As alert readers will know, we’ve heard little from the Unionist parties in Scotland over the last couple of years but “SCOTLAND SAID NO!”, “SCOTLAND DOESN’T WANT ANOTHER REFERENDUM!” and “WHAT PART OF NO DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?”
That clutch of blunt, angry slogans was (and remains) pretty much the entire Scottish Conservatives manifesto, for example, and it rests on the claim – based on some extremely misleading selective reading of opinion polls – that the nation is implacably opposed to a second vote. The reality, as we know, is somewhat more balanced. But it’s never been quite THIS balanced before.
We’ve just got the results back from a new Panelbase poll of Scottish voters. As ever there’s some fascinating stuff in there, but we’ll start with the headline voting numbers:
HOLYROOD VOTING INTENTION (excl DK, chgs vs Dec 2017)
SNP 41 (+2)
Con 27 (-1)
Lab 22 (-3)
LD 6 (-)
Grn 2 (-)
This year’s Scottish Social Attitudes Survey has found, yet again, that Scottish people trust their government in Holyrood vastly more than they trust the one in Westminster. The figures transcend party loyalties, with far more people saying they trust the Scottish Government than vote for the SNP.
Trust in both governments was down by five points, which meant the Scottish Government had lost 7.6% of its trust (66 down to 61) while the UK government had lost 20% of its trust (25 down to 20).
Now let’s see how two newspapers owned by the same company reported the news.
The Sunday Times puts some poll results in an interesting frame today:
And readers who’ve learned anything at all from this site over the last six years will be looking at that tweet and immediately wondering “what AREN’T we being told there?”
And to be absolutely fair to the Scottish Lib Dem leader, he’s always been consistent in his beliefs, such as the view that elected members should be given a second chance when they’ve committed a minor misdemeanour, and NOT have to (for example) stand down and face re-election.
So as we’re busy today we’ll just refer you to some of the previous occasions we’ve covered it, because literally everything about it is exactly the same now as it was then.
Although this site is blacklisted by the press regulator IPSO and therefore unable to file complaints about inaccurate and misleading newspaper articles, our alert readers sometimes pick up the baton from Wings articles and do the job themselves.
But the reader who took up that complaint has furnished us with a bit of interesting background to the story, and also news of a rather more alarming outcome.
McDuff on Vibecoding A Better World: “Scotland’s men pick up a gold at the world curling championships and es far as I can see it has…” Nov 2, 11:13
Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: “Alf’s argument frames Scotland’s economic condition through a mythic lens of colonial underdevelopment. In its historical and economic framing, these…” Nov 2, 11:04
Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: “For clarity… James Che’s argument rests on a mythic moment they place in 1606, where they believe the Scottish Parliament…” Nov 2, 10:28
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: “Yes of course “a radical change in the political (and colonial) landscape” is absolutely critical for recovery and development of…” Nov 2, 10:24
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “@Aidan The laughable aspect to this is that there are plenty of Scots, myself included, who would love Scotland to…” Nov 2, 10:20
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “Well done Izzie, you’re exactly right. If Nicola Sturgeon had been first minister between 2014 and 2023 Scotland would be…” Nov 2, 10:15
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “You are right James, when people hear about the true nature of what happened in 1606, they will take to…” Nov 2, 09:47
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “So the plan is, Day 1 – become independent and Day 2 – become identical to Norway? Scotland on Day…” Nov 2, 09:41
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Awa and shite, Alf. The context is you lying about Scotland having the highest energy prices in the world. The…” Nov 2, 09:39
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: “The ‘context’ Hatey, which you completely ignore, much like your beloved ‘union’ hoax, is that Norway’s economy is so advanced…” Nov 2, 09:09
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Could be so much worse, Bob. At least she’s not claiming the route to Scottish Independence is via climbing on…” Nov 2, 09:01
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “So true, James. People vowing to edumacate themselves about the shenanigans of 1707 is all I ever hear at the…” Nov 2, 08:56
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “One can understand the need and fear of Unionist to Squash Alf Bairds voice before it grows and becomes known…” Nov 2, 08:22
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “When enough Scots identify where and when the the treaty of union failed to be completed or accomplish its purpose,…” Nov 2, 08:01
Bilbo on Vibecoding A Better World: “Given that they only teach postmodern theories in the education system nowadays, students are only interested in bringing down the…” Nov 2, 07:40
James Che on Vibecoding A Better World: “To make the theory of of the treaty of union of two parliaments merging to create unitary State of Great…” Nov 2, 07:39
robertkknight on Vibecoding A Better World: “That’s the least of your worries… There’s clearly other issues elsewhere! (I speak as a sufferer of osteoarthritis in both…” Nov 1, 19:59
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “I get it, Alf. Having higher petrol and diesel prices than ours in Norway doesn’t matter because of “context”. As…” Nov 1, 19:30
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “The charging infrastructure in Norway is excellent – i’ve seen EV chargers on unsurfaced roads. However, just under 70% of…” Nov 1, 19:17
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Your leader boosting he’s prepared to work with Burnham but isn’t prepared to work to delivery the mandate again the…” Nov 1, 19:04
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: “Context Hatey! Few care about the price of diesel/petrol in Norway when 90% of cars sold there are electric, aided…” Nov 1, 18:47
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““Why nit focus on the real enemy” The spelling and grammar police?” Nov 1, 18:24
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““highest energy prices in the world” It’s bizarre that Alf consistently posts these same lies over and over again when…” Nov 1, 18:21
Izzie on Vibecoding A Better World: “Abd we won the by election. And we are pleading in the polls Where are Alba again? If this sites…” Nov 1, 18:07
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “Good grief man. Your victim complex really does know no bounds. What a humourless “fud”. Bore off.” Nov 1, 17:57
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: ““if you have to explain a joke” A colonized people are invariably made the butt of colonialist jokes for colonialism…” Nov 1, 17:43
Captain Caveman on Vibecoding A Better World: “@Alf Whoosh. “Izzy Skint” was a well known Dandy comic character from the 1970s. So yeah, my background reading as…” Nov 1, 16:22
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Your comment might have got an applause on The National but to insults us on Wings with this bull shame…” Nov 1, 16:09
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: “Plundered colonies are always “skint” and under-developed; in Scotland’s case external wealth extraction amounts to £150+ billion a year, resulting…” Nov 1, 16:09
