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Wings Over Scotland


The Sooner Future

Posted on September 05, 2024 by

The sudden abandonment yesterday of the Scottish Government’s dreadful proposals for a legislative ban on so-called “conversion practices” is a big victory for this website, which has campaigned hard against it since it was first mooted almost two years ago.

Despite saying as recently as mid-May that it was “committed to continuing with that legislation”, and the new First Minister making a huge fuss about it at Edinburgh Pride just a handful of weeks ago, the administration has clearly (if belatedly) realised that as well as being massively unpopular it would probably be another disastrous high-profile failure along the lines of the Gender Recognition Reform Act, as it too would be likely to be in conflict with UK law.

So on the face of it it’s just a “pragmatic step” to avoid wasting any more time, energy and political capital that could be better spent trying to turn the government’s fortunes around, and leaving Labour to do all the dirty work instead.

But it may turn out far more significant than that.

Because the Scottish Greens, still stinging at being hoofed out of government by Humza Yousaf, are now threatening to vote against the budget as a result, which could lead to the fall of the entire government unless Swinney can persuade one of the other parties at Holyrood to back it.

It’s very difficult to see why any of them would. The SNP is on its knees, and all the opposition parties would relish a general election. The only possible exception to that is the Tories, although they might be keen to get their new leader – looking increasingly like being the impressive Russell Findlay – straight into some serious action.

The Tories are also in poor shape and are worried about the rapid growth of Reform, who current polling suggests would find themselves with 8-9 seats under Holyrood’s electoral system – the same number as the Greens. But it’s a risk they might well be willing to run for the prize of ending the pro-indy majority of the last 13 years.

That’s far from certain, though. A deal for the Tories to back the budget is probably more likely than it’s been at any time since 2011, with Swinney and (particularly) Kate Forbes considerably more palatable to Tory supporters than Nicola Sturgeon or Humza Yousaf were, and the new leader would probably prefer to have some time to settle in and start repairing the damage of Douglas Ross’s hapless time in charge before going to the voters.

But we’re still struggling to see what the SNP could offer the Tories. There’s no money going spare, and with most of the “woke” policies of the Bute House Agreement already in the bin there isn’t much they could sacrifice either. The most plausible option would seem to be dialling back on income tax, which as a bonus would also be an attractive prospect to the middle classes who are increasingly deserting the SNP and who Swinney is desperate to win back.

This would of course be a huge betrayal of the party’s core messaging over the last decade, but the hasty dumping of the conversion bill shows that that isn’t necessarily a problem. It would also bring even more strain on the government’s finances, but we know they’re willing to get the axe out to try to save their own skins so it’s unlikely to be a big obstacle, particularly as the higher rates haven’t brought in much money anyway.

(Such a prospective deal might also be deployed just to try to call the Greens’ bluff and get them to back the budget or risk being held responsible for an SNP/Tory “coalition”.)

So it looks like we’re in for a more interesting few days than we might have been expecting. From the perspective of the independence movement, a general election – however it pans out – is almost certainly better than watching this lame-duck SNP administration limping its way to 2026. Whether you think the party needs rebuilding or completely destroying, both of those things are better done now than later.

We’ll still be surprised, on balance, if that’s what happens. The grasping charlatans now infesting the SNP will do just about anything and suffer any level of indignity to keep their fingernails dug into the bodywork of the gravy train for another 21 months. Some kind of wretched, craven backroom deal with either the Greens or the Tories (or the Greens just losing their nerve again) is the smart-money bet.

But ultimately being brought down by the conversion ban would be a richly deserved and fitting headstone for the calamitous reign of the SNP since 2015, so we’re going to allow ourselves at least a glimmer of hope that the grim two-year stalemate we’ve all been staring despairingly at might yet be unexpectedly averted.

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0 to “The Sooner Future”

  1. Bill Cowan
    Ignored
    says:

    Taken down by Facebook as soon as I posted it.

    Again!

  2. Monica Worley
    Ignored
    says:

    If the tories also put in something about stopping the gender woowoo, including pulling the newly-released plan of action to allow people to self-id into taking harmful opposite-sex hormones, they will build tons of good will among women voters, even those like me that support independence (but not under the SNP). Would certainly be better than the status quo for 21 mor months.

  3. GrahamG
    Ignored
    says:

    Considering that the dumb bastards still get a block grant regardless of their somewhat virtue-signalling tax rates so remain at the mercy of Westminster for funds, resetting the rates to be compatible with the rest of the UK would be the least stupid thing they could do. Which probably rules it out.

  4. Ian McCubbin
    Ignored
    says:

    If his SNP falls and an election is called by default it’s goodbye independence.
    The independista parties are far from ready for an election.
    This would just play jnto Labour true right wing unionist laps
    God forbid

  5. Den
    Ignored
    says:

    There is only one party that will loose as much as the SNP and that is the odious greens/ sex party. They will bottle it again because they know political Armageddon waits them in Scotland. Harvie is a lot of things but first and foremost he is a grifter extraordinaire.

  6. Mark Beggan
    Ignored
    says:

    ‘richly fitting headstone”

    I had a huge bonfire with dancing and cheering in mind.

  7. Lynne
    Ignored
    says:

    @Bill Cowan
    Just shared it on FB with a brief comment & it seems to be staying up. I shared the Wings post, not just a link – perhaps that makes a difference.

  8. Michael Laing
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Ian McCubbin at 1.37pm: You’re years behind the times. It’s been “goodbye independence” ever since Sturgeon gained the leadership of the SNP. The SNP is now so catastrophically damaged that even if it were to suddenly abandon its woke/gender ideology and boot out its advocates, and make independence its first and foremost priority, it’s far, far too late.

  9. Mark Beggan
    Ignored
    says:

    That is one ugly looking geezer on Swinneys left side. How can man do that to himself has he no self respect.

