The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland

Author Archive


The unpalatable harvest 211

Posted on August 28, 2014 by

One of the most commonly-observed facets of the independence referendum so far has been the lack of a real grassroots “Better Together” campaign, and as a historian of Scottish popular politics I’ve found myself pondering why there wasn’t one.

togetheralone3

It’s not like there aren’t thousands of Scots who passionately believe in the Union and will be voting No, and are perfectly capable of arguing their case. We all know some – I certainly do, both family and friends. But there’s no organised grassroots campaigning of any serious note. Tiny handfuls of Labour activists, some of them shipped up from England and paid, have done almost all of the donkey work so far.

But as a historian of Scottish popular politics I should have an explanation, shouldn’t I? And when I had a think about it, something occurred to me.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags:
Category analysis, comment, culture, history, scottish politics

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,861 Posts, 1,233,516 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

    and finally and firstly arithmetic fail braveheart klaxon britnats captain darling cartoons Chris Cairns confused cringe crybabies dateline debates Devo Nano Federalists Unionists and Devolutionists flat-out lies foreigner watch from the archives fundraisers galleries Greg Moodie hamish hypocrisy liars light-hearted banter lizards memogate misinformation one nation perspectives poll project fear project feart qft Scott Minto smears snp accused soapbox the positive case for the union The Vow ticktock toldyouso too wee too poor too stupid unionist of the day vote no get nothing

  • Recent Comments

    • James Cheyne on The Gulf War: “A happy new year to everyone, The bond between party and goal is broken.. Or The bond between politician and…” Jan 1, 11:20
    • Morag on The Gulf War: “I remember back in about 1994 there was a similar gulf between support for independence (one poll had it at…” Jan 1, 11:19
    • David Holden on The Gulf War: “Happy New Year to you all from a pile of rocks off the West coast of the colony also known…” Jan 1, 11:17
    • 100%Yes on The Gulf War: “The SNP has shown to the voters that they aren’t any good in government, they have no ideas and out…” Jan 1, 11:15
    • Stuart MacKay on The Gulf War: “How big does that margin need to be before it attracts someone to fill that vacuum? And who would it…” Jan 1, 11:13
    • robertkknight on The Gulf War: “A guid New Year tae ane an aa / Bliadhna Mhath Ùr / Happy New Year Indy for Scotland! SNP…” Jan 1, 10:30
    • GM on The Fear Of The Briar: “All Alan’s contempt is aimed at Scotland, England or what he calls ‘GB & NI’ gets a pass presumably because…” Jan 1, 10:29
    • GM on The Fear Of The Briar: “Indeed.” Jan 1, 10:19
    • Ronnie on The Gulf War: “Happy New Year tae all. Surely even the most ardent SNP supporter must recognise that Swinney has tae go?” Jan 1, 10:17
    • Andy Ellis on The Gulf War: “Excellent analysis as always. A wee typographical lapse in No. 8 perhaps….. “even though their own support has only barely…” Jan 1, 09:50
    • Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “And all the best in 2026 for you and the fambly, Ian. Steak Pie Day today and Mrs Chiel’s tiramisu:…” Jan 1, 09:43
    • duncanio on The Gulf War: “Great analysis, Rev. “The bond between party and goal is broken” is truly a reflection of the association between the…” Jan 1, 09:33
    • Marie on The Gulf War: “SNP? Not for me. (From a YES voter). Happy New Year.” Jan 1, 09:23
    • robertkknight on The Fear Of The Briar: “The National? Is that still in print? Who buys that pi$h FFS? And a guid New Year tae ane an…” Jan 1, 02:33
    • Rob on The Fear Of The Briar: “When has Scotland given mandate after mandate for independence? There was one referendum and it was naw. Voting for the…” Jan 1, 02:13
    • Al-Stuart on The Fear Of The Briar: “. Oh Stuart Campbell, I just love the forensic analysis and fact-rich way in which you write. Your logic unassailable.…” Jan 1, 00:23
    • Ian Brotherhood on Off-topic: “Good to see a wee flurry in this place! Just a few minutes to go and those big bad bells…” Dec 31, 23:55
    • DaveL on The Fear Of The Briar: “@ Alan Scott. You’re living in southern England so which set of muppets do you mean when you say ‘our…” Dec 31, 23:39
    • Alf Baird on The Fear Of The Briar: “There is no ‘United Kingdom’, its a myth. Scotland was annexed by England and the English crown rebranded as ‘UK’.” Dec 31, 23:37
    • Northcode on The Fear Of The Briar: “One last dig at the SNP before the bells ring in the new year. The desire of the Scots for…” Dec 31, 23:32
    • Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: ““My husband is the only other person who talks of those wooden stairs to Bedfordshire!” Age-related I suspect, like Lobey…” Dec 31, 23:14
    • Alan Scott on The Fear Of The Briar: “Can you explain why leaving the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will improve the calibre of our…” Dec 31, 22:57
    • sarah on The Fear Of The Briar: “Hi, aLurker: the Inverness event on 7th February is a possibility for me. Though as you suspect, I’m no Spring…” Dec 31, 22:48
    • sarah on Off-topic: “My husband is the only other person who talks of those wooden stairs to Bedfordshire! We too will be wending…” Dec 31, 22:34
    • sarah on The Fear Of The Briar: “You’d put off restoring Scotland as a country just because of the current batch of MSPs? You’ll never get a…” Dec 31, 22:29
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Curious Fringes: “‘ST PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE’ (The prayer as recorded is dated on linguistic grounds to the early 8th century.) « Crist lim.…” Dec 31, 22:23
    • Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “@Sarah: something else for your Hogmanay hootenanny and to prove Julie Fowlis is trilingual: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu_3-VDi7wY Going up wood hill to…” Dec 31, 22:15
    • sarah on Off-topic: “Hi everyone, sorry to arrive so late at the party. My excuse is that I am still writing my annual…” Dec 31, 22:05
    • alan scott on The Fear Of The Briar: “That National poll looks like a lot of nonsense to me. When the evil Toaries are in power some polls…” Dec 31, 22:03
    • Northcode on The Curious Fringes: “Thanks, Sam. A terrific description by Liz Niven on the power and range of the Scots leid. Of course I…” Dec 31, 21:48

  • A tall tale



↑ Top