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.
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “NHS SQUANDERING MILLIONS ON SEX-SWAP SURGERIES NHS England has spent over £5 million this past year on mastectomies for gender-confused…” Nov 6, 00:00
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “There’s plenty of speculation that Harris intends to stand for nomination as presidential candidate for 2028. So if you’re opening…” Nov 5, 23:49
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Sarah the colonizer portrays its self to be a pillar of law and order, the people of these Island know…” Nov 5, 23:47
Frank Gillougley on Vibecoding A Better World: “Meanwhile in news elsewhere, a fifteen thousand pound ‘pay rise’ for holyrood committee conveners (to chair a meeting of useless…” Nov 5, 23:02
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Scottish bank notes? Most Londoners won’t touch the things.” Nov 5, 22:24
sarah on Vibecoding A Better World: “Further dubious shenanigans against Craig Murray. He is staying in London in order to attend the Supreme court hearings about…” Nov 5, 21:46
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Well done Professor Alf Baird joined by Editor Laura Webster, Robin McAlpine was a complete waste of time and came…” Nov 5, 21:23
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Listened to the news today, sam? UK economy mysteriously doing better than many in the EU, especially France. Best not…” Nov 5, 20:27
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “Yes look at this whole slavery reparations debate. All completely made in Beijing,” Nov 5, 19:47
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “For once Sarah is right – it is ridiculously and obviously illegal for a crowdfunding website to simply seize donations,…” Nov 5, 19:38
sam on Vibecoding A Better World: “I don’t know what you mean when you say a deliberately bungled Brexit deal. Clarify, please? The loss to Scotland’s…” Nov 5, 19:17
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Ah c’moan noo, Spartan. Surely you’re not in a pet because I had the temerity to correct the mistake in…” Nov 5, 18:47
Spartan 117 on Vibecoding A Better World: “No it didn’t Alf, I don’t want the M25 omniclusterfuckpermashambles ruling over us either, as I’ve repeatedly said (despite some…” Nov 5, 17:34
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: ““I have zero desire to be ruled by a foreign despotic power” Whit aboot bein ruled by imperial England-as-UK these…” Nov 5, 15:06
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: ““The west decided to virtue signal by leaving ours in the ground so that even as we buy every gram…” Nov 5, 15:00
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““those lusting after violence and death” I assume that’s what an AI would have corrected your post to if you’d…” Nov 5, 14:52
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““Maybe the Chinese have it right after all” I was recently reading about the Chinese colonisation of Africa. They ply…” Nov 5, 14:31
Holymacmoses on Vibecoding A Better World: “I love Claude – it and I are doing a criticism of The Master of Ballantrae – it’s very good…” Nov 5, 13:19
Spartan 117 on Vibecoding A Better World: “I’ll also add, before the inevitable howls of outrage, I will not cheer against the government, I have zero desire…” Nov 5, 13:09
Spartan 117 on Vibecoding A Better World: “Anyone thinking conscription will be successfully implemented across the UK is completely delusional, never mind just with new mums. If…” Nov 5, 13:01
willie on Vibecoding A Better World: “Here is an extract in a report about the possibility of future conscription. “Should gender equality conscription be introduced in…” Nov 5, 12:33
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “Umm, you do realise the whole “beardy bloke” thing is a product of the Left and in Scotland’s specific case,…” Nov 5, 12:33
Bilbo on Vibecoding A Better World: “Sounds like the deranged rantings of a beardy bloke in a dress. Okay, Unionist mugs, who’s bird is it?” Nov 5, 12:12
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: ““The consequences are far more serious for a colonized people” Well, it was always a dead cert that you would…” Nov 5, 11:55
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “Once you realise how much time government machinery spends: – entertaining legacy media organisations; versus – making effective long term…” Nov 5, 11:44
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: ““So what’s your excuse” Only once you get with the colonial vibe can you begin to decolonize the mind, Hatey;…” Nov 5, 11:14
Spartan 117 on Vibecoding A Better World: “It’s what happens when politics becomes an industry and a career in itself rather than a service. Qualifications are meaningless…” Nov 5, 10:39
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““so long as a people remain subject to territorial alienation there is no ‘democracy’” So true, Alf. I mind fine,…” Nov 5, 10:38
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: ““Our democracy has produced this rotten “inverse meritocracy” system, at least as far as the Left is concerned. It’s all…” Nov 5, 10:07
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “” I’d also question – loudly – why on earth a Liberian with a philosophy degree is trusted with dictating…” Nov 5, 09:30
