Correcting a mistake

I was never completely comfortable with my decision to add Councillor Kelly to my blogroll. You can read my "justification" here.

The other day I read this post by the wonderfully named J Arthur MacNumpty:

The reason that I keep him off my blogroll is that I prefer my readers to have access to coherent writing, that I might not always agree with but I can at least see where the writer is coming from. Councillor Kelly, on the other hand, has decided to throw reason out the window and his blog is little more than a series of rants about groups he doesn't like.

I've decided to remove Cllr. Kelly's site from my blogroll for exactly those reasons.

But there's also something a bit more personal. Back in November I wrote this:

When I was eighteen, my father's job took us from Scotland to London. For almost twenty years I lived on an average sort of wage and then decided to get myself a professional qualification. That took four years of study at night, at weekends and during my holidays. I continued working full time and never received a penny of subsidy from the taxpayer. As a result of this I was able to get a much more highly paid job, but, guess what, that meant working longer hours, going in at weekends, not taking full holiday allowance and lying awake at night worrying about how the company was going to meet its payroll. Quite normal in the wealth-creating sector. Later, I did another four years of evening study (at my own expense and while continuing to work full time) and obtained a first class honours degree. So, if I earned more than average, I EARNED IT ALL.

Cllr Kelly responded with his usual wit:

I really wish I was more up to speed with computing I've just read Mr. Ferrer's (sic) remarks in response to my web, you have to read them. I challenge anyone to read his heroic account of his struggles without wetting yourself laughing.

I let that go at the time. I'm an adult and there's no point in blogging if you can't cope with a bit of opposition.

But Cllr. Kelly isn't any just any commenter: he's an elected politician who represents the most deprived area in Scotland.

Have a read of this sad tale:

Those who try shouldn't be slapped down by a repressive State that permits millionaires to parade the world stage paying nil tax, while the likes of me pays 33% marginal rate of tax, end up with £600 a month, then are expected to keep my sick mother too.

And who's created this state of affairs? Councillor Kelly's own Labour party, that's who. Radical Scots used to encourage self help and that tradition contributed to our becoming one of the most prosperous countries on earth. But for today's politicians "wetting yourself laughing" is apparently the appropriate response to someone who tries to get ahead without the aid of the state. God help Scotland.