99 Red Balloons
Positive to the last, Scottish Labour go down punching.
Watching Scottish Labour in the death throes of this election campaign has been a remarkable sight, like watching a wasp trying to fly through the open half of a window who just can’t seem to comprehend what the problem is and keeps banging into an invisible barrier over and over again, stressed and uncomprehending.
Their strategy has been entirely focused on the media. “Get into the papers and our job’s done” seems to be the leadership’s mindset. And there’s no shortage of willing assistance from that quarter. Wherever one or two of Scottish Labour’s senior payroll are gathered together, a vast press pack will surround them.
Channel 4’s Alex Thomson has been almost the only journalist to do his job properly and show us the scene from behind the curtain, not just at Scottish Labour “events” but at Conservative ones too. Every other broadcaster and hack, as we’ve previously documented, obediently crops in tight to create the illusion of a crowd.
But there’s always something conspicuously missing – the public. While the Scottish Labour leadership gets its picture taken in deserted car parks, the SNP’s is out on the streets meeting actual voters. You know, the ones who do the voting. Talking to them, listening to their concerns, treating them like intelligent adults.
But still, even in the face of all the polls, Labour and their remaining faithful appear to believe that so long as they get their message in the Daily Record or the Scottish Daily Mail, the poor dumb Scottish people are an ignorant herd, incapable of individual thought, who will blindly follow whatever the papers tell them to do.
Ponder the above tweet by veteran Scottish journalist and broadcaster Muriel Gray for a moment. (We’re sure we don’t need to say that by “ponder” we mean “ponder”, NOT “send her badly-spelled abuse in all-capitals like some kind of lolloping cretin”.)
Staggeringly, it appears to be expressing the counter-rational conviction that had this morning’s Scottish Sun front page urged its readers to vote Labour rather than SNP, then Labour would have won the election.
Never mind the 30-point poll deficit with a week to go, Gray seems to believe – and her words are unambiguous and unequivocal – that all it would have taken to turn it all around would be one word from Rupert Murdoch, via the country’s best-selling newspaper to its thicko proletarian pleb readers.
(We’re also sure we don’t need to point out that all these descriptions refer to the apparent view of the Scottish public held by Labour and the media, not us, but we will anyway for the benefit of tabloid hacks desperate to turn it into a hysterical smear campaign without the slightest grain of truth.)
Scotland has moved on. After the three-year referendum campaign it has by any reasonable measure the most politically-engaged electorate anywhere in the British Isles, perhaps anywhere in Europe. People find things out for themselves. They seek multiple sources of information before arriving at a decision. They’re not just idiot voting fodder to be commanded through the press.
(It’s also worth remembering that even the Scottish Sun is only read by something like 10% of the population, and the Daily Record fewer still.)
Scottish Labour might yet come to realise that. But there’s no sign that it’s going to happen any time soon, and certainly not before next Thursday. In the meantime, it looks like they’re going to expend a lot of petrol driving and flying all over the country, trying to convince the same handful of photographers and reporters every time.
Imagine being trapped in a lift with Muriel gray and Kaye Adams.
Another sterling performance from the dug on FMQ’ s thanks as the song goes Labour no more
As Alex Salmond said last night in Hawick – the press and BBC will get to a proportion of the public, mainly the older voters, but all the younger ones will have their opinions distilled by the social media.
My dog knows what would happen if the majority of Red Tory candidates tried to engage with the public and it would not be a pretty sight. Especially the more “toxic” ones.
Good point about the Sun newspaper Stuart. Very well timed WoS article thanks. IMHO…
There is only ONE reason the Sun newspaper in Scotland has come out for the SNP:-
The Sun’s Profitability
An indicator of this is in the Sun’s circulation:
2010… 3,006,565
2015… 1,978,702 … ouch!
The Sun have woken up to the Sunday Herald’s business model as reflected thus…
Sunday Herald’s circulation:
2013… 23,907
2014… 49,000 = 111% increase, AFTER declaring for Independence. Are we getting the lesson here MSM owners?
If not, here is another painful example of stupid newspaper management:
Daily Record circulation:
2000… 626,646
2015… 203,725 … BIG ouch!
That is to say, when 45% of a country wants, indeed starves for a fairer democracy – the SNP anti-austerity message and decency in society – the current Neanderthal mainstream media practice of Nat-Bashing is cutting off almost 50% of their profits.
Here’s the thing, if ALL the Scottish media woke up to this and started printing politically balanced news then they would not be collectively going out of business.
Prediction, and I bet many MSM journalists read Wings Over Scotland – So if the MSM just open your eyes and realise that the vast majority in Scotland want one of these:-
1. Independence, or:
2. Devo Max – proper devolution, not incontinent Smith Commission wet stuff; or
3. Federalism – Four nations in a United States of Britain (apologies, USB may not seem apt, but the USA are doing OK with a similar state model)
Then the Scottish media would help themselves lessen the speed of their demise.
It isn’t just a political wake-up call, but a seismic event for the fourth estate as well. So all you MSM journos, subs, and editors, please reconsider your negative trashing of the SNP and start doing you job.
As for newspaper owners, might I respectfully suggest that everyone on the Wings Over Scotland website buy say £20 of shares in each of the mainstream media holding companies. The reason? The 7th May 2015 is only the beginning. If democracy and politicians are to redeem themselves – and by goodness the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon have set a fine example – then it isn’t just Westminster that needs reforming. The MSM need saving from themselves before they destroy their shareholders’ businesses. If WoS members become MSM shareholders, they can legitimately ask why the likes of Johnston Press circulation trend is for 5h1t and their profits nosediving. Spot the cliff edge drop for Johnstone Press plc…
link to lse.co.uk
A demand from unhappy shareholders can nudge the incompetent CEOs of MSM to get their houses in order and start reporting the news rather than fabricating political lies.
Lastly, and I declare an interest, for I have lost three friends to the obscenity of New Labour/ConDem austerity, why oh why is nobody in the national media the slightest bit interested in the VOLUME of austerity deaths where welfare reforms have culpability? To date, over 50 vulnerable and/or disabled people have died at the hands of the Blairite New Labour reform, which was like a Christmas present to the despicable disability demoniser Tory Iain Duncan-Smith. Proof: http://www.calumslist.org
Oh of course, all MSM are either Labour or Conservative supporters, so Heaven forbid they shine a torch on their collective dirty little secret.
trying to convince the same handful of photographers and reporters every time.
Well, they certainly have done a grand job with that. Hats off to Jim and his team.
Maybe if Labour put forward policies on the economy like New Statesman, Forbes Mag. and Business for Scotland which SNP agree with, then Labour would not have to resort to such tactics.
Along with following the Bisto train to Wheeshtminster.
I was wondering what happened to Muriel Gray. She made a big play of being a radical in the 1980s did she not?
Is Gray a UKOK’er?
One of the lady members of Opportunities In Retirement, Ayr’s News Review group, has a son who works as a journalist with Sky News.
He is currently embedded with the Conservative Party’s battle bus and he was telling him Mum that, even in the Tory heartlands in the South East, the likes of Cameron is turning-up to events in which the surrounding audience is corralled in a small space, which is then filmed from close-in and tight angles, to give the impression of big crowds.
The party’s spin doctors will simply not allow wide-angle shots which show how small the assemblies are. Apathy aparrently rules down there.
What are they using for a billboard trailer, a tent.
Skint Slabber – Mentally and financially.
Presumably an “SNP referendum” is a referendum on whether or not you like the SNP.
Seems Scotland is having 59 of those next Thursday…
What a 3 ba’ in the top photie, Sarwar, Stairheid and Bring It On. No wonder they are going to be wiped out 🙂
I think heretofore Murdoch said jump to the press (at behest of his interests) and they jumped but it no longer works. He also said he realises Scotland will be independent eventually.
So I think rather than do bidding of Lab or Tories for whatever reason, in Scotland Murdoch has decided to protect his own assets (all ten per cent) and go with the flow.
And of course, Tory was never a likelihood in Scotland – if not SNP then Labour.
Doesn’t it remind you of comical Ali the media spokesman for Saddam Hussein in the Iraq war.
link to news.sky.comstory
Al-Stuart-great post. Why would ANY business alienate and deride half their clientele? It’s madness and financial suicide.
