Even by the low, low normal arithmetical standards of the Scottish media, yesterday’s Scottish Sunday Express humiliated itself with the most stupendously factually wrong articles we’ve seen in a newspaper for some time.
From Kezia Dugdale’s speech to the Scottish Labour conference yesterday:
So hang on – only people born in Scotland are “Scottish”? Bit controversial. But then again, given Scottish Labour’s constant pejorative use of the word “foreigner” in recent years, we probably shouldn’t be shocked.
The Scottish Daily Mail has been working itself into a froth this week over the idea that the Scottish Government doesn’t intend to match George Osborne’s increase in the upper-rate income tax threshold from £42,000 to £45,000.
Central to the complaint is that rejecting the increase will hurt what the Mail calls “the squeezed middle” and “middle earners”, including “nurses, teachers and police”.
There are, of course, several ways of defining “middle”.
We can hardly contain our joy, gentle readers, that Scottish Labour have brought this magnificent graphic from January back again, tweeting it several times yesterday with all the mindbogglingly fat-headed flaws from two months ago still present.
But we couldn’t help being struck by this new comment about it, by the branch office’s notoriously truth-averse finance spokesclown:
Let’s walk through that one really quickly. People can’t afford to save for a deposit, because rents are so high. So rather than do anything about rents, Labour will double the zero they HAVE managed to save, boosting it all the way up to, er, zero.
There are two very different kinds of welfare in the UK. One is the kind that primarily benefits poor people, which is under remorseless attack from the government.
But there’s another kind too, for which there’s still a bottomless pit of cash.
James Cheyne on The Curious Fringes: “TURABDIN, Is it still a kings shilling? Perhaps its turned-into the-faith of all coinage,” Dec 30, 23:03
James Cheyne on The Curious Fringes: “Never be shamed into avoidance of you’re mother tongue and language, Many times we have been punished because we did,…” Dec 30, 22:56
Mark Beggan on The Curious Fringes: ““Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows the war is over Everybody…” Dec 30, 22:08
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: ““Scots is important enough to be taught in schools.” Indeed, Sam. I think the Scots leid is a fantastic language…” Dec 30, 21:52
Aidan on The Curious Fringes: “I should add the “1.5m identified as Scots speakers . . “” Dec 30, 21:30
Aidan on The Curious Fringes: “@Sam perhaps there is some nuance that I’m missing but “Scots identified as Scots speakers and another 267,000 understood it”.…” Dec 30, 20:54
Mark Beggan on The Curious Fringes: “‘I pulled into Nazareth just about half past dead. I just need to find a place where I can lay…” Dec 30, 20:48
sam on The Curious Fringes: “It is a minority of Scots who speak Scots. Even so the 2011 Census tells us that 1.5 million Scots…” Dec 30, 20:10
TURABDIN on The Curious Fringes: “British politics is overwhelmingly English, has the party of Scotland even noticed? Taken the king’s shilling maybe?” Dec 30, 18:30
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: ““May 2026 bring us closer to our shared view, however different our paths.” Agreed… a noble sentiment and one fitting…” Dec 30, 17:41
Andy Ellis on The Curious Fringes: “@ Northcode Season’s greetings to you, to yours and even the other usual suspects. May 2026 bring us closer to…” Dec 30, 17:22
Chris Downie on The Curious Fringes: “I saw various posts on the old FB live feed today showing Swinney proclaiming in a recent interview that he…” Dec 30, 17:22
Rob on The Curious Fringes: “The fact that the SNP have been the government for some years because a majority voted for them does not…” Dec 30, 17:10
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “I thank you for your kind sentiments, Mr Ellis. I look forward to the day, as do you, when we…” Dec 30, 17:06
100%Yes on The Curious Fringes: “The national, the writers who write for the RAG the two dave’s, Saorsa, Gordon Ross, Scot goes pop and others…” Dec 30, 16:40
Alf Baird on The Curious Fringes: ““So why are they against independence?” Postcolonial theory (Fanon) tells us that a dominant national party ‘lacks courage at the…” Dec 30, 16:24
100%Yes on The Curious Fringes: “Judas betrayed Jesus and was given money for doing it, Judas said I didn’t do it for the money, but…” Dec 30, 16:00
Andy Ellis on The Curious Fringes: “@ Northcode 3.31 pm That’s ye telt aff by Professor Baird nou, Ellis, ye linguicidal maniacque ye. The phrase “like…” Dec 30, 15:50
Andy Ellis on The Curious Fringes: “@ Northcode 1.03 & 1.43 pm Surely this is your area of expertise, Andy Inglis, is it not? Attempting to…” Dec 30, 15:48
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “That’s ye telt aff by Professor Baird nou, Ellis, ye linguicidal maniacque ye. Witches kin mak folkes tae becom phrenticque…” Dec 30, 15:31
factchecker on The Curious Fringes: “It doesn’t seem logical that the SNP should support a continuation of the status quo. They have had full access…” Dec 30, 15:01
James Cheyne on The Curious Fringes: “It just needs a bit of analyses regards Scotlands actual position, Scotlands 1707 treaty is with the parliament of England,…” Dec 30, 14:58
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: ““The smart mind in Scotland says…” Aye, James, but the Scots have been fooled across many generations these past three…” Dec 30, 14:52
Alf Baird on The Curious Fringes: ““a language the majority don’t understand” Despite being prevented by our colonial educators from learning Scots, it remains that oor…” Dec 30, 14:49
James Cheyne on The Curious Fringes: “North Code, And you know what is Strange about the Colonised mind in Scotland. It accepts when the Great Britain…” Dec 30, 14:25
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: ““The mind of the coloniser. Thinking England’s borders end at the top of Scotland.” Aye, James. And some of them…” Dec 30, 14:10
Saffron Robe on The Curious Fringes: “James Cheyne says: “So you vote in Scotland to maintain the pretence and fool ourselves we have democracy, all the…” Dec 30, 13:59
James Cheyne on The Curious Fringes: “North Code, That is the problem, the Scots do not have a parliament, ” The Scotland act ” turned the…” Dec 30, 13:43
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “Perhaps you’re right, Ellis, perhaps I should depart this place… I don’t feel particularly welcome here, even as an indigenous…” Dec 30, 13:43
Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “Your wit astounds me, Insider” Dec 30, 13:42
