It doesn’t come as a surprise to those of us who are politician watchers that Alistair Carmichael lied about his knowledge of the leaking of the memo concerning a meeting with Nicola Sturgeon and the French ambassador.
All politicians use the definition of the truth with a degree of nonchalance and perhaps that’s why they’re low on the list of respected public servants. That, and their seemingly frivolous expenditure of our hard earned money to feather their abodes with luxuries most of us can’t afford, doesn’t endear them to their electorate. Is that why so many people don’t vote?
There has been so much chatter on the airways about whether Mr Carmichael should resign his seat or not. I tend to agree with Michael White of the Guardian, (yes, I do read it occasionally), who says it’s a matter for his electorate. Absolutely.
Yet the SNP - or at least Alex Salmond and Stewart Hosie - are very vocal in calling for his resignation. Strangely Ms Sturgeon has kept rather quiet since she accepted Mr Carmichael’s apology.
We now have parliamentary recall, a bill passed at the end of the last parliament to allow ordinary constituents to trigger a by-election. If Mr Carmichael’s constituents are unhappy they should be able to instigate a by-election, but it’s not that simple.
The bill was promoted by Nick Clegg and allows for a recall petition to be opened only if an MP is sentenced to a prison term or is suspended from the Commons for 21 days or more. If either of these criteria are made a petition will be opened for two months. If 10% of eligible electors sign it, the seat would be declared vacant and a by-election would follow. The incumbent MP could stand in this by-eection, although it’s unlikely that they would have much success.
The ‘Clegg Bill’ is very narrow in its remit although the Committee on Standards may decide to suspend him from the Commons.
Of course the SNP’s calls for his resignation have factored into the equation that Mr Carmichael won his seat by only an 817 majority over them and his would be an excellent scalp for their trophy wall, particularly when the new parliament has hardly warmed the green benches.
Did he try to stitch up Nicola Sturgeon and it backfired because the three parties involved in the discussions all deny she said she would prefer David Cameron in No 10, or was he convinced the record of the meeting was accurate? Maybe a bit of both.
All politicians use the definition of the truth with a degree of nonchalance and perhaps that’s why they’re low on the list of respected public servants. That, and their seemingly frivolous expenditure of our hard earned money to feather their abodes with luxuries most of us can’t afford, doesn’t endear them to their electorate. Is that why so many people don’t vote?
There has been so much chatter on the airways about whether Mr Carmichael should resign his seat or not. I tend to agree with Michael White of the Guardian, (yes, I do read it occasionally), who says it’s a matter for his electorate. Absolutely.
Yet the SNP - or at least Alex Salmond and Stewart Hosie - are very vocal in calling for his resignation. Strangely Ms Sturgeon has kept rather quiet since she accepted Mr Carmichael’s apology.
We now have parliamentary recall, a bill passed at the end of the last parliament to allow ordinary constituents to trigger a by-election. If Mr Carmichael’s constituents are unhappy they should be able to instigate a by-election, but it’s not that simple.
The bill was promoted by Nick Clegg and allows for a recall petition to be opened only if an MP is sentenced to a prison term or is suspended from the Commons for 21 days or more. If either of these criteria are made a petition will be opened for two months. If 10% of eligible electors sign it, the seat would be declared vacant and a by-election would follow. The incumbent MP could stand in this by-eection, although it’s unlikely that they would have much success.
The ‘Clegg Bill’ is very narrow in its remit although the Committee on Standards may decide to suspend him from the Commons.
Of course the SNP’s calls for his resignation have factored into the equation that Mr Carmichael won his seat by only an 817 majority over them and his would be an excellent scalp for their trophy wall, particularly when the new parliament has hardly warmed the green benches.
Did he try to stitch up Nicola Sturgeon and it backfired because the three parties involved in the discussions all deny she said she would prefer David Cameron in No 10, or was he convinced the record of the meeting was accurate? Maybe a bit of both.
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15 comments:
This whole affair brings to the fore once again the very worst of politics and politicians.
For an MP and a senior party figure to openly state that they and others like them tell “brazen lies” is a dreadful condemnation.
It is not a statement we should accept from doctors, teachers, builders or electricians so why should we accept it from our politicians?
But for a moment let us go back to the 2010 election and the ‘Woolas Affair’.
This was one in which an MP fabricated lies and then distributed those lies about his opposition. (spot the similarities?)
One Scottish MP in particular was totally outraged and incandescent in his condemnation of what had happened . . . . .
As a Right Honourable Member of the House of Commons and a Privy Councillor he was quick to state that -
"The right to smear an opponent is not one we should be defending."