Radio Jockland has been all over the two headline story.
Not a peep out of them about the Daily Mail and its racist, anti Scottish headlines in the southern edition.
Sad, really, but when you are used to NOT having to actually engage with voters, then the prospect of actually meeting, greeting and speaking with real people must be looked on with horror by Labour MPs.
Of course, the other problem for the Currans and Murphys of this world is that they (the Currans and Murphys) hold the voters in absolute contempt.
The end is nigh for Labour and it’s all their own fault.
Failure to engage, failure to listen and a basic failure to understand the human condition. That’s what happens when you pursue power and wealth for selfish gain.
Who’s Muriel Gray? Does anyone care? Is anything she says ever of any importance?
Nope. Didn’t think so. Goodbye.
[…] Positive to the last, Scottish Labour go down punching. […]
If SNP are Real Madrid why are Dukla Pumpherston commanding all this media attention? Should it not just be the local cub reporter in attendance?
Al-Stuart – that’s a great post worthy of being an article itself.
I don’t agree with buying MSM shares though. I won’t even give them a website click and what’s that worth – 0.0001p or something? Let them die.
It is funny seeing Muriel referred to as veteran. I remember when she was young and radical.
Muriel’s assertion about Rupert Murdoch “deciding who will win” seems particularly fatuous. We might as well say that Lord Rothermere or the Barclay Brothers or Richard Desmond or Guardian Media Group decide who wins. One of them is bound to be right!
Nothing to do with public opinion then.
Jim Murphy is a perfect example of presentation over substance.
What a shamefully inept performance from Kezia Dugdale (and Willie Rennie) at FMQ’s.
They seem to have forgotten that they are there to hold the government to account and given the massive open goal that is this awful education report:
link to gov.scot
you might think that they would have some sharp questions for the FM.
No. Perceived party interests seem to come first. Whoever the morons are that are advising Dugdale and Rennie should hang their heads in shame – if they have any. They sure don’t have any political acumen.
That 3 R’s swipe was vomit inducing. What brain dead cretin though that that would be a good idea? Get the fuck out of politics is my suggestion.
It’s a sad day indeed when I find myself saying thank feck for Ruth Davidson. Maybe that’s why I’m so disgusted 😉
Glad to see Jim has so many friends:)
When you treat folk badly and ignore their needs, you get returned in kind.Please enjoy the next week Jim Murphy BS (politics, failed)
Didn’t realise Muriel’s right on views until now.
Sad, very, very sad … now have to group her in with that other great ‘Scoddish’ intellect – Shaz Spttieri.
As always they know best of course.
yerkitbreeks says:
“the press and BBC will get to a proportion of the public, mainly the older voters, but all the younger ones will have their opinions distilled by the social media.”
It is astonishing where and how the fault line has been drawn.
While you can’t fit everyone neatly into the split, as a generality it is so true. Yes we have a divided nation, but not quite as the BritNat moaners would have it …
informed versus ignorant
social media versus old media
democracy versus elitism
grassroots versus establishment
freedom versus authority
people versus vested interests
Scottish identity versus British
… the same fault lies through all. And here’s the good news, one side is expanding its reach, the other is relentlessly contracting.
Muriel Gray?
The same chair of the board of governors of Scotland’s premier architectural building, the Glasgow School of Art – she did a lot of genuine wailing when it burnt down but we still await an arrested for negligence. Some guardian.
I see like every politician Murphy and Co. were very keep to be pictured with helmets on.
Little problem here they shouldn’t by law be on a building site without taking a Site Safety induction. You have to take these for EVERY SINGLE SITE seperately and every time just incase something is differnent or has changed. I really doubt they have done this. It a bit more seerious again since they are also climbing around construction machines.
I know people will say “political correctness gone mad” but its the site management who are commiting an offence under the CDM regulations, the HSE regulations and could be shut down and sacked.
got to hand it to The Sun even though it pains me to do so jumping on the bandwagon is their specialty,its a cracking front cover one of the best ive seen in years,on the other hand English Sun that is just creepy.
cant wait for the red balloon popping event on the 7th its going to be epic and send shockwaves reverberating all around the countries of the UK.
@HandandShrimp
It is funny seeing Muriel referred to as veteran. I remember when she was young and radical.
She sure made a lot of noise in the 1980s. Then went suspiciously quiet for around two decades. The Scottish Ben Elton? Hell yes! 😀
Is that Labour’s last throw of the dice – a meaningless poster?
Watched FMQs and couldn’t believe how pathetic Scottish Labour have become.
Kezia rambled and almost bumped into a decent question but then drifted off into another SNP bad statement which added little value to the debate.
It is hard to understand how a once great party can slide towards oblivion like this. I suppose it starts when you surrender your principles to win “Tory” votes.
Labour is dead and we should not let that name being used by impostors fool us any longer when we vote.
“Stur Wars”? Hmm, nice one…
If it’s going that way, I’ve got dibs on the purple lightsabre! 😉
Both like and respect Muriel Gray. But have no problem saying that in this case, she’s completely wrong.
Murial Grey.
I saw her on a programme a while back being very coy and saying oh i did not like the referendum sorry.
At the time i thought WTF Murial what the hell happened to you?
Why did you not have the guts to say that you were still a Labour supporter and voted NO.
Whit the hell was all the im just a wee scottish wifie all about.
It reminded me of the cereal woman in the No video also absolute crap.
I used to like her articles in the Sunday herald a few years back and always thought she was very savvy
But not now sorry Murial.
Yep, so Muriel Gray is backing Labour I presume! Has she learnt nothing from the refendum.
Muriel stick to the art , your political commentary is just so last decade deary!
Did you forget that 90% of MSM are anti SNP, and we are where we are despite them!
That massed ranks pic of Vote Slab or else press corp is tragi and very comic but Muriel’s anger at stuff is interesting.
Back in the 80’s day, Muriel and a couple of other BBC Scotland lifers were given free reign to attack Snatcher Thatcher’s ferocious UKOK hell on earth, unless you were loaded. And yet here we are, a shiny new half a billion quid office at Pacific Quay, stuffed to the rafters with red and blue tory shills and place men.
Oh Muriel.
I live in Hawick. 2010 GE we couldn’t walk out the door without meeting Michael Moore. Haven’t seen him this time.
Fast forward 2015. Last night, an SNP meeting for two prospective MPs was to be held in Hawick Lesser Town Hall. They couldn’t squeeze us all in and we had to move to the big ha’.
Mind, one of them was selling a book – something about a dream? Happy Days.
Jackie -Murial has her head in the sand and has doen for years. She thinks that an independent Scotland is an ambition of the immature.
This is despite some of Scotland’s greatest cultural,writers,thinkers,artists and icons agreeing with independence.They can’t all be stupid ,immature and deluded!
You are correct she is just stupid wee wifie!
Shame on Muriel Gray. Shedding copious tears about a fire in her beloved Art School. Then supporting her beloved shameful, discredited Labour Party. She always wrote funny but within narrow parameters.
Muriel, Scotland has moved on. Actually to a position you once would have supported, communitaire and compassionate. The great irony is of course if Scot Labour was proposing the SNP policy agenda, she would be supporting it.
That I think is why Labour is finished. Muriel and her ilk have done well out of being “radical” and “leftie” and “right on”. Now there’s a stark choice. More power to the few via Tory and Labour or a challenge to it. No more than that, just a challenge. 59 or whatever SNP MP’s are not going to change the world. But they will say on our behalf – No More and not in Scotland’s name. Till Independence, it’s all we can do.
Oh and by the way Muriel, the polls have been the same for 6 months. This has nothing to do with Murdoch or the Sun. they’ve come out to make money, they think. That’s all. Remember, Muriel, you and you’re Labour Luvvies, wet yourselves when Rupert loved Tony in 1997.
Shame on you.
Is this a bit of a Gray Area?
You know she is correct that he Sun has promoted the winner of every General Election that I can recall.
Before social media that constant drip of negative press coverage against Murdoch’s enemy of the day sank deep in to their extensive readerships minds.
