'The lady doth protest too much, methinks.'
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, c. 1600.

'You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!'
Oliver Cromwell, 20 th April 1653.

'Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!'
Sir Walter Scott Bt., Marmion, 22 nd February 1808.

'You're so deceitful you can't ask for water when you're thirsty. We could tangle spiders in the webs you weave.'
Prince Richard in The Lion in Winter, 1968

The Borg Queen -" Seven of £999"

'Party observers hoped Mr Dewar would widen his circle once former Treasury Minister Helen Liddell joined his team as his "Nat-bashing" deputy. But insiders say Mrs Liddell is very much on the periphery of an inner circle which includes special adviser Wendy Alexander and her brother, MP Douglas Alexander, who is there at the Chancellor's behest.'
Catherine Macleod in the Herald, 30 th November 1998.

'Wendy Alexander, standing in Paisley North, is one of a group, now in their 30s, who 12 years ago formed Scottish Labour Action, a pressure group aimed at ensuring the party did not renege on its promise to deliver a parliament. About half a dozen of that group can expect to be elected, and some are almost certain to find themselves in Mr Dewar's first cabinet. The person eventually to replace Mr Dewar could come from that generation.'
Ewen MacAskill in the Guardian, 5 th May 1999.

'Rising politician Wendy Alexander was keeping firmly silent yesterday over claims she has been tipped as Donald Dewar's successor. She refused to comment on rumours that she was being groomed for Scotland's top political job, or on suggestions that Dewar sees her as a 'favoured daughter'.'
Brian Currie in the Daily Record, 29 th July 1999.

'Just imagine what that means: 120 jobs lost in a civilian community of just 600. Half the schoolchildren gone. The economic, social and cultural power of one-third of your fellow islanders ripped away. No other base has such a close relationship with the local community, as it is the main employer and there is such a small number of people on the island. The Holyrood minister Wendy Alexander found such an exercise of imagination beyond her. Wasn't this oil-rich Shetland, she shrugged to a deputation of Unst folk Help yourselves, she told them. Anyway, military stuff is Westminster's responsibility. The central belt is where the poor live...'
Tom Morton in the New Statesman, 18 th October 1999.

'The Falkirk East MP blames First Minister Donald Dewar and Communities Minister Wendy Alexander for botching the repeal. Connarty blamed the fiasco on Wendy Alexander, claiming: 'The level of hysteria over this has been appalling but, in a sense, Wendy asked for it'.'
Carlos Alba in the Daily Record, 14 th March 2000.

'Spotted in the executive lounge at Heathrow waiting for the shuttle were a senior Labour MP and his researcher. Huddled over their papers they were attracting attention with the odd guffaw. Could it have been another one of Wendy Alexander's policy papers they were reading?'
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 16 th May 2000.

'Communities Minister Wendy Alexander was at the centre of a new storm last night after she was accused of misleading Parliament. And Cabinet colleagues are furious she has landed the Government in another political mess. One said: 'You would think she would have learned her lesson by now. She doesn't consult, she just bashes ahead in her own sweet way'.'
Dave King in the Daily Record, 18 th May 2000.

'Gruppenfuhrer Wendy Alexander wants to know every last detail of the make-up of management committees like the local mother and toddler groups.'
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 18 th May 2000.

'The prying eyes of Wendy Alexander have been shut by the Diary, which last week exposed Big Sister's nebbing into the sexuality of the guid folk of Craigmillar.'
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 26 th May 2000.

'One reveller recalls: 'I'll never forget looking out the window and the sight of Wendy trying to climb over the back wall with a carry-out so that she could sneak in'.'
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 25 th January 2001.

' Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Minister and MSP for Paisley North, Wendy's fast-talking ways have seen her described as 'a gerbil on amphetamines'.'
Donna White & Jean Rafferty in the Sunday Mail, 25 th March 2001.

'A formal complaint has been lodged with Scotland's most senior civil servant alleging a Scottish Cabinet minister has been 'interfering' with the running of a government department. Wendy Alexander, the Enterprise Minister, is said to have intimidated and ordered around members of her department. Senior civil servants said such actions amount to 'politicising' the press office. Andrew Baird, who ran the enterprise desk, complained he could no longer work with Miss Alexander and has been moved to another post.'
Nick Britten, Scottish Political Correspondent in the Telegraph, 30 th March 2001.

'After a series of alleged rows, Mr Baird, who is highly regarded within the Civil Service, said he could no longer work with Miss Alexander and was transferred to another department. Last night it emerged that Mr Baird had the support of his colleagues, many of whom are 'fed up' with Miss Alexander's interference and 'overbearing and over-demanding' nature.'
Nick Britten, Scottish Political Correspondent in the Telegraph, 30 th March 2001.

'This comes days after Wendy Alexander allegedly threw a tantrum when she was asked to take on the water brief after the resignation of Sam Galbraith as environment minister.'
BBC Scotland Chief Political Correspondent, John Morrison, 30 th March 2001.

'Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander was under mounting pressure last night after she was accused of breaking strict government rules. Her government press officer quit last week complaining she had been 'interfering' with the running of the department and claiming he could no longer work with her. Andrew Baird - who is highly rated within the civil service - has since been moved to another post. He is the third press officer Wendy Alexander has lost in less than two years.'
Lorraine Davidson in the Mirror, 31 st March 2001

'One of the great political issues of our age, ie the last 15 minutes, is this: has Wendy Alexander spun out of control and can she be reined in again '
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 3 rd April 2001.

'Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander had come under fire after the publicity disaster of the announcement.'
Daily Record, 21 st April 2001.

'It's a snakepit up there, with a good chance now that two of the mostly hotly-favoured female faces of the new regime, Wendy Alexander and Susan Deacon, may pack the whole thing in after just one term of office.'
Sunday Business, 29 th April 2001.

'In March this year Mr McLeish was accused of having a lack of control after reports that Enterprise Minister, Wendy Alexander, 'threw a tantrum' when she was ordered to take responsibility for water authorities in the wake of Environment Minister Sam Galbraith's resignation.'
Deirdre Kelly on BBC News Online, 8 th November 2001.

'Gordon seemed to be in a bad mood and didn't even say good morning, and I found out later in the day why. John Reid rang me to tell me that Wendy Alexander had been forced to pull out of the race for Scottish first minister, because of lack of support and because the unions refused to back her, even though Gordon had tried to get them to override the one-member-one-vote ballot and just nominate her.'
From David Blunket's dairies, 11 th November 2001.

'Far be it for us to suggest anyone is two sandwiches short of a picnic, but Wendy Alexander has a thing about biscuits.'
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 15 th November 2001.

'The $64,000 question, of course, is whether Wendy Alexander at transport - now easily her main priority - will accept the new deal. She has been severely humiliated and it remains to be seen whether she will swallow one more bitter pill, in the shape of Mr Kerr's overview of her department.'
Alan Cochrane in the Telegraph, 28 th November 2001.

