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The Hollow Heart 192

Posted on August 25, 2023 by

Yesterday we took an extensive tour of all the red flags in the SNP’s 2022 accounts, which show a party in very deep financial trouble. But there was one part we left out because it deserves a post of its own.

The picture above – which was posted by then-CEO Peter Murrell during last year’s SNP conference – is a revealing one in all kinds of ways.

It starkly exposes how a party chose to hold an event for around 800 members in a venue with a capacity of 15,000 and then went to a lot of effort to disguise how empty the space was, rather than, for example, just hiring somewhere of an appropriate size (and cost) in the first place.

(Look how far into the hall the stage has been placed, leaving half the arena vacant, to then be hidden behind a giant screen and curtains and banners in order to give a false impression of how full it is.)

But what’s more symbolic is that there are almost no people in it.

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Dead Cat Bouncing 58

Posted on August 24, 2023 by

We know the meanings of words are very flexible these days, especially in the SNP.

But this isn’t our understanding of the term “turning around”:

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The murmur of the cottonwood trees 89

Posted on July 20, 2023 by

Even not-very-alert readers will have noticed that we’re taking a little summer holiday in the complete absence of any political events. Rest assured that we’re using the time to patrol Bath diligently for bears. But we couldn’t help noticing this on Twitter today.

Someone tweeted it to show that as late as summer 2020 the SNP was still soliciting money for what it called its “ring fenced Independence Referendum Campaign Fund”.

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Ruined In A Day 219

Posted on July 03, 2023 by

Hannah Graf MBE (below, right, receiving the decoration from Prince William in 2019 for his “work updating LGBTQ policy in the British Army”) is a very strange fella.

And not just for the obvious reason.

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Fun with numbers 35

Posted on June 30, 2023 by

As a corollary to this piece from earlier today, here’s a nice simple picture.

Alert readers will already have spotted the problem with it.

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Fun with words 61

Posted on June 30, 2023 by

This is, strictly speaking, semantically, true:

It is, however, as the famous phrase goes, not the whole truth.

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The Queen Of All The Cretins 180

Posted on June 12, 2023 by

Nicola Sturgeon has not been charged with any crime. Yesterday she was arrested, questioned and released without charge pending further investigation. We do not even know which specific suspected crime or crimes she was questioned in connection with, so it is manifestly impossible to meaningfully speculate on her innocence or guilt (save of course for the fact that all are innocent in the eyes of the law until proven otherwise, something Sturgeon herself often appears to forget).

Nevertheless, in Scotland the Contempt Of Court Act 1981 applies from the moment a person is arrested, as the country’s most senior lawyer and its official prosecution service were both keen to remind people yesterday in the clearest possible terms, and it applies equally whether you’re asserting someone’s guilt or their innocence.

So you need to be a really extra-special class of boneheaded numbwit to do this:

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Running interference 64

Posted on May 17, 2023 by

Alert readers will have noticed some interesting stories recently.

The Scottish Sun’s scoop on Monday evening – a few hours after we tweeted information from a very well-informed source about the Crown Office’s continued attempts to obstruct Police Scotland’s investigation into the SNP’s finances – would have come as no great surprise to Wings readers already familiar with the way the unaccountable, unanswerable body operates.

But we’ve subsequently noticed a number of attempts by various people to muddy the story by talking about a “draft” warrant request, implying that there was no improper delay. So we checked up, and thought you might like to know how the process works.

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If you tolerate this 165

Posted on May 12, 2023 by

Below is a clip from last night’s ITV News West Country.

It really needs a wider audience.

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In Your Name 108

Posted on May 04, 2023 by

Alert Wings readers will have noticed recent press coverage of events surrounding North Lanarkshire Council, centred around a scandal of sexual harassment by former council leader Jordan Linden.

Here we present the full story, directly from one of the SNP councillors involved.

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Officially Missing You 419

Posted on April 25, 2023 by

Wings always likes to correct any inadvertent errors as quickly as possible, so we were pleased to hear from an alert reader with a correction to this morning’s article in which we claimed that “we’re supposed to be less than six months away from a second indyref, but [Humza Yousaf] hasn’t even admitted that that isn’t happening”.

Our reader informed us that they’d actually had some communication with the Scottish Government on that matter, which we’re happy to share with you.

As far as we’re aware this fact has never been formally stated publicly before for some reason. But just in case you were still holding out hopes, now you know.

And so far yet to go 199

Posted on April 18, 2023 by

Almost every day is now a new crisis for the SNP.

But it better get used to it.