Did any of you consider that Dim Jim was in that Nursing Home to put his name down for a place before their £30 Billion of additional austerity cuts kicks in?
You heard it here first.
The media will ride in over the hill at the weekend to save Dim and his band of “men”.
Front page Dreary Rancid picture, digitally re-mastered, of the Pope carrying Dim Shoulder High with St George in the background slaying a Fire Breathing Dragon playing the Bagpipes and wearing a Kilt.
That should turn around all those years of neglect and deceit from those North British Labour troughers!
I would like to publicly thank Muriel Gray.
I let my SNP membership lapse around 2003. Was a bit disheartened after 15 years of plugging away getting nowehere.
Then I read a rather snide article in, from memory, the Herald by one Gray, M. Just slagging off the SNP. It annoyed me so much I rejoined.
Thanks for the motivation Muriel!
I seem remember MG had an article in the Saturday (or Sunday) edition of the Herald good few years ago arguing the case that if the SNP got into power that they would pander to the Catholic church and stamp down on alternative Lifestyles …..Seemed rubbish at the time and obviously is rubbish now….
and here the poor person is today, still coming out with rubbish.
see when you start coming out with rubbish it can be a very difficult thing to stop…
Press or People?
Terrible choice by SLAB
The impression has been they are scared of the people.
Muriel Gray like everyone else is entitled to their opinion whatever anyone else thinks and good luck with that.
i disagree with it and find it hard to accept after what has happened over the last 3 years in Scotland. It might have worked with Kinnock but not now, not now we have access to other outlets (here) and can think for ourselves.
And that is what gets me. A lot of old school ‘socialists’ just do not want that. They would rather we stayed quiet and sat in the corner and do what we are telt by them BUT at the same time RAGE about Rupert Murdoch telling us how to vote. They can all f**k off i will decide for myself where i put my wee x.
Laura Bicker got a sneaky wee dig in at the end of her piece following Nicola in South Queensferry the other day, broadcast this lunchtime. She said something like “even if she does have difficulty controlling the more extreme members of her party who cannot take any criticism”. She must have had a few nasty tweets methinks. Best to ignore her and her ilk.
oh and great post by the way oh bearded one
ps do you only live in places with a ‘Bath’ in the title ?
Deary me, that is one hell of a poster Slab have produced.
Nae sense of irony hiv they. Labour’s fairer economy, whit! I seem to recall Ed Balls rantin oan aboot keepin Gidiot’s budget. Seen no need to change anything at all. Mair cuts, sorry savings, but naebody will tell us where. Oh aye it’s a fair economy right enough.
Another SNP referndum. Now forgive me here, cause I’m getting auld and stupit ( or so Labour think). Did Ed Milliband no tell us, last week mibies, that he will not allow us to have anither referendum. No siree bub, uh uh, no time, no way, no how. So how come that this past week all the unionists have been giving it laldy aboot anither referendum. In spite of Nicola telling them quite clearly it was not on the cards till the people of Scotland wanted one.
Perhaps it’s me, I’m no supposed tae be able tae see o’ this.
Sorry boys, it’s no workin, cause I actually hae a brain and it is in reasonably good workin order, in spite o’ me doddin oan a bit.
Should they not think these things through a bit more carefully before they stick it on a poster for all the world to see. On second thoughts, maybe that would be too sensible an idea.
Ms Gray has to be kidding right?
The UK press has crapped from a great height by the by, all over the independence movement, the SNP and their leadership for decades. Just how does the lady fondly imagine the YES movement managed even 45% of the vote when all and I do mean all of the media hands were turned against them? Just how did the SNP remain in government for the past eight years? It certainly wasn’t with the aid of the media that’s for sure. I think Ms Gray will find that those who support independence do NOT consider the mainstream media a friend in any way shape or form.
Oh and a wee heads up for the party policy wonks and meeja commentariat having a read (we know you do). Its not the parties that are driving this sea change, its the people. Since the parties won’t change either themselves or their rotten bloody system, people have decided to do the job themselves. The SNP are receiving our vote and our trust at the moment because to their credit, they stopped to listen and act upon what they heard to the best of their curtailed abilities.
The SNP are the messengers, its people who are sending the message. People who are royally f***ing pissed off being manipulated by political parties and their pet media to suit their own selfish interests. Having their vote yanked this way and that with dog whistle politics of fear, societal division, empty promises and othering. Y’know, the stuff you people do on a daily basis for a living, shitting on your own electorates for political or material gain.
No more.
@Al-Stuart says: 30 April, 2015 at 12:45 pm:
” … Lastly, and I declare an interest, for I have lost three friends to the obscenity of New Labour/ConDem austerity. …
Thank you, A1-Stuart, commiserations. You are not alone in mourning disabled and ill friends.
To that end may I provide you a little ammo. See and aim it well. It is the scandal of the lies of Ian Duncan Smith that the press and broadcasters slipped past the public.
In and decent democracy a decent press and broadcast medium would have driven this heartless apology of a human being from the land. Instead those that reported it made little show of making it well published.
link to bbc.co.uk
Muriel Gray, just Molly Weir without the Flash really. Time to move on.
The English political old guard and their meeja pals and fellow tax-avoiders are terrified that a progressive party with values will start up south of the border.
The Lib Dems are finished and UKIP are beyond the pale for most decent English folk.
Having witnessed Nicola debating a staunch No-voting punter last year before the referendum and the respect and courtesy with which she extended to him, I would support every word written about the vast difference in how the SNP deals with people vs the other parties. That guy may still believe in the Union, but there’s every chance his vote next week will be leant to the SNP to get the best deal for Scotland.
@ Gillie:
“Is that Labour’s last throw of the dice – a meaningless poster?”
Naw. Next Wednesday’s “24 Hours To Stop Another Referendum” mass leaflet drop will be their last (ever?) throw of the dice.
– Don’t you realise that’s the last act of a desperate man?
– Ah don’t care if it’s the first act ae Henry V, ah’m STILL votin’ SNP!
To be fair, there is no doubt that the MSM are powerful. What is happening now is that we are seeing the limits of that power: but that is quite rare, and unless we are vigilant it won’t last.
I do believe that the referendum would have been won if not for the MSM (not all by themselves, obviously) and so it is true to say that they have a disproportionate influence on the outcome of votes, most of the time.
However it is another case of emperor’s clothes. As with labour, once the people see through them something unusual happens. David Blunkett was on the radio a wee while ago, wittering on about how dangerous it is that people in Scotland won’t accept labour party leaflets. He did not seem to think that their behaviour had anything to do with that, any more than MSM think their behaviour has anything to do with falling sales and influence.
There comes a pivotal point, when the power taken for granted for so long just vanishes. Those who are most involved are the last to see it, perhaps. Ms Gray may just be a bit slow. Or, in the longer run, she may still be right. Just not in Scotland, now
I think the word we are looking for guys is ill informed. She needs to read some books,articles,non msm propaganda.
I am quite sure if she sat for a day with Derek Bateman she might learn something.
Anyone know what the current Scottish circulation Figures are for the Sun?
Just parenthisise or highlight Al Stuart and Calum’s List
Muriel seems to have this on her mind.
link to socialistunity.com
Laura Bicker on the BBC speaking of Nicola Sturgeon “she may struggle to control extremists in her own party”. Says the BBC who regularly invite Ian Smart onto their channel.
Have the Record always officially backed Labour at Westminster elections? I wonder if they will this time or whether they’ll bottle it like they did at the referendum.
Dear Murial,
Today is #SNPbecause Day. 🙂
I am voting for the SNP because i want my country to be independant of Westminster.
Because the SNP are not the Labour Party 🙂
Because I am not Stupid or brainwashed i am an intellegent woman who can decide for herself.
Because i decided in 2002 never to vote for Labour again EVER
Now if they are not good reasons i don’t know what is eh Murial?
VOTE SNP..
🙂
@Giving Goose says: 30 April, 2015 at 12:51 pm:
“Sad, really, but when you are used to NOT having to actually engage with voters, then the prospect of actually meeting, greeting and speaking with real people must be looked on with horror by Labour MPs.”
