Y’know, maybe we were a little harsh on the lads at Holyrood Sources yesterday when we implied that a more direct and aggressive interviewing style might have cut through John Swinney and Kate Forbes’ pathetically feeble waffling evasion on the SNP’s lack of an independence strategy in their recent podcast.
But the closest thing (along with Colin Mackay at STV) that the Scottish media has left to a proper Rottweiler interviewer – Peter Adam Smith of ITV – had a shot at that five years ago and didn’t do any better.
Smith noted that even back in 2019 Nicola Sturgeon had been droning on about how Westminster’s refusal to grant a second indy referendum was “unsustainable” for two years already. But no matter how hard he pressed, Sturgeon just kept on glibly and smugly insisting that they’d concede.
“The UK government strategy is to say no. Do you have a way around it?”
“My strategy is to say yes.” [smirks]
Readers might be forgiven for wondering how long it’s going to take the SNP to accept that that “strategy” is a failure, if seven years and three First Ministers isn’t enough for them to have worked it out. But as long as the pathologically gullible keep voting for them anyway, we suppose they have no reason to.
On 15 October 2012, I signed the Edinburgh Agreement with David Cameron to secure the independence referendum of September 2014.
On the same day Peter Kellner of the polling company YouGov wrote one of his condescending commentaries from London dissing any hope for the Yes campaign.
Kellner’s view was almost universal, and not just among the London pack of journos and politicians. Most, if not all, of the Scottish media agreed with him.
However, by September 2014 things looked very different.
Those of you on Twitter will probably be aware of this already, but for the rest:
It should be a bit of a lark, although the retrospective part will probably be rather more fun than the looking-forward part. I don’t get out much, so if you want to come along and throw some rotten fruit and/or say hi, tickets are here.
In the dying days of World War 2, as Berlin crumbled to rubble under Russian bombs and rockets, the Nazis played a desperate last card in the shape of the Volkssturm, an ad hoc fighting force primarily comprised of old men, invalided veterans and those not deemed fit for normal military service. (As most of those were already dead.)
They were rounded up and sent off to the front (usually only a few hundred yards away) in their civilian clothes, armed with whatever odds and sods of weaponry could be scrabbled together – most commonly the one-shot Panzerfaust anti-tank grenade, as seen in the pic above – and invariably slaughtered in the streets by the disbelieving battalions of the Red Army, because it didn’t matter to Hitler whether they lived or died.
Wings Over Scotland is 12 years old today. And since absolutely nothing is happening in the world of Scottish independence – and hasn’t for, frankly, years – we thought we’d take you on a trip back to the day we were born, since when things DID change.
Remember when we had a leader who could get the UK government to do stuff it didn’t want to do, readers? AND actually increase support for independence? Good times.
PB on The Interests Of The Many: “I was very confused when, in 2022, the Scottish Government announced that there WOULD be a referendum, and even announced…” Jul 8, 23:42
George Ferguson on Search And Replace: “@Hatey McHateface Duty I have been doing my duty all of my life. Of course it’s people like me that…” Jul 8, 23:09
James on Search And Replace: “Snowflake Adrian threatening handbags at dawn. LOLZ Better get some of the hard stuff doon ee first, petal. Try a…” Jul 8, 23:04
Dick Wall on The Interests Of The Many: “alf, Here’s what I found was decolonisation online. Beyond political independence, decolonisation also involves undoing the cultural, social, and psychological…” Jul 8, 21:52
robertkknight on The Interests Of The Many: “I’d like to think so, but as will all forms of the press they are guided by sales. It’d be…” Jul 8, 21:49
sarah on The Interests Of The Many: “@ robertknight: yes, amazing that The National should publish such an honest appraisal of the SNP’s failings on independence. Is…” Jul 8, 21:28
agentx on The Interests Of The Many: “The Clacton by-election is a farce – yes maybe the SNP should be involved!” Jul 8, 21:21
Hatey McHateface on Search And Replace: “Ah, c’moan noo, Aidan. Weapons grade halitosis for certain.” Jul 8, 21:10
100%Yes on The Interests Of The Many: “John Swinney has been totally played by Nicola Sturgeon she left the scene with no Interest to return to Scotland.…” Jul 8, 21:02
Aidan on Search And Replace: “At the end of the day James, you’re just some sad little keyboard warrior getting a pathetic thrill by mouthing…” Jul 8, 21:01
Hatey McHateface on Search And Replace: “Aw, Wally, I can see you’re suffering. Hope it’s something that will involve root canal work. Hope you have to…” Jul 8, 20:56
100%Yes on The Interests Of The Many: “Some of us have been saying on here since 2015 about the SNP and Sturgeon its a pity most not…” Jul 8, 20:28
John McGregor on Search And Replace: “I hope wee Pete in his cushy jail cell write’s a book n sets out everything he’s got on (ex…” Jul 8, 19:55
James on Search And Replace: “What would YOU know aboot normal Scots, Prick? Warmongering unionist Tory. GTF.” Jul 8, 19:43
Hatey McHateface on Search And Replace: ““This is a Scots Indy site” No shit, Wally, here’s a haddie just for you. Why don’t you post something…” Jul 8, 19:31
Hatey McHateface on The Interests Of The Many: “They could dust off and re-use the policy statements, economic arguments, and timeline they presented to great popular acclaim in…” Jul 8, 19:27
Southernbystander on The Interests Of The Many: “This is actually a good idea. The media will be glad of anything that isn’t Farage or Binface.” Jul 8, 19:24
Hatey McHateface on Search And Replace: “Give over, Dan. Even schoolkids will know that it’s the 40 ton HGV’s doing 95% of the road damage. I…” Jul 8, 19:21
Dan on Search And Replace: “All good here Confused, thanks. Trust life is good for yourself tae. Aye, the trio of bawbags hard at it,…” Jul 8, 18:22
robertkknight on The Interests Of The Many: “Has The National finally realised that their meagre subscriptions/sales among the Wee Ginger Fud loyalists aren’t cutting it? Or has…” Jul 8, 18:21
James on Search And Replace: “Away and take a flying fuck to youself; this is a Scots Indy site and it’s you who is the…” Jul 8, 17:46
Aidan on Search And Replace: “If you don’t like it here James, you can always fuck off. It’s not like you add anything to any…” Jul 8, 17:14
James on Search And Replace: “Larry, Curly & Moe; all day, every day. *yawn*” Jul 8, 16:16
James Barr Gardner on The Interests Of The Many: “All this SNP information was on “SAGE” for the Police investigating a doddle to interrogate those who donated and those…” Jul 8, 16:15
sarah on The Interests Of The Many: “O/T: Clacton by-election. Surely this is a good opportunity for a Scottish independence candidate/party to stand? Their platform could be…” Jul 8, 15:29
lothianlad on The Interests Of The Many: “This is the scrutiny that is so needed. Well done Stu and your team. There is no doubt in my…” Jul 8, 14:44
MaryB on The Interests Of The Many: “Count Binface is really Jon Harvey, a Corpus Christie, Cambridge graduate.” Jul 8, 13:59
Hatey McHateface on The Interests Of The Many: “Football’s all very well, TURABDIN, and some people are enjoying Wimbledon, but the greatest televisual spectacle of the moment is…” Jul 8, 13:37
Hatey McHateface on Search And Replace: “At least nobody’s popped up to say there was a boy developed a car that ran entirely on water, but…” Jul 8, 13:33
TURABDIN on The Interests Of The Many: “OVERHEARD in a shop today. Old Man…….Trump just wants to set the world to right. Young Man…Yeah, but he should…” Jul 8, 13:05
