Jury out on Labour leader

Martin Dowey and I appear to be on the same page when it comes to local politics being different from national politics. They make a bad cocktail. There is no place for Westminster shenanigans in local politics . . . but yet there is! Boris Johnson’s Brexit dominated the 2017 local elections – and severely dented the Tories’ prospects. Now, it’s‘Partygate’taking its toll on the Conservative vote locally and nationally. With an SNP MP, MSP and heading towards an SNPcontrolled council, Ayr and South Ayrshire isn’t going the way Conservative HQ would like. But I reckon his job is safe – and I’m tipping him to challenge for Westminster again before he calls it a day. Over on the red side, how safe is Brian McGinley?

The jury’s out. There were some long faces at the count when he polled just 814 first preference votes. And he was the only Labour candidate!

But he limped over the line after more stages than the Tour de France. Was it .. . er . . nine? I took a call on Monday saying he’d‘lost the plot’at a meeting with the Nats. My Labour mole told me“He’s old school. And surrounded by old school pals. No-one’s got the bottle to tell him it’s time to hand over”. Peter Henderson must be the happiest man at the helm. Then again, down in Girvan, he’s the only Nat on board. But he’s got the good ship SNP sailing smoothly – even if it’s towards thewrong destination. Post May 5 - I’d say he’s having the fewest sleepless nights of all the party bosses.