  10. Ruairidh
    Ignored
    says:

    Delicious. If they’d deigned to consider SNP 1, Alba 2 they might have survived this. Now they’re scrabbling for a deal with the Tories 😀

  11. Bill Cowan
    Ignored
    says:

    @Lynne – I’ve been sharing Stu’s posts for many years in exactly the same way with little problems, although this has happened once before. The strange thing is it was taken down on my personal page, but left on a political page I run. – Who knows with FB now!

  12. Sven
    Ignored
    says:

    I’m guessing the Greens will happily sell out for even one Ministerial Mondeo (electric obviously) and a couple of photo opportunities.

  13. Ian McCubbin
    Ignored
    says:

    @ Michael Laing.
    You misquote me. I know full well SNP have abandoned independence it’s why I left them in 2019.
    Mybpoint is it’s not going to help true independistas if an early election called.
    SNP have been a unionist party since 2015 of course I knew that.

  14. Ruby Thursday
    Ignored
    says:

    Difficult to comment on this because I don’t know

    1. What is meant by conversion therapy
    2. What the UK wide approach is.

    Who would carry out this so called ‘conversion therapy’?

    Would it be someone in the ‘mental health services’ which has recently had a £20m cut to their budget.

    No need to ban ‘conversion therapy’ when there is no one available to carry out this therapy.

    Unless they are talking about therapy being carried out in the church or mosque or maybe an amateur hypnotherapist.

    If the UK wide policy is for self-id then the trans will have no need to see a therapist.

    This conversion therapy ban could be meaningless.

    I don’t trust the SNP?

  15. Ruby Thursday
    Ignored
    says:

    Difficult to keep up with what is going on.

    The party (Labour) is considering letting individual GPs sign off gender recognition certificates — replacing a panel of specialists.

    Sounds totally mental!

    I doubt GPs will have time to carry out any kind of therapy.

    They have ways of stopping ‘conversion therapy’ without banning it.

  16. Astonished
    Ignored
    says:

    Spot on, Ruairidh.

    May I also re-iterate Michael Laing’s point – The nuSNP abandoned independence under Sturgeon. And replaced it with grifting and the transcult.

    Although, I don’t think the greens will act. However, I do hope it forces Alba, ISP and anyone else wanting independence to form ” Scotland United ” parties for the list and the constituencies.

  17. BLMac
    Ignored
    says:

    If an election is called now, the only way the SNP will survive is if they do a SNP/Alba split for the list seats.

  18. Ruby Thursday
    Ignored
    says:

    Not another one!

    Although it might be an opportunity to get shot of Angus Robertson.

    Could be more exciting than I first thought.

    I’ll await Stu’s advice vis a vis voting in the ‘upcoming’ Holyrood election on the best way to get shot of Robertson.

    https://tinyurl.com/4wceuf35

    No more ‘Robertson’s Marmalade’ thank you.

  19. Stuart MacKay
    Ignored
    says:

    So the Progressive Golden Age brought in by Nikla is over, and the SNP are maneuvering to soften the new programme of austerity that Labour are going to initiate by stealing Robert Kennedy Jr’s idea to focus on children. Kudos for deftness, but it won’t take the country one step closer to independence.

    To see why, this, https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/the-machine-stops is worth a read. It takes a bit of digesting and it’s slow going, at least initially, but towards the end you realise that “independence”, while the answer to many troubles cannot possibly be captured by a single party. You can see how Salmond tried to broaden the base by demonstrating competence in government, then the SNP under Sturgeon, threw it all away by narrowing the focus to appeal to people with less than conventional, life-styles.

    Bringing back Salmond won’t make any difference since the cohort of competent people he could marshall simply don’t exist. If independence if going to be put back on the agenda, it’s going to have to come from many different directions. It can only be the end result, not a starting point. That rules out anything like the SNP ever existing again.

  20. Mike Fenwick
    Ignored
    says:

    My recent post from elsewhere: (On one view perhaps see it as a method of obtaining the settled will, in an alternative see it as a peaceful non-disruptive act of civil-disobedience) In either all signed Declaraions are lodged for safe-keeping at the HQ of the UN.

    Post reads:

    The Declaration of an individual Sovereign Scot – its purpose – to regain the independence of Scotland.

    Let it never be a call for unity, but always a call for – unity of purpose. A call for – the unity of purpose to end the union and regain Scotland’s independence. Please don’t let’s kid ourselves that all those of us who seek Scotland’s independence are all the same, we simply aren’t, we never will be, and that is just exactly as it should be. We are Scots – wha’s like us? But if like me you are determined to regain our country’s independence, that and that alone must be – our unity of purpose.

    I used the photo of a Baby Box yesterday and asked if the child it would harbour would grow up and live in an independent Scotland. The answer to that question is dependent on us, on you and on me but crucially on whether we share that single common – unity of purpose. Do we – can we?

    The Declaration initiative does not ask if you are a member of a political party or none, it simply asks if you will sign your name to your Declaration to end the union, and regain Scotland’s independence and tell the world of your decision.

    It takes just “20 Seconds” to sign – that’s it! Over the coming months I will journey all over Scotland, with blank Declaration forms. I will post details of where and when once they are established – these two are (more will follow):

    Saturday 7th September – at the Scottish Parliament Building. Edinburgh.

    Saturday 14th September – Freedom Square, Glasgow at the Hope over Fear rally.

  21. aLurker
    Ignored
    says:

    I am reminded of the recent campaign by
    Respect Scottish Sovereignty (RSS).
    Their recent public letter:

    DEAR FIRST MINISTER

    Your government has acknowledged that the Scottish People are sovereign and has confirmed that “popular sovereignty remains the best way of ensuring good government for current and future generations of people who live in Scotland.” [1]

    Popular Sovereignty was codified in the Claim of Right 1689, a pre-condition of the 1707 Treaty of Union, which has been endorsed by the Scottish Parliament and the Westminster Parliament [2] both of whom recognise “the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of government best suited to their needs.” [3] However, Popular Sovereignty requires that the People have direct political rights, such as the right to popular referendums, without which they are unable exercise their sovereignty.

