Not long now! 89
Posted on
October 01, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Archive for the ‘scottish politics’
The Widowmaker 160
Posted on
September 30, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The greatest intellectual weakness of the independence movement is its attitude towards Trident, and trying to reason with people about it (whether readers or other independence activists) is consistently one of the most frustrating aspects of writing Wings, because nuclear disarmers and Unionists are equally impervious to logic on the subject.
The UK’s nuclear “deterrent” – or as it was more accurately and memorably described by the former Vulcan nuclear bomber squadron commander Air Commodore Alastair Mackie, “a virility symbol, like a stick-on hairy chest” – is the greatest gift to a future Scottish independence negotiating team imaginable.
The rest of the UK gets a lot of economic and infrastructural benefits from Scotland, like water and energy, but ultimately it’s not massively bothered about those. Water is not yet a critical area and energy can be sourced elsewhere, and in any event Brexit shows us that the UK is more than willing to do itself enormous harm in the service of ideological political goals.
But Trident is a whole different kettle of sweaty underwater men.
Birth Of A Politician 463
Posted on
September 26, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
You can’t do this, you know. You just can’t.
These things cannot both be true.
Taking Stock 254
Posted on
September 23, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Holiday Boy is sadly incapacitated today – ironically, having injured himself on his last holiday – but fortunately we do have some graphical content for you, having just been leaked this copy of the SNP’s campaign poster for the next general election.
You can almost smell the mince and carrots, can’t you?
The Control Panel 212
Posted on
September 22, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Last night a by-election hustings was held in Rutherglen to which all 14 candidates were invited to hear and answer questions from the electorate on women’s issues. The SNP, Labour, Green and Lib Dem candidates all declined to attend. But the SNP, at least, was represented at the event.
Or at any rate, just outside it.
The washing of the hands 289
Posted on
September 20, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The Scottish National Party, in legal character, is what’s known as an unincorporated association. (The same form of entity as Wings, local colour fans.)
This has a number of interesting ramifications.
Approaching Election Alert 75
Posted on
September 19, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Nine More Years A Slave 201
Posted on
September 18, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
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.
Infinite Carrot Generator 144
Posted on
September 15, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The key word here is “DEMAND”.
Because we’ve heard that one before, haven’t we?
A Tale Of Two Nations 198
Posted on
September 13, 2023 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
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
Rev. Stuart Campbell
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.
