We’ve had to illustrate this piece with a tweet from our old chum Duncan Hothersall, because at the time of writing the Scottish Labour account on Twitter has no mention of Labour’s “five point plan”, and nor does the branch office’s website.
And the reason for the absence of any more information is probably that the “plan” is another example of a Labour policy that looks like a tasty boiled egg until you crack its shell and discover that there’s nothing inside.
Here’s Ed Miliband, giving a speech this morning to literally at least 20 Labour MPs, Labour MSPs, journalists and possibly a stray member of the public who accidentally walked through the wrong door in Clydebank, a place where Labour leaders used to address gatherings of thousands.
Unusually, Miliband took a few questions from the hacks, all of whom promptly wasted the opportunity by lobbing completely pointless softballs about coalitions and deals, all of which (a) have been asked a hundred times already, (b) were rendered moot by Alex Salmond on the Marr show yesterday, and (c) were only ever going to be batted away non-committally.
So here’s an actually worthwhile one they can ask instead next time.
With apologies to Jason Donovan, we felt we should probably have a look at the latest election leaflet Scottish Labour are putting through people’s doors.
Yesterday we noted that nothing had yet been heard from Scottish Labour’s policy review into universal services, launched amid much hoopla in September 2012 off the back of Johann Lamont’s infamous “something for nothing” speech.
The party has spent much of its time since then attacking the SNP over social justice, claiming that universal benefits are a middle-class subsidy, hurting the poor by spending money on giving the well-off free stuff they could afford to pay for.
Those two years have come and gone, and nearly six months more, and there’s been no sign of a single report from the commission. And it turns out there never will be.
Alert readers should by now have spotted our story about the findings of the Independent Press Standards Organisation with regard to the Daily Record’s “The Vow Delivered” front page from last November. The paper was found by IPSO to have been guilty of “significantly misrepresent[ing] the fiscal consequences of the Smith Commission’s recommendations”, and ordered to publish a correction.
IPSO also noted in its judgement that the Record had amended the online version of the article accordingly. But that’s only partly true.
A number of readers last night sent us copies of the response to complaints they’d made to the Independent Press Standards Organisation about the Daily Record’s infamous “The Vow” front cover. We attach the full judgement at the bottom of this article, and as far as we’re concerned it’s fair and accurate. The Vow was a deliberate deception, but it didn’t break any rules – it merely relied on readers misinterpreting it.
The bit we’re still interested in is the paragraph above.
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “The late, great poet, Alasdair Maclean, wrote that a living culture breathes the pure, fresh air of the landscape that…” Jun 15, 08:53
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “I find consideration of reciprocity interesting. For example, what are the chances of a white Christian becoming president of Pakistan?…” Jun 15, 08:37
Spartan 117 on Response Level Upgrade: “I’m afraid “culture” extends far beyond football shirts, bagpipes, kilts, getting pished En Masse and making an almighty arse of…” Jun 15, 08:20
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “A trifle harsh, Spartan 117. After all, they are in the USA. That bigly, beautiful plastic shrine to keech created…” Jun 15, 08:11
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “That’s an excellent question, Ex President Xiden. Just yesterday, I was reading an online article about the proposed social media…” Jun 15, 08:01
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: ““Never sure why you communicate in just the very occasional Scots word” Because to communicate in all Scots would be…” Jun 15, 07:30
WhoRattledYourCage on Response Level Upgrade: “Never sure why you communicate in just the very occasional Scots word, Alf. I connect that to middle class dolts.…” Jun 14, 23:46
Ex President Xiden on Response Level Upgrade: “I agree with everything you have said. I would also ask the respondents if they think killing children by the…” Jun 14, 23:44
WhoRattledYourCage on Response Level Upgrade: “Anytime the trayslapping cunts want to stop colonising themselves with alcohol and stupidity, I might start taking them seriously. Pack…” Jun 14, 23:40
Alf Baird on Response Level Upgrade: “The World Cup demonstrates that the Scots are indeed ‘a people’ with the right to self-determination and decolonisation, i.e. to…” Jun 14, 23:37
Spartan 117 on Response Level Upgrade: “Indeed. One concurs. I’m not sure what I cringe more at, the plastic kilted Bravehearts with the bagpipes advertising to…” Jun 14, 23:10
WhoRattledYourCage on Response Level Upgrade: “Fuck the World Cup. Abject idiocy by morons, for morons. https://whorattledyourcage.blogspot.com/2026/06/state-of-pity-party.html” Jun 14, 22:37
Southernbystander on Response Level Upgrade: “It is an interesting question with no easy answers as all simple solutions start to fall apart once you ask…” Jun 14, 20:46
Dan on Response Level Upgrade: “Robert Hughes comment btl on the Grousebeater article articulates well my thoughts. One could easily piece together a narrative and…” Jun 14, 20:34
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Response Level Upgrade: “The grave issue raised here is way beyond any mundane account of high-profile independence proponents not getting on with each…” Jun 14, 20:10
sam on Response Level Upgrade: “Well said, Dan. Let’s look at how little Ireland fares against the might of the UK as an example of…” Jun 14, 20:03
Dan on Response Level Upgrade: “Well of course folk would think that if you listened to and gave any credence to Unionist and Devolutionist Scot’s…” Jun 14, 19:21
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “It’s a straw man right enough. By remaining dogmatically determined that Scotland’s place is as an unimportant Brussels-administered colony on…” Jun 14, 19:19
BigJay on Response Level Upgrade: “Usually, I can’t stand Euan McColm’s writings in the Scotsman. However, today he has written a decent article about how…” Jun 14, 19:07
twathater on Response Level Upgrade: ““an independent, free, prosperous and peaceful Scotland remains out of reach.” Because accepting and embracing the denigration and derision handed…” Jun 14, 18:00
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “It’s all so simplistic it reduces the topic to a joke. Far better to ask the respondents if they think…” Jun 14, 17:52
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “Scots, Irish, Basque, Sami, Roma. But not the Jews, obvs. To your typical Scots semi-professional victim, keening by the fire,…” Jun 14, 17:40
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “Confused and his Spanish galleons always raises a smile. The good people of the Americas; Aztecs, Maya, etc. begged the…” Jun 14, 17:32
Hatey McHateface on Response Level Upgrade: “Truths stick in the memory. Turds stick in the U bend. Anybody ken hoo mony short planks equals a Du…” Jun 14, 17:14
Northcode on Response Level Upgrade: ““Edward Said, however, confirmed that colonialism had already been long since directed at European races…” Thanks for that clarification. You…” Jun 14, 17:13
Dan on Response Level Upgrade: “It’s all gone a bit Pete Tong hasn’t it… I was just looking at the “Voices for Independence” feed and…” Jun 14, 17:09
Mark Beggan on Response Level Upgrade: “It started badly, it tailed off a little in the middle and the less said about the end the better,…” Jun 14, 15:43
Alf Baird on Response Level Upgrade: ““With colonialism the victims were non-Europeans, but with fascism Europeans became the victims.” Crevel’s ‘Murderous Humanitarianism’ (1932) attacked colonialism, capitalism,…” Jun 14, 15:22
Mark Beggan on Response Level Upgrade: “Nine out of ten cats said they prefer kittekat.” Jun 14, 15:19
