 | Mr McConnell was appointed in 1992 by a 12-member panel of the UK executive on which the Scottish party only had observers, to the acute embarrassment of Labour north of the Border.' Peter MacMahon, in the Scotsman, 2 nd April 1998. |  |
| Mr McConnell was appointed in 1992 by a 12-member panel of the UK executive on which the Scottish party only had observers, to the acute embarrassment of Labour north of the Border.' Peter MacMahon, in the Scotsman, 2 nd April 1998. | |
Labour's Net gain is wiped out
By Mike Ritchie Scottish political party chiefs have taken to surfing the net in their latest tactic to score points over their rivals.
Yesterday, it was Labour's turn when Scottish general secretary gleefully embraced the wonders of the worldwide web to disclose an 'astonishing own goal' by the Scottish National Party.
He said, according to a page on the Internet, the Nats had conceded that Labour would win seven marginal seats and they have given up in three key seats, Kilmarnock & Loudoun, Tweedale Ettrick & Lauderdale as well as Airdrie & Shotts. An excited Mr McConnell took press photographers and TV cameras to an Internet cafe in Glasgow to show them the 'shock' on-screen SNP admission.
'Nationalist leaders, despite local rhetoric, are advertising Labour's impending success,' said Mr McConnell. 'Their daily bleating about Labour's chances has been put in perspective and we welcome their recognition of our success.'
But when asked for their response, SNP leaders poured scorn on Mr McConnell's 'Net' gains by saying the predictions had nothing to do with them.
The information was supplied by French-based Scottish academic, Dr Iain G. Old whose predictions include Labour losing Glasgow Govan to the SNP and the Tories facing a virtual wipe-out, holding on to only one seat. SNP chief executive Michael Russell said he had never met Dr Old so the party could not be held responsible in any way for what he's predicting on the Internet.
'This information is on the internet, the same way a book is available in a library,' said Mr Russell.
'We don't maintain the pages on which this information appears, we don't have responsibility for them, we don't pay for them and we didn't commission them.
Jack McConnell clearly does not understand the first thing about the Internet and how it works. He's making himself a laughing stock by his ludicrous suggestion this is information we have somehow put out'.
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