The Scottish Politics Thread

[weegie01]

If they can't get one then one is appointed to them.

Fair enough. But whoever takes it on will still go through everything with a fine toothed comb, and would, I imagine, be relatively expensive as the amount of work they will do will be significantly higher than a normal audit.

[tc27]

If they can't get one then one is appointed to them.

Fair enough. But whoever takes it on will still go through everything with a fine toothed comb, and would, I imagine, be relatively expensive as the amount of work they will do will be significantly higher than a normal audit.

The SNP apparently has less thab 100k in the bank and thats including a loan from Murrel for 100k.

I cannot imagine a forensic audit is cheap? They do have a plush office in central Edinburgh which could be a useful asset to liquidate.

Edit..add in Murrels legal fees..better start shaking the bucket.

[Paddington Bear]

If they can't get one then one is appointed to them.

Fair enough. But whoever takes it on will still go through everything with a fine toothed comb, and would, I imagine, be relatively expensive as the amount of work they will do will be significantly higher than a normal audit.

The SNP apparently has less thab 100k in the bank and thats including a loan from Murrel for 100k.

I cannot imagine a forensic audit is cheap? They do have a plush office in central Edinburgh which could be a useful asset to liquidate.

Edit..add in Murrels legal fees..better start shaking the bucket.

Do they own the office or lease it?

[Big D]

Given the SNP have been close to skint at times, is there a chance the polis were looking for evidence of something like misappropriation of public funds?

[Blackmac]

Given the SNP have been close to skint at times, is there a chance the polis were looking for evidence of something like misappropriation of public funds?

Criminal law in Scotland is still very much based on common law and we haven't yet gone the way of England with multiple statutes to cover different types of financial crime. Embezzlement, fraud or just straight forward theft will be the most likely charge. I was golfing today with a group of retired senior detectives and we were all puzzled about the seizure of the motor home. All thought they must have directly linked it to the missing money which would be astonishing.

[fishfoodie]

Given the SNP have been close to skint at times, is there a chance the polis were looking for evidence of something like misappropriation of public funds?

Criminal law in Scotland is still very much based on common law and we haven't yet gone the way of England with multiple statutes to cover different types of financial crime. Embezzlement, fraud or just straight forward theft will be the most likely charge. I was golfing today with a group of retired senior detectives and we were all puzzled about the seizure of the motor home. All thought they must have directly linked it to the missing money which would be astonishing.

When we had the sequence of the mysterious membership numbers, & the flurry of resignations, my immediate thought was that it was almost the opposite; there'd been a illegal donation several years ago, & a significant number of phantom members had been invented to filter in the money as fees, but this membership then had to be unravelled, & they were caught in coverup.

If it's as simple as gross embezellment, the auditors really have had their pants pulled down.

I guess we'll just have to wait & see ?

[Blackmac]

Given the SNP have been close to skint at times, is there a chance the polis were looking for evidence of something like misappropriation of public funds?

Criminal law in Scotland is still very much based on common law and we haven't yet gone the way of England with multiple statutes to cover different types of financial crime. Embezzlement, fraud or just straight forward theft will be the most likely charge. I was golfing today with a group of retired senior detectives and we were all puzzled about the seizure of the motor home. All thought they must have directly linked it to the missing money which would be astonishing.

When we had the sequence of the mysterious membership numbers, & the flurry of resignations, my immediate thought was that it was almost the opposite; there'd been a illegal donation several years ago, & a significant number of phantom members had been invented to filter in the money as fees, but this membership then had to be unravelled, & they were caught in coverup.

If it's as simple as gross embezellment, the auditors really have had their pants pulled down.

I guess we'll just have to wait & see ?

Yeah, it's very difficult to see what is going on. Another point is the £100k loan. As recently as 2016, Murrell was getting paid approx £75k yet he has a spare 100 grand to give away that his wife doesn't even know about.

[fishfoodie]

Criminal law in Scotland is still very much based on common law and we haven't yet gone the way of England with multiple statutes to cover different types of financial crime. Embezzlement, fraud or just straight forward theft will be the most likely charge. I was golfing today with a group of retired senior detectives and we were all puzzled about the seizure of the motor home. All thought they must have directly linked it to the missing money which would be astonishing.

When we had the sequence of the mysterious membership numbers, & the flurry of resignations, my immediate thought was that it was almost the opposite; there'd been a illegal donation several years ago, & a significant number of phantom members had been invented to filter in the money as fees, but this membership then had to be unravelled, & they were caught in coverup.

If it's as simple as gross embezellment, the auditors really have had their pants pulled down.

I guess we'll just have to wait & see ?

Yeah, it's very difficult to see what is going on. Another point is the £100k loan. As recently as 2016, Murrell was getting paid approx £75k yet he has a spare 100 grand to give away that his wife doesn't even know about.

