The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Archive for the ‘scottish politics’


Nine More Years A Slave 201

Posted on September 18, 2023 by

To be honest it barely seems worth marking the ninth anniversary of the indyref. The day our nation – albeit narrowly – bottled out of becoming a real one again is nothing to be celebrated. The supposed party of independence has run away from the fight, concerned only with feathering its own nest, and its era of power looks to be drawing to a bitter and deserved close.

But there remains one grave and glaring grievance.

And no matter what anyone says, it’ll dog democracy and condemn Scottish politics to eternal stagnation until it’s addressed.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Quiet Place 239

Posted on September 16, 2023 by

Infinite Carrot Generator 144

Posted on September 15, 2023 by

The key word here is “DEMAND”.

Because we’ve heard that one before, haven’t we?

Read the rest of this entry →

A Tale Of Two Nations 198

Posted on September 13, 2023 by

Huh.

But hey, maybe it’s just one of those things where you only get a drop-down menu and there’s no option for “Scottish”, yeah?

Oh. Well, there you go then.

The news that isn’t fit to print 102

Posted on September 13, 2023 by

I’ve known my mate Chris since I was five years old and we lived next door to each other in a council scheme in Bathgate. He’s a grand lad, the sort of Rangers fan that you can introduce in polite company, a hardworking, small-c-conservative successful business owner who’d go out of his way to help you and has a few SNP councillors in his social circle.

He isn’t the least bit political. In 2014 he was a soft No whose vote was narrowly tipped by the fact that his company did almost all of its business with English clients and he feared losing them to red tape (and, ironically, English nationalist sentiment) after indy, but after the Brexit referendum he was leaning very much more Yes.

The SNP’s staggeringly incompetent rule since then blew that chance and has pushed him further back into the No camp than he ever had been before, but last night he texted me “can’t believe this actually went to print and came through our door today”.

I can’t say I blame him.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Longest Mile 242

Posted on September 11, 2023 by

There’s an interesting new blog today called “Will support for Scottish independence go away?”, based on some analysis of long-term polling and demographic trends. If you don’t have time to read all of it, its conclusion is, well, non-conclusive. But the problem with it is that it’s asking the wrong question.

Wings has very little doubt that polling support for Scottish independence will continue to fluctuate within a few points either way of 50% for the forseeable future, as it has done for the last decade. But the real question is whether that will matter.

Because there are other issues with very similar numbers.

Read the rest of this entry →

Coming undone 196

Posted on September 10, 2023 by

I’ve always been obsessed, in cultural terms, with pivot points: the precise moments at which something significant changes irreversibly.

They can be a goal that ushers in a football team’s golden era – for me, Alex McLeish putting Aberdeen level in the 1982 Scottish Cup final. They can be a twist in a movie, like (first example that comes to mind) the shocking revelation of the bad guy in LA Confidential. They can spring out of nowhere, like the latter, or be something that was visibly on the way but finally crystallises, like the former.

There are some great examples to be found in the world of pop videos, like the one 3m 40s into Pulp’s epic mainstream-career-ender “This Is Hardcore”. But for my money there isn’t one more spine-tingling than this:

(Warning: some adult content.)

Robbie Williams here is played by Humza Yousaf.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Scourge 146

Posted on September 09, 2023 by

Ground Zero 259

Posted on September 07, 2023 by

Well, there it is.

It’s not like it hasn’t been coming.

Read the rest of this entry →

Why the SNP surrendered 272

Posted on September 05, 2023 by

These are strange and grim times for the Scottish independence movement, but we never thought it’d ever get so strange that we’d be quoting Effie Deans.

Since pretty much day one, Wings has said that the only honest and honourable way to campaign against independence would be for Unionists to say Scotland isn’t a country, but a mere region of the UK. But they lack the courage to admit what their true beliefs are, and so they fall back on fear and lies disguised as concern, all cloaked in “proud Scot” protestations.

While that might be a miserable way to conduct yourself, it’s understandable, because the moment that you acknowledge Scotland as being a country, all the debating lines against independence crumble to ashes. They’re powerless in the face of the principle that countries should choose their own governments, for good or ill, because that’s what democracy is, and few people are willing to stand openly against democracy.

And what Effie Deans’ concession of this site’s cornerstone argument reveals is that Unionists finally feel safe against any threat of independence in the foreseeable future, and with good reason.

Read the rest of this entry →

To Another World 220

Posted on September 03, 2023 by

So, we guess this is the “mainstream independence movement” now.

It’s smaller than we imagined.

Read the rest of this entry →

Like the rising of the sun 30

Posted on September 03, 2023 by

In the end, it only took 12 hours.

Bless his painfully-predictable cotton socks.

But hey, bold use of “leading”.

