Respect to John MacKay of STV, who on last night’s Scotland Tonight asked Labour MSP James Kelly the question this site has called for about whether Labour would stand aside and let the Tories rule if the latter were the largest party after May’s election, but Labour had enough seats to win a confidence vote and form the government with backing from the SNP and/or other parties.
Kelly, unsurprisingly, flapped and blustered and totally evaded it. But then we doubt he has the authority to make the tea in Scottish Labour, let alone speak for the party on key policy issues. If the question isn’t put repeatedly by all of the media to more senior Labour figures until an answer is produced, we’ll be wanting to know why.
Here’s Ed Miliband, giving a speech this morning to literally at least 20 Labour MPs, Labour MSPs, journalists and possibly a stray member of the public who accidentally walked through the wrong door in Clydebank, a place where Labour leaders used to address gatherings of thousands.
Unusually, Miliband took a few questions from the hacks, all of whom promptly wasted the opportunity by lobbing completely pointless softballs about coalitions and deals, all of which (a) have been asked a hundred times already, (b) were rendered moot by Alex Salmond on the Marr show yesterday, and (c) were only ever going to be batted away non-committally.
So here’s an actually worthwhile one they can ask instead next time.
We have to give Jim Murphy credit – on this week’s Sunday Politics he started off with the subtle, misleading but technically-accurate version of Labour’s line about the “biggest party forming the government”, which involves making the true but irrelevant observation that in the past it’s usually been the case. (Mainly because UK elections almost always give the biggest party a comfortable majority.)
But it only took a couple of minutes of questioning for the Scottish branch manager to lose his cool and resort to the comprehensively debunked flat-out lie again.
We thought you’d enjoy this clip from this morning’s Andrew Marr Show, readers. It came after a very sensible interview, in which Salmond had calmly and reasonably laid out the SNP’s view on events should there be a hung parliament this May with the former First Minister’s party holding the balance of power.
Tory minister Anna Soubry seems to be experiencing a degree of regret about having begged Scots to stay in the UK. The body language says as much as the words.
The Daily Record, still smarting from the humiliation of being forced to very quietly admit it told its readers a £20 billion lie about the Smith Commission late last year, has been in a demented overdrive trying to provoke Yes/SNP supporters this week.
It started on Tuesday with an echo of the paper’s infamous “Vow” cover, clearly aimed at winding up its detractors but which passed without much comment as social media users merely raised a brief weary eyebrow and got on with their day. But then the Record started turning up the volume.
Sometimes the UK media is so soul-crushingly moronic, readers, that it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning. Nevertheless, we’re pretty sure we haven’t nodded off and woken up in 2017, so today’s papers must be even more idiotic than usual.
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “I think Burnham shouldn’t have been daft enough to threaten people flouting the disposable barbecue rule with prison. Even if…” Aug 16, 11:20
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “Odd hoo mony times I post tae Northy and you reply, Alf. Or vice versa. Here’s an echo I just…” Aug 16, 11:11
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “We can all see and understand those cases where a cold blooded killer is arrested, charged, tried and sentenced, and…” Aug 16, 10:46
100%Yes on Believers In The Ruins: “@ alurker and everyone else link to this conversation. Lets say for arguments sake, that Scotland doesn’t exist anymore just…” Aug 16, 10:34
Alf Baird on Believers In The Ruins: “Here is a wee bittie licht for yersel an ithers Hatey, in the perpetual darkness of your colonial echo chamber:…” Aug 16, 10:22
Alf Baird on Believers In The Ruins: ““These must be English elections in Scotland seeing as the English parliament was not dissolved 3 hundred years ago.” True,…” Aug 15, 21:59
Aidan on Believers In The Ruins: “For once I have to agree with James, there are no jurisdictions to my knowledge where the death penalty is…” Aug 15, 21:42
James on Believers In The Ruins: “Well said, Grace. “…When are we going to bring back the death penalty…” they wail. If they could, they could…” Aug 15, 21:20
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “Civil servants in Scotland comprise two groups, those working for the devolved government, and those working on reserved function, I.e…” Aug 15, 18:10
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “Any evidence that TA is the paedo stronghold? It’s quite a claim really, although perfectly aligned with the historical tropes…” Aug 15, 17:44
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “A resonance chamber collapse is greatly preferable to a chamber pot fracture. If I were to be serious, I’d say…” Aug 15, 17:38
sam on Believers In The Ruins: “@ alurker Thanks for the link further up the thread.” Aug 15, 17:34
Hatey McHateface on Anatomy Of A Grift: “Arday is dead. But as Northy’s post shows, pseudo-intellectual, pretentious gobbledegook lives on. I’m confident my claim will resonate with…” Aug 15, 17:29
aLurker on Believers In The Ruins: ““Who says what and Why? “…Scotland is a nation and voluntarily entered union with England as a partner and not…” Aug 15, 16:44
Aidan on Anatomy Of A Grift: “I doubt it, they’ll probably make you drink “James’” bath water.” Aug 15, 15:12
Northcode on Believers In The Ruins: “Here’s another observation following on from my last comment that folk might find interesting… or not. A resonance-chamber collapse is…” Aug 15, 12:12
Captain Caveman on Anatomy Of A Grift: “@Northy Well, if the “chamber has collapsed” as you put it, maybe look to your own personal culpability in that,…” Aug 15, 12:10
Confused on Believers In The Ruins: “question on all our lips : did black einstein FAKE his own death? – he faked everything else … NB…” Aug 15, 11:56
Captain Caveman on Anatomy Of A Grift: ““That’s it, off to the gulag for you CC, reckon you’ll get 5 years hard labour” Ooh, well, I’m quaking…” Aug 15, 11:54
robertkknight on Believers In The Ruins: “Much wringing of hands shall follow. Any death by suicide is tragic – to feel that you’ve no option other…” Aug 15, 11:29
Northcode on Anatomy Of A Grift: “This comment trail is mildly interesting in terms of online space behavioural patterns. Here’s my analysis. Dan’s reply: the mature…” Aug 15, 11:13
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “Aye, Sam, hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists prop up Scotland’s economy every year as they flock to visit our…” Aug 15, 11:03
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “The new Floyd? £20 says that’s where this will go next.” Aug 15, 10:37
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “FOFA as the yoof say. Spend years and every available billion in foreign aid on raining down rockets on the…” Aug 15, 10:33
Aidan on Anatomy Of A Grift: “That’s it, off to the gulag for you CC, reckon you’ll get 5 years hard labour for: – sewing discord…” Aug 15, 10:27
Captain Caveman on Anatomy Of A Grift: “Dan’s still grizzling into his coffee, I see. Good grief, it’s so pathetic.” Aug 15, 09:28
TURABDIN on Believers In The Ruins: “TRAGIC….but a guy «leader of the free west», even more delusional, dangerously delusional, occupies the White House in a veil…” Aug 15, 09:12
Aidan on Anatomy Of A Grift: ““It gets absolutely nowhere because the same obvious disingenuous disruptors just jump in and shite all over it. That’s mostly…” Aug 15, 09:01
