Almost nine in ten Scottish voters now back a second referendum on independence. This rather startling news was brought to us at the weekend by an unlikely source, in the form of walking brain vacuum Annie Wells MSP.
Wells was absolutely unequivocal that NO other vote this Thursday – not Labour, not Lib Dem, not Brexit Party – would constitute opposition to a second indyref.
(She emphasised the point by RTing a tweet from the Scottish Tories’ boorish and obnoxious head of media Adam Morris which described both Nigel Farage and Vince Cable as “weak on Scotland’s place in the UK”.)
We watched the whole of the Labour shadow Scottish Secretary’s interview on this morning’s Sunday Politics Scotland, and can confirm that this is a wholly accurate representation of what she said on it with regard to Labour’s position on Brexit.
So for those of you keeping score: Labour does NOT support a second referendum, does NOT support the current deal, does NOT support no deal, but WOULD vote for the current deal if it included a second referendum, and would INSIST on a second referendum on any alternative deal.
Honestly, we have no idea why anyone’s still confused.
We got a tweet this morning from one of those odd Twitter accounts that’s been going for eight years and still only has six followers. This one appears to be a fairly moderate right-wing, UK-nationalist Brexiter with only a few dozen tweets (nearly all replies) to their name since 2011.
Almost exactly two years ago, this website suggested that it might not be the smartest idea for Labour to go along with Theresa May’s call for a snap election. (Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, it couldn’t have happened without Labour’s support.)
And it occurred to us today that if they hadn’t, the current government would only have a maximum of one year left to run.
The Conservatives’ disastrous handling of, and failure to deliver, Brexit seems to have finally begun to hurt them in the polls, with a clutch of recent stats showing Labour with a significant lead for the first time in many months.
Most seat projections on the numbers show Labour failing to reach a majority either on their own or with the Lib Dems, but being able to get Jeremy Corbyn in to Downing Street with the assistance of an increased number of SNP MPs.
We’ve still got a few of the results from our last Panelbase poll (conducted last month) to round up, and this one seems pertinent this week:
As has been the case ever since we started asking this question about the nation’s twin constitutional dilemmas back in July 2015, the single most popular option in a four-way choice remains an independent Scotland inside the EU, which leads the impending reality (a UK Scotland outside the EU) by a clear 10 points.
Scotland isn’t merely about to get something it doesn’t want, it’s about to get the exact opposite of the thing it wants most. But oh boy, is it ever more complicated than that.
Billions of years from now, when the Sun finally dies and expands to swallow and burn up the Earth in a final cataclysmic explosion, the very last thing to turn to dust and atoms will be Scottish Labour’s brass neck.
Coming from The Eternal Abstainers themselves that’s already quite a breathtakingly hypocritical claim, but if you look at last night’s results closely it gets a lot worse.
Dan on The same old tricks: “Could be but who knows for sure. Over the years there has been a steady stream of btl posters that…” Jan 19, 10:12
G m on Poisoning The Unwell: “The argument of incompetent government goes both ways.” Jan 19, 09:47
Mia on The same old tricks: ““For somebody that is often such a pedant in matters of btl law discussions, it’s odd that you should then…” Jan 19, 09:45
Dan on The same old tricks: “For somebody that is often such a pedant in matters of btl law discussions, it’s odd that you should then…” Jan 19, 09:39
Mia on The same old tricks: “Scotland’s parliament can be recalled at any time. The only thing we need is for our so called “Scotland’s” MP…” Jan 19, 09:35
PacMan on Poisoning The Unwell: “She’s plainly under the influence. Any decent journalist worth their salt would follow this up.Sturgeon can’t be permitted to just…” Jan 19, 09:34
Mia on The same old tricks: “I clicked on the link and this is what it says: “In the ONS’s Regional Accounts, the UK continental shelf is not allocated…” Jan 19, 09:08
Aidan on The same old tricks: “No the two parliaments cannot be recalled, the last representatives of those parliaments have long since died and the constitutional…” Jan 19, 08:17
gregor on Poisoning The Unwell: “BBC (2025): Murrell property sale ban during police probe: “The former SNP chief executive and recently-separated husband of Nicola Sturgeon…” Jan 19, 08:12
Aidan on The same old tricks: “I’ve literally just posted the link above showing the two ways GERS accounts for oil and gas revenue (I.e. population…” Jan 19, 07:39
yoon scum on Poisoning The Unwell: “I think that the best that could happen to scotland be for a competent Scottish government be that yoon or…” Jan 19, 05:11
Mia on The same old tricks: “Ahh!!! GERS, that magic con-trick with the power to apply the miracle of the fish and the bread in reverse…” Jan 19, 02:16
Mia on The same old tricks: “Hopefully the local authority will do something about it. Can you get other neighbours to back you up on this…” Jan 19, 02:15
Mia on The same old tricks: ““The two parliaments who enacted the treaty no longer exist” But they can be recalled. The only thing that is…” Jan 19, 01:35
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The same old tricks: “Thanks Mia. And for all your own very helpful and encouraging contributions. I would add that, since I can no…” Jan 19, 00:29
sarah on Poisoning The Unwell: “I couldn’t find that article by the search button. Could you remember which year it was so that I can…” Jan 18, 23:22
sarah on Poisoning The Unwell: “I missed that bit about the registering of judges’ interests being stopped by Sturgeon. Now why would she do that?…” Jan 18, 23:07
Mia on Poisoning The Unwell: “Thank you Sarah. The grousebeater article is most interesting. Mmm. 1996/97 is quite close to the devolution referendum for comfort,…” Jan 18, 22:59
Aidan on The same old tricks: “The two parliaments who enacted the treaty no longer exist, and haven’t existed for hundreds of years, so the problem…” Jan 18, 22:47
Mia on The same old tricks: ““but in your fantasy, there is no way of amending the UK’s constitutional structure to give effect to that termination”…” Jan 18, 22:32
Aidan on The same old tricks: “GERS provides figures for oil and gas revenues on both an illustrative geographic share and a population share basis. Why…” Jan 18, 22:24
Dan on The same old tricks: “May be a helpful explanation of the asymmetry within the union. https://consoc.org.uk/the-constitution-explained/devolution/ I used to have an article bookmarked but…” Jan 18, 22:16
Aidan on The same old tricks: “That should read “administrative structures of the EU”” Jan 18, 21:55
Aidan on The same old tricks: “Treaties can be terminated for the purposes of international law (I note that is one legal principal that you do…” Jan 18, 21:36
G m on Poisoning The Unwell: “‘It is interesting why they thought they could get away with acting like this..’. Aye, It is something that has…” Jan 18, 21:10
Mia on The same old tricks: “Cynical as I am, I have always thought that this is how England retains control over the entire UK and…” Jan 18, 21:10
Dan on The same old tricks: “@muscleguy If climate change and resultant rising sea level is gonnae make Carnoustie underwater, does this mean the new Star…” Jan 18, 21:04
