There was a certain uncomfortable 2018 inevitability this morning over the fact that where people were offended, arrests would follow.
And the burning of a cardboard model of the Grenfell Tower last night was certainly right up near the top in the pantheon of cretinously offensive things. Many victims of the appalling tragedy, which killed 72 people and injured many more, still haven’t been properly rehomed almost a year and a half later.
Much of central Cowdenbeath was closed down for several hours by the police yesterday to facilitate an Orange Order parade attended by DUP leader Arlene Foster. (Curiously, Ruth Davidson, who’d been vocal in her complaints about traffic disruption in Glasgow due to the recent Yes march, had no objections this time.)
Foster made an audaciously ironic plea for a nation “free from intolerance and hatred“, right before the next speaker stepped up to denounce large sections of the local population as “enemies of Christ”.
In our latest Panelbase poll, we asked the same independence question we asked in the last one, and got much the same answer. (Technically the indy vote went up by about a sixth of one percent, but that’s statistically meaningless.)
That’s a bit disappointing after the events of recent weeks, but also not very surprising – after all, the way the question is framed pretty much guarantees at least 38% of the population will choose the second option straight off the bat.
Much more interesting is the question we asked next.
And no, we don’t even mean the FOUR spelling mistakes in this 42-word tweet.
We mean the bit that we’ve highlighted above in blue. Because what Scottish Labour’s lowest-watt bulb was gloating about earlier today was that Lord Bracadale concluded there’d been no gap created in the law by the Kelly-driven abolition of the OBFA.
And that’s… well, that’s not quite what Lord Bracadale said.
Last week we revealed that English voters would happily see Scotland and Northern Ireland leave the UK if it was the price of securing Brexit. But one of the odder things was that those figures included a sizeable number of Remain voters, who don’t want Brexit to happen at all.
We were a little perplexed, so we did a follow-up question asking those people if they’d elaborate a bit and got some interesting replies. One person, for example, answered “The Scottish people are very arrogant and although they want to be separate from the rest of the UK they are happy to take money from England”. Charming.
But there was also another stream of opinion on the subject, and it was revealed in the responses to another question in the original poll.
George Ferguson on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “@Mary B 11:26pm You should been at the EDRP Inquiry in Caithness. The cluster theory was well and truly debunked…” Jun 17, 16:45
100%Yes on Holiday Relief: “Here is the reality the SNP mantra is 2050 before we think about Independence again and when we look back,…” Jun 17, 16:17
Cactus on Holiday Relief: “First they ignore you… Then you laugh at them… Then you win.” Jun 17, 16:00
Mark Beggan on Holiday Relief: “How to run a successful Colony. Page One. Chapter one. 1.Eliminate the intelligentsia. 2. Control all communication. 3. Play each…” Jun 17, 15:57
TURABDIN on Holiday Relief: “HOW TO SPOT «ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE», marked tendency to phrasal repetition. The AI algorithm having no consciousness hasn’t a clue what…” Jun 17, 15:56
David on Holiday Relief: “He can’t even get the Saltire up on public buildings never mind Scottish Independence. And who could forget he desecrated…” Jun 17, 15:29
SilentMajority on Holiday Relief: “Today’s word contender:- WAFFLE “Waffle is language without meaning; blathering, babbling, droning. Its usage does vary, however it generally refers…” Jun 17, 15:15
Alf Baird on Holiday Relief: “What does this colonial conference tell us? What we see is precisely as Fanon suggested: the dominant national party seeks…” Jun 17, 15:14
Mark Beggan on Holiday Relief: “The Timothy Leary of Scottish politics. Take the trip to Caledon.” Jun 17, 15:02
agent x on Holiday Relief: “” Swinney continued: “Today, you’ve heard something of my answer, something of my ambition for Scotland. “It is a vision…” Jun 17, 14:37
Jim Thomson on Holiday Relief: “You do realise that you’ve gifted JK (no, not the Harry Potter one) with his next slur piece? It’ll be…” Jun 17, 14:37
100%Yes on Holiday Relief: “Grok, might even get into conversation with our people, what a thought. A real AI wanting to communicate and discuss…” Jun 17, 13:58
sam on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “After you, Clod. I’ll buy you a ticket to a “bottomless pit of hell, money and despair”. Do stay for…” Jun 17, 13:48
Eric on Holiday Relief: “An attempt by Redactable John to avoid being Jilted John. Has he ever delivered anything noteworthy? “Reach” sounds very subjective.…” Jun 17, 13:32
Peter McAvoy on Holiday Relief: “The national online today reports that another block of student flats has been approved. When will somebody tell the local…” Jun 17, 13:12
Lewis Moonie on Holiday Relief: “Within reach? I wish. Depends how long his arms are I suppose.” Jun 17, 13:09
PhilM on Holiday Relief: “I’ve got to say I’m feeling bereft today. I had great expectations for Walter White look-alike John Swinney but reading…” Jun 17, 12:47
Jim Bo on Holiday Relief: “Impressive AI summary that. Are you sure you didn’t write it Stu?” Jun 17, 12:39
auld highlander on Holiday Relief: “A bowl of cold porridge has more charisma.” Jun 17, 12:25
Peter S on Holiday Relief: “John – bless him! – is either fibbing or deluded (or both!)” Jun 17, 12:15
MaryB on Holiday Relief: “It was far more useful and positive to talk about the evils of nuclear waste dumping on the last thread.…” Jun 17, 12:11
Ian on Holiday Relief: “I, for one, welcome Grok over Scotland as our new overlord.” Jun 17, 12:06
Hatey McHateface on Holiday Relief: “And remember, whatever you do, don’t mention the war.” Jun 17, 12:04
James Barr Gardner on Holiday Relief: “John Swinney up there in the charisma stakes with Blair Jenkins……….remember him……lol…” Jun 17, 11:44
Ian McCubbin on Holiday Relief: “Sorted enjoy your walk Stu.” Jun 17, 11:43
tattiebogle on Holiday Relief: “Brilliant parody.!!!” Jun 17, 11:42
MaryB on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “I wrote this earlier but it’s not been posted. So I’ll try again. There’s long been a conspiracy of silence…” Jun 17, 11:26
robertkknight on Holiday Relief: “Swinney…not waving, but drowning.” Jun 17, 11:05
TURABDIN on Holiday Relief: “«VISION….modern, dynamic and forward looking» …flatliningly dull AI text for sure. Its all in the training. YOU THINK SWINNEY BORING?…” Jun 17, 11:04
Xaracen on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Aidan, there was no automatic rejection of Scotland’s petition. The JPTI submissions specific to Scotland were acknowledged at the 2025…” Jun 17, 10:59