'Reports of a row between the then First Minister Henry McLeish and Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander over the timing of his appointment also added to the controversy.'
BBC Scotland News, 27 th December 2001.

'But there is another Alexander. The Alexander whose senior officials would refuse to go the extra mile for her because they knew that success would bring little praise, and failure would bring blame and complaints to the Permanent Secretary. The Alexander for whom a string of senior and experienced civil service press officers refused to work because of her constant, and often unreasonable, demands. The Alexander who defied a First Minister's wishes and forced him into a position where he lied for her. And the Alexander who, with just a mobile phone, once managed to bring most of the British political system to a grinding halt.'
Peter MacMahon in the Scotsman, 26 th January 2002.

'It was then that British politics almost ground to a halt as Alexander, already under a massive strain because she had been put in charge of Labour's Scottish general election campaign by Gordon Brown, telephoned everyone she knew to protest. From Downing Street staffers to a bemused Galbraith to Pat McFadden, a long-time No 10 adviser who was at the time working for the party, they all got frantic calls from a wound-up Alexander, who launched into a diatribe against the First Minister.'
Peter MacMahon in the Scotsman, 26 th January 2002.

'Alexander also made a number of further calls to McLeish himself to vent her fury. Executive colleagues who were close to the process at the time told me later that she claimed to have rung Brown at the Treasury and was citing his name in her case against the First Minster. Some believe that Brown never received a call, but that Alexander was using his influence with the First Minister as a lever to get her own way. It is no exaggeration to say that most of the Scottish executive and a significant part of Whitehall ground to a halt that night. Alexander wreaked havoc via the mobile phone, complaining vociferously that she just could not manage and that she had not agreed with the First Minister to do the job.'
Peter MacMahon in the Scotsman, 26 th January 2002.

'I did a lot for Henry McLeish because I liked him and believed he was pursuing the right policies for Scotland. But I was not going to get into a position where I was lying for him. Or for Wendy Alexander.'
Peter MacMahon in the Scotsman, 26 th January 2002.

'Former First Minister Henry McLeish lied to the media in order to cover up a ministerial row, according to his former aide. Peter MacMahon said Mr McLeish had 'committed the cardinal sin' when asked about an alleged argument with Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander. Writing in the Scotsman newspaper about his role as special adviser to the former first minister, Mr MacMahon said Ms Alexander was viewed as 'exceptional but with a fierce temper.'
BBC Scotland News, 26 th January 2002.

'The Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Minister Wendy Alexander has resigned from the Scottish Cabinet. The First Minister, Jack McConnell, has accepted her resignation but in a letter to Ms Alexander expressed his regret at her departure. Ms Alexander, 38, had considered standing for the first minister's post after the resignation of Henry McLeish last November, but stood aside when Mr McConnell ran for the office.'
BBC Scotland News, 3 rd May 2002.

'Wendy Alexander quit front line politics amid claims that she was driven from her position as Enterprise Minister by Jack McConnell, the First Minister.'
Tom Peterkin in the Telegraph, 4 th May 2002.

'Seven hundred workers lost their jobs yesterday - as the number of Scots firms going bust hit record levels. The redundancies at Grampian Country Foods and plastics firm Rosti Ltd - coupled with the shock figures on company failures - plunged new Enterprise Minister Iain Gray into his first crisis, just four days into the job. And it sparked a bitter backlash against his predecessor Wendy Alexander, who was accused of knowing bad news was in the offing and 'dropping him in it'.'
Magnus Gardham in the Daily Record, 9 th May 2002.

'And there continued to be questions asked about Labour's direction following the resignation of Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander. She smiled from the backbenches, like a Cheshire cat, on Wednesday as MSPs formally voted in the new members of First Minister Jack McConnell's team - Iain Gray at enterprise, Margaret Curran and Hugh Henry at the social justice department and Frank McAveety as a junior health minister.'
John Knox, BBC Scotland News, 10 th May 2002.

'It was our man on the spot at Radio Clyde who caught Wendy sighing into the microphone that she was the minister for so much that 'I cannot remember my own title'.'
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 26 th May 2002.

'The Scottish Sun newspaper has obtained copies of correspondence between Ms Alexander and former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars which was written following her shock departure. In it the MSP said she believes almost a century has passed since Scotland's Labour Movement last made a 'real intellectual contribution' to the UK Labour Party.'
BBC Scotland News, 30 th September 2002.

'One act of political suicide usually ends a career. Wendy Alexander has now committed that act three times within just one year. Her political career is dead and buried. And earlier this week, when the details of her letter to Scottish nationalist Jim Sillars were revealed, we saw the monument to mark the grave.'
Paul Sinclair in the Daily Record, 2 nd October 2002.

'Miss Alexander is regarded as one of the brightest MSPs, but her resignation was accompanied by claims that she had been overburdened by Mr McConnell when she was in his Cabinet. The acrimony surrounding her departure increased when she wrote a letter to Jim Sillars, the leading nationalist, complaining that Labour in Scotland was bereft of ideas.'
Tom Peterkin in the Telegraph, 10 th February 2003.

'Although one of the brightest Labour MSPs in the parliament, Alexander is not popular. Her rapid speech, poor people skills, and lack of patience with those who cannot follow her logic make her appear patronising, with one journalist describing her as sounding 'like a gerbil on amphetamine'.'
Scottish Politics April 2003.

'Wendy was difficult to deal with.'
Former Labour First Minister the Rt Hon Henry McLeish in Scotland First, Mainstream Publishing, 2004.

'I and a number of other Scottish Cabinet colleagues were surprised when the abolition of Section 28 was announced as a priority of the Scottish Executive by our colleague Wendy Alexander during a speech at Glasgow University.'
Former Labour First Minister the Rt Hon Henry McLeish in Scotland First, Mainstream Publishing, 2004.

'Former enterprise minister Wendy Alexander was shouted down by MSPs after telling parliament that Scotland's economy was on the up.'
BBC Scotland News, 12 th February 2004.

'Did you read it It would have brought a tear to a glass eye. Wee Douglas Alexander huffing and puffing that the big nasty media was really horrible to his extremely talented sister Wendy. Wee Wendy Alexander as the victim? That's a new one mate. Anyone who has any doubts about why Ms Alexander has been consigned to the dustbin of political history should ask any of her civil servants. Oh they loved her. All of that foot stamping and thcweaming goes down really well.'
Ron Mackenna in the Mirror, 16 th April 2004.

'Wendy Alexander's entry on the Parliament's website but found there was not a mention of her ministerial career. Stalinism is alive and well.'
Simon Pia (who was appointed as Wendy Alexander's spin doctor on the 18 th February 2008) in the Scotsman, 1 st September 2004.

'Former enterprise minister Wendy Alexander yesterday slammed the Executive's efficiency drive amid claims it could have saved an extra pounds 400million if it had been as stringent as England and Wales.'
Daily Record, 11 th May 2005.