I believe it is even more basic than that. The Establishment parties are all of the same mind-set. That is shown in the way they regard the electorate. Not only is it a, “Them and us”, manner but it is, “We are the masters and you are our servants”.
Now look at the SNP leaders and elected to office people. They do not go around in wee groups of officials with an accompanied press core and spin-Doctor crew. Wee Nicola is, like Salmond, one of us. She walks down a high Street and interacts with all. She loves them and they love her. She talks down to no one and no one is off-limits to interact with.
It is as simple as that. Look at the Establishment hecht heid ains. Police protection, meeting behind closed doors with invited audiences. Them and us. Masters and slaves.
I remember when she first appeared on the telly,Sharp,witty,intelligent and gallus. What happened Muriel?
Scottish Sun Readership = 699,000
Daily Ranger = 190,985
Both March 15!
I think in this case it’s pretty clear that The Sun is simply getting behind who it thinks is going to win. It would be wrong however to say that the Sun has no influence on its readers and that Rupert Murdoch doesn’t take advantage of that influence. All a bit ‘betwix and between’ I’m afraid.
Macart
“The SNP are the messengers, it is people who are sending the message. People who are royally f***ing pissed off being manipulated by political parties and their pet media to suit their own selfish interests.”
Well said Macart – a model comment – may it be often repeated.
Discussing politics at work with half a dozen colleagues
one may vote Tory but Nicola has tempted her the rest are SNP some for the first time. Mainly due to Nicola’s handling of the media. I did not join in but had a wee smile.
The Daily Record are calling the Sun ‘two faced’ today, because they back the SNP in Scotland and the Tories in R’UK,
Are my eyes deceiving me?
The discredited rag that calls itself the ‘Scottish Peoples Champion’ who were the main creators of the biggest electoral fraud ever in the UK, namely the ‘all but home rule, Vow’
Are calling the Sun ‘Two Faced’?
You couldn’t make this crap up! haha.
Izzie-ditto. Loads of different nationalities at my work and they are all impressed with Nicola. It’s gonna be a great night next Thursday I’m sure!
Grouse Beater says:
30 April, 2015 at 1:08 pm
Muriel Gray?
The same chair of the board of governors of Scotland’s premier architectural building, the Glasgow School of Art – she did a lot of genuine wailing when it burnt down but we still await an arrested for negligence. Some guardian.
grouse how many times has gcc been on watch when glasgows buildings have burnt down
glasgow uni
jordanhill college
glasgow art school
just to name a few as to name the rest would take all day
very highly insured where these buildings and yet they ask for donations from the public
wait till the next council elections and i will bet you any amount of money more buildings burn down along with all the documented deals and lists
ask for any insurance documents and the standared answer you get is the insurance ran out muriel gray is in it up to her neck regarding the school as she was the head on watch that day companys want to know why for a building world famous was the insurance allowed to lapse
i have said before GCC are burning glasgow down and nothing is going to stop them wave a few pounds around and everyone of them are blind
Just remembering,did Jim Murphy not say he would raise a million pounds to fight this election in Scotland wonder how that went when Labour councillors are refusing to donate to local PPCs.
@Bugger (the Panda) says: 30 April, 2015 at 1:03 pm:
” … Jim Murphy is a perfect example of presentation over substance. … “
The only substantial thing about the Murphy is his size 13 feet.
Wi lyomons like yon wi dinna needs speir whaur aa the guid o the younker Murphy gaed tae.
Owersettin intil the Inglis, (With feet like those we do not needs ask where all the good of the young Murphy went).
[…] 99 Red Balloons […]
Same here Izzie universal hatred of Jim Murphy,
Isn’t it interesting that there are more Tories out of the 6 than Labour!
Oneironaut says:
30 April, 2015 at 1:16 pm
“Stur Wars”? Hmm, nice one…
If it’s going that way, I’ve got dibs on the purple lightsabre!
oneironaut can i have a go after you im bored with my sonic screwdriver
Slab are embedded in Glasgow life, and since they escaped from Strathclyde Region the city council has been tainted with corruption and has sweeties & patronage to hand out to its network of supporters. Bridgid McConnell runs Culture and Muriel, a bugger for the culture if ever there was one, has done very nicely for herself.
Glasgow City Council & BBC Scotland, two prime candidates for a thorough investigation.
The suggestion in that top pic seems to be “These Slab activists on the left have chosen Labour’s Fairer Economy while these Slab activists on the right have chosen Another SNP Referendum.”
Muriel would have been half-right, a few years ago. She’s wrong to say Murdoch doesn’t wait to see which the wind’s blowing, because he clearly does – how else could he maintain his claim that the Sun always backs the winner?
And at previous elections, The Sun’s backing may have been able to sway the vote, but only if you had two fairly evenly-matched contenders and a decent amount of biddable undecideds who really did hold the outcome in their hands.
That’s so far from the case this time, that even if all the undecideds suddenly swung to Labour, it still wouldn’t change the fact that Labour are dead in Scotland, and overtake that massive 30-point lead the SNP currently have. Muriel needs to realise that this GE is unlike any other in recent history, and all rules have gone by the board.
Keep up, hen.
I rarely comment on web-site articles, but the second image in the article above is a glaring example of how far Nu-Labour have separated themselves from the party’s working class roots.
A trio of never-done-real-job-in-my-life career politicians taking part in a “Bob the Builder” photo shoot (was this a themed wake for a dead political party?), and their idea of pretending to be ordinary working class people is to …… umhhh ……. wear some HSE approved PPE and …… ummhh ….. put your hands in your pockets.
Is it any wonder that 13 years of Labour government failed to tackle the piteous levels of manufacturing and construction in the YooKay?
Clearly, they think we are a bunch of lazy bastards on a permanent, whinge-filled tea-break.
I can’t wait another week. Let’s have the election tomorrow.
Anybody else think the Sun is actually trying to help Labour in Scotland here.
It’s support today seems a bit early, a full week before the poll.
From memory the Daily’s don’t usually come out in favour of one party until just a day or two before the election.
Obviously SNP are doing very well with or without the support of the Sun but Labour are almost dead in the water without any sign of improvement then this comes along and give’s them and the msm the chance to gain some traction with their vote SNP get Tory line (I know it’s wrong) The Sun proves it just look at both versions or words to that effect.
Just saying that even the Tories will be worried about a near wipe out of Labour in Scotland and the effect it will have on their precious two party system and maybe hope this article will save Labour at least some seats in Scotland. The last thing they want is 50 odd SNP MPs in Westminster.
I am probably being paranoid but I just think it strange the Sun came out for SNP so early and with such conflicting headlines re the SNP that they knew would cause the kerfuffle it did today.
Muriel Gray usually spends most of her Twitter time posting nice pics of her garden and of her various holiday trips around Scotland (which she knows more about than you) and of lots of exotic places most plebs can`t afford ever to visit.
Every so often she`ll tweet something along the lines of “Scotland is crap now that common people are talking politics, when they clearly have no idea what they`re talking about – how horrid. Nasty. Terrible.”
She is very media circa 1988.
But Scotland has moved on, and in Muriel`s mind, it`s simply awful.
Saying that, I find it hard to feel anything other than affection towards Muriel Gray. She was part of my childhood growing up in the 80s. Ach well, eh.
Now where`s my S-Express album?
Manandboy
Simply well tired of having political parties, pundits and poorly informed commentators telling us what to think.
Time they were woken up to what’s right before their eyes.
Their agendas are becoming less important to the electorate by the day.
Joemcg says: 2.14pm.
“I remember when she first appeared on the telly,Sharp,witty,intelligent and gallus. What happened Muriel?”
She became very rich Joe.
She has fallen into the arms of the middle class self preservation society. My my how she has changed.
I have heard others saying that unemployed and young people don’t know what they are talking about. It is exactly those people at the coal face of cuts and suffer that know exactly what they are talking about.Walk a mile in another mans shoes Muriel.
Shame on you Muriel. What happened to egalitarianism! You need to take a good look at your prejudices and sort them out! Are you now just a class snob!
