We’ve been quiet today because we’ve been wading through the 80-odd painfully-dry pages of the Labour 2015 election manifesto, folks. It’s a deeply tedious read – screeds and screeds of waffly text about how nice things are nice and good things are good but bad things are bad. A couple of things did jump out, though. Here’s one.
Alert readers will of course recall that the party’s solemn pledge in Scotland is to provide 1000 more nurses (hastily revised from the comical “1000 more than whatever the SNP say”) from the proceeds of the Mansion Tax, even though NHS Scotland is devolved and no Westminster government can in fact hire a single Scottish nurse.
But hang on. Something’s not right about those numbers.
A super-alert reader pointed out something about today’s Sunday Politics that we hadn’t noticed. Before the galaxy-class trainwreck that was the Scottish leaders’ debate, the networked section of the show had a piece on Scottish polling, and our eagle-eyed viewer spotted that the chart of projected seats wasn’t in proportion.
So we measured, and this is what it should have looked like.
With there only having been three hours of the Scottish political party leaders (and Jim Murphy) debating on TV so far this week, and four days to wait for another one, BBC Scotland thought they might need another 40 minutes on this afternoon’s Sunday Politics Scotland to discuss the issues around the forthcoming general election.
It went well, but for busy readers in a hurry we’ve edited the show down to a compact nine-minute cut, which still gets across everything the full version did.
A great example of adult discourse, expertly set. Well done, everyone.
There’s very little actual political news today, so the papers have largely been forced to either basically not have any at all (the Sunday Post and Scottish Sun On Sunday) or make up totally mad stuff for laughs to fill the space.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Scottish Liberal Democrat manifesto 2015:
I voted for this pathetic shower of useless snivellers for 23 years, folks. I’ve learned my lesson. Once again, I can only hang my head and beg forgiveness.
With the “biggest party forms the government” lie now sunk and rusting slowly on the seabed (weighed down even further by polls suggesting that Labour actually will be the largest party even if they lose all of Scotland to the SNP), and four weeks of campaigning left to fill, Scottish Labour have had to grab a hammer, smash the glass on the “EMERGENCY – IN CASE OF DESPERATION” box and clutch desperately at whatever they found inside.
The abject answer is “Project Fear 2 – This Time It’s Full Fiscal Autonomy”.
After this week’s STV and BBC debates, in which the Scottish Labour branch-office manager’s combative performances were favourably received by the Scottish media, Wings exclusively interviews armed-forces enthusiast Jim Murphy for a response to the latest numbers from YouGov, pausing first for the delivery of some refreshments.
It’s worth reminding yourself before you watch this clip from BBC News this morning that the gentleman at the lectern isn’t some rabid Daily Mail columnist, but is in fact the Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon.
The “SPACE MONSTERS!” rationale for foreign policy. Who saw that one coming?
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “The parliament of Great Britain as a new created united state could only come into being for its projected conclusion…” Nov 6, 09:51
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “The NHS really does serve to demonstrate to the establishment of the world: “This is how NOT to do universal…” Nov 6, 09:39
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “As stated many times, Scotlands old parliament, never agreed or entered a 1st May 1707 treaty of Union with the…” Nov 6, 09:21
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “North Code, Then narrative is that the Scottish parliament was closed, ended, made void, dissolved, Sine Die, on the 28th…” Nov 6, 09:11
Knuckle_Heid on Vibecoding A Better World: “I didn’t see that Frank and what a shower they are in HR, awarding themselves way above inflation pay rises…” Nov 6, 08:36
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “The NHS, being a supertanker of a monolithic institution, is always going to be behind the trend. The actual, real-time…” Nov 6, 08:21
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Quick! Send more money. There’s a few in various parts of the world could tell you what real state threats…” Nov 6, 08:05
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “NHS SQUANDERING MILLIONS ON SEX-SWAP SURGERIES NHS England has spent over £5 million this past year on mastectomies for gender-confused…” Nov 6, 00:00
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “There’s plenty of speculation that Harris intends to stand for nomination as presidential candidate for 2028. So if you’re opening…” Nov 5, 23:49
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Sarah the colonizer portrays its self to be a pillar of law and order, the people of these Island know…” Nov 5, 23:47
Frank Gillougley on Vibecoding A Better World: “Meanwhile in news elsewhere, a fifteen thousand pound ‘pay rise’ for holyrood committee conveners (to chair a meeting of useless…” Nov 5, 23:02
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Scottish bank notes? Most Londoners won’t touch the things.” Nov 5, 22:24
sarah on Vibecoding A Better World: “Further dubious shenanigans against Craig Murray. He is staying in London in order to attend the Supreme court hearings about…” Nov 5, 21:46
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Well done Professor Alf Baird joined by Editor Laura Webster, Robin McAlpine was a complete waste of time and came…” Nov 5, 21:23
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Listened to the news today, sam? UK economy mysteriously doing better than many in the EU, especially France. Best not…” Nov 5, 20:27
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “Yes look at this whole slavery reparations debate. All completely made in Beijing,” Nov 5, 19:47
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “For once Sarah is right – it is ridiculously and obviously illegal for a crowdfunding website to simply seize donations,…” Nov 5, 19:38
sam on Vibecoding A Better World: “I don’t know what you mean when you say a deliberately bungled Brexit deal. Clarify, please? The loss to Scotland’s…” Nov 5, 19:17
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Ah c’moan noo, Spartan. Surely you’re not in a pet because I had the temerity to correct the mistake in…” Nov 5, 18:47
Spartan 117 on Vibecoding A Better World: “No it didn’t Alf, I don’t want the M25 omniclusterfuckpermashambles ruling over us either, as I’ve repeatedly said (despite some…” Nov 5, 17:34
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: ““I have zero desire to be ruled by a foreign despotic power” Whit aboot bein ruled by imperial England-as-UK these…” Nov 5, 15:06
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: ““The west decided to virtue signal by leaving ours in the ground so that even as we buy every gram…” Nov 5, 15:00
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““those lusting after violence and death” I assume that’s what an AI would have corrected your post to if you’d…” Nov 5, 14:52
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““Maybe the Chinese have it right after all” I was recently reading about the Chinese colonisation of Africa. They ply…” Nov 5, 14:31
Holymacmoses on Vibecoding A Better World: “I love Claude – it and I are doing a criticism of The Master of Ballantrae – it’s very good…” Nov 5, 13:19
Spartan 117 on Vibecoding A Better World: “I’ll also add, before the inevitable howls of outrage, I will not cheer against the government, I have zero desire…” Nov 5, 13:09
Spartan 117 on Vibecoding A Better World: “Anyone thinking conscription will be successfully implemented across the UK is completely delusional, never mind just with new mums. If…” Nov 5, 13:01
willie on Vibecoding A Better World: “Here is an extract in a report about the possibility of future conscription. “Should gender equality conscription be introduced in…” Nov 5, 12:33
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “Umm, you do realise the whole “beardy bloke” thing is a product of the Left and in Scotland’s specific case,…” Nov 5, 12:33
Bilbo on Vibecoding A Better World: “Sounds like the deranged rantings of a beardy bloke in a dress. Okay, Unionist mugs, who’s bird is it?” Nov 5, 12:12
