There’s a remarkable piece in today’s Times about Stefan Cross, the lawyer working for the women in the Glasgow City Council equal-pay dispute. (For example it’s over 1500 words long but the word “Labour” doesn’t appear a single time, despite the party having controlled the council for the entire 20 years or so the dispute covers.)
The most interesting passage, though, is this one.
Because the story reveals that the GMB, an ultra-loyalist Labour and Unionist trade union, did absolutely everything in its power to obstruct and hamper the women’s claims until the spring of 2017, at which point the union experienced a Damascene conversion and threw their weight fully behind the women and against the council.
And we do mean rank. It’s been quite a week already for super-hapless Labour MP Hugh Gaffney, but he excelled himself today when joining in with Scottish Labour’s campaign to resist building a new hospital in Gartcosh (which is the recommendation of an independent NHS panel), rather than on the site of the current one in Monklands.
(And yes, that is the same one Labour wanted to shut down in 2007.)
Because it wasn’t terribly long ago that he took a rather different view.
In many ways the Glasgow equal-pay dispute feels like the impotent final fury of the dinosaurs after the dust cloud of a prehistoric asteroid impact blacked out the sun and condemned them all to death.
What we’re seeing now is a futile howl of rage against irrelevance by the shady cabal of Labour politicians and senior trade union officials who used to treat the city as their personal fiefdom, as they sink into inglorious extinction.
We highly recommend clicking that link to read the whole series of tweets from Labour member and solicitor Ian Smart, who readers won’t need reminding is no sort of friend of the SNP or inclined to their defence. Because the story goes much deeper than the common-or-garden hypocrisy we saw yesterday.
We don’t know whether Sky News’ senior Scotland correspondent James Matthews recognised double-jobbing Labour MP and councillor Hugh Gaffney on today’s strike march in Glasgow or not. (We suspect he did, but as Gaffney’s only been an MP for a year and a half we can’t be sure.)
What’s certain is that he gave him plenty of time, opportunity and cues to disclose who he was, and Gaffney didn’t take any of them, leading to this extraordinary clip.
The indyref sometimes caused feelings to run rather high, and people on both sides made themselves very unpopular with those on the other side. But four years of water has flowed under the bridge since then, and not everyone is still in the same trenches.
Some high-profile names have switched to from No to Yes (often but not exclusively as a result of Brexit), and the reception afforded to floor-crossers like Murray Foote, Eric Joyce, Jackie Kemp, Mike Dailly, Tom Morton and Simon Pia hasn’t always been an entirely warm one, with some unable to keep a lid on their old grudges.
And in a similar vein, some of the remarks in recent days on the reported switch to Yes of Billy Connolly – a few from people I thought better of – are deeply offensive and potentially deeply damaging.
Well well, look who suddenly believes in second referendums.
It’s fascinating to note how you can completely reverse Kezia Dugdale’s position on the subject simply by substituting the word “Scotland” for the words “the UK” in that second tweet, and imagine she was talking about the independence march in heavily-Remain-voting Edinburgh earlier this month instead of the (proportionately smaller) one in London yesterday.
Tory MP Kirstene “dumber than a box of” Hair is best known for being the member of the UK Parliament who didn’t vote in the Brexit referendum because it was too difficult.
The Scottish Daily Mail today has a big headline relaying the seemingly-unambiguous bad news that unemployment in Scotland has apparently risen by 11,000.