'In the committee rooms there was an astonishing attack on Finance Minister Tom McCabe by his former colleague Wendy Alexander.'
John Knox, BBC Scotland News, 13 th May 2005.

'One of the more notable claims was by Wendy Alexander, a Labour backbench MSP for Paisley North and a former Scottish Executive minister. She defended a £15,600 claim for office supplies by saying: 'The postage and stationery spending reflects the exceptionally hard work of the office in keeping constituents up to date with local developments particularly around campaigns on antisocial behaviour in Paisley and the future of local health services in Argyll and Clyde'.'
Angus Macleod in the Times, 14 th December 2005.

'You know politics is a funny old game. If there was one thing you could have been sure of it was that Wendy Alexander's political career was over. Dead as a very dead dodo. It wasn't simply her botched attempt to become First Minister. And it was botched big style. It was the fact that she and First Minister Jack McConnell did not get on. And Jack made his feelings abundantly clear on that. That and the fact he simply didn't rate her.'
Ron Mackenna in the Mirror, 24 th November 2006.

'There is more to Wendy Alexander than brains. Politics runs in the family. Brother Douglas is Transport Secretary and Scottish Secretary too. When she was young she was a researcher for the Scottish Labour Party. When she was very young she worked for George Galloway, though she does not boast about that now.'
Peter MacMahon in the Scotsman, 19 th May 2007.

'Some members may recall that I refrained yesterday from commenting on the scope of Mr Swinney's portfolio. However, as today's debate is on the approach to government and this is our only chance to discuss a decision that is not subject to the discussion and persuasion that Mr Swinney has just promised but which, in fact, has already been taken, I might dwell for a moment on this leviathan department, which at least deserves a mention from the Labour benches, if not from the Government ones. Last night, I was reading a bedtime story to my children. It happened to be 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', which some members will know: 'On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon.' I was, of course, put in mind of John Swinney's portfolio. On Wednesday, he ate through one statement on post offices, one on bridge tolls, one debate on the approach to government, one debate on welfare and fairness, one debate on transport, one statement on energy policy and one set of questions and 'That night he had a stomach ache' - or at least a headache, because that is the parliamentary business for this week and next week that falls within Mr Swinney's portfolio. One of the delicious ironies of the speech that we have just heard, which was sincerely devoted to the cause of slimmer government, is that its delivery has been entrusted to a department that is so super sized that it has already devoured most of the statements announced for the chamber and three of the four debates scheduled so far. I suggest tactfully to Mr Swinney that he consider putting his own sprawling department on a diet of parliamentary time, if only to allow one of his Cabinet colleagues to get a look in.'
Wendy Alexander MSP, 24 th May 2007.

'I don't know about the hungry caterpillar, but I think I know one politician who isn't going to turn into a magnificent butterfly in the near future. Labour's new finance (etc) spokesperson, Wendy Alexander, didn't do much to further her ambition to replace Jack McConnell as leader with her first front-bench outing last week. Her speech comparing the SNP's John Swinney to the eponymous caterpillar in the children's story - on the grounds that he is gobbling up Cabinet portfolios - was an embarrassing mess. Was this the finest intellect in the Labour firmament?'
Iain Macwhirter in the Sunday Herald, 27 th May 2007.

'I thought that after the hungry caterpillar escapade Wendy Alexander might have learned something about how to approach parliamentary statements, but her approach on this occasion has been no better than it was then.'
Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth, John Swinney MSP, 28 th June 2007.

'A 5lb bag of potatoes has emerged as the early favourite to be the next leader of the Scottish Labour Party, as speculation mounts that Jack McConnell may stand down within weeks.'
The Daily Mash, June 2007.'

'Wendy Alexander: A very bad political operator who was seen as an unsafe bag of vegetables at the enterprise department. The Paisley North MSP has tried to soften her image in recent years but many still doubt whether she is a human being. Her 'Hungry Caterpillar' speech last month was judged to be the worst moment in the history of Western Europe. Will have the support of teenage brother Douglas and fellow pod-creature Gordon Brown.'
The Daily Mash, June 2007.

'The future almost certainly belongs to Wendy Alexander, the favourite to win the Labour leadership contest. She is, of course, sister of Douglas Alexander, one of Gordon Brown's closest friends and the architect of Labour's failed Scottish campaign. She is therefore handicapped, and also has an abrasive personality and an unfortunate tendency to let her mouth run away with her.'
Iain Macwhirter in the Sunday Herald, 29 th July 2007.

'Ms Alexander criticised the Scottish Executive's management of its social justice policy and its efficiency savings drive and eventually became convener of the Scottish Parliament's powerful finance committee. A row also erupted over a leaked letter she wrote to former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars, in which she said that perhaps the last time the Labour movement in Scotland had made 'a real intellectual contribution' to the party nationally was in 1906.'
Andrew Black, BBC Scotland News, 15 th August 2007.

'Can Ms Alexander reform and revitalise Labour in Scotland while reinventing herself as a formidable alternative to the polished performer that Alex Salmond is turning out to be as First Minister?'
Herald Editorial, 16 th August 2007.

'Although highly respected as a policy-maker and strategist, her political experience at Holyrood has not been entirely happy, culminating in her sudden resignation from Jack McConnell's cabinet after only five months as 'minister for everything'.'
Herald Editorial, 16 th August 2007.

'She has her critics in the Scottish party - mostly, it has to be said, people who are too scared of her to speak of their reservations to her face. Some believe she is not grounded enough and does not have the common touch needed to be a Labour leader. But all that is yet to be tested and what is in Ms Alexander's favour is that she is not expected to do well against Mr Salmond at First Minister's questions. This puts her at a considerable advantage. Every good performance will be unexpected as she does not have high expectations to meet.'
Hamish Macdonell in the Scotsman, 16 th August 2007.

'She emerged with the result she wanted, but with doubts about her political judgement. That period as a minister also raised questions about her ability to communicate with voters and to take people with her.'
Douglas Fraser in the Herald, 16 th August 2007.

'Can Alexander turn things around Even if she faces no leadership challenge, she still has to convince her party and Scotland that she is the right person for the job. Her decision not to stand against Jack McConnell in 2001 and her resignation from his cabinet raised question marks. Then there are the fabled 'Wendyisms' - a percieved brusqueness with some colleagues and a tendency to deliver 100 minute lectures.'
Scotland on Sunday Editorial, 19 th August 2007.

'If Wendy Alexander is the solution to Scottish Labour's problems, then all the party is going to end up with is two problems. Her leadership could well mean division and further defeat.'
Former Labour Cllr, Gordon Archer in Scotland on Sunday, 19 th August 2007.

