Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

Here's a special song for Nicola Sturgeon which could be about so many of her former friends and colleagues in the SNP - Alex Salmond, Derek Mackay, Mark McDonald, Margaret Ferrier, Natalie McGarry etc etc.

  I don't think this would have worked nearly as well if it had not been written from a woman's point of view - because  'Man! I Feel Like a Transwoman' just doesn't cut it.

Woman  September 29, 2021 John Lennon on 'Woman': "What dawned on me was everything I was taking for granted. Women really are the other half of the sky, as I whisper at the beginning of the song. It's a 'we' or it ain't anything."  

Lots of great tracks on 'The Stranger' album by Billy Joel including 'She's Always A Woman'.  

The Dead South  February 11, 2021 My cousin Nancy in America drew my attention to 'The Dead South' a folk-bluegrass band from Canada. Isn't the world wide web wonderful? When my parents emigrated to Canada in the 1950s the only way my mum could keep in touch with her family was by sending those pre-printed, blue coloured air mail letters which took days and often weeks to arrive.        

Ennio Morricone came up with a great soundtrack to this afternoon's western 'Two Mules For Sister Sarah' which still  holds up well after all these years. In Spanish 'Two Mules And A Woman' - for some strange reason.

  Glasgow's foremost equal pay campaigner, Frances Stojilkovic, gave the SNP council leader (Cllr Susan Aitken) a piece of her mind over the city's long-running dispute. I think it's fair to say that when Cllr Aitken was in opposition she was always keen to meet the city's equal pay claimants, but since winning control of the council it's a very different story - 'she never writes, she never calls'.    Nevertheless Glasgow's fight for equal pay will continue and it looks as if things will heat up significantly with more strikes looming in the New Year! Glasgow Equal Pay Update and the Council Leader I took part on a joint trade union 'online meeting' with Susan Aitken the Leader of Glasgow City Council back in October. One of the points I asked was if and when Cllr Aitken could come and meet with us in the Dixon Halls, as she's done before when she was the SNP Opposition Leader in the Council. Susan agreed to a meeting at the time (during the...

I have received a reply to my letters to the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, about the SNP 'gaming the system' on councillors pay.  As expected, John's response (via a civil servant) ignores the elephant in the room and says that MSPs are employers and entitled to employ whomsoever they wish.   Now this is politically dishonest because back in 2011, as SNP finance minister, John Swinney took a very different approach to councillors in Glasgow 'double dipping' and being paid for two public sector jobs at the same time. No rules were broken in the great MPs expenses scandal at Westminster in 2008, but it became obvious to everyone that the system was broken and was being abused by people who ought to have known better. The same is happening over councillors' pay in Scotland and the examples on the blog speak for themselves. It's a no-brainer that senior councillors in full-time, salaried positions should not be employed in additional paid work when the SN...

As I was writing my post about Humza Yousaf basing himself in Broughty Ferry an old tune popped into my head, so I thought I'd share it on the blog after changing a few of the original words: It's a long way to Broughty Ferry It's a long way to go. It's a long way to Broughty Ferry To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye Crookston Castle Farewell to George Square! It's a long long way to Broughty Ferry But my heart's right there.   

Is the SNP and/or Humza Yousaf having a laugh? Because as I've said before it seems ridiculous that the party allows an MSP (and Minister) to live in a suburb of Dundee while representing a seat on the far side of Glasgow. Seems to me the losers from this bizarre arrangement have to be the citizens of Glasgow Pollok and Humza's own family life.   Is Humza Having A Laugh? July 17, 2021 Scottish Ministers have been   having a pretty torrid time of late and rightly so, especially after Nic, Humza and John all bunked off on holiday at the same time. Humza complained that he was entitled to time off with his family which I agree with 100% , but this makes it all the more strange that Humza has decided to live in Broughty Ferry (east of Dundee) while he represents Glasgow Pollok, south west of Glasgow.  A two hour plus drive! So what sense does that make if you're arguing for a better work/life balance, a nd what did Ms Sturgeon have to say about an SNP MSP living on one side o...