Re: POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK

**lily** Tue May 26, 2015 9:24 pm

Its absolutely disgraceful.

**Lamplighter** Tue May 26, 2015 9:25 pm

McArthur backs Westminster colleague

Tuesday, May 26, 2015, at 5:33pm

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur has spoken for the first time since Friday’s news that Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael had admitted responsibility for the leak of a Scottish Office memo. In a statement, issued this afternoon, Mr McArthur said: “I have known Alistair for more than a decade, and had the good fortune ..

More in link below. LL

http://www.orcadian.co.uk/

**bb1** Tue May 26, 2015 9:32 pm

Thanks, LL - I suspect that backing Carmichael right now may turn out to be a very bad move; they just don't seem to be grasping the anger that is building?

I am still astounded that Malcolm Bruce came out with that; no wonder the media are crucifying the LibDems just now.

It's one thing to make vague, but high-sounding, promises to the electorate, it's another to bare-faced lie as Carmichael did.

**bb1** Wed May 27, 2015 11:58 am

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-people-versus-carmichael#/story

£29,530GBP
raised by 1,842 people in 1 day
49% funded 29 days left

Meanwhile, Her Maj has just made her, or rather, Cameron's speech, which after all the hype, contained far fewer fireworks than expected, unless I missed a bit.

Historical note for Sabot - the SNP MPs all joined in the rather Ruritanian atmosphere by wearing the White Rose.

**bb1** Wed May 27, 2015 7:59 pm

As it was Fancy Dress day at the HoC, the SNP joined in the spirit of things by wearing the White Rose;

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 15 291EA69E00000578-0-image-a-87_1432749416451

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 15 291EA69E00000578-0-image-a-87_1432749416451

Which is, of course, the Jacobite rose.

They got told off by Speaker Bercow for clapping - oh, the horror! They were very restrained, and didn't reply with any typical Scottish-type jesting about his being the most public cuckold in Britain, or his resemblance to a character from a Ruritanian operetta.

**lily** Wed May 27, 2015 8:44 pm

At least they did'nt do this.... bottomsup

**bb1** Wed May 27, 2015 10:06 pm

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 15 CGCglQhUgAEu986

Oh joy! Another referendum looms.

**lily** Wed May 27, 2015 10:18 pm

**bb1** Wed May 27, 2015 11:15 pm

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 15 CGChvAqWgAAyL3r

Oddly, I've seen more Queen's Speeches than I care to remember, but this one did seem to be especially OTT - it had more fancy dress and diamonds than a royal wedding.

**bb1** Thu May 28, 2015 12:24 pm

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-people-versus-carmichael#/story

£37,293GBP
raised by 2,396 people in 3 days
62% funded 28 days left

Now that's genuine public outrage.

This sort-of ties in with what you've said, LL:

https://weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/a-parp-in-a-bin-and-clapping-chagrin/

Quote:

Scotland is famously or infamously the land where I kent his faither, the traditional way of saying that in Scotland we don’t have six degrees of separation, it’s more like one or two. I don’t ken Aliestair Carmichael’s faither, but I know someone who did, someone who has known Aliestair since he was a wee stuffed teddy. This friend says that they were shocked by the leak and smear and Aliestair’s role in it, because it’s so out of character for him. I believe my friend.

My friend also said that they couldn’t understand why Aliestair had done it, since he didn’t stand to gain personally from it. And this is true – out of all the Lib Dem MPs in the UK, it was widely believed by one and all that if the Lib Dems would cling on anywhere, it would be in Orkney and Shetland. Despite an SNP tsunami that was even greater than the SNP had hoped or the Lib Dems and Labour had feared, Aliestair did indeed cling on to his seat. He could have avoided any smearing and underhand behaviour, and he’d currently be a respected figure, the noble survivor like the last of the Mohicans. Instead he’s hounded and hiding and his career may not survive.

One of the comments speculates that Carmichael did it because he was plain and simply angry with Ms Sturgeon for making him look silly in one of the debates. The Tories whispered poison in his ears, and he took what he thought was going to be a chance for revenge.

He clearly forgot that phrase that should be etched into every non-Torys' mind:

NEVER TRUST A TORY.

**bb1** Thu May 28, 2015 1:05 pm

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/wider-political-news/uk-government-source-neither-cameron-nor-mundell-knew-about-sturgeon-m.1432810613

UK Government source: neither Cameron nor Mundell knew about Sturgeon memo leak

Michael Settle
UK Political Editor
Thursday 28 May 2015
Neither David Cameron nor David Mundell, the new Scottish Secretary, knew about the leaking of the inaccurate Sturgeon/Bermann memo beforehand, a senior UK Government source has made clear.

Earlier this week, Downing Street, when asked if the Prime Minister was aware of the memo before publication, referred to the findings of an inquiry into the leak by Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood.

Sir Jeremy's investigation concluded that those who "had access" to the memo had been interviewed and the only people "who had any involvement" in the leaking were Alistair Carmichael, the former Scottish Secretary, and now the only Scottish Liberal Democrat MP, and his then special adviser, Euan Roddin.

