Here’s (a few seconds into the clip) George, Baron Foulkes Of Cumnock.
Born in 1942 in Oswestry in Shropshire and privately educated at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in Hertfordshire, George was first elected by the public in 1979, serving for 26 years. During his time as an MP he was convicted of a drunken violent assault on a policeman and fined £1,050. In 2005 he was ennobled into the House Of Lords and will make laws for UK citizens until he dies, no matter what voters say.
You’d think he’d have learned better manners by now.
As we write there’s a protest going on outside the Scottish Parliament regarding the privatisation of ferry services to the Western Isles. It was formally announced almost three hours ago that there definitely wasn’t going to be any privatisation and that the service would remain in public hands, but the protest still went ahead.
The people conducting the protest, who’ve got the exact thing they wanted, are now doing their level best to lose it again. Welcome to Scottish politics.
Over the past few days, readers, we haven’t been able to avoid noticing a recurring theme among Unionist types on social media – namely that the Holyrood election results are proof that support for independence is declining.
But it’s not until you ask them to explain that it gets completely mental.
For much of its life, this site has been warning readers that, as their default position, they should always assume newspaper headlines are a lie until proven otherwise.
Today, Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper admitted it in public.
You win a historic third election with a second massive landslide, getting more than twice as many seats as your nearest challenger – the first time such a thing has ever happened in a Holyrood election – on the back of what’s (self-evidently) by and large a very popular policy programme and record, and before you’ve even taken your seats in the chamber all the parties you just thrashed out of sight line up to explain how you’ve been doing everything wrong.
And as alliances go, they don’t get much less holy.
We’re supposed to be taking a few days off, but it’s been tipping it down outside for 36 solid hours, so when an alert reader emailed us a question relating to this article from Monday, we couldn’t help but go and research it just to pass some time.
They’d asked how many of the Tory MSPs elected last Thursday had been rejected by the voters of a constituency seat on the same day, and we were startled by the answer – of the 24 Conservative members of the Scottish Parliament elected on the list last week, every single one was also a failed constituency candidate.
In amongst a torrent of pretty mad analysis of the election result at the weekend, we noticed the most insane reason yet suggested for the loss of the SNP’s majority:
The co-founder of a much-lauded but little-read pro-independence website asserted that the SNP were cruising to victory until the Nats got the backing of the Scottish Sun and Nicola Sturgeon was pictured posing with the front cover endorsing her party.
The whole litany of gaping flaws in that argument is something the Yes movement has needed to talk about for some considerable time now. So let’s bite the bullet and do it.
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Is there anybody there?” Dec 8, 14:14
James Cheyne on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Usually if you can’t get a direct answer from the office worker staff, then you go to boss of the…” Dec 8, 14:04
James Cheyne on The Long Walk To Freedom: “I often swither between their being a union between Scotland and England or aTreaty, If a treaty exists then the…” Dec 8, 13:36
agentx on The Long Walk To Freedom: “https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/sandie-peggie-v-fife-health-board-and-another-judgment-and-summary/ Link to Sandie Peggie Tribunal decision.” Dec 8, 13:27
agentx on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Sandie Peggie has won part her employment tribunal against NHS Fife on harassment grounds. However, the claim made against transgender…” Dec 8, 13:24
Hatey McHateface on The Long Walk To Freedom: ““a fully genuine Scottish parliament it would have total control” Too true, James. Seemingly, as reputedly wanted by a clear…” Dec 8, 13:09
James Cheyne on The Long Walk To Freedom: “No such thing at the moment as a Scottish Government, only the governance of Scotland through the Scotland Act from…” Dec 8, 12:51
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Long Walk To Freedom: “ASH REGAN MSP – THE LEGACY OF ALEX SALMOND (Full Speech, Nov 2024) www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5NxegebVqI” Dec 8, 12:51
James Cheyne on The Long Walk To Freedom: “North code, It is obvious that some people think that Scotland has a real genuine down to earth Scottish parliament,…” Dec 8, 12:43
James Cheyne on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Political division speil of global planning, The pensioners being older already paid taxes in their life to ensure financial security…” Dec 8, 12:28
lothianlad on The Long Walk To Freedom: “They fear the truth!!! This is an SNP Scottish Government remember! Parcel of rogues in a nation!” Dec 8, 12:27
Hatey McHateface on The Long Walk To Freedom: ““aggressive Anglicised ways” of the culturally assimilated See what you just did there, Alf? You wrote Anglicised where you should…” Dec 8, 12:26
Hatey McHateface on The Long Walk To Freedom: ““for fear of my mocking your ignorance with some witty and scathing retort” Dinna fash, Northy. The fear is all…” Dec 8, 12:17
Mark Beggan on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Exodus (20:16) ‘You shall not bear false witnesses against your neighbour’” Dec 8, 11:14
Alf Baird on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Inevitably a colonized society is compelled “to make major compromises with outer forces of oppression” but in doing so a…” Dec 8, 10:22
Northcode on The Long Walk To Freedom: “It should hardly come as a surprise that a corrupt criminal enterprise operating in the guise of a legitimate democratic…” Dec 8, 09:58
Aidan on The Long Walk To Freedom: “OH NO James isn’t onboard with the strategy! I guess it’ll be another soiled ballot from you?” Dec 8, 08:34
Hatey McHateface on The Long Walk To Freedom: “So, factchecker, how are you getting on with your crash course in tribalism? Penny dropped yet? Ask James to explain…” Dec 8, 08:10
Hatey McHateface on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Maybe they’re all channeling their inner Trump. Why should they act on behalf of a people, nation, culture, etc that…” Dec 8, 08:04
Hatey McHateface on The Long Walk To Freedom: ““the weakest are just the start” Since when have pensioners been the weakest demographic? They’re far more likely than youngsters…” Dec 8, 07:59
Willie on The Long Walk To Freedom: “And for all the senior pensioners reading Wings today they can uplift their spirits recognising that as a group of…” Dec 8, 06:15
Willie on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Information delayed is information denied is an apt line. But as we can see that is only one of the…” Dec 8, 01:37
Mark Beggan on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Where did you get your professorship? Tehran. An academic versed in colonial studys would know all the aspects good and…” Dec 8, 00:31
BLMac on The Long Walk To Freedom: “It’s about time someone in another country, eg Australia or USA revealed the names of the perjuring Alpha-Betties.” Dec 8, 00:06
Alf Baird on The Long Walk To Freedom: ““the truth is not just being delayed. It is being denied.” Should we really expect anything different in a colony?” Dec 7, 21:55
James on The Long Walk To Freedom: “Baiy and switch? Vote Yoon, because, you know, reasons. Nice try.” Dec 7, 21:12
Confused on The Long Walk To Freedom: “just asking. I thought I had “seen this before” somewhere and was wondering if it was new. All keep up…” Dec 7, 20:31
GM on The Long Walk To Freedom: “John Smythe, the people assisting him and Benjamin Harrop are all on the same path but aye, what do you…” Dec 7, 20:19
Confused on The Long Walk To Freedom: “How does this relate to https://johnsmytheinvestigations.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/foi-202500456798-selective-redactions-on-james-hamilton-correspondence/ and are you the same GM?” Dec 7, 19:00
