It’s been some time since I’ve read Neil Mackay, ‘Large Writer’ at the Herald. Clearly I’m not going to do him the honour of reading his cod piece today [https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/23910248.sturgeons-sleekit-slipperiness-spits-scotlands-face/] accusing the former FM of the above, but the headline deserves a quick response.

Should you have tired of watching ‘The Living Dead’ or some other zombiefest, you can search for him here and read my several angry reactions to his low journalism.

One or two will suffice here.

From May this year:

In the Herald today, Neil Mackay’s ‘big read’ exclusive on the breakup of the far-right group Patriotic Union (PA), leads with this claim:

Today, The Herald on Sunday’s exclusive investigation carried out by our Writer At Large exposes extremists linked to the Scottish Conservatives and SNP

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/23505742.uk-far-right-extremists-shattered-scottish-rebellion/

What is the evidence for these links? See this in the Herald article:

Taking the second case first, a former Conservative candidate attends PA rallies – fair enough, a link.

First, though, a PA member ‘works as a cameraman’ at SNP conferences and Cop26? Really? Is that all you have Neil?

Is the SNP responsible for checking the records of employees of whichever company filmed their conference?

If they were at COP26, why are they not ‘linked’ to the Greens, the UK Government or the UN?

We’ve had a lot of shoddy journalism from Mackay but this tops everything.

From August last year:

Professor James Mitchell is one of the nation’s leading expert on the constitution, devolution, the Scottish Parliament and Government. He’s seriously worried about the state of our democracy. In a no-holds-barred conservation with our Writer at Large, he lays it on the line about independence, the SNP, Westminster and systemic political failure IF you want to diagnose the health of Scottish democracy, there is only one man to turn to: Professor James Mitchell from Edinburgh University, a leading authority on Scottish politics. He has spent a lifetime dissecting the constitution, devolution, and the workings of the Scottish Government.https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/20800885.neil-mackays-big-read-scotlands-top-political-scientist-diagnoses-scottish-democracy-verdict-patient-serious-trouble/

First and quickly, James Mitchell, then Neil Mackay, OK?

Mitchell is a long-time critic of the SNP, Labour supporter, with a clear Unionist agenda making him far from ‘top political scientist.’

See:

Take the issue of independence out of Scotland’s election and the SNP would be struggling: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/03/take-independence-out-scotland-elections-snp-struggling

and

SNP’s independent Scotland would be a ‘little Britain’ as expert tears into ‘dismal’ second Indyref2 paper: https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/snps-independent-scotland-would-little-27509049

Try searching for Scottish political scientists and Mitchell does not pop up by himself. Prof Sir Curtice at Strathclyde, for all his faults, has a far great profile and the far more evidence-based methods, as opposed to the largely opinion-peddling of Mitchell, of Prof Henderson at Edinburgh, are at the top, if there is such a thing in research.

Henderson, of course, is too honest to suit the MSM agenda, saying things like this on the Conservative hold in Galloway and West Dumfries, in the BBC election coverage last year, she said:

Labour voters have already tucked themselves up behind the Conservatives to prop up the Conservatives in a way. There is a smaller swing between Labour and the Conservatives because that swing happened last time. We are seeing smaller swings in the seats already held by Unionist parties. That is an example of that in Galloway and West Dumfries.

Sarwar to Cook: Get her off!

I agree with Mitchell that Scotland’s democracy can be improved but our electoral system allows a voice for minority parties, such as the Greens recently, and Scottish Socialists in the recent past, unheard of at Westminster and rare elsewhere, making it far more inclusive than most.

As for Mackay, well sensationalist, scare-mongering drivel based on SFA peer-review standards.

Enough.