After the abuse heaped on the BBC’s Nick Robinson in the referendum, Nicola Sturgeon was quick to warn activists to lay off the media at the SNP manifesto launch. “They’re only doing their job,” she apologised before the Q&A. Activists heroically bit their tongues a while, but when Scottish Daily Mail political editor Alan Roden announced himself, they finally cracked and began booing and hissing. The FM looked embarrassed, but Mr Roden seemed delighted. If he hadn’t been jeered, his editor would never have forgiven him.
The weirdest moment of the launch came when over a 1000 SNP members held aloft their manifestos in order to surround Ms Sturgeon with giant pictures of her own face. The effect was slightly creepy, slightly migraine-inducing. Hence one wag dubbing it a Nurofen Rally.
The SNP is committed to “democratic engagement”, Ms Sturgeon said in her speech. Well, sort of. Members in the suspended Coatbridge & Chryston branch, who staged a protest about feuding and bullying at SNP spring conference, were excluded from yesterday’s event in case of any fuss. A few who managed to get tickets had them cancelled at the last minute. "Apologies for that confusion,” wrote SNP chief clerk Ian McCann, the man blamed by many for the unholy mess in Coatbridge. Clearly the spirit of ancient Athens lives on.
The other big event was Ukip leader Nigel Farage in Inverness with Highlands & Islands candidate David Coburn MEP. A walkabout passed off quietly, but Ukip’s street stall was promptly Nat-jacked, and a large Still Yes flag erected behind it during a photo op. Mr Coburn, as he is to most of life, remained oblivious. But a cannier Kipper suddenly sprinted over, snatched the Saltire and ran off with it, much to the owner’s annoyance. Ah, Ukip. Never a dull moment. Or a grown up one.
It’s not all been about the SNP though. Kick-boxing camera junkie and erstwhile Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson was in Perth the other day, plugging away at her pitch to become leader of the opposition. She was introduced by Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith, who fought in vain against the SNP law giving every child a named person/state snooper. With an ironic smile, she said Ruth would soon be Nicola Sturgeon’s named person.
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