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.
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Wheesht, Northy, you’re spoiling things for a lot of people.” Oct 4, 15:03
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “More than harsh to pick out Northy for not providing evidence when hardly anybody else does. If BTL was moderated,…” Oct 4, 15:00
Northcode on The Love Of Big Brother: “I don’t think Murray’s CrowdJustice funds were seized – they were, however, temporarily frozen due to some procedural uncertainty. They…” Oct 4, 14:58
sarah on The Love Of Big Brother: “Thanks, sam. We need some good news. I was reading some of the tribunal action the other day (can’t remember…” Oct 4, 14:52
sam on The Love Of Big Brother: “Sarah: “Will Sandie Peggie win her tribunal case against the RCN? I’m not holding my breath.” I’ve been following the…” Oct 4, 14:26
PhilM on The Love Of Big Brother: “Like most online commentators these days you’ve provided a list of assertions without any examples to back up what you…” Oct 4, 14:15
agentx on The Love Of Big Brother: “The UK Labour government is restricting the practice of fire and rehire through the Employment Rights Act 2025, which makes…” Oct 4, 14:14
Northcode on The Love Of Big Brother: “I suspect you’re right, Hatey – few, if any, are listening. However, It’s good to know that you are listening…” Oct 4, 13:57
sarah on The Love Of Big Brother: “O/T: Rev’s crowdfunder has reached the £30,000 target in less than 3 days. The new target is £400,000. This is…” Oct 4, 13:56
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “I’m astonished that as far as I am aware, nobody BTL has yet commented on this story: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/04/glasgow-council-workers-face-pay-cuts-in-fire-and-rehire-plan-after-union-talks-break-down” Oct 4, 13:40
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “I never got further than this: “Declaration of interests Public Health Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government. The studies…” Oct 4, 13:28
Hatey Mchateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Sorry, Northy, but I don’t think anybody is listening 🙂 I rely totally on my inalienable rights as a Sovereign…” Oct 4, 13:15
willie on In The Eyes Of The Law: “At 12.30 lunchtime today after two days the appeal has broken £30,000. Great, great stuff folks, lets keep it up.…” Oct 4, 13:09
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “Bilbo, I was not talking of using the SNP votes or any others politicians votes for that matter, I was…” Oct 4, 13:02
sam on The Love Of Big Brother: “There is some research on the effect of the minimum pricing of alcohol. Scotland’s minimum pricing policy was supported across…” Oct 4, 13:01
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “That one article in the treaty of union covers many topics with regards to the private rights of Scots within…” Oct 4, 12:47
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “Taxes, Is that for the evident utility of the Subjects living within Scotland and private financial rights if we do…” Oct 4, 12:43
Northcode on The Love Of Big Brother: “The Treaty of Union is still extant only in the form of the Acts of Union 1706–1707, which remain part…” Oct 4, 12:43
Bilbo on The Love Of Big Brother: “The idea that these sort of policies are going to make the SNP unelecteable IMHO, doesn’t ring true. These types…” Oct 4, 12:26
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “Willie, The governance who sell Scotland could be made obsolete by using the treaty of union article on private rights.…” Oct 4, 12:25
Bilbo on The Love Of Big Brother: “As to the supermarket ban, wouldn’t it be better for the Scottish Government to use resources to teach people how…” Oct 4, 12:13
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “That Barrhead boy is how Scots come together without violence, because it is legally part of the treaty of union…” Oct 4, 12:10
Bilbo on The Love Of Big Brother: “The thing I find funny about the sin taxes on alcohol is when they try to justify it for health…” Oct 4, 12:07
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “The people in Scotland could organise a vote system on many topics in Scotland for just the people in Scotland…” Oct 4, 12:05
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Cutting heroin with oatmeal is allegedly healthier for the users than some of the other stuff suppliers cut it with.…” Oct 4, 12:04
willie on The Love Of Big Brother: “Undernoted an article that reflects just how our government agencies are seeking to restrict rights of access to our natural…” Oct 4, 11:53
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “The problem for the Westminster parliament and the parliament of Great Britain is that it can not place a later…” Oct 4, 11:46
David G on The Love Of Big Brother: “Porridge is like oatmeal in Americanese, right? Oatmeal is really good for you. Not heroin-good, but pretty healthful” Oct 4, 11:34
James Che on The Love Of Big Brother: “I have argued for non- treaty of union, but if is insisted on as being a reality by Westminster and…” Oct 4, 11:29
