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: 6,917 Posts, 1,243,471 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

    • Geri on The View From Row Z: “& why was she told & by whom? That is what needs to be investigated. The UK is corrupt as…” Jun 2, 10:17
    • Captain Caveman on The View From Row Z: ““Spanish queer sauna” Good grief” Jun 2, 10:01
    • SilentMajority on The View From Row Z: “Quick…over there….a unicorn!” Jun 2, 09:45
    • Willie on The View From Row Z: “She resigned before she was ” burned out” of office. And “burned out” she would most certainly have been.” Jun 2, 09:43
    • SilentMajority on The View From Row Z: “Someone needs to ask Swinney, succintly, in front of a camera (and not ‘in camera’) exactly this question…about the ‘ring-fenced’…” Jun 2, 09:40
    • agentx on The View From Row Z: ““Sturgeon’s term ended on 29 March 2023, following her resignation announcement on 15 February, in which she claimed occupational burnout…” Jun 2, 09:33
    • agentx on The View From Row Z: “The SNP has been accused of using a “ringfenced” independence fund to repay a massive loan from EuroMillions winners Colin…” Jun 2, 08:58
    • TURABDIN on The View From Row Z: “THE SYSTEM will use this as a hammer to beat Scottish nationalism conveniently fogetting that it is the historic forensic…” Jun 2, 08:56
    • SilentMajority on The View From Row Z: “It is amazing that organisations are still ignoring the law, and are being quite blatant about it. Will it require…” Jun 2, 08:36
    • robertkknight on The View From Row Z: “The most credible explanation yet…courtesy of Rev Stu. https://x.com/WingsScotland/status/2061514899843682386 Where’s Izzie when you need her?” Jun 2, 08:10
    • Owen Mullions on Friends Without Benefits: “https://youtube.com/shorts/LgOS_ZvX-6c?si=Y7SE3tYJPio8bcLw” Jun 2, 07:22
    • Bilbo on The View From Row Z: “O/T https://archive.is/hY8Bk The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has called out the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) proposed updates to…” Jun 2, 07:11
    • Bilbo on The View From Row Z: “The left has been dazzled by the idea that giving parts of our society who have been marginalised in the…” Jun 2, 06:49
    • Bilbo on The View From Row Z: “@ Young Lochinvar Snobbery works both ways. This whole sordid episodes shows us that where despite having the same upbringing…” Jun 2, 06:40
    • James Barr Gardner on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Sanctifying Misandry: Goddess Ideology and the Fall of Man Katherine K. Young , Paul Nathanson” Jun 2, 05:39
    • James Barr Gardner on Marvola The Memory Woman: “That’s great coming from a misandrist !” Jun 2, 05:32
    • Young Lochinvar on The View From Row Z: “And that is supposed to mean? Only public school educated chaps and chappesses from nice areas are allowed to stand?…” Jun 2, 01:25
    • Buck Stradler on The View From Row Z: “This is what happens when you elect guttersnipes from Irvine.” Jun 2, 00:58
    • Young Lochinvar on The View From Row Z: “Hannah Bardell, former MP, lesbian and self professed “Queer” was aggressively pro Sturgeon on STVs Scotland Tonight. A quick Google…” Jun 2, 00:29
    • James Barr Gardner on The View From Row Z: “Misandry…….” Jun 2, 00:04
    • David Blake on The View From Row Z: “What do the police believe about the indyref2 money? The most obvious fact about the whole business is that it…” Jun 1, 22:17
    • gm on The View From Row Z: “Thanks” Jun 1, 21:07
    • Rob on The View From Row Z: “We had a chance to change things just a few weeks ago, the largest party is still the SNP and…” Jun 1, 21:00
    • Ian Smith on The View From Row Z: “Murrell was given legal aid because all his assets were frozen.” Jun 1, 20:55
    • gm on The View From Row Z: “I take it back, it appears to be perfectly normal for a KC to defend someone on legal aid. The…” Jun 1, 20:20
    • agentx on The View From Row Z: “Well your coalface acquaintance with decades of experience at the coal face of Scottish Criminal Justice, knows sfa. Murrell pleaded…” Jun 1, 20:08
    • Alf Baird on The View From Row Z: ““The mists are parting – it’s all becoming clear” Indeed, Uk***ne’s national elite opted to sacrifice their people and nation…” Jun 1, 19:49
    • Hatey McHateface on The View From Row Z: ““She is, of course, a nobody in England” Only, she’s not, just as she’s not a nobody in Scotland either.…” Jun 1, 19:23
    • gm on The View From Row Z: “I have no idea how it came about, what the rules are or whether it is the luck of the…” Jun 1, 19:22
    • Hatey McHateface on The View From Row Z: “Believe this or not. An acquaintance of mine, someone with decades of experience at the coal face of Scottish Criminal…” Jun 1, 19:13

  • A tall tale



↑ Top