Ridiculously, more than eight hours after voting closed in an all-electronic election in which “counting” should have taken a maximum of one second, and at 11.30pm, the SNP have released the results of this year’s NEC elections.
There are some big stories.
Alyn Smith is OUT as Policy Development Convener, replaced by Chris Hanlon.
We had, we think it’s only fair to say, extremely low expectations of Nicola Sturgeon’s keynote speech this afternoon to the SNP’s soporific, strangled 2020 non-conference. It seems that members felt the same, because 15 seconds before the speech began only 1,166 of them were logged in to watch it.
The speech she just delivered, though, limboed under those expectations in platform shoes and a stovepipe hat without even grazing the underside of the bar.
In a post last month we referenced a ZX Spectrum computer game from 1984 called “Worse Things Happen At Sea”. Today as we watched the First Minister on the Andrew Marr Show, we were put in mind of another nautical-disaster-themed one from a great deal nearer to the end of the Speccy’s life.
When’s a Plan B not a Plan B? Well, when it’s something that could and should have been done already, and won’t be anywhere near adequate even if delivered.
Yet that seems to be what some colleagues are now arguing for. It’s welcome that their thoughts are at last turning to the possibility of the Tories saying No to the Scottish people’s democratic vote. But it’s happening dangerously slowly as the dismantling of devolution and reintegration into the UK gathers pace. Which’s why the Yes Movement needs to act now, not after a Holyrood election.
This week on Wings has been altogether more navel-gazey than we’re comfortable with, as various SNP MPs have mounted a series of all-out personal attacks on the site before the weekend’s crucial NEC elections.
So we’ll have a proper article for you a little later on today, but in the meantime it’d be remiss of us not to tidy up the last fragments of shrapnel, so we’ll direct you to the right of reply to Alyn Smith’s column that The National kindly gave us today:
(Sadly they chose to disable comments, we’d quite have enjoyed the reaction from the few remaining diehard leadership loyalists still posting there.)
We couldn’t help but chuckle yesterday when the £100K-a-year Westminster MP and obsessive Wings Over Scotland reader “Pension Pete” Wishart announced – in the space of six minutes – that this site was simultaneously an irrelevance that nobody listened to, but also somehow one of the greatest threats to independence.
Wings Over Scotland marked its ninth birthday earlier this month. To be honest, we totally forgot about it until someone reminded us. Normally we mark the anniversary with a small reflection and taking of stock over how things are going, but this year we couldn’t be bothered – we’d already mentioned readership stats in August.
But today in The National we found out that we were apparently dead.
But reports of our demise have been, as the saying goes, somewhat exaggerated.
duncanio on A different school: “After the people have voted for the restoration of Scotland’s full self-government there will be no ‘negotiations for Independence’. The…” Jun 24, 00:03
Insider on A different school: “Mia 10:54… Please stop perpetuating the myth that Scotland is “too wee, too poor, too stupid” to be independent !…” Jun 23, 23:42
Insider on A different school: ““it would only take 10 doors to be knocked on every day” sarah… Do you not realise that many people…” Jun 23, 23:34
Mia on A different school: ““Brexit was a necessary step on the true road to genuine Independence” Of for goodness sake. Here comes the gaslighting…” Jun 23, 22:54
Morgatron on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Stu, we need a new party urgently to lead us out of the myre. Please consider it along with Robin.…” Jun 23, 22:42
Insider on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “As my dear old granny would have said.. Aye! He’s no the full shillin, that yin !” Jun 23, 22:32
agent x on A different school: “In 2023 the number of households in Scotland was 2.5 million 10 doors per day – 2,500,000/10 = 250,000/340 days…” Jun 23, 22:28
David on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Thanks for clearing that up. Former SNP member here. Dear, Scot Goes Pop. I’ll be listening to Stuart Campbell. As…” Jun 23, 22:15
Lorn on A different school: “Yes, two sets of politicians from The Czech Republic and Slovakia decided that the two parts could no longer live…” Jun 23, 22:12
Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““would only take 10 doors to be knocked on every day to get the message to every household in Scotland…” Jun 23, 22:09
sarah on A different school: “Good question. Given that their candidate has made a public declaration about standing down to give Fergus a free run,…” Jun 23, 22:06
Lorn on A different school: “Hatey: I take your point about the minority forcing independence on the majority, which is why I have always accepted…” Jun 23, 22:00
McDuff on A different school: “Another great piece Rev where you once again expose the SNP for what they are, lying chancers drowning us in…” Jun 23, 22:00
Lorn on A different school: “Aidan: it has nothing to do with creating a new legal order. The law is the law is the law.…” Jun 23, 21:46
Xaracen on A different school: “You’ve never addressed the arguments I’ve made about the current legal order and its origin myths, Aidan; all you’ve ever…” Jun 23, 21:44
agent x on A different school: “Has anyone asked if Fergus Ewing will stand as a Liberate Scotland umbrella candidate?” Jun 23, 21:40
Lorn on A different school: “Which part of Eastern Europe are you talking about, Hatey? Ukraine? Was it inevitable that there would be war between…” Jun 23, 21:38
Lorn on A different school: “Actually, Aidan, you could not be more wrong. Modern law stems from earliest times in both Scotland and England. It…” Jun 23, 21:28
agent x on A different school: “@Mia Thankyou for listing the reasons why I have never voted SNP and never will.” Jun 23, 21:28
sarah on A different school: “The question we should be discussing is “How is the word to be spread to the voters about the need…” Jun 23, 21:20
Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““some may even reject their own liberation – i.e. Vote No” Some may develop schizophrenia. They will vote Yes for…” Jun 23, 21:16
Sue Varley on A different school: “Sounds great in theory but you say: “Best case, we begin negotiations for our independence” and here is the problem.…” Jun 23, 21:04
Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““L. A disgusting surrender to brexit” Brexit was a necessary step on the true road to genuine Independence. Your denial…” Jun 23, 21:01
sarah on A different school: “I enjoyed that, Rattled – thanks for posting! It brought back memories of bonfire nights when I was little -…” Jun 23, 20:54
Aidan on A different school: “You’re right, I don’t, but that’s because I don’t have dozens of people day after day trying to invent some…” Jun 23, 20:41
Chas on A different school: “Good for you Sarah. No plan, forecasts or projections on anything. ‘It will all be fine’. Scotland will simply plunder…” Jun 23, 20:39
WhoRattledYourCage on A different school: “Wee bit ay Scots poetry fir light relief: https://whorattledyourcage.blogspot.com/2025/06/darknight-lightshow.html” Jun 23, 20:35
James on A different school: “It’s Scots I’m mainly aiming at, Sven; we were regularly scolded and belted for speaking in oor ain tongue.” Jun 23, 20:14
Insider on A different school: “Watch out, Hatey ! “Puir auld Alf” has his ouija board out again to talk to his deid pals. More…” Jun 23, 20:12
Hatey McHateface on A different school: ““A language is a dialect with an army and navy” Uh oh! So that’s Scots fucked then. Or as we…” Jun 23, 20:11