Is it just me, or is the Scottish Sun comparing Westminster with the Empire from Star Wars (you know, that blatently Nazi copy that destroyed a planet as part of an interrogation of one political prisioner)
Does anybody know any voters who are living in abject terror at the thought that the SNP might, some day, put forward a manifesto asking the Scottish people to vote for them if they want another referendum on independence where they can vote Yes or No as they please? I mean, what could be worse? A party trying to keep quiet all the welfare cuts they are planning after the election perhaps?
Seems a very odd strategy to pick this issue as the big bad bogeyman, particularly given that 45% of the electorate were happy to vote YES anyway just six months ago, and presumably form the core of the 50%+ who seem set to vote SNP.
Couldn’t believe Kezia Dugdale at FMQ’s – seemed like she was trying to fill her allotted question time with as much vacuous noise as possible to avoid getting drawn into a real debate, where the shortcomings of her own party’s policies would have been expertly shown up by a First Minister on top of her game as always.
@ Yesitis, don’t ask Muriel to trouble her sody-heid with stuff like poverty & food-banks or that her freins propose to blow £100 billion on weapons-of-mass-destruction, she has far artier & fartier matters to occupy her.
“You remember your first mountain in the same way you remember first sexual experience”. M.Gray.
Only another 300 odd to go. 🙂
What Macart said at 1:49. Exactly that.
Nice on Rev. Linking these dafties.
Led by the tragi-comic scarecrow,these little scurrying spiders are imprisoned in a nexus of their own design.
Jethro the last survey ragrding another referendum was:
Do you want a refeendum in the next 10 years do you agree – ~Yes 61% No 39%
Dod you want one in the future – Yes 80% no 20%
It’s a busted flush for Labour. Even no voters are not opposed to it!
Can anyone reading here explain to me just what Ruth Davidson was hoping to achieve with her wee hurl on a tank? And the photo of her sitting astride the gun barrel, well, no comment.
Don’t kow if it’s been mentioned but has anyone noticed that the sign on the yellow dumper truck with Magrit and Jim in the picture above appears to have been altered to read TWATS.
I think we may owe more than we realise to the Glasgow rickshaw guy. That one ‘imperial masters’ stunt probably convinced every Labour minder in the business that allowing MPs/MSPs to mix with the public was a liability that could not be tolerated..
It wasn’t that it happened; it was because they couldn’t cope with it when they did, and the slumped, embarrassed body language of those MPs shuffling up Buchanan street said a lot about the calibre of the ‘People’s’ representatives.
The SNP don’t seem to have this problem, because the older generation learnt their politics when meeting voters was the only way they could get any credence, while the new batch of candidates have mostly been through the hurly-burly of the Yes campaign, when making the case to ordinary people was essential…
You only need to compare Mharie Black’s spontaneous honesty with Douglas Alexander’s carefully-managed soundbites to see which is more likely to appeal to voters.
Hi bjsalba at 2:04 pm
Anyone know what the current Scottish circulation Figures are for the Sun?
10th April SALES figures (compared to last April):-
The Scottish Sun – 9.1 per cent drop = 246,699 to 224,298
That’s from:-
link to allmediascotland.com
Stu title wrong – thought there was only 41 red balloons in this election……………..
Muriel Gray.She needs to move with the times.Just because she’s getting on a bit doesn’t mean she has to be a political fuddie duddie.
bjsalba says:
30 April, 2015 at 2:04 pm
Anyone know what the current Scottish circulation Figures are for the Sun?
I’m pretty sure Scotland circles the Sun every 365 days just like the rest of the world. But I could be wrong. 🙂
I think we are all getting a bit bored with the traditional Druids of public consciousness and morality, flap and flail in hopeless resistance to the irresistible force of time’s progress.
We are all witnessing the end of an era and the beginning of a brighter, more enlightened future, I hope.
Modernity is post-traditional. A society can’t be fully modern if attitudes, actions or institutions are significantly influenced by traditions, because deference to tradition – doing things just because people did them in the past – is the opposite of modern reflexivity. Because of this, Giddens suggests that societies which try to ‘modernise’ in the most obvious institutional sense – by becoming something like a capitalist democracy – but which do not throw off other traditions, such as gender inequalities, are likely to fail in their attempt to be successful modern societies.
link to theory.org.uk
velofello
She was trying to do a Cher as in the video for “If I Could Turn Back Time”
There’s a joke there somewhere using the title of that song 🙂
O/T Got this link from Rev’s twitter, sounds like an interesting piece:
‘John Harris visits Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, once the safest seat in Britain, but now within the SNP’s sights. The veteran Labour MP Tom Clarke says he’s confident he can hold on. But his SNP challenger Phil Boswell says Labour has stopped representing the workers, and fancies his chances. It’s tense, and messy. And when we ask too many questions, anger erupts.’
I say ‘sounds’ because for some inexplicable reason I can’t get the ‘video’ part to play on my laptop at the moment. If anyone has any suggestions about how I can remedy this I’d appreciate any help 🙂
link to theguardian.com
Murdoch is anti Milliband because Ed will regulate the Press. Murdoch would have to give up one title. Harold Evans article in the Guardian recounted how Thatcher, secretly supported Murdoch take over of 40% of the British Press.
Cameron etc can only appear at staged events, otherwise the public have a go at them. Pensioners and young folk recently had a go at Cameron.
The SNP can meet and greet the public. They have popular support.
“If you vote No, we will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine,” to paraphrase.
Illy says:
30 April, 2015 at 3:18 pm
Is it just me, or is the Scottish Sun comparing Westminster with the Empire from Star Wars
I think virtually the whole of the teamGB media absolutely detests Westminster and Holyrood and Brussels.
UK meeja is owned by a few neo fascist billionaire tax dodgers and the BBC is owned by tory boy royals grovellers.
So the SUN headlines are just Murdoch going “fcuk yer democracy” you pommie barstewards. They pay pretty well though, and money buys all kinds of angry conscience free hacks and scribblers. No wonder they all look so shocked when they get banged up.
Nae hammers Stoker, it’s video, so cannae archive it :-;
john j says:
30 April, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Good spot!
Nice wee chuckle before leaving work.
Moth balls they roll them out each time. Hoping the red tops decline……..
Here’s an interesting video from The Guardian about Labour’s struggle in Coatbridge …
link to tinyurl.com
Ends up by saying that in every election where it’s about the past versus the future, the future has always won.
velofello says:
30 April, 2015 at 3:38 pm
Can anyone reading here explain to me just what Ruth Davidson was hoping to achieve with her wee hurl on a tank? And the photo of her sitting astride the gun barrel
I know what went through my mind, “that is one helluva strapon you’ve got there Ruthie”
John J @ 3.40pm
Great spot… has the Rev been a bit naughty with Photoshop or does the dumper truck in the last pic really say TWATS on the side
The trouble with Muriel and others like her is that she is too puffed up with her own self importance having had the stage to theirselves for many years unchallenged. Then along comes the social media & internet age giving every one of us an equal say where we can challenge the status quo with robust researched arguments, making her just one voice in a land of many other voices. And all that does is gives the likes of Muriel a sore head. Simply put time and events have caught up with her. Too bad. For her.
I don’t know why I did the things I did I don’t know why I said the things I said
Pride’s like a knife it can cut deep inside
Words are like weapons they wound sometimes.
I didn’t really mean to hurt you I didn’t wanna see you go
I know I made you cry, but baby
[Chorus:]
If I could turn back time
If I could find a way
I’d take back those words that hurt you
And you’d stay
If I could reach the stars I’d give them all to you
Then you’d love me, love me
Like you used to do
Velofello at 3.38
Ruthie just having a Cher moment. Perfectly normal behaviour. Move along.
On the other hand, MURIAL! you’re terrible..
Oops, I forgot this one.
link to egs.edu
Regards Muriel and the art school fire, here in Aberdeen our ghastly unionist SLabTory council are blowing £40 million renovating/destroying Aberdeen Art Gallery, its taking years and against all kinds of pleading not to.
Thing is, same councillors like SLab buffoon Wullie Young, rage at Holyrood for not raising council taxes but they can still blow over £40 million on a pointless renovation and in a city with a massive social housing shortage. Its easy to wish away unionists but they are spectacular zealots.
