Anyone who’s followed the UK political media over the last decade or so with specific reference to Scotland will know that in a very crowded field, the standout poster boy for arrogant, condescending metropolitan cluelessness is the Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul.
For reasons which escape us, Rentoul – who was born in India and as far as we know has spent not a single day of his life resident in Scotland – identifies as Scottish. And yet he doesn’t appear to even recognise the concept of Scotland as a political entity, and today he demonstrated that fact in a manner so stark and striking that it’s worth recording for posterity.
It really is quite the remarkable feat of timing that concerted mass reporting by SNP activists managed to get the Wings Twitter account (and several others) closed down this week of all weeks, isn’t it?
They’re also trying to get my personal account banned, and reporting scores of others, in an open attempt to purge any sort of dissenting opinions from public dialogue at exactly the same time as opening a “consultation” whose outcome has already been predetermined, and which in another remarkable coincidence is due to close just a few days into the four weeks scheduled for the Alex Salmond trial.
One week out from a general election, the SNP are busy purging the “problematic”, as seen in this footage captured by a terrified bystander tonight somewhere in Fife.
The latest victim of the Waffen YSI, the party’s ultra-pious “woke” youth battalion, is Denise Findlay, a recently-elected member of the party’s Conduct Committee. She was targeted because she’s a gender-critical feminist opposed to the transgender cult which exerts a wildly disproportionate influence in the SNP upper echelons, supported enthusiastically by the First Minister.
She follows on the heels of Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath candidate Neale Hanvey, who last week was suspended from the party – without even a hearing – on a ludicrously trumped-up charge of “anti-Semitism” dredged up by SNP woke youth, namely that three-and-a-half years ago he shared an article (written by someone else) about billionaire financier George Soros and money-laundering, which at no point mentioned either Israel or Jewish people, even obliquely.
Hanvey, like Findlay, was brought down not by political opponents or the media but by members of his own party, as punishment for signing the SNP Women’s Pledge.
You probably haven’t heard of me. I’m a notoriously “vile” political blogger who’s said a few pretty mean things on social media about politicians in the last eight years. But perhaps that’s partly because I’m a grumpy old white guy who hasn’t had the benefit of your commendable programme aimed at “building the fairer, kinder & more tolerant world the late Jo Cox MP believed in”.
It’s a long time, apparently. Because while a general election on 12 December would be a “barking mad” idea according to the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford on Thursday, having one on 9 December instead is genius.
So in a month in which this site has been extensively screamed at by SNP diehards as the work of a “traitor” and an “MI5 plant” for suggesting that maybe the SNP could vote with the Tories (or perhaps just abstain) to let Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal go through in exchange for a second indyref, the official SNP plan is to now vote with the Tories to give them the election Boris Johnson has been trying to call for weeks – which all polls suggest he’d win, allowing him to enact any sort of Brexit he wants – but to cleverly NOT get a second indyref out of it.
Remember this guy? Go on, give it a minute, it’ll come to you.
He popped up today to chuck in his tuppence-worth about inflammatory language in politics, and how – like everything else bad – it all started with vile cybernats in 2014 (because as you’ll of course remember, it was Yes supporters who never shut up about “surrendering”) and has now sullied even the dignified halls of Westminster.
“Flounders” might have been a more appropriate animal.
It’s painfully entertaining viewing, but Gordon Brewer’s persistence pays off right at the end as we finally discover that Scottish Labour’s answer is “No – even if a clear majority of Scottish people vote for parties explicitly calling for a second independence referendum, and return a majority of pro-indy MSPs to Parliament, we will not consider that sufficient support.”
Which would mean there was no democratic route left open to Scotland to achieve independence. So what is it that he suggests we do?
Yeah, we know, that could be a really long article. But we have a specific thing in mind.
Over the last few days, Jo Swinson and Willie Rennie have both endured toe-curling interviews trying to defend the comically-indefensible hypocrisy of the party’s positions on Brexit and independence.
(If you haven’t been following, official policy now is that a Lib Dem election win is a clear and unimpeachable mandate to carry out their manifesto promises, but an SNP election win isn’t a mandate to carry out theirs.)
But it’s not the mere crass, transparent hypocrisy that makes them stupid.