    These rights aren’t part of UK law despite the UK Government ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) back in 1976. ICCPR, Article 25, commits the UK to guaranteeing civil and political rights and Popular Sovereignty is the “other form of government best suited to our needs.” The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has repeatedly criticised the UK government for failing to legislate political rights but recently praised the Scottish Government for enacting into Scots law another UN convention ratified by the UK, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the UK has also failed to incorporate into domestic law.

    There are no legal reasons why the Scottish Government can’t do the same for ICCPR. Under the Scotland Act 1998, “observing and implementing international obligations, obligations under the Human Rights Convention and obligations under EU law” are not reserved. [4]

    Incorporating political rights into Scots law, as recommended by the Scottish Human Rights Commission [5], would give the Scottish People the power to accept or refuse proposed devolved legislation via a Referendum. Without political rights, Popular Sovereignty is meaningless.

    Furthermore, legislating for political rights would be a significant step towards a more consensual form of government than the Westminster model. It could give an immediate boost to the entire independence movement and offer a compelling argument in favour of the independence parties during the 2026 election.

    Thank you for your consideration. Please feel free to contact us if we can provide further information.

    ##– letter ends —

    Instead of diverting parliamentary bandwidth to yet more divisive and contested Identity Politics, self described ‘gradualist’ Swinney – or devolutionist to his many critics, could be passing into Scotts Law the principles of the ICCPR and enshrining our currently _theoritical_ but apparently NOT _excerciseable_ right to have a say in political decisions that affect us.

    More rights for ALL OF US John.

  22. John Cowie
    Ignored
    says:

    Ian McCubbin , you are entirely correct and both Wings and Michael Laing are woefully wrong. Wings has been wrong about the Hate Crime Bill and the Uk general election so its become noticeable. Along with the regular doom mongering “nothing’s going to happen re indy for a decade/lfetime/generation” regular baloney

    A Holyrood election now would only benefit Unionists. It’s remarkable no others in the comments have countered this obvious fallacy.
    The already decimated snp limpimg on to 2026 SHOULD be all that is required for real independence msp/parties to replace THE block to our independence =The Rotten snp.
    Why ALBA are still pathetically pandering to the despised & decimated SNPis a very worrying mystery.
    Why ALBA have become so pedestrian is why ive had to leave.
    Why ALBA don’t have the guts for the open goal and historic opportunity frankly disgusts with how pathetic theyve become with strategic mistakes piled high and with weak, illogical & profoundly uninspiring vision outlined for 2026.
    Alex Salmond’s email to members after the so called 2026 strategy meeting=
    aiming low , timorous beasties STILL pandering to SNP!

    Strangely Wings and the likes of Michael Laing (only and main Unionist talking point) equate SNP demise to the demise of the Scottish independence movements. Hence why Wings regularly states independence is “decade/lifetime/generation away”, which is total bollocks. Even worse: it’s THE unionist talking point. The only one Unionists have: demise of SNP =Demise of independence/nothing happening fpr generation etc…Alex Neil has decreed THREE DECADES.
    .
    Anyone with a modicum of common sense would be well advised to now take what Wings opines with a truck load of sea salt.

  23. Cuphook
    Ignored
    says:

    If the Greens bring down the SNP would they lose the independence list vote that they rely on?

    Without the independence vote their electorate is transies, nappy fetishists, and the middle-class who think driving to the bottle bank is saving the planet.

    Alba need to have credible candidates in place and a plan on how to capture the media. They need policies like building the A9 and A96, stopping the super pylons, building council houses for locals, and improving education (ABC – not LGBTQ).

    They need to emphasis how much the Union costs us. Ameliorating unwanted Westminster policies is a Union tax.

    Stop being nice and go into the election fighting for Scotland.

  24. Vivian O’Blivion
    Ignored
    says:

    Has self-certified victim of Borderline Personality Disorder and survivor of PTSD, Emma Roddick proclaimed on this?

    Dropping the proposed ban on Trans, Conversion Therapy is clearly a disgusting betrayal of the most victimised, vulnerable and repressed element of society in the entire history of the world (copyright every grifting exponent of Poststructural toxin ever spawned by the John Smith Centre).

    But seriously, Roddick could transfer to the top of the Green, regional ticket for the H & I’s. The current incumbent of that position (Ariana Burgess) blotted her copybook with wee Pat when she went against his edict denouncing wood burning stoves in rural Scotland to be tantamount to ecological Armageddon. Still, I am sure Ariana has nothing to be concerned about, it’s not as if Pat is a petty and vindictive wee gnome who would harbour a grudge and stab her in the back at the soonest opportunity.

  25. Rob
    Ignored
    says:

    My poor wee head aches trying to weigh/juggle the legal ferrets struggling to be free.

    Branchform, Broadcroft, the now not sisted Salmond case, the possibility of a Sturgeon-appointed top Legal position no longer in an SNP the Cabinet, that perjury enquiry, the Hirst case – it’s all too much.

    And then there’s Holyrood machinations.

    I seem to be bleeding from my ears.

  26. Sven
    Ignored
    says:

    Vivian O’Blivion @ 15.54. “stabbed” in the rear by P Harvie … now that’s an image you’ve left in my mind’s eye which I could have well managed without !

  27. Mark Beggan
    Ignored
    says:

    I’ve said many stupid contradictory things in my time but I’ve got nothing on John Cowie. WOW that comment has got to be the best shoot yourself in the foot while demonstrating firearm safety I’ve ever read.

  28. Muscleguy
    Ignored
    says:

    @Monica Worley
    The Scots Tories gave their MSP a conscience vote on the GRR Bill. About half of them voted in favour of it. So I wouldn’t trust the Tories on that.

