| In a rare display of compassion,
the Executive of the Labour Party In Scotland are to pay for Henry McLeish to go on
holiday. Ex-First Minister McLeish remains at the
centre of two fiscal rows and it is now thought that it is unlikely that the National
Executive will endorse the MSP’s attempt to be re-elected in 2003.
A party spokessobstory told the JT: "After all that
Henry’s been through we thought it only right that he have sometime for a period of
quiet reflection, a period of say, eighteen months or so. "Along with many other
Labour traditionalists, Mr McLeish has often expressed a wish to visit Cuba and it is
understood that has dream will come true - at least partially.
"Yes" a senior Labour Party figure confirmed to
the JT "Henry will be travelling to the island but he won’t be visiting the
Castro-controlled sector which admittedly might be a bit of a disappointment." |
Instead, Mr McLeish will be
enjoying the hospitality offered by American hosts at Camp X-Ray, a purpose built facility
designed to offer a secure and comfortable environment for people not actually found
guilty of anything …yet. Amid press reports that
Henry is the victim of inter-party score settling, Jack McConnell told the JT that nothing
could be further from the truth, "All we’re doing is eradicating the last
vestiges of Old Labour style cronyism and replacing it with…oh hang on, I’ve
said too much, time to feign chest pains…"
With Mr McLeish on his way out, Gordon Brown’s hold on
the Scottish Labour scene now relies on Wendy Alexander who has complained of a lack of
co-operation in ministerial meetings since Mr McConnell took over as First Minister:
"There’s definitely a whispering campaign being mounted against me" she
told the JT "Every time I go into ministerial meetings, the rest of them
whisper about me." |