But this still left open the question as to who, if anyone, was made aware of the memo before it was leaked.

Asked if either Mr Cameron or Mr Mundell knew beforehand of the leak, a well-placed Whitehall insider told The Herald: "I can categorically say they did not. No blue knew."

liar

Best thing Carmichael could do right now is stand down as MP, then remove the knives from his back and tell the WHOLE truth about this shoddy mess.

That done, he is free to re-stand with a clear conscience, whether as a LibDem or as an Independent; he actually doesn't seem to have been a bad MP until he got involved with the Tories, especially this bit of plotting.

If he doesn't come clean, this is going to rumble on and on, and is liable to take a good few more scalps before the whole truth comes out.

**bb1** Thu May 28, 2015 7:51 pm

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 15 CGGvaE-XIAAOVLv

Three guesses which party the big block of MPs represents?

**bb1** Thu May 28, 2015 10:13 pm

**lily** Thu May 28, 2015 10:29 pm

Good for the SNP.

**bb1** Thu May 28, 2015 10:45 pm

Westminster doesn't seem to have grasped that the SNP are not part of their establishment, and are not impressed by them.

People in Scotland are watching all this, so how does Cameron and co think it looks when just about the only people that bother showing up for a debate about nuclear subs which are in our waters, are the SNP?

**lily** Thu May 28, 2015 10:57 pm

It looks exceedingly bad from here so it must be much worse from where you are....

**Lamplighter** Fri May 29, 2015 8:59 am

The Orcadian Online

French ambassador/consul general – a clarification

Thursday, May 28, 2015, at 4:29pm

The story in today’s paper, regarding Alistair Carmichael’s role in the leak of a Scottish Office memo to the Daily Telegraph, states that the memo claimed that Nicola Sturgeon had made comments to the French Consul General.

This is incorrect. The memo, which was compiled after a conversation between a civil servant and the French Consul General, claimed that Ms Sturgeon had made the comments to the French Ambassador.

We apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Police launch Carmichael enquiry

Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at 11:32am

Police Scotland have confirmed that they have launched an investigation into whether Alistair Carmichael committed a crime when he falsely denied knowledge of a leaked Scottish Office memo, which he went on to take responsibility for on Friday.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said this morning: “We can confirm that a complaint has been received and enquiries are ongoing to establish whether there is any criminality.”

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 10:34 am

Thanks, LL. It must be borne in mind that Carmichael also admitted that the 'leak' was not correct.

It was actually a smear disguised as a leak, and I don't see this dying down, as they had hoped.

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 11:38 am

http://www.thenational.scot/comment/jeane-freeman-carmichael-lie-is-offensive-to-each-and-every-voter.3465

Jeane Freeman: Carmichael lie is offensive to each and every voter
MAY 29TH, 2015 - 12:37 AM JEANE FREEMAN NO COMMENTS
IT’S not a witch hunt. It’s not political spite. And it’s not driven by “hordes of mad nationalists”. It’s called doing politics differently and Alistair Carmichael should resign.

We now know all the facts. The Scotland Office memo claiming the First Minister told the French Ambassador to the UK that she would prefer David Cameron as prime minister was inaccurate. Nicola Sturgeon said so and the French Ambassador said so, in no uncertain terms. The memo was leaked to the Telegraph. That Alistair Carmichael authorised the leak by his special adviser in the middle of an election campaign was a pretty low down tactic.

But during the ensuing furore, Alistair Carmichael looked down the lenses of cameras and told the electorate that the first he had heard of the memo was when he was contacted by a journalist for a comment. He lied. And in lying he triggered a Cabinet Office inquiry that took just long enough to take us past May 7, and cost a fair bit of your money and mine.

When he lied he crossed a line. He maintained that lie right through until he was safely elected, in what must have been the full knowledge that the truth would come out. By his calculated deceit, he revealed himself to be a politician contemptuous of you and me and, most importantly, the voters of Shetland and Orkney.

All of that is bad enough. But what is worse and spine chillingly revealing is the defence his supporters have mounted. Malcolm Bruce’s assertion is that all politicians tell lies, so Carmichael is no worse than any of them and shouldn’t be singled out. In the fourth estate the Guardian’s Michael White claims that not only politicians but everybody else lies and anyway, while the memo might have been resoundingly proven to be wrong ‘we all know’ that’s what the ‘nats’ think. A defence shored up by asserting that if Carmichael had been a minister he would have resigned that office. And we’re told he ‘gave up’ the £17,000 and apologised, so what more could any reasonable person possibly want? Poor Alistair – it’s all so unfair.

Except it’s not yet anywhere near fair enough. When you stand for election you are doing two very important things. You are asking the voter – who through that election holds sovereignty in her and his hands – to trust you and to lend you their power. It is beyond my ken how you can claim integrity while lying through your teeth in that exercise.