'Labour's new Scottish leader is famously bad at making connections with people, adopts a rather patrician air and has a tendency towards huffiness if things don't go her way. The question of whether Alexander has the skills required to lead and manage the egos and agendas involved is one being glossed over by her supporters.'
Former Labour Cllr, Gordon Archer in Scotland on Sunday, 19 th August 2007.

'The scale of the challenge facing Wendy Alexander, favourite to replace Jack McConnell as leader of the Scottish Labour party, is revealed in a YouGov poll which shows that only 7% of voters would like to see her as first minister. According to the survey, she is considerably less popular than Alex Salmond, the first minister, who has an approval rating of 38%. She also trails behind McConnell, who is at 10%, and she is level with Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tory leader. Only Nicol Stephen, leader of the Liberal Democrats, is more unpopular, with only 5% saying they would like to see him running the country.'
Tom Gordon in the Sunday Times, 19 th August 2007.

'Wendy Alexander was crucial to my victory over the late Roy Jenkins in Glasgow Hillhead more than 20 years ago. Though still a student, she took charge of my election HQ, proving a brilliant organiser and motivator, and even found time to baby sit my five-year-old daughter. I appointed her my first parliamentary researcher. She's clever and a decent soul. But she can be otherworldly to the point that she is life, Jim, but not as we know it. Long after mobile phones were proliferating across the land, I saw her lovingly handling one belonging to the brother of one of her own MSPs. 'That's amazing,' said the would-be First Minister. 'But where do you put the money in '.'
George Galloway in the Daily Record, 20 th August 2007.

'Brown may be bouncing but Wendy is wobbling.'
Lesley Riddoch in the Guardian, 20 th August 2007.

'To reinvigorate the Scottish Labour Party, Ms Alexander has to win back the Scots who have deserted Labour - some have headed towards the SNP, some to the Liberal Democrats and some to apathy and disillusionment with politics in general. Labour Party membership in Scotland is down 30 per cent since 2000, dropping from 26,500 to 18,500 in seven years. At the same time, SNP membership has risen: in 2003, the Nationalists had 9,450 members, but today the party has 13,585 - a rise of 44 per cent in four and a half years. At the elections in May this year, Scottish Labour lost 161 councillors, while the SNP doubled its number of councillors from 181 to 363. Much of this was down to the new transferable-vote system, but it still means many more SNP activists on the ground and far fewer Labour ones. In 1999, Scottish Labour had 56 MSPs and 56 MPs; now they have 46 MSPs and 40 MPs - again partly due to other factors including boundary changes. But the big impact of Labour's defeat in May this year was the loss of the Civil Service back-up which the party had started to take for granted. Now the party has to employ researchers to draft policies and construct arguments, jobs which used to be done by civil servants for the Labour Executive. So the party in Scotland has lost members, activists, councillors, MPs, MSPs, government support and, most important of all, voters. It is Ms Alexander's job to get them back.'
Hamish Macdonnell in the Scotsman, 21 st August, 2007.

'Wendy Alexander has been dealt an embarrassing blow in her first week as Scottish Labour leader after footage emerged of her husband making a case for independence. Professor Brian Ashcroft, policy director of the pro-Union economic think-tank, the Fraser of Allander Institute, was filmed arguing that Scotland would be more prosperous as a separate country than having full tax-raising powers as part of the UK.'
Tom Gordon in the Sunday Times, 26 th August 2007.

'On the day Wendy Alexander was crowned leader of the Scottish Labour Party, she became embroiled in a row over 'fat cats' being appointed to advise the party.'
Douglas Fraser in the Sunday Herald, 15 th September 2007.

'Wendy Alexander's honeymoon as Scottish Labour leader has ended abruptly after one of her senior MSPs described her new spin doctor as an 'idiot'. Lord Foulkes, a Labour member for Lothians, has made a complaint about the party's head of communications, Brian Lironi, for allegedly briefing against him. The MSP also slammed former Labour first minister Henry McLeish, who has criticised his party in recent weeks, by describing him as a 'strange guy' who should 'shut up'.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 16 th September 2007.

'Ms Alexander had mounted an able enough assault, but it's tricky when you try to storm a citadel armed with a damp squib.'
Ian Bell in the Herald, 21 st September 2007.

'Wendy Alexander's first question time test as leader of the Scottish Labour Party ended in farce yesterday.'
Steve Bargeton in the Courier, 21 st September 2007.

'Wendy Alexander is facing her first crisis as Scottish Labour leader after several senior party figures expressed doubts about her leadership skills. A number of her MSPs believe they have been excluded from her team at the expense of a 'wee clique' of supporters.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 23 rd September 2007.

'Brian Lironi, the party's head of communications, is also likely to resign this week following clashes with the new leader and her allies. Her problems are set to continue after one of her new advisers, Mike Elrick, was revealed to have made a savage attack on what he described as the 'cynical and arrogant' Labour government.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 23 rd September 2007.

'Too many felt we had lost touch. The people of Scotland had not lost faith in Labour values but they wondered whether we had lost sight of how to put them into practice. And the Scottish National Party was the beneficiary of that disillusionment.'
Wendy Alexander to the UK Labour Conference, 24 th September 2007.

'Conference - we in Scotland need your help.'
Wendy Alexander to the UK Labour Conference, 24 th September 2007.

'We will be a party of principle and energy.'
Wendy Alexander to the UK Labour Conference, 24 th September 2007.

'She came to praise Jack McConnell. Then she buried him. Scottish Labour's new leader Wendy Alexander told her party's conference that her predecessor had many achievements but then tore into his legacy.'
Glen Campbell, Newsnight Scotland, 24 th September 2007.

'After a difficult first 10 days since being confirmed in the leadership, Labour moved to quash reports she has already driven a recently-hired media spokesman out of his job. Brian Lironi, who had been recruited as political journalist, announced yesterday he is quitting, only a month after he started work.'
Douglas Fraser in the Herald, 25 th September 2008.

'Ms Alexander is never knowingly penitent, save when apologising for Jack McConnell's mistakes.'
Ian Bruce in the Herald, 28 th September 2008.

'Wendy Alexander can't do her job properly because she doesn't have enough money.'
BBC Scotland News, 3 rd October 2007.

'What has been Wendy Alexander's priority in the three weeks as opposition leader It hasn't been for more money for schools, or hospitals, or the police. It has been for more money for the opposition leader.'
First Minister, the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP MP, 4 th October 2007.

'It's one thing letting people down in government, Wendy Alexander is letting them down in opposition.'
First Minister, the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP MP, 4 th October 2007.

'Wendy Alexander is under pressure to reveal the identity of backers who helped fund her campaign to win leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland. Every donation to Alexander's campaign was under the £1000 limit that would trigger identification of the donor. She received a number of payments of £995; £5 more and such donations would have had to be reported to the Electoral Commission.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 17 th November 2007.