The cashflow situation for the SNP should have raise questions for even the most incurious of auditors/

[tc27]

Possibly the caravan might have being thought to hold evidence the and the police wanted to search it somewhere more private.

The SNP should have a decent income from the Westminster short money if nothing else.

My understanding is the original criminal complaint was the SNP spending money from the 'ring-fenced independence fund' on its day to day expenses.

[fishfoodie]

Possibly the caravan might have being thought to hold evidence the and the police wanted to search it somewhere more private.

The SNP should have a decent income from the Westminster short money if nothing else.

My understanding is the original criminal complaint was the SNP spending money from the 'ring-fenced independence fund' on its day to day expenses.

That always seemed the weakest of weak cases.

I mean the whole fuckimg Party is defined by a single policy to remove Scotland from the Union; so how the fuck to construct an argument that any legitimate expense paid for out of the 'independence fund', isn't funding the move to independence ???????

[Blackmac]

Possibly the caravan might have being thought to hold evidence the and the police wanted to search it somewhere more private.

The SNP should have a decent income from the Westminster short money if nothing else.

My understanding is the original criminal complaint was the SNP spending money from the 'ring-fenced independence fund' on its day to day expenses.

That always seemed the weakest of weak cases.

I mean the whole fuckimg Party is defined by a single policy to remove Scotland from the Union; so how the fuck to construct an argument that any legitimate expense paid for out of the 'independence fund', isn't funding the move to independence ???????

You are spot on with your last paragraph which is why using the funds for alternative party motives would be unlikely to be the focus.

[fishfoodie]

Possibly the caravan might have being thought to hold evidence the and the police wanted to search it somewhere more private.

The SNP should have a decent income from the Westminster short money if nothing else.

My understanding is the original criminal complaint was the SNP spending money from the 'ring-fenced independence fund' on its day to day expenses.

That always seemed the weakest of weak cases.

I mean the whole fuckimg Party is defined by a single policy to remove Scotland from the Union; so how the fuck to construct an argument that any legitimate expense paid for out of the 'independence fund', isn't funding the move to independence ???????

You are spot on with your last paragraph which is why using the funds for alternative party motives would be unlikely to be the focus.

It was a handy excuse to use to get a W for the books though ......

[tc27]

I suppose the test is if you had donated to that fund did you reasonably expect it to be in a separate account for to fund another referendum campaign? Had the SNP mentioned they might use the money to pay salaries and refit the party HQ?

I admit to not being objective but to me it easily clears the hurdle to count as fraud

[Blackmac]

I suppose the test is if you had donated to that fund did you reasonably expect it to be in a separate account for to fund another referendum campaign? Had the SNP mentioned they might use the money to pay salaries and refit the party HQ?

I admit to not being objective but to me it easily clears the hurdle to count as fraud

A lot would depend of whether they set out with that intention from the start. If so and they have obtained the money through false pretences it's definitely fraud.

[weegie01]

Now the SNP auditors have resigned.

Although being reported as if it has just happened, they resigned a good while ago.

Yousaf says he did not know about it till after he became leader.

Jings.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics ... f-reveals/

[Slick]

Now the SNP auditors have resigned.

Although being reported as if it has just happened, they resigned a good while ago.

Yousaf says he did not know about it till after he became leader.

Jings.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics ... f-reveals/

I think he is going to be a very short termed FM

[tc27]

Perhaps a modicum of the organizational and fiscal genius the SNP were keeping in reserve when they were going to untangle Scotland from the UK, create a new currency and all the branches state within 24 months could have being deployed to ensure the party's finances were presentable to the auditors?

[Big D]

Granted it is the Sunday Mail (not MoS as some SNP supporters have though) but this isn't a good look;

[Blackmac]

Granted it is the Sunday Mail (not MoS as some SNP supporters have though) but this isn't a good look;

Am I wrong in thinking that it has been common knowledge for a while that they had bought a holiday home.

[Big D]

Granted it is the Sunday Mail (not MoS as some SNP supporters have though) but this isn't a good look;

Am I wrong in thinking that it has been common knowledge for a while that they had bought a holiday home.

Not as far as I know.

[robmatic]

Granted it is the Sunday Mail (not MoS as some SNP supporters have though) but this isn't a good look;

Am I wrong in thinking that it has been common knowledge for a while that they had bought a holiday home.

Also, that shouldn't exactly be out of reach for two reasonably well-paid middle class professionals without children.

[Biffer]

Granted it is the Sunday Mail (not MoS as some SNP supporters have though) but this isn't a good look;

Am I wrong in thinking that it has been common knowledge for a while that they had bought a holiday home.

Also, that shouldn't exactly be out of reach for two reasonably well-paid middle class professionals without children.

