Last night’s farce in the House Of Commons, where MPs rejected in turn every single possible Brexit option and variant thereof, perfectly encapsulated the ridiculous state of British politics and may well have scuppered any chance of avoiding a no-deal Brexit, because the EU’s terms for a longer Article 50 extension than April 12 were that the UK presented a clear and achievable plan.
But who ultimately sank the plans for either a softer Brexit or a second referendum?
This was the Scottish Tories two years ago, when Scotland’s economy registered a small downturn for a single quarter, which was definitely the SNP’s fault:
Shall we find out what actually happened, readers?
Several media outlets today relate a story from BBC Scotland’s fascinating three-part documentary of the indyref, revealing that secret UK government polling in the first week of September 2014 gave Yes a lead even bigger than the famous 51-49 one published by the Sunday Times on the 7th.
And naturally we couldn’t help wondering what might have caused it.
Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the ALDE group in the European Parliament (essentially the Euro Lib Dems), is by no means our standard go-to guy for political guidance. Like most European politicians he’s been criminally silent on the outrages being perpetrated by the government of Spain, and in general he’s a bit neoliberal for our tastes.
But his speech from yesterday is powerful stuff.
As we write this, the UK’s parliament is blundering through a third successive day of toe-curling farce on the floor of the Commons, aimed this time at securing some sort of extension to Brexit to avoid a disastrous no-deal in just 15 days’ time.
It may yet be that such a request will be issued and the EU will grant it, dragging out the whole awful mess for God knows how much longer. But judging by the tone of M. Verhofstadt’s impassioned, exasperated address in Strasbourg, we wouldn’t like to have money on it. It appears that an entire continent has had just about enough of us.
For some time, most polls for “Who’d make the best UK Prime Minister?” – the stat that really decides who wins general elections – have shown a solid lead for “Don’t know”, narrowly ahead of Theresa May and a long way ahead of Jeremy Corbyn.
It’s a prime symptom of a UK-wide contempt for politicians the magnitude of which we’ve never seen in our lifetime, and Scottish voters are in no way immune.
We loaded this question from our latest Panelbase poll in the party leaders’ favours, because you don’t have to think any of them is doing a GOOD job to say that one of them is doing the BEST job out of the four. Everything is relative – and we also didn’t ask the question specifically about Brexit.
But even with those get-outs, “They’re all useless” came out on top by a clear seven points over Nicola Sturgeon, and the rest weren’t even at the races.
Tonight sees what’s likely to be a highly-charged Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at Ibrox Stadium. Defeat will effectively end the losing side’s season, and games between the participants, Aberdeen and Rangers International, have tended to be fierce affairs ever since the latter club was formed in controversial circumstances in 2012, with this season’s clashes already having seen numerous red cards.
(Mainly for the home team’s temperamental striker Alfredo Morelos.)
Football authorities will be hoping for a minimum of flashpoints on the field which might lead to repeats of shocking recent scenes of abuse and violence from spectators, which have prompted the nation’s media to wring its hands in theatrical angst and demand that something be done.
The public’s view on the subject, meanwhile, has remained absolutely consistent.
Sundays have been the low point of Scottish political journalism for a while now. Traditionally a day when newspapers are heavy on comment and light on news (because politics tends to happen on weekdays), they unleash all the weary old dinosaurs who’ve been driving away readers for the last 30 years.
So you really have to stand out to be noticed for especially appalling hackery on a Sunday, which is probably why nobody from Scotland On Sunday wanted to have their name on this toe-curling piece of second-hand, lifted-from-another-paper garbage.
Professor Ronald MacDonald, you say? That name seems to ring a bell.
MARR: “What would [Theresa May] need to bring back [from Brexit negotiations] to win you over?”
DAVIS: “She needs to bring back a clear ability on the part of the United Kingdom to be able to leave this treaty when it chooses to. There is no other treaty in the world I’m aware of where a sovereign nation undertakes to join up and can only leave when the other side says so.”
We’re pretty sure we can think of an example, David.
