Five minutes and 51 seconds, to be precise, is how long David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, spent frantically quacking out meaningless noise on this morning’s Sunday Politics Scotland in order to avoid answering a simple Yes/No question until the interview ran out of airtime.
We could quibble with presenter Gordon Brewer making the assertion that a Section 30 order would in fact be necessary for a second referendum (something which has never been established in law or conceded by the Scottish Government, with strong and genuine legal opinion on both sides of the argument), and with him letting Mundell get away with the blatant falsehood that an overwhelming majority of Scots don’t want another referendum – in fact, 50% want one within the next two years.
But sometimes you have to let some smaller things slide to avoid distraction and stay focused on your main point, and in our view this was one of those occasions.
Should we check out that link and find out whether the then-FM really DID “claim that the Scottish NHS would be privatised if Scots voted No”, readers? Let’s do!
These are the comments of UK defence secretary Michael Fallon in a short interview with today’s Herald. We don’t know about you, folks, but to us it feels like Christmas.
We think our favourite line is “There are other voices in Scotland now, not least Ruth Davidson’s”, but there are a lot to choose from.
This is Conservative MP Dominic Raab, a member of the Brexit Select Committee, speaking on the BBC News Channel’s “Hard Talk” programme at 00.45 this morning. Perhaps imagining that nobody would be watching at such an ungodly hour, it seems he felt able to be unusually candid.
We left the last bit on in order to demonstrate that he was still talking about Scotland as well as Ireland. (He went on to recite the usual boilerplate about all leaving together as the UK etc etc, you can watch the whole show for yourself on iPlayer.)
But let’s just get that key early exchange down in writing for the record.
Readers familiar with our standing advice to newspaper customers that the headline is nearly always a lie might like to consider today’s Press & Journal.
The word “pyre” comes from the Greek word “pyra”, meaning “fire”. Surprisingly, it’s NOT the same root as “Pyrrhic”, as in “Pyrrhic victory”, meaning one that’s achieved by metaphorically burning your own city down. (Which in fact is named after the Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus.)
The Sunday Herald ran an extraordinary article on page 2 yesterday, and by the time we’d finished being startled by what nonsense it was, it set us wondering about why.
Because when you really want people with their finger on the pulse of Scottish politics to analyse the implications of the Supreme Court decision on Brexit, where else would you go but to Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, to hear from um, former rugby league star and haircut pioneer Martin Offiah?
Way back in October last year we analysed what now seems to have become the key plank of Unionist argument against independence in the wake of Brexit – the idea that because Scotland does more trade with the rest of the UK than it does with the EU, independence would be economic suicide because Scotland would be sacrificing “the UK single market” (a thing that doesn’t actually exist ) for a much smaller one.
It’s a completely idiotic position, but to be honest we didn’t do a very good job of boiling the counter-argument down to something snappy and quoteable, so let’s have another go and see if we can manage something a little better.
Spartan 117 on In The Eyes Of The Law: “Caption competition. “Naw, ah didnae pish oan yer new trainers. Ye did it yersel.” “How’s he *that* big, min?” “Couple…” Oct 1, 16:04
Rev. Spooner on In The Eyes Of The Law: “Done. This is excellent and important work, regardless of which side of the Indy debate we sit. All power to…” Oct 1, 16:02
Northcode on In The Eyes Of The Law: “It’s worth remembering that some legal processes are much narrower than the big stories often attached to them. And they…” Oct 1, 16:01
sarah on In The Eyes Of The Law: “I wish you all the best in this legal action [and am sending a modest donation]. This time you have…” Oct 1, 15:54
Hatey McHateface on In The Eyes Of The Law: “Bizarre pic of Swinney taking a leak. I guess that was intentional.” Oct 1, 15:35
Aidan on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “As far as I can tell both questions are the same, so yes it is hard for me to understand…” Oct 1, 15:11
Spartan 117 on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “Aye, that it is Cap’n. The sheer hatred dripping off its posts is mortifying and amusing in equal measure. That…” Oct 1, 14:52
sam on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “It depends on the question asked. Is that hard for you to understand? Check for yourself.” Oct 1, 14:41
Mark Beggan on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “Wings very own Father Jack Hackett. ‘Drink, Drink! Arse. Feckin Girls! Drink!’” Oct 1, 14:23
Aidan on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “So your polling says that support for a united Ireland in the EU is both 34% and 63% does it?” Oct 1, 14:15
Captain Caveman on Whatever Can Have Happened?: ““it’s like having a filthy thieving vagrant squatting in your front room, eating all your food, drinking your beer and…” Oct 1, 14:03
Captain Caveman on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “It’s not “squealing”, Fatso, it’s “unrestrained, raucous laughter (and pointing)” at you hilariously deranged foamers. Fucking state of you embittered,…” Oct 1, 14:01
sam on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “Polling in NI says that the current opinion is that support for a united Ireland is at 34%. Polling by…” Oct 1, 13:46
Mark Beggan on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “– the ones who dream. Dreaming is free. Everything else has a price. Even death has a price. But dream…” Oct 1, 13:29
Aidan on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “We get it mate – you hate the English, and thanks to a complete accident at birth you are somewhere…” Oct 1, 12:52
Hatey McHateface on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “The real world loves a winner, Confused. That’s the big problem with you instinctive tea towel sympathisers. You’re always sympathising…” Oct 1, 12:51
Hatey McHateface on Whatever Can Have Happened?: ““perversion of christianity” Careful, Confused, mask is slipping.” Oct 1, 12:34
Hatey McHateface on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “I think the issue is many from NI coming to live here. Unionists. Protestants. Stubborn, opinionated ones. And what that…” Oct 1, 12:32
Confused on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “Sometimes I end up watching the news through the night – it was during such that trump started all this…” Oct 1, 12:25
Hatey McHateface on Whatever Can Have Happened?: ““sic as the UN itsel” Last time I checked, Alf, Scots wasn’t a language recognised by the UN. Or at…” Oct 1, 12:25
Confused on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “this is why anglos rage – when their theft is blatant, no longer protected by cheap sophistry https://archive.ph/e4Gje “When the…” Oct 1, 12:23
Northcode on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “I’ve just realised that the “Three Phases of Decolonization” text functions like a mythic narrative built on the same structural…” Oct 1, 12:19
Captain Caveman on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “You cut a truly lamentable, laughable figure, Alf. No one to blame but yourself I’m afraid.” Oct 1, 11:38
Mark Beggan on Whatever Can Have Happened?: “Just another day in the NI. We don’t care. If you care so much then go live there.” Oct 1, 11:34
Hatey McHateface on Whatever Can Have Happened?: ““28 years of no marches, then permission given” Correct, permission given. By the same legal decision making process that didn’t…” Oct 1, 10:52
Alf Baird on Whatever Can Have Happened?: ““we’ve been shafted by our own kind” Well noticed, although postcolonial theory does tell us that ‘colonialism is always a…” Oct 1, 10:52
Hatey McHateface on Whatever Can Have Happened?: ““unless you class biblical names as Scottish” Superb ignorance of our historic Scottish Christian heritage there. Every now and again,…” Oct 1, 10:33
