Creative counting
MARCH-mad Yessers All Under One Banner have been bigging up their first outing of the season. "We’re hoping to [get] over 100,000 people,” gushed one organiser about their May 4 parade in Glasgow. That doesn’t seem to tally with what they told the city council. The official list of future processions states: “Estimated number of participants 20,000”. Fancy that.
Graphic novelty
TALKING of dodgy numbers, Unspun was struck by Tory posters in Thursday’s Leith Walk by-election in Edinburgh. These featured a bar chart suggesting the party could win as it came first at the last election on 28%. Well, sort of. That was the citywide figure in 2017. In Leith Walk the Tories came fourth on 14%. On Thursday, they came fourth on 11%. Put that on your next bar chart, why don’t you.
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Recycling project
AMONG those campaigning for the SNP in the ward was former MP Angus Robertson, who is eyeing Ruth Davidson’s Edinburgh Central seat for the 2021 Holyrood election. His interest is seen by some as Nicola Sturgeon teeing up her old pal as her successor. Those who fancy the FM's job are unimpressed, not least with the optics of parachuting in a Westminster loser to save the day at Holyrood. Miaow.
Cherry blossoms
OTHERS think the Nat to watch is Edinburgh MP Joanna Cherry QC, who is also tilting at Ms Davidson’s constituency, where she is being punted by ex-MSP Marco Biagi. With her forensic questioning over Brexit, Ms Cherry is on a roll at Westminster right now. So why go to Holyrood? “Ah,” says our mole, “because the leader of the party has to be an MSP.” Gulp.
Volume control
GREEN MSP Andy Wightman set a hare running in 2017 when he told Holyrood some Edinburgh residents endured “very audible sex parties” from short-term lets next door. An intrepid citizen has now used FoI to ask the city council how many complaints it had about “loud sex noises” from the neighbours. An arid reply this week said the request fell into the category of “manifestly unreasonable” and the council was not obliged to respond. Moreover, it would take officials 750 hours to comb the data. Which would be an indoor marathon too far.
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Money man
THE prospect of a general election is making party beancounters jumpy. The Tories are skint and Labour’s not much better off. As for the SNP? Donations ain’t what they used to be, Unspun hears. Apart from membership fees, the Nats gets most of their cash from taxpayers - via Westminster short money - bequests, and the odd small business. Remarkably, their biggest living donor last year was Glasgow MSP John Mason, on the basis of just £2160.
Little Voice
FINALLY, more news from the SNP’s ever-feuding North Lanarkshire outfit. After the party’s top councillor was ousted by his deputy, there has been a purge of the old guard, many of whom were loyal to Coatbridge MSP Fulton MacGregor. So farewell councillors Carragher, Stocks, Stubbs and Larson, all of whom were axed as permanent members of the powerful Policy and Strategy Committee. Mr MacGregor boasted at the 2016 Holyrood election he would be “strong voice”. Alas, not strong enough to save his cronies.
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