Party funding

Well, how party funding works in my experience, at least!

There's been much hoo-ha this week about SNP fundraising. I'm not going to comment on the news articles, other than to say that I attended Osama Saeed's fundraiser on Tuesday night to support him as our candidate for Glasgow Central. I paid my husband and I in for the princely sum of £15 a head. We were entertained by some heartfelt speeches, and the dinner was pretty tasty too.

Osama is up against the might of the Sarwar dynasty - according to the Electoral Commission register, since 2007, the Labour party have recieved £23,862.03 in catering and staff and £18,596.54 in cash from Mr Sarwar and his family. Muslim Friends of Labour, which has been associated with Mr Sarwar, has donated the quite phenomenal sum of £330,950 to the Labour party since 2005, mostly to fight in Scottish Campaigns. From these sums alone, you may begin to see what the SNP is up against in Glasgow Central.


The SNP is a party new to electoral success, and our fundraising tends to be done the way it always has been - locally, by the party faithful. I remember being blown away at our pre-election campaign conference in 2007 by announcement after announcement of huge sums of money pouring into the party coffers. Nationally printed glossy literature was doled out to campaigns. It was a huge change from the previous elections I was involved in, and it showed just how many more people we could reach with that extra funding.

I have a folder full of leaflets from past campaigns - mostly done on a shoe-string budget, risographed in black and white. If we were pushing the boat out, these would have additional yellow ink, or be printed on yellow paper. This is still the norm for most campaigns. Our candidates tend to have a budget only of what the local branch can raise themselves. For my own leaflets, I pay for the paper, write the leaflets, print and distribute them myself, sometimes with assistance from the local branch.


I attend SNP fundraisers on a regular basis. When we thought that Brown was going to go for an early election, candidates were selected and 'adoption nights' were quickly held.

I have no idea what other parties do, but in the SNP adoption nights are where the candidate is formally endorsed by the branch. There usually follows speeches by the biggest names a candidate can muster (all favours are called in!) and if you're lucky, some other form of entertainment - a ceilidh or musicians. Raffles are a certainty. The most entertaining and eclectic adoption event in recent years was Anne McLaughlin's pre-2007, which featured fancy dress, karaoke, and spacehopper races!


In addition, branches hold regular events. Maryhill hold a racenight - not with videos of horses, but with wee horses and furry dice. On the south side, the Pennycooks have been holding cheese and wine events for over twenty years. Burns suppers are of course a popular fundraising event, although for sought-after speakers I've heard 'haggis fatigue' is an occupational hazard!


Most candidates in Glasgow are choosing to take a second bite at the fundraising cherry - a year after their initial adoption, with the General Election much later than they thought when they were selected, another round of fundraisers are looming.

I doubt if any of these will feature fundraising on the scale of Osama's event, but the difference is this; we are still a small party. We don't have trade unions or a host of wealthy funders. We have a limited pool of elected representatives to call on for donations, and the ones we have are very generous with their time and their money. 38p of every £1 the SNP has is donated by individual members, and 21p comes from membership subscriptions.

The money we raise pays for leaflets and other campaign merchandise, and goes towards the cost of telephone canvassing. The SNP don't pay members to go round the doors to speak to you, or to deliver leaflets. We rely almost entirely on our members to volunteer, on the doorstep and behind the scenes.

The youth wing, the YSI, raise money to allow young members to get around the country to campaign. I do my bit by baking cakes to sell at party conference, and our Conference karaoke also brings in the pennies. In 2007, we campaigned in the North East, the Western Isles, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and many places in between.

I personally have visited Council by elections from Glasgow to Elgin; I do this of my own volition and without so much as petrol money.


I do it, and so many of our members do the same, because we believe in our party and our cause.

It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

Work and play

I was out campaigning with John Mason this morning in Carntyne. We've all been working hard to get John re-elected, and weekends are no exception!

I was out speaking to people on the doorsteps, and I got a pretty warm response. Lots of people knew who John was, and several had already been helped by him. One woman, who John had helped to get new windows, was absolutely delighted by the service she had received from him and I could see John has got a fan for life!

It's really nice to get to listen to people, find out what makes them tick and what they want to see in their area. I'm not sure yet what John can do about the number of cats roaming about the area (I got followed by one around several doors!), but he's on the case!


