Media
SNP media chief Murray Foote resigns over membership dispute
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The SNP’s media chief has resigned in a row over the party’s membership numbers – after it denied the figure had dropped by 30,000.
Murray Foote had described press reports about the numbers last month as “inaccurate” and “drivel”.
The SNP confirmed yesterday that membership had fallen to 72,186 from the 104,000 it had two years ago.
SNP leadership candidates Ash Regan and Kate Forbes this week demanded to know how many members were eligible to vote in a row over the integrity of the contest.
The party initially refused to do so, then confirmed there was a drop of 32,000 since December 2021.
Last month the Sunday Mail – where Mr Foote was formerly editor in chief – reported the SNP had lost 30,000 members, which the party said was “not just wrong, it’s wrong by about 30,000”.
Mr Foote tweeted: “Acting in good faith and as a courtesy to colleagues at party HQ, I issued agreed party responses to media inquiries regarding membership.
“It has subsequently become apparent there are serious issues with these responses.
“Consequently, I concluded this created a serous impediment to my role and I resigned my position with the SNP group at Holyrood.”
‘Acted in good faith’
The SNP said Mr Foote has been an outstanding head of press for the Holyrood group, adding: “He has acted entirely in good faith throughout.”
In a statement it said: “The party was asked a specific question about loss of members as a direct result of the GRR Bill and Indyref2. The answer given was intended to make clear that these two reasons had not been the cause of significant numbers of members leaving.
“The membership figure is normally produced annually and is not produced in response to individual media queries, including in this instance.
“In retrospect, however, we should not have relied on an understanding of people’s reasons for leaving as the basis of the information given to Murray and, thereafter, the media.
“A new, modernised membership system is currently being developed for the party.”
Mr Foote became editor of the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers in 2014.
He was responsible for “The Vow” front page which was seen as being highly influential in the outcome of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
It was written by the Better Together campaign in which they promised more powers for Holyrood.
In an article written for the first anniversary of the vote, Mr Foote wrote that he and colleagues did not believe Alex Salmond was “offering true independence” at the time.
He was appointed the SNP’s media chief in 2019.
Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay, a former journalist and former press chief for his party, defended Mr Foote – saying he had been given false information.
“He didn’t lie. The SNP lied,” Mr Findlay said. “The problem is not a press officer. The problem is the rotten SNP leadership who deliberately lied to the press and public.
“We wish our best to Mr Foote, who was clearly told false information and is the fall guy for the SNP hierarchy.”
Murray Foote’s former colleagues have been highlighting his integrity as they react to his departure from the SNP.
It was a surprise for many when the man who helped created the unionist “Vow” during the 2014 independence campaign joined the party.
But he’s relished his task – although now it ends in tears.
In the resignation statement, he emphasises how “in good faith” he gave the inaccurate membership numbers provided by the party.
His former journalistic colleagues were furious at how they’d been treated and, it seems, so is he.
Mr Foote says this created a “serious impediment” to his role.
So who gave the figures to him? There are now big questions for SNP HQ and its chief executive, Peter Murrell.
As the leadership race continues, it’s tearing through the SNP, wreaking havoc.
It’s not over yet.
The SNP’s membership hit a peak of 125,000 in 2019 as support for the party surged in the wake of the independence referendum but had dropped to 85,000 by the end of last year.
That suggests a drop of 12,000 inside a matter of months.
After the most recent membership figures were released, Kate Forbes’ campaign manager, Michelle Thomson MSP, said she was pleased that “common sense has prevailed” – but that the “alarming drop in members shows that the party needs a change in direction”.
Ash Regan’s campaign linked the decline to the Scottish government’s controversial gender recognition reforms while the party’s president Mike Russell suggested cost of living pressures could offer an alternative explanation.
The third candidate in the contest, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, said it was “really important” the SNP did not lose any more members but said the best way to do this was to continue with the party’s “progressive agenda”.
Media
Taylor Swift's new album apparently leaks, causing social media chaos – CBC News
The hype for Taylor Swift’s new album went into overdrive as it appeared to leak online two days ahead of its Friday release.
Swifties started sharing tracks on X that they claimed were from the singer’s upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, saying they came from a Google Drive link containing all 17 songs.
Some fans were upset by the leak and said they would wait until Friday to listen while others started frantically posting fake links on X to bury the “real” tracks.
“Raise your hand if ur an ACTUAL Taylor Swift fan and aren’t listening to leaks,” one user wrote.
Several media outlets reported that X briefly blocked the search term “Taylor Swift leak” on Wednesday.
CBC has reached out to Swift’s publicist for comment.
Swift announced the release, her 11th studio album and the first with all new songs since 2022’s Midnights, at the Grammy Awards ceremony in February.
Fans have been speculating about the lyrical themes that would appear on The Tortured Poets Department, based in part on a physical “library installation” that opened Tuesday in Los Angeles, curated with items that drop hints and references to the inspirations behind the album.
Swift’s 2022 album Midnights, which featured the hit Anti-Hero, also leaked online ahead of its scheduled release date, and went on to win the Grammy for album of the year. Swift’s previous albums 1989, Reputation and Lover also leaked ahead of their official releases.
The singer is in the midst of her billion-dollar-grossing Eras tour, which is moving through the U.S. and is scheduled to conclude in Vancouver in December.
Swift was added to Forbes magazine’s annual new billionaires list earlier this month, with Forbes saying she was the first musician to become a billionaire based solely on her songs and performances.
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DJT Stock Jumps. The Truth Social Owner Is Showing Stockholders How to Block Short Sellers. – Barron's
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DJT Stock Jumps. The Truth Social Owner Is Showing Stockholders How to Block Short Sellers. Barron’s
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Taylor Swift's new album allegedly 'leaked' on social media and it's causing a frenzy – CTV News
Social media can be a divisive place, but even more so when it comes to Taylor Swift.
A Google Drive link allegedly containing 17 tracks that are purportedly from Swift’s eagerly awaited “The Tortured Poets Department” album has been making the rounds on the internet in the past day and people are equal parts mad, sad and happy about it.
CNN has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment.
The actual album is slated to drop at midnight Friday, but the claimed leak is both being hailed and nailed by Swift’s supporters.
One person shared a drawing of a young woman asleep in a sparkly bed with sparkly blankets on X, writing, “How I slept last night knowing I’m going to hear TTPD for the very first time tonight cause I haven’t listened to any leaks.”
Yet another person posted a video of two models walking and wrote, “Me and my bestie on our way to listen to #TSTTPD leaks.”
On Thursday, “Taylor Swift leaks” was a prevented search phrase on X.
The general consensus among those who have decided to be “leak free” appears to be that they are the true Swifties – as her hard core fan base is known – because they don’t believe the singer would have sanctioned such a “leak.”
Swift herself has gone to great lengths to prevent unintended early releases in the past.
“I have a lot of maybe, maybe-not-irrational fears of security invasion, wiretaps, people eavesdropping,” Swift said of her music during an 2014 appearance on” Jimmy Kimmel Live.” She added that her “1989” album only existed on her phone, “covered in cat stickers and the volume buttons don’t work very well because there’s candy stuck in there,” for nearly two years.
“The Tortured Poets Department” is Swift’s 11th album and comes after she became the first woman and only solo artist to win the Grammy for album of the year three times.
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