Decent Human Beings Need Not Apply

Just in case there are still people out there who think that, by voting SNP, they will not only get independence but a decent human being for their MSP, Calton would like to draw your attention to what's been going on within the SNP with regards to disability and candidate selection. Rev Stuart Campbell has covered it in great detail here and here, however for those who haven't been following the story, here it is in brief:

The SNP have decided to give the top spot on the list for the Holyrood election second ballot to disabled people in four out of the eight regions. Given that the party gained a large number of constituency seats at the last election, having the top list spot is hugely important because lots of constituency seats reduces the number of list seats which a party can have. (Just look at Mid Scotland and Fife region which currently has no SNP list MSP because they have got so many of the constituencies, whereas the Tories have four list MSPs in the region.) There is therefore going to be an almighty scramble amongst SNP wannabee MSPs to get top spot on the list. Any list. Even if they don't live in the region.

So here's where the disability thing comes in because, the SNP NEC in their wisdom have decided that no proof of disability is required, although they have apparently tried to define what constitutes a disability, and when the leader of the Independence for Scotland Party, who is blind, questioned the self-identifying of disability she was subjected to a tirade of abuse from SNP members. It's a shame that being a nice, kind human being isn't the requisite qualification for top spot in the SNP, although if it was, they might struggle to get any candidates at all. As it is, with only four top spots reserved for the disabled, and the other four reserved for BAME people, it's only a matter of time before someone with the colouring of Ross Greer self-identifies as black.