The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Archive for the ‘europe’


An uncertain future 185

Posted on February 12, 2019 by

Another slow news day, so here’s one from the archives:

Don’t worry, we’re not going to make you try to read it that size.

Read the rest of this entry →

End-Of-The-Road Runner 214

Posted on February 09, 2019 by

Another unfortunate oversight 484

Posted on January 30, 2019 by

Earlier on today we reported on a case of a Scottish Labour MP being inadvertently unacquainted with some quite pertinent facts regarding a public pronouncement they’d made. While we’d assumed this to be an isolated incident, it’s in fact our sad duty to report another example within the Northern Branch Office.

That’s the pro-Brexit former Labour minister Tom Harris, there, making just the sort of statement that this site like to fact-check. So let’s see the most recent data.

Read the rest of this entry →

An innocent misunderstanding 126

Posted on January 30, 2019 by

We had a brief exchange with Scottish Labour MP Paul Sweeney last night.

But the thing is, he’s exactly, diametrically wrong about that.

Read the rest of this entry →

Sharpen your pencils, readers 528

Posted on January 27, 2019 by

Because it looks like you’re going to need them.

If the Scottish Government can’t pass a budget it’ll fall, and with no majority for any alternative administration that’ll leave no option but to hold a general election.

Meanwhile, at Westminster, the UK government is running out of time to get a Brexit deal through Parliament, and facing all kinds of procedural shenanigans which may very well lead to a UK general election.

Should that happen, the UK will likely ask the EU for an extension to Article 50, which would take us past the European elections in May, which would mean that the UK would have to take part in those elections  too (because you can’t have a country that’s still an EU member state having no representation in the European Parliament).

Scottish or UK general elections could lead to a new independence referendum, a new Brexit referendum, or both, sending Scots to the polling stations up to FIVE times (and the rest of the UK up to four) in a matter of months, with all the attendant campaigning, colossal expense, economic uncertainty and governmental standstill that such insanity would bring about.

Good luck, everyone.

A Portuguese Laddie 664

Posted on January 23, 2019 by

Last month the Tory government published its white paper on EU migration post-Brexit. As a result, I spent my day arguing positively for immigration on social media, sharing fact-based articles showing that EU migration has had a very positive impact on the UK’s economy in the last decade.

However, one of my tweets was particularly popular, in which I specifically mentioned my personal experience with Scottish attitudes towards immigration.

Twitter is meant to be short and fleeting, leaving little room for telling long, nuanced stories. But the story behind this tweet is one I find worth telling, and I think it reflects incredibly well on the fact that there’s a bright, open future ahead of Scotland. I hope you find what follows to be worthwhile.

Read the rest of this entry →

Today in Brexit 215

Posted on January 23, 2019 by

Then:

And now:

The Prisoners 350

Posted on January 18, 2019 by

You wouldn’t know it to watch the black-hole-scale mess our politicians are making of it, but the thing about Brexit is that it ISN’T an insoluble problem. That two of the supposed “partners” in the United Kingdom are being forced out of the EU against the will of their people is a political choice, not a necessity.

There are numerous perfectly viable ways to practically address the fact that Scotland and Northern Ireland voted Remain while Wales and England voted Leave, none of which are especially outlandish.

Last July this site put forward an idea that respects the referendum result in all four constituent nations and would have wide public support. Yesterday the Guardian published a variant on the concept with lots of strong technical detail. And earlier this week we suggested another approach which could break the current deadlock.

But the stupendously incompetent Tory executive running the government, and the equally useless notional Labour “opposition”, have both handcuffed themselves across the emergency exits, preventing any hope of escape from disaster as the country burns down around everyone’s ears.

We no longer have a union. We have a hostage situation.

Read the rest of this entry →

Out of the quagmire 887

Posted on January 14, 2019 by

UK politics is stuck fast in the mud, going nowhere, and the casualties are mounting. Whether on Brexit, independence or anything else, we’ve all become so dug-in to our positions that some people – naming no names – have forgotten where the battle lines are or what their political war was even about in the first place.

For 30 months now, the Yes movement has been trying to answer the question of how to get a second indyref. The SNP has a triple-locked democratic mandate based on Scotland being dragged out of the EU against the will of its people, but as strong a moral argument as that is it unfortunately runs straight into a brick wall of reality: the constitution is reserved to Westminster.

Equally we’re consumed by the ongoing Brexit trainwreck, which has no apparent escape route from a poisonous stalemate paralysing the UK’s politicians and leaving nobody in control as the country heads for some very hard buffers.

As the self-imposed Brexit deadline looms, Theresa May is running out of options. Her deal is a dead duck. When it inevitably fails, there are two possible scenarios: a second EU referendum of some sort (nobody can agree what the options would be), or a general election.

Neither the Tories nor Labour want another referendum because both parties want Brexit to happen, so another election is the more likely. But all the polls suggest it would deliver much the same hung parliament as we have now, solving nothing.

Last week, SNP MP Joanna Cherry QC gave a speech to a diverse pro-Europe group that includes former Green leader Caroline Lucas, pro-indy commentator Lesley Riddoch and Tory MP Dominic Grieve. And as she waxed lyrical, with a twinkle in her eye Cherry slipped in reference to a hitherto-undiscussed plan that offers an escape route for everyone.

Read the rest of this entry →

All change in Moray 655

Posted on January 10, 2019 by

Blimey, that was quick. This was Tory MP Douglas Ross yesterday:

Short version: “I don’t care what my constituents want, I will vote loyally for the party I was elected as a member of.”