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    • Ian Brotherhood on Signal and noise: “Sorry Sarah, didn’t see your reply until now. I suppose we could ask it about what it does know about…Mar 14, 23:42
    • Alf Baird on Signal and noise: “And with a decent franchise.Mar 14, 23:39
    • Anthem on Signal and noise: “GF. On the SNP, aye. On Independence naw. Events dear friend, Events.Mar 14, 22:11
    • Anthem on Signal and noise: “Sorry, but I think you are wrong. Scotland, as a nation, is older and has more independent history than England.…Mar 14, 21:44
    • Anthem on Signal and noise: “Yoon Scum. That’s your belief and you’re welcome to it. Almost 50% of the country don’t.Mar 14, 21:31
    • George Ferguson on Signal and noise: “@Sarah 6:47pm I know nobody wants to admit the ba is burst on Scottish Independence and the SNP.Mar 14, 20:11
    • sarah on Signal and noise: “This is extraordinary, IB. It comes across as rational, reasonable and informed – some MSP/MPs could do with Grok’s assistance.…Mar 14, 19:40
    • sarah on Signal and noise: “O/T and funny! Jim Sillars says that Sturgeon once said [in her usual charming and polite manner] to Margot Macdonald…Mar 14, 18:47
    • william campbell on Signal and noise: “It was pathetic to watch FM question time a couple of days ago. There she sat gurning behind Mr continuity…Mar 14, 18:46
    • Mia on The tint of rose: ““You’re (I feel deliberately now) misunderstanding Clause XXV” Now you are using the strategy of dishonesty to get around this,…Mar 14, 18:14
    • George Ferguson on Signal and noise: “After decades of Irish Republic strategy and many people dead. The Irish after all their Britnat hatred have handed over…Mar 14, 18:05
    • Xaracen on The tint of rose: “Aidan said; “@Xaracen – there is no distinction between constitutional law and domestic law, constitutional law is domestic law by…Mar 14, 16:40
    • George Ferguson on Signal and noise: “@Sarah 4:02pm Sure a 25% turnout but you can’t argue with the consistency of the SNP. Freebies that other people…Mar 14, 16:37
    • sarah on Signal and noise: “25% turnout. It’s not apathy, it is frustrated fury – a 75% vote for None of the Above.Mar 14, 16:02
    • Aidan on The tint of rose: “@Mia – again you’re (I feel deliberately now) misunderstanding Clause XXV. At the point at which the Treaty of Union…Mar 14, 15:57
    • George Ferguson on Signal and noise: “So my latest by election results are in, a wee council by election. An SNP win. Labour second and Reform…Mar 14, 15:32
    • Mia on The tint of rose: “@Aidan You said: “The treaty explicitly provides for the new parliament of Great Britain as the national legislative body” Nope.…Mar 14, 15:22
    • Young Lochinvar on Signal and noise: “Yes indeed. One to add to the risks section though; All the paid grifters who have made a cosy career…Mar 14, 15:19
    • Mia on The tint of rose: “@ Aidan You say: “It does not say anything about limiting the powers of the new parliament” And it does…Mar 14, 15:15
    • Mia on The tint of rose: “@ Aidan you say: It’s 180 degrees the other way” I disagree. It is as it is. You say: “The…Mar 14, 15:13
    • Mia on The tint of rose: “@ Aidan I have tried to reply to your comment several times now, but it comes back as being in…Mar 14, 15:06
    • Ian Brotherhood on Signal and noise: “Wow, yon ‘Grok’ is impressive. It answered this question in approximately 3 seconds. If you were a supporter of Scottish…Mar 14, 14:44
    • Aidan on The tint of rose: “No Mia, it’s 180 degrees the other way. The treaty required the two separate parliaments each to dispose of incompatible…Mar 14, 13:49
    • Mia on The tint of rose: ““If the authors of the ToU intended to impose that significant restriction, they would have done so explicitly” And they…Mar 14, 13:17
    • Young Lochinvar on Signal and noise: “Aha! Press reporting that SHE whose name shall not be uttered is still under investigation in Branchform. “Timing” again anyone?Mar 14, 13:09
    • Aidan on Signal and noise: “A combination of very little going on in the pro-Indy front, and the deluge of cranks and trolls who, like…Mar 14, 12:38
    • Aidan on The tint of rose: “@Mia – no it doesn’t stand to reason at all, that implication would have an enormous impact on future union…Mar 14, 12:31
    • Chas on Signal and noise: “Very few comments being posted on Wings nowadays. Even the nutters and cranks who posted umpteen times, every day, now…Mar 14, 11:36
    • agent x on Signal and noise: “I saw reports that Sturgeon had put her name forward for re-election in 2026. Was it published anywhere that she…Mar 14, 11:35
    • willie on Signal and noise: “So Swinney has had tea and biscuits with Eric Trump. Not bad for a man who only a few weeks…Mar 14, 11:25
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