'A top Labour Party spokesman has been forced to resign after making a series of blunders at an awards ceremony. Matthew Marr is believed to have called First Minister Alex Salmond a four-letter word at the Scottish Politician of the Year dinner. It is also understood he was rude to a female nationalist MSP and abusive towards a cloakroom supervisor at the event on Thursday.'
BBC News, 18 th November 2007.

'Matthew Marr became the second Scottish Labour spin doctor to quit in the past few weeks, after he got drunk and became abusive at last week's Politician of the Year Awards.'
Hamish Macdonell in the Scotsman, 19 th November 2007.

'Scottish Labour's new spin-doctor made a series of damning criticisms of his colleagues weeks before he accepted the job as the party's head of communications. Gavin Yates used his blog to describe Wendy Alexander as 'abrasive' , labelled shadow health minister Andy Kerr as 'simply uninspiring', and blasted Jack McConnell for being a 'lame duck leader' when in office.
He also said the fledgling SNP government had a 'long and impressive' list of achievements, while describing first minister Alex Salmond as 'a great example of a politician on top of his game'.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 24 th November 2007.

'Wendy Alexander last night became enmeshed in Labour's donations sleaze row after an investigation by The Herald uncovered the identity of a tax exile who secretly helped fund her leadership campaign. She was forced to admit she had received money earlier this year from multi-millionaire Paul Green, a 65-year-old retail developer behind some of Scotland's highest-profile shopping centres.'
Kevin Schofield in the Herald, 29 th November 2007.

'She is a woman famed for her mastery of detail but not the details about whether money given to her campaign is legal or not. First we were told the disputed donation was fine - then perhaps not - and then it was dodgy after all.'
STV News, 29 th November 2007.

'Jackie Baillie got herself so worked up trying to retrieve the situation later that the Presiding Officer turned her microphone off. It was a telling illustration of just how rattled Labour is at present.'
Robbie Dinwoodie in the Herald, 29 th November 2007.

'There has been sleaze in London, and that sleaze is now in Edinburgh too. Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander accepted an illegal donation for her leadership campaign. Cue a resignation - not Ms Alexander's but the man who asked for the money on her behalf.'
STV News, 29 th November 2007.

'The Tory crescendo came when their leader insisted Gordy was simply not up to the job. Speaker Michael Martin shouted above the tumult that the PM 'must get a hearing', to which one Conservative wag added: 'In court'.'
Michael Settle in the Herald, 29 th November 2007.

'The Scottish Labour Party was in turmoil last night after admitting it had broken the law over a dodgy donation to Wendy Alexander's leadership campaign.'
Steve Bargeton in the Courier, 30 th November 2007.

'I am very angry after innocently becoming embroiled in a national controversy. It has damaged the Labour Party that I support in Scotland and it was all so unnecessary if the party had only applied the rules. I cannot understand why they continued to maintain that the donation had come through a UK company when I had a letter from Wendy Alexander thanking me personally.'
Businessman Paul Green, 30 th November 2007.

'That Wendy Alexander should resign as leader of Labour in Scotland, there is no doubt. She either goes at once or she drags this farce out a while longer as she and her party try to come up with more lame excuses for a whole series of blunders.'
Alan Cochrane in the Telegraph, 30 th November 2007.

'Over at that new daily must-read The Three Line Whip, Iain Martin has news of a letter that puts Wendy Alexander in a very difficult position. Alexander wrote to Paul Green, who as a tax exile is not entitled to make political contributions, to thank him for donating to her campaign. Wendy, sister of Douglas and protégé of Gordon, is now hanging onto her job by a thread.'
James Forsyth in the Spectator, 30 th November 2007.

'In her short time in the job, Scottish leader Wendy Alexander has lost two aides and now her transport spokesman, been involved in accepting an illegal donation, and faces the possibility of a criminal investigation.'
BBC News, 1 st December 2007.

'Labour leader Wendy Alexander could be jailed if she is found guilty over dodgy donations, it has been revealed. Electoral law says anyone given an illegal gift must return it within 30 days or face up to a year in jail.'
Magnus Gardham in the Daily Record, 1 st December 2007.

'Wendy Alexander's leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland looked increasingly untenable last night following further damning revelations about illegal donations.'
Steve Bargeton in the Courier, 30 th November 2007.

'I am an SNP supporter so I expect very little from the Labour Parody, but those who give their heart and soul to the party are being abused by their own leadership. Most Labour members and voters have the same passion for Scotland as do SNP supporters or LibDem, Green, SSP or even Conservative supporters. We may disagree on the issues or the methods but our love of country is the same.
I would be personally affronted if SNP MSPs were caught in such a pack of lies. I would have no pity for them and I would demand their resignation equally as fervently as I demand that of Alexander, McCabe, Gordon and Whitton.
In fact, if it involved the party leader I would be more incensed and heartbroken. I place party leaders in higher regard and impose upon them a higher standard.
Wendy Alexander must realize that she has broken not only the bond of trust necessary for any MSP but she has severely harmed the reputation of her party, all her colleagues in Holyrood and in local councls and most importantly, she has failed the party membership.
To retain personal power, without honour, is a stain that not be removed and will harm the party, the people and the nation.
Do the RIGHT THING, the lot of you, RESIGN NOW!'
Doonhamer in the Herald, 1 st December 2007.

'Of course I want you to stay but you must do what is best for your family.'
Gordon Brown to Wendy Alexander, 2 nd December 2007 (reported in the Times).

'No person has a good enough memory to make them a successful liar. This piece of wisdom from one of America's greatest politicians, Abraham Lincoln, seems to be being tested to destruction as Labour's fundraising methods are exposed.'
Sunday Herald editorial, 2 nd December 2007.

'It simply beggars belief. She's been caught with her hands in the sweetie jar and her mouth smeared with chocolate and still she says she is innocent!
She's a liar and a crook.
In brief, she's a Labour politician.'
Christina de Kéroualle in Scotland on Sunday, 2 nd December 2007.

'Alexander is also facing investigation after it appeared that she, too, breached electoral law. As a 'regulated donee' in her campaign, she is required by law to return any illegal donation within 30 days. This time period has elapsed.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 2 nd December 2007.

'Alexander's team is facing damaging charges that its members knew her campaign donation from tax exile Paul Green was suspect three weeks ago. According to her secret list of donors, of which the Sunday Herald has a hard copy, Green's cash was flagged up as being questionable as early as November 5. The document was created on a computer registered to 'Brian Ashcroft', Alexander's husband.
This contradicts the claim made by Tom McCabe - Alexander's campaign manager - that she was made aware of a personal, rather than corporate, donation from Green last Thursday.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 2 nd December 2007.

'As well as an Electoral Commission probe, Alexander could face a police inquiry after her team admitted to flouting the law. Pundits and MSPs are questioning whether the daily drip of revelations will make her Labour's shortest-serving leader.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 2 nd December 2007.

'Wendy Alexander is at the centre of another funding row after it emerged that the name of a prominent businessman listed as a donor was different to the name her campaign team intended to give to the Electoral Commission.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 2 nd December 2007.

