Let’s get straight to the point: this is a straight-up categorical lie.
Since Wednesday’s events there’s been a lot of chatter and confusion on social media about whether the Scottish Government has the ability to trigger a snap Holyrood election and use it as a de facto plebiscite on independence.
The short answer, as we told you yesterday, is “officially no, in practice yes”. But that needs a bit of further explanation, so as usual let’s do the job of actual journalism that nobody else in Scotland can apparently be bothered to.
As a rule I try not to respond to the literally dozens of deranged attacks on this site that are posted by James Kelly of Scot Goes Pop, but I really dislike being called a liar so I’m going to take a moment for this one.
James appears to have taken extraordinary offence to a two-paragraph stats post I put up to mark Wings’ 11th birthday this week, and has written two purple-faced rants about it. So for the record’s sake I’m going to comply with his demand as best I can.
Honestly, readers, swear to God, all joking and sarcasm aside, when we saw this tweet yesterday we were wondering how on Earth some clever satirist had managed to hack Anas Sarwar’s account to insert the screenshot into it.
Because we didn’t believe that even Scottish Labour’s low-watt-bulb of a branch manager would willingly post something that made him look so much of an imbecile.
Even when you’re retired, some things are too journalistically offensive to let pass, such as this piece of absolute garbage we just saw from The National today.
The paper’s anonymous reporter set off all our red warning lights at once.
The first part is certainly true, as it has been of pretty much every Tory Prime Minister of the last 40 years. But the second part simply isn’t borne out by the facts.
Above (click to enlarge) is the graph of Yes polling since Johnson became PM. It shows support for independence FALLING from 52% to 49% during his term in office.
We’ve observed that over the last few days a number of Unionists, led by tuba-honking dunderhead Blair McDougall (the man who turned a 30-point No lead into a 10-point one, who lost Labour 5000 votes when he stood in East Renfrewshire in 2017 on the basis of being the guy who saved the UK – trailing in an embarrassing 3rd in a seat where Jim Murphy had once won over 50% of the vote – and who is probably more responsible than any other individual for the utter destruction of Scottish Labour as a political force), have revived the ancient “Better Together” scare story about pensions in an independent Scotland.
Although we’re retired we already wrote this, so we may as well put it up for the 99.9% of Scots who don’t read the comments on David Leask‘s columns in the Herald.
It’s a claim he’s been banging on about since at least 2014, without ever providing a scrap of evidence to support it (his standard modus operandi), and yesterday was no exception. So let’s show Little Dave how proper big-boy journalists do it.
The SNP collected slightly over 1 million list votes in Thursday’s election, which nevertheless elected just two list MSPs because SNP voters care about power for the SNP rather than about independence, and chose to let dozens of Unionist MSPs get seats rather than other pro-indy parties.
But the bigger tragedy is that one of those two was Emma Roddick.
agentx on A Stitch In Timing: “They chose to be “activatists” let them fund it themselves.” Feb 6, 19:41
Hatey McHateface on A Stitch In Timing: ““we are reminded here that: “colonialism is based on psychology”” Is that because it’s Friday, Alf? Seems like only Wednesday…” Feb 6, 19:41
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on A Stitch In Timing: “Or Scottish Executive?” Feb 6, 19:34
Hatey McHateface on A Stitch In Timing: ““finding none of the activists guilty on any of the charges” Given they committed burglary, assault and grievous bodily harm…” Feb 6, 19:27
agentx on A Stitch In Timing: “We all know that Swinney stayed with Mandelson on his whisky trip to USA in Sep 25. I have done…” Feb 6, 19:17
Lorna Campbell on A Stitch In Timing: “Alf: I know it will take a lot more than that. The point I was trying to make is that…” Feb 6, 18:19
PC Foster on A Stitch In Timing: “It was always known as the Scottish Parliament. However the machinery was called the Scottish Administration until Salmond renamed it…” Feb 6, 18:04
Willie on A Stitch In Timing: “Couldn’t help but reflect on the latest reports about our out beloved Labour party politico one Mr Peter Mandelson. Its…” Feb 6, 17:40
Alf Baird on A Stitch In Timing: ““try to rehabilitate Scotland before independence” I suspect that’s not generally how decolonization and ‘self-recovery of culture’ works, which is…” Feb 6, 17:18
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on A Stitch In Timing: “Re Sven. Point taken.” Feb 6, 17:06
Alf Baird on A Stitch In Timing: ““Not the Crown” ? Hardly. The root of the despicable colonial situation is that elites in Scotland aye tak thair…” Feb 6, 16:48
sarah on A Stitch In Timing: “Scottish court cases are hugely expensive, another obvious impediment to seeking “justice”. The case in the Scottish courts for a…” Feb 6, 16:37
Sven on A Stitch In Timing: “Fearghas Macfhionnlaigh. My own view on that would be that by misnaming a devolved administration as a Parliament a clear…” Feb 6, 15:24
Lorna Campbell on A Stitch In Timing: “With a heavy heart, I have to agree with you, Southernbystander, but not all Scots are anaesthetized by colonialism. Truth…” Feb 6, 15:24
Lorna Campbell on A Stitch In Timing: “I’m not privy, GM, as you might imagine, to what the powers-that-be are up to, but I think that the…” Feb 6, 15:12
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on A Stitch In Timing: “I would assume that Alex Salmond, and Winnie Ewing (‘The Scottish Parliament, which adjourned on March 25 1707, is hereby…” Feb 6, 14:50
barelybare on A Stitch In Timing: “Thanks for the explanation am firinn. I have a feeling only the initiated are going to truly understand what is…” Feb 6, 14:46
Alf Baird on A Stitch In Timing: “It is surely colonialism that makes a colonized people ‘dependent’. For “without colonialism there would be no colonized people” (Memmi).…” Feb 6, 14:25
Alf Baird on A Stitch In Timing: ““a devolved administration” That’s what the colonizer calls it. To the colonized it is always a colonial administration.” Feb 6, 13:47
TURABDIN on A Stitch In Timing: “@ALANM. AIDAN, HATEY All true, the political classes, not just in Scotland & England, seem stacked with those who couldn’t…” Feb 6, 13:28
Sven on A Stitch In Timing: “James Cheyne @ 12.59. Only initially renamed a ‘Parliament’ over a weekend owing to the vanity of Mr Salmond, “James”,…” Feb 6, 13:18
James Cheyne on A Stitch In Timing: “If the parliament in Scotland today was a real Scottish parliament it would not have reserved matters restrictions placed on…” Feb 6, 12:59
James Cheyne on A Stitch In Timing: “Define Scottish Government, from…Governance sent to Scotland from the Westminster of England- Ireland parliament since the dissolved parliament of Great…” Feb 6, 12:50
James Cheyne on A Stitch In Timing: “I wonder whom you do blame when Scotland made no 1707 treaty with the parliament of Great Britain nor with…” Feb 6, 12:43
James Cheyne on A Stitch In Timing: “The Westminster parliament ( Scotland ) act 1995 was passed by the Anglo- Irish united kingdom parliament. Which Scotland has…” Feb 6, 12:38
Hatey McHateface on A Stitch In Timing: ““Section 170 dates from 1995 and has not been amended. It would now be within the powers of the Scottish…” Feb 6, 12:02
Hatey McHateface on A Stitch In Timing: “Excellent post, Southernbystander. Another side effect of the eternal “it wisnae us cos we’re bound hand and foot” attitude is…” Feb 6, 11:56
Cynicus on A Stitch In Timing: ““…the Scottish Government is in court trying to defend its policy of letting male murderers be housed in women’s prisons…” Feb 6, 11:55
