Ten years ago this month I was in a pub called The Porter in Bath with my girlfriend and her family, buying everyone whiskies and gabbling deliriously (I’d been up for over 40 hours at that point) about the significance of what had just happened.
Alex Salmond’s SNP had just broken the Scottish electoral system, winning an absolute majority of seats in a Parliament designed expressly to stop that from ever happening. A total of 72 pro-independence MSPs had been elected, and it was already clear that an independence referendum was going to happen despite the Labour Party’s best efforts. It was impossibly exciting.
This month I sat and watched 72 ostensibly pro-indy MSPs be elected again, but this time with my heart breaking, knowing that they would achieve nothing and indeed had no real intention to even try.
Because while pretty much every journalist, pundit and legal expert reporting the case agrees that the amendment made to the Section 11 order protecting the anonymity of the complainers in the Alex Salmond case is an important and significant one, it hasn’t impressed the only person whose opinion actually matters: Andy Wightwash.
Ridiculously, more than eight hours after voting closed in an all-electronic election in which “counting” should have taken a maximum of one second, and at 11.30pm, the SNP have released the results of this year’s NEC elections.
There are some big stories.
Alyn Smith is OUT as Policy Development Convener, replaced by Chris Hanlon.
The Herald has a story this morning about the Secretary of State for Scotland, a man who readers may recall promising that Scotland would benefit financially from the UK government’s £1.5bn bung to the DUP (which then didn’t happen), and threatening to resign over Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement (which he didn’t do, then denied ever saying), and promising to do everything he could to oppose a no-deal Brexit but then abstaining on a vote to rule it out (and refusing to resign despite being a government minister who had refused a government whip).
It really takes some going to stand out for especially terrible journalism in the Scottish press this week, given the vast acres of page-space that are still being devoted to truly abysmal, and borderline legally-actionable, barrel-scraping articles about the recent allegations made against Alex Salmond. So hats off to perhaps the only man who could possibly have achieved it.
Minceheid on Cowering From Destiny: “Mark, here’s an archived copy of that article: archive.is/I7Uhr” Sep 27, 04:31
James Barr Gardner on Cowering From Destiny: “1995 a wee bit before afore maist folk ?????” Sep 27, 02:36
Mark Beggan on Cowering From Destiny: “You have to pay to read it. Why don’t you just give us a summary.” Sep 26, 20:28
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: “An interesting article on what’s wrong with the left: https://unherd.com/2026/09/the-centre-lefts-slow-suicide/” Sep 26, 19:31
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: ““Saint Nicola now fled to London” Jeezo, Willie, but you need to get out more. It’s an hour or so…” Sep 26, 19:11
Mark Beggan on Cowering From Destiny: ““The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money” Margaret Thatcher.” Sep 26, 18:35
TURABDIN on Cowering From Destiny: “Mea culpa….the wrong Kennedy it would appear. It does however rest on the definition of socialism. «socialism is a noble…” Sep 26, 18:04
Mark Beggan on Cowering From Destiny: ““When they tore down the Berlin wall, what people went in which direction? Socialism is for morons.” Senator J Kennedy…” Sep 26, 16:49
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Cowering From Destiny: “Sorry. Forgot to add direct link to above-mentioned book: Ainmean Beanntan na h-Alba/ Scottish Hill Names: Meanings and Origins’ by…” Sep 26, 16:21
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Cowering From Destiny: “A couple of new books of Gaelic, Edinburgh, and Hillwalking interest: ‘A’ Ghàidhlig ann an Dùn Èideann tro na Linntean…” Sep 26, 16:01
James on Cowering From Destiny: “I often hear the question ‘was Surgeon a plant from the beginning, did they get something on her; or both’?…” Sep 26, 15:14
TURABDIN on Cowering From Destiny: “@Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh Tapadh leat!, i’ve experienced more nastiness in my life than most. It has made me, i conjecture, wise…” Sep 26, 14:25
Captain Caveman on Cowering From Destiny: “”i [sic] am not unwise as to ways of the world.” Well, I’ll be the judge of that, son. In…” Sep 26, 14:12
sam on Cowering From Destiny: “The funding model in Scottish universities is broke. Financially and structurally. The business model that relied on income from foreign…” Sep 26, 14:12
TURABDIN on Cowering From Destiny: “KENNEDY, the consummate coldwar fantasist who almost started a WW over Cuba and initiated the wars in Viet Nam, Laos…” Sep 26, 14:10
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Cowering From Destiny: “Hang on in there TURABDIN. Your experientially informed contributions are appreciated.” Sep 26, 14:10
Peter McAvoy on Cowering From Destiny: “Yet again the SNP government has failed Scotland BBC Scotland news website stated that Alexander Dennis did not meet the…” Sep 26, 14:09
Mark Beggan on Cowering From Destiny: “‘Socialism is the reason I believe in free speech. How else can you tell who the idiots are’ Senator J…” Sep 26, 13:49
TURABDIN on Cowering From Destiny: “@CAPTAIN CAVEMAN & HATEY. I come from a ethno cultural entity which lost its sovereignty some time ago. I know…” Sep 26, 13:47
Lorncal on Cowering From Destiny: “H McH: I respect your views, and everyone else’s, enough to actually read them. When have I ever said that…” Sep 26, 13:35
Willie on Cowering From Destiny: “The comment about convening a referendum on the wee pretend parliament very much reflects union fear about Scottish independence. We…” Sep 26, 13:04
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Cowering From Destiny: “Re Edinburgh University – a very engagingly readable autobiographical essay by Kevin MacNeill – ‘A Subject That Taught Me I…” Sep 26, 12:34
BH on Cowering From Destiny: “Look at Sweden’s death rate say 1950 to present. Pin a pandemic on it. Try next door with its rising…” Sep 26, 12:20
Northcode on Cowering From Destiny: “It’s worth remembering that Scottish universities have been international for decades. They actively recruit staff and students from all over…” Sep 26, 10:48
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: ““these so-called ‘elite’ universities are no longer Scottish in any meaningful sense” As that was my exact point, I don’t…” Sep 26, 10:19
Alf Baird on Cowering From Destiny: “““this once Scottish university” You are the ‘haver’ Hatey, Willie is right. With some 90% of its academic staff and…” Sep 26, 09:42
TURABDIN on Cowering From Destiny: “Ramsay Mac Donald in Socialism: critical and constructive, published in 1921, wrote: «The Anglification of Scotland has been proceeding apace…” Sep 26, 09:34
Northcode on Cowering From Destiny: ““… Indy isn’t gonna come from them sitting on their arses, holding out their hands, and saying “Gonna gie us…” Sep 26, 09:02
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: ““this once Scottish university” Havers, Willie. Even back in my day, Edinburgh was one of the two English unis in…” Sep 26, 09:00
Willie on Cowering From Destiny: “And meanwhile in Edinburgh where Edinburgh Univesity is culling some ninety arts and humanitues courses of which very very many…” Sep 26, 08:25
