The Steven Purcell Story - A post modern tale - Part One

And then it all went wrong, didn't it? I'd like help in filling in the gaps, some of which are down to my ignorance and some of which may point to what is really going on here. You decide, or help make this a better narrative. I will modify the narrative as comments or news arrives. This is supposed to be politically neutral, though Labour supporters may not see it as such. That is their cognitive dissonance, not mine.

For those that do not know, a few weeks ago it seemed that Steven Purcell, the first (?) outright gay Leader of Glasgow was heading towards the stratosphere of Scottish Labour. He was well respected, even by his opponents, including me, and had managed to bring the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Glasgow.

A bright and shiny future seemed to await him. He had been headhunted to stand against John Mason in the Glasgow (East) by election, and would probably have won. But he rejected that opportunity, perhaps because he wanted to see the Commonwealth Games project to a conclusion. On balance, I think that was true. There have been few occasions for this city to stand on a global stage and it would have been kudos all the way. It might not, exactly, have been a platform as strong as a certain Mr B Johnsons, but it would have been a credible rising tide on which to enter Parliament.

Would it not?


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It is quite difficult to understand how someone on the cusp of that much potential could have blown it so thoroughly.

Who are these 'pals' that The News of the World said he had?

It all seemed to start to go wrong at the dog end of an evening out. February 26th, described as a 'convivial night out'.  It was a night that our beloved leader - to quote Private Eye - was in attendance. (OK, G Brown.). That appears to have ended rather oddly, as  Steven Purcell was, apparently, huckled out of the joint by 'pals' and taken home. What had the 'rising star of Labour Politics' done to result in this 'I'll get your coat' treatment?

No-one is saying. Correct me if I am wrong, but no-one is saying.

It gets more weird.  February 26th is a Friday. The weekend starts here, and all that.

What happened to Steven Purcell over that weekend?

Apart from unsubstantiated comments that 'he was getting worse' or the like, issued by pals, apparently, very little. We do not hear from his family, we do not hear from him.

Who hasn't hade a tit of themselves late on a Friday night? What degree of embarrassment would be enough to make you walk into work on the Monday morning and resign? Well, he was so embarrassed that he didn't even turn up. He just resigned over the phone from, probably, the most important post in Scottish Local Government.

What could he possibly have said or done on the Friday that made resignation necessary on the Monday?

Occams razor kind of cuts through most speculation. It is not obvious that he even spoke to Gordon Brown.

So what was said, that was enough for him to firstly give up his authority and then his job. I do not believe it was just a cocaine habit, which is comprehensively denied, he merely 'dabbled'. There is something else going on here, and I think it is darker and deeper.

More later....