  29. Viscount Ennui
    Ignored
    says:

    “Police ask for guidance in Sturgeon probe over SNP finances”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2ejw4vlj5o

  30. robertkknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Why do people still conflate the fortunes of the Devo-max/Indy-lite SNP with the prospects for Scottish Independence???

    There’s as much chance of Scotland gaining Indy via the SNP as there is via the Tories.

    What is it folk don’t see???

  31. Alex stewart
    Ignored
    says:

    Strangley enough, a letter arrived from the electoral office today to update details incase of election ?

  32. robertkknight
    Ignored
    says:

    “She (Sturgeon) said she would fully co-operate with the inquiry and has done nothing wrong.”….. (Britnat Brainwashing Channel)

    Is that full cooperation the same sort that was experienced by the HR enquiry…

    youtube.com/watch?v=d3dRYhHXKu0

  33. agent x
    Ignored
    says:

    Detectives investigating Nicola Sturgeon over the SNP’s finances have asked prosecutors for directions on the next steps in their inquiry.

    A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On 9 August, we presented the findings of the investigation so far to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and we await their direction on what further action should be taken.”

    The Crown Office said the police report is under consideration.

  34. Young Lochinvar
    Ignored
    says:

    It’s a poor choice all round for an HR election, however the SNP, Labour, Tories, Lib Dem and Alba should, for once, all get together and kick the proverbial living sh1t out of the Greens..

  35. Hatey McHateface
    Ignored
    says:

    the higher rates haven’t brought in much money anyway

    Naw?

    I guess when you’re shelling out millions for compo to citizens criminally persecuted here, millions in compo for botched jam jar deposit schemes there, and many thousands to the shithole the ex-FM’s family supposedly hails from, the sums don’t seem much.

    But when I’m looking at the deductions on my payslip, they seem like a lot to me.

    I wouldn’t be in too much hurry to bring the crims and incompetents at HR down. For starters, the sight of them coming out of HR in cuffs whilst still in office shouldn’t be body swerved. That would be a rare and historic day indeed.

    For seconds, on the confident assumption it’s business as usual until May 2026, there’s feck all been done to get a pro-Indy alternative even into the stadium, let alone up and running and in the fight.

  36. Richard Denning
    Ignored
    says:

    Surely the last thing the Scottish Tories want to do is back the SNP.
    It would almost guarantee lots of their voters (including me) switching to Reform.

  37. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    Oh – how I’d love to see a Holyrood election before 2026 – so we could get these treacherous b*stards out of office – however as you point out – these SNP scumbags, would crawl over their mothers, to get to their grannies – if it meant staying – if not in power, then in Holyrood as a MSP, supping from the taxpayers teat until at least 2026.

  38. Viscount Ennui
    Ignored
    says:

    Re Branchform and the suggestions made at the time of the NS arrest that material, including burner phones, had been destroyed:

    1. The limits of the examples of the circumstances in which such an offence is committed, have, however, in his submission, been fully set out in the Law Commission’s Report No 96 into Offences Relating to Interference with the Course of Justice (1979), in Archbold 2002, and Blackstone 2002.
    2. In the Law Commission Report the passages he relies on is:
    “3.3 A general offence of perverting the course of justice was held to exist in R –v- Grimes [1968] 3 All ER 179, was confirmed by the Court of Appeal in R –v- Panayiotou and Another [1973] 1 WLR 1032, and is now generally accepted.
    3.4 The boundaries of the offence are uncertain but it clearly includes the following:
    (i) Fabricating, concealing or destroying evidence with intent to influence the outcome of judicial proceedings, civil or criminal whether or not they have yet been instituted …..

  39. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    O/T

    Police Scotland – has presented all its work on Operation Branchform to the COPFS – its now in their hands, as to where it goes next.

  40. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    ” Senior Crown Office lawyers are considering whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Murrell and whether it would be in the public interest to do so.”

    WHY would it NOT BE in the public’s interests to prosecute wee Pete (The Magpie) for embezzling people’s money, is the crown office pfs going to have that same trepidation and anxiety when it comes to St.NIKLA or Bulging Beatty

    Is the disappearance, theft or embezzlement of £600,000+ such a trivial amount that COPFS just can’t be bothered to prosecute

    I suppose when you have prosecuters deliberately and willfully conducting malicious prosecutions which is COSTING Scottish Taxpayers in excess of £100,000,000 to compensate victims of their VILE actions it shouldn’t be surprising that our judiciary insist that they have the determination of what the public should be told

    The media like the bbc like to maintain that our governance and justice is fair and honest and are so quick to denigrate and demean other countries when their systems are corrupt and vile totally ignoring the irony of the endemic lies and corruption within our establishments

  41. Dundee Chris
    Ignored
    says:

    Muscleguy
    Ignored says:
    5 September, 2024 at 4:31 pm
    @Monica Worley
    The Scots Tories gave their MSP a conscience vote on the GRR Bill. About half of them voted in favour of it. So I wouldn’t trust the Tories on that.

    One of them, Jamie Greene I believe , voted for it.
    The Tories are therefore 97% trustworthy on this issue

  42. ScottieDog
    Ignored
    says:

    I wish they would just call an early election by virtue of labour’s austerity drive. I think people need to witness a labour govt in HR again . It should be labour who ends free tuition, free prescriptions in Scotland, not snp as a result of starmers austerity. But a 2024 HR election would be a bonus to clear out the stables.

    In a way it’s unfortunate we never had a labour govt in HR with a tory WM govt, just to hear HMS Baillie opine that it’s all WM’s fault.

  43. ScottieDog
    Ignored
    says:

    Suspect swinney will uturn on cuts to active travel to keep Joe 90 happy

  44. Alf Baird
    Ignored
    says:

    The Lib Dems are said to be amenable to a deal, so maybe we’ll see some cash put towards the new ferries desperately needed for Orkney and Shetland.

