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Hobbit

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Read - and interesting I suppose - though which bit am I supposed to get most angry about...?

foolish, inappropriate and some would say disgusting and shameful behaviour by MacKay I get.

I guess there's 2 elements to this; 1) his behaviour, and 2) how the SNP managed it. The first is now common knowledge, and the second, apart from the bare bones, should stay behind closed doors.

As a manager, down the years, I've dealt with various types of inappropriate behaviour from staff. I wish I had a £ for every time I heard "Joe got away with murder before he was finally sacked." No he didn't. He'd have had warnings and performance improvement programmes before he was sacked, unless there was a gross misconduct issue, in which case he would have been out of the door.

The calls of sack him immediately would see due process circumvented and lay an organisation open to a court case. The organisation will know that dismissal is the end goal but can't go straight to that juncture. Suspension has to be the first port of call in most cases.

In this case, the guy is an idiot. He's had a warning, i.e. he's not to drink at Conferences. Beyond that, there's an inquiry to be had to confirm the accuracy of the allegations.... then hang him.

From the SNP's perspective, they appear to have got one major thing wrong. With his past record, which is coming to light but not yet confirmed, why did he get promoted to the level he was at? Someone goofed.
 

KenL

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Read - and interesting I suppose - though which bit am I supposed to get most angry about...?

foolish, inappropriate and some would say disgusting and shameful behaviour by MacKay I get.

With the SNP looking to engage with the Sun to find out more and perhaps looking to prevent this coming out at all is possibly something to be angry about.
The fact he has not been immediately sacked as an MSP certainly angers me.
 

HankMarvin

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With the SNP looking to engage with the Sun to find out more and perhaps looking to prevent this coming out at all is possibly something to be angry about.
The fact he has not been immediately sacked as an MSP certainly angers me.

The SNP have today announced that they cannot sack him as an MSP, surely he is going to resign anyway. Plus there are more reports of sordid goings on by him in the press, I think we will be hearing quite a lot more about this guy, I just hope the SNP have not known about what he has been doing and trying to cover it up.
 

Lord Tyrion

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I don't know how the Scottish parliament works but based on Westminster all the SNP can do is remove him from office, he has resigned already, and then suspend him / remove him from the party, not happened yet I don't think. After that he becomes an independent msp and it is down to the disciplinary process within parliament. They have to go through the correct process otherwise they could be open to a legal challenge. If he isn't ultimately removed from the party I'll be amazed, it is just a matter of when.
 

HankMarvin

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Given that it has been claimed that Sturgeon had banned him from drinking at functions SNP might have known what MacKay was like.

There had to be a good reason for it and I am pretty sure he would not have been banned for a one off incident so not sure what it was but it must have been something bad.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Given that it has been claimed that Sturgeon had banned him from drinking at functions SNP might have known what MacKay was like.
Getting drunk and/or acting inappropriately or with a loose tongue when drunk does not necessarily bar you from office. It all depends. It did not prevent Charles Kennedy from becoming leader of the LibDems (that it seems Kennedy could not find his way into treatment or AA for fear of being 'exposed' is pretty grim); nor did lies and inappropriate and dubious extra-marital behaviour prevent our current PM getting elected. It all depends. And it depends on what assurances were given - and confidences broken...

It is sad for a career most probably wrecked...it is upsetting but hopefully not damaging for the 16yr old and his family.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Scotland will be welcomed back into the EU with open arms..... they have a big hole in their budget to fill. Good luck with that!
Don't worry - they'll go a fair way to filling the gap with the monies they screw out of Westminster to allow Trident subs to remain based in Scotland ;)
 

IanM

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....nope, they'll be moved and so will the jobs that go with them. Already under discussion.

Genuine question. How much additional tax will you pay be prepared for Scotland (as a net contributor) to rejoin the EU?

Interesting noises in Brussels this week from several states rejecting the increases the "leadership" is asking for.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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....nope, they'll be moved and so will the jobs that go with them. Already under discussion.

Genuine question. How much additional tax will you pay be prepared for Scotland (as a net contributor) to rejoin the EU?

Interesting noises in Brussels this week from several states rejecting the increases the "leadership" is asking for.
You can ask me - but I don't live in Scotland and so do not know how I'd feel about independence and so how much more tax I'd be willing to pay.

As mentioned. I may have some SNP sympathies - but these come from the mid-late 70s - the days of the social democracy of Willie Wolfe and Gordon Wilson - and are actually Margo MacDonald inspired - were I to be living in Scotland today I may feel quite differently. I do not know.
 

IanM

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You can ask me - but I don't live in Scotland and so do not know how I'd feel about independence and so how much more tax I'd be willing to pay.

As mentioned. I may have some SNP sympathies - but these come from the mid-late 70s - the days of the social democracy of Willie Wolfe and Gordon Wilson - and are actually Margo MacDonald inspired - were I to be living in Scotland today I may feel quite differently. I do not know.


Apologies, my assumption of your locale and leanings were not correct and I could also respect the folk you were talking about too, funny how polarised it has all become.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Apologies, my assumption of your locale and leanings were not correct and I could also respect the folk you were talking about too, funny how polarised it has all become.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
No probs - and it will be ?

As it happens Scottish friends of ours moved 3yrs ago from Guildford to Haddington (outside Edinburgh) for their retirement after 35+ yrs down here. And though conservative and previously anti-Indy they tell me that they have actually become more independence inclined in these three years. Their one BIG concern...the numbers...
 
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Hobbit

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No probs - and it will be ?

As it happens Scottish friends of ours moved 3yrs ago from Guildford to Haddington (outside Edinburgh) for their retirement after 35+ yrs down here. And though conservative and previously anti-Indy they tell me that they have actually become more independence inclined in these three years. Their one BIG concern...the numbers...

Haddington and the area is well worth a visit. Spitting distance from Edinburgh and a mountain of great golf courses.
 
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