Why not spend £40 million on art to really bring in the punters and fine art only evaluates? But as with everything else, unionists tell you to f off, get a life, stop being so divisive and disloyal. This is Scotland and its owned by SLabour and the Tory party etc
“the most politically-engaged electorate anywhere in the British Isles, perhaps anywhere in Europe. “ – Not quite in Europe Stu.
Turnout for 2014 Scot Indy Ref: 84.6%
Turnout for 2014 Swedish General Election: 85,81%
Just keeping you right. 😉
99 Red Balloons – one of my favourite running tracks
“Ninety-nine knights of the air
Ride super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone’s a super hero
Everyone’s a captain kirk
With orders to identify
To clarify and classify
Scramble in the summer sky
Ninety-nine red balloons go by”
A great anti-war song. The lyrics mention Capatin Kirk all I have to add is, “He’s dead, Jim”.
@vellofello, hope you got your copy of The National today, as Ruth is there in all her glory astride the gun barrel.
National very funny today, with all sorts of funny pics of Murphy, Brown etc.
WGD – lock up your dolls !!!
Regarding Ruth Davidson’s tank episode.
My own feelings are it was done purely to attract some cybernat bile that would cause a distraction, allow the other parties off the hook and if vile enough be broadcast wall to wall for a couple of days and reduce SNP votes in some way.
Just my opinion.
@galamcennalath.
Good video, thanks for posting.
Mountains to climb in Coatbridge, Bellshill and Chryston, but we’re getting there and I’ll be out leafleting till next week in a final push.
Toodle-oo the noo sums up the farce that was FMQ’s.
I saw it and it was toe curling stuff and poor Alec Rowley sitting in the back row, recently ushered into the labour seats, shaking his head. Even Fife Council meetings were better,but not much. 🙂
link to bbc.co.uk
@ K1.
Hammers?
I’m more of a drill and chainsaw man.
😉
________
That 2nd from top picture with this article.
Tam Cowan must be desperate, grabbing a pew next to Creepy Dim.
I know he’s from Motherwell but, ffs, that’s beyond desperate.
🙂
Bald Eagle:
Grouse, how many times has gcc been on watch when Glasgows buildings have burnt down? Glasgow Uni, Jordanhill College, Glasgow School of Art, to name a few, as to name the rest would take all day.
Blimey! 🙁
My argument is Gray and the director, Dame Seona Reid, who ran the School, are culpable, as are the entire board of governors.
On their watch the director concentrated on a concrete monstrosity built opposite Mackintosh’s masterpiece and starved the School of cash – no fire sprinklers.
Then they decreed fine art – drawing and painting – was dead – and the downmarket English Turner prize was the height of great art, and any dumb student with an ‘idea’ could graduate as an art student and try for a Turner… including the one who burnt down the School by leaving a movie projector on near inflammable material.
I will devote an essay to this ‘misadventure’ soon so angry am I at the river of sentimentality expressed by those who should bloody resign over the disaster.
Not the 2nd picture from the top – should have said 3rd from top.
Heedtracker on Aberdeen Art Gallery: Why not spend £40 million on art to really bring in the punters.
A great idea!
There is only one thing I can say 😉 about this *ahem* press launch of Labour in Scotland’s launch of their referendum campaign …
link to youtube.com
Almannysbunnet says:
30 April, 2015 at 3:44 pm
“I’m pretty sure Scotland circles the Sun every 365 days just like the rest of the world. But I could be wrong. :-)”
You are. It’s 365.25 days. 🙂
Whoever came up with the bright idea of a helicopter for Nicola to campaign in during the last week of the campaign needs their head examined. An own goal by the SNP.
link to archive.is
@Joemcg says: 2.14pm.:
“I remember when she first appeared on the telly,Sharp,witty,intelligent and gallus. What happened Muriel?”
I read that and though – I think I know and I bet I’m not alone.
Then – John H. says: 30 April, 2015 at 3:06 pm:
She became very rich Joe.
and I knew I was not alone.
;-))
Hmm! Populous-online asking folk to complete a ‘exit poll’ type survey immediately after they cast their vote on their pc.
I suppose they will be getting info now from postal voters!
1. What rules apply to the info collected who will see it.
2. Will that stop/ or start rumours re: interference
I wonder what the real ‘paid for’ circulation of ‘the record’ is…..my guess is way below 200,000. I fly out of Edinburgh every Monday morning and there’s 1000’s of free copies at the airport. I think the airport buys some of these in bulk…so they count as paid sales.
Rev
How about asking Wingers to conduct their own exit poll at their local station and collating the results. Would make Thursday night doubly interesting waiting on the Wings poll.
Helicopter a great touch 21st century politics in action and she covers a huge amount of ground more quickly
If it’s good enough for Obama
And, not paid for by the taxpayers, repeat not paid for by the taxpayers
Brian Taylor was caught on video training BBC journos on how to trip up and make our team look bad
Someone previously posted the Vid
Sorry , meant to post last night; laugh of the campaign so far Margrits safety shoes on the building site yesterday ! What the fuck , zoom in and see the clown wearing the clowns shoes. Comedy gold.
If you want to find yet more evidence of Labour’s desperation try reading an “article” in the New Statesman by someone called David Clark. I’m no use at IT stuff so if someone could archive it…?
gerry parker says:
“Mountains to climb in Coatbridge, Bellshill and Chryston, but we’re getting there”
Bookie’s odds converted to a percentage are …. 60% probability of an SNP win.
So close, but as Nicola wisely says … “Hard graft and humility” …. make anywhere a possible win.
Tom Clarke did look ruffled in the video.
Re-this helicopter plan. Just worried it’s a bit Kinnock-esque.
Thepnr says:
Whoever came up with the bright idea of a helicopter for Nicola to campaign in during the last week of the campaign needs their head examined. An own goal by the SNP.
link to archive.is
I dunno Thepnr. I understand she is flying around a number of constituencies over the next five days.
She will also visit Moffat, in Dumfries and Galloway, while in the coming days her tour will take in East Lothian, Dundee, St Andrews, Stonehaven, Inverness, Portree, Glasgow and Largs before ending in Dumfries on Monday.
link to thecourier.co.uk
I have serious doubts that she would be able to manage this sort of visit schedule without a helicopter. Plus if the S.N.P. funds can stretch to hiring a chopper for five days then why not.
Personally I think it is great that she is doing this, there again I’m an aviation nut so I would say that wouldn’t I! 😀
targeting of carehomes will be productive for new labour. I predict a 100% turnout of postal ballots coming out of every care home in jims constituency.
@Dr Jim
Hiring a helicopter may allow you to cover a lot more ground but sticking a picture of yourself on it and inviting your opponents to take potshots at it as the Daily mail has already done is a bit naive.
As you are aware this is not an ordinary election and handing out ammunition to the MSM at this stage is plain daft.
Sorry for going O/T but some light relief I think! 😉
link to youtube.com
I am a wee bit slow on the uptake and just noticed the “twats” on the dumper truck in the 4th photo. I assume that this is a photshop job. Would so love this to have been there in reality
@Joemcg –
Re-this helicopter plan. Just worried it’s a bit Kinnock-esque
Not unless she starts waving like Tricky Dicky Nixon and shouting ‘Well Alright’ ‘Well Alright’ as she boards the chopper 🙂
morgatron says
“Sorry , meant to post last night; laugh of the campaign so far Margrits safety shoes on the building site yesterday !”
But is her dress blue or black? lets ask twitter….oh nooooo!
Muriel Gray – the trendy, spiky, “edgy” Scottish voice challenging complacent capitalism… 30 years ago.
I remember her writing for various publications in the late 80s / early 90s. Clever, occasionally witty, fairly well read, always contrarian and more than a bit up herself but, hey, that’s media types for you. The Left was never radical enough for her, she’d never fail to mention, it was all too old and square and safe – Kinnock, Smith and the rest – when she wanted, you know – radical! Well, ok. I’ll go with that. Worth an occasional read but don’t be looking for any serious insight.
Then I heard her on a panel in Edinburgh sometime later in the 90s. She was talking about Blair, amongst other things. As I recall she had reservations about Tony but felt Gordon would steer the economics leftward(!), deliver devolution and good things would follow. Greener, more democratic, more fairness for ethnic minorities and women and LGBT folk. Above all was the Tories would be vanquished – along with the “ridiculous Nats”.
