“View from a Delegate
Day one of Spring Conference: The most important thing so far has been Alex Salmond’s speech, which inspired people. I haven’t seen so many people comment on him in a long while – perhaps people have become a bit blase – but he fired people’s imaginations about what we can achieve at the forthcoming election. Well done oor ‘Eck!
Darling of the conference so far however is John Swinney. He was called third to speak in a debate on job creation but brought the house down with his passionate declarations on the SNP’s achievements whilst in office.
In the midst of an election campaign, what is inspiring is the SNP’s internationalism. Speaker after speaker used their time to highlight the situation in Japan. They also mentioned Scotland’s links with Malawi and the devastation that has been felt by those in New Zealand and Australia after recent natural disasters.
On a similar note Anne McLaughlin MSP highlighted the obscene treatment of Glasgow based asylum seekers and Glasgow City Council employees following the UK Borders Agency’s latest botch up in awarding a contract to a charity legally unable to fulfil the obligations imposed on it. Yet again the vulnerable suffer under unionist rule…
For the delegate though conference is about more than just sitting in the hall. Its a chance to catch up with people from other parts of the country and share stories and experiences. Its the knowledge that our finance minister John Swinney queues up to buy his cup of tea like the rest of us. You certainly couldn’t imagine George Osbourne or Gordon Brown doing that! This is symptomatic of a party leadership who live by the belief that we’re a’ Jock Tamsin’s bairns and its heartening to see this in action.
Its also important not to forget the Brucie Bonus that is the SNP’s business convenor Bruce Crawford. He’s like the jannie of conference; without him nothing would function. Our thanks to him for keeping things running smoothly and for injecting a bit of humour into proceedings. We know that when we turn up the following day feeling “slightly jaded” he’ll be there with a smile on his face!”
