James Kelly

It's all or nothing for Andy Burnham - the by-election of the century will take place in Makerfield: scotgoespop.blogspot.com/2026/05/its-al…

@soppystern I really struggle to see what problem you think is being caused by Maggie Chapman taking a few seconds to repeat the oath in a language from her country of origin. You're being deliberately disingenuous in implying it's equivalent to her using Shona in a general debate.

I was one of three parliamentary staff members at The Scottish Parliament who got together in a room to draft the Parliament's first ever Language Policy back in 2004. Here's an archived copy of the policy, as it has obviously been replaced by more recent versions since then: web.archive.org/web/2006090300… The policy was designed to support use of Gaelic in the work of the Parliament, and to overcome genuine barriers that a minority of people might face in accessing the Parliament or its work because they were not fluent in English. This policy was not designed to prompt politicians to speak any language they liked in the chamber to score points relating to their own identity or ideology. @MaggieChapman would seem to be able to speak English fluently, and therefore I struggle to see any access-based premise for her speaking in Shona in this context. I feel constantly embarrassed by the way in which genuine good-faith work to address genuine barriers to access has been used by people for ideological and political reasons. I feel sad that it has now become difficult to defend inclusion-based activity because it has become associated with virtue signalling and with undermining, rather than strengthening, human connectedness. I wish I had been able to foresee what would happen, so I could have detached myself from equality and diversity work even sooner than I did. This is before we get onto the political symbol Maggie Chapman is wearing around her neck. This whole thing is so unprofessional and embarassing.

Strategically, that would be a really stupid decision. Whether it even would put country first is debatable, because Burnham could still lose to Reform at the next GE while doing well enough to see off the Green challenge.

Remember this cracker from the Labour Party House Journal? Aged well. 🤣🤣 #Starmer #LabourLies

@lasercow I can't see the Greens giving him a free run.

@JamesKelly I can’t see him winning it. A slight chance if the Greens don’t stand. It’s a Brexit area, Reform will throw everything at it, and voters don’t like being taken for granted, as Scottish Labour have found out.

It's all or nothing for Andy Burnham - the by-election of the century will take place in Makerfield: scotgoespop.blogspot.com/2026/05/its-al…

Nobody is capable of publicly humiliating themselves quite like the Labour right.

The failure of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to suspend Israel from Eurovision, as it did with Russia, is an act of cowardice and an illustration of blatant double standards when it comes to Israel. Decisions and opinions by international courts, and resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council, over the last decades, have repeatedly condemned Israel for its multiple and egregious violations. Songs and sequins must not be allowed to drown out or distract from Israel’s atrocities or Palestinian suffering. There should be no stage for Israel at Eurovision while there is an ongoing genocide. Israel's impunity can no longer be tolerated, and people everywhere must act in accordance with their conscience and stand up for human rights.

@CraigHouston_ @Scotland_exp What is the point of the Union? What is the point of anything, Craig?

@Scotland_exp Whats the point in repeating?

How does anyone in that room know what this new MSP just swore to observe? The oath should be in English so those attending know what you took an oath to. I’d refuse to let sit any MSP who didn’t swear oath in English or added things in which basically left their oath redundant.

Great to speak to the First Minister of Scotland, and the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland today. The bonds across these isles are strong, and I look forward to working closely on issues of shared interest, and meeting up in person in the near future.

Zubir Ahmed keeps saying that voters in Scotland told him that they wouldn't vote Labour because of Starmer. So naturally he wants to replace Starmer with...Wes Streeting. Yeah, I'm sure that'll work a treat with Scottish voters, Zubir, great thinking.

Lord Simons of Thurso?

Congratulations to Kenny Gibson on his election to @ScotParl Presiding Officer. Spoke to him last night at the Kirking and was well impressed with his energy, passion and vision for the role. He is also incidentally the holder of the best ever entry to the chamber (in 2019) 😂

@chicgibson Yeah, but the mayoral election was way back when Labour were still in opposition.

@JamesKelly Results from local council elections shows heavy reform support, but at mayoral election, Burnham over 50% Swings between reform and Labour

Makerfield looks winnable for Reform. That could be the by-election of the decade.

Can we all at least still agree that this isn't a hand ball?

JOSH SIMONS is stepping down for Burnham? Whaaaaat? Is he going to the north of Scotland or somewhere?

I know it's going to be excruciating to watch, but if Starmer does hold on after all this, it's politically ideal for the SNP, Plaid and the Greens.

It's a bit odd that the BBC are making such an issue of opposition MSPs being "concerned" about the Presiding Officer coming from the SNP, because look at the numbers: there are 71 opposition MSPs, and a maximum of 34 of them voted for Liam McArthur.

Two crucial Scottish parliamentary by-elections have been triggered - one should be straightforward for the SNP but the other will be a major test: scotgoespop.blogspot.com/2026/05/two-cr…

"No anti-fascist alliances, please, we're the Tories"