Not done with celebrating defeat in an imaginary UDI yesterday, The National has gone with another big polling-based front cover today, and the party’s woke young stormtrooper drones are beside themselves with malignant glee.
The National runs headlines like this quite often.
The sort-of newspaper doesn’t actually have a sports section – it just publishes The Herald’s – but if it did you have to wonder what it would look like.
You’ve had a few pretty gruelling pieces to get through in the last week or so, readers, so here’s something a little more light-hearted.
It’s from an episode of Broadcasting Scotland on 27 November 2020, a month after we confirmed our big story about the SNP accounts and the missing fundraiser money. In it, snug-toed SNP MP Pete Wishart opines that there really is nothing to worry about, and we should all just put our trust in the party.
We’ll leave you to judge whose opinion stood the test of time.
The image below is a graph illustrating how many seats each party won in last week’s supposedly “proportional” Scottish Parliament election, compared to how many they would have won if the electoral system had been actually proportional.
The SNP and Greens are now over-represented by 37% and 50% respectively, while the Unionist parties are all under-represented compared to their vote share by (left to right) 26%, 19%, 20% and 23%.
The Additional Member System has failed very badly at its job, from either perspective. “Pro-indy” parties have 73 seats (57%) rather than the 52 seats that their 40.8% vote share should have earned, while Unionist parties have 56 seats (or 43%) when they should have 69 for their 56% of the vote.
(The other 4% of the vote was scattered among 24 other parties or independents, with 1.8% going to identifiably pro-independence candidates, increasing the total “pro-indy” vote to 42.6%, fully 10 points short of current polling for independence itself.)
It is, therefore, a little bit of a stretch – to put it mildly – to present the refusal of the UK government to grant a second independence referendum on the basis of the results as an outrage against “democracy”. Indeed, if any outrage against democracy has taken place, it happened last Thursday.
Specifically, of the Single Most Toe-Curlingly, Face-Palmingly Cretinous Thing Said In The 2026 Holyrood Election Campaign, And Possibly Any Election Ever, Prize.
We mean, wow. We could easily write a 1000-word article purely on the top 10 things that are fatuously, obviously idiotic about those three short sentences, and so could you. So imagine how embarrassed the poor Daily Record must be today.
Because the truth is that we should all be quietly sending BBC Scotland bouquets in appreciation for doing the independence movement a favour for once.
The Sunday National’s front page today elicited a sigh of “So what?” from most.
We’ve already GOT a “pro-indy” majority at Holyrood and have done for the last 10 years, for all it’s been worth. But to be fair there was a paragraph in the article that at least raised a quizzical eyebrow.
Chas on Before Action: “Absolute shite Alf…… as usual. I am amazed that all the faults, incompetence,sleekitness in Scotland are ALWAYS the fault of…” Aug 21, 13:02
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of Do-As-You-Please: “@Southernbystander Not the least of the terrible evils of DEI is the niggling doubt, every time one encounters a burocrat…” Aug 21, 12:59
Hatey McHateface on Before Action: “Naw, sarah, Alf is wrong. A simple majority of MSPs at HR passing a vote of No Confidence is all…” Aug 21, 12:36
100%Yes on Before Action: “Who are you calling the “establishment” if you mean the SNP or Scottish government then say it.” Aug 21, 12:32
Douglas on Before Action: “Excellent response to an apparently deaf, dumb and blind organization which, in my view, is shaming Scotland. A crowd funder…” Aug 21, 12:28
lothianlad on Before Action: “Thank you Stu for your persistance They know that the truth will expose their crimes fully. We know that sturgeon…” Aug 21, 12:28
Anne Cowling on Before Action: “A faint cry goes up from the constabulary, ‘why isn’t this working….?’ Send up the bat signal when you start…” Aug 21, 12:20
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of Do-As-You-Please: “There’s something about seeing multiple examples of Alf’s “former colonised peoples” hanging about on street corners, in pedestrian precincts, and…” Aug 21, 12:19
Campbell Clansman on Before Action: “Spend more money on lawyers, who’ll send another demand to the government, a demand that will again be ignored? A…” Aug 21, 12:13
sarah on Before Action: “You are correct, Alf. The Scottish establishment will always kowtow to Westminster until we manage to get out from under…” Aug 21, 12:10
Hatey McHateface on Before Action: “That’s certainly an innovative technique for dealing with those SNP luminaries who have gone on record to state they don’t…” Aug 21, 12:01
Captain Caveman on Before Action: “Brilliant, great news. If and when a fundraiser becomes necessary, I’ll be more than happy to chuck some quids into…” Aug 21, 11:58
Alf Baird on Before Action: ““In the name of justice, transparency and accountability, we will continue trying to expose what all of them are united…” Aug 21, 11:52
Nicky T Naquetti on Before Action: “Kick them in the nuts. Let’s see if they have any – or if they are simply neutered pets for…” Aug 21, 11:36
Just Asking on Before Action: “I have a question which perhaps one of your readers could answer. Suppose a large, household-name national charity launched an…” Aug 21, 11:36
Alf Baird on The Land Of Do-As-You-Please: ““Great Scot, it is embarrassing to be British!” Indeed it is, not least because many ‘peoples’ now understand that ‘to…” Aug 21, 11:36
Northcode on Before Action: “It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle… plus interest.” Aug 21, 11:35
Ronnie on Before Action: “Rev, when does the 3 month clock start ticking?” Aug 21, 11:34
Jay on Before Action: “Mark Beggan comment @ 9:32 maybe attempts to start in-fighting in this ‘thread’.. Mark, if the objective of Independence for…” Aug 21, 11:25
ALANM on Before Action: “The fact that money was solicited from and donated by individuals who were not party members is perhaps the most…” Aug 21, 11:13
Jay on Before Action: “Mr.n Beggan, do you want Independence for Scotland?” Aug 21, 11:08
Jay on Before Action: “Rev. Stu, it is good to see a worthy cause pursued in a determined fashion and I shall donate according…” Aug 21, 10:46
James Che on Before Action: “The people join forces in Ireland, and this is what Scotland needs to do.” Aug 21, 10:41
James Che on Before Action: “Well done Stu,” Aug 21, 10:39
Graham Macready on Before Action: “Where would we be without fearless campaigners like you – well done and don’t let it go. Although I am…” Aug 21, 10:34
Southernbystander on The Land Of Do-As-You-Please: “And you think all the finger-pointing at Arday was not a witch hunt, nor all the total condemnation of EDI…” Aug 21, 10:22
Mark Beggan on Before Action: “Especially when they were educated at the Mickey Mouse school for bigger kids.” Aug 21, 10:20
Andrew scott on Before Action: “The letter is concise and exactly to the point Brilliant Roll on the Action as plod will prevaricate again Ready…” Aug 21, 10:11
Les Halles on Before Action: “So, if the strategy of the SNP and by extension the Judiciary and Police Scotland provides a precedent, you could…” Aug 21, 10:07
Spartan 117 on Before Action: “Excellent news. Keep at it.” Aug 21, 10:06