The irreverent Jock Thamson-Bairn rounds up the latest news in Scottish politics
THE last year has been a time of change in politics. Tories became Ukip, Labour filled the void and became Tory (albeit with a wee bit of Ukip on the side), SNP became Labour, and Lib Dems became extinct.
Happily, Jim Murphy became unemployed. Sadly David Starkey stayed the same. His latest rant can only be the result of his agent telling him that he has to regain the followers he lost to Katie Hopkins.
I think the best way to deal with David Starkey is to apply his own logic – or lack of it – to his insane and offensive rants. So here goes.
David Starkey’s defence of the Nazis is disgusting and reprehensible. To claim that Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews was fair, and friendly, is a goose-step too far even from someone as right-wing and nationalistic as Starkey.
David Starkey’s defence of the Nazis is disgusting and reprehensible. To claim that Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews was fair, and friendly, is a goose-step too far.
I can only imagine that his job title is the result of a spellchecker correction and that he is a Professor of Hysteria, not History. His conclusions make the deluded Fuhre-loving playwright in the movie The Producers seem almost reasonable.
He has likened the Nazis’ treatment of the Jews to the Scots treatment of the English. He is therefore saying that the Jews in Nazi Germany were treated no differently to anyone else, just as the English are treated no differently to anyone else in Scotland.
Will he be saying next that there was a ‘Jews For The Third Reich’ movement just as there was an ‘English for Independent Scotland’ movement during the referendum?
Unlike Starkey I am not one to draw unfounded and ridiculous conclusions based on nothing other than a desire to smear. For example, it would be ludicrous and completely unacceptable to point out that, like Jimmy Savile, Adolf Hitler and Harold Shipman, Starkey often wears trousers and a jacket, as if that connected them in any way.
Of course it doesn’t. And Starkey shouldn’t have to make any statement dissociating himself from any of those vile people. And the BBC shouldn’t run with a story about how Starkey ‘denies any links to them’ or ‘claims’ he has no connection. The BBC or the Daily Mail would never act in such a way, would they?
It would be ludicrous and completely unacceptable to point out that, like Jimmy Savile, Adolf Hitler and Harold Shipman, Starkey often wears trousers and a jacket.
And what of Jim Murphy? He eventually signed off, and considering his propensity for claiming public money, probably signed on as well. He was true to his principles right to the end, taking a petty and inaccurate swipe at ‘nationalists’ on Twitter, implying that hounding him on the streets was a hobby for many.
In fact, only about half a dozen misguided folk took Jim’s bait during the campaign and confronted him face to two faces. But then again, to be fair to Murphy, I suppose when you have one MP in Scotland then six probably does seem a huge number to you.
On Radio 4 on Monday, Jim tried to play the intellectual sympathy card: “I sometimes felt I was up against a quasi-religious rock concert in post-truth environment.”
I agree that Jim knows all about a “post-truth environment”. After all, it is a world he has inhabited and indeed helped create. But I think Jim is more Quasimodo than “quasi-religious rock concert”.
If the Scottish Government is not going to repeal the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act it should at least amend it so it applies to the offensive Murphy and Starkey and give football fans a break.
You can see him now, a giant chip on his shoulder instead of a hunch, hanging from the roof of Glasgow Cathedral throwing rocks down on the population while screaming: “It was the polls that made me dead.”
If the Scottish Government is not going to repeal the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act it should at least amend it so it applies to the offensive Murphy and Starkey and give football fans a break.
To continue on Murphy’s religious theme, Jim obviously sees himself as a modern day Noah. His last act as Scottish leader was to build an ‘Ark’ of reforms to transport the drowning ex-Scottish Labour MPs to the security of a salary in the Scottish Parliament.
After Murphy’s Titanic achievements in GE2015 what could possibly go wrong? I’d sign on the buroo along with Jim if I was them. Just to be on the safe side.
Jock Thamson-Bairn