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.
robertkknight on Anything But That: “I wouldn’t restrict such an astute observation to today…” Sep 5, 20:05
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Your posts here today have been appalling. Grow up.” Sep 5, 19:46
factchecker on Anything But That: “Alas, there are no facts here to check, merely your incomprehensible meanderings around historical events using terms like ‘sine die’…” Sep 5, 19:44
James Che on Anything But That: “Mark, Its a same when politicians cant convince the electors and have to resort to violence to get their own…” Sep 5, 19:10
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “I would like yo start a crowdfunder to get James Che laid. The only condition is that he can only…” Sep 5, 18:55
robertkknight on Anything But That: “Praying that Reform win a huge majority of seats in England and damn all in Scotland. That’ll learn the ‘proud…” Sep 5, 18:42
James Che on Anything But That: “These are the reasons that Stu has difficulty holding anyone to account like the SNP under the Crown of Westminsters…” Sep 5, 18:35
Aidan on Anything But That: ““Whatever you do, do not talk about the Status of the treaty of union between Scotland and England as Unionist…” Sep 5, 18:34
James Che on Anything But That: “Factchecker. You may also need to check some other facts such as , 1: the old parliament of Scotland was…” Sep 5, 18:28
Aidan on Anything But That: “Nobody is asking the courts to “create sovereignties” because that phrase has no meaning in the English language. However, what…” Sep 5, 18:16
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Polish police now allowed to shoot illegal immigrants and the AFD set to gain power. That’s going to take more…” Sep 5, 18:15
James Che on Anything But That: “Factchecker, Scotland would have to pay the rUK billions. How did you work that one out, Scotland has never entered…” Sep 5, 18:03
James Che on Anything But That: “Whatever you do, do not talk about the Status of the treaty of union between Scotland and England as Unionist…” Sep 5, 17:48
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: ““Con-artist” perhaps?” Sep 5, 17:28
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “There go’s the holidays in Spain.” Sep 5, 16:25
Confused on Anything But That: “I bet Simon Weston is happy that the penguins remained British, by God. https://archive.ph/61CcA a fascinating tale, full of spicy…” Sep 5, 16:24
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: ““including prominent politicians” I need to sit down for this! Eh! Duh! Who? name names.” Sep 5, 16:23
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “If they get arrested they can just say ‘I’m with Stop Oil’ and the police will help them put up…” Sep 5, 16:07
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “If we make the same assumption the elites will make, that each of the 3000 of the “correctly opinioned” deserves…” Sep 5, 16:07
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “My mask self-identifies as a letterbox. Works fine in Scotland, not so good across the border.” Sep 5, 15:59
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: ““If the negotiators and parliaments lacked the authority to alienate Scottish sovereignty” Wow! Just look at all the heavy lifting…” Sep 5, 15:56
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Patrick Grady seen at Holyrood but an official SNP statement said that no one spoke to him. His best chum…” Sep 5, 15:52
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “With Nicky No Comment on board how could you possibly lose?” Sep 5, 15:48
Minceheid on Anything But That: “agentx says: 5 September, 2026 at 2:30 pm “Dover protest ‘disgraceful’, says Jenrick It’s a little rich of Jenrick to…” Sep 5, 15:45
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “You’re gonna need a bigger campervan!” Sep 5, 15:45
agentx on Anything But That: “Apparently over 3000 have signed it now.” Sep 5, 15:35
agentx on Anything But That: “The Open Letter: More than 3,000 people—including prominent politicians, trade union leaders, and artists like Nicola Sturgeon and Hannah Lavery—signed…” Sep 5, 15:19
Grendel on Anything But That: “It was at the point where the rising rape statistics in Glasgow were being blamed on free bus travel for…” Sep 5, 15:18
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “MB having an Ezekiel 23:19-20 moment all to himself there..” Sep 5, 15:17
TURABDIN on Anything But That: “King America, the immature, paranoid & seriously deep in debt boss of «the west» https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16106615/ANDREW-NEIL-25-years-911-America-terror-war.html#newcomment” Sep 5, 15:07