'I reject any suggestion of intentional wrongdoing on my part.'
Wendy Alexander MSP, 2 nd December 2007.

'Clearly she has to explain how this came about and what she knew at the time.'
The Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, Labour Chief Whip at Westminster, 2 nd December 2007.

'Wendy Alexander has broken the law!'
BBC Scotland's Political Editor, Brian Taylor, on the Politics Show, 2 nd December 2007.

'Ms Alexander's position was looking increasingly fragile as the police were called in and as new documents emerged that raised further, serious questions over her involvement in Mr Green's donation. Her problems were compounded when Geoff Hoon, the Labour chief whip at Westminster, called publicly for her to explain what had happened and backed calls for the police to be involved.'
Hamish Macdonell in the Scotsman, 3 rd December 2007.

'Two police forces and the Electoral Commission have launched official inquiries after Wendy Alexander, Labour's leader in Scotland, admitted breaking the law by accepting the money for her leadership campaign.'
London Evening Standard, 3 rd December 2007.

The accused: Alexander is facing up to a year in prison.

'What a desperate situation: was no-one in the Labour Party prepared to step up to the plate and defend their own leader Labour appeared to be in denial, unwilling or unable to face up to the enormity of the situation. This isn't any old law we are talking about, but one of Labour's own flagship statutes: the Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. This makes clear that any attempt to conceal the identity of a political donor is against the law, as is acceptance of a donation from anyone who is not on the electoral register.'
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald, 3 rd December 2007.

'Wendy Alexander has refused to resign over an illegal donation to her leadership campaign.'
BBC News, 3 rd December 2007.

'I cannot think of any historical precedent of a party leader admitting to law-breaking and yet remaining in post. Tony Blair never conceded anything illegal in the cash-for-honours inquiry, and that was bad enough. But it has always been assumed in British public life that if someone actually admits to acting illegally, they simply have to resign.'
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald, 3 rd December 2007.

'Can Labour participate in the process of making laws in Holyrood when its leader, and half the shadow cabinet, have admitted to breaking the law?'
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald, 3 rd December 2007.

'There is no reason why Wendy Alexander can't come clean and provide a full and comprehensive explanation of how she came to break the law by accepting an illegal campaign donation. Her continued failure to do so is yet another reason why her position looks to be untenable. The longer the silence goes on, the more her credibility drains away.'
Roseanna Cunningham MSP (Scottish National Party), 3 rd December 2007.

'Jesus Christ! Give me a break will you?'
Charles Gordon MSP (Labour, Glasgow Cathcart), 3 rd December 2007.

'Asked to clarify whether Wendy Alexander had offered to resign over the weekend, the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) replied that it was not for him to answer questions on Wendy Alexander as she had no Government position, she was a Labour Party officer.'
Downing Street Press Briefing, 3 rd December 2007.

'Normally, when people face the danger - and I presume she does face the danger here of a criminal prosecution - then normally you step aside from your position so you can concentrate on clearing your name.'
Sir Alistair Graham, former chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, 3 rd December 2007.

'Lord Maxton, a Labour peer, wrote to the chief of Strathclyde Police to complain about a document released to a newspaper which revealed he had also contributed to Miss Alexander's campaign. He accused the newspaper of breaking electoral law by releasing his name but the commission said there was no law against revealing donors.'
Kate Devlin in the Telegraph, 4 th December 2007.

'One Labour MSP contacted by The Herald expressed dismay at the way Ms Alexander and her advisers, who include senior figures such as Tom McCabe and David Whitton, were dealing with the controversy and said it was time for the Labour leader to stand down to prevent further damage to the party.'
Kevin Schofield in the Herald, 4 th December 2007.

'Incidentally, the political blog, Mr Smith Goes to Holyrood (no relation), points out that if you click on 'Donate' on Wendy's website it states under terms and conditions: 'In compliance with party funding laws, if I am donating more than £200, I understand that my details will be checked to ensure I am registered on a UK electoral register.'
Ah, if only she'd read her own website.'
Ken Smith in the Herald, 4 th December 2007.

'The bottom line is that, even if she survives these next two or three difficult weeks, Ms Alexander may find it impossible to shrug off the effects of this scandal. She is desperate not to be taken down as a 'disgraced former Labour leader'. She does not want that to be her political epitaph. But avoiding it may be an impossible feat.'
Hamish Macdonell in the Scotsman, 4 th December 2007.

'An awful lot of politics is about perception and, right now, the perception is that Ms Alexander is damaged goods, that Labour is up to its neck in dodgy donations and that none of them can be trusted.'
Hamish Macdonell in the Scotsman, 4 th December 2007.

The letter: Alexander wrote to a Jersey based businessman to thank him for his donation.

'Miss Alexander says she was 'honoured and priviledged to lead the Labour Party'.
With her inability to spell the word 'privileged', all I can say is that I am glad Miss Alexander is not in charge of Scotland's education system.'
Liz Rosser in the Courier, 4 th December 2007.

'Despite what Ms Alexander and the Labour Party think, there is not one rule for them and one for us.'
Sandra Scott in the Daily Record, 4 th December 2007.

'How the Labour party managed to get themselves in this mess is something I find difficult to understand.'
Businessman Paul Green on BBC Radio Scotland, 4 th December 2007.

'Wendy Alexander looks set to face a police inquiry and when her role as human shield for Gordon Brown is over and the London media has moved on to political pastures anew, it's hard to see how the Scottish leader will survive.'
Lesley Riddoch in the Guardian, 4 th December 2007.

'Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander has again refused to resign over the illegal donation which was accepted by her leadership campaign team.'
BBC News, 4 th December 2007.

'Labour MSPs today pledged support to their beleaguered leader Wendy Alexander as the businessman at the centre of the dodgy donations row accused her campaign team of 'gross mismanagement'.'
Ian Swanson in the Evening News, 4 th December 2007.

'So that's why they are so often refered to as the West of Scotland Labour mafia - they support criminals.'
Iain Morrison in the Evening News, 4 th December 2007.

'It's another irregular verb:
I made an adminstrative error;
You acted within the spirit of the law;
He accepted an illegal donation contrary to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
.....Apologies to Bernard Woolley for nicking that one :)'
Chris. J. in the Evening News, 4 th December 2007.

'Asked if the Prime Minister retained full confidence in Peter Hain and Harriet Harman, the PMS said the Prime Minister retained full confidence in both. Asked if the Prime Minister retained confidence in Wendy Alexander, the PMS replied that she was not a member of the Government, so therefore it was not for him to comment on her position.'
Downing Street Press Briefing, 4 th December 2007.

'Too many teeter on the threshold of concluding that they are morally entitled to blur the rules, while one or two have already crossed the line. Douglas Alexander's injunction to his sister not to stand down because it would harm Harman and Brown has the authentic smack of mafia family morality about it.'
Martin Kettle in the Guardian, 4 th December 2007.