The sundry apologists and the commentators who are bound as tightly into that Westminster bubble as any politician offer us yet another blinding glimpse of their arrogance with their defence of ‘old pals’ and their sense of entitlement made evident in their contrived outrage at the very idea that such a good chap be questioned by mere voters. As blinding a glimpse of their arrogance as that given by their reaction to our outrage over their expenses not so very long ago.

But what they are palpably, and almost embarrassingly, failing to understand is that the past three years have seen voters in Scotland understand their power and their right to be represented by people who do not lie or play dirty political games. Voters who have shaken off the too prevalent excuse that “its always been like that” or indeed, that “all politicians lie”. Voters who not only hope for better, but now know they can insist upon it.

And what of Carmichael himself in all of this? In a tweet last night he asserted that “it will all blow over”.

Well no, it won’t. It’s called democracy and voters can make it work.

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 11:40 am

http://www.alistaircarmichael.co.uk/

Upcoming constituency surgeries
Orkney
Friday, 29 May 2015
13:00 - 13:45 - Surgery in Stromness Community Centre with Liam McArthur MSP
17:00 - 17:45 - Surgery in Constituency Office (14 Palace Road, Kirkwall) with Liam McArthur MSP

Those should be a bit more exciting than usual....

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 12:53 pm

http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/10745-protesters-anger-at-mp-far-wider-than-just-snp

Scott said he was only informed of his colleague’s role in leaking the memo by Carmichael himself on the Sunday following the 7 May election.

He waited five days before defending the MP because he was “very angry about it and very disappointed, so I wanted to think carefully through what I would say and make sure it was balanced and measured”.

Scott already knew he was facing the toughest fight to date to hold onto his Holyrood seat next year, and accepts he may now bear the brunt of the electorate’s anger at Carmichael’s conduct.

So, a LibDem MSP knew on May 10th that Carmichael was responsible - but said nothing? Instead, let the inquiry rumble on at considerable expense to taxpayers?

Do they have a death wish, or something?

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 2:34 pm

POLLING DAY AS IT HAPPENS: TELEGRAPH TV LINK - Page 15 CGLNVYDVAAAh6s4

That's a short, and succinct, guide to the nonsense Cameron has presented to parliament. It's downright insulting, and none of this is going to end well.

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 6:04 pm

http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/1321679-bid-to-oust-alistair-carmichael-over-frenchgate-memo-leak-raises-40000/

Campaigners vying to oust MP Alistair Carmichael over a controversial leaked memo have submitted an election petition at the Court of Session.

The People Vs Alistair Carmichael, a non-political group, have raised the legal action in a bid to overturn the MP's election victory in Orkney and Shetland in the wake of the 'Frenchgate' revelations after raising more than £40,000 through a crowdfunding website.

The campaign, backed by island residents, wants to hold Mr Carmichael "accountable for his behaviour before, during and after the election campaign".

Mr Carmichael has admitted responsibility for the memo, leaked just days before the general election, which wrongly alleged that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wanted David Cameron to remain in power.....etc.

This could get interesting....

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 6:12 pm

In the words of the French ambassador:

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/04/french-bashing-my-phantom-chat-nicola-sturgeon-and-remembering-gallipoli

A bad egg for Easter
That was my second visit to Scotland since taking up my post in London in September, and I had fond memories of it ... until I learned over Easter that an erroneous report about the conversation I’d had with the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, had been leaked to the press. It kept me busy through the night, as the article had been published online without anyone asking me for confirmation of its content beforehand (I suppose my denial would have diminished the intended media impact of the story).

I guess these kinds of things happen in a tight election campaign but as an impartial diplomat I have found myself in quite an uncomfortable position!

**bb1** Fri May 29, 2015 9:02 pm

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-people-versus-carmichael#/updates

3 hours ago

The petition is lodged. Hearing will take place. He will have to answer now. You have done it. This is what I said outside the Court of Session today
My name is Tim Morrison. I am a voter from Stromness in Orkney and one of the 4 petitioners asking the court of session to request the results of the general election in our constituency to be examined
Everyone has an opinion on what happened and what Mr Carmichael has done or not done.
We, ordinary voters want to have our say now that we are in full possession of the facts
Mr Carmichael has apologised to us, his constituents. It is up to us to forgive him, if we choose too, in the ballot box. This should happen as soon as possible and certainly not in 5 years. This is for everyone's good
I am able to be here because we are many people but not a mob. You have given us over 40.000 to start this process in just three days. It is unprecedented. No one has done this before. The money has come in donations of 1, 5, 25 through the indiegogo website from nearly 3000 people. Not from a political party or a campaign group but from you, our friends. The trust put in us is humbling. Thank you. The reality is we will need more, maybe a lot more because litigation costs and we are personally liable.
Today is the start of clearing the air which has become pretty poisonous in our islands. We hope this process redeems the individual and the nature of politics in one go and helps us develop as a commonwealth.
A positive outcome for everyone now could be initiated by our MP allowing us to take place and as a result the money your money can go to food banks where it is really needed. This could happen today if Mr Carmichael does the right thing

Sponsored content