A Sign, a Symbol

rodenIf your political base has crumbled and you are trying to reach the road to recovery, symbolism is important. From the wreckage that is the Scottish Labour Party came just such a move, today appointing Alan Roden, former Political Editor of the Scottish Daily Mail to become its Director of Communications. For a party in such disarray this is an important, and presumably an expensive decision. The appointment caused ripples of schadenfreude through social media, and there is a delicious prospect of (in just a few short weeks time) there being phone call between the media office of the Scottish Labour Party and the UK in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn’s victory:

“Hello Alan, it’s Seamus here”.

It’s not just that he has brought a hate-filled and poisonous approach to political discourse against the independence movement and Scottish culture, but more to the point, and much more fun, he has brought this to Scottish Labour.

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From such a large menu of far-right ramblings to chose from, let’s just pick one, his disgraceful attack on gaelic language provision in Edinburgh. In 2014 he attempted to pin the tragic death of Keane Wallis-Bennett at Liberton High School on the fact that the school was in a poor state of repairs, a story we covered with Arthur Cormack: “Disgraceful Opportunist Cultural Hatred”.

As Cormack wrote at the time: “It is baffling why Alan Roden hates Gaelic so much that he would come up with a headline like the one accompanying his article that seeks to blame the tragic death of a young pupil on the money spent on Gaelic provision. If that was not his motive, why was the £3.5m spent on Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàircementioned at all? Whatever the cause of young Keane’s death, this is not a time to be apportioning blame. But what a sickening slur on those who attend and work in Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce that they should be associated in this way with a tragic incident at another school. An example of the worst kind of gutter journalism and unadulterated, inexplicable hatred towards Gaelic and its speakers from Alan Roden.”

Once he’s got settled in his new job we look forward to reading Roden’s account of how the real reason Edinburgh’s schools are falling apart is the social and financially disastrous consequences of the Labour Party’s obsession with PFI.

As Labour purge their own members for dissent and continue to collude and coordinate a massive media smear against their elected leader, Roden’s appointment is just the sign and symbol they need to flag up their intentions.

What could possibly go wrong?

You may have your own gems from Roden’s prodigious output. Feel free to add them below.

 

 

Comments (19)

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  1. David S. Briggs says:

    He would hardly link the wean’s death, to money spent on Trident?

  2. Douglas McNeill says:

    Doesn’t he need to spend five years saying nothing before he can join Labour?

  3. D. Smart says:

    Don’t really ken much about him, however in the style of Daily Maul his tie could be straightened and he should get his hand out his pocket.

  4. Drew Campbell says:

    In a Labour Party where Jeremy Corbyn is leader this might appear a bizarre appointment at best and an act of self-harm at worst, but we’ve been through the looking-glass for a while now so bizarre self-harm is kind of the new normal for Labour.

    Scottish Labour is the former school bully still trying to act big after everyone has laughed at him for being a fat crapper with a big mouth. I really wish they’d just get on with their demise. They’re just a hindrance to everything now.

  5. Eric Morrison says:

    And he’s got a half-arsed smile…

    1. Coul Porter says:

      …..Nah, both cheeks are involved. Has to be full-arsed.

  6. ronald alexander mcdonald says:

    I Can imagine an imaginary political party leader called Karen Dunderheid interviewing a potential communications officer called Albert Rankarse.

    KD: Well Alan, Why do you think you would be suitable for the job?

    AR: I hate the SNP, I hate the SNP, I feckin hate the SNP!

    I hate Independence , rule Brittania! rule Brittania!

    Oh, and I hate socialists too.

    KD: When can you start?

    1. Malcolm McCandless says:

      Alan Roden is not keen on same sex marriages.

  7. Malcolm McCandless says:

    A slap in the face for all decent Labour members and supporters. The indecent ones will be saying “great pick”.

  8. Adrian says:

    “Government Quango give £70k to SNP Propaganda Book Company”
    Basis of the story was completely wrong but he ran the story anyway with plenty of insinuation thrown in

  9. w.b.robertson says:

    the army (who had learned a bit about man management) used to select regimental policemen from their worst behaved soldiers. a case of poachers make the best gamekeepers. why should the Labour Party not hire a politically savvy journalist to do a job? Seems a good choice to me considering some of persons who were filling the role in the past.

  10. Mhari morrison says:

    This man and his paper are cruel thought kez was a decent if dim woman alas now she hires this creep ,no hope

  11. Jack Collatin says:

    There must be another big juicy SNP sex scandal in the offing. Otherwise, why hire this sleazy Ultra Right Wing hack?
    There will be lots of ‘Shock’, ‘under fire’, and ‘shambles’ SNP even Badder than ever headlines as he, McTernan and the Grey Blancmange, MacDougall , lock themselves in an e smoke filled room and hatch Project Fear- The Bitch is Back.
    I’ll need to look out my Project Fear Bingo Card.
    I wonder what Neil Findlay, bricklayer of this parish, and Wee Alex the Deputy make of this radical swing from the Red Tory Right to the Blue Tory Off The Scale communications strategy of Kezia, the New American?
    ‘Every breath you take’.

    1. Ian says:

      “Project Fear- The Bitch is Back” ….. Brilliant – I want a badge!

    2. Puzzled Puss says:

      Love the idea of ‘Project Fear’ bingo. Can we introduce this new game to pensioners’clubs throughout Scotland as a way of demonstrating what utter nonsense they are being fed by the media?

  12. seanair says:

    Was Corbyn asked about this appointment? Somehow can’t see him congratulating Kez
    for her foresight.

  13. I Clark says:

    Presumably they hope that if a Roden can be persuaded on board, the ship will not sink. They are, of course, mistaken.

  14. MBC says:

    I think we see the hand of Kezia’s advisers in this, perhaps her front bench minister Ian Murray. I too used to think Dugdale was dim but decent. But this is rank. Rank.

  15. Fergus Murray says:

    This – ‘SNP HAND GAYS THE RIGHT TO MARRY IN CHURCH’ – seems an obvious one to flag up. 🙁

    https://twitter.com/SovereignAnnie/status/891238079985569794

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