The SNP having a fondness for lying about their membership wouldn’t have come as quite such a shock to the Scottish press if they paid a little more attention to this website. Because we were pointing it out two and a half years ago.
It was in October 2020 that we told you how the SNP’s 2019 accounts revealed the party’s true membership figures weren’t the claimed 126,000 but more like 87,000.
Hats off to the SNP. Every time we think that the party’s leadership election can’t get any more absurdly farcical, they pull something extra-mad out of the bag.
After this happened yesterday, it suddenly become “known” across the Scottish media that the SNP NEC was going to hold an extraordinary meeting in order to authorise the release of the membership figures after all three candidates demanded them.
Some of the country’s most senior hacks, including BBC Scotland’s Political Editor and the editor of the Daily Record, sombrely informed their readers of the development.
Tonight’s debate on Sky News between the three SNP leadership candidates was yet another inconclusive low-scoring draw, with each contender taking a few hits (almost all from host Beth Rigby) and also landing the odd blow on each other.
The most notable of the latter was probably when Ash Regan gave Humza Yousaf a rather uncomfortable time over his claiming credit for the Queensferry Crossing when he was Transport Secretary.
As well as frantically trying to deflect by pretending Regan had attacked the SNP’s record on the project in general, Yousaf insisted that he’d played a major role in the bridge’s delivery. So let’s just check the timeline.
The Unionist media in Scotland (ie all of the media in Scotland) usually keeps up a pretty united front when it comes to the subjects of independence or the SNP. So it’s been fascinating in these last couple of weeks to see a genuine schism develop between them on the subject of the party’s leadership election.
(For the avoidance of doubt, we do not include Holyrood Magazine, whose splendid front cover image that is, in “the Unionist media”.)
Right back at the start of the contest we highlighted The Times’ full-on love-in for Kate Forbes, but most of the Scottish press has now made their preferences clear. And you’ll never guess who they really, really DON’T want to be the next First Minister.
In fairness, you can’t really accuse them of hiding it any more.
The faint hearts and pension-seekers of the SNP think that their time has come – the moment when the party’s pursuit of independence can be quietly downgraded to a vague long-term aspiration that will ensure their seats on the gravy train for decades.
Starting at noon tomorrow is your very last chance to stop them.
While idly browsing Twitter this morning, we made a startling discovery triggered by the SNP leadership election, and it was this: nobody in Scotland really knows what the nation’s law on abortion is.
It was prompted by these two tweets, both of which appear to be true:
The thing they agree on is that Humza Yousaf has just declared that he wants to change the law around abortion so that women can abort babies in Scotland solely on the grounds that they don’t like which sex they are. And that seems like something that should probably be bigger news.
Humza Yousaf will not be the next First Minister of Scotland. We’re calling it now. His trainwreck of a performance on last night’s leadership election debate on STV dealt a blow to his chances that we can’t see him recovering from, and the SNP establishment is now under such intense scrutiny over the electoral process that the chances of a fix being orchestrated by Peter Murrell are receding fast.
In the debate Yousaf declared that Nicola Sturgeon was the best politician in the UK, that he wasn’t as good as her, and that she’d failed to find a successful strategy for independence and therefore he couldn’t either.