That phrase stung because I’d left the Labour Party a few years before and had (or was just about to) vote SNP for the first time. Hers was a commonly held view then, Muriel just said it with a bit more scathing wit. She told the audience that things were so bad with the Tories they “could only get better” with Blair & Brown but they better get a damn sight better because she, Muriel, was watching.
Cue laughter.
Someone in the audience spoke up from an SNP viewpoint. Like everyone else in the audience the guy was pleased at the prospect of booting out the Tories but questioned putting much trust in New Labour over devolution. If it was only ever allowed to be “Labour’s Scottish estate” (a great phrase, I thought) it could not truly serve the people of Scotland. I and a handful of others applauded.
Her response was telling. She heaped scorn on anyone “not willing to give them a chance”, layer upon layer of invective against the SNP and Alex Salmond in particular, growing more shrill and vituperative, even resorting to “Tartan Tory” tropes as she worked herself into a lather of self-righteous indignation. It was a sight to behold.
Muriel is a classic self-obsessed media type, conservative to her marrow but still wearing her hair in a wild punky style so she can tell herself she’s not lost her edge.
She never had edge. And New Labour got away with murder on her watch.
Nicola Sturgeon,working for decades trying to put a great
wrong right,to make her own country the place that it should
be.
Along with others,having to put up with crap from liars,
bullies,thieves,gangsters and incompitent troughers.
Muriel who?…Muriel what?
Word on the street is that a D2D drop scheduled for delivery on the 5th and 6th of May 2015 on behalf of the Labour Party. The items are due delivery on the days in question in line with the terms of the contract agreed between the Labour Party and Royal Mail.
@
Lesley-Anne.
Helicopter looks like a dauphin – in PDG colours.
🙂
Wonder what will be in those leaflets? Guaranteed 2nd referendum threat?
what is wrong with the EBC tonight.
Sally Mag giving “Lurch” a hard time.
I presume this is the David Clark article in New Statesman mentioned above.
link to newstatesman.com
Actually taken from this blog
link to shiftinggrounds.org
She’s Scotland’s First Minister, airborne!
The chopper hire is based at Inverness airport and does lots of charter, from
link to pdghelicopters.com
Play Two of Scotland’s Finest Golf Courses in a Day
With many of these famous golf courses located several hours away from each other, traveling by car can often make it very difficult to play more than one course in a day. However, our helicopters which can accommodate four to eight people and their clubs, can reduce a five hour car journey to just 20 minutes.
Sally Magnusson tried harder than I think any other BBC Scotland presenter would have, to pin Big Dim Jim down. She certainly got a few through; she didn’t stand any of his pish, but, he still went through his pre-programmed standard rant.
No policies, no charisma, nae chance.
Mind you, she nearly got him to admit – they will do a deal with the SNP.
DYNAMITE ON REPORTING SCOTLAND –
Pretty sure Sally Magnusson finally did her job and skewared Jim Murphy on most of the points Rev has been promoting on wings for ages.
Biggest party crap – letting Tories remain in power
His leadership / negative campaign
Scottish Labour membership No.s the lot
He did not like it !!!!
Surprised to say well done to her !
Another day, another Murphy car crash interview…go Sally Mag…(shock)
“I’m not saying it is what the SNP are saying, but surely if they win the number of seats polls are projecting, surely that IS a mandate for another referendum” ?
Murphy…”SNP BAD”
How many members did Sally say the Snp now had?
Did I hear that correctly?
Fred said @ 1.57: “Muriel Gray, just Molly Weir without the Flash really.”
Sums it up perfectly. Muriel used to boast about having every Ordnance Survey map of Scotland because of her love of Scotland’s hills and mountains. She typifies the Proud Scot Buttery of the trendy West Enders who find the SNP much too common and populist, not “right-on” enough for edgy Muriel. She’s stuck in a time-warp but is probably incapable of change.
Big Sigh.
And Molly Weir: the memories! Ah, they knew how to make great TV programmes in the 60’s.
They just couldn’t be bothered.
Macart 1.49pm
Outstanding sir. You can be sure they (MSM) are looking in on Wings. They are just blind and deaf to the message.
I like the NuLabour numpties in Scotland alternative logo:
LABOURS
FAIRERTROUGHERS ECONOMYApologies for the source!
Muriel Gray? The Student SNP at Aberdeen University considered asking her to be the candidate for the Rectorship in the late 80s.
BBC now – using bar graphs with varying numbers but bars are the same size whether 50% or 5% ? Since when was that ever normal ?
You just have to laugh.
“The former Labour home secretary, David Blunkitt, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme on Thursday that,
What else can you do when confronted with such utter idiocy?
The Sun is no friend of Scotland. It only acts in its own self interest.
Murdoch is in my view one of the most disgusting humans on the planet.
For heaven’s sake don’t go out rushing to buy The Sun.
Out here in the real world we are doing very well in making sure Scotland is represented at Westminster by people who have the experience necessary to do the job of representing their constituents.
Only a week to go to chat with, laugh with and engage with our fellow Scots.
Enjoy it while you can – and please stop focussing on ‘celebrities’ they really are not that important.
Paul Hutcheon @paulhutcheon 26 Apr 2015
Jim Murphy told the Sunday Times today there are around 15,000 members of @scottishlabour – he said 19,000 a few months back
Reporting Scotland, 30 Apr 2015:
Jim Murphy: “The Scottish Labour Party figures are about 20,000 and growing.”
Sally Magnusson: “7,000 of these are social club members, of course.”
Jim: *says stuff about how proud all these imaginary Labour members are*
Sally: “I take it from that that you’re not at a 15-year high.”
Jim: “We are actually. Over 20,000.”
Just watched the ITV report on Nicolas tour by helicopter. Despite my initial misgivings she manages to pull it off 🙂
OK I withdraw my original comment, only Nocola Sturgeon could make me do that though. Women of steel that can deflect bullets. Haha.
@ Robert Peffer
“The former Labour home secretary, David Blunkitt, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme on Thursday that,
Scots were now “switched off to even rational argument” when it came to politics.
“People are not even prepared to take leaflets or to engage in discussion. It’s as though a great part of the Scottish nation have switched off and that is so dangerous for the Union and for the future of Britain as a whole and I think what happens from 8 May will need something different to the normal run of politics,” he said.
What else can you do when confronted with such utter idiocy?
I heard that interview. What do people think he means in the last part? Is he softening folk up for a lab/tory coalition? Or what?
Smurphy
Just watched his BLBC interview with Sally.
I noticed this time in his wee jig routine clip that his eye, hand and feet coordination was just too much for his brain. He couldn’t get his brain cell to work fast enough to make the movements required on time. Its a bad day when a couple of 70+ pensioners show that they have more cognitive skills and ability than he had in a wee pinkie. They should have signed him up for daily membership he needs it more than the auld yins. He might have plenty of time on the 9th.
Points he made a third of population do not want indyref2?
What was the figures he was quoting from who says?
The indyref2 high on unionist party propaganda at the moment because its the last throw of the fear factor they have left.
They are trying to do to the SNP what the Tories have being doing to Labour ie trying to outmanoeuvre and manipulate them into commitment saying no indyref2 after 2016?
So why?
A) playing for time they know that they are in such a poor state at the moment their trying to buy time to rebuild.
B)The longer they can delay indyref2 the hope is a significant issue will crop up to damage the image of SNP.
C)They know at present they will loose indyref2.
All we have to do is keep to the message. This election is NOT about indyref2
Ps Smurphy the SNP are not the Labour party that can be so easily outmanoeuvred and manipulated into commitments we don’t intend to make.
I wonder if Smurph has seen the light.
Buy this domain The Domain jimmurphymp.org may be for sale by its owner.
The long referendum campaign and the subsequent rise in SNP support has completely flushed out the unionists in the media.
That is 99.9% of them. And I don’t trust the remaining 0.1%.
Don’t ever have any sympathy for them. What they did to the Scottish people is atrocious.
In support of the helicopter: People will be able to see it from the ground for miles around as it flies overhead creating a sense of excitement and anticipation.