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,726 Posts, 1,215,008 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Iain More on The Gender Of Mountains: “41% Tariffs on Falkland Islands. What did they do to piss off Fuhrer Trump? I had no idea that the…Apr 3, 08:15
    • Aidan on The Gender Of Mountains: “Another cunning plan based on a whole heap of made up legal arguments which no court, anywhere, is going to…Apr 3, 06:23
    • Hatey McHateface on The Sacrifice: “@Zimba Regarding moral inconsistencies. I believe a meaningful debate between fair-minded individuals acting in good faith first needs some kind…Apr 2, 21:17
    • sarah on The Gender Of Mountains: “IMPORTANT: Leah Gunn Barrett attended the Public Petitions Committee at Holyrood today in order to see what would happen to…Apr 2, 19:40
    • agent x on The Gender Of Mountains: “Caroline Lucas says: “He helped transform the fortunes of the Scottish Green party – taking the party into government for…Apr 2, 18:13
    • Porty on The Long Future: “Have a wee look at her post and highlights of committee meeting today at Holyrood today, she’s a fighter, well…Apr 2, 18:08
    • Porty on The Long Future: “So the game’s a bogey, so we call it a day?Apr 2, 18:04
    • Porty on The Long Future: “So the game’s a bogey, so we call it a day?Apr 2, 18:00
    • Porty on The Long Future: “Soz, double post…Apr 2, 17:41
    • Aidan on The Long Future: “@Xaracen – to understand why the geographic separation requirement is so important you have to look back at the context…Apr 2, 17:31
    • Porty on The Long Future: “Was & still am a follower of the Rev, but starting to question myself why, isn’t it about time he…Apr 2, 17:27
    • Porty on The Long Future: “Was & still am a follower of the Rev, but starting to question myself why, isn’t it about time he…Apr 2, 17:27
    • twathater on The Gender Of Mountains: “Another piece of evidence to EXPOSE the continued ongoing lunacy that we must find some way to address https://open.substack.com/pub/iainmacwhirter/p/trans-cat-msp-cleared-of-non-crime?r=5catlo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=emailApr 2, 16:38
    • Zimba on The Sacrifice: “First off, apologies for essentially posting the same (or similar) comment twice. I’m not a frequent poster here (or anywhere…Apr 2, 15:59
    • Zimba on The Long Future: “This is not a portrait of what Scotland’s politicians alone have become. The malaise is sadly European generally and is…Apr 2, 15:21
    • Mark Beggan on The Gender Of Mountains: “Is Greer related to Chapman. Strange shaped head sneering mouth with studs for teeth and eyes that sit suspiciously in…Apr 2, 14:35
    • Mark Beggan on The Gender Of Mountains: “The Teletubbies have to say bye bye Dipsy. Dipsy likes bouncing on his bottom. But now Dipsy has a sore…Apr 2, 13:45
    • Hatey McHateface on The Sacrifice: “Ah, Zimba, always good to hear from the kind of poster who believes that any number of dead men, women,…Apr 2, 13:17
    • Zimba on The Sacrifice: “Good job, Hatey, our kindly bombs and bullets can help them learn to see their own moral failings before it’s…Apr 2, 12:14
    • Zimba on The Sacrifice: “Good thing, Hatey, our bombs and bullets are there to help them see their moral failings while being clinically slaughtered.Apr 2, 11:57
    • Andrew scott on The Gender Of Mountains: “Good news the green gnome is standing down as co co chair scot greens BAD NEWS NOT STANDING DOWN FROM…Apr 2, 11:40
    • Louise Hogg on The Long Future: “ALBA Party exists: 1. So voters HAVE a genuinely pro-Independence option to vote for on the ballot paper. As Young…Apr 2, 11:15
    • sarah on The Gender Of Mountains: “Hear, hear. The Rev is doing a great job in not letting this all go unreported.Apr 2, 11:04
    • Louise Hogg on The Gender Of Mountains: “Absolutely agree, Lorn. This utter infestation of porn-addict driven filth needs cleared out of any organisation directly or indirectly receiving…Apr 2, 10:40
    • Xaracen on The Long Future: “@Aidan; No, Aidan, I’m not trying to argue that a ChatGPT summary overrides the explicit language of a UN declaration.…Apr 2, 08:49
    • Alf Baird on The Gender Of Mountains: ““‘jellyfish legislation’” The Welsh term for jellyfish is ‘wibli wobli’, which seems to well describe this type of legislation.Apr 2, 08:49
    • Hatey McHateface on The Gender Of Mountains: “Just two? You’re not paying enough attention 🙂Apr 2, 08:37
    • Hatey McHateface on The Gender Of Mountains: “While many in the world are celebrating the “end of woke”, the legions of woke, fully insinuated into positions of…Apr 2, 08:33
    • Hatey McHateface on The Gender Of Mountains: ““Colonialism is over” But wait, Geri. Haven’t you to duly punish them at the ballot box first? You’re trying to…Apr 2, 08:21
    • Chas on The Gender Of Mountains: “I suspect that Geri and Billy Carlin are the same person, with two user names?Apr 2, 08:19
  • A tall tale



↑ Top