With the greatest of reluctance, and only in the absence of anything even remotely more interesting, then, let’s have a few words on Scottish Labour’s latest solemn and sincere declaration of its full, total, complete and utter autonomy.
Because while the media is reporting the development that UK Labour has decided to extend a few extra inches of lead to Kezia Dugdale’s branch office as if it had the slightest importance to anything, it seems oddly reluctant to ask the obvious question.
The Sunday Times has a new Panelbase poll out today, and it borrows a question that was first asked by this website (via the same pollster) 14 months ago. These were the results this month:
They broadly show little change from when we asked last year (for the five options the changes are +1, 0, -3, +8 and -5), suggesting that the main practical upshot of the EU referendum campaign was to halve the number of Don’t Knows, which was achieved by shifting almost all of them straight onto the Leave side with the Remain camp’s abysmal recreation of Better Together’s “Project Fear”.
Nevertheless, the chart is a fascinating and pertinent one. Because while there’s only one of the four non-DK groups in the list who definitely can’t get what they want, there’s another one whose decision will be a lot harder than Yes supporters would like.
The press and social media today are frothing with excitement about a new Ipsos Mori poll for STV which shows (for the second poll in succession) Ruth Davidson scoring marginally higher approval ratings than Nicola Sturgeon.
But the problem is that that wasn’t what people were actually asked.
We’ve already highlighted the abominable state of the Daily Express this week, but an article in today’s edition is surely some sort of record-breaking low.
Hold onto your hats, folks, you won’t believe this one.
The tone of coverage deployed by the Daily Express (Scottish and English editions alike) with regard to the First Minister of Scotland in recent weeks has been both bizarre and disturbing. Yesterday the paper ran this “story”:
It’s a load of gibberish, obviously. But if the FM was preparing herself for a punch-up, you could hardly blame her given what’s apparently been going on.
Supporters of Scottish independence have known for years that the civic “nationalism” espoused by the Yes movement bears no relation to the so-called “blood and soil” varieties found in many other countries. Every racist or ethnic-nationalist organisation in Britain – the BNP, the EDL/SDL, the National Front and so on – was stridently No.
The BBC lunchtime weather forecast of 15 October 1987 is now fondly looked back on as a moment of shared national doh-what-are-we-like? comedy, in the same vein as a Morecambe and Wise Christmas show or something.
Eternally angry Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins has been even shoutier than usual this week, purple-faced with rage about the fact that the SNP has decided to spend some of its own money (not taxpayer cash) asking people for their opinions.
It’s a curious argument from a member of a party that’s been rejected in successive elections in Scotland in 1964, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1974 again, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2016, but keeps turning up and barking orders anyway. You’d think the first 50 years might qualify as a hint.
Insider on The Narcissism Of No Differences: “James says: 25 April, 2026 at 1:38 pm Name those benefits. Go on. Enlighten us. Well you’re the expert on…” Apr 25, 19:00
Confused on Push The Button: “WTF is this “Prisoners Dilemma” for the r3t4rded? do we need to draw the payoff matrix? You could do that…” Apr 25, 17:56
Mark Beggan on Push The Button: “This is another example of Colonial suppression of the mass body. A clear indication of the manipulation of colour against…” Apr 25, 16:44
GM on Push The Button: “Aye. Well, I suppose I could bring in as man of my own conditions as I like and take a…” Apr 25, 15:59
Effijy on Push The Button: “With food, energy, housing all short of supply governments will find a way to reduce the population. It already has…” Apr 25, 15:54
Blackhack on Push The Button: ““There is no spoon”” Apr 25, 15:02
Dan on Push The Button: “All a bit too binary and simplistic, but that is seemingly the new standard with the all to prevalent internet…” Apr 25, 14:56
David on Push The Button: “Keza Dugale cannot even push a button .” Apr 25, 14:45
Mark Beggan on Push The Button: “The buttons should be black or white.” Apr 25, 14:40
Phil on The Narcissism Of No Differences: “Certainly! OK, off the top of my head… Significant transfers every year (the rUK supports Scotland financially to the tune…” Apr 25, 14:39
Northcode on Push The Button: ““…there’s no cost to pressing red.” God might take a different view… His intelligence being infinite, and His logic somewhat…” Apr 25, 14:39
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Push The Button: ““accepting that everyone staying alive is a good thing without question” Why would you accept that?” Apr 25, 14:23
Andy Wiltshire on Push The Button: “Is it August?” Apr 25, 14:18
GM on Push The Button: “I am more interested in the motivation here. The fact there is a condition set on the blue button, 50%,…” Apr 25, 14:09
Northcode on How To Get Away With Crimes: ““…it is not ‘normal’ for ‘a people’ to ‘crave dependence’ on another supposedly ‘superior’ culture…” There can be no rational…” Apr 25, 13:40
Alf Baird on How To Get Away With Crimes: ““Under UK law criminal activity, including threats against individuals or groups, motivated by ideology is terrorism.” Indeed, and British identity…” Apr 25, 13:17
LondonScot on How To Get Away With Crimes: “Under UK law criminal activity, including threats against individuals or groups, motivated by ideology is terrorism. Perhaps a report to…” Apr 25, 10:37
Alf Baird on How To Get Away With Crimes: ““it thinks like a nutter” Indeed, which explains why the colonial mindset is considered ‘a disease of the mind’ (Memmi).…” Apr 25, 10:35
Chas on How To Get Away With Crimes: “If it thinks like a nutter and writes like a nutter, there is an excellent chance that it actually is…” Apr 25, 09:31
Aidan on How To Get Away With Crimes: “@CC – you’ve got your own company, you got anything going for him?” Apr 25, 07:01
Phil on The Narcissism Of No Differences: “My heart and head both say NO Insider. For I am a ‘yoon’. I think the Union is a great…” Apr 25, 00:57
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on How To Get Away With Crimes: “‘CONSIDERING A SEX SWAP? THINK AGAIN’, WARNS DETRANSITIONER A detranstioner who once took male hormones and had a double mastectomy,…” Apr 24, 22:26
Grace Green on How To Get Away With Crimes: “If men like the subject of this article were genuine they would have had surgery. In reality they are actors,…” Apr 24, 20:41
Aidan on How To Get Away With Crimes: “Fuck me that’s some shame for the Alliance, having someone like “James” associated with them. Ouch – I’ve been critical…” Apr 24, 20:30
James on How To Get Away With Crimes: “Two clowns looking for a circus. That’s right, Scotch folk; vote English Nationalist! Numbskulls. Alliance to Liberate Scotland. Bring it…” Apr 24, 19:26