Yeah, a childless couple with a combined income of £150k plus isn't really going to struggle to do that.

[Big D]

The Portuguese villa is irrelevant really unless dodgy funds have been used. Which i guess is why the police are looking into it.

[Big D]

Some pretty big speculation flying around twitter and WhatsApp groups suggesting the SNP will become insolvent this coming week. And that a new SIP party (Independence replacing national) will be formed.

Surely a load of nonsense?

[Blackmac]

Some pretty big speculation flying around twitter and WhatsApp groups suggesting the SNP will become insolvent this coming week. And that a new SIP party (Independence replacing national) will be formed.

Surely a load of nonsense?

We have found, that when a senior SNP figure says something is categorically not going to happen, it usually does.

[weegie01]

Some pretty big speculation flying around twitter and WhatsApp groups suggesting the SNP will become insolvent this coming week. And that a new SIP party (Independence replacing national) will be formed.

Surely a load of nonsense?

The SNP do not have enough cash or income to continue spending at previous levels. They have to / will have to reduce expenditure. As far as i can see many of the comments made by SNP officials relate to that rather than them being insolvent, but are being taken out of context.

[Paddington Bear]

I don't know how many of you have worked in insolvency/restructuring or at companies going through it, but this sort of statement is usually the bat signal to start ripping as much copper wiring as you can carry out of the walls

[Big D]

I don't know how many of you have worked in insolvency/restructuring or at companies going through it, but this sort of statement is usually the bat signal to start ripping as much copper wiring as you can carry out of the walls

The, what I assume is batshit crazy, rumour I saw was that as much as £2.5m in donations over the years is unaccounted for.

I can't believe that is true but if it is them several SNP senior figures are completely finished.

[tc27]

Colin Beattie: Police arrest SNP treasurer in finance probe

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65309791

[inactionman]

Not that surprising given all that is going on - Police arrest SNP treasurer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65309791

eta: well, it bears repeating, I suppose.

[GogLais]

The previous treasurer’s reasons for leaving are “interesting”.

[tc27]

Would not be surprised if an arrest and interview is in Sturgeons future.

[Slick]

Would not be surprised if an arrest and interview is in Sturgeons future.

Has to be really, particularly after her Zoom call telling everyone to shut the fuck up went public.

[GogLais]

Would not be surprised if an arrest and interview is in Sturgeons future.

I’d bugger off somewhere in a camper van if only I had one.

[SaintK]

This all going well for Yousaf today then?

Today was meant to be the day Humza Yousaf, the new SNP leader and Scottish first minister, performed a government relaunch. He is due to address the Scottish parliament this afternoon to set out his priorities for Scotland.

[Lobby]

This all going well for Yousaf today then?

Today was meant to be the day Humza Yousaf, the new SNP leader and Scottish first minister, performed a government relaunch. He is due to address the Scottish parliament this afternoon to set out his priorities for Scotland.

1st priority - declare an amnesty from prosecution for Sturgeon?

[eldanielfire]

This all going well for Yousaf today then?

Today was meant to be the day Humza Yousaf, the new SNP leader and Scottish first minister, performed a government relaunch. He is due to address the Scottish parliament this afternoon to set out his priorities for Scotland.

Kate Forbes and Ash Regan are toasting the fact they didn't win leadership at this point given the constant sewage spewing up out the ground.

[eldanielfire]

Some pretty big speculation flying around twitter and WhatsApp groups suggesting the SNP will become insolvent this coming week. And that a new SIP party (Independence replacing national) will be formed.

Surely a load of nonsense?

The SNP do not have enough cash or income to continue spending at previous levels. They have to / will have to reduce expenditure. As far as i can see many of the comments made by SNP officials relate to that rather than them being insolvent, but are being taken out of context.

This gets me wondering, with some of the independance Vote 2 mongering from Sturgeon, who must have know it was all doomed to fail in court, was to try and stimulate a situation where they get people mad and donate money to them.

[Big D]

Isn't Beattie also chairman of the public audit committee?

[Slick]

Some pretty big speculation flying around twitter and WhatsApp groups suggesting the SNP will become insolvent this coming week. And that a new SIP party (Independence replacing national) will be formed.

Surely a load of nonsense?

The SNP do not have enough cash or income to continue spending at previous levels. They have to / will have to reduce expenditure. As far as i can see many of the comments made by SNP officials relate to that rather than them being insolvent, but are being taken out of context.

This gets me wondering, with some of the independance Vote 2 mongering from Sturgeon, who must have know it was all doomed to fail in court, was to try and stimulate a situation where they get people mad and donate money to them.

She spent her entire time in office doing that. For most of them, especially the SNP MP’s in Westminster who bloody love it down there, independence would be a disaster