The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Author Archive


Nation speaking tunes unto nation 161

Posted on February 22, 2014 by

SATIRE:

masheurovision

REALITY:

maileurovision

At least, we THINK we’ve got those the right way round.

Read the rest of this entry →

A casual grenade 121

Posted on February 22, 2014 by

The Scotpulse poll we mentioned last night in a frankly shameful outbreak of tooting our own horn actually released two sets of data, accompanied by an odd email apologising that the survey had featured an overly wide range of questions. We don’t know if we’re going to see the others at any point, but the second one released yesterday was intriguing.

scotpulse2

And we’re not talking about the somewhat leading preamble.

Read the rest of this entry →

The lovebombs keep coming 135

Posted on February 21, 2014 by

Here’s we’re-not-actually-sure-what-he-is Bob Mills earlier this evening on Radio 4’s News Quiz, hosted by Sandi Toksvig with a very quiet Fred MacAuley twisting his tartan bunnet in the corner and hoping for a pat on the head.

soundwave2

Whatever will they do for laughs without us?

In the clouds 238

Posted on February 21, 2014 by

Someone just forwarded us the results of a survey by STV’s polling arm Scotpulse. It’s a “wordcloud” of the sort we have on this very site (it’s over on the right hand side and down a bit, marked “Tags”), where the more significant something is the bigger its name gets printed. It pretty much speaks for itself.

sourcesbig

You’re the ones who put the word out there, readers. It’s working. Thank you.

Read the rest of this entry →

Preparing for Project Blue 115

Posted on February 21, 2014 by

A reader comment this morning caused us to go back and double-check the facts in an old post (which turned out to be entirely correct, so that was fine). But for reasons which will shortly become clear, Wings Over Scotland is on a constant mission to distill aspects of the independence debate down to the clearest, most concise summaries possible, and the act of checking spurred us to lay something out.

Read the rest of this entry →

Expressway To Fear 193

Posted on February 21, 2014 by

DOOM!

“Blair Stewart, head of the company’s Edinburgh Residential Department, said: ‘Going by the current movement in property market, I should think there will be a three to five per cent growth in the £300,000 to £800,000 bracket and the £1million-plus will remain static.

I am expecting a slowdown as we near the referendum with buyers adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude.'”

GLOOM!

“Delaying introduction of average speed cameras on the A9 until after the referendum has been branded a ploy to avoid an anti-independence backlash.”

We’re not sure we can take many more blows like this.

Read the rest of this entry →

Who’s your fave Dave? 192

Posted on February 20, 2014 by

So we’ve now had David Cameron, David Mitchell and David Bowie all “lovebombing” Scotland with pleas to stay in the Union (as assorted Tory ministers and their Labour and Lib Dem hangers-on lurk in the shadows a few feet away tapping knuckle-dusters into their palms and making throat-slitting gestures in our direction).

ravedaves

But the big question is, which David would you like to see try it next?

Read the rest of this entry →

Including Carwyn Jones 158

Posted on February 20, 2014 by

We must admit, we’re perplexed by Scottish Labour’s apparent and oft-expressed belief that the Welsh (Labour) First Minister is the ultimate authority on currency unions. We’re not aware of any financial expertise on his CV, and as he’s not even a Westminster MP his opinion will carry no weight in any negotiations on the matter.

So we’re not sure why his view is singled out, from the entire population of the UK, as having special relevance. Still, Johann Lamont seems pretty worked up about it.

The differential slip 87

Posted on February 20, 2014 by

As alert readers know, we don’t get ourselves overly excited about individual opinion polls, even when they’re like today’s Survation one showing a big 5.5% swing to Yes in the wake of George Osborne’s intervention on a currency union last week.

differential

What we DO like to ponder is the more interesting data buried in such surveys.

Read the rest of this entry →

Time to draw a line 83

Posted on February 20, 2014 by

Let’s all agree: from now on, anyone who says “An independent Scotland would have to join the Euro!” is either deliberately lying or a dribbling slack-jawed imbecile without the faintest idea of what they’re talking about.

As such their views should be dismissed with contempt, and ideally they should be chased out of town by an angry mob with pitchforks and flaming torches. We’d say Dr Zuleeg was pretty unequivocal and definitive on the subject here.

The news in numbers 139

Posted on February 20, 2014 by

We wouldn’t like to suggest Unionists are clutching at straws this week, but:

Number of words actually spoken by David Bowie about independence: 4

Number of words written about it so far by major news outlets: 3,916

To be honest we stopped counting after that.

Read the rest of this entry →

Quoted for LOLZ 284

Posted on February 19, 2014 by

Recently discovered by an alert reader, another gem revealing the sort of razor-sharp attention to statistical detail that led the UK into the most disastrous recession of all time, from a man who thinks the population of Scotland is six million:

“Asked if he fancied another crack at being chancellor in the future, Darling said: ‘At the moment I am totally focused on the [Scottish] referendum in October 2014, after that I will see where I stand.'”

Might want to work a little more on that focus, Cap’n.

(Quote from May 2013, two months after the referendum date was announced.)