… but this MP also had a distinguished legal background which occasioned him to vociferously point out –
“The right to freedom of speech is a fundamental one but it does bring a responsibility with it to tell the truth”
… similarly this MP is a religious individual proud to be an Elder in the Church of Scotland and his moral upbringing made him feel he had to confirm that -
“To suggest any smear is justifiable must be wrong”
. . . . . and who was this righteous individual only to keen to point out to fellow MPs the correct political, moral and ethical path - non other than -
Alexander Morrison "Alistair" Carmichael MP ; PC
His current stance and that of his party takes hypocrisy to a whole new level.
By his own admission and that of his party he has lied to the electorate and to the country.
If he has a single ounce of political, professional or religious morals or ethics left he will seek re-election.
If he wins, then well and good; if he looses he merely has reaped what he deserves.
Subrosa. you have read White in the Guardian.If you have not seen his tete-a-tete with Lesley Riddoch on Scotland Tonight 26/05/2015, then you should.It can be found on Wings over Scotland,posted this morning or on STV website.
No . Why should he ? The nationalists, relishing in their faux outrage, are demanding his head for, allegedly, telling lies. However, Carmichael could only be telling lies if the memo never existed. And this is where their argument breaks down - he leaked a memo that EXISTED hence it is impossible to lie about something that was already real. However, the nationalists are trying to conflate the issue, they are suggesting that the whole memo was a fabrication and he was responsible for it which clearly is not true. All he did was leak it as politicians routinely do. The content of that memo was written by somebody else, the detail of which was open to interpretation. Indeed, the person who wrote it even indicated that many parts of it could have been 'lost in translation'. But no, the nationalists have made utter fools of themselves by believing it was a made up conspiracy which is, of course, the reaction you can expect from them.
The official inquiry has already said "It was an accurate protrail of what happened .
But lets put this into context to the lies we have been told by the SNP . Lets be honest politicians lie...it's not nice but they do, and maybe they should all resign.
Is what Carmicheal done any worse than this ?
You can judge:
The Scottish government had legal advice on the EU. Lie (It was downloaded from Google)
There are no car parking charges at hospitals in Scotland. Lie
The Scottish government had begun secret talks with the Bank of England on a currency union. Lie.
Prestwick Airport has cost the tax payer £18 million. Lie. In reality it has cost £40 million.
Student bursaries have not been cut in Scotland. Lie. They have been cut by £40 million.
The NHS in Scotland is better funded than in England. Lie. There has been a 4% rise in funding in England and a 1% cut in Scotland.
There is no problem with the education system in Scotland. Lie Its a shambles.
Oil will trade at $113 a barrel. Lie.
Start up costs for an independent Scotland would be a mere £200 million. Yet a leaked document from John Swinney showed it would cost £575 million just to set up a tax office. Lie.
It's Westminster's fault that the police and fire services in Scotland have to pay VAT. Lie. In reality it is down to the SNP for merging them in to one force knowing this would ensure they have to pay VAT.
So when is salmond swinney and the rest going to resign ? Cant have rule for SNP and another for everyone else can we ?? After all isnt this also lying to the entire country and the eletorate aswell ?
With nationalists calling for Alistair Carmichael to step down, and now he's facing a police investigation for one sole and very FACTUAL leaked memo, I thought I would post this golden nugget and ask this - what is worse?
Alex Salmond knew he was wasting taxpayers cash on advice that he knew didn't even exist. Yet what happened to Alex Salmond? Did nationalists call for him to step down? Did nationalists call the police to investigate Salmond? Answers - nothing, no and no.
Why didnt the SNP supporters call for his resignation for defrauding the scottish taxpayers ?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/10367759/Alex-Salmond-spent-20000-keeping-secret-non-existent-EU-legal-advice.html
Wayne, methinks thou dost protest too much.
SO you cant defend what the SNP have done but still shout loud about everyone else ? that wil be because ive shown the SNP's utter hypocrisy I suppose .
The Nats (well, the cyber-Nats, at least) are really pulling out the stops to get rid of Alistair Carmichael; even going so far as to attempt to have him dismissed from his Church. They have so far amassed nearly £30,000 to take legal action against him, which is a surprising amount of disposable income from Austerity-bound, poverty-stricken citizens who endlessly screech about food-banks.
The reason for this, as everyone knows, is that he released sensitive information (or lies as the collective herd would have it) that was an effective attack on the SNP, as the official inquiry found it to have been accurate. This is how they react to any opposition and have made it crystal clear that they will continue to do so in this vein.
Shouldn't Ms Sturgeon, as an ex-lawyer, seek legal advice to absolve herself of any wrong-doing, now that the official inquiry's findings have been circulated on a national scale? If the accusations are indeed "100% untrue", surely Ms Sturgeon would exploit every opportunity to set a legal precedent. She won't of course, because when it was again found that she'd lied, there would be no others who she could lay the blame on.
