tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post6937882206797358753..comments2023-10-22T14:14:16.419+01:00Comments on J. Arthur MacNumpty: Bo, Selecta!Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978812670312106107noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-37032735283609501252010-03-13T09:45:47.040+00:002010-03-13T09:45:47.040+00:00I haven't heard anything formal as yet, Andrea...I haven't heard anything formal as yet, Andrea - I suspect that local branches are starting to make arrangements, and I daresay it may well come up at Conference next week, but as yet, nothing official.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10978812670312106107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-66406648997465617272010-03-13T09:13:48.894+00:002010-03-13T09:13:48.894+00:00Will, what is/were the timetable for SNP re/select...Will, what is/were the timetable for SNP re/selections this time?Andreanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-25111220812978247602010-03-12T19:50:25.668+00:002010-03-12T19:50:25.668+00:00Andrea, I thought it was odd to do it now, but the...Andrea, I thought it was odd to do it now, but then, we've had a fairly balanced electoral cycle, with an election every two years, alternating between Westminster and Holyrood. Leaving the dissolution until 2010 has thrown things out of sync and the result, I fear, is a rushed process for Holyrood.<br /><br />Remember that, from an SNP perspective, candidate selection for 2007 was pretty much taken care of to the extent that all the Regional Lists were in place by July 2006 - ten months before the election - and it's clear that there's a major dilemma for party organisers here: try to run two parliamentary election campaigns at the same time, or cram everything for Holyrood into the half the time everyone's used to having. I guess Renfrewshire Labour just felt that it was better to get the early start, get things over with, and make sure that everyone knows where they stand. Macintosh now has a little time to decide what he wants to do in Eastwood, while had he won this contest, Hugh Henry would have had ample time to campaign for the Paisley selection.<br /><br />I know that Trish Godman has indicated that she wishes to in the check that Labour usually runs - everyone but George Foulkes voiced that intention if I recall correctly - but you're right, she is in her eighth decade now, so at the next election so there will surely be doubts as to whether or not she fancies carrying on until the age of 75.<br /><br />On the other hand, John Farquhar Munro will be 76 come the next Scottish election, and SSCUP Leader John Swinburne sought re-election just two months before his 77th birthday, so there's precedent for Trish Godman carrying on at least until 2015...Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10978812670312106107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19208183.post-675508006699703522010-03-12T00:19:55.628+00:002010-03-12T00:19:55.628+00:00I wondered why Labour decided to run the (re)selec...I wondered why Labour decided to run the (re)selection processes for Holyrood in the run up of the GE campaign. Couldn't they have waited until June? Maybe nothing will happen, but selection contests can sometimes generate a bit of recrimination and bitterness.<br /><br />Is Trish Godman standing again? She's not so young anymoreAndreanoreply@blogger.com