SOME Labour MSPs breathed a sigh of relief after finding themselves at the top of party lists last weekend. Those not so fancied by members are facing an desperate struggle to defy odds and opinion polls by beating the SNP in constituencies to cling on at Holyrood.
Guess which camp Paul Martin falls into? In recent days the son of ex-Speaker of the House Michael Martin has submitted no fewer than 50 written parliamentary questions - which cost the taxpayer an estimated £100 a pop to answer - on the issue of Lightburn Hospital which in his Glasgow Provan backyard.
We're sure this recent focus on constituency issues, which also included issuing a press release calling for an urgent Holyrood debate about the under-threat hospital, is completely unrelated to his embarrassing ranking of ninth on Labour's Glasgow list rankings.
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PERHAPS it is a sign of the times or a glimpse into the future but the Finance Secretary’s conference call with Scotland’s council chief executives didn’t quite go according to plan.
With 32 local authorities and their bosses all eager to hear from John Swinney you have to wonder why there were only 20 lines available for them to call in to.
Another example of cut backs or part of preparations for a future reduction in the number of councils?
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THE next few months will be busy for former Labour leader Johann Lamont with the Holyrood election looming.
She will be out campaigning hard on the streets of Pollok, organising her troops and knocking tirelessly on doors as she attempts to fend off the challenge from SNP minister Humza Yousaf.
If that was not daunting enough, she now has an evening listening to Peter Andre to prepare for next month after winning two tickets in the raffle at the Evening Times Scotswoman Of The Year award final.
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A CALL from one William Wallace, 75, to Alex Salmond’s LBC radio phone-in to challenge the former First Minister to a fight raised lots of questions.
One of the least noticed was whether it could be the same William Wallace, 75, the Lib Dem peer otherwise known as Lord Wallace of Saltaire?
Unspun's spies assure us that Lord Wallace was spotted at exactly the same time at the LibDem’s EU campaign launch at a trendy table tennis bar in London.
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