SNP’s Joan McAlpine insists ‘anti-Scottish’ attack was aimed at unionist parties not individuals

Published on Saturday 14 January 2012 00:00

AN AIDE to Alex Salmond has defended comments she made accusing Labour and the Lib Dems of behaving in an “anti-Scottish” manner.

Nationalist MSP Joan McAlpine wrote on Twitter: “Interfering in referendum is anti-Scottish as is refusal to compromise on popular desire 4 powers to Scotland.”

She later insisted that her remarks were not a criticism of any individual, but were instead aimed at the leadership of the unionist parties.

Scotsman columnist Ms McAlpine said she was shocked by Labour MPs congratulating the Tory-led government for intervening in Scotland over the timing of the referendum.

She said: “They have been lining up in cahoots with the Tories. They have been lining up to congratulate the Tories for intervening into Scottish democracy and I will let the people of Scotland draw their own conclusions from that.

“I was criticising behaviour, I wasn’t criticising people. People from all sorts of political backgrounds can be proud Scots. The issue here is the behaviour of the anti-independence parties coming together to seek to stop Scotland having a referendum at a time of our choosing.

“I’m not attacking any individual person.” She instead insisted that she was “describing the behaviour of parties in lining up with a very unpopular Tory government to interfere in Scottish democracy.

“I was talking about the leadership of Labour, the Liberal Democrat and Tory parties.”

However, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, Anas Sarwar, said that in attacking the leadership of the unionist parties, she was singling him out.

Mr Sarwar, the Labour MP for Glasgow Central, called on Mr Salmond to remove the SNP MSP from her role as an aide to the First Minister. He said: “It is outrageously offensive to suggest someone is anti-Scottish just because you disagree with them. She must apologise to the Scottish Parliament and Alex Salmond should sack her.”

“What is being questioned is my commitment and my love for my country, the country I was born and brought up in, the country my children are growing up in, the country my grandfather came to in 1939 with nothing and made a life for himself and his family.

“I think this is really serious. I want Joan McAlpine to tell me straight, yes or no, if she says the leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland is anti-Scottish, does that include me, Anas Sarwar, the deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Am I anti-Scottish, yes or no?”

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Vote 'NO'

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 08:12 PM

3. Biiiggg OUCH!! That's a point I hope some interviewer has the backbone to ask when she is invited for interview. Let's see the supposed genius Pringle spin her and the whole SNP organisation out of this.

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іmmigrantwoman

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 04:00 PM

Dracula's daughter should be sacked for this ridiculous outburst.

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Buford Van Stomm

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 03:25 PM

poor joan....the dream of a comfortable devomax existence have been wrestled away.

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Faceless_bureaucrat

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 02:49 PM

My view is the opposite of hers. You are anti-Scottish FOR voting yes in a referendum, because if the loony nats or labour party got their hands on the power levers here , there will be no Scotland anymore. Think about the demographic transformation the moderate labour party has inflicted on almost every town and city in England , and then factor in the fact the said parties make new labour sound "right-wing". Eight million is Salmond's target - he will add 3 million , 3rd worlder's in a very short period , in his believe that bigger populations have bigger clout in the world.

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Simonsaid

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 02:41 PM

Let me get this straight – it is not ok to label individuals in unionist parties as Anti-Scottish but it is ok to label the unionist parties as a whole as Anti-Scottish Take the spade off her before she digs herself into a bigger hole than she is in at the moment-

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Faceless_bureaucrat

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 01:47 PM

That's a very dangerous statement in a country where 1,000,000 people do not claim to be Scottish at all.

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Anagach

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 12:56 PM

If they support policies that damage Scotland then yes - they are anti-Scottish.

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Buford Van Stomm

Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 12:18 PM

she should save her fragile ego outbursts for therapy.

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