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The truths they don't want you to read....

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Sunday sailings and two Ministers

Sometimes pieces of information drop into place and produce unexpected results.

Many people have strong views on Sunday Ferries. Many people have strong views on Sunday opening of the Sports Centre.

The circles significantly overlap, but until today I didn't realise just who else had been involved in the debate and the way in which they had behaved.

Let me make it clear that irrespective of my personal views on the matter, it is important that there is clear and open decision making and that the public have faith in The System, even if it does not produce the result they want.

If my views were not being genuinely taken into account on any issue, then I would begin to believe that they are never genuinely taken into account. That is why sham consultations and behind the scenes manoeuvring can be so destructive to good governance.

On issues where different deep-held strong feelings exist in very substantial parts of the community, governance has to be especially careful to ensure that the full range of views are taken into account and that the proper processes are followed. Openness and honesty are the keys.

So what has actually happened?

In early January a local resident with strong views contacted the EHRC about the refusal of the Council to open the Sports Centre on a Sunday.

In a long and detailed email letter from the resident, one paragraph jumps out and grabs the attention.
After an official complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), the policy decision making process of WIIC (sic) was found to be "flawless".
In other words, there are no grounds for anyone trying to reopen the decision, which lies exclusively with the Comhairle. It continues....
Much less was made of the actual content of the Sunday Working Policy, but a suggestion of court action was made.
If the decision making was flawless then, by implication, the Sunday Working Policy is a matter for the Comhairle itself. A Judicial Review is an expensive option for a complainer to follow. Nevertheless.....
A similar suggestion was made by the offices of Nicola Strugeon (sic) and Stuart (sic) Maxwell. I was surprised to hear such a suggestion from the Scottish Government. I imagined naively that if a Scottish Government Minister thought that a local authority may be acting outwith the law, that Minister would endeavour to do something about it and not put it on the shoulders of a member of the public.
Let's get this right: the EHRC SPSO says that the decision making was 'flawless' and despite this two Government Ministers suggest a legal challenge by an individual as a proper course of action.

The Ministers must therefore be taking a stance against the policy of the Comhairle, and trying to subvert the democratic decision of the Council by encouraging individuals to challenge the decision in Court.

It is possible that there is some misinterpretation of the stance being taken by Ms Sturgeon and Mr Maxwell, which is why a concerned member of the SNP wrote to Angus MacNeil and Alasdair Allan seeking clarification (slightly edited for reasons of discretion):
the reference to advice alleged from the offices of Nicola Sturgeon and Stuart Maxwell [...] might merit investigation, if only to let your colleagues know [that their comments were now in the public domain]
The entire reply in late January:
thanks for this info [name], and hope you are well. all the best alasdair
When the SNP member attempted to raise this issue again, and again, with Mr Allan and Mr MacNeil there was a constant refusal to discuss the issue.

Suddenly CalMac (proprietor: the Scottish Government) announce that the absence of Sunday sailings is in breach of the EHRC and lo and behold, the sudden appearance of vague and evasive statements from our Parliamentarians about it being an operational matter and nothing to do with Politicians and Government.

The conclusion that is being drawn, and one I completely subscribe to from the documentation I have seen, is that the entire Sunday sailings decision was made by the SNP Government, communicated to the MP and MSP, and then instructions were issued to the Board of CalMac by the usual process of unrecorded and unattributable Ministerial advice.

It stinks worse than a barrel of rotten fish.

And it brings the entire process into disrepute, by the covert and undemocratic nature of the decision making.

A lot of people have a lot of explaining to do and the public deserve full and detailed answers to all their questions.

(minor corrections made later 3/6/09)

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, explain to me how the sports centres in the Southern Isles are all open on Sundays and Calmac sail from their shores and apparently we share the same council?? I might be able to understand this if we were in different countries, but different Island? It must be time for a full blown protest and alert to the mainstream media. I'm sure there must be an up and coming lawyer out there who would love to use this case to make a point. These people are dictators but we should be the ones doing the dictating. Has anyone out there got any balls to join a protest or is everyone too scared to be seen protesting in a public place?????

Anonymous said...

Unless this is all part of a much bigger plot to overthrow the Governments of Europe and subject us all to Christian Party Rule.

Angus Nicolson has secretly been taking orders from Alasdair Allan in what history much surely remember as one of the greatest cover ups of all time.

He was ordered to throw a hissy fit, resign/ be expelled from the SNP and then snipe at AA and AB from the sidelines for so long that no one would suspect a thing.

On and on Angus went with each post more ridiculous and spiteful than the last. Until it got to the stage where he was seen as the sole anti-Alasdair...when in fact he was in collusion with this villian all along.

Angus has been ordered to make us all think that there has been a Scottish Government coverup as to angry the Christian faith to the point of open rebellion. Edinburgh, Paris, Stockholm, Madrid have all fallen while Berlin and Rome remain under seige.

Just how far does this plot extend?! Find out next week.....

