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.
Sven on Binfire Of The Vanities: “James Che @ 10.19. Although not, perhaps, quite so amusing to a Christian, James. I await with interest Northy’s spoof…” May 5, 11:13
Northcode on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The election on Thursday is a pantomime in which I don’t usually participate having accepted a long time ago that…” May 5, 11:12
Geri on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Actually, we do care. SNP may find themselves out of office because of it. They’ve spent the last five years…” May 5, 11:11
Alf Baird on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Yes, at least two of our brave liberators standing for the Alliance to Liberate Scotland Party have been persecuted and…” May 5, 11:11
James Che on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The Anglo – Irish parliaments ( westminster ) legislation for a pretend devolved Scottish parliament for the first time in…” May 5, 10:10
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““I had a dream last night” We can but idly speculate on just how much better your post could have…” May 5, 10:04
Captain Caveman on Binfire Of The Vanities: “@BroughtyBoy Don’t worry about YL, he’s just having one of his daily (nightly) meltdowns at the prospect of someone disagreeing…” May 5, 09:52
Northcode on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I had a dream last night. And in my dream God came to me and without sound said unto me…” May 5, 09:46
Captain Caveman on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I agree Stu, you’re right, they are. (Nothing “notional” left about the SNP in my view though, as evidenced through…” May 5, 09:45
Andy Wiltshire on Binfire Of The Vanities: “How much of a thing will tactical voting be? In particular anti-Reform, anti-SNP, and maybe anti-Green.” May 5, 09:29
James Che on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Party before Country and people has to be made void, And the vote sharing system has to end, because this…” May 5, 09:21
Scot Finlayson on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Sweden has just approved that to obtain citizenship, the following must be required: – 8 years of residence – Stable…” May 5, 09:12
James Che on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The problem between voting for Colonial parties and colonial parties including the SNP, is that Scotland will continue to be…” May 5, 08:38
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Of course, Confused, it’s always possible that while you are sitting up late on what to many Scots is a…” May 5, 08:13
Hatey McHateface on Seven Days Too Long: ““Get yersel prepared for separation cause it’s coming right at yea” Thursday, Geri, is that when? Should I say “bye…” May 5, 08:02
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “@Alf Are you telling us that with under a week to go to the election, Fanon and Memmi have run…” May 5, 07:52
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Civil disobedience, eh, YL? Is that a promise, or just a solemn vow?” May 5, 07:41
Hatey McHateface on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Fa’s Northy? Looks like he’s decamped tae Unherd: https://unherd.com/2026/05/north-wests-stolen-childhood/” May 5, 07:39
Bilbo on Binfire Of The Vanities: “George Ferguson says: 4 May, 2026 at 10:19 pm I am well past the stage of voting for Alliance Scotland.…” May 5, 07:36
twathater on Binfire Of The Vanities: “@ Confused, there was also the case of the highly respected (hahaha) QC who it is alleged was involved in…” May 5, 03:03
twathater on Binfire Of The Vanities: “@ YL , Cynicus , George Ferguson, I cannot understand the logic of voting for parties who have proven inumerable…” May 5, 02:53
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “C @ 12.29 Not voting SNP? Fine. Tactically voting for Unionists? Enjoy drinking the fruits of your self inflicted damnation..” May 5, 01:19
Geri on Seven Days Too Long: “AI Dan is getting desperate clutching at straws now. He obviously didn’t bother to read Dan’s link where Stu gives…” May 5, 00:37
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I So you are apparently quite happy for us to be sh8gged by one lot but not the other? Kind…” May 5, 00:36
Cynicus on Binfire Of The Vanities: “George Ferguson says: 4 May, 2026 at 8:04 pm “I don’t see a vote against the SNP as a right…” May 5, 00:29
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “A Civil disobedience I’m afraid is the only answer when the democratic process is so obviously blocked. Whether people have…” May 5, 00:17
Cynicus on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Hold your nose and LEND your vote to the party most likely to beat the SNP. #No Votes SNP” May 5, 00:13
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “BB “Nowt”.. Nowt? Nowt?? Hmmmm.. Eeee bah goom! Anyway, have you stopped to actually listen to so much of the…” May 5, 00:07
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Agreed Alf. That’s the gut change that’s needed. George, sorry brother but small as it’ll start, or if something else…” May 4, 23:50