  45. Young Lochinvar
    Ignored
    says:

    The sheer bare faced cheek of Slater standing up and spouting that free primary school kids meals was their idea and this new reduction wouldn’t have when quote – they were in government- unquote.

    The brass neck of her, what about all the local authorities flagging up housing crisis when the Khmer Vert got Useless to dole out £200m (that’s 1/5th of a billion) from housing budget to waste on cycle ways to suit Penfold Pol Pot, abortive costs and likely damages bill of at least £100m (that’s 1/10th if a billion) on DRS when council recycling already does this!

    That’s a straight £300m (that’s approximately 1/3rd of a billion) vaporised money lost to Khmer Vert vanity projects that would have gone a long way for year 5 and 6 primary children’s free school meals.

    Two faced arrogant so and so’s.

    Whose to know that the future holds in HR but one things for sure, everyone now knows the Khmer Vert are utterly juvenile and toxic to make deals with; personally I hope it’s the end of them.

  46. John
    Ignored
    says:

    There’s about a 1,000,000 plus Scotland born folk in England. Lots aren’t yoons.
    We understand London takes tens of thousands of pounds per capita every year. Always has done.
    These people who describe themselves as wealth creators would have you believe that paedophilic child abusers are “pleasure seekers”
    Stop blaming it on England. The uk would never have existed without our parcel of rogues.
    Edinburgh has by far the highest proportion of private school cunts of any uk city . And it smells like it.

  47. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    Young Lochinvar

    “Penfold Pol pot”

    LMAO!

  48. Lynne
    Ignored
    says:

    @BillCowan The plot thickens. My FB post is still up, but its quoted content replaced with ‘This content isn’t available at the moment. When this happens, it’s usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it, or it’s been deleted.’

    The link to this blogpost has vanished from Wings FB page.

    I was sceptical before, but seems like some kind of censorship is indeed going on.

  49. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    I couldn’t care less about the SNP.

    It is their legacy to be remembered as the incompetent betrayers of Scottish Independence; those responsible for delivering the Union from its greatest existential crisis in over 300 years. Tr@itors.

    Let them squabble at the trough of Holyrood for whatever slops and swill the corrupt Westminster Government will put in front of them. Give Tr@itor Blackford his peerage, and Traitor Wishart his prominant Speakers role in the belly of Scotland’s enemy. Build their statues strong, so their infamy endures like modern Dukes of Sutherland.

    “Their” world, the world Scotland is shackled to, is on a collapsing trajectory.

    For decades, their grotesque NeoLiberalism has gutted the Western World of it’s industry, capacity, creativity, innovation and skill, and plundered “our” resources through insatiable corporate greed. Generations of priceless father to son expertise and wisdom squandered overnight to better gild the palaces of the miniscule few. What value in unfulfilled potential?

    BRICS is coming for them.

    Who can say? Maybe a BRICS world will turn out to be as depraved and corrupt as their NeoLiberal Globalism. I doubt it, but even if that was our collective fate, it still won’t stop the big wheel turning. It won’t save their high priests.

    BRICS won’t destroy them. It won’t have to. The BRICS weapon of mass destruction will be a simple and rather ordinary closed door.

    Scotland could have stood apart from this; been bold, and taken the lead, built bridges. But come our brief moment in the spotlight, the silly wee b*tch called for a no fly zone and military escalation.

    Not sure what we should build her statue out of. I have my own ideas, but apparently you can’t polish it.

  50. Mark Beggan
    Ignored
    says:

    Supporting Independence is to condone the destruction of Scotland.

  51. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    Reform UK is going to walk into Holyrood.

    Nigel Farage is going to win big. And the Scottish NHS as a result will be open to market sources.

    The SNP has not built enough houses. And Alba were over taken big time.

    Salmond needs to toughen up on the immigration stance -in my opinion. But he won’t and it will Alba’s downfall.

    SNP are finished. And woke ideology destroyed them.

  52. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    MARK BEGGAN
    Supporting independence is to initiate the destruction of a «Scotland» that has never served the Scots.
    Enter wrecking balls, bulldozers, planners, architects and constructors.
    Exit the faint hearted, the unimaginative, the small minded etc.
    SCOTLAND RECONSTRUCTS.

  53. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks

    Check out the ‘We love Africa’ channel for all the latest BRICS news – usually

    It’s unbelievable the transformation taking place with investments & trade.

    That BRICS university sounds awesome. Professors in science, cutting edge technologies, economics & development – actually drawing on each BRICS members skills & teaching their own young citizens how to run their own country with immediate results in a whole host of areas & it will be a National institution owned by their own country. Venezuela the latest to say they’ll be establishing a scientific Uni.

    A far cry from queer bullshit & political sciences.

    I don’t think BRICS would be petty. They’ve all had their differences in the past & seem to work through them rather than go spark up an invasion & issuing sanctions – how refreshing LOL

    No member who issues sanctions is allowed to join.

    Little England is going down. It’s parasitic & everybody knows it. It can’t ever mend its colonising ways. It’s meddling in U has sealed its fate. To stay chained to that country would be condemning Scotland to stay with what will become a pariah state.

  54. Dorothy Devine
    Ignored
    says:

    We seemed to have acquired a host of folk who don’t realise that so many small countries are happily independent , so many countries glad to see the back of the Britain never wanting to return to her crippling embrace, yet so keen for Scotland to remain a cowed ,asset stripped annex.

    It surprises me that they come to sites that support Scottish independence to spew their ill thought through ramblings. One might be forgiven for thinking they were trying to disrupt or that they had been banned from the Daily Mail/Express – though to be fair that would be something of an accolade in my book.

  55. Mark Beggan
    Ignored
    says:

    Turabdin

    Condone not initiate.

    You and your gang are like a broken record. Very nasty school playground mentality. You know little and understand even less.