PS This post is so massively full of bullshit that it deserves nothing less than full, complete and open derision.

Anonymous said...

4.10 PM "...but we should be the ones doing the dictating."
Who are "we"? The vocal minority?

By "dictators", do you mean the elected members of the Council? They were elected on the basis that they will represent you. If you didn't vote for them, or if you don't like certain decisions then I'm afraid that's tough. That's how democracy in this country works.
Democracy also allows you the freedom to protest so go for it.

Anonymous said...

I see that the SNP muppets were out again at 4:10.

Angus offers evidence, they offer insults, and fail to offer even the most basic defence of what has happened.

You must be getting to close to the truth Angus.

Play the ball, not the man!

lord wreath said...

a suitable case for a Freedom of Information request ... what advice did Sturgeon offer and what communication was there between CalMac and Ministers about the ludicrous Equality Act wheeze?

Anonymous said...

I think we urgently need to see the correspondence from Sturgeon and Maxwell to determine the truth.

(ps I want Sunday sailings and good government)

Anonymous said...

4:19
You are making the SNP look even more guilty. I suggest that you think about your posts and review them before you post. Being blindly patriotic is not very clever when there are facts out there that contradict your rantings.

Anonymous said...

Angus, I think you are reading too much into this one. When responding to disgruntled constituents it is common Ministerial practice to suggest that if someone doesn't like a decision they should consider taking legal action themselves. This is not specific to the ferry situation and, indeed, is a tactic used by government ministers of all persuasions, not just the SNP. Afraid I can't see the consspiracy on this one.

Anonymous said...

Gazette this week, page 14 FOR SALE :

Bunkbed, Computer desk and office station......MMmmmmmm??

Anonymous said...

If this complaintee has been refused the hire of the Town Hall by Burr, how come FCC used it until their church was ready????

Anonymous said...

DON'T FORGET THE POLL TODAY (I notice the SNP usuals didn't mention that one-i voted green today - was very sad that my concience did not allow SNP)(ls)

Anonymous said...

Has anyone out there got any balls to join a protest or is everyone too scared to be seen protesting in a public place?????

4:10 PM

Posted by Anonymous - LOL

Anonymous said...

4.10

im up for a protest - tell me when and where!!

Are effigies allowed?

Anonymous said...

Lewis/Harris, and the Uists/Barra, are so different socially, politically and religiously, that there is a case for them to be split.

The Comhairle has shown itself to be spectacularly incompetent in many basic areas. Public transport. Broadband. Running elections (plural - getting absent voter papers out this time, getting the ballot boxes to the count last time). Keeping the local NHS fiscally secure. To name just a few.

It is perhaps time for the dismantling of the Comhairle. The southern half of the archipelago can join Argyle; the northern half the Highland council.

Anonymous said...

The Council has buggar all to do with the running of the Board. I wouldn't disagree with you though they are incompetent, (the councillors, that is).

Anonymous said...

What is the difference between North Uist and Harris? please Mr Cnes??

Anonymous said...

Hear, hear 1:52, let's put the entire white house staff on the dole and then see how they get on. I bet the incomers previously employed will run back to their mainland securities and the rest of us won't notice a thing.

Anonymous said...

1.52 - not a bad idea, actually, though Highland Council is not known for taking any notice of its remoter parts, and we'd still have local members and officers with even less accountability. In Caithness and Sutherland for instance you've got (some) officers doing whatever they please, ignoring local councillors and public concerns as they cite 'instructions from Inverness' (and then wriggling out of those as they quote 'local issues' back to Inverness).

On the other hand, the councillors can't lay down the law-as-they-interpret-it, which can only be an improvement here.

Anonymous said...

8:27 classic racist remark that damns our culture. When will bigots like you realise that with out the flow of new arrivals to the Isles we would have been depopulated years ago. Do you not realise there are 6 million Scots now living in England for instance - you never hear locals down south making such remarks. Grow up although I doubt you ever will.

Anonymous said...

If Calmac should not sail on a Sunday, for fear of upsetting the LDOS islanders, then they should not sail on Saturday for fear of upsetting Jewish islanders, or on Friday for fear of upsetting Muslim Islanders.

The decision should whether or not to sail should be made solely by Calmac and based purely on whether or not there is sufficient demand for sailings.

if they do decide to sail on Sundays, I'm of the opinion that objections on religious grounds would be entirely outwith the law.

Anonymous said...

@ 7.20 - nor on Thorsdays, for fearing of upsetting the Viking islanders. Let's just sail once a month, first Monday say, because as the renowned economist Rev ID Campbell has pointed out to us now, "there's a real myth that better transport links bolster a local economy. They can actually diminish it." In fact let's be really tradition and sail in open sgoths only.

http://creideamh.blogspot.com/2009/06/ldos-rally.html

Anonymous said...

excuse me 5;55 how is that racist?!

oh and the last two - you forgot mon day is traditionally a day for moon worshippers - CAN we find a day when we can get off the island