SOME MSPs are in the habit of despatching party political propaganda to their constituents dressed up as an Annual Report.
These usually consist of PR puffs for the MSP in question, and the leaflets are often replete with photographs of the member in support of local worthy causes. Usually such guff barely impacts the consciousness of citizens on its way to the recycling bin – they are nearly always made of dead wood and delivered by snail mail because we cannot have MSPs’ email inboxes being choked up, can we?
A classic of its type but with a real twist has come to the attention of the Jouker. Michelle Ballantyne MSP recently sent her annual report to her constituents that she represents as a list member for South of Scotland.
Now you might think that an annual report would include the major events of the MSP’s year yet somehow Ballantyne forgets to mention two of the biggest happenings of her entire political career that took place in 2020.
One was her standing as a candidate in the leadership contest of the Scottish Tories in February, a contest which she managed to lose to Jackson Carcrash and didn’t even gain a quarter of the votes.
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The second event happened just a few weeks ago, namely her resignation from the Scottish Conservatives that was announced on November 24.
Now it’s not as if Ballantyne ignores her life events. The annual report states: “Earlier this year I was appointed as the convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee.”
She was also happy to point out that she had been appointed as shadow minister for trade investment and innovation. That took place in August.
Now perhaps the leaflet was printed before she left the Tories so in that case, why does the word Conservative not appear anywhere?
And if it was printed subsequent to November 24, could Ballantyne not have explained why she stood down from a party on whose ticket she was happy to be elected and which, after all, she had tried to lead?
Remember what she said when she resigned: “There are differences arising for some in the party’s positioning on policy and, indeed, its principles. Sadly, for me, this means I no longer feel that the party and I are a good fit.”
You might think an Annual Report to the people who voted her into Parliament might explain why Ballantyne and the Tories are no longer a good fit, but explanation is there none. Nor is there any mention of her split from the Tories on her website’s news section. By any chance could she be avoiding scrutiny?
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