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Did we miss a meeting? 254

Posted on November 16, 2014 by

Here’s Neil Findlay MSP on this morning’s Andrew Marr Show:

Wait, what?

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Leopard’s spots resprayed 165

Posted on November 15, 2014 by

We noted with interest this morning an uncredited story in the Herald, suggesting that Scottish Labour leadership candidate Jim Murphy would stand as an unlikely champion of the poor and downtrodden and the heroic defender of universal benefits.

Murphy rejects Lamont stance on benefit cuts

Jim Murphy has signalled a major shift in Scottish Labour policy if he wins the leadership, saying he would not seek to axe popular benefits and entitlements.”

On investigation, the truth was somewhat at odds with the headline.

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The winners 365

Posted on November 14, 2014 by

The SNP’s new leader and First Minister-elect, and her deputy.

snpwinners

How to speak Weasel 223

Posted on November 13, 2014 by

We’re sure our ever-alert readers don’t need telling, but it never hurts to put up a little refresher course for those who might have joined recently.

weaselpoke

As it becomes clear to everyone in Scotland that the No camp’s promises of the UK being the guarantor of survival for the Govan shipyards was the cynical lie those of us on the Yes side always said it was, it’s been interesting to watch the panicked response from the Westminster government.

Let’s take a quick look at how it works.

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Lest we forget 61

Posted on November 13, 2014 by

Just a year and six days ago:

sunkyards

Now, maybe not so much.

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Winning back hearts and minds 154

Posted on November 12, 2014 by

Our favourite Scottish Labour activist and media starlet reacts to the news that the promises of a No vote saving the Clyde shipyards have turned out to be lies.

hothersallbae

Let’s just be clear – that’s unequivocal, unambiguous support for condemning the Govan shipyards to certain death, losing thousands of Scottish jobs, going back on promises just months old, so long as it might save the UK Treasury a few quid which the current government would probably spend on more tax cuts for billionaires.

Well, if that doesn’t save a party currently languishing on an average of about 24% in the Scottish opinion polls and help to win back the trust and support of Scottish voters, we simply don’t know what will. Solidarity, brothers and sisters.

Barely worth the words 175

Posted on November 12, 2014 by

This:

noshipyards

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Busy doing nothing 120

Posted on November 12, 2014 by

There’s so little happening in Scottish politics today, readers, that the Scottish Sun has been reduced to interviewing a brick. And no, that’s not rhyming slang.

nicbrick

Frankly, folks, at that point we may as well have the day off.

Behind the mask 348

Posted on November 11, 2014 by

On last night’s Scotland Tonight, prospective Scottish Labour deputy “leader” Katy Clark MP told the nation that “it could be Scotland that lets us down”.

It wasn’t a slip of the tongue. By “us” she meant the Labour Party, and she went on to elaborate, telling the old Labour story about how UK general elections are about an Old Firm-style showdown betweeen two parties and how it was in essence the duty of Scots to vote Labour to keep the Tories out at Westminster, seemingly unaware that just as with the Old Firm, most people despise both of them pretty much equally.

(And conveniently overlooking the fact that Scots voted overwhelmingly Labour in 2010 and got the Tories anyway, as Labour obstinately refused to consider a “rainbow coalition” because they hated the SNP too much. What Scots learned that year was that Labour would rather let Tories rule Scotland than be civil to left-wing nationalists.)

The comments followed just a couple of days after Holyrood Magazine editor Mandy Rhodes had penned an article about the Scottish branch’s current woes that had a very telling first paragraph.

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Informing ongoing policy 189

Posted on November 10, 2014 by

Alert readers will know that we like to keep you updated on the progress of our Freedom Of Information requests. Way back in May this year we sent one regarding the infamous unpublished opinion poll, and got a response the following month.

foitoon

We weren’t very happy with it, though, and we followed it up. And today, just six months after the initial request, we got a final reply.

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The news where everyone is 118

Posted on November 10, 2014 by

One week after the independence referendum we posted about a fundraiser by the producers of Dateline Scotland. It was an unusual fundraiser, in that it didn’t promise to actually produce anything – the team simply wanted money to sustain them while they worked towards something much bigger. The fundraiser was a massive success, reaching more than three times its target in the blink of an eye.

And today the something bigger started to take shape.

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The proud and patriotic Scot 103

Posted on November 10, 2014 by

The Independent, 10 November 2014:

“Ed Miliband tried to persuade Gordon Brown to stand for the leadership of Scottish Labour, according to a senior party source.

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