From 'Quiet Bunch' to 'Wild Bunch'

So it seems that Humza Yousaf, the MSP for Glasgow Pollok and Scotland's transport minister, is not a 'Quiet Man' after all when it comes to speaking his mind on social media.

According to the Evening Times Humza has been accused of 'trolling' Rangers fans by poking fun at the suggestion that the former Liverpool and England captain, Stephen Gerrard, could become the Ibrox club's new manager.

Now I can't see anything wrong with what Humza had to say because his comments were not in the least provocative or insulting - even if some Rangers fans choose to take offence while turning a convenient 'deaf ear' to the antics of the sectarian element of their own support.

But what astonishes me is that while Humza has time to tweet about football, as a local MSP Humza has had nothing to say about the fight for equal pay in Glasgow City Council.

Now I'm sure Humza 'supports' the principle of equal pay (who doesn't?), the point is that he has had nothing of substance to say about what's going on in Glasgow City Council - despite me sending Humza and all the other Glasgow MSPs and MPs barrowloads of information explaining:

• the Council's 'unfit for purpose' WPBR scheme
• the impact of the 37 hour 'rule' on Glasgow's largely female workforce 
• the years of pay discrimination against thousands of Cordia council employees
• the FOI battle for openness and transparency over the introduction of the WPBR

So I hope Humza and other Glasgow politicians keep speaking out on Twitter and Facebook - all I would like is to see more attention being paid to the fight for equal pay. 

  

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/16188518.Transport_minister_Humza_Yousaf_in_trolling_Rangers_fans_row_over__Stephen_Gerrard__tweet/

Transport minister Humza Yousaf in trolling Rangers fans row over "Stephen Gerrard" tweet

By Martin Williams @Martin1Williams - The Evening Times


Transport minister Humza Yousaf in trolling Rangers fans row over "Stephen Gerrard" tweet

TRANSPORT minister Humza Yousaf has come under fire for "trolling" Rangers fans over news that ex-Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard was in talks with the club to become new manager.

Mr Yousaf took to social media to comment after it emerged that Gerrard was in the frame to replace Graeme Murty.

But Mr Yousaf, a Celtic fan, was strongly criticised after he tweeted: "Spoiler alert - Gerrard won't be Rangers manager."

Follow Rangers Shareholders, the new supporters group aimed at participating in fan ownership accused Mr Yousaf of "trolling".



They said: "We are astonished and disappointed that Scottish Government minister Humza Yousaf spent part of the normal working day trolling Rangers supporters.

"It's clear where his priorities lie - and it's not with the welfare of the Scottish people!"

Mr Yousaf later responded: "No idea why on earth anyone would be offended or insulted by my opinion that it is very unlikely Stephen (sic) Gerrard will be the next Rangers manager."

One fan pointed out that Gerrard's first name is spelt with a 'v'.



Ibrox director of football Mark Allen is leading the search for Rangers next boss and it is understood he has been speaking to a number of candidates to take over the Ibrox hot seat, with Gerrard's name expected to be on a shortlist.

The former Liverpool and England captain, who retired as a player in 2016, was appointed manager of Liverpool's under 18s team last summer.



Last year Mr Yousaf was accused of “baiting” Rangers fans – after apparently publishing a tweet mocking them for their Old Firm defeat to Celtic.

Mr Yousaf who is Minister for Transport and the Islands,deleted the tweet after facing a strong backlash.

Yousaf sent the tweet after being called a “w***” by a Rangers fan online.

His post read: “I can’t *5-1* imagine what is *5-1* upsetting you to such *5-1* an extent that you would *5-1* make such a foul *5-1* insult? *5-1.”

Glasgow's Politicians (25/04/18)

I've sent a copy of my post on 'Glasgow - Accountability and Equal Pay' to all of the city's MSPs and MPs along with the following Twitter message:

It's a disgrace that so many senior officials were so handsomely rewarded over while GCC got into a terrible mess over equal pay. Some have been awarded top-ups to their pensions and been awarded honours 'for services to local government'

I am also planning to send a copy to all elected councillors in Glasgow and I'm sure lots of equal pay claimants will want to follow this up with messages of their own as the campaign heats in the weeks ahead.

I will publish contact details for Glasgow's MSPs and MPs on the bloke site again and you can find that email and phone numbers for your own local councillor via the following link to the City Council's web site: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17565

A number of readers have been in touch to say that their local MSPs or MPs don't respond to emails which I find quite shocking, I have to admit.

If this happens again, then let me know the names of any Glasgow politicians behaving so rudely because it is obviously part of their job to respond to constituents' enquiries and take their concerns seriously.

And if they can't be bothered to do so, I'm happy to 'name names' and share people's experiences on the blog site.