Friday, December 10, 2010

Unelectable MSP Peter Peacock to stand down at Holyrood election 2011, after nearly a decade using ‘tradesman entrance’ of the regional list, he goes


















Dear All

He is off at plumpton!

A former Labour minister at Holyrood has announced he will stand down at the next Scottish election.

Highlands and Islands MSP Peter Peacock has decided to bounce out the door and joins a growing list of politicians who will not seek re-entry to Holyrood in May.

Some people who wanted to stay are also going out the door as well because they won’t win their first past the post seat and didn’t get a high enough regional list ranking.

Peacock at 58 is still relatively young to hang up his booties and ride off in the setting sun.

He has been on the regional list since the first election in 1999.

The regional list is a vehicle in which people from political parties who are publicly unelectable get into Holyrood by the ‘tradesman entrance’.

The ‘backdoor’ MSPs like to project an image that they have made an impression in political and public life that has meaning to the people.

They haven’t.

Sadly, they sit behind their leaders like the cannon fodder they are!

Peacock was elected in 1999 so what does it say that in nearly decade of representing the people where he is from that he couldn’t turn this into a first past the post win?

It says what many commentators say that Holyrood isn't working properly and the MSP's aren’t household names.

While bobbing about I like to ask people on occasion to name Glasgow Regional list MSPs.

So far I haven’t met anyone who can name one in Glasgow as I talk to the general public.

As I write this post, I stopped to ask a member of the public if he could name a Glasgow List MSP.

He said what is an MSP?

Peacock said:

"At the coming Scottish election I would be entering my 30th consecutive year in elected office and I feel it is time for a change and to give myself some new challenges in life”.

I wonder if this is code that he has a new job lined up, after all I don’t see him packing up and heading into the wilderness.

Peacock added:

"It has been an enormous privilege to have had the opportunity to serve my community through elected office and to have done various jobs in local and Scottish government."

As per usual he thanked those who have worked with him during over his career and said he would continue to support "the Labour cause".

Supporting the rich and creating and unfair society!

Last night This Week hosted by Andrew Neil ran a piece on how the social elite works, before it he said:

“Its not what you know but who you know”!

Peacock also added:

"As this chapter of my work life closes, so I look forward to another opening, using my experience of public life to full effect."

‘East Coast Weasel’ and Labour MSP leader Iain Gray said his "calibre and experience" will be missed at Parliament.

Out of touch Iain Gray is so delusional, outside the Holyrood pond; Peacock isn’t known or will be missed by ordinary people.

Gray added:

"Peter has made an enormous contribution to the Scottish Parliament. He was an excellent minister and was widely respected across all parties."

In fact Peter Peacock was so “excellent” and “widely respected” that in every election he never won first past the post.

The public always rejected him!

Soon gone and soon forgotten, another one of Holyrood's unelectables.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The regional list is a vehicle in which people from political parties who are publicly unelectable get into Holyrood by the ‘tradesman entrance’.

The ‘backdoor’ MSPs like to project an image that they have made an impression in political and public life that has meaning to the people.

They haven’t.

Sadly, they sit behind their leaders like the cannon fodder they are!"

For first time ever I totally agree with you.
SNP 47 MSPs - 26 of them LIST MSPs
Lab 46 MSPs - 9 list MSPs
LibDem 16 MSPs - 5 list MSPs
Greens 2 MSPs - 2 list MSPs.

Get rid of the quisling cannon fodder, and return the country to the real MSPs.

G Laird said...

Dear Anon

"For first time ever I totally agree with you".

Only the first time?

See folks I can change the minds of the uncoverted with me scribbling!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Anonymous said...

Hi George

First time responder.

Firstly let me state for the record that I am traditionally a Labour voter, but not a member of any political party.

You are correct, sadly this donkey isn’t the only one being foisted on the public. If you look at the SNP, the number 2 on your Glasgow list is Humza Yousaf. How exactly can this nonentity be so high on your list. His only claim to fame is that he was part of a Muslim charity that was in receipt of funds from the Scottish Government, failed to put on the events promised, was forced to pay money back. Is this really the only talent the SNP could find in Glasgow?

Well the answer is no, they managed to trawl up “A Man Called” Doris. As a resident of Maryhill, I have two questions:

1) Why him, he is lazy and has made no attempt to get himself elected within the constituency, so why have on your list?

2) You believe we need Scottish people to represent Scotland, so can’t we have a Glaswegian for us to elect rather than a Vale of Leven reject?

Mr Salmond should stop trying to have his friends elected, and start putting up quality hard working candidates.

I believe I am typical of the type of person the SNP wants to win over, but if you keep dragging out pond life as your candidates then I am sorry, you have no chance.

Like the site but you should boot into the SNP as much as the other parties, after all they are the party that is meant to be running the country.