Hatey McHateface on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “RESPECT! Might I just add that if this is stalled, the next step should be to organise a campaign in…” Sep 14, 14:30
am firinn on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Exactly, Sarah. We can hardly be expected to clean up these Augean stables with a brush on loan from Westminster,…” Sep 14, 14:22
Andy Wiltshire on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Anonymous again. Maybe they’re starting to sweat.” Sep 14, 14:13
100%Yes on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Lets see what action the Police takes now and what her lawyer has to say.” Sep 14, 14:04
Mark Beggan on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Make Scotland Normal Again. Believe in your country. Never trust a hippy.” Sep 14, 13:37
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “And let’s not miss the above article’s last line link (“not fit for independence”) to KEVIN MCKENNA’s welcomely punchy piece:…” Sep 14, 13:31
Confused on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “google for “is there such a thing as a power of citizen’s arrest under Scots law” – quite interesting. Would…” Sep 14, 13:05
MP on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Sturgeon said, “nothing that belongs to me should be part of that”. Maybe she will say that the stuff Pete…” Sep 14, 12:48
sarah on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Well done, Rev, for pursuing this matter. Our public “services” really must be brought back to their duty. However, I…” Sep 14, 12:47
duncanio on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Well done. I can’t help wondering what services you have to render, and to whom, in order to be exempt…” Sep 14, 12:18
Hatey McHateface on A Long Hard Think: “Why do you think that post-Independence, Morningside and Craigmillar, Barnton and Leith, or Hillhead and Easterhoose, will NOT vote quite…” Sep 14, 12:16
Hatey McHateface on A Long Hard Think: “@Alf Baird says: 14 September, 2026 at 11:00 am A heck of a lot of your posts these days could…” Sep 14, 12:06
Alf Baird on A Long Hard Think: ““That doesn’t sound like the Scotland that i live in.” Mebbe depends on whaur ye bide yersel, an whaur ye…” Sep 14, 11:57
Alf Baird on A Long Hard Think: ““What does Cesaire say about Muslim colonization or Communist or Dynasty takeovers.” Not a lot aboot the former. The Communist…” Sep 14, 11:00
Southernbystander on A Long Hard Think: “Caveman you read my post but ignored the bit about ‘fascism’ so you could show-horn in your attack on ‘woke’,…” Sep 14, 10:43
Hatey McHateface on A Long Hard Think: “I was a Trump fan, MH. He did some good things in his first year, including getting the hostages out…” Sep 14, 09:57
Minceheid on A Long Hard Think: “Hatey McHateface says: 14 September, 2026 at 8:38 am Trump’s approval no longer what many (including myself) thought it was.…” Sep 14, 08:58
Hatey McHateface on A Long Hard Think: “All very well, Northy, but let’s sort G@za first. Indy can wait. But to be serious for a mo. Excellent,…” Sep 14, 08:50
Hatey McHateface on A Long Hard Think: “Trump’s approval no longer what many (including myself) thought it was. If they give him an atlas and a marker…” Sep 14, 08:38
Rev. Stuart Campbell on A Long Hard Think: “Done, and if there’s any more of it there’ll be a visit to the pre-mod queue.” Sep 14, 08:24
Alf Baird on A Long Hard Think: ““Great Britain was the greatest colonial power the world had ever seen. They sowed the seeds of their own destruction.”…” Sep 14, 08:08
Oneliner on A Long Hard Think: “He plays them on an (of)Fender Rhodes” Sep 14, 07:49
Captain Caveman on A Long Hard Think: ““When the right start claiming anything they see as left is ‘communist’ you know they have lost the plot and…” Sep 13, 22:55
Captain Caveman on A Long Hard Think: ““3 against 1 again” Ah, your counting skills just as woeful as your debating skills I see, Alf. Anyway, it’s…” Sep 13, 22:46
Southernbystander on A Long Hard Think: “When the right start claiming anything they see as left is ‘communist’ you know they have lost the plot and…” Sep 13, 22:18
Mark Beggan on A Long Hard Think: “What does Cesaire say about Muslim colonization or Communist or Dynasty takeovers. Is that a separate study? Be honest, you…” Sep 13, 21:43
Northcode on A Long Hard Think: “I thought it might be helpful to offer a clarification of what I meant in my earlier comment where I…” Sep 13, 21:25