  56. Famous15
    Ignored
    says:

    RE Police Scotland asking the Crown Office for guidance on “Branchform” and other cases and Unionists screaming that these two agencies are Scottish and nothing to do with Westminster,Whitehall,MI5 etc I would remind you all that every single rank or position of authority in Police Scotland,Crown Office including PF Service,Civil Service etc is vetted and approved by the Ministry of Defence which the last time I checked was the London heart of the British Empire!!!

  57. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    This was supposed to say…

    * Check out the ‘We love Africa’ channel for all the latest BRICS news – usually every day or two..

    That channel also posts UN news & meetings.

  58. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    Dorothy

    Exactly. They’re not exactly adding anything other than disruption.

    You’d think they’d be seeking independence for their own country rather than concern themselves with Scotlands.

  59. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Dorothy Devine.

    They are gatekeepers.

    The same group alway want Scotland to choose a side on so called other Countries lack political democracy being under attack and hope we will agree with them in fighting wars to help or join in to re-instate other Countries democracy, while here we are in Scotland ( with no Scots in the treaty of union) in Colonial style Great Britain with no voice or political democracy for Scots.

    That is Hypocracy that only gatekeepers could make sense of.

  60. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    Famous15

    Aye, the yoons took a leaf out of Satan’s book. The greatest trick it pulls is to claim it doesn’t exist.

    It meddles in every country around the globe, from overthrowing governments to starting wars, yet we’re expected to believe it doesn’t do any of that covert shit in Scotland. The source of not only its income but it’s status on the world stage.

    Aye, right LMAO.

    It polluted NI for decades & funded the troubles. It’s what it does. It can’t help itself.

  61. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Dorothy Devine.

    It is also blatant hypocrisy to keep telling Scots that they have a Scottish parliament and Scottish parliament members and Government.

    Because if that were true there would be No Joint political parliamentary treaty of union 1707 with the Parliament of England. It would have ended.

    A [ very obvious Breach of the treaty of union ]

  62. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Breeks.

    I cound’nt care less about the Snp.

    Me neither. Cos thay cannot legally pass Scots laws in a Scottish parliament without ending the 1707 treaty of union,

  63. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    The Gatekeepers gang,

  64. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Every SNP law, that they pass as “Scots law”, every political party sitting as a member of the parliament of Scotland ends the treaty of union.

    Gender laws passed as Scots laws…. in Scotland by a “Scottish parliament”
    Hate crime laws passed as Scots law…..in Scotland By a “Scottish parliament”.
    Climate Change laws passed as Scots laws….in Scotland by a “Scottish parliament”
    Covid laws and shutdowns passed as Scots law…. in Scotland by a “Scottish parliament”..
    Etc etc etc.

    If a Scottish parliament can pass laws then it is a Scottish parliament and ends the treaty of union.

    If a Scottish parliament cannot freely pass all laws in Scotland then they not a Scottish parliament but Are the second subsidary parliament of Westminster parliament by Statue which ends the treaty of union article of there [Only being One Parliament of Great-Britain hereafter,]

  65. Alf Baird
    Ignored
    says:

    Famous15 @ 9:57 am

    “RE Police Scotland asking the Crown Office for guidance on “Branchform” and other cases and Unionists screaming that these two agencies are Scottish and nothing to do with Westminster,Whitehall,MI5 etc I would remind you all that every single rank or position of authority in Police Scotland,Crown Office including PF Service,Civil Service etc is vetted and approved by the Ministry of Defence which the last time I checked was the London heart of the British Empire!!!”

    Yes, a colonial assembly is merely a talking shop to keep the natives ‘occupied’ with local matters. Real power aye lies elsewhere.

    As George Osborne once noted, Scotland is held tight by what he called ‘the arms of the British state’, which is the Crown (police and COPFS) and Civil service. Recent and ongoing cases illustrate the way the racket works, who is protected and who is persecuted. As Frantz Fanon said, “colonialism is force”.

    A co-opted national party become department administrators handing out the wages of colonialism to the same elites and groups year after year; what Cesaire called ‘the watchdogs of colonialism’. Colonialism is ‘democracy without power’, or justice.

  66. Xaracen
    Ignored
    says:

    John said;
    “Stop blaming it on England. The UK would never have existed without our parcel of rogues.”

    Indeed, John, and our parcel of rogues in the Union’s parliament have no business letting the English rogues in that place overrule them on any matter of governance. England’s MPs have no legitimate authority over Scotland or her MPs whatsoever, because nothing in the Treaty or its associated Acts gave them any.

    England’s huge MP numbers only reflect its population size, not its rank in a pretended chain of authority. Scotland is NOT the junior partner in the Union, and its sovereign authority as a kingdom in a union of only two sovereign kingdoms is of exactly equal rank with England’s. As such, England’s dominance in the Union’s parliament is completely unwarranted, and there is no formal agreement for it in its founding documents.

    Our MPs need to remind their MPs of that constitutional truth every bloody day, and we need to remind ours of that responsibility every bloody day!

    First past the Post is a seriously UNFAIR voting system. It should not be used at all, let alone nationally, nor inside the parliament.

    But with only two voting bodies, Scottish and English, either both votes agree in favour or against, or they differ, with no majority either way. That’s as fair as it can get.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf7ws2DF-zk (Veritasium; Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impossible)

  67. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Xaracen.

    So are the MPs in Scotland sitting in a Scottish parliament which would end the 1707 treaty of union,
    Or are they sitting in a second parliament and second government of Great Britain?
    Which would also end the 1707 treaty of union.

  68. Stevie
    Ignored
    says:

    ‘If the SNP falls’ : it has fallen – it’a a floating pool t*rd. Nobody likes it except for those who get money out of it; the Brit alternatives are blddy awful (as forever usual) and that’s the only reason it has any support.

    Those of us whoo live and breathe indy want its end – start again; without a Brit-infiltrated rubbish bin of a party that She/her destroyed (deliberately… ?).