And this is him today:

Never let it be said Wings readers don’t get things done.

Taking back control 155

Posted on January 04, 2019 by

We’ve got no words for this, so we’ll let it stand by itself.

Because 55% voted No. Welcome to Brexit.

The one we’ve waited for 481

Posted on January 01, 2019 by

The last two years, particularly 2018, have been a pretty miserable time in the annals of Scottish independence. Not because support has fallen – it hasn’t budged an inch, however much Unionists might try to desperately convince themselves otherwise – but because there hasn’t, in essence, been anything we could usefully do.

Faced with a brick wall of “now is not the time” intransigence from a UK government elected by England and determined to frustrate the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament, we could talk all we wanted but had no means to determine our own fate, locked in the boot of a car speeding towards a cliff edge with a lunatic at the wheel.

That age – and it’s felt like an age – is very nearly at an end.

It’s time to get ready.

Read the rest of this entry →

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,765 Posts, 1,218,889 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Anton Decadent on The Blackout: “There is a noxious web of influence across all avenues of power and influence, politics, academia, finance, media, NGO’s, the…May 31, 00:22
    • Mia on The Blackout: “Yes, sure thing, but who are they? They are not public figures. They are not ministers. They are not politicians.…May 30, 23:32
    • James on The Blackout: “Speak for yourself, sunshine. Still, at least if enough lemmings/lemons vote for them there wont be anyone transitioning on the…May 30, 23:24
    • James on What Anas Actually Said: “Tories on steroids? Fcuck that. Any ‘Scot’ that votes for Fish Face should immediately be sectioned and sent straight to…May 30, 22:56
    • McDuff on What Anas Actually Said: “Yeah stoop to what exactly??May 30, 22:18
    • sarah on The Blackout: “Rev, I have revised my suggestion made at 3.31. To make it more affordable, rather than send a leaflet with…May 30, 22:10
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Blackout: “Mike Benz (YouTube interview 3 days ago) gives astounding insights into the long ongoing subversion of governments and societies throughout…May 30, 22:04
    • Hatey McHateface on The Blackout: ““lords and masters” All very well, but what of our mistresses? What are our mistresses into?May 30, 22:04
    • Hatey McHateface on The Blackout: ““goitrous academics” Leaps out of the text, beats me why 🙂May 30, 22:01
    • Xaracen on What Anas Actually Said: ““Could you venture an opinion on whether, by the letter and spirit of Scotland’s real and ancient constitution, an Independent…May 30, 21:53
    • Lorn on The Blackout: “If you were told, twathater, that lots of our lords and masters are into prostitution, you would believe it because…May 30, 21:38
    • Hatey McHateface on What Anas Actually Said: “That’s fascinating stuff, Xaracen. Could you venture an opinion on whether, by the letter and spirit of Scotland’s real and…May 30, 21:07
    • Alf Baird on The Blackout: ““What is the link, if any, between the OCSR, LGBYS, the trustees, the COPFS, the alphabets, the civil service, the…May 30, 20:56
    • agent x on The Blackout: “The seven trustees are clearly shown on the website https://lgbtyouth.org.uk/our-people/ James Blair, Ian Rivers, Nic Mooney, Danielle Eadie, Dee Mackenzie,…May 30, 20:55
    • Xaracen on What Anas Actually Said: ““That is to say, asking the adult population of the country (ie all sovereign Scots) what they wanted?” Which ‘facts’…May 30, 20:12
    • Nae Need! on The Blackout: “Read this, if you have the time . . . by fuck, the Conservatives are up to their necks in…May 30, 19:41
    • Mia on The Blackout: “Who are these trustees of LGBTYS and why exactly should their reputations be shielded if they might have been knowingly…May 30, 19:23
    • Nae Need! on The Blackout: “Quite, Fearghas. We, the people, need always to be thinking about our children, and this government is certainly ONLY thinking…May 30, 19:20
    • Sally Hughes on The Blackout: “Very interesting… if in doubt redact everything. At some point when this charity first applied to Scot Gov and registered…May 30, 19:17
    • Nae Need! on The Blackout: “Aye, we really fkn don’t, there’s absolutely nae need for it.May 30, 19:15
    • Nae Need! on The Blackout: “I’m in, Sarah, if Stu wants to do it.May 30, 19:11
    • BLMac on The Blackout: “That level of obstruction leads to one very obvious conclusion. The paedophiles have not all been rounded up. Some of…May 30, 18:14
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Blackout: ““It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than…May 30, 18:12
    • twathater on The Blackout: “What is even more disturbing is that NOT ONE of the other political parties has uttered a stutter over the…May 30, 17:56
    • SilentMajority on The Blackout: “I guess it is fairly safe to assume that this story will not appear in any of the papers? Unbelievable.…May 30, 17:47
    • PhilM on The Blackout: “Can confirm.May 30, 17:41
    • Ian McCubbin on Tell Them You’re Frightened: “If the people of Larkhall and Stonehouse think electing a reform party MP is a good choice to spite the…May 30, 17:41
    • Molesworth on The Blackout: “Me too Mark. Many of my family and friends will be doing the same, despite some having reservations about Farage.May 30, 17:27
    • David on The Blackout: “Winnie Ewing famously won the Hamilton seat. I now hope Reform win in protest and give John Swinney bloody nose.…May 30, 17:23
    • David on The Blackout: “Send this into GB news. This should be all over the mainstream. Well done for your investigative journalism exposing the…May 30, 17:18
  • A tall tale



↑ Top