Northcode on A matter of class: “Correction: The Ethnic Egyptians are known as Misriyyun not whatever nonsense Wordpress created when it processed the text of my…” Dec 21, 16:16
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “@factchecker 2.3ppm In fact, his concept of each country being run by a separate ethnic group seems distinctly wrong. Is…” Dec 21, 16:09
Northcode on A matter of class: ““The eminent professor…” As usual the point being made immediately, and irredeemably, soars swiftly over the minds of colonists. There…” Dec 21, 16:00
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “And there was me drinking Guinness with the Irish. It all went well until I happened to mention I was…” Dec 21, 15:51
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “You need to get over that or you will not go forward.” Dec 21, 15:49
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “You will be arrested for that.” Dec 21, 15:41
factchecker on A matter of class: “The eminent professor says “You know, like ethnic Norwegians run Norway. Or ethnic Finns run Finland. Or ethnic Indians run…” Dec 21, 14:39
Alf Baird on A matter of class: “Hatey, I assume you have good reason for suggesting that ethnic Scots should not run their own country? You know,…” Dec 21, 14:05
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Westminster parliament of England and Ireland simply pretended through deceit and lies it was the same legal construction and legal…” Dec 21, 14:03
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Some information omitted perhaps on purpose is that when you dissolve the GB parliament treaty 1800 you dissolve the monarch…” Dec 21, 13:41
Captain Caveman on A matter of class: “Oh good grief, here I am sat with a “negroni hangover” following a rather spectacular dinner with friends (Mrs C…” Dec 21, 13:40
Northcode on A matter of class: “DANCE, SLAVE, DANCE! Yet another imprinted sex-bonded colonist to add to my entourage of sex-bonded colonists.” Dec 21, 13:36
Northcode on A matter of class: ““… does not an imprinted sex-bonded slave make.” This is an example of another flower of rhetoric called Hyperbaton. Made…” Dec 21, 13:31
Alf Baird on A matter of class: ““Why, oh, why… do the colonists on here come across as being a tad thuggish?” Maybe because ‘colonialism is force’…” Dec 21, 13:26
Northcode on A matter of class: “I mispeeled incomprehemsibeness (I’m big enough to own my literary failures)… it should, of course, read as incomprehensibleness (which is…” Dec 21, 13:20
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Perhaps Scots do not wish to replace pretend union for the civic nations kind of union,” Dec 21, 13:08
Northcode on A matter of class: “A colonist speaks… and, as usual, it speaks incomprehemsibeness… and Inglis its first lingo tae. I shall deal with its…” Dec 21, 13:06
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “The responses BTL from the usual suspects tend to give the lie to your assertion though Northy. We all know…” Dec 21, 13:01
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “For a English Irish parliament and the Queen of England and Ireland cannot fit that Humpty dumpty parliament again,” Dec 21, 12:59
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “History is replete with the ghosts of vanished States. So it is, No more Succession to the Hanoverian dynasty since…” Dec 21, 12:54
GM on A matter of class: “Interesting juxtaposition Ben Hope. Dinnae gie up hope o’ a court case or twa in the new year. I haven’t.…” Dec 21, 12:45
Captain Caveman on A matter of class: “Hey Fatso, are you still looking down on the hardworking poor, e.g. McDonalds workers getting up at 6am to work…” Dec 21, 12:38
James on A matter of class: “Northy; The Site Prick proved your point – within 25 meenits! Watch oot, the resident Yoons have got the hots…” Dec 21, 12:25
Northcode on A matter of class: “Why, oh, why (anyone know what this sweetly scented thing is?) do the colonists on here come across as being…” Dec 21, 12:17
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “Kudos to Northcode for introducing the esoteric concept of egrogores to BTL discourse, if for little else in his nativistic…” Dec 21, 12:12
Northcode on A matter of class: “DANCE, SLAVE, DANCE!” Dec 21, 12:00
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Moving whit, Northy? Yer bowels? A poignant and moving text written in (checks notes) the lying language of the coloniser?…” Dec 21, 11:57
Northcode on A matter of class: “How does one deploy a Diacope in a sentence? A Diacope is a flower… a flower of rhetoric. Some folk…” Dec 21, 11:56
Northcode on A matter of class: “Thanks, Alf. A moving quote from Jones. Filled with a poignancy only the colonized could appreciate – or even understand,…” Dec 21, 11:27
Northcode on A matter of class: “Thanks, diabloandco. Imprinted sex-bonded slaves are a guid laugh (I think James acquired some to play with, too). I wrote…” Dec 21, 11:22