    It sucks a lifetime of ass to start again – but there it is : the SNP is crap and needs to be replaced.

  69. Bortwiskels
    Ignored
    says:

    Interesting development, I wonder if bringing about an election in the short term could be the SNP’s mechanism to ensure it’s own survival long term. Yes, they would absolutely lose seats and probably the government, however, as Ruby laid out above there are many bad news days to come for the party between now and 2026. Add to that what Ian McGubbin pointed out, that an election now would catch the alternative indy-groups out as theyre not yet in a position to seriously challenge the SNP yet, and UK labour firing austerity at Scottish labour’s feet (as Scottie Dog noted), maybe the SNP leadership see that this is a more favourable environment for an electipn than 2026 could be.

    Do the party leaders expect being a strong opposition presence to be preferable to whatever fate they have projected for themselves in 2026?

  70. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    MARK BEGGAN
    I «know» considerably more than you could conceive of.
    I was born during the American liberation of Iraq.
    That makes for very quick development.

  71. Ruby Friday
    Ignored
    says:

    Acrotomophilia

    This is a new sexual fetish that I’ve discover today.

    https://tinyurl.com/ye2xx2zc

    Amputee surgeon knew of sex link

    https://tinyurl.com/mr3kew9c

    The science and ethics of voluntary amputation

    This all backs up my idea that the GRA, sex changes, surgeries (gender affirming care) etc are all linked to sexual deviance/fetishes.

    Is there a difference between removing someone’s health limb to removing their genitals?

    Of course this is given a fancy name ie ‘Body Integrity Identity Disorder?’ and not ‘Acrotomophilia’

    It’s the same thing with ‘Autogynephilia’ that is called being ‘transgender’ “gender dysphoria’ Totally normal.

    Very interesting thread on Twitter about this.

  72. Andrew F
    Ignored
    says:

    If it happens (greens blocking supply) my money is on Labour to save them.

    They don’t need a quick election, they can wait a few years. Also, makes no diff to then at WM, but an early election might be a chance for people to kick them over Lord Sir Keith’s new world order Gov down south – and that might look bad. Best to save SNP for now from their viewpoint.

  73. Xaracen
    Ignored
    says:

    James Che said;
    6 September, 2024 at 12:15 pm

    “Xaracen.

    So are the MPs in Scotland sitting in a Scottish parliament which would end the 1707 treaty of union,
    Or are they sitting in a second parliament and second government of Great Britain?
    Which would also end the 1707 treaty of union.”

    Hi, James. The MPs all sit in Westminster, which is the Union parliament. Scotland’s MPs represent the Scottish half of the Union, and as such are the only body in Westminster entitled to wield the sovereign authority of the Kingdom of Scotland on its behalf. They do not represent the old Scottish parliament, they are the old Scottish parliament in effect, just relocated to Westminster. In exactly the same sense, England’s MPs also are the old English parliament, but they didn’t need to relocate because the new Union parliament occupies the same premises.

    There is only one Union parliament, but it is a dual parliament because of the two different representations of the two different sovereign kingdoms.

    This means the two bodies of MPs at Westminster are each formally representing only one of the two Treaty partners, both of which are still legally distinct kingdoms despite English establishment propaganda pretending otherwise. The House of Lords Privileges Committee some years ago confirmed this to be the case.

    The new Scottish parliament at Holyrood is not a Union parliament, but it serves two masters; Westminster, and the Scottish electorate, and that electorate is sovereign under Scotland’s Treaty-guaranteed constitution. All of its MSPs (not MPs) are elected solely by that sovereign electorate, and the stated purpose of that Scottish parliament is specifically to serve them, and NOT Westminster.

    It is therefore perfectly reasonable to argue that the Scottish parliament is subject to Scotland’s constitution while it sits in Scotland, and is required to serve its own sovereign Scottish electorate, and it must answer to them before it answers to Westminster, because the highest authority in Scotland is its sovereign electorate. That’s what sovereignty means.

  74. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    Here’s hoping, it fails to pass.

    “SCOTLAND’S First Minister has said there could be an early Holyrood election if the Budget fails to pass in December.”

    https://archive.is/nBLKm

  75. Republicofscotland
    Ignored
    says:

    The Great ScotWind Giveaway, by Sturgeon the Judas – has cost Scots dearly.

    “JOHN Swinney’s order for a major review of a state organ behind a controversial major renewables project should be read as an “admission” of the scheme’s “failure”, a top think tank has said.

    The Scottish Government has ordered a root-and-branch review of Crown Estate Scotland, the public body tasked with overseeing the ScotWind auction.

    The auction saw major firms get stakes in potentially lucrative green energy projects in the Scottish seas – at prices critics have said were well below what they were worth.

    Research by the Common Weal think tank showed that had a price cap of £100,000 not been imposed on bids, the Scottish Government could have raked in tens of billions to boost its spending power.

    It comes after Finance Secretary Shona Robison (above) revealed she was planning to raid what was left of the money raised to cover day-to-day spending, such as the Scottish Government’s wage bill, when the cash was supposed to have been invested in big renewable energy projects.

    Craig Dalzell, the head of policy and research at the respected Common Weal think tank, said: “I welcome the admission that the Scottish Government needs to review its governance model for Crown Estate Scotland, especially in light of the ongoing failure that was the ScotWind auction and the subsequent loss of the long term wealth fund that could have been secured by it.”

    Dalzell has previously authored research which found that had Scotland followed the lead of New York in its renewables auction, the country could have earned £16.4 billion “in a single payment”.

    If it had replicated conditions imposed by the UK Government in England, the Scottish Government could have stood to gain up to £28bn over the course of a decade, the research found.”