Mr Salmond has made a career out of generating lies to the Scottish Electorate regarding oil, finance, the NHS, Education and Further Education (in all of it's guises), EU membership and NATO membership, currency, public services, defence, industry, employment, Income Tax, pensions, renewables, the media amongst others. In fact, Mr Salmond has commanded the monopoly of deceit and lies in Scottish politics for many years.
When does a lie become justifiable in Scottish politics?
It seems only to be so when they spill out of the mouths of nationalist leaders past and present. To list them would make an unreadably long post, but they have time and again been proven to be lies and nothing else. That is undeniable fact. Mr Carmichael's circumstances were brought about not by just his "error of judgement", but more so by his subsequent apology, which was and still is taken to be an admission of wrong-doing. The SNP and their cattle are highly intolerant of this, because as we all know, the SNP have never, ever been guilty of any impropriety, misleading, misrepresentation or simple plain old clumsy lying.
We are seeing the politics of utter hypocrisy being laid bare in front of our eyes. They only have any voice because the Unionists split their vote across other parties. They know it and they love it, from Ms Sturgeon herself, down to the lowly vandalised Saltire-waving illiterate ned from the Nat street freak-squad.
@wayne
Firstly – so that there is no confusion – sorry to disappoint, but I am not a Nationalist.
Secondly - Alistair Carmichael continued to deny all knowledge of this throughout the election campaign only coming clean on the 22nd of May, two weeks after he was elected and hours before the report from the Cabinet Secretary was published.
Thirdly – Even Alistair Carmichael himself admits/confesses that he knew full well that the content of the document he was leaking was, as he said himself, “not correct”
In case you haven’t read it, here is a transcript of Carmichael’s letter to Sturgeon -
22 May 2015
Dear First Minister,
I am writing regarding the publication in the Daily Telegraph of an account which reported a conversation between you and the French Ambassador. I understand the Cabinet Secretary is publishing a statement in respect of his findings from his inquiry today.
I wish to inform you that I am taking full responsibility for the publication of that document when I was Secretary of State.
I accept that its publication was a serious breech of protocol and that the details of that account are not correct. I am clear that this was an error of judgement on my part and wish to offer you my sincerest apologies for the embarrassment caused to you and the French Ambassador.
Yours
Alistair Carmichael
JRB i didnt say you were a nationalist i was pointing out the utter hypocrisy of the Nats stance on this .
Where was the outrage when salmond lied about eu advice in an attempt to trick us into voting for independence ?
Where was the outrage when salmond was wasting taxpayers cash on a court case to keep secret the legal advice that he knew didn't even exist ?
Where was the outrage about him spending public money swaning about the globe while ordinary folk were forced to go to foodbanks to feed their hungry kids ?
Seems the SNP thinks its ok to defraud the taxpaying public and to blatantly lie to us. They are turning us (Scotland) into a laughing stock .
Wayne,this is not about defending the SNP nor is this topic about A.Salmond. The topic is regarding the sly mendacity and covert slanderous behaviour of A.Carmichael. You however insist on shifting the focus onto the SNP with the tiresome SNP BAD mantra.
The more you write the more it progresses into a bilious and insulting rant.Kudos to you for attempting to defend the indefensible,however.
Carmichael et al did not padlock the barn with competence.Hence the mare has bolted. Presently action is being taken to rectify this outrageous affront to a politics of decency.
Keep calm and vote well.
Yea we're talking about politics , Scottish politics .
And as history has shown us the SNP know a thing or two about lying .
Slanderous ? How does leaking a real and factual document become slander ? And if this truly the feeling's in SNP circles why hasn't Sturgeon started legal proceedings as i asked above ? You see the document IS REAL. The contents of the document ARE REAL. The official inquiry has already found this document to be a "factual account of what happened" although it is conceded that some parts may have been lost in translation . Carmichael's crime ?
Leaking a factual document, nothing more nothing less.
Insulting rant ? Is hearing the truth insulting to you ? I think you'll find every single instance ive listed above is FACT . And it goes a long way to show the complete hypocrisy of the SNP.
As the saying goes ..... People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones .
Carmichael, apparently, has no electorate and therefore should not be considered an MP at all, as the Orkney and Shetland Islands have never been shown to belong to Scotland/UK.
Sovereign Nation of Shetland Media Brief
Is this a comedy site, cause some of the comments are hilarious. As for the content. He'll get his day in court
Is this a comedy site, cause some of the comments are hilarious. As for the content. He'll get his day in court
Is this a comedy site, cause some of the comments are hilarious. As for the content. He'll get his day in court
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