The average prison term for rape in Scotland is just under seven years. So we really don’t want to think about what Andrew “Amy George” Miller did to the poor young girl he abducted to get 20. (Indeed, strictly speaking 28.)
Miller wasn’t charged with rape, the 11-year-old was described as “safe and well” when the police found her and she was missing for just over one day. Miller also entered a guilty plea. So our blood runs cold at the thought of what must have happened in those 27 hours to nevertheless attract such a huge sentence, and we hope never to know.
This really is grim, folks. Remember the days when there had to be overflow rooms for the leader’s speech at the SNP conference, in venues holding thousands? Now they can’t come close to filling 750 seats in a 2000-seat arena.
The reception afforded to Sturgeon yesterday, who left the party in the pile of wreckage that the hapless Yousaf is still trying to stumble through, was a symptom of desperate people clinging forlornly to the shadow of better times, like an abandoned dog seeking the last bits of warmth and scent from its owner’s chair.
But those days are gone, never to return. This is the barren, foreboding autumn of the SNP, the cold ground thickly carpeted in the lifeless, crumbling and silent remains of lost members fallen from branches.
We thought this was overdue an update. It’s got about 16 new front pages on it, one whole new row and a handful of newly-rediscovered replacements. It really is worth taking a few minutes to peruse it properly (click on the pic to enlarge it) to get the full effect of eight wasted years of deja vu disappointment.
It’s not even The National’s fault. They’re a business, they’re simply trying to sell a few papers to a diminishing audience of endlessly gullible eejits. The real fault lies with the halfwitted SNP members who just keep on doggedly failing to learn a single lesson, and repeatedly vote to carry on doing what they know doesn’t work and never will.
As alert readers will have noticed, Wings has been perusing the SNP’s Governance And Transparency Review over the last couple of days, a document which tentatively attempts to discern just how big a mess the party’s previous leadership has left it in.
The paper has now also reached the mainstream media.
Wings already touched on that particular aspect of the party’s mismanagement back in August, but in the light of the report now formally acknowledging the problem it’s worth taking a moment to establish just how astonishingly bad it is.
The writing, we mean. Because it’s not until you see it baldly written down in black and white that it really hits you how insane it is.
The SNP has 44 MPs now, and has not managed to enter independence negotiations.
Winning 29 seats would represent a LOSS of 15, or more than a third.
And they’re about to stand up in front of voters and insist that that would somehow compel the UK government to hand over what they’ve been flatly refusing since 2016.
(It’s all pretty academic anyway, obv, as we’ll be amazed if they get double figures.)
The very last shred of credibility has left the building, readers.
Labour won far more handsomely in last night’s by-election than anyone – and we very strongly suspect that includes themselves – expected. If the swing of over 20% was to be repeated nationwide next year (which it won’t be, but we’ll get to that in a minute), the SNP would be reduced to six or seven seats, as Wings has predicted for a while.
From the abject pit of despair of 2015, when Labour lost 40 of its 41 MPs in Scotland, let’s look at how the party has powered back to recapture the hearts of voters.
Martin on In Ruins: “I have never seen a Scottish politician fall so far as Kate Forbes. She is now a happy establishment bunny…” Jan 11, 17:50
Mia on Eyes Full Of Beams: ““as though they had suddenly come up with something novel that nobody in 300 years had ever thought of” Actually…” Jan 11, 17:50
Callum on In Ruins: “SNP are in reality a Devo Party and have been for a decade. They know that Westminster will never allow…” Jan 11, 17:45
James Gardner on In Ruins: “The phrase that comes to mind, “Fart for freedom, fart for liberty—and fart proudly”. ” Jan 11, 17:27
Dan on In Ruins: “Scotland has a choice to make. Get busy burning as many fossil fuels as you can to aid global warming…” Jan 11, 17:27
gregor on In Ruins: “Net-Zero was an exclusive top-down WEF/UN (NWO) Scheme. #NetZeroCancelled” Jan 11, 17:19
gregor on In Ruins: “re. “We desperately need a mechanism” I believe in and elect Mia (et al) to demolish these useless invertebrates -…” Jan 11, 17:15
Mia on In Ruins: “That is correct. She did. And the rat did so in April 2015, that is months AFTER several polls had…” Jan 11, 17:13
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on In Ruins: “I am an inveterate head-tilted title-reader of books on shelves. The first three books before we get to Burns: L.A.…” Jan 11, 17:12
Alf Baird on In Ruins: ““working for the unionists” That is unfortunately what postcolonial theory tells us occurs: That the dominant national party elite become…” Jan 11, 17:09
Mia on In Ruins: ““The sad truth is that many SNP members still hold a strong belief that independence will happen via the SNP”…” Jan 11, 16:58
Tenruh on In Ruins: “Did Sturgeon not say in 2015 a vote for the SNP wasn’t a vote for independence?” Jan 11, 16:57
Shug on In Ruins: “Well it doesn’t sound like Swinney is planning to turn away from the car crash. I am surprised that Forbes…” Jan 11, 16:46
Andy Anderson on In Ruins: “Spot on Mia. My thoughts exactly.” Jan 11, 16:43
Andy Ellis on In Ruins: “The polling I’ve seen does suggest Reform in Scotland is basically cannibalising the Scottish Tory vote, so more power to…” Jan 11, 16:43
Andy Anderson on In Ruins: “The sad truth is that many SNP members still hold a strong belief that independence will happen via the SNP.…” Jan 11, 16:42
Mia on In Ruins: ““the route to independence is about outlining that alternative that can inspire” No, it isn’t, Ms Forbes. The route to…” Jan 11, 16:41
Mia on In Ruins: ““wee plucky countries can do a great job if they believe in themselves” Wee plucky countries cannot do anything for…” Jan 11, 16:30
sam on In Ruins: “” Of over 13,000 islands examined, approximately 12% experienced significant shifts in shoreline positions. The total shoreline length of these islands…” Jan 11, 16:30
gregor on Eyes Full Of Beams: “MrSuicideSheep: Tribe Society: Kings: “Runnin’ with all of my brothers I always wondered how far we could go If we…” Jan 11, 16:29
Mia on In Ruins: ““Forbes says that the SNP’s primary responsibility is to ‘inspire hope’ ” inspire hope means to fool voters into believing the…” Jan 11, 16:22
Andy Anderson on In Ruins: “The answer is not to use political parties at all as they are all, with the exception of the ISP…” Jan 11, 16:20
Dan on In Ruins: ““And your realistic alternative to Alba is what exactly? I know there are plenty on here who like to disparage…” Jan 11, 16:20
Andy Ellis on In Ruins: “And your realistic alternative to Alba is what exactly? I know there are plenty on here who like to disparage…” Jan 11, 16:07
twathater on In Ruins: “I can’t believe that indy supporters are falling for snp version2 Alba, and Ash Regan”s faux outrage at the despicable…” Jan 11, 15:48
Andy Ellis on In Ruins: “The condition precedent for the Secretary of State to hold a border poll in NI is if it: “..appears likely…” Jan 11, 15:47
aLurker on In Ruins: “Thanks for the pointer sarah. https://grousebeater.wordpress.com/2025/01/11/the-aberdein-enigma” Jan 11, 15:38
sam on In Ruins: “I think there is room for doubt. There are scientists, quite a few, who do not accept the narrative pushed…” Jan 11, 15:37
twathater on Safeguarding Is Not Right-Wing: ““But the idea that the traditional Left (who died along with John Smith) are actually responsible for this is a…” Jan 11, 15:30
gregor on In Ruins: “Are you prepared for ‘The Great Scotland Revival’ #Prepare” Jan 11, 15:17