Equal Opportunities to Gossip

In a perverse way I quite enjoyed statistics at university and just as well as every psychology paper required them. Perhaps that’s why my WordPress stats for this blog are already causing me some concern. It’s early days but it looks suspiciously like my Murdo Fraser and Alex Salmond post switched people off. There’s obviously no statistical significance, yet I’m thinking I should get back to talking about Neil Lennon and Tommy Sheridan (anyone for Jaffa Cakes?).

This Sheridan blog is entirely unremarkable until the comments section where some of the main participants from the Sheridan shambles try to shamble their way out of it, only to be unceremoniously tripped and taken down, presumably by former comrades. I particularly enjoyed the links provided, especially this pamphlet from Philip Stott responding to Alan McCombes book ‘Downfall – The Tommy Sheridan Story’ as I hadn’t come across it before. Actually on second thoughts I’ll retract “unceremoniously” as Stott emerges as the main critic of the SSP collaborators and he uses due ceremony, although if you’re not a fan of modern Militant Labour history it’s easy enough to skip those sections.

My own comment appears: 

Joe says:

September 9, 2011 at 11:08 am

I remember a trade union leader embroiled in a sex scandal apologising to the executive committee and every delegate, many of whom had discreetly discussed the issue beforehand, responded by saying someone’s private life is exactly that, private, and of absolutely no concern to anyone in the union or the union itself. The minutes simply stated that a unanimous vote of confidence had taken place. To the best of my knowledge no delegate ever discussed the matter in public and certainly not with the press. Why couldn’t the SSP have done the same?

It’s a true story. I accept the trade union leader in question was nowhere near as high-profile as Tommy Sheridan. Still, the tactic of keeping someone’s sex life out of their political career is good and it would’ve been a much more effective response from the SSP.

 

 

I’m not saying all Sheridan’s problems would’ve disappeared. As the leader of Scotland’s anti-Poll Tax campaign and, as a result, a contributor to Thatcher’s downfall, the News of the World would’ve continued to hound him. However, can you imagine SSP strategist Alan McCombes handing over the SSP executive minutes only for the police to find the following:

 

SSP SPECIAL EXECUTIVE COMITTEE MINUTES 9TH NOVEMBER 2004

The meeting AGREED that someone’s private life is private and refused to discuss allegations of a private and personal nature. ACTION: all SSP members will be invited to do likewise. 

A vote of confidence returned a UNANIMOUS message of support and it was AGREED the SSP will not be distracted from our political goals by any further discussion, comment nor any newspaper headline.

What’s the worst that would’ve happened to the SSP? The News of the World say SSP SUPPORT SPANKING SWINGER or knowing the newspaper perhaps they’d go a bit further:

 

SIX OF THE BEST FOR SHERIDAN

As depraved devil-worshipping socialists cavorted in a drink and drug-fuelled orgy leader Tommy Sheridan, a well-known swinger and regular at Cupid’s sex club, was bent over and spanked by kinky comrades, but amazingly he’ll keep his job…

Who cares about this stuff and how many left-leaning voters wouldn’t have applauded the SSP for standing up against tabloid mudslinging? If anything a strong and defiant stand against the gutter press, and the News of the World in particular, would’ve gained the SSP votes. I can’t understand why Alan McCombes, who calls himself a strategist, thought getting into the gutter alongside the gutter press to be a good strategy. It defies all logic.