Nicola Sturgeon has not been charged with any crime. Yesterday she was arrested, questioned and released without charge pending further investigation. We do not even know which specific suspected crime or crimes she was questioned in connection with, so it is manifestly impossible to meaningfully speculate on her innocence or guilt (save of course for the fact that all are innocent in the eyes of the law until proven otherwise, something Sturgeon herself often appears to forget).
Nevertheless, in Scotland the Contempt Of Court Act 1981 applies from the moment a person is arrested, as the country’s most senior lawyer and its official prosecution service were both keen to remind people yesterday in the clearest possible terms, and it applies equally whether you’re asserting someone’s guilt or their innocence.
So you need to be a really extra-special class of boneheaded numbwit to do this:
The SNP tell us that independence support is currently at 53%.
They tell us that most Scots want a referendum within the next year:
And we know that it’s absolutely unequivocally possible for the SNP and Greens to trigger a Holyrood election which would serve as a de facto referendum not only within a year, but within weeks. Scots could entirely realistically go to the polls this August or September, or even on the date Nicola Sturgeon promised less than a year ago.
So why are the SNP choosing this of all moments to give up?
Even for Lorna Slater this is jaw-droppingly dumb:
It takes Olympic-class stupidity to publicly put a figure to how much your staggering incompetence has cost Scottish businesses in the middle of an economic crisis.
Either the Scottish Government knew the DRS wasn’t compliant and was hoping the UK government would shut it down, so that it could attempt to clumsily extract some political capital from “interference” (in which case it’s directly responsible for those losses of hundreds of millions of pounds), OR it was so mindbogglingly inept that it genuinely intended the scheme to go into operation but failed to legislate it properly (in which case it’s directly responsible for those losses of hundreds of millions of pounds).
In either case, any minister with responsibility for the gargantuan shambles should – quite obviously – be out on their ears before FMQs on Thursday in desperate hope of avoiding the government being sued by the affected firms. But the SNP/Green coalition has as little shame as it has ability or dignity, so expect the clown show to continue.
There’s still nothing happening in Scottish politics, so inspired by the Hieland Coo from yesterday’s godawful Economist front-page story, and for those of you who don’t use Twitter, and by reader request, meet some of my new friends from the last couple of weeks of strolling around Bath, guarding against ursine incursion.
This is a wretchedly boring time to be writing about politics for a living, readers. Parliamentarians in Edinburgh and London haven’t technically checked out for the summer yet – Holyrood still has a month to go before taking two months off, while Westminster is currently having a couple of weeks off for “Whitsun”, whatever the hell that is, before coming back for a month and a half then sodding off until September.
But really they’re already at the “bringing board games in” stage of term, and both the elected chambers and the media already have their eyes on the beach, which probably explains why we’re being punted drivel like this.
Even if we must afford the graphics team some grudging kudos for the unicoo.
Wait, has Nicola Sturgeon died? We didn’t see anything on the news.
Because there are only a limited number of possible reasonable explanations for why police wanting to find out what Nicola Sturgeon knew about something would ask people who aren’t Nicola Sturgeon.
Aidan on The Takeover: “@Dan – I’m not saying I agree with the closure of Grangemouth or the decision to close it but I…” May 1, 11:46
Oneliner on The Takeover: “Sarwar, of course, has been proven a liar over his Grangemouth promises. This has made local MP Brian (Brain) Leishman…” May 1, 11:37
Alf Baird on The Takeover: “Yes James, and Scots are an oppressed (doun-hauden) ethnic minority in oor ain laund. Which is why we (i.e. Scots…” May 1, 11:31
James Cheyne on The Takeover: “Under those stats, it would appear that Scot are officially an ethnic minority in Britain, sorry Anas and Humza.” May 1, 11:05
James Cheyne on The Takeover: “Not including the recent immigration that The parliament down south has allowwed to invade the isles of Britain The population…” May 1, 10:26
sam on The Takeover: “Geri’s observation about the efforts made to discredit Corbyn are well made. Al Jazeera obtained a large number of leaked…” May 1, 10:26
Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: ““What a time to be alive eh, living in a suppossedly high functioning state when all around is fucked. Is…” May 1, 10:07
Bilbo on The Takeover: “As Dan says, while it may be cheaper for Ineos oil refinery abroad, it is going to cost us, as…” May 1, 10:05
Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: “@Dave Hansell While you are seated comfortably on your virtue signalling high horse, perhaps you could favour us with your…” May 1, 09:51
Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: ““countless atrocities carried out around the globe by the USA & it’s gen-ocidal chum” Be honest now. Everything is countless…” May 1, 09:24
Dan on The Takeover: “@ Aidan Hospitals are hugely expensive to build, maintain and operate and are particularly energy intensive, so should we just…” May 1, 09:12
Bilbo on The Takeover: “Was bored last night and put on radio, flicking through the channels and stumbled on a conversation about the Supreme…” May 1, 09:01
diabloandco on The Takeover: “I note with (dis)interest that 400 luvvies have signed a letter backing trans rights. It would be really interesting how…” May 1, 07:47
Aidan on The Takeover: “@Dan – simple really, refineries are hugely expensive to build, maintain and operate and are particularly energy intensive, so it’s…” May 1, 06:21
Geri on The Takeover: “diabloandco You’re right. They don’t come around too often. I can think of two recent politicians that put ppls interests…” Apr 30, 22:45
Bilbo on The Takeover: ““I am one of the folk that needs to be convinced, I voted yes but now would vote no like…” Apr 30, 21:49
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Takeover: “Try the following quality full colour illustrated bilingual booklet by Roddy MacLean / Ruairidh MacIlleathain: GAELIC AND NORSE IN THE…” Apr 30, 21:20
Chas on The Takeover: “Geri It is not the wee diddy message board on the internet that puts people of Independence. It is the…” Apr 30, 21:12
Dave Hansell on The Takeover: “Thank you for your response. Being from Yorkshire, I’m more than a little biased in regard to a culture which,…” Apr 30, 20:59
Geri on The Takeover: “LOL! That’d be about right… SNP on the karaoke… This one is to all our ex members out there.. Oh,…” Apr 30, 19:52
Yoon Scum on The Takeover: “Geri How will a free Scotland keep control of us cap doffing English worshipping filth” Apr 30, 19:50
Yoon Scum on The Takeover: “if you’re a NAT can you think of anyone worse then the English culture? If you aren’t I think the…” Apr 30, 19:48
Geri on The Takeover: “I’ll explain it cause they won’t. It’s the great colonisers swindle. Unrefined raw products are cheaper to buy. They’ll collect…” Apr 30, 19:24
Geri on The Takeover: “Insider If you’d bothered to follow the recent ICJ case presented by South Africa via Palestine you’d be aware that…” Apr 30, 19:04
David Holden on The Takeover: “The Royal visit to Mull was a non event for some and a big thing for others. Calling it a…” Apr 30, 18:53
TURABDIN on The Takeover: “HACKERS break into Scot. gov IT and declare Scotland a sovereign state. A criminal act says SNP spokesperson.” Apr 30, 18:46
Dan on The Takeover: “Aye, maybe all those on here extolling the benefits of the Union can explain the positives to these folk losing…” Apr 30, 18:44
Oneliner on The Takeover: “Today we have the first of the Grangemouth Refinery redundancies. Today we have the Prince and Princess of Wales visiting…” Apr 30, 17:55
agent x on The Takeover: “Thank God I live in the real world and not the imaginary world on here.” Apr 30, 17:29
James Cheyne on The Takeover: “More a starmer thought process perhaps.” Apr 30, 16:45
