Having failed over the course of several years to label the SNP “Nazis” and “fascists” (or, depending on which sort of newspaper you were reading,“Tartan Stalinists”), the party’s political and media opponents have a new(ish) meme to punt: that the SNP is a religious cult made up of credulous, fanatical zealots impervious to logic or facts.
The leader of this new front is right-wing columnist Alex Massie, who by our count has managed to flog someone this diatribe at least four times already this year – the most recent being in yesterday’s Times:
Alert readers can’t have failed to notice the media working itself up into a particularly dopey froth this week over the subject of a second independence referendum. First the press, short of actual news in the political silly season, pumped up Alex Salmond stating the bleeding obvious into some kind of hold-the-front-page revelation.
(Salmond has said, like, forever that he believes Scotland will be independent in his lifetime. That can only happen through a referendum. It therefore stands to reason that he must believe a second referendum is inevitable. Him saying so, for the 500th time, in response to a direct question is about as far from “news” as it’s possible to get.)
Then today all the papers reported David Cameron ruling out any possibility of another one while he’s Prime Minister, as if it was any of his business to do so.
(Should the SNP stand on a manifesto commitment to another referendum, and win a majority on that platform, it’d be not only an affront to democracy but politically idiotic to block it. Even those Scots opposed to independence, or to another referendum, still want their country’s democratic will respected.)
With David Mundell and Ian Murray both having appeared on today’s “Good Morning Scotland” singing the praises of the wonderful Scotland Bill and how it would deliver all a nation could ever dream of, it seems a good time to publish the results of our recent Panelbase poll on the subject.
The nation, it seems, has rather more ambitious dreams.
The battle-cry of right-wing Labour apologists all this week has been “realism”. It’s all very well people like Jeremy Corbyn having crazy old principles about what Labour is supposed to stand for, runs the argument, but you can’t argue with public opinion and public opinion is desperate for Labour to become Tories with a slightly softer edge.
We’re sorry to keep going on about this, readers, but we’ve been going over and over it in our heads and we just can’t get it to make sense.
Below is the failed Labour amendment to the Welfare Reform And Work Bill:
As you can see, its sole intended purpose was to refuse a second reading to the Bill. Labour voted for their own amendment (an achievement, we suppose), which means they didn’t want to see the bill get a second reading.
After last night’s debacle in the House Of Commons, various Labour activists and cheerleaders have been scrambled on social and print media to firefight the appalled reaction from voters on the left to the party’s abstention on the Tory welfare bill.
The government’s brutal, monstrous welfare reform bill passed its second reading in the Commons tonight by 308 votes to 124, meaning that somewhere in the region of 80% of Labour MPs abstained on it.
Hatey McHateface on Or Something: ““shredded banners declaring Scotland’s ambition to be free” There you go again, Northy. Appropriating to all of Scotland the democratically…” Aug 4, 12:23
Hatey McHateface on The Nobodies: “@CC There’s one experience where Scotland comes out top every time. Summer evenings, post rush hour, away from the cities,…” Aug 4, 12:10
Chas on Or Something: “Maybe the likes of you drove them away Northy?” Aug 4, 11:57
Northcode on Or Something: “I suspect most independence supporters have already abandoned this place. It feels like a post-apocalyptic, tumbleweed-strewn wasteland where tattered Saltires…” Aug 4, 11:28
Ex President Xiden on Or Something: “If that’s the case why don’t the crown office just say that?” Aug 4, 11:13
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “@Hatey You get idiots in all manner of cars, it isn’t the car’s fault. How many Audi drivers do you…” Aug 4, 11:01
Hatey McHateface on Or Something: “@ Chas says: 4 August, 2026 at 10:06 am Never underestimate the effect on a black representative of a former…” Aug 4, 10:57
Hatey McHateface on Or Something: “It’s certainly all too easy to wonder how commemorating some not very nice boys hacking each other to bits 600+…” Aug 4, 10:44
Ian Smith on Or Something: “Refusing to hand over the books to a financial audit committee must come as close to evidence of who was…” Aug 4, 10:42
Hatey McHateface on The Nobodies: “@CC I see a few of them around here. They absolutely boss the reserved disabled parking and the double yellows…” Aug 4, 10:22
Chas on Or Something: “Who are the Office bearers, high heid yins, of Liberation Scotland, Salvo or any of their offshoots, if there are…” Aug 4, 10:06
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “Hey Aidan, it’s the PHEV hybrid Sport, meaning it has e-motor shove, as well as the 6-cyl Ingenium petrol engine…” Aug 4, 09:44
TURABDIN on Or Something: “thank you for that signal historical reference. it is all too easy to airbrush history, other people’s history. the stanza…” Aug 4, 09:39
Aidan on The Nobodies: “Aye James – I bet my posts give you a migraine, some of them contain more than one sentence and…” Aug 4, 09:28
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “@Fatso 6:09pm What is that incoherent, Frankenstein-esque AI cut ‘n paste even supposed to mean? Too thick to write your…” Aug 4, 08:33
Slim Jim on Or Something: “More power to you Rev but keep yourself safe.” Aug 4, 08:08
Hatey McHateface on Or Something: “Classic stuff indeed, Auld Lochnagar. Which do you prefer for your personal re-enactments: Tesco or LIDL? What about Sainsburys? They…” Aug 4, 07:53
Hatey McHateface on Or Something: ““Someone should tell trump he should not buy greenland, but scaatlan” Genius, Confused! It’s beyond belief that President Trump has…” Aug 4, 07:36
Young Lochinvar on Or Something: “Off topic.. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the 1388 battle of Otterburn. Froissart recounted this in detail and his commentary…” Aug 4, 00:27
Confused on Or Something: “Who reads mcalpine? It’s weak pish. As for UN recognition – everyone in the place hates “england” since they were…” Aug 3, 23:41
Hatey McHateface on Or Something: ““I was wrong” But then you’re used to that. Seriously though, Northy, even if your claim and your logic are…” Aug 3, 22:45
Carol Neill on Or Something: “@angus that’s exactly what they’re hoping for Oor Stu’s well up for them Little do they realise how many will…” Aug 3, 22:33
Hatey McHateface on Or Something: ““All the right credentials” Nah. White, white, white. “am I being just too cynical?” Naw. Not cynical enough. Peak cynicism…” Aug 3, 22:33
Alf Baird on Or Something: ““It would be good to sneer at the SNP as it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch but there is…” Aug 3, 22:29
James Jones on Or Something: “Why on Earth would you think that when devolution hasn’t delivered “greater democratic accountability” and independence would only put greater…” Aug 3, 22:14
Northcode on Or Something: “I previously said no entrustment existed in the ring-fenced SNP money case. I was wrong… the Inner House has now…” Aug 3, 22:00
Bilbo on Or Something: “It’s hard to know what to make of it. Is the SNP going to be destroyed from without by state…” Aug 3, 21:46
Angus on Or Something: “One word of caution. Be vigilant at all times and do not go for hikes in isolated places.” Aug 3, 21:44
James on The Nobodies: “Here’s unionist Walloper #3 arrived in his clown wagon. Well, Adrian, petal; your posts certainly gie me a migraine. I…” Aug 3, 21:42
