The writing, we mean. Because it’s not until you see it baldly written down in black and white that it really hits you how insane it is.
The SNP has 44 MPs now, and has not managed to enter independence negotiations.
Winning 29 seats would represent a LOSS of 15, or more than a third.
And they’re about to stand up in front of voters and insist that that would somehow compel the UK government to hand over what they’ve been flatly refusing since 2016.
(It’s all pretty academic anyway, obv, as we’ll be amazed if they get double figures.)
The very last shred of credibility has left the building, readers.
Labour won far more handsomely in last night’s by-election than anyone – and we very strongly suspect that includes themselves – expected. If the swing of over 20% was to be repeated nationwide next year (which it won’t be, but we’ll get to that in a minute), the SNP would be reduced to six or seven seats, as Wings has predicted for a while.
From the abject pit of despair of 2015, when Labour lost 40 of its 41 MPs in Scotland, let’s look at how the party has powered back to recapture the hearts of voters.
Humza Yousaf didn’t turn up to the count tonight. In the end, even on a dreadfully low turnout of 37%, Labour won by 9,446 votes, with more than twice as many as the SNP.
It was a much worse defeat for the governing party than most expected. There should be only one outcome.
We were curious to find out what we’d said, but it seems to have been expunged from The National’s website. We eventually managed to track the email down in our vaults, though, so just as a bit of a change, here it is, as a reminder of a different time.
willie on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “It is a brutally sad fact of life but one of the Scottish Government is a bloated inefficient administration. The…” Sep 23, 21:26
Ex President Xiden on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “I would personally warm to ‘war game’ sending these politicians to the front lines themselves and we could watch the…” Sep 23, 20:56
Hatey McHateface on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “The world will buy them from the Covids. It’s worth repeating that the imbalance in trade between the EU and…” Sep 23, 20:22
Hatey McHateface on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Check out the big brain on Minceheid! If I lend you my sock puppets starter set, any chance you could…” Sep 23, 20:06
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: ““Strengthening international law through greater cooperation between the HRC and the UN GA” Video from Yesterday’s UN Geneva Event (22nd…” Sep 23, 20:03
Mark Beggan on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “(a very apt analogy). That’s for the readers to decide. Yes that’s a pretty good analogy.” Sep 23, 19:59
Minceheid on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Hatey McHateface says: 23 September, 2026 at 7:12 pm What do you think is going on in Ir@n right now?…” Sep 23, 19:48
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Stop being lazy/deliberately obtuse and READ THE FUCKING ARTICLES. Twat.” Sep 23, 19:34
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: ““The plan for the reorganisation of local councils is needless and an excuse for the reduction of services,staff and budgets…” Sep 23, 19:18
Hatey McHateface on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Man, Spartan, I’m gonna have to learn Gaelic, maybe Esperanto, perhaps “learn your alphabet with Sock Puppets”. Not one of…” Sep 23, 19:12
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “A Tory and a Snip, quite a peculiar pairing. Unless you take the view that the establishment parties of Red/Blue/Orange/Green…” Sep 23, 19:09
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Socialists like keeping the poor *poor*. A substantive chunk of them are druggies themselves (c.f. drug swabs at the House…” Sep 23, 19:06
Mark Beggan on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “How will the world survive without ceramic pots and doggy jackets?” Sep 23, 19:05
Willie on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “A neglected third world statelet. As the late Ricky Fulton would say…..Naw, of course not!! Scotland may have some of…” Sep 23, 18:33
Tommy B on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Huh https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/crown-wants-natalie-mcgarrys-tory-29625480.amp” Sep 23, 18:18
Mark Beggan on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “And puts the fear of God into others. Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Sep 23, 17:56
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Sigh. Ok Hatey, here you go, you asked. Just a few headlines from the past four days:- “Unprecedented threat’ of…” Sep 23, 17:50
Peter McAvoy on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “The Scottish Parliament should remain with its present amount of members. Would anybody who supports a team in any sport…” Sep 23, 17:42
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Ah, a very typical article from TeH GrAuNiAd. Hysteria sans context. Bearing in mind this is all “mibbes aye, mibbes…” Sep 23, 17:10
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Trump might be an arse but he does wind up all the right people. A bit like Michael O’Leary.” Sep 23, 17:02
Spartan 117 on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Yes James in other words “It’s a scam that doesn’t actually serve anything other than the Cooncil pension pot, we…” Sep 23, 17:01
agentx on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: ““Double parliaments, double taxation bills for Scotland, this scam will apply to any devolved area I presume,” ———————————————— No -…” Sep 23, 15:53
lothianlad on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Even the sight of her ( sturgeon) makes me sick!!” Sep 23, 14:50
lothianlad on Fear And Favour: “Hold them to account! they will be exposed.” Sep 23, 14:43
Alf Baird on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: ““the ” Republic of Scotland ” that has become a Colony of Englands Great Britain parliament” Oor colonial reality is…” Sep 23, 14:20
Mark Beggan on His Majesty’s Loyal Sabre: “Well Trumpy certainly smacked a few bottoms yesterday. Some of them won’t sit down for a week.” Sep 23, 14:04
