FRESH news on Buttongate, the great Holyrood flap about Kezia Dugdale failing to vote on Thursday and letting the SNP avoid defeat on council tax reform by a margin of one. MSPs usually avert such bungles by checking each other’s button pressing. The Scottish Labour leader was paired with her predecessor Iain Gray. We hear that when the result came in, a relieved Mr Gray told Kezia: “Well thank God it wasn’t one of us!” Not exactly bright as a... button.
BUTTONGATE also featured in Nicola Sturgeon's speech to the Journalists’ Charity lunch in Glasgow yesterday, as she predicted Jeremy Corbyn's re-election would lead to multiple splits: “A New New Labour party led by Chuka Umunna, a Provisional Labour Party led by John McDonnell, and of course a Scottish Labour Party led by the first of their MSPs who successfully manages to press the voting button in the Holyrood chamber.” On a roll, she added: “When Jeremy said nobody should be prepared to press the button, I think Kez may have got the wrong end of the stick.”
MIXED blessings later in the raffle for the FM's chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, who won a bottle of whisky. But the brand? "North British Distillery." Oops. For making sours, no doubt. Better luck for corporate lobbyist Andrew Wilson of Charlotte Street Partners who, despite sporting a pair of horrifying red corduroys, was singled out for a kiss from the FM as she left the event.
BAD week for hustings-phobic SNP MSP Fulton ‘No Show’ MacGregor. On Thursday, Labour won his old council seat in Coatbridge after fighting a by-election on the issue of hospital cuts. No Show, it should be noted, is the ministerial aide covering health. Infuriating colleagues, he also turned up at the count without wearing an SNP rosette, tie, or even a badge, he hear. “He’s gone from No Show to No Markings,” mutters our mole.
A DOG charity set up a fake photo booth in the Holyrood lobby this week, inviting MSPs to pose next to doggy-styled speech bubbles, including one about tail-docking. Not all MSPs were impressed, however. One landed Tory vigorously complained, saying they had three working dogs whose tails had been docked (legally in England) and a jolly sensible thing it was too. Shortly afterwards the offending speech bubble was removed. Or docked, if you will.
THE LibDem conference in Brighton produced a rich crop of clangers, Unspun is pleased to report. Such as former Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael ruminating on what “Brexit means Brexit” actually means. The answer, he earnestly announced, was: “Brexit means breakfast.” This may have been unfathomably profound. However going by his physique, it seems more likely that everything looks like breakfast to Mr Carmichael.
UK leader Tim Farron was on equally fine form as he ignored the basic rules of politics. Such as, Don't hand your opponent a soundbite that can come back to haunt you. Hence his keynote speech included the accurate, if unfortunate, declaration: "I'm a great loser." Oh dear.
SNP chief whip Joe FitzPatrick had a grim day at the Standards Committee as he was quizzed about ministerial aides. Floundering, the party’s disciplinarian cited John Finnie as a fine example of the system working. A bizarre choice, Unspun feels. Mr Finnie got so sick of life in the SNP he is now an MSP for the Greens.
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