Barely 18 months after this, here’s East Lothian Labour councillor Norman Hampshire (centre) and pals campaigning today with the aid of their new best friend.
As the story collapses and investigations begin into a cut-and-dried case of unlawful civil service interference in politics (and possibly worse), may they reap what they sow. If the current polls come true, never will a party’s fall have been more abject or more complete, nor its fate more richly deserved.
This is quite something. It took 15 hours into “MemoGate” before anyone got a Scottish Government representative on air – even though they’d found time to get quotes from Willie Rennie, who isn’t the leader of a Westminster party and whose party isn’t even involved in the story. When they did, here’s what happened.
Readers can form their own opinions about the interview. But at the very end of the piece the BBC’s James Cook says “this memo does exist”. It may do, but we’re not sure what his current grounds for that statement are.
To the best of our knowledge nobody is claiming to have seen it personally except the Telegraph. The Foreign Office have denied all knowledge of any memo, the Scotland Office apparently refuses to comment, and we have no idea who allegedly wrote it.
Cook has already made, then rowed back on, some rather questionable statements in the last 24 hours. Viewers may feel it might be better if he just stuck to the facts.
That clip (from just past midnight on the BBC News channel) isn’t a bad starting-point summary of last night’s extraordinary story, except by our count the Telegraph’s piece was fourth-hand rather than third-hand.
(First-hand would have been Nicola Sturgeon. Second-hand would have been the ambassador. Third-hand would have been the consul-general. The civil servant – who doubted the story him/herself – is fourth-hand.)
This is also a pretty good primer. Now let’s get to the fun stuff.
Sheesh. We pop out for a couple of hours to feed the Wings Emergency Kitten and we get back to find that it’s the UK press that’s barfed up hairballs all over its front pages.
And the contradictory cross-vortex coverlines aren’t even the mad bit.
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.
The Daily Record, still smarting from the humiliation of being forced to very quietly admit it told its readers a £20 billion lie about the Smith Commission late last year, has been in a demented overdrive trying to provoke Yes/SNP supporters this week.
It started on Tuesday with an echo of the paper’s infamous “Vow” cover, clearly aimed at winding up its detractors but which passed without much comment as social media users merely raised a brief weary eyebrow and got on with their day. But then the Record started turning up the volume.
Sometimes the UK media is so soul-crushingly moronic, readers, that it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning. Nevertheless, we’re pretty sure we haven’t nodded off and woken up in 2017, so today’s papers must be even more idiotic than usual.
Aidan on A Matter Of Declinature: “It’s an intemperate response Northcode, a childish response would be, for example, claiming you have won an argument you haven’t…” Jul 17, 06:13
Young Lochinvar on A Matter Of Declinature: “Powerful stuff. Quite illuminating that she calls him a “coward hiding behind Parliamentary Privilege” while she herself pays a lawyer…” Jul 17, 03:00
Cynicus on A Matter Of Declinature: ““her most evil act was stitching up Alex Salmond to hide the truth” about Murrell’s crimes.” Lying Nicola Sturgeon destroyed…” Jul 17, 01:07
Young Lochinvar on A Matter Of Declinature: “HMcH @ 6.03 Even by your standards “old boy” over in the Scotchland Office that is a particularly pointless, smug…” Jul 17, 01:01
Cynicus on A Matter Of Declinature: ““ Dug wi a bone…” ============== But NOT a Wee Ginger one” Jul 17, 00:40
James on A Matter Of Declinature: “Aw, Northy- dinna be too hard on Poor Adrian. He’s just trying to join in.” Jul 16, 22:33
James on A Matter Of Declinature: “Well said, Alf. Don’t let these plants grind you down. Their orders are divert, distract, and divide. All day, every…” Jul 16, 22:29
robertkknight on A Matter Of Declinature: “Certainly didn’t miss and hit the wall.” Jul 16, 22:24
Alf Baird on A Matter Of Declinature: ““So why don’t you fess up to what this means” It means the ‘union’ aw you folks keep floggin is…” Jul 16, 21:48
Northcode on A Matter Of Declinature: ““Right, well the fact that you can’t fucking read doesn’t stop you posting endless drivel hour after hour, day after…” Jul 16, 21:47
sarah on A Matter Of Declinature: “Thanks, Dan, for posting the link at 6.22 to David Davis in the Commons today calling Sturgeon a liar and…” Jul 16, 21:41
100%Yes on A Matter Of Declinature: “Comments are simply priceless, thank you all made me lol. Its only the start.” Jul 16, 21:33
Mark Beggan on A Matter Of Declinature: “Aberdeen university totally distancing themselves from the freak Herbert. Mr Heather Herbert is the pinnacle of Leftwing policy. The fruits…” Jul 16, 21:17
Southernbystander on A Matter Of Declinature: “Almost everyone is blaming the manager! But not because he is German. Football fans always blame the manager, for everything.…” Jul 16, 21:04
Aidan on A Matter Of Declinature: “Right, well the fact that you can’t fucking read doesn’t stop you posting endless drivel hour after hour, day after…” Jul 16, 21:02
Mark Beggan on A Matter Of Declinature: “Who’s been feeding the Leftys? They’ve all went Legal International all of a sudden. Criteria being recognised, Determination of the…” Jul 16, 20:45
Northcode on A Matter Of Declinature: ““In Robert Black’s essay, the following is all one paragraph.” Christ Almighty! Do I need to explain EVERYTHING to you…” Jul 16, 20:43
Aidan on A Matter Of Declinature: “Well DuckDuckGo AI is about as reliable as it sounds. “Scotland is recognized as meeting the criteria for Non-Self-Governing Territories…” Jul 16, 20:18
Red on A Matter Of Declinature: “I’m sure the United Nations will help us. They love white people.” Jul 16, 20:17
Aidan on A Matter Of Declinature: “In Robert Black’s essay, the following is all one paragraph: The numbering (by regnal year and chapter number in The…” Jul 16, 20:08
100%Yes on A Matter Of Declinature: “I put in “Scotland un c-24” duckduckgo.com AI stated Scotland is recognized as meeting the criteria for Non-Self-Governing Territories by…” Jul 16, 19:58
Northcode on A Matter Of Declinature: “I didn’t read your comment, AI Dan… your paragraphs are too long and I could tell just by the picture…” Jul 16, 19:42
Hatey McHateface on A Matter Of Declinature: “Fascinating stuff, Willie. Can we expect your justification for asserting that Epstein was above the law any time soon? Seriously,…” Jul 16, 19:37
Hatey McHateface on A Matter Of Declinature: “So why don’t you fess up to what this means, Alf? I’m guessing you’re pushing this line as you believe…” Jul 16, 19:31
Aidan on A Matter Of Declinature: “Does Robert Black say anywhere that the union is a constitutional impossibility and that therefore the acts of union are…” Jul 16, 19:30
Hatey McHateface on A Matter Of Declinature: “@Aidan You too have a problem. Your problem is that despite all the evidence to the contrary, you appear to…” Jul 16, 19:20
Aidan on A Matter Of Declinature: ““Dunlop is historically wrong, but ‘right’ within the UK’s legal system because the UK legal system defines its own truth.…” Jul 16, 19:13
Alf Baird on A Matter Of Declinature: “You are making things up, Aidan. Professor Black, “looking as a lawyer with fresh eyes” believes the UK ‘union’ to…” Jul 16, 19:05
Aidan on A Matter Of Declinature: “The problem is Northcode is that your lack of knowledge and analytical ability is combined with an absurd level of…” Jul 16, 18:58