'Ms Alexander, the sister of International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, is under intense pressure to step down after accepting an illegal £950 donation to her leadership campaign. Gordon. She nearly quit at the weekend until her brother and Mr Brown pressed her to stay. She was told that if she went, it would be difficult for Ms Harman - who accepted a £5,000 illegal donation - not to follow her example.'
Daily Mail, 5 th November 2007.

'I see that The Electoral Commission is a UK body - and a certain Lord Elder (Lord Murray Elder of Kirkcaldy) is listed as a member of the Electoral Commission's Parliamentary Advisory Group. As well as being a former colleage of Wendy Alexander he was also a secret donor to her campaign fund according to the list that was obtained by Paul Hutcheon of The Sunday Herald.'
Neil Robertson in the Herald, 5 th December 2007.

'Why do politicians seem to think to think that owning up to mistakes and promising that 'lessons have been learned,' somehow makes it alright At the end of the day, they may escape prosecution. Ms Alexander makes great play of her confidence that she will be 'exonerated of any intentional wrongdoing. But even if only the spirit of the law has been broken, politicians are responsible for the actions of their campaign teams. Joe Public wouldn't get away with it and neither should they. After all, there is no defence of ignorance when hauled before a JP for breaking the speed limit.'
Graham Dines in the East Anglian Daily Times, 5 th December 2007.

'Our coarsened nation is thus matched with coarsened politicians. The few who are not stand out like beacons, and we revere them. The rest are grasping, expensive for the state to run, achieve little, and are rewarded chronically for failure. They have little idea how to behave, are incapable of acting decently when found out in doing wrong, and see no harm in consorting with the most shocking people. That is where professionalisation has got us: politics is no longer a fit calling for a respectable young or middle-aged person. And as we survey this swamp of oily people on the make, whatever can it portend for our democracy?'
Simon Heffer in the Telegraph, 5 th December 2007.

'Ms Alexander's bold assertion that she had not knowingly broken the law comes despite the fact that she wrote a personal letter of thanks to Mr Green at his address on Jersey on October 5.'
Press & Journal, 5 th December 2007.

'Navraj Ghaleigh, quoted by the BBC as an 'Edinburgh University public law lecturer', claims Wendy Alexander may not be liable for acepting an illegal donation. Mr Ghaleigh was the Labour candidate for Edinburgh West at the 2005 Westminster Election.'
Scottish Politics, 5 th December 2007.

'Throughout this week, Ms Alexander has been forced to fend off calls for her resignation following news that the Scottish Labour Party took an illegal donation from Jersey-based businessman Paul Green.'
BBC News, 6 th December 2007.

'The Electoral Commission was last night beginning its inquiry in to Wendy Alexander's leadership campaign donations after the Labour chief confirmed details had been passed to the watchdog.'
Kevin Schofield in the Herald, 6 th December 2007.

'But it's not just Brown who could be damaged. Labour has lost power in Holyrood and now faces a slow descent into the same sleazy oblivion into which the once-dominant Scottish Tories disappeared in the mid 90s. This leaves the SNP as the dominant force in Scottish politics for the foreseeable future. Incredibly, the very future of the union has been placed in jeopardy over a donation of £950.'
Iain Macwhirter in the Guardian, 6 th December 2007.

'The SNP has opened up an eleven-point gap over Labour in Scotland, the biggest Nationalist lead ever recorded over their rivals by a mainstream polling organisation.
The surge can only be explained by the performance of the Salmond government and the troubles of Wendy Alexander's Holyrood opposition.'
Robbie Dinwoodie in the Herald, 6 th December 2007.

'The people of Scotland are clearly deciding it's time to leave the small-minded, corrupt Labour mafia behind once and for all!'
Alex Brodie in in the Herald, 6 th December 2007.

'Labour before the election was adamant there was no need to revisit the devolution settlement. Yet now Ms Alexander has set out areas in which she believes that more powers could be devolved - in her lecture, she highlighted welfare, road transport, public holidays, marine issues and animal health.'
Ian Swanson in the Evening News, 6 th December 2007.

'Does Wendy Alexander care - no she doesn't. Because it isn't really about moving anything forward except herself, preferably moving herself as far away from the rest of the news agenda as possible.'
Former SNP Deputy leader, Roseanna Cunnigham MSP, 6 th December 2007.

'I don't know what's wrong with the Nats. Maybe all this mature, governing-party stuff has gone to their heads. They had Labour and its leader for the taking yesterday and they fluffed their chance. They may well live to regret this missed opportunity. There is, of course, a view within SNP circles that they don't want Wendy Alexander to lose her job. They think she's doing so badly that she's their best hope of staying in power.'
Alan Cochrane in the Telegraph, 7 th December 2007.

'Gifts and hospitality cannot always be refused for fear of giving offence.'
Charles Gordon MSP (Labour, Glasgow Cathcart), 7 th December 2007.

'A member of Wendy Alexander's leadership campaign team who admitted blunders over the acceptance of a £950 donation from a foreign businessman said today that he plans to stay on as an MSP. There had been speculation that Charlie Gordon, who quit as Labour's shadow transport minister last week, would stand down from the Scottish parliament and trigger a byelection.'
Haroon Siddique in the Guardian, 7 th December 2007.

'It is simply not credible for all of those involved in Wendy Alexander's campaign to claim innocence and keep their jobs,'
SNP MSP Sandra White, 7 th December 2007.

'Three things occur to me.
One, Charlie Gordon is plainly hurting.
Two, Glasgow City Council is plainly not the epitome of comradely fellowship one had always imagined it to be.
Three, this entire affair will remain unresolved until the Electoral Commission rules. Or the police intervene. Or both.'
BBC Scotland Political Editor Brian Taylor, 7 th December 2007.

'There's been an illegality which I understand has been admitted. There's some debate about who has prime responsibility for that.
In these circumstances then a police investigation at some point is inevitable as surely as night follows day.
At some point there has to be a police investigation - it cannot be dealt with in any other way.
In these circumstances, I find it difficult to see how Wendy Alexander staying in office during this investigation is tenable.'
First Minister of Scotland, the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP MP, 7 th December 2007.

'A defiant Charlie Gordon made clear last night that he would not be resigning as an MSP, dismissing breaches of the electoral law as no more than 'a fuss'.'
Robbie Dinwoodie in the Herald, 8 th December 2007.

'What Labour absolutely does not need just now is a by-election. The YouGov poll in recent days gives the SNP its biggest ever lead and a by-election would be a minefield for Labour.'
Robbie Dinwoodie in the Herald, 8 th December 2007.

'If any of those who were helping out on the campaign has committed a minor breach in this way, then we are sincerely sorry.'
'Jolly' Jackie Baillie MSP (Labour, Dumbarton), 8 th December 2007.

