Labour in Scotland - Not Their Week

The photograph is of Lewis 'Scooby' Rodden, a notorious gangster who was jailed in August 2005 for four years after being convicted of using threatening behaviour towards business rivals. During his trial at the High Court in Kilmarnock, Rodden pled guilty to having a samurai sword in public. At his trial the judge said his behaviour was like "organised crime in the United States in the last century".

Why am I discussing a gangster you may well ask. The simple answer is that Rodden, allegedly, attended a Labour party fundraising dinner for Jim Murphy's general election campaign. Labour sources admitted they were "shocked" that two of the party's biggest names (by that I assume they mean Jim Murphy and John Reid) shared a room with the notorious security firm boss.

The organiser of the bash was Councillor Betty Cunningham who is a member of Strathclyde Police Authority which monitors the force's conduct.

She said: "Lewis was there, aye".

Hours later she said she thought Rodden had merely been in the hotel and not at the Labour function, but she admitted she was on first-name terms with him, adding: "I know Lewis, in the sense of I've met him."

Last night, Scots Tory legal advisor Paul McBride QC blasted Labour. "I find it deeply concerning that a councillor, with a say over Strathclyde Police, should know Rodden by his first name. The mind boggles."

Labour's behaviour stopped boggling my mind some years ago. I've just been watching the luv-in between Jim Murphy and David Mundell on the Politics Show. (Alistair Carmichael, the libdem MP, more or less kept out of the Jim and Dave show). Jim Murphy denied ever meeting Rodden. He said Rodden had not contributed to his campaign and he had not been aware he was at the event.

The behaviour of both Murphy and Mundell left a lot to be desired in relation to their attitude towards Angus Robertson (SNP). It was playground stuff. At one point Mr Murphy is heard to say 'embarrassing' after Mr Robertson answered a question about nuclear weapons on the Clyde. Yes you were Mr Murphy, very embarrassing and I'm sure there were a few labour voters cringing. Time Mr Mundell and yourself grew up.

More importantly, the 4 MPs were asked if they knew what the minimum wage was. Not one could answer. Says it all really, just how out of touch these people really are from the electorate. If they'd been asked what the basic state pension was the answer would have been the same. Silence.

The more I see of some politicians the more I understand those who would like to see a 'none of the above' box on the ballot papers.

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