danny la rouge]

I wonder what the secondhand value of that motor home is.

"Parked off road, one elderly owner, very low mileage"

Depends on whether Spymaster ‘s mate has used the chemical toilet, I presume.

 

[danny la rouge]

Well ideally they'd go back to all of the donor's and ask them explicitly if they'd approve of the donations being transferred and if not, return the donations. Hard to do with lots of people but if it was via a crowdfunding website it should all be available.

But that's the run isn't it, do they have the money

If they had any sense* the websites in question will have had some small print that can be interpreted as saying “you are donating to a political party” or words to that effect.

*this is not proven.

 

[andysays]

Depends on whether Spymaster ‘s mate has used the chemical toilet, I presume.

I think I must have missed whatever this is referring to (and I suspect I'm better off remaining in the dark)

 

[danny la rouge]

I think I must have missed whatever this is referring to (and I suspect I'm better off remaining in the dark)

It’s a reference to Bob’s bus. I just happened to read it before returning to this thread.

 

[BusLanes]

If they had any sense* the websites in question will have had some small print that can be interpreted as saying “you are donating to a political party” or words to that effect.

*this is not proven.

Yeah. Guess they won't make that mistake twice

 

[Ĝasper]

this is also basic accounting and budget setting..so if they fuck this up, or are dishonest about it, what else are they fucking up or being dishonest about?

Whose to say they fucked up? Is it really a foregone conclusion? "100k on a campervan for granny" whereas it's in fact a legit campaign bus. Shit sticks though. So have they fucked up, or are they being fucked up, by those who want to return to bog standard two party politics?

 

[Ĝasper]

Do you find that line of argument persuasive? It all seems very odd. The resignation of the auditors and the long silence about that certainly raise questions but may be largely the consequence of ongoing police investigation of complaints which were politically motivated in the first place.

I think people read too much into resignations. Like they're an admission of guilt/wrongdoing. Perhaps the stress of being under a police investigation merits stepping down. And it'd be best to step away from the public eye in that situation... To perhaps return once exonerated.

 

[Ĝasper]

Scotland’s Travails From England (or Scotland’s travails and England’s woes) – Emancipation, Liberation & Self-determination

 

[gosub]

I wonder what the secondhand value of that motor home is.

"Parked off road, one elderly owner, very low mileage"

That sir is liable
It was just resting on her driveway

 

[BusLanes]

Whose to say they fucked up? Is it really a foregone conclusion? "100k on a campervan for granny" whereas it's in fact a legit campaign bus. Shit sticks though. So have they fucked up, or are they being fucked up, by those who want to return to bog standard two party politics?

If they spent 600k for indyref2 campaigning on paying SNP bills, that's the fuck up.

The campervan is a surprise twist.

I don't think this changes too much tho, as the SNP is unlikely to stop being the largest Scottish Party anytime soon, let alone the government. The next election is 2025 for Westminster and 2026 for Holyrood and 2027 for local councils. Till then they have the majority of MPs, MSPs and a plurality of councillors.

So I'm sure they can get their shit together before then

 

[kebabking]

Whose to say they fucked up? Is it really a foregone conclusion? "100k on a campervan for granny" whereas it's in fact a legit campaign bus. Shit sticks though. So have they fucked up, or are they being fucked up, by those who want to return to bog standard two party politics?

It's about optics - if the 'campaign bus' had SNP branding all over it, and was stored in an industrial estate in Blantyre then it looks legit. If it's a nice looking campervan and it's parked on the Chief Exec's mums drive, then it looks dodgy AF.

As ever, if you want to see what something looks like, take it out of its context and put it in another context, and see what your reaction is.

Imagine if a senior Army officer bought it from his Land Warfare Trials and Development budget, and it was parked on his mum's drive ?

Imagine if a Headteacher brought it to 'support school trips' and it was parked on his mum's drive?

Would that be 'ah, it's just muck-raking', or would that be more like 'get tae fuck pal, d'ya think I was fucking born yesterday?'...

 

[Ĝasper]

It's about optics - if the 'campaign bus' had SNP branding all over it, and was stored in an industrial estate in Blantyre then it looks legit. If it's a nice looking campervan and it's parked on the Chief Exec's mums drive, then it looks dodgy AF.

As ever, if you want to see what something looks like, take it out of its context and put it in another context, and see what your reaction is.

Imagine if a senior Army officer bought it from his Land Warfare Trials and Development budget, and it was parked on his mum's drive ?

Imagine if a Headteacher brought it to 'support school trips' and it was parked on his mum's drive?

Would that be 'ah, it's just muck-raking', or would that be more like 'get tae fuck pal, d'ya think I was fucking born yesterday?'...

I don't really buy the parallel considering the Army and Schools are both owned by the state, and have plenty of land in the organisation's name to store the organisation's vehicles.

