Mr “No, No”, better known as Brian Monteith, the mastermind behind the anti-referendum campaign, was back at his normal beat this week, acting as the GTC’s media-handler. During the campaign Monteith continued to carry out his duties for the council and other clients of his one-man PR business by getting up very early in the morning. In remembering what to do for whom, he must have needed his own slogan, think twice.
An Edinburgh man and cheerleader for Hibs, Monteith raised his personal profile during the referendum and is rekindling his efforts to give the gatekeepers to the teaching profession an equally high public image. Naturally he wants to be on the winning side for a change. A bit like Hibs, too.
This week he had a helper. The GTC goes walkabout in the autumn and fetched up in North Lanarkshire where after meeting such of its local members as were interested in a reception laid on for them, it gave itself dinner - in metropolitan Moodiesburn no less.
Guest speaker was Willis Pickard, TESS editor, who said that the council must be more proactive PR-wise (no, he didn’t use such jargon, silly).
The council already welcomes publicity but not apparently for its financial matters. A six-page report on the work of the financial and general purposes committee, filleted ruthlessly for the media, contained few facts or figures. The only type to appear on half the report was the page numbers. Full disclosure or what? Monteith - the Peter Mandelson of the GTC - has his work cut out.