MICHAEL Russell presented a brazenly dishonest portrayal of Angus Brendan MacNeil’s actions and their intent in his Saturday column (When indy going gets tough, don’t run away, Jul 14).
In the first place, I have seen no evidence of him “attacking” party members. Other, that is, than those party members who have been elevated to the self-satisfied leadership clique which Mr Russell so ably represents. But the patent falsehood that caused my jaw to drop in my porridge on Saturday morning was the allegation that Angus is “holding a gun” to the head of the SNP membership “about some action that you want the entire membership to take no matter their own views”.
READ MORE: Angus MacNeil suspended from the SNP after Westminster group row
Unless the SNP membership has changed beyond all recognition since I was to be counted among their number, Angus Brendan MacNeil’s call for the party leadership to treat the restoration of Scotland’s independence as a matter of the utmost urgency is totally in accord with the views of every single one of those members. Excepting, of course, those who have been elevated to the self-satisfied leadership clique which Mr Russell so ably represents.
Instead of trotting out the tired old line about how anything said or done that the self-satisfied leadership clique doesn’t like “will not bring us an inch nearer independence”, Michael Russell would have better served the dignity of his office as president – not to mention his own credibility – if he had at least attempted to address the criticism that the SNP Scottish Government has failed to progress Scotland’s cause one millimetre in almost nine years. Nine years, moreover, when by the party’s own account conditions for doing so have been excellent and improving with every new scandal involving the British government.
READ MORE: Angus MacNeil: We must 'prioritise independence over the party'
If this is not incompetence worthy of contempt, Mr Russell, then what is your preferred euphemism? To say that the SNP leadership is “clueless” as to how to restore Scotland’s independence is no more than a statement of fact. Were the self-satisfied leadership clique not clueless, we would surely by now have seen some indication of them having a clue.
The reality is that every time Humza Yousaf or Jamie Hepburn or Keith Brown speak on the matter of Scotland’s constitutional issue, they only further emphasise how devoid of clues the SNP leadership is. Unless it’s in the area of devising new can-kicking “initiatives”, looking for novel ideas or fresh thinking in the leadership bubble is like staring into the deep, black void of the space between the stars.
We see you, Mr Russell! We see the effort to silence dissident voices. We see the effort to bully back into line any who question the omniscience of the self-satisfied leadership clique. We see the effort to marginalise and exclude those who, like Angus Brendan MacNeil, presume to remind the SNP leadership of the party’s primary aim as defined by its constitution.
Peter A Bell
via thenational.scot
IN Michael Russell’s Saturday column the SNP president took a swipe at Angus Brendan MacNeil MP. Mike stated: “Consequently, I utterly disagree with Angus Brendan MacNeil’s analysis and actions this past week.”
Angus MacNeil is awaiting the outcome of the SNP internal disciplinary committee’s investigation. Mike Russell’s comments does beg the obvious question though – how can Angus receive natural justice and a fair process when the president of the SNP takes to this newspaper to pass comment on the matter and express his opinion?
Frank Wood
Port Glasgow
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