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Wings Over Scotland


Keeping the fire burning 25

Posted on December 12, 2024 by

Since it was founded back in November 2011, Wings Over Scotland has been solely financed by its readers. The site has never carried any advertising, we have no secret corporate backers, everything we do is funded by transparent voluntary donations and subscriptions, mostly of a few pounds a month.

We have the freedom to write what we believe, thanks to you, our readers. And since those earliest days, opponents have tried to end that freedom by blocking our funding.

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The Wage Thief 325

Posted on December 09, 2024 by

6 November 2024 was a normal sitting day in the Scottish Parliament, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Nicola Sturgeon spent the previous evening in London, watching a special screening of a dreadful BBC Three sitcom about – of course – drag queens.

But remarkably, though she must have been puffy-eyed and weary, the 6th was one of the few days when she did actually manage to turn up at Holyrood to do her job.

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Take your partners 163

Posted on December 07, 2024 by

The New Britain 560

Posted on December 03, 2024 by

So things are getting pretty strange.

Polling in Scotland, the UK and Wales in the last few days has shown Great Britain taking a fairly heavy swerve to the right after just five months of Sir Keir Starmer’s government. Labour now lead Reform (who have five seats to Labour’s 411) by just three points in the UK and are even more remarkably now in THIRD place in Wales, a country where the party has won every single election for over 100 years.

Scotland, meanwhile, is heading for a hung Parliament in 2026 in which – as this site has been telling its readers for the last year and a half – the only possibility of a stable administration will be an SNP-Labour coalition.

We live, as they say, in interesting times.

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What Went On 467

Posted on November 28, 2024 by

The proceedings at the Supreme Court this week were a tough follow even if you could get the court’s abominably bad livestream to work. They’re all archived here now, but non-lawyers will probably glaze over quickly during the nine hours of intense legalese.

We’re not allowed to clip up any illustrative sections, on pain of possible contempt of court, so perhaps the best way to explain the key parts of what happened in a vaguely comprehensible way is by showing you some commentary from social media.

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A Personal Best For Kezia 255

Posted on November 25, 2024 by

Credit where it’s due:

17 months is the quickest she’s ever caught up with us.

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The Unbargain Bin 215

Posted on November 23, 2024 by

Telling the truth by mistake 73

Posted on November 22, 2024 by

The Scottish Government has finally, and reluctantly, published its submission for next week’s crucial Supreme Court hearing on the definition of the word “woman”.

Many expert observers have already noted that the document flatly contradicts the Scottish Government’s previous repeated and strenuous assertions that a Gender Recognition Certificate confers “no new rights” on trans people, and have published extremely detailed assessments which are frankly all but impenetrable to non-lawyers but basically conclude that the Scottish Government’s position is a mess.

Our favourite line, however, is this one.

So if you’re obliged to have a 50/50 sex balance in your boardroom, you can do it by hiring a man with a GRC saying he’s legally female, or by hiring a woman.

We believe that the young folk nowadays call that a “self-own”.

The Long Unravelling 399

Posted on November 18, 2024 by

You’ve got to admit, that’s a zinger.

Craig Whyte is a man who knows all about financial doom looming on the horizon of a once-powerful institution. But it doesn’t take an expert with lived experience to spot what’s coming down the line for the SNP.

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The Way Forward 212

Posted on November 17, 2024 by

As a lifelong political geek and former SNP and Alba Party member, I’ve spent years supporting Scotland’s independence movement. However, over the last few years, I’ve watched the campaign (as opposed to support for independence) wither away. Being a Scottish nationalist has become increasingly disheartening, like watching someone you love succumb to a slow, debilitating illness. In frustration, I switched off from my homeland and turned my focus to the drama of US politics.

Over the last three years I immersed myself in it, watching both left and right-wing outlets. I became so hooked and invested that I jumped on a plane to Washington DC for the 2024 election. I canvassed with DC Democrats in rural Pennsylvania (that’s me third from the left in the pic below), attended Kamala Harris’s concession rally, and went to Trump’s only watch party in DC.

My journey led me to believe that Scotland’s independence campaign could learn a great deal from Trump’s victory and the Democrats’ failure.

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The People You Most Suspected 364

Posted on November 12, 2024 by

We’ll give you three guesses as to the highly controversial and extravagantly taxpayer-funded organisation that has its rainbow fingerprints all over this story, readers.

But you’re going to have two to spare.

