David Maddox: The not so secret diary of John Mason

Having spent most of his summer last year campaigning in and then winning the Glasgow East by-election for the SNP you would have thought that John Mason (pictured) would relish the chance to have a proper holiday this year.
It is not as if the man who famously refuses to have a television in his house would want to sit back with his feet up at home and he is known to enjoy a spot of hiking, which in a way is what he did.
The Steamie can now reveal how he spent his summer hols, courtesy of his report to Garrowhill Community Council on 2 September where, like a boxer, he refers to himself in the third person:
"John wanted to do something practical during the recess. He gets annoyed at the amount of litter, dog fouling, fly posting etc. So he decided to remove some of the fly posting: 130 taken down so far!"
I gather that residents in his neighbouring constituency - Glasgow North East - are quite keen on his fly poster taking down services due to the amount of pesky posting by his own and other political parties for the forthcoming by-election.

David Maddox: Why are the Nationalists so keen to defend the Speaker?

Tomorrow (Monday) is a defining day for the future of the embattled Speaker Michael Martin (pictured right) as he makes as statement on expenses to MPs and faces his growing number of critics.

But one corner where he does have some friends appears to be among his historic die hard opponents in the SNP

This blog has noted before how SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson gave his backing to the Speaker Martin at another time of beleaguerment.

And this week his colleague Glasgow East hero John Mason (pictured below left) has been saying the same thing as the same thing on Good Morning Scotland and on the Politics Show today.

It is surprising considering that there is little love lost between Scottish Labour (especially of its West of Scotland variety) and the Nationalists. It is not even as though Mr Mason, unlike Mr Robertson, has had his snout in the trough.

Both Mason and Robertson at different times have pointed to the snobbery against the working class Glaswegian Speaker, but also paid tribute to his fairness.

"He always calls me to speak when I want to," said Mr Mason today, echoing the words of his Westminster leader a few months ago.

But interestingly of the Scottish contingent only the Lib Dems have taken a pop. the sole Scottish Conservative David Mundell has also supported Speaker Martin.

All of which gives the impression that possibly there is concern within the Scottish ranks cross parties that their opportunities may be more limited if he is replaced by a new Speaker from south of the border.

David Maddox: Nationalist spring conference

In many ways the SNP's conference today started in Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh today rather than in its venue in Glasgow. Many in the party gathered friends and political foes to commemorate the life of one of Nationalism's greatest voices - Professor Sir Neil MacCormick (top right). More on the funeral in tomorrow's Scotsman.
But the official conference opening in the Glasgow Thistle Hotel was delivered by a more recent hero, John Mason, the man who won Glasgow East for the SNP in the stunning by-election last summer.
A contact in Labour has noted that "immitation is the best form of flattery" as Labour just a few weeks ago got their by-election hero of November, new Glenrothes MP Lindsay Roy to open their Scottish conference.
Some wag (apparently a member of the Labour student movement) has tried to liven up events by providing a conference bingo card.
On the link below are two bingo cards to mark off favourite phrases and names in conference speeches. The nice 'n easy one apparently gets delegates a tartan keyring, but the more difficult killer version's prize of shares in Iceland may not be quite as valuable.

Readers will note on the easy version that popular topics and people such as "Scotland's oil", "Glasgow East", "Homecoming", "independence" and "John Mason" are mentioned.

Meanwhile Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop, seen by many as a weak link, may not be chuffed to be on the killer version of unlikely embarrassing mentions along with "Kosovo", "Scottish Futures Trust", any country from the arc of prosperity (or bankruptcy) and any education pledge made in the 2007 election.
SNP%20Conference%20Bingo.pdf

David Maddox: Bad day for Grays (not just the squirrels)

Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader (pictured right), might think that he has enough on his plate taking on Alex Salmond and the SNP, while still trying to sort out the mess his party North of the border was left in after Wendy Alexander vacated the leadership.

But, if this was not difficult enough he seems to have had to contend with everything that UK Labour Party leaders have had to throw at him too.

First there was the suspension of his East Lothian constituency party over the argument surrounding the reselection and attempted deselection of the local MP Anne Moffat.

Then just as he was preparing to give a major speech today on the economy at Ravenscraig where he was to deliver a withering attack on the SNP Scottish Government, then up pops UK Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform Tony McNulty (or McNumpty as one Scottish Labour activist called him today) (pictured left) on Sunday's Politics Show to praise the SNP.

Here's a quick competition, spot the difference:

McNulty on Sunday: "Broadly I think they (the SNP) are doing all they can and they are working – certainly in as far as my brief in terms of employment is concerned – they are working with us in common cause."

Gray today (Monday): "I say very clearly today that, if and when the SNP decide to focus on the economic challenge, concentrate on the actions they can take with the powers they have the Labour Party I lead will not shirk from working with them in the Parliament."

No wonder the Nationalists could hardly stop laughing. Their official spokesman on this occasion, John Mason, the hero of last summer's Glasgow East by-election, suggested that Mr Gray was "overtaken by events" mainly from his own party and perhaps "should have rewritten his speech."

I wonder if this is a picture of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's reaction when he was told how things were going in Scotland.

David Maddox: Darling to woo Glasgow East?

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is in Glasgow today for a couple of engagements, the second of which is to meet "community leaders" at the Fort shopping centre in the city's east end.
Now you don't need a long memory to remember that Glasgow East was the scene of a particularly humiliating night in recent Labour history when the Nationalist John Mason won the by-election and overturned a massive majority to become the constituency's first non-Labour MP.
Is it a coincidence that just yesterday Margaret Curran, the MSP defeated by Mr Mason in the by-election, announced she was to stand again at the general election?
Could it be that Gordon Brown has sent his Chancellor up to woo the people of Glasgow East?
If the answer to the second question is "yes" then the SNP are feeling quite relaxed about it.
"Darling was voted most boring politician of the year two years running," one noted SNP spindoctor told me last night.