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Archive for the ‘psephology’


The Empty Hearse 191

Posted on July 30, 2025 by

There’s been a very unfortunate typo here.

“Scotland’s independence” should read “SNP’s gravy bus”.

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The Flip 77

Posted on June 01, 2025 by

We’ve just taken delivery of some REALLY interesting polling results, readers, but it’s going to take a while to fully analyse and write them up, so in the meantime let’s look at some slightly less interesting ones which came from the same poll – the Norstat one commissioned by the Sunday Times and published today, which we hitched a lift on.

The headline figures show an eight-point Yes lead, which is nice, although it’s also entirely abstract since the SNP has no current policy for translating independence support into actual independence (or even another referendum about it).

All the same, it seemed a good time to assess the wider picture.

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Some Attention For James 69

Posted on May 15, 2025 by

Hi! I noticed, with very considerable amusement, your complaint last night that I hadn’t made a “substantive reply” to the [EDIT] EIGHT posts (totalling nearly 11,000 words) of semi-coherent ranting about me that you’ve made on your site in the last eight days.

(I’ll be absolutely honest, I’ve only skimmed the last few.)

We both know the reason that’s so tear-streamingly comical, of course.

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Fantasy World Dizzy 36

Posted on April 15, 2025 by

Because you certainly are a bit light-headed if you’re buying this horse-plop.

We don’t normally spend much time analysing opinion polls more than a year out from an election because it’s a complete chump’s game – too much can happen. But this one’s so absolutely batshit mad that we couldn’t resist a bit of a probe.

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The Great Hollowing 140

Posted on January 20, 2025 by

The wild thing about this poll isn’t the headline that six months after winning a massive landslide majority, Keir Starmer now trails Nigel Farage – leader of a party with five MPs to Starmer’s 411 – as the electorate’s choice for best Prime Minister.

It’s the little grey numbers sitting quietly at the bottom.

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Beware of liars 337

Posted on June 15, 2022 by

Even when you’re retired, some things are too journalistically offensive to let pass, such as this piece of absolute garbage we just saw from The National today.

The paper’s anonymous reporter set off all our red warning lights at once.

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Progress update 1,173

Posted on April 13, 2022 by

In slightly over a month from now, Nicola Sturgeon will overtake Alex Salmond as the longest-serving First Minister of Scotland. It seemed a reasonable time to take stock.

It’s very nearly six years since the Sunday Herald headline above from 1 May 2016. (Remember the Sunday Herald, readers? It feels like another lifetime, doesn’t it?)

April/early May is very often the period leading up to an election, which is when the SNP traditionally ramp up the carrot-dangling about independence to secure the votes of the faithful for yet another “cast-iron mandate”, so it’s not a bad barometer. Let’s see how far we’ve come.

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The Hardest Vote 309

Posted on May 06, 2021 by

We’d actually planned to leave Chris Cairns’ fabulous cartoon at the top of the front page all day today, but this post is important so we’re putting it in here again (no, Chris, you don’t get paid twice) so we can say this.

Because no matter how much you hate the Unionist parties or certain of their individual MSPs, if you want Alba MSPs elected today there are several seats where you really, really can’t afford to vote SNP on the constituency ballot.

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Panic attacks 569

Posted on March 27, 2021 by

Any time you’re not sure whether something that happens in Scottish politics is good or bad for the cause of independence, here’s a top tip for you: see how the enemies of independence feel about it.

“Running scared” would seem to be a fair, if understated, summary.

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For old times’ sake 328

Posted on March 17, 2021 by

We enjoyed doing this site a lot more when it was the dishonesty of Unionists and the Unionist media, not the SNP, that represented the main threat to independence. So let’s make like it’s the old days, just this once.

Because today has seen the Scottish press falling over itself once again to trumpet the latest joke poll from notorious idiots Scotland In Union as if it was at all meaningful:

And of course it’s purest garbage.

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Venus and Mars 220

Posted on January 18, 2021 by

In 2014, it was women who stopped Scotland becoming independent.

But it was still a man’s fault, of course. Those of us who were around at the time, while many of the SNP’s earnest young activists of today were still squeezing their spots, will recall a multitude of media articles on how it was apparently the fairer sex’s personal antipathy to Alex Salmond that was responsible for the No camp’s victory.

And who knows, maybe that was true and maybe it wasn’t. We have no idea. But what we do know is that you can’t have it both ways.

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How to waste your vote 255

Posted on August 13, 2020 by

We’ve been having a closer look at the latest polling for next year’s Holyrood election (YouGov, from this week), and in particular the list numbers. We thought you might be interested in a little stat from them.