'What will the electorate make of all this Well it depends on what medium you garner your news from. If it is the BBC website then they could be forgiven for thinking that there hadn't been much of a scandal at all. For fully 36 hours following the revelations by The Sunday Herald the lead story on the Scottish section of the BBC web based news was a local government policy change by the SNP.'
GS, Coatbridge, in the Herald, 8 th December 2007.

'The Labour Party is becoming adept at getting into deep trouble but fails miserably when it comes to getting out of it again. The Scottish leader, Wendy Alexander, and several senior party figures in Westminster, cannot seem to shake off the taint of corruption surrounding donations they have received from business figures.'
Press & Journal Editorial, 8 th December 2007.

'Ms Alexander seems happy to let herself be bruised by the opposition while waiting for the Electoral Commission, the police or anyone in authority to clear her of any wrongdoing. According to Labour, the evidence of her innocence or ignorance has been passed to the Electoral Commission. If it was in her possession, perhaps she should have shared it with us all?'
Press & Journal Editorial, 8 th December 2007.

'The secret list of donors that showed Wendy Alexander's team knew four weeks ago about a legally suspect donation from a Jersey tycoon was sent directly from the Labour leader's office. The Sunday Herald understands the list of fundraisers was circulated by her office using the parliamentary email system - a link that ties Alexander to the document. It also suggests the Labour leader's campaign was using MSP facilities for party fundraising purposes - an activity that is explicitly against Holyrood rules.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 9 th December 2007.

'All this mess because the Labour Party was worried about the SNP getting money from Sean Connery who lived abroad. So they thought that they would change the rules, which they did. Now it turns out that they cannot understand or abide by their own rules, and in opposition they have deprived themselves of more money, and Wendy is complaining that she doesn't have enough money to run her department.'
Richard Quinn in the Sunday Herald, 9 th December 2007.

'We now know chimps beat humans hands down when it comes to memory tests. So I'm wondering why the Labour Party didn't put apes in charge of handling donations. Our hairy relatives might not be potty trained, but I'm sure they wouldn't have left as much s*** around as the humans have.'
Anna Smith in the Sunday Mirror, 9 th December 2007.

'Up here in the cheap seats, we're even more paranoid about politicians trying to pull the wool over our eyes. After all, we have the proud history of our First Minister Henry McLeish having to quit over grubby money dealings. And we thought we'd seen the last of it until MSP Charles Gordon and a case of amnesia that would put canoeist John Darwin to shame. Gordon may well be telling the truth, but would you vote for him And as for Wendy Alexander, why didn't she ask questions?'
Anna Smith in the Sunday Mirror, 9 th December 2007.

'Scottish Labour were falling apart before our very eyes long before Wendy Alexander became leader and became entangled in the web of deceit spun around her campaign funding. The Nats are not stealing Labour's clothes because they had given them away and acquired no new garb in their place. The unanswered question is: what does Labour stand for, especially in Scotland?'
Tom Brown in Scotland on Sunday, 9 th December 2007.

'Alexander faces a disciplinary probe after the parliament's Standards Commissioner, Dr Jim Dyer, received a complaint about her non-disclosure of donations on her MSP's register of interests.'
Paul Hutcheon in the Sunday Herald, 9 th December 2007.

'The Alexander debacle would not have happened if there had been a free flow of information among the party leadership. In 2005, Scottish general secretary Lesley Quinn ruled that a donation from Jersey tax exile Paul Green for Charles Gordon's 2005 Cathcart by-election campaign was illegal. Had Alexander's team taken Quinn into their confidence and shown her their list of donors, she would have warned them to steer clear of Green.'
Tom Brown in Scotland on Sunday, 9 th December 2007.

'One of Labour's biggest donors in Scotland has decided he will not give the party any more money until the controversy over funding has been cleared up. Glasgow businessman Willie Haughey has given Labour around one million pounds since 2003. His name emerged last week on a leaked list of donors to Wendy Alexander's campaign for leadership.'
STV News, 9 th December 2007.

'In a further blow to the party in the wake of the scandal over illegal donations, Scotland on Sunday can also reveal that a key local ally of Wendy Alexander is under police investigation following allegations of 'financial irregularities'. Tommy Williams, the former chairman of Alexander's own constituency party in Paisley and a prominent member of Renfrewshire Council, was sacked as a Glasgow City Council official last week amid claims time-sheets had been falsified.'
Eddie Barnes in Scotland on Sunday, 9 th December 2007.

'Wendy Alexander hasn't resigned yet, but her donors are considering their position. Willie Haughey, the Glasgow businessman who has bankrolled the Scottish Labour establishment to the tune of £1m, says he is cutting it off. He told a Sunday newspaper that he'd been assured his money had not been used to finance Wendy Alexander's campaign, when, of course, it had. The Scottish Labour leader is still insisting that she knew nothing of the crazy antics of her fundraisers. Unfortunately for her, she can't escape legal liability.'
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald, 10 th December 2007.

'All this has happened since the cash-for-honours scandal revealed that Labour had been raising secret loans from millionaires, who subsequently were nominated for knighthoods and peerages, 'a k or a big p'. All of which raises the question: has Labour lost, not only the plot, but also the will to survive?'
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald, 10 th December 2007.

'The Electoral Commission are still studying documents sent to Alexander by her campaign team, after it emerged they wrongly accepted a donation of £950 from Jersey businessman Paul Green. Cathcart MSP Charlie Gordon has admitted he had misled the campaign team and resigned as transport spokesman, but has so far refused to quit over the row.'
The Daily Record, 10 th December 2007.

'For the party to be breaking its own laws on party funding in the aftermath of a scandal in which the former Prime Minister was interviewed twice by the police over sleaze simply beggars belief. It suggests that Labour has become so dependent on dodgy donations it's incapable of functioning without them.'
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald, 10 th December 2007.

'The Electoral Commission, set up by Labour to police the laws on funding, has an onerous responsibility here to act firmly and decisively. If it appears to be under sway from the political establishment then it will lose all credibility and our politics will descend into the mire.'
Iain Macwhirter in the Herald, 10 th December 2007.

'Ms Alexander has found herself on the back foot for nearly a fortnight after it emerged that she accepted a £950 cheque from the retail tycoon Paul Green, despite the fact he lives in Jersey and is therefore ineligible to make political donations in the UK.'
Kevin Schofield in the Herald, 11 th December 2007.

'The Electoral Commission is examining all the donations to Ms Alexander's campaign fund and could yet call in the police to launch their own investigation.'
Kevin Schofield in the Herald, 11 th December 2007.

'Far better, surely, for the Scottish Tories to have bided their time than to have got into bed with Scottish Labour, a party still racked by scandal, and led by someone who says that she never breaks the law; at least not intentionally.'
Alan Cochrane in the Telegraph, 11 th December 2007.

'Alexander's vow came after it emerged businessman Paul Green, a tax exi