Also why pay someone to store it on an industrial estate, if you have a free alternative?

I never actually heard about Murrel's arrest until a few days after it happened. It was buried in the news about Trump's court case across the pond.

Well Trump is expected to use his various court cases to his political advantage. The yanks love a good outlaw.

That wouldn't happen in Scotland, but if/when the police don't have a leg to stand on and can't charge anyone, or else charge people but then the fiscal throw it out, or even if it goes to court and they're found not guilty.. Then it could well work to the SNP and/or nationalism's advantage

The police and unionism would have egg on their face. And Sturgeon would be respected for handling it all with dignity.

It may be a long and drawn out process though, during which time the SNP and the indy movement may become damaged due to paranoid infighting.

 

[equationgirl]

I'm sure the following article will not shock anyone on this thread.

SNP still owes money to Peter Murrell, Humza Yousaf confirms

The party's former chief executive gave the SNP a loan of more than £100,000 in June 2021.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Elpenor]

I read somewhere (naturally don’t know where) that the camper van apparently never moved

 

[kebabking]

I don't really buy the parallel considering the Army and Schools are both owned by the state, and have plenty of land in the organisation's name to store the organisation's vehicles.

Also why pay someone to store it on an industrial estate, if you have a free alternative?...

I think that fundamentally ignores the central point - they are all cases where someone is given other people's money to spend in support of the aims of the organisation they are responsible for/to, and they then spend it on something that, at the least, looks like it has nothing whatsoever to do with supporting the aims of the organisation, and a great deal to do with shiny things for their own use.

 

[kebabking]

I read somewhere (naturally don’t know where) that the camper van apparently never moved

I wouldn't be remotely surprised if it didn't.

 

[equationgirl]

I read somewhere (naturally don’t know where) that the camper van apparently never moved

That seems to be the case, it's reported as being delivered to Peter's Ma's hoose from where it never moved. It was just never used as a campaign bus.

 

[danny la rouge]

I read somewhere (naturally don’t know where) that the camper van apparently never moved

Neighbours were quoted as saying that. I’m not remotely surprised. I don’t for a moment think it was for personal use. It was bought for party campaigning but was never needed. The cops clearly think it was bought with money people donated to the referendum appeals.

 

[BusLanes]

I actually think it isn't unusual to park a caravan or the like at a family member 's house because a party doesn't usually have loads of free parking spaces

 

[gosub]

Yes I don't disagree it's small beer to other potential crimes a party of government could commit.

But on the other hand 600k of small donations to fund indyref2 campaigning or preparation should not be used to run the SNP's day to day business.

I suspect if I was an Indy support and I was happy with SNP government performance I probably wouldn't be too fussed as a strong SNP in government is surely better than not. But this is also basic accounting and budget setting..so if they fuck this up, or are dishonest about it, what else are they fucking up or being dishonest about?

Technically it's more..Had to resign over having been dishonest about number of people leaving the party and then had to help the police with their inquires

 

[gosub]

Neighbours were quoted as saying that. I’m not remotely surprised. I don’t for a moment think it was for personal use. It was bought for party campaigning but was never needed. The cops clearly think it was bought with money people donated to the referendum appeals.

The parents time share in Portugal that they use does tend towards not for personal use... of course they don't holiday in Scotland they fuck off to Portugal instead

 

[danny la rouge]

New treasurer appointed:

SNP appoint MP Stuart McDonald as new treasurer after Beattie resignation SNP appoint MP Stuart McDonald as new treasurer after Beattie resignation

 

[equationgirl]

New treasurer appointed:

SNP appoint MP Stuart McDonald as new treasurer after Beattie resignation SNP appoint MP Stuart McDonald as new treasurer after Beattie resignation

Bit of a poisoned chalice for Stuart, less than three months to get the accounts filed.

 

[BusLanes]

Well someone has to do it!

Times report that "SNP insider's" think they'll need to get auditors from outside Scotland as none of the Scottish forms want to do it

 

[danny la rouge]

Well someone has to do it!

Times report that "SNP insider's" think they'll need to get auditors from outside Scotland as none of the Scottish forms want to do it

Not surprising. First, it’s a poisoned chalice. But secondly, accountancy firm partners are exactly the sort of person who would be unionists.

 

[Ĝasper]

Not to be confused with Stewart Mcdonald MP..

 

[danny la rouge]

Not to be confused with Stewart Mcdonald MP..

I beg to differ.

 

[BusLanes]

I hear Stringer Bell was advising the Hq operation

 

[gosub]

Not surprising. First, it’s a poisoned chalice. But secondly, accountancy firm partners are exactly the sort of person who would be unionists.

I'll bite. How the fuck do you work that out?

 

[danny la rouge]

I'll bite. How the fuck do you work that out?

Observation.