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.
After Scotland’s rugby team sent proud Edward (Jones)’s army homeward with some well-skelped erses from Murrayfield yesterday, it seemed like an opportune moment to reflect on this from just 12 years ago.
Politics is still on hiatus after the dreadful events of Manchester, so we’ve taken the chance to go and enjoy the sudden summer weather while nothing was happening.
And today, as we (“Drove at a legal speed” – Ed) across the pretty hills overlooking Bath in an inexpensive convertible, a song came on the stereo that made us think of all the Unionist trolls who were still busily raging on Twitter – mainly about the SNP’s awful failure to light up every building in Scotland with the Union Jack in tribute to the dead (no, really), but also at the most recent data “proving” that independence would mean the country regressing to the Stone Age and whatnot.
So we thought we’d share it with you, because as well as having a jaunty tune it’s got a good attitude to adopt when they’re screaming and yelling themselves red, white and blue in the face about something or other, rather than wasting your time and mental equilibrium on being dragged into their fetid mind-swamp.
It works on any day, even if you’re not in a sports car.
This post is mostly here to give people somewhere to chat about the council election results as they come in. But this song, with a hat-tip to alert reader SparkleMonkey, is dedicated specifically and personally to the now-former Scottish Labour councillor (and one-time leader of Aberdeen City Council) Willie Young, who was ejected by the electorate earlier today.
Today is going to be a day of realignment in Scottish politics, in which the Tories will formally become the main opposition to the SNP. (Having already pipped Labour to second at Holyrood and having as many Westminster MPs as them.) Expect modest SNP gains and big Tory ones, both mainly from Labour, who have already lost overall control of Glasgow, their last stronghold.
Everything’s different after today, folks. Scotland’s choice will never have been more stark: extreme Tories in the UK for years and years to come, or self-governance. Let the chips fall where the people choose.
Geri on Pick Your Poison: “They’re read by the candidates throughout the count so they can all agree to discard them/proof they’re spoiled. It may…” May 7, 20:51
Bilbo on Pick Your Poison: “I don’t know if I have understood Grousebeater correctly but is he saying that we should be voting for SNP…” May 7, 20:33
Marie on Pick Your Poison: “If you’d read my original post you would know that I intend to vote on the list paper. That’s where…” May 7, 20:30
Bilbo on Pick Your Poison: “@ Cuphook 7 May, 2026 at 12:22 pm Of course for those that support Reform and have made up their…” May 7, 20:29
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Pick Your Poison: “One of you has a capital J, the other doesn’t.” May 7, 20:28
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Pick Your Poison: “Even if lots of idiots vote SNP 1+2 it won’t be because that mad wee chimp told them to.” May 7, 20:26
agentx on Pick Your Poison: “There is still time to go to vote.” May 7, 20:15
agentx on Pick Your Poison: “Absolute nonsense. Go back to sitting on your hands and see how much that does for you.” May 7, 20:11
Marie on Pick Your Poison: “agentx @7.10pm – The system is rigged. Candidates are bought. Candidates are captured. This isn’t the early 1900s. Our “elites”…” May 7, 19:50
george wood on Pick Your Poison: “Seems to have been a big green turnout in my ward in Edinburgh Central. Maybe somebody should have taken Stu…” May 7, 19:50
robertkknight on Pick Your Poison: “No idea. I exercised my civic duty and democratic right to vote in a manner whereby I declined to endorse…” May 7, 19:46
Campbell Clansman on Pick Your Poison: “Asking for evidence is so 1990s. Just yell “Yoon!” at anyone who disagrees with you. That is (sadly) the intellectual…” May 7, 19:39
Jay on Pick Your Poison: “With reference to comment from jay on 7 May 2026 at 12:41: I did not make that comment. Are there…” May 7, 19:26
agentx on Pick Your Poison: “Women fought for years to get the vote and you want to just “sit on your hands”!” May 7, 19:10
agentx on Pick Your Poison: “Is there any evidence anywhere that spoilt voting papers ever changed any Party policies whatsoever?” May 7, 18:49
George Ferguson on Pick Your Poison: “Hi Alf/ Dan Mathematics and Statistics tells me that not one of these minor parties will get elected.The only plausible…” May 7, 18:46
Potace on Pick Your Poison: “Didn’t vote. Just couldn’t be arsed and wasn’t giving that lot my vote. Fool me once…” May 7, 18:42
agentx on Pick Your Poison: ““Cuphook says: 7 May, 2026 at 11:16 am Today I’m staying at home.” —————————————- Polls are open till 22.00. There…” May 7, 18:41
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Pick Your Poison: “On the constituency ballot? Pretty much all you’ve got are the Tories and Reform.” May 7, 18:26
Dan on Pick Your Poison: “Aye, Alf, I found that quite bizarre. But again, it highlights Scotland’s hamstrung political predicament when even some of the…” May 7, 18:18
George Ferguson on Pick Your Poison: “@Hi Dan My brothers journey is a failure of the Political System in Scotland. This is the last free speech…” May 7, 18:04
Alf Baird on Pick Your Poison: “Grouse Beater’s List vote decision ignores the fact Ambassador Craig Murray is number 1 for ALLIANCE TO LIBERATE SCOTLAND on…” May 7, 17:49
Dan on Pick Your Poison: “Cuphook says: “You seriously think any politician appreciates the nobility of your spoilt ballot?” And you clearly choose to focus…” May 7, 17:42
Geri on Pick Your Poison: “Wrong AI DAN. They intervened because R speaking regions were being ethnically cleansed. That’s what the Minsk agreements were about…” May 7, 17:25
Dan on Pick Your Poison: “George, your brother’s journey of vote choices is jist a product of the political paradigm Scotland endures within the Union.…” May 7, 17:11
Aidan on Pick Your Poison: “There is no “moral duty” in international law to launch a totally and completely unprovoked invasion of a neighbouring country…” May 7, 16:57
Mark Beggan on Pick Your Poison: “Geri you know that’s not true. No one spends as much time as you do ranting on here just to…” May 7, 16:56
Mark Beggan on Pick Your Poison: “For a complete slabbering idiot with a ridiculous name you certainly have a lot of demands. I bet you rant…” May 7, 16:53
Geri on Pick Your Poison: “It’ll be cause they’ll know they could be on the ropes so want backup of getting in on the list.…” May 7, 16:52
agentx on The value bet: “Just been to vote – the ballot boxes were quite full when I was putting my voting papers in. This…” May 7, 16:39