  76. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Xaracen,

    Thank you for your kindly response,

    Be patient with me while I mull over some of you’re information, with some of my own additional thoughts to enable more clarity on the subject and on how and where the old Scottish parliament sits and fits within in the 1707 political parliamentary union first,

    The old Scottish parliament was put under dissolution in 1707 by the Sovereign parliament of Westminster whom gain their sovereignty from the act of settlement for the line of succession to the throne of England, and by the bill of Rights, both being acts of the old parliament of England,
    With the Old Scottish parliament extinguished by Dissolution and being entirely opposing to the complete sentence ( joined )

    After Dissolution under the Constitution of England, their are (No more parliament members) .
    They cannot represent their constituents.

    Does this mean that the Ex-parliamentarians of the dissolved 1707 Scottish parliament are now English parliament members of the Sovereign parliament of Westminster.

    I thought this might be an appropriate subject to clarify for all those popping in here on wings and inceed for myself.
    So if you can bear it and are able stay with the topic and the multiple questions about multiple parliament it would be much appreciated,
    I only need breaks for sleep and to see to the care of my spouse. I have taken him out for fresh air in his wheelchair already, and fed the dog, and cut down a massive tree, trimmed the hedge and been round to the diy store, and did my shopping for today, so I am all for learning from now till at least 9 0 Clock,
    Which when my next time gets busy looking after spouse for pain killers, drinks with straws, getting him into jim jams and in bed, and tele control buttons

    So right now I have a few hours if you do and are kind enough and have the time for a discussion

  77. Peter C.
    Ignored
    says:

    An election for Holyrood at this point in time sounds grand. But I have one serious misgiving on such: it would mean that current committee work and a subsequent vote in the Chamber for Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying Bill would all be shelved and, one would hope, have to be reintroduced from scratch in a newly formed Holyrood government. In my opinion that would be a disaster.

    So, for me, keep the SNP in place for now until McArthur’s Bill gets through (or fails) in Chamber. Given the popularity for an Assisted Dying Act in Scotland this could, dare I say, be a vote winner for the SNP, though also for other parties too. For once they will have done what a solid majority of the electorate actually want.

  78. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    Aye, let’s not only sterilise the yoof – let’s kill off the disabled & elderly as well.

    The Davos/WEF is strong in Scotland ffs…

  79. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    We definitely don’t need a bill for ppl to check themselves out. Let them do it themselves if they’re that way inclined. They definitely don’t need to involve the rest of the population.

  80. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Geri.

    Hear hear. Bad enough at the beginning of life, never mind the end,
    And the male sperm count is also on the decline.
    No humans needed , but a few slaves and sex toys.
    Wef dream.

  81. Xaracen
    Ignored
    says:

    @James Che;

    No problem, James, there’s no rush.

    Your first point in your response asserts that “The old Scottish parliament was put under dissolution in 1707 by the Sovereign parliament of Westminster.”

    My reading says that it was Queen Anne who formally dissolved Scotland’s parliament. It was her parliament to dissolve, not the English parliament’s which had literally no authority to do so anyway. She dissolved it under proclamation, which was published in Edinburgh on 28th April 1707, but the Scottish parliament had already adjourned on 25th March, so it wasn’t sitting anyway. The usual reason for dissolution is for new elections, but these were to be postponed until after the new Union parliament had sat.

    This was to ensure, according to Mia who first explained this a few months ago, that both parliaments could claim direct continuity with the new Union one, because it contained MPs from both kingdoms from day one, admittedly only briefly, and also to ensure that no elections took place in either kingdom until after the new Union parliament was up and running, as a measure to prevent voters from electing MPs who might attempt to block the new arrangements before the Union, and especially its new parliament, came into effect.

    Your second point says that “After Dissolution under the Constitution of England, there are (No more parliament members). They cannot represent their constituents.”

    That may be true in England, but Scotland was not subject to England’s constitution, and shouldn’t be now. But both parliaments were answerable to Queen Anne in her two separate capacities as monarch of both kingdoms, and both parliaments had already ratified the Treaty by then, so the changeover had legitimacy, and if preparation for that meant dissolving the old Scottish parliament which was going to have no separate role in Scotland after the Union came into effect, then that was her decision to make as a matter of simple expediency.

    The Scottish parliament was going to continue in the new one in the form of Scotland’s 45 MPs, so the ‘lack of representation for Scotland’ was only temporary anyway.

    So, “Does this mean that the Ex-parliamentarians of the dissolved 1707 Scottish parliament are now English parliament members of the Sovereign parliament of Westminster.”

    No, it means that the Ex-parliamentarians of the dissolved 1707 Scottish parliament are now Scottish parliament members of the partially Sovereign parliament of Westminster. They aren’t called Scottish parliament members as such, but they serve the same role in the Union parliament as they did in the old Scottish parliament. They are Scotland’s formal representatives in that Union parliament, and no-one else can take their place or exercise their authority to speak and act on the entire Scottish kingdom’s behalf. England’s MPs certainly cannot!

  82. John McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    I think it will be the Lib-Dems that will prop up the snp to get the budget passed Again keeping their noses in the trough for another 2 years wages n expen’s

  83. Andrew F
    Ignored
    says:

    Headline I just saw on Australian ABC:

    “Puberty blockers a ‘safe, effective and reversible’ form of gender-affirming care, finds review triggered by Westmead Hospital investigation”

    Just like your situation with “Cass”, the NSW government commissioned a review which decided that everything is in fact OK, nothing to see here.

    What a coincidence.

  84. Geri
    Ignored
    says:

    Aye James

    It’s a slippery slope. Doesn’t need the government to sanction this. It always starts off with just one section of society & all the emotive language to get it passed & before yeh know it they’re suddenly adding to their list of others they deem a burden on the state.

    The English are pushing for private healthcare. Soon it’ll be like taking the dog to the vets – stump up £10 grand or it’s the bullet for it.

    & It’ll not only be an offer made to the terminally ill just as abortion is now no longer only to save the mother.



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