Wendy Alexander
I am still quite shocked at the illegal donations row and amazed that Wendy Alexander is hanging on in there. I suspect it is correct to say that Gordon Brown is putting pressure on her to stay. I've felt for a few weeks that Wendy is not comfortable in the role of Labour Leader in Scotland. She can't seem to find her feet, which is odd given that she's (rightly) widely reputed to be one of Labour's best politicians. And she's had more and more and yet MORE problems with staff in the short period of her leadership.
But the thing for me is this: she has two tiny children and when she's spending another day dodging the press or psyching herself up to face the opposition in parliament and continually being asked about the prospect of ending up with a criminal record when she has always prided herself on her integrity, thinking of those little kids is unlikely to give her strength. It's more likely to make her think "what on earth am I doing here?"!
Don't get me wrong, I don't underestimate the seriousness of the situation and this situation is very very wrong. But on a personal level, just as one human being to another, I wouldn't put myself through this if I didn't have to and I don't think she should. I think she should do herself a favour and take a back seat. Gordon Brown can look after himself. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Time to start listening.
