Alert readers may recall a few weeks ago, when this was a thing:
The SNP standing for seats in England, of course, is an idea that’s been put forward before by some of the nation’s sharper and more insightful political commentators, but the party has for obvious and understandable reasons shown no inclination thus far to undertake the experiment.
But as we realised after chatting to a left-wing English chum this week (a successful creative and businessman), such a party actually already exists, and has dozens of MPs. It’s just that it’s currently trapped inside a corpse.
These pages from the 14 March 1998 issue of NME (just 10 months after the election of Tony Blair’s first Labour government) are a fascinating historical document.
They needed saving. So we found them and we saved them.
Alert readers may have noticed something of a glut of articles in the press recently by right-wing commentators angrily challenging the SNP to prove its left-wing credentials if and when the new Scotland Bill ever becomes law and grants Holyrood more powers over taxation, some minor aspects of welfare and – of course – road signs.
The zenith of the phenomenon must surely be today’s eye-rubbingly bizarre Scotsman story in which the Scottish Tories urge the SNP to increase tax in order to reverse, er, Tory cuts. But there’s method behind the seeming madness.
The battle-cry of right-wing Labour apologists all this week has been “realism”. It’s all very well people like Jeremy Corbyn having crazy old principles about what Labour is supposed to stand for, runs the argument, but you can’t argue with public opinion and public opinion is desperate for Labour to become Tories with a slightly softer edge.
We’re sorry to keep going on about this, readers, but we’ve been going over and over it in our heads and we just can’t get it to make sense.
Below is the failed Labour amendment to the Welfare Reform And Work Bill:
As you can see, its sole intended purpose was to refuse a second reading to the Bill. Labour voted for their own amendment (an achievement, we suppose), which means they didn’t want to see the bill get a second reading.
After last night’s debacle in the House Of Commons, various Labour activists and cheerleaders have been scrambled on social and print media to firefight the appalled reaction from voters on the left to the party’s abstention on the Tory welfare bill.
The government’s brutal, monstrous welfare reform bill passed its second reading in the Commons tonight by 308 votes to 124, meaning that somewhere in the region of 80% of Labour MPs abstained on it.
Geri on Looking up at the stars: “Zero self awareness Yankie jurno to Trump “Iran executed three (Mossy spies) people last week – what you going to…” Mar 21, 09:15
Jay on Irony you can’t buy: “Mark: also ‘ideology of dependency’ (ref. your final sentence)?” Mar 21, 09:13
James Che on Irony you can’t buy: “Scotland is a independent country, Its the Scots brain that is under captivity.” Mar 21, 09:09
Jay on Irony you can’t buy: “Mark: seems arguable that the principal reason for Queer Squirmer being Labour leader/PM is his commitment to the hebrew section…” Mar 21, 09:08
Northcode on Irony you can’t buy: “The Scottish Parliamentary election in May is just English trickery designed to fool the Scots into believing they have choices…” Mar 21, 09:08
James Cheyne on Irony you can’t buy: ““We must not take this parliament of England in Scotland for granted”. Is the full text, or should read as…” Mar 21, 09:04
Jay on Irony you can’t buy: “Mark, is that also ideology of dependency ( with ref. to final sentence)?” Mar 21, 08:43
Geri on Looking up at the stars: “Yer just looking for attention eh? “Unheard of. Never been done. No one had the balls.” That’s because it’s against…” Mar 21, 08:40
Northcode on Irony you can’t buy: “It is a simple message, but one the majority of brain-washed Scots don’t appear to comprehend. Here it is again……” Mar 21, 08:33
Mark Beggan on Irony you can’t buy: “Sturgeon would have right at home under the Iranian regime. She would have been a rising Star.” Mar 21, 08:30
Mark Beggan on Irony you can’t buy: “Yep and he caved into Mandelson and the Pakistani Grooming Gangs. His wife is Jewish. Maybe she bitch slapped him…” Mar 21, 08:09
Mark Beggan on Irony you can’t buy: “It’s the year 2015 and the Scots are betrayed by their own elite and handed a death sentence to be…” Mar 21, 07:52
Northcode on Irony you can’t buy: ““After a time,” said old Mathers disregarding me, “I mercifully perceived the errors of my ways and the unhappy destination…” Mar 21, 07:48
Wally Jumblatt on Irony you can’t buy: “Thatcher was a necessary evil, presumably you didnt live in pre-Thatcher times. The unions destroyed industry in this country. That’s…” Mar 21, 07:35
Northcode on Irony you can’t buy: “The year is 1707. The Scots are betrayed by their own elite and handed a death sentence. A death sentence…” Mar 21, 07:32
Aidan on Looking up at the stars: “I bet nobody on ITN was stupid enough to suggest that the whole of Kent should be quarantined given that…” Mar 21, 06:51
GM on Irony you can’t buy: “Time will expose all. I hope so Lothianlad. I see my beloved country as a place that rewards human scum…” Mar 21, 03:30
Young Lochinvar on Looking up at the stars: “Not so quick now Baby Beggars.. You do recall how similar in Iraq and Afghanistan turned out don’t you? No…” Mar 21, 02:09
Young Lochinvar on Irony you can’t buy: “Ian Maybe this was the plan all along Inflame trends in “Kurskland” to tip the hair trigger “R”s into action…” Mar 21, 01:50
Young Lochinvar on Irony you can’t buy: “MB Baby Beggars seems apt don’t you think?” Mar 21, 01:12
Iain More on Irony you can’t buy: “I see that Starmer has caved into the Child Rapist Trump and the Jewish State.” Mar 21, 01:04
Cynicus on Irony you can’t buy: “Christine says “ […psychopaths] get what they want mostly through manipulation. Sturgeon was Commander in Chief who inflicted her cruel…” Mar 21, 00:42
robertkknight on Irony you can’t buy: “More neck than Melman the giraffe! If there’s any justice in this world she’s due at the very least a…” Mar 20, 21:38
George Ferguson on Irony you can’t buy: “Another post disappeared into the ether. I have worked out it out. A defunct 5 year old e mail account…” Mar 20, 21:15
Mark Beggan on Irony you can’t buy: “And it’s Mr Beggars to you.” Mar 20, 20:34
Alf Baird on Irony you can’t buy: “So-called ‘Nationalist’ elites retiring on fat colonial pensions tells us all we need to know – colonial administrators all. Mair…” Mar 20, 20:34
Mark Beggan on Irony you can’t buy: “That’s the financial damage and then there’s other damage. The lifes lost, the back stabbing, the lieing, the attack on…” Mar 20, 20:20
Southernbystander on Looking up at the stars: “NC: ‘In contrast to Persia’s great contribution to humanity America’s very, very few inventions include . . .’ Jazz?” Mar 20, 20:10