‘they can’t or won’t listen to rational argument.’
us the mindless, wow just wow, their arrogance and sense of entitlement knows no bounds!
they still unable to accept angry rejection, and blame others for not listening, when it is they who have failed us.
they still see us as too stupid, to know our own minds.
O/T Fish ex Marillion on Manx Radio, praising SNP. Cant believe its 24 years since Internal Exile was released as a single.
@fred blogger
They used to say things like “we need to get our message across” when folk had heard them fine, but disagreed. But this is better. That suggested they might not be quite perfect, but now it is the voters to blame, and that is progress.
Mr Blunkett is the living proof that being disabled does not immunise you from being a nasty person. But I still wonder at his statement and the implications of it. What does “I think what happens from 8 May will need something different to the normal run of politics” actually mean? Anyone?
Gosh Muriel isn’t the young thing I thought she mighta been. However like many people who show off for the BBC and the Guardian she probably expects that Labour will one day make her Lady Muriel of Besom and there’s no mileage in being an SNP supporter when yer Labour pals in the Glasgow cooncil will invite to all the arty dinners you can handle. All you have to do is pay the premium for the GSA insurance in return. Woops….
O/T as usual – for those that can’t stomach the ‘leader’s debate’ Livestream is broadcasting The Bare Facts Event:
“Lifting the lid on politics with Lesley Riddoch. A frank talk on Scotland’s future and life beyond the general election. For our final event before the general election we are pulling out all the stops. Going bigger and better than ever.
We’ve taken one of Glasgow’s best venues, Cottier’s Theatre, and filled it with top musical acts and comedians including the fabulous Lady Alba, Teenage Fanclub’s Francis Macdonald, and more”
link to tinyurl.com
Please give these guys your support, they do a superb job to bring us all these events and debates. They’re fundraising just now too:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/going-forward–2
Mooriel Graay
Turned into Kaye Adams but different hair
Shame, used to be quite Punky a very long long time ago even when I was still a Rocky Roly Rebel Tunesmith
Grouse beater
“I will devote an essay to this ‘misadventure’ soon so angry am I at the river of sentimentality expressed by those who should bloody ”
Before you do that you might want to check who the director has been since 2013 cos it isn’t who you said it is.
Just seen that Murphy ,Magnusson interview. Oh my God someone turn off the lights. I can’t bear to watch such a slow painful death in public.
Slabour have 20k members. Nae wonder his nose is so big. What a giant fib. He is definately a sociopath.
A2: been since 2013 cos it isn’t who you said it is.
Erm, no.
The planning, the events that transpired, the change in teaching methods and syllabus that led to the disaster belong to Reid’s tenure entirely. They were ‘overseen’ by a compliant board of governors who clearly have bugger all idea of what is art and what is a hobby.
To allow a lowly student to work with flammable materials then go awol, and an idiot lecturer to leave everything unattended, means both should be arrested.
No one has said ‘You’re responsible!” That’s hard to take.
Where were the fire extinguishers?
Where was the member of staff?
Just listening to Cameron claiming he has, “A wonderful manifesto”. Yet the truth is he has just presided over, in his own words being, “All in it together”, that made the already very rich more than twice as rich by consigning many thousands of the poorest, and weakest, in that, “Better Together Austerity”, system into queue at ever more food-banks.
Why cannot people see them for what they are by seeing what they do?
@ Fiona 7.40
What does ” I think what happens from 8th May will need something different to normal run of politics” actually mean.
Well Fiona, to me it suggests that they are considering a government of national unity. If that is what they do, well they will have lit the blue touch paper.
Stand well back.
Impressed with Sally Magnusson tonight, mebbes Gordon Brown threatening Iceland with anti-terrorism laws has rung a bell someplace.
A helicopter is ideal for covering the country, a tank is not so good an idea, very slow, very noisy and the vibration could have rattled her wallies oot.
@ Marie Clark.
That is what I think too.
Twitter are saying that Miliband has ruled out any kind of deal with SNP on QT
I believe him, in light of the Blunkett statement today. They are going to support the tories, I suspect.
Which accounts for Jim Murphy’s repeated assertion that a vote for SNP will let the tories in: because labour intends to ensure that happens if they don’t get a majority. It also accounts for his creepy smile when he says it.
Odd choice. Don’t know what they think they are doing. But I believe this may be the plan
SNP meeting real people: my wife and kids went to walk the dog in the field in Moffat today and someone put their ruddy helicopter in the middle, as the car drove out and past Nicola got out and my kids got a pic with the FM before she jumped back in to meet people in Moffat high St. Great effort by NS! Beat that Murph.
Excellent, Stu. A dying dinosaur thrashing it’s tail ‘cos it’s the only thing it has left.
In choosing Crosby and McTernan as campaign directors, the Unionists opted for a campaign fought in the gutter and the sewer. If this is the template for elections in the future in the UK, then Independence has an additional reason for urgency.
Thank you for your responses readers reference my query on Ruth Davidson’s tank hurl and gun barrel “astride”.
I’m a Grandad,yet her “astride” was so…I’d better not say…memories!
Yes means yes at 3:40 and Neil at 4:07.
You know, innocent that I am I didn’t even think that it might have been our own Rev. Stuart who did that, I was kind of hoping that it was a subsversive workman on the site.
I think that the Rev. Stuart should come clean!
By the way, I think there might be a Plant Hire company called TOWARTS.
re-mur’al gray after the fire she said on tv that almost all the art was destoyed by fire and all documents regarding students
my question is why was all the documents for glasgows art collections not mentioned as there was supposed to be an audit on going as to glasgows art
also remember artwork belonging to the people of glasgow was sent down south to lord nimmo i think. these are priceless artworks and as long as he was in office as some tossed up legal whatever they where his to keep he is out off office now so they should be brought back to scotland
was talking to a guy from uni about this and he let slip a load off scotlands treasures are loaned out and never chased up for their return and some english students sponsored by the establishment search out these items and lists are sent down to london and guese who holds the deads to these works of art yupp good old glasgow city council
the scotland office should get every piece of information regarding scotlands gems and get every piece back they are ours and should never have been given away that is one of the reasons the labour party are shitting them selfs and IF after this ge the labour party does reinvent themselfs i will personely hold them responsible for theft and jail the ring leaders for looting scotland
sorry about the long rant i will never let this go unnoticed and neither should you’s
@ bald eagle, a controversial figure this law-lord, known to some as Nimmo the Dimmo.
I find it strange that when Jim Murphy won Scottish labour leadership he announced he was going to reach out those who voted ‘Yes’ in referendum.
However this poster ‘another SNP referendum’ is obviously one that he is directing at the ‘No’ voters, is it not ! Project Fear part 2 or is it 3, 4, or whatever !
Me thinks he has given up flogging another , of the many , dead horses he constantly spews up in his lost campaign.
Dead man walking , politically speaking , I hasten to add.
fred
thats the guy when he was on the tv showing this artwork off he said to camera that he will have pleasure letting his clients and visitors know that the artist was scottish and the cost to get them restored (cleaned)would be worth the money it took to get them to london
and yet up here the bod doing a piece about the art said on camera again that the public could get them back on loan if and when needed and she held paper work up to prove it was all legal as the paperwork was done by lord chief justice nimmo’s office looked more like a receipt to me as the numbers where to big for a loan and no mention of the cleaning bill
why ask for something that belongs to you and why ask to loan it back
then about a year ago kirsty wark did a programme about the burrell collection belonging again to the people of glasgow gifted to us so his daughter couldnt get it to sell it off
no part of the collection was ever to leave scotland and what does the city council do they are going to send on tour pieces of the collection that the public havent even seen yet this will be another of scotlands loses these bastards make me sick oh and the pieces going on tour yep chinese pottery from the ming dynasty wheres it going back home to visit china
Keep an eye on the bastards bald eagle. Looking forward to the day when we get the Lewis chess-men back, plus James IV’s sword from the College of Heralds & Athens gets the marbles. Talking of lost marbles, we could swap Muriel Gray for the chess-men. 🙂
Nicola has great jobs in that sun picture above. Can’t wait until she gets in and brings more female politicians with her
JebsNotJobs! VoteSNP