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While you wait 164

Posted on May 26, 2019 by

…for the EU election results, a reminder of days gone by.

Inexplicably, the Scottish Tory manifesto for the 2014 Euro election forgot to include the paragraph saying “Of course, if you vote No this September, then England votes to leave the EU in the most catastrophic manner possible, Scotland will be dragged out too no matter how it voted, and we’ll just tell you to shut up if you complain about it”.

It was probably meant to go in that space at the end, but you know how it is, mistakes happen. No harm done, eh?

The new order 286

Posted on May 25, 2019 by

This video is 20 minutes long, and most of you won’t watch it all the way through. But you really should.

Because the UK is changing, and it’s changing fast.

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Hail to the chief 57

Posted on May 25, 2019 by

No-one better to decide 194

Posted on May 22, 2019 by

(Full series here.)

89% of Scots support second indyref 277

Posted on May 20, 2019 by

Almost nine in ten Scottish voters now back a second referendum on independence. This rather startling news was brought to us at the weekend by an unlikely source, in the form of walking brain vacuum Annie Wells MSP.

Wells was absolutely unequivocal that NO other vote this Thursday – not Labour, not Lib Dem, not Brexit Party – would constitute opposition to a second indyref.

(She emphasised the point by RTing a tweet from the Scottish Tories’ boorish and obnoxious head of media Adam Morris which described both Nigel Farage and Vince Cable as “weak on Scotland’s place in the UK”.)

So how are those numbers looking?

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Ultimate clarity 155

Posted on May 19, 2019 by

We watched the whole of the Labour shadow Scottish Secretary’s interview on this morning’s Sunday Politics Scotland, and can confirm that this is a wholly accurate representation of what she said on it with regard to Labour’s position on Brexit.

So for those of you keeping score: Labour does NOT support a second referendum, does NOT support the current deal, does NOT support no deal, but WOULD vote for the current deal if it included a second referendum, and would INSIST on a second referendum on any alternative deal.

Honestly, we have no idea why anyone’s still confused.

The Vicar Of Braying 120

Posted on May 17, 2019 by

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).

Older readers may also remember Mundell as someone who voted against the repeal of the homophobic “Section 28” legislation in the Scottish Parliament despite being a closeted gay man at the time, and who voted to effectively ban IVF treatment for gay couples but now works for a lesbian mother.

But demonising Boris Johnson? Who would ever do such a monstrous thing?

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How to be goodest at numberology 128

Posted on May 16, 2019 by

Ruth Davidson led on numeracy (or as Tories call it, “numberacy”) at FMQs today.

And we can see why she’s concerned.

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Mummy’s back 485

Posted on May 11, 2019 by

The meaning of power 519

Posted on May 09, 2019 by

We see that “giving you chores to do and calling it a present” is back:

Sigh.

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Spilt black milk 393

Posted on May 07, 2019 by

Last week, Norway rubbed our faces in it again.

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At midnight all the agents 461

Posted on May 06, 2019 by

On Saturday, for the second year in a row, there was a huge and joyous independence march through the centre of Glasgow, which passed off with no incidents, arrests or disturbances despite attempted provocation from a small handful of abusive Unionist bigots led by a Holocaust denier.

Most of the Sunday papers carried largely neutral and factual reports of the event, of varying quality and size, with only a comical piece of hysteria in the extremist Scottish Daily Express standing out as objectionable for its ridiculous headline (and even then the actual copy barely mentioned the march at all).

But also for the second year in a row, one paper – or to be more specific, one man – took a rather more negative slant.

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    • 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
    • Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: ““the Scottish Parliament could and should call a referendum on the NHS” Make it a twofer with a second question…” Sep 26, 08:18
    • Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: “@Lorncal Here’s an interesting read on the qualitative differences between Yank and Covid AI: https://unherd.com/2026/09/xi-will-win-the-ai-war/ Spoiler alert: The Covid approach…” Sep 26, 08:11
    • Willie on Cowering From Destiny: “There is absolutely no doubt that there are plans to privatise the NHS. South of the border NHS England is…” Sep 26, 07:59
    • Peter McAvoy on Cowering From Destiny: “I’ve stated on comments on previous articles that the future of the NHS is in doubt,why doesn’t the Scottish Parliament…” Sep 26, 02:31
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