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The Show Goes On 256

Posted on November 09, 2024 by

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

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    • Geri on The Wage Thief: “1. It’s garden leave. Her work in the parly is done. She’s to go enjoy herself on full pay. It’s…Dec 13, 00:11
    • Geri on The Wage Thief: “Where are those F16s? That pomp & ceremony was a bit of a damp Squibb eh? There was me thinking…Dec 12, 23:41
    • Geri on The Wage Thief: “Thanks Robert. I had some timeout for a bit. Hope you are keeping well?Dec 12, 23:25
    • Geri on The Wage Thief: “Oh & as Orban has found out & explains -;If you don’t do as yer told by NATO they withhold…Dec 12, 23:21
    • Jay on The Wage Thief: “Gregor, why did you not point out to Mr Hatespeech that the way he thinks is so tightly circumscrisbed that…Dec 12, 23:21
    • Geri on The Wage Thief: “Complete bollox. You propagandists really need new material. Yer Russophobia is indoctrinated bullshit. Those children are all accounted for. Removed…Dec 12, 23:04
    • Robert Matthews on Keeping the fire burning: “So you can’t put your money where your big mouth is. Cheapskate.Dec 12, 22:57
    • gregor on The Wage Thief: “Messiah: “A leader who is believed to have the power to solve the world’s problems: An ordinary priest, he was…Dec 12, 22:48
    • gregor on The Wage Thief: “Who’s the Messiah, Hatey ?Dec 12, 22:35
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: “Poot and his cronies have already shared all the vast resources of Orcland equitably between the people that live there.…Dec 12, 22:27
    • Mark Beggan on Keeping the fire burning: “Empty Crisp packets and psychological profiling.Dec 12, 22:25
    • gregor on The Wage Thief: “PLANET7: The Return vol.1: Astronaut power remix: https://tinyurl.com/667zhx5xDec 12, 22:19
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: “He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very natto boy. There you go, gregor, improved your post 1000% for you 🙂Dec 12, 22:11
    • McDuff on Keeping the fire burning: “Contribution made Rev money well spent. You put up with a lot of hassle.Dec 12, 22:09
    • znovak on The Wage Thief: “Thanks. Forgive me, if I am mistaken, but your premise seems to be that R and its president can do…Dec 12, 22:08
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: “Hmmm. Scotland has been a FIFA member since 1946, so near on 80 years. Scotland is a member of UEFA,…Dec 12, 22:03
    • gregor on The Wage Thief: “Jerry Boifraind: Freedom Song: Natto Messiah: https://tinyurl.com/yepxakjs #Natto #NATOPipsqueakDec 12, 21:50
    • Campbell Clansman on The Wage Thief: “FIFA defines ‘country’ as “an independent state recognized by the international community.” Obviously, FIFA doesn’t recognise Scotland as a country.Dec 12, 21:39
    • Astonished on Keeping the fire burning: “The small amount I give you every month is money well spent.Dec 12, 21:33
    • sarah on Keeping the fire burning: “Thanks for the reminder about the Donate button, everyone. Have just used it, and must remember to do so more…Dec 12, 21:29
    • Mark Beggan on Keeping the fire burning: “This bloody spell-check!Dec 12, 21:02
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: ““NATO is finished” Aye, Geri, nane o the weapons work, and the F16’s can’t even get aff the groond. But…Dec 12, 20:52
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: ““Western democracy is all but dead” Sure, Ros. That’s how Labour just turfed out the Tories after 14 years. That’s…Dec 12, 20:34
    • znovak on The Wage Thief: “Thanks 🙂Dec 12, 20:31
    • Hugh Wallace on Keeping the fire burning: “On the basis that some of your subscribers have dropped off I am increasing my donation via PayPal. Whatever I…Dec 12, 20:29
    • gregor on The Wage Thief: “BBC: Nato must switch to a wartime mindset, warns secretary general: https://tinyurl.com/56yw9dv9 Sky News: Time to ‘think the unthinkable’ and…Dec 12, 19:54
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: “Of course FIFA represents something like 200+ sovereign nations. Heck, even Scotland is in. Probably not scotland though, eh Ros?…Dec 12, 19:51
    • Carol Neill on Keeping the fire burning: “Thanks for that , would hate to have to join twatter to continue my paltry sumDec 12, 19:49
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: ““have no doubt that trying to mess around with Wings is the Order of the Day” Really sarah? You have…Dec 12, 19:39
    • Hatey McHateface on The Wage Thief: “Fit happened to your shriveled, wee pair, twathater? Did they never drop, or did your missus take her nail scissors…Dec 12, 19:30
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