Cynicus on Contempt Of Government: “Thanks for getting back, Kevin. Sorry about mis-naming you in my first attempt. At least you are not, “mis-gendered”!” Dec 21, 02:33
Cynicus on Contempt Of Government: “Thanks for getting b ack Ken. your new information is very interesting but doesn’t come close as evidence for your…” Dec 21, 02:27
Saffron Robe on A matter of class: “I think it is worth noting that the separation of powers does not exist in Scotland and therefore Westminster can…” Dec 21, 00:24
Benhope on A matter of class: “The latest Epstein release of files in America are so similar to the heavily redacted files in Scotland by John…” Dec 20, 23:56
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: ““Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman But she was just another guy All the girls around her said…” Dec 20, 23:49
Achnababan on A matter of class: “Maist o oor civil service leaders are frae sooth o the Boarder. This is the colonial response to clip the…” Dec 20, 23:13
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “Macadanism. Built by the Irish, patented by the Welsh and overseen by the English. It wasn’t the Red coats that…” Dec 20, 22:06
Alf Baird on A matter of class: ““he concept of’Justice’ in that society depends on shared moral values” There are inevitably two different sets of values in…” Dec 20, 20:59
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “On the point of Lady Justice. You could hang a wet duffle coat on those nipples.” Dec 20, 20:08
Saffron Robe on A matter of class: “Like the picture of Lady Justice at the top of your article, Stuart, here was I thinking that justice should…” Dec 20, 19:39
Alf Baird on A matter of class: “A decent ‘factchecker’ should know that “colonialism is always a co-operative venture with native elites” (Fanon). Burns rightly called them…” Dec 20, 19:10
factchecker on A matter of class: “Professor Baird says: 20 December, 2025 at 12:34 pm Aye, ‘Justice’ is at best a rather theoretical concept in a…” Dec 20, 18:48
agentx on A matter of class: “I look forward to seeing you listed on Peggie’s legal team as the race discrimination expert.” Dec 20, 18:47
Dan on A matter of class: “Aye, Bilbo. CC can get it right up him with that pish. Maybe he’d be a fan of the rainbow…” Dec 20, 17:44
Bilbo on A matter of class: “Captain Caveman Intelligence bordering on imbecility and delusion beyond belief. The Tories were in power for 14 years and the…” Dec 20, 17:12
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Confused. But Confused our royals are german to, although have had some weird bedfellows and friends associations through out history…” Dec 20, 16:36
Alf Baird on Contempt Of Government: “Yes James, ‘colonialism is based on psychology’ (Cesaire) leaving a dangerous pathology and ‘disease of the mind’ whereby those afflicted…” Dec 20, 16:13
James Cheyne on Contempt Of Government: “Perversion alway starts and thrives through the association with money” Dec 20, 16:04
James Cheyne on Contempt Of Government: “Keven Cargill. I suppose the evidence is speaking for itself by the amount of men bringing in and twisting the…” Dec 20, 16:01
James Cheyne on Contempt Of Government: “The root of the problem goes much deeper and further back, as often said by my self, “The door in…” Dec 20, 15:50
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Sorry, Alf. I overlooked the Amalgamated Scottish UN Petitioners and Associated Grifters.” Dec 20, 15:44
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: ““Write more gibberish” But it’s yer turn, Northy. Gie us ane o yer lengthy epistles written entirely in yer fabricated…” Dec 20, 15:41
Confused on A matter of class: “civic nationalism at its best https://x.com/i/status/2002168538082005419 – we need to welcome the “new britons” furtheconomy-n-growf handthehenhaichess – luckily, 30 minutes…” Dec 20, 15:34
Confused on A matter of class: “as stewart lee might say … – you rape ONE BABY … https://archive.ph/urAU8 – and they CALL YOU A PEDOPHILE…” Dec 20, 15:31
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Thanks for your reply, Stuart. As it happens, I lack a union-flag covered duvet. As it happens, you missed a…” Dec 20, 15:30
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Its a class war, If Sandie peggy was a doctor, and upton was the nurse… If Sandie Peggy was English…” Dec 20, 15:26
James on The Idiot Rodeo: “Yeah yeah, blow it out of your ass, crackpot. Fecking loony tune. Anyway some of us have things to do…” Dec 20, 15:20
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “@James 1:04 Did yer maw teach you nothing? What you wish for in your letter to Santa is supposed to…” Dec 20, 15:15
Captain Caveman on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Supercilious”..? You’re the one looking down on McDonalds and fast food restaurant workers you fat, lazy berk, not I. Get…” Dec 20, 15:12
Jay on A matter of class: “Assuming young Theo has male chromosomes and genitalia then, if he were to tell me that he is a woman,…” Dec 20, 14:59
