Ach well...

I've been rumbled.

I bumped into a chap yesterday. He thought I was in the Labour party because we'd been introduced by a Labour member at a political do and he just assumed that I must be a Labourite also. I never said either way. Anyway, he spotted me with SNP leaflets yesterday and I don't think he'll be chatting with me about internal Labour party matters any more.

Ach well, anyway - some snippets:

1. There are some raised eyebrows about the Parliamentary Questions being asked by Baron Foulkes - ones which are likely to result in answers showing the SNP Government being better than the previous lot. Raised eyebrows indeed, but no-one wants him to go - apparently the next on the Labour list isn't regarded as likely to be an asset. I don't know anything about her other than she's Colin Fox's sister, so can't comment, but I don't see how anyone can be worse than the people who currently inhabit the Labour seats.

2. There will be no challenge to Wendy Alexander from within the Labour party - nothing to do with Gordon Brown's stamp of approval, everything to do with the fact that no possible challenger can muster enough support to be reasonably confident of coming out at least unscathed from the bloodbath that is likely to ensue, and no-one has yet reached the Heseltine stage of "it just needs to be done". I expect people will be getting a quiet canvass from unexpected sources though...

3. There is disquiet about Wendy's spin team, especially Gavin Yates. The Gorgie Farm visit was one instance - no-one scouted ahead for photo-ops or pitfalls, no-one spotted what breed the coo was, no-one arranged for children to be there with the animals, and no-one cleared the content with the farm staff - who knew it wasn't true.

4. There was a plan to remove Ewan Aitken as leader of the Labour opposition on Edinburgh Council (or the City of Edinburgh Council as the pedants will insist). This kind of fell apart during the budget meeting when he was unwell and got carted off the field injured. To Labour's great surprise he wasn't the cause of their lack of coherence, he was stopping it being worse. Stand down Donald Wilson, your effort is not yet needed!

5. Ian Perry's branch refused to back him in a vote of confidence. This was either because they thought he wasn't working hard enough or because he can't count, depending on which member of his branch you talk to apparently.

6. Norma Hart and Angela Blacklock are both being touted for Westminster candidature in Edinburgh East by some surprising figures in the Labour party. I guess they'll need to find a way past Paul Nolan though, eh?

There you have it; tittle-tattle box emptied, and nothing of any great value in it at all.