INDEPENDENTS

TWO SNP QUITTERS JOIN FORCES

It came as no surprise as earlier stated that Cllr Martin of Renfrewshire Council abandoned his SNP party after his mate Vassie left, to be honest I know of at least one poll that was running to see how long it would take.

The latest in the saga is that Cllr's Martin and Vassie (still suspended from ALL council meetings) have combined their mighty intellects and formed their own group on the Council (imaginatively called the independents). Cllr Martin the (at least) two time failed leadership candidate for the SNP group on the Council, is at last a leader of himself and the disgraced Vassie! He only needed to leave the SNP to achieve it, meanwhile back on the ranch the SNP locally are in disarray trying to distance themselves from Martin. They suggest it is a bruised ego and that he was on the way out before he jumped, meanwhile Martin suggests that the Boy MacKay is not the real leader that would be equally disgraced Councillor Iain Nicholson!

The saga will no doubt continue with Martin and Vassie setting up their own, Independent SNP party or something of that ilk! I will keep you posted!

BIRTHDAY CHARITY EVENT

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Well just an update on the big event on the 13th of October (my party) I have sent out email and text messages invites to most of the people I know and I am going to send out more paper invites to those I don't have contact details for. If you haven't received one by Thursday next week and you know me and would like to come drop me a line.

Anyhoot family and friends are preparing and I am going to plug the website for donations yet again ...

www.justgiving.com/rayleenkelly

QUESTION TIME

PIERS MORGAN

Tonight on Newsnight he suggested that Cherie Blair should keep her mouth shut! Surprise surprise, I think that he should keep his mouth shut, but that is simply my opinion!

Mr Morgan seems to think that he is some kind of celebrity, the BBC don't do much to dissuade him of this opinion by treating him like a REAL journalist! Bolstering this mans massive ego doesn't do anyone any good! His opinions are as vulgar as they are sexist, his suggestion seems to be that the PM's spouse should be quiet, women should be seen and not heard! This was the original question!

WELL HEAR THIS! I am one woman who will not be silenced, as someone who had the privilege of staying in the same close as a REAL SUFFRAGETTE, I will not be silenced by any misogynistic megalomaniac! I don't believe that we should play to the lowest common denominator as he does, I believe that people are intelligent enough to know what matters! Not being a politician he is NOT subject to the same scrutiny as Jack Straw, and that is where this falls down!

He is now shouting at Jack Straw to apologise for his mistakes, like he has? Has he apologised to the people he hurt and the stories he got wrong as the editor of the Mirror? I doubt it!

Photo below

Thought that I had better clarify the photo earlier, it is me, when I was first elected. I know what a change!

COUNCILLOR RAYLEEN KELLY

FULL COUNCIL

This morning we had a Full Council meeting discussing the issue of Single Status, and although the Falkirk issue had already been exposed by the national media. The difference as outlined by the Labour Administration at today's meeting was that ...

1. Falkirk (the SNP controlled council) to the best of my knowledge did not allow the Unions to ballot, where Renfrewshire did.

2. Renfrewshire's package was accepted by Unison, Falkirk's was not.

3. The Renfrewshire package was widely hailed as one of the most generous in Scotland, the same has not been said of Falkirk's!

The SNP are saying one thing in Power and another in opposition, how tell me can they be trusted?

John Reid

I AGREE!

There are many of my friends reading this going OH MY GOD, stop now! Some of them are not fans of Dr Reid and to be honest lately I haven't been either, I believe that some of the rhetoric that he has been 'quoted' as saying has been too right wing for me. Let me clarify before anyone has a go at me, I mean right wing in the Labour sense not outright political sense.

In his speech to conference (which I didn't see due to Council duties) I noticed that he suggested that NO area of Britain should be a no go area for ANYONE!! I agree that 'it is the weak and vulnerable who suffer most in an insecure world' and recently at a policy forum I suggested that the reason we as party are different from the others is that we consider and try and help the most vulnerable, and that our policies should and do create an inclusive society where EVERY view matters.

And his points regarding illegal Labour are exactly what I was getting at in previous posts, it is not to a certain extent the fault of the immigrant who comes here, it is the fault of the unscrupulous employer who takes advantage of their poverty and status to exploit them and our Labour market!

The problem with terrorism is a big one and I know that we have a big issue with Iraq, my CLP was not for the war in Iraq, but what Tony Blair said earlier this week is true we are not in his position and most of us wouldn't be for toffee (old Scottish saying I think!). I have friends who are Muslim and they are law abiding and would NEVER think about taking innocent lives, yet some are scared to go to certain areas for fear of attack, when John Reid suggests that NO area in the UK shall be a NO GO AREA I agree but as he says it has to extend to everyone!

I agree with a lot of the statements in this speech and that pleasantly surprised me, I heard Dr Reid speaking at a Young Labour Conference some years ago and this speech was reminiscent of that, it WAS more substance, well done!