But cheer up, folks, because better times are ahead.
twathater on A matter of class: “Dan has the Franchise Fanny nailed with all his grandiose sounding pish, a proud Scot BUT who has returned to…” Dec 22, 02:50
James on A matter of class: “Stained bedsheets, there? Careful, lads.” Dec 21, 23:19
James on A matter of class: “Uh-oh. Franchise Fanny just stained it’s underwear after mentioning it’s Heroine. It was popular in Scotchland right enough. Not.” Dec 21, 23:13
James on A matter of class: “Careful, DaveL; the Site Prick fancies you!” Dec 21, 23:04
James on A matter of class: “The Site Prick shilling for the Daily heil there. Quelle suprise!” Dec 21, 22:52
Captain Caveman on A matter of class: “Hey, maybe Fatso, maybe. However, at least I pay my own way, have a job and don’t look down on…” Dec 21, 22:52
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “Our country is being stolen from benief our feet.” Dec 21, 22:47
James on A matter of class: “Quite right, Alf – ‘Unison’ is a ‘UK’ (London based) organization that supports the Yoon Labour party without question, and…” Dec 21, 22:31
James on A matter of class: ““As it happens, I lack a union-flag covered duvet.” ROTFLMFAO!!” Dec 21, 22:25
James on A matter of class: “Northy; Careful now, the site Prick wants to kiss your interface!” Dec 21, 22:10
James on A matter of class: “Aw, sweethheart, are you still carrying a torch for me? Thanks, but I’ll pass. What a sad bot you are.” Dec 21, 22:04
McDuff on A matter of class: “This country stinks from the SNP to the judiciary and just about every where else .I never imagined Scotland would…” Dec 21, 21:48
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Turkey, sprouts and gravy, Dan? No True Scot would ever pollute the ethnic purity of his body with the hated,…” Dec 21, 21:37
Dan on A matter of class: “@Southern(not so)bystander Not saying it’s the case with the specific matter you are responding to; But I think that posted…” Dec 21, 21:35
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Try posting “Bairns Not Bombs”. Works every time.” Dec 21, 21:20
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “This is just so desperately sad. Once again, I’m the only one to respond to Northy’s attention seeking – his…” Dec 21, 21:16
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “@Alf Have you considered translating the complete works of Fanon, Cesaire, Crivens and Jonesie into Scots? That would really supercharge…” Dec 21, 21:08
Northcode on A matter of class: ““No country, people or polity has a God given right to exist in perpetuity.” Unless it’s England, apparently: “There’ll always…” Dec 21, 21:01
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “@Alf 2:05 I want my Scotland to be run by the meritocratic best. I don’t want my Scotland to be…” Dec 21, 20:59
Dan on A matter of class: “Something to read and mull over. https://angrypict.substack.com/p/scotland-ai-convergence-and-the-case” Dec 21, 20:36
Southernbystander on A matter of class: “Hatey: ‘You didn’t used to pussyfoot around this’ Did he not? I once asked Alf after he labelled the English…” Dec 21, 20:32
Alf Baird on A matter of class: “Like any peoples language the Scots language plays ‘a vital role in shaping and defining ethnic identity’, serving as ‘a…” Dec 21, 20:24
Al-Stuart on A matter of class: “. Hi Stuart, I see the Scot-Goes-Splat fundraiser Jimmy McGrifty has now gone full stalker mode with his obsession about…” Dec 21, 19:55
Dan on A matter of class: “Franchise Fanny returns! But tae fuck with offering a shred of crimbo goodwill to fellow supporters of Scotland returning to…” Dec 21, 19:53
Cynicus on A matter of class: “Andy Ellis says: 21 December, 2025 at 4:09 pm “One wonders if the Post Colonial Snake Oil Salesman in Chief…” Dec 21, 18:44
Northcode on A matter of class: ““Lovely people the Finns…” I’ll write to the Finnish embassy in London and let them know you think they’re patronizingly…” Dec 21, 18:25
Northcode on A matter of class: ““How about the >5% of Finns who are of Swedish language and ethnicity, having lived in Finland for centuries?” You…” Dec 21, 18:09
Alf Baird on A matter of class: “Is that you on the colonial backshift, Andy? Hatey on his weel-deserved brak. Surprised ye didna ken that language aye…” Dec 21, 18:00
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “Well God Bless you sir. Merry Christmas.My Grandfather would be proud of that.” Dec 21, 17:46
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “@Northcode 4pm Ethnic Finns, or Suomalaiset, are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland, with a rich cultural heritage…” Dec 21, 17:15
