FIONA Hyslop, the SNP’s culture secretary, lined up alongside Alistair Darling, the former Labour chancellor, to make the case for Britain staying in the EU during a debate in honour of Charles Kennedy at Glasgow University. They won the day. But it did not go completely without a hitch for the MSP. Her rousing final speech, extolling some of the great aspirations of the EU, ended with the howler: "None of this will be achieved unless we stay in the UK." How Mr Darling must wish he had debated with her last year.
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THE SNP has purged most mentions of property mogul Michelle Thomson from its website, but one artefact survives - a recent advert to be the Edinburgh West MP’s office manager.
The position is described as a chance to "help change our society" (presumably that’s one of her many building societies) and applicants must be "honest and trustworthy (essential)".
Responsibilities include "monitoring the media, keeping the MP briefed and up to date on developments" - whoever got the gig must be finding that aspect of their work a joy.
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THE SNP's range of '56' merchandise was another casualty of Ms Thomson's demise.
The party's online store quickly removed t-shirts, mugs and bags emblazoned with the once proud number of party MPs from sale.
But Nat chiefs would be wise not to send it to the dustbin just yet. Following the conclusion of the Alistair Carmichael's court ordeal, they may yet find the 56 range becomes ripe for a comeback.
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UNSPUN also enjoyed Ms Thomson’s online "Commons Diary", in which she gushed about her arrival and induction at Westminster.
"A few months ago, I was running a small property business," she wrote modestly.
"I am looking forward to using my life experience in a range of business roles to challenge the Government."
And we’re looking forward to you trying it.
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LABOUR shadow cabinet members were given time limits on how long they could speak at their annual party conference in Brighton during the week. But there was no such pressure on new leader Jeremy Corbyn. As he briefly raised the hopes of his audience with another long pause before launching into another long rallying cry at a late night fringe one observer commented under his breath "delegate, delegate, you have to wind it up now".
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IT seems that BBC Scotland were not impressed by Mr Corbyn's big speech on Tuesday. Those tuning in late that night were promised highlights from that day's conference - before being greeted by a black screen.
Viewers were then treated to a still picture of a swan, followed by a generic BBC 2 Scotland logo, before darkness descended once again.
With the highlights out of the way - more than two minutes after the show was introduced - Mr Corbyn finally appeared.
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