The Scottish Liberal Democrats rolled into town yesterday, well Hamilton, once thriving, until the Labour controlled South Lanarkshire Council decided to rip the heart right out of it. Now it is a shadow of itself and under SNP management being shocked daily as they try to save it.

I have many friends in Hamilton, went to High School in Hamilton, spent my Saturdays in the huge library in Hamilton, which incidentally is part of the Town Hall Building, it really is quite a spectacular building and popular, not only as it hosts the library, it is also where people go to register the birth or their children and sadly, the death of loved ones. Talking about death, the Liberal Democrats visited the Town Hall, a place steeped in history, where local school pupils received their accolades for a job well done and where Hamiltonians and those, like myself from the surrounding areas gathered to hear music, or laugh at a pantomime, therefore you can be forgiven in thinking the Scottish Liberal Democrats holding their Spring conference there was a bit of a laugh. And it would have been had they not described ex-SNP MP John Nicolson as ‘odious’ in the introduction of Jo Swinson as tweeted by STVs Colin MacKay.

“Lib Dem deputy leader @joswinson introduced as unseating the odious @MrJohnNicolson which got the biggest round of applause so far.”

Hard to believe how loud that applause was , especially as there only seemed to be a handful of people in the audience. Possibly OAPs bussed in for the day. That said, what was the reason for the remark? What is odious about John Nicolson, those who are friends and those who are acquainted with John know he is in no way odious. Therefor why the use of the term to introduce Ms Swinson? Why did they not introduce her on her own merit, why attack her opponent? And in such a devious underhand manner?

John Nicolson tweeted: “…your party’s abusive, offensive use of my name as the intro to your speech today demeans politics. I doubt you’d defend the behaviour of your Lib Dem colleague. I’m socked you didn’t immediately leap to my defence (as I’d have done for you). Can I have an apology?

To my knowledge Swinson has not apologies nor has she jumped to his defence, however people, myself included tweeted John directly to let him know we do not believe a word of it. How crass of Swinson and the Liberal Democrats to ‘put someone down’ to ‘big up’ someone else. Swinson is a non-entity, in a party of non-entities. A party that sold out their principles at the mere sniff of power. The party had been on its way back in 2010. Had made promises to students and gotten their backing. Well in England but lost it all when the party went into coalition with the Tories. And now both Cable and Rennie are offering the hand of friendship to the Tory defectors from Labour and of course those who have defected from Conservative. All Tories together.

Rennie in urging Scottish Tories and those Tories who infiltrated the Labour Party’s Scottish representatives to “Come and talk to me.” Seems Rennie is “Full of admiration” for those who have already quit their parties in England. It would seem, Rennie admires those who have abandoned the electorate who put their faith in them and their manifesto. That really does say all there is to say about the Liberal Democrats. Who seem to have seized upon the opportunity to get a few headlines in a few newspapers.

The LibDems are neither liberal nor democratic, for liberal means open-minded, broadminded, moderate, freethinking, and tolerant. And democratic means autonomous, classless, equal, open and independent. Well they are all these things when it comes to another referendum on Brexit. They are positively pushing for another referendum on Brexit, however when it comes to the people of Scotland exercising our right to have another referendum on Scottish independence then their Liberal democratic-ness falls apart. They want a democratic referendum on Brexit but not so democratic when it comes to the people exercising our sovereign right to decide if Scotland should be independent.

The democratic Swinson tweeted: “Brexit is destroying the country, but independence would be even worse”

Swinson dreads to think what leaving a 300-year union would do to the country. Which country is she refereing to? And where is her crystal ball. Rennie, Swinson and just about everyone else tell us what they think and how they feel. But Rennie and Swinson are unionists, through and through. Swinson was in a coalition government with the Conservatives and actively brought about policies that the Scottish government are having to mitigate. Swinson sat back and watched the Conservative government destroy England having played a big part in that destruction. Therefore, to tell us that leaving a 300-year union would be worse than Brexit is ludicrous. If anything, Brexit has shown the people of Scotland that there is no and never was a union.

In 1707 the country was sold so those nobles in Scotland could have access to English colonies. From that moment on Scotland has been raped and pillaged by those nobles. Time to tell those who would see our country destroyed to go. Such a Parcel o Rogues in a Nation. Burns got it spot on then, and we have it spot on now. The Parcel of Rogues in the Nation have been reincarnated and are doing their level best to destroy our country.