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Archive for the ‘analysis’


Humza Yousaf Fact Check 230

Posted on March 16, 2024 by

When we read this, our instant reaction was “Well, that’s total horseshit”.

And of course, it is.

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The Spirit Of Sheffield 54

Posted on March 13, 2024 by

Wings has been regularly pointing out for the last 11-and-a-half years that by far the most reliable indicator of who’s going to win an election isn’t voting-intention polls, but “Who would make the best Prime/First Minister?” polls.

So the SNP should be really really alarmed about this.

Because those are some shocking numbers.

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When there’s no-one left to fight 96

Posted on March 13, 2024 by

Everyone’s having a lot of fun with the farcical Hate Crime Act that will finally come into operation in Scotland in just a couple of weeks’ time, fittingly on April Fools’ Day.

Even by the Scottish Government’s abysmally rank standards of legislation over the last decade it’s an embarrassing binfire, with citizens being urged to rock up at fishmongers, mushroom farms and demolished tower blocks to report “hate crimes”.

And you’d have to laugh, except that might be a crime soon too.

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Yet another fine mess 408

Posted on March 04, 2024 by

There’s a Calvin And Hobbes cartoon we like to post on social media when someone’s got themselves in such a pickle that they’re just flailing around desperately firing off every slogan, argument or insult they can think of to get themselves out of it.

And so, wearily, to the SNP.

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The Path Of No Return 102

Posted on March 03, 2024 by

This whole clip is worth watching. It appears to be an evidence session at the Scottish Parliament featuring several members of the Scottish Government’s Expert Advisory Group On Ending Conversion Practices, with which Wings readers will be familiar.

Many things about the session are disturbing, not least the incredibly one-sided nature of both the witnesses and the committee, none of whom seem to have even a token interest in challenging the claims of the witnesses, however absurd or contentious (eg that praying for someone is basically a form of torture).

But one thing in particular leapt out at us.

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Nip and tuck 243

Posted on March 01, 2024 by

It’d be nice if the Scottish Government could make up its mind whether it wants booze to be more expensive or not.

If only so we could all stop having our intelligence insulted quite this crassly.

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The best form of defence 138

Posted on February 28, 2024 by

More than three months have passed since Alex Salmond launched a lawsuit against the Scottish Government for its grotesquely botched handling of false allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

With Scottish politics currently in a completely moribund state, as the party of government disintegrates shambolically and the main opposition party keeps its mouth shut and its head down in an attempt to not destroy its newfound and extremely fragile status as a credible alternative, one might imagine that the political media would be desperate for the case to get under way and provide them with some juicy content.

So it’s slightly surprising that none of them has noticed the latest development.

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Operation Brunchflan Update 104

Posted on February 21, 2024 by

As the long-running police probe into SNP finances continues, Wings received some slightly surprising news today in the form of an FOI response.

Based on reports from various trustworthy sources we’d expected to hear that the police side of the investigation was by this point winding down somewhat, with most matters of fact already established, detectives assigned to other duties and the ball now largely in the court of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

But it seems that isn’t so.

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The Future In Numbers 390

Posted on February 18, 2024 by

We’ve been thinking about this again.

Because we’re still more than two years out from the next Holyrood election, and it’s really hard to see how it’s going to pan out. So let’s throw some figures around.

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Guided By Voices 63

Posted on February 16, 2024 by

If there’s ever been a (branch office of a) political party that could somehow manage to blow it in Scotland against the burning trainwreck in a ditch full of sewage that is the SNP right now, it’s definitely Anas Sarwar’s hapless Scottish Labour.

Honestly, this stuff is comedy gold. But in a winner-takes-all dumb-off with Humza Yousaf’s SNP, it’s way too close to call.

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Nothing Changes Here 96

Posted on February 15, 2024 by

One year ago today, Nicola Sturgeon suddenly resigned as First Minister. And what a spectacular 12 months it’s been for the Yes movement since her departure.

That, of course, is a somewhat selective graph.

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The Surrender Code 79

Posted on February 14, 2024 by

When people tell you who they are, believe them the first time.

Because give him some credit, he’s not lying.

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