That’s the full breakdown. But that’s not the graphic that really tells the story.

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    • twathater on The Empty Hearse: “Naw James Bastard TAX MOAN gets the engerlish and dewish holidays all the timeAug 5, 03:15
    • twathater on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “@ Sven 2.35pm EX FM takes great delight in calling voters despicable namesAug 5, 03:04
    • Gordy on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Does oor Willie still have a boaby or has he transitioned to oor Wilhemina .Aug 4, 22:06
    • Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Happy anniversary tomorrow of the battle of Otterburn: 1388. I’d be prepared to suggest that few if any of our…Aug 4, 21:28
    • Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Good point MB. However, perhaps that’s because they were around longer and haven’t flagrantly nicked other peoples history and heroes…Aug 4, 21:11
    • Mark Beggan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “It’s interesting that all the other nations in the union have abundant mythology of their own.Aug 4, 20:49
    • Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “An interesting post. I believe service in the trenches was also another traumatising influence in what he wrote.Aug 4, 19:00
    • Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “For those who don’t know her, she is the one with a nose like Judge Alvin Valkenheiser in (aptly here)…Aug 4, 18:44
    • George Ferguson on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Current polling SNP 54 MSPs Scottish Greens 16 MSPS. A new Bute House Agreement coming up. Kate Forbes couldn’t survive…Aug 4, 18:27
    • Andrew scott on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Me thinks wee katie foresees Flynn taking over Snp YeaughAug 4, 18:22
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Just bought a copy of The Hobbit in Gaelic, newly translated by Moray Watson. Also available in Irish, Welsh, Cornish,…Aug 4, 17:48
    • James on The Empty Hearse: “Do you shower pick up a lieu day for working the day? Oh, of course you’ll get the English holidays…Aug 4, 17:36
    • Iain More on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “So Kate Forbes is resigning from Holyrood next May. It is another sure sign that the SNP is heading for…Aug 4, 17:30
    • Mark Beggan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “If the female energy commonly known as Dickola the Dickless is holding the reins. Then she’s s holding the reins…Aug 4, 17:08
    • Dan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Smiling like a Cheshire cat at the leadership announcement is not the coupon normally displayed by someone that’s missed out…Aug 4, 17:03
    • Dan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “She was likely only in the leadership “race” to take votes away from Ash Regan.Aug 4, 16:56
    • Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “So a lemon crispy seagull then, if I correctly understood Dan’s post of yesterday. Incidentally, Lemon Duck is also a…Aug 4, 16:54
    • Andy Ellis on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “I suspect “Dumb, Dumber and Dumberer” adequately covers it Sven. Proof if any were needed of the paucity of Scottish…Aug 4, 16:49
    • Mark Beggan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “That would never happen. If an ‘ilegal’ made your food and an ‘ilegal’ delivered your food on an illegal E-bike.…Aug 4, 16:36
    • Mark Beggan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Yes you are correct. Nogbad the Bad. Another disgusting individual on the make. That’s the Left Wing and the Right…Aug 4, 16:26
    • Young Lochinvar on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “I sense the path to the top is being cleared for (uber Sturgeonista) Mairi McAllan.. Wonder if the local bookies…Aug 4, 16:22
    • Hatey McHateface on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Minimum wage rises. NI rises. Then there’s the extra Scottish income tax brought in by (checks notes) Forbes’ SNP government.…Aug 4, 16:07
    • Hatey McHateface on Scotland’s Saviour: “Fa’s Palestine then? I cannae find it oan ony map. Is it some kind o’ subterranean place? 🙂Aug 4, 16:00
    • Sven on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Mark Beggan @ 14.31. Bearing in mind Ms Forbes is a committed supporter of Freeports who was unable to register…Aug 4, 15:26
    • KITTYBEE on Scotland’s Saviour: “Corbyn hasn’t got a discriminatory bone in his body.!!! Hate seeing genocide in Palestine? ANTISEMITISM!!!Aug 4, 15:06
    • Sven on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “twathater @ 13.59. Whilst it is fine for career politicians to treat the voters who afforded them their well paid…Aug 4, 14:35
    • Mark Beggan on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “Kelly Given can take her place. Would anyone notice.Aug 4, 14:31
    • Cynicus on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “So, did Murrell do her a favour when he rigged the election against her?Aug 4, 14:15
    • twathater on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “So it now appears that ANY disagreement you have with any politician could be construed as abusive, especially if they…Aug 4, 13:59
    • TURABDIN on The Deafening Echo Of Nothing: “KATE FORBES QUITTING….may that be the first of many in the faux nat. «nomenklatura»Aug 4, 13:57
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