After campaigning, I headed out to Fir Park to catch the Lanarkshire derby. The snowy conditions over the new year have played havoc with the surface of the pitch, so there was little scope for a stylish passing game. Nevertheless, Motherwell ground out a win, and I'm pleased to see we're up to a decent 5th.


Tonight, I'm off to the 30th birthday party of a good friend. I'm looking forward to it!


Tomorrow... more campaigning I think!

Dalmarnock station

As part of the investment for the Commonwealth Games and in connection to the regeneration taking place in my ward through Clyde Gateway, the train station at Dalmarnock will be receiving a substantial upgrade.


I went for a meeting with SPT officials this week, and got a bit more information on the plans for the station and the timescale for the improvements.

I use the station occasionally going to meetings in Dalmarnock, but it's a bit isolated and it's usually easier to get the bus.

I'm not alone in this view, as it's pretty quiet. At the moment, the station faces out on to Swanston Street, which makes it all but invisible from the main road. Some early plans show a change in the entrance to Dalmarnock Road, and this seems to have been a popular idea at Clyde Gateway's consultation meetings.

SPT are currently working with partners to draw up a series of options, and working out the costs of the improvements.

The station itself, as you can see from the pictures, is pretty unusual, with large concrete beams supporting retaining walls, and bridges going overhead. This makes it more challenging to get the station up to the best standards to allow access for disabled passengers. Lifts would clearly be the best solution, but with limited space, I can see that careful planning will be required to fit them in safely.

The station will be well-placed for the Commonwealth Games, and everyone is keen to see it play a part, bringing tourists, and then being available for the new residents who will come to live in the area afterwards.

The officials hope to have the refurbishment work completed by the autumn of 2013, and I'll certainly keep you updated with any further information.






Eastbound platform - this may end up being the new entrance from Dalmarnock Road.







Platforms and tunnel - the roads above are Swanston Street on the left and Dalmarnock Road straight ahead.








Bridge over the tracks and supporting beams - you can see how narrow the station is, and how little room there is to redevelop.



I'd like to give my thanks to Cllr Watson and his staff for their time and the helpful information they provided.

Glasgow's Health

At today's Executive Committee we discussed (among other items) the Director of Public Health's report An Unequal Struggle for Health. There are a number of important observations and recommendations in the report for the health of our city. One of the most challenging is, of course, our relationship with alcohol.

For Labour, that relationship is even more uncomfortable. Back in December, at the last full meeting of Council of the year, Labour, for reasons best known to themselves, decided to reject the sensible, non partisan motion submitted by the SNP group:

"Council notes with concern the high and disproportionate impact the misuse of alcohol has on Glasgow's citizens and welcomes the commitment of national and local Governments to tackle this.

Whilst Council notes there is no one answer to tackle this problem it welcomes the principle of minimum pricing which has an important role to play in tackling the misuse of alcohol in Glasgow."

They decided to replace our motion with their own version:

“Council is concerned at the problems faced by many in this city as a result of alcohol misuse, recognises that there is no single solution to this problem and welcomes the commitment of local and national governments to tackle this issue.

Council is aware of the Scottish Government’s preferred option of minimum pricing but is concerned that these proposals are flawed and untested.”

Interestingly, the Director of Public Health's report states quite clearly and unequivocally:

"NHSGGC and its partners must support the government proposals on taking action to restrict promotions of alcohol beverages and introducing a minimum retail price for a UK unit of alcohol"

Whoops! Labour looked distinctly uncomfortable when we challenged them on this today, asking them to retract their previous position - a position most likely forced on them by Iain Gray. They would have known in December that this report was imminent, and that the views of health professionals supported the policy. It just goes to show how petty Labour are - they won't support a policy just because the SNP proposed it. Contrast this with the mature, cross-party support for the banning of smoking in indoor public places.

Sadly for Labour, and tragically for the cause of public health in our city, Council standing orders dictate that decisions taken by the Council can't be overturned for a period of six months, so Labour really have painted themselves into a corner on this one. I'm not certain that it's logical for Labour to back a report contrary to Council policy, but there's really not much else they could do!

The report was accepted unanimously by the Committee, and the work of the Director, Dr Linda De Caestecker, and her team roundly welcomed. I would encourage folk to have a peek at the report - it really is well-written and interesting.

