Porridge, Placemen & Numpties

Here’s a message (pictured) to the voters of Cathcart from Saughton. Hopefully the Labour Peer will be looking afresh at the scandal that is overcrowding in Scottish jails presided over by his Labour and 'Liberal' colleagues.

On which more here.

Meanwhile, over at Livingston, SNP candidate, Angela Constance, challenged Labour’s Jim Devine to show his face at the final hustings of the Livingston by-election this evening, following reports that he will not be attending. Sunny Jim sent the local Labour MSP in his place at the previous hustings meeting, following a reportedly dire performance at the first hustings.

Constance said: "It is time Jim Devine came out of hiding and faced the difficult questions about threats to public services and the loss of trust in Labour and Tony Blair. After a series of gaffes, Mr Devine has been avoiding the press and their questions, but surely he can't expect to avoid the people of Livingston as well?"

Facing difficult (or even not very difficult questions) doesn’t seem to be Jimmy’s forte, if listening to Devine on Radio 4 being interviewed about his attitude to Blair and Iraq when he squirmed like a squirrel on a stick is anything to go by. For those laggards out there not up at 6.42 a.m. you can hear in top form Jim again from here “Good, good, good”.

Constance herself seemed a bit evasive when questioned too but Charles Dundas was just hilariously woeful. Take a listen here.