An alert reader brought our attention today to a Daily Record article that we’d missed on Friday, reporting how a Glasgow student had launched a petition bitterly attacking the Scottish Government over cuts to college places.
Despite having attracted only 500 signatures (and only 400 more in the following five days despite the Record helpfully linking to it), the petition was deemed newsworthy enough for a hefty polemic in which petition author Eunis Jassemi pulled no punches, repeatedly lashing the SNP in highly political terms. No counterquote was offered.
Mr Jassemi was described by the Record in the piece as a “business student” and a “former Hutcheson’s Grammar School pupil”, but we can only assume that they must have run out of room before they got to a rather more pertinent item on his CV.
Last night we highlighted the reaction from various right-wing columnists to the SNP’s torpedoing yesterday of Tory attempts to relax the laws on foxhunting in England and Wales. Today the same commentariat has turned its rage to thoughts of revenge, in the form of “English votes for English laws”.
And we’re confused, because we don’t know what this “England” they speak of is.
It seems safe to say that the SNP’s de facto defeat of the fox-torturing lobby today has riled the right-wing commentariat beyond their endurance. Unable to get their way and inflict a prolonged, agonising death on small animals for “sport”, Tory columnists have instead descended howling and bloodthirsty at pack strength on their readers.
As part of their tireless campaign against abuse and threats on the internet, the Mail’s ever-alert reporters will doubtless be wanting to run a major piece on the deputy leader of UKIP calling today on a widely-read website for Nicola Sturgeon to be killed.
No need to thank us for the tip-off, guys. All part of the service.
So this site is thrilled by the announcement from the SNP that they will, after much speculation in the media, vote against (and therefore likely condemn to defeat) the UK government’s plans to relax England’s fox-hunting ban to a point at which it would be de facto repealed entirely.
And not just because foxes are a lot cuter than Tories.
The Scottish Daily Mail today leads with a screaming banner headline announcing in its trademark style that, according to a poll it commissioned with Survation, Scots are massively opposed to any income tax rises when Holyrood eventually gets power over the rates under the new Scotland Bill.
And the reason that’s weird is that we commissioned a poll on the very same thing just days before, and got a dramatically different answer.
Yesterday we listed some of the nastier items from George Osborne’s horrifying 2015 budget that Labour had said they wouldn’t be opposing, including the public-sector payrise freeze, the reduction in the benefit cap and the slashing of child tax credit for families with more than two children.
Our latest Panelbase poll was conducted from 26 June-3 July, before this weekend’s astonishing events involving Greece, which are currently being documented on Twitter under the hashtag #ThisIsACoup.
We’re going to ask the exact same question again in our next one, so we can see if the EU’s actions have caused any significant change in public opinion. It should be pretty interesting either way.
Lorncal on The Love Of Big Brother: “Can we be the only people who have actively acquiesced in our own cultural and historical obliteration, Alf, because that…” Oct 4, 22:03
Lorncal on The Love Of Big Brother: “Of course there is still a Treaty, Northcode, and (domestic) Acts cannot overturn or submerge primary legislation – which the…” Oct 4, 21:39
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “I have long believed that the costs to the NHS of treating the diseases and conditions associated with tobacco abuse,…” Oct 4, 21:38
Insider on The Love Of Big Brother: “Alf @8.19pm Whit ??? The Burmese Imperial Police are giving the rev the runaround ? Have you told him yet…” Oct 4, 21:35
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “So the Burmese Imperial Police “explains the runaround the Rev is getting”? Only in yer heid, Alf. I asked you…” Oct 4, 21:24
Southernbystander on The Love Of Big Brother: “Yes but I put ‘right’ in inverted commas for a reason – you don’t need such a right as no-one…” Oct 4, 21:11
Alf Baird on The Love Of Big Brother: “Join the dots, Hatey: ‘Imperial Police’? Explains the runaround the Rev is getting, and a few other things.” Oct 4, 20:48
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: ““What do you do with that attitude?” Thank them for their services towards solving the social care crisis. Reward them…” Oct 4, 20:32
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Aye, Alf, and now the Burmese and Chinese excel at oppressively ruling over indigenous peoples and cultures all by themselves.…” Oct 4, 20:19
Southernbystander on The Love Of Big Brother: “The thing is though it does seem that people’s diet and lifestyles can be pretty woeful and Scotland has an…” Oct 4, 20:06
Alf Baird on The Love Of Big Brother: “Since we are talking of Orwell, he also wrote that: “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny…” Oct 4, 19:55
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Any idea what the shenanigans to the east are doing to the climate? I read a report claiming that $200…” Oct 4, 19:41
sarah on The Love Of Big Brother: “O/T: Rev, sorry to spoil your Bath weather report but it has been incredibly warm here in Wester Ross today…” Oct 4, 19:08
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Fourth of October 2026. Another date historians of the future (assuming they survive) will be writing about long after we…” Oct 4, 18:25
Lorncal on The Love Of Big Brother: “Even if we are not in a Union, James, we have acquiesced for centuries. Acquiescence can, itself, be used to…” Oct 4, 18:09
Northcode on The Love Of Big Brother: “Correction: “Crowdjustice automatically refunds donations if the stated target isn’t reached.” Should read: “Crowdjustice automatically refunds donations if the stated…” Oct 4, 18:08
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: ““It is factual to say Scotland has a food affordability problem” Only to the extent that every other country in…” Oct 4, 18:00
Lorncal on The Love Of Big Brother: “The one thing that is never, ever mentioned when drugs use is being discussed is personal responsibility and the drive…” Oct 4, 17:49
Northcode on The Love Of Big Brother: “Either donations made to Craig Murray’s fundraiser before the US intervention were refunded or they went to his lawyers (unlikely).…” Oct 4, 17:22
Lee Floyd on In The Eyes Of The Law: “English, but strangely still committed to Fair Play. So I contributed. Good luck.” Oct 4, 17:17
sam on The Love Of Big Brother: ““The fairest conclusion is that the policy responds to a real problem but remains unproven as a mechanism. It is…” Oct 4, 17:02
sarah on The Love Of Big Brother: “Salvo’s facebook post today explains why they suggest that donations to their crowdfunder be made direct to Salvoscot Ltd’s bank…” Oct 4, 16:24
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “It is of great importance wether there are two Countries parliaments in a union, in the parliament of Great Britain…” Oct 4, 16:12
Hatey Mchateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Yeah, thanks for clarifying that, x. Is it possible to just send our money directly to Ir@n instead? Hack off…” Oct 4, 16:05
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “Northcode. Whereas the parliament of England was never dissolved but simply transferred under Westminsters triennial act which ended in 1708,…” Oct 4, 16:02
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “Northcode, There is one thing for sure I do like debating both sides of the coin. If the treaty of…” Oct 4, 15:46
Northcode on The Love Of Big Brother: “Thanks for that clarification. It’s always better to get the real story. So although Murray’s funds weren’t seized US policy…” Oct 4, 15:45
agentx on The Love Of Big Brother: “Craig Murray’s CrowdJustice fundraising campaign was taken down rather than literally seized by the government. The removal occurred because the…” Oct 4, 15:28
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Wheesht, Northy, you’re spoiling things for a lot of people.” Oct 4, 15:03
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “More than harsh to pick out Northy for not providing evidence when hardly anybody else does. If BTL was moderated,…” Oct 4, 15:00
