WITH this the first local election in which 16 and 17 year olds had the vote, the Scottish Young Greens launched their own campaign document last week. Pitched at the thoughtful adolescent, it was full of the party’s usual high moral tone. Alas, the name of the PDF version seemed to slip through unchecked: the decidedly patronising “Yoof Manifesto”.
EVEN amid two elections, it’s not all work for Scottish Labour press officers. Self-styled “Uber-Blairite” Andrew Liddle couldn’t let the 20th anniversary of Tony’s 1997 win go unmarked last week. So after karaoke (“Things can only get better” on repeat), and a stop at a fabled late-night piano bar, he and his mates kept going till 630am. Four hours later he was chaperoning Alistair Darling in Edinburgh South. Surely a prize for that man’s stamina?
OR perhaps not. Unwisely, Andy had donned a huge overcoat on what proved a remarkably hot day, then had to stand squinting in the sun as “boulangerie bouncer”, guarding the French bakery Mr Darling was visiting. His phone’s ringtone, Things Can Only Get Better naturally, also served as a shrill reminder of the night before. “Too much champagne,” he was heard groaning.
STILL, Mr Darling was in fine form, merrily stabbing Jeremy Corbyn in the back. The ex-Chancellor has also been cheered by news of Tory Advocate General Lord Keen being fined £1000 for having an unsecured shotgun at home. In 2009, the Faculty of Advocates launched an ethics probe into Mr Darling over his MP's expenses, prompting him to quit as a member. Mr Keen was Dean of Faculty at the time. Our mole tells us Mr Darling has definitely, perhaps repeatedly, read of his fate with a wry smile.
CHRISTINE Jardine, the serial LibDem candidate finally in with a shot in Edinburgh West, was previously a journalism teacher. Though generally positive about her students, she took exception to one of the Class of ‘98 at Strathclyde Uni. He’d never cut it, she sniffed. Mark Daly later won a Bafta for exposing racism in the police and is now a top reporter at the BBC. Ms Jardine’s killer instincts also led her to join the LibDems. Oh dear.
TALKING of Edinburgh West, the SNP have picked Toni Giugliano, who lost the equivalent Holyrood seat last year, to take another crack at local voters. But what if they ask about their last SNP MP, the now unmentionable Michelle Thomson? Asked this by the press last week, he clicked into clockwork mode: “I am Toni Giugliano. I am the candidate. I am Toni Giugliano,” he repeated. Might need a bit of polish, that strategy.
NICOLA Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson are masters of Twitter, but not all MSPs are so adept. Nat Gil Paterson last week spotted a fellow user moaning about Theresa May visiting her village without speaking to the locals. Eager to share this outrage, Mr Paterson retweeted the message. In his haste he failed to spot the #votelabour hashtag at the end.
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