SNP Government Budget passed

Great news to see the SNP Government's budget passed. Some may speak of concessions, but it's the necessity of a minority Government to skilfully manoeuvre a consensus and I think that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance has played the game expertly.


After last year's brinkmanship and shenanigans, things seemed to go very smoothly - although as Will succinctly points out, Labour are still far from being a responsible opposition. They sound less and less convincing every day. Their UK website gives no headline to indicate what they're up to in Holyrood, and it's really no surprise - there's nothing of note to report.


Their Scottish website fails to recognise that the SNP are actually bringing in the boiler scrappage scheme, so they really ought to get rid of this very misleading graphic. Labour also try to get stuck into the Tories for objecting to the further cut in prescription charges, while failing to acknowledge that they themselves voted against the cut by rejecting our budget!


Anyway, having got that off my chest, more positive stuff...

The further reduction in prescription charges is wonderful news. In April, the cost will fall to only £3, while in England, the cost of a prescription is at present an eye-watering £7.20. Lowering the cost helps those most at need, but it's also an important principle. Suffering from an illness that requires prescription medication is difficult enough - people shouldn't feel they have to go without, or decide which medicines to prioritise, through poverty or pride.

I'm very pleased to hear that the small business bonus scheme has been tweaked, increasing the threshold, to continue support to help companies through the recession. The significance of this scheme can be seen in shopping streets throughout Glasgow; on Duke Street, the Gallowgate and Bridgeton Cross, wee businesses have opened providing local people with a range of goods and services. These businesses make our communities viable, and it's great to know our government is doing what they can to help in these difficult times.

It reassuring to hear that an Independent Budget Review will be established to consider the implications of forecasts of reductions in public spending in Scotland. We need to be prepared, and realistic about the future; all parties should find a way to engage productively.




PS - I've also noticed this fairly unfortunate typo-strewn piece on the Labour website...

The independent Literacy Commission, set up by Scottish Labour, has reported. Iain Gray said: "We need a revolution in literacy teaching our schools and we will argue for that in opposition and once in office we will pursue this relentlessly. This report is huge wake-up call for Scotland."

Dearie me, bad things indeed are...

Is this what it takes for Labour to take notice?

As readers may recall, Labour had nothing whatsoever to say about organised crime back in Glasgow City Council in November.

The SNP group put down a motion, and Labour Councillors childishly refused to turn up to the meeting.

The SNP Government has been working hard to tackle organised crime at many levels, and the Cashback initiative has also sought to turn the proceeds of crime into benefits for local communities.

When organised crime is allowed to grow, ordinary people suffer. It shouldn't be that members of the public risk getting caught in the crossfire when they're out to get their messages. Since the shooting of a man earlier this week at lunchtime in the car park of a Glasgow supermarket, Labour MSP Paul Martin has found something to say on the matter.

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): Yesterday, in broad daylight, a man was shot dead outside one of Scotland's busiest supermarkets in the Robroyston area of my constituency. Does the First Minister agree that the time is now right for the Parliament to show leadership by standing up to such unacceptable gangland activities? Will he arrange for the Cabinet Secretary for Justice to meet me and anyone else who has an interest in the issue to discuss how we can take the most effective action to deal with the unacceptable activities of the gangland networks?

The First Minister: The justice secretary will be delighted to attend such a meeting with the member. I know that the member will want to support the initiative on the serious organised crime task force, which is designed precisely to address such behaviour across society. That task force is long overdue, but now that it is coming into being as part of our battle against organised crime, it deserves the support of every member.

I do hope Mr Martin has been in touch with his colleagues in the Council to make sure they're on board...

Election speculation

Not really by way of prediction - my guess on the General Election date really is as speculative and ill-informed as anyone else - but three small notes from inside Glasgow City Council.

1) Glasgow City Council's budget meeting has been brought forward by two weeks to the 28th of January. Last year's meeting was on the 12th of February. I understand a few other Councils are also going early.

2) the online Council diary stops on the 19th of February. Quite odd, as it would usually run right through until summer recess.

3) Jim Murphy was in the City Chambers, monopolising the largest Committee Room all of Thursday morning. According to Council staff, he pops in quite regularly, but it makes me wonder if they're getting instructions on more pressing matters.

Anyway, this idle chatter doesn't amount to terribly much, unless there is a March election. In which case, I claim it as a scoop!