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,891 Posts, 1,238,772 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • James on Clocks And Calendars: “YL; Here’s to Good King Robert. Cheers! They don’t like it up ’em.Mar 30, 18:50
    • Dan on Sicknote Slippers: “I had an ironic chuckle at Stu having a go at Slipper’s albeit limited hair! At least as the cost…Mar 30, 18:39
    • James on Protest But Don’t Survive: “Aye, draw a great big ‘Captain Caveman’ on your ballot paper, folks.Mar 30, 18:37
    • twathater on Clocks And Calendars: “The Scotsman in conjunction with every other shite rag is trolling the electorate with this insulting PISH The Headline should…Mar 30, 18:26
    • Young Lochinvar on Clocks And Calendars: “Happy anniversary tomorrow of the 1307 battle of Glentrool. Bruce’s looking at spiders days were put behind him at Glentrool…Mar 30, 18:19
    • Frank Gillougley on Clocks And Calendars: “Aye, ‘Vote fur Jack Duggan Sarwar’, it’s definitely got a ring tae it. Pure wild wae it so he is.Mar 30, 17:23
    • Young Lochinvar on Clocks And Calendars: “Yee haw pardner.. Uncle Sam’s getting all worked up about a super bigly expensive low gear fly by mission “to…Mar 30, 17:21
    • Alf Baird on Clocks And Calendars: “Past time The Hootsman changed its teetle tae ‘The Hoose Jock’; or just go the hale hog as ‘The Colonialist’.…Mar 30, 15:50
    • Aidan on Clocks And Calendars: “Labour are really going to form a coalition with Reform are they? Oh aye i bet they’ll be shouting about…Mar 30, 15:14
    • Captain Caveman on Sicknote Slippers: “Although approaching things from a different perspective to my own, what a marvelous post, though doubtless largely wasted here. Bravo.…Mar 30, 14:12
    • Mark Beggan on Clocks And Calendars: “If you thought that was crazy did anyone see Scottish Labours political broadcast online. A day in the life of…Mar 30, 14:11
    • David on Clocks And Calendars: “I assume this was written and supplied to The Scotsman by a deluded Labour Hack. Why don’t The Scotsman republish…Mar 30, 14:10
    • Campbell Clansman on Clocks And Calendars: “Labour, and The Scotsman, must think voters are dumb enough to take this “analysis” seriously. Which says a lot about…Mar 30, 13:28
    • Lorncal on Sicknote Slippers: “The real far right is a tiny minority of heid-the-bas. Always was. Even in the halcyon days of Mosley. What…Mar 30, 13:25
    • Confused on Sicknote Slippers: “better together, pooling and sharing so, exactly what benefit do we draw from this “arrangement”, being siamese-twinned to these kleptomaniac…Mar 30, 12:59
    • Northcode on Protest But Don’t Survive: “A fine adaptation from Allende’s speech, James, and a quote most apt in the context of Scotland’s subjugation by a…Mar 30, 12:11
    • Northcode on Sicknote Slippers: “*Do yous want tae march? Apparently 99% of actual, real and genuine liberty seeking, independence supporting Scots didn’t want to……Mar 30, 11:47
    • Stevie on Sicknote Slippers: “I thought last year that REFORM would bevcome the official opposition and I still think that. Why would anyone who…Mar 30, 11:47
    • Captain Caveman on Protest But Don’t Survive: “… So who, pray, are you giving your hard fought and hard won vote for, Northie? Or – don’t tell…Mar 30, 11:20
    • 100%Yes on Sicknote Slippers: “If you weren’t convinced the SNP didn’t won’t Independence you will now, “FRIST Minister John Swinney will push the UK…Mar 30, 10:53
    • 100%Yes on Sicknote Slippers: “In a Independent Scotland we shouldn’t pay pension pots of these individuals who have made a carer out of the…Mar 30, 10:23
    • Northcode on Protest But Don’t Survive: “Saturday’s “We Believe in Scotland… but only as a region of England” march was bad for the SNP, bad for…Mar 30, 10:08
    • Willie on Sicknote Slippers: “A Lordship in waiting he hopes is Me Peter Wishart. And where else would one be than in London over…Mar 30, 10:04
    • Andy on Sicknote Slippers: “I am an anti semite. I did not realise this till 2 years ago when Netanyahu announced that anyone who…Mar 30, 09:59
    • Northcode on Protest But Don’t Survive: “Even the acting talent that is the world famous Brian Cox (albeit he was working with a poor script) could…Mar 30, 09:24
    • Jamie on Sicknote Slippers: “Read the roll of honour, Scotland’s bravest men…Mar 30, 07:47
    • Mark Beggan on Sicknote Slippers: “Anyone waving the Iranian regime flag is advocating the destruction of Israel. The emblem on this flag states that the…Mar 30, 02:41
    • Cactus on Irony you can’t buy: “Backbench.Mar 30, 02:39
    • Cactus on Irony you can’t buy: “Hey… You’ve got to hide yer love away… Groovy whit Scotland’s calling. Cheers. REV.Mar 30, 02:39
    • Cynicus on Sicknote Slippers: “Rev, your link to “a pretty openly anti-Semitic protest “ shows nothing of the kind. It is to a Twitter…Mar 30, 02:21
  • A tall tale



↑ Top