And another thing…

AGAIN, I have to apologise for the lack of blogging today – on canvassing duties in Shettleston again. But as before, I will try to approve comments throughout the day.

PRIVATE polling by the SNP puts them just four points behind Labour in Glasgow East, according to The Sunday Times.

Well, of course it does – it always does. Four points is the margin the SNP always invent on the last weekend of every by-election they’ve ever fought – still behind but just within striking distance. It’s a traditional part of Scottish by-elections. Somewhere in SNP headquarters there’s a news release template which reads “SNP four points behind Labour in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (insert name of constituency)”

It’s also a tradition that is traditionally ignored by the media, but The Times obviously doesn’t care much about its journalistic credibility these days.

I hope Labour will prevail on Thursday, and if we do, it will be a huge disappointment for most of the Scottish media, some of whom are genuinely sympathetic to separatism, but most of whom would simply regard a Labour victory as a bit dull.

KENNY MacAskill really ought to know better. His party has had to issue a humiliating apology after putting the justice minister and two Central Scotland Police officers on one of their leaflets in the Glasgow East campaign. Electoral rules explicitly forbid the use of officers on party election literature if they can be identified.

Now, you would have thought that the SNP justice minister, who is also a lawyer, would have known that, wouldn’t you?

An SNP spokeswoman said the party had issued an apology to the officers involved through the Scottish Police Federation and said that the leaflets had now been withdrawn. Maybe the much-heralded 1000* SNP activists expected to take part in the campaign today can be put on shredding duties.

Of course, MacAskill has form on using the police for political ends.

* That’s the SNP calculation. So about a dozen in real money

VENUES in Glasgow’s East End are battling it out for the privilege of being next in line to chuck Nicola Sturgeon off their premises.

Following her eviction by a security guard from a shopping centre two days ago, Nicola – known as “Ray of Sunshine” to her friend – has been in demand from shopkeepers, landlords and homeless persons, all vying to beat the record for how long it takes between Nicola dismissing her host with a haughty wave of her hand to landing on her backside on the pavement outside.

BBC Scotland are expected to film the next eviction. But not broadcast it.

SMILIN’ Nicola Sturgeon is getting all precious over recent coverage in the blogosphere of her inelegant exit from a shopping centre in Glasgow East. She was in the middle of an interview with the BBC when she was reminded by a member of staff at the centre that she didn’t have permission to film there. She immediately waved away the member of staff with a high-handed (literally) “I’m speaking!”

Security guards in Glasgow East know how to handle this sort of arrogance, and Ms Sturgeon was marched forthwith from the centre.

After the heroic blogger Kezia Dugdale broke the news this morning, Sturgeon emailed her personally demanding that she withdraw the post. She didn’t deny the truth of the story (well, she couldn’t – it was true), just demanded it be removed. Strange.

What’s even stranger is that the BBC, who were conducting the interview and who had the whole thing recorded, have refused to use it. Presumably it will be a centrepiece of BBC Scotland’s Christmas party, but isn’t there a public interest in seeing how an SNP “cabinet” minister behaves towards working class people trying to do their jobs?

Why on earth are the BBC keeping this under wraps? Something smells.

Kezia Dugdale has a very intriguing snippet about an SNP “cabinet” minister being kicked out of a Glasgow East shopping centre for being a nuisance.

More interesting is her allegation that BBC Scotland filmed the whole thing but are refusing to broadcast it. Surely that can’t possibly be true? There’s no way that BBC Scottish National Party Scotland would ever conspire in such an un-transparent way on behalf of one of the political parties, is there? Is there…?

UPDATE at 2.05pm: Apparently it was Nicola Sturgeon. Still haven’t been able to confirm whether the BBC caught it on film, but if they did and have decided not to use it, I’m guessing that judgment would apply to any other party facing an embarrassing incident. Yes?

* allegedly

ONE thing that keeps coming up on the doorsteps in Glasgow East is how much people think of Margaret Curran, who has been a brilliant MSP for Ballieston for nine years.

But hey, enough of my yakkin’… whadda ya say? Let’s boogie…*

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=BAJ7pLKr5VA]

*Name that movie

NO BLOGGING today – I’ll be pounding the streets of Glasgow East. I will still be able to check and approve comments on my PDA, though, so keep them coming. And mind your language, please.