Nicola Sturgeon told Scotland’s press this morning that despite her weariness, she could have managed a few more months or even a year as First Minister, which would at least have got her halfway to keeping her promise to serve a full term if she was elected in 2021.
Which just makes her timing all the harder to explain.
We did so because we’d just been told – by a completely random source – that Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney would both resign today, and Brown would be the interim leader while a replacement was elected. We’d never spoken to this person before, but the manner in which they said it made us take it more seriously than all the “someone told me” rumours we get told and ignore every other day.
As yet only the first part has been confirmed, but you have to admit that our source is looking pretty darn hot right now.
We’ve just had the results back from some very interesting new polling, and the first snippet is a particularly instructive one.
When challenged on questions of gender, the reflex response of politicians of most parties in the Scottish Parliament is to bang on about how overwhelmingly MSPs voted for the Gender Recognition Reform bill.
Curiously, so far no journalist has bothered to ask whether they care that according to every poll, they’re utterly failing to represent the views of their constituents on the subject – which is, after all, what they’re supposed to be there for.
So we just asked directly if people felt their MSPs were doing their jobs.
Ouch. By well over 2 to 1, respondents felt that they were being let down by the people who are supposed to speak for them. (Excluding DKs the margin is just shy of 70/30, very similar to the margin by which people in polls oppose self-ID generally.)
But it’s when you drill down into the detail that it gets a bit disturbing.
There are terms beloved of politics activists and commonly used on social media which are a baffling mystery to the general public. We’ve spoken several times of the word “gaslighting”, which is understandably used as shorthand for quite a complex thing that’s difficult to describe concisely, but nevertheless acts as a barrier to understanding for anyone not overly political.
Below are two news reports from the Scottish Sun this week:
Both of the people arrested were male-bodied individuals who identify as women. As far as we’re aware, neither of them has a Gender Recognition Certificate. They are both the same sex, biologically and legally, and both describe themselves as female.
Yet in giving statements about their respective arrests, Police Scotland called one of them a man and one of them a woman. And we’re having no luck finding out why.
But isn’t that the Scottish Greens co-leader in that picture, in the bunnet, between his colleague Ross Greer and Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, all enthusiastically clapping Douglas just a few weeks ago?
Diligently alert readers may have noticed that the SNP MP, former vomit-mopper and permanent embarrassment to braincells Stewart McDonald has an article in today’s National about the best way to look like he’s trying to secure independence without risking losing his cosy lucrative job in glamorous London with all his fancy MP pals.
(McDonald is also one of the party’s most virulent advocates of its massively unpopular gender reforms, which isn’t relevant to anything but we’ve got a streak to maintain.)
Unfortunately it’s 4,000 words long and unbearably boring, but since you pay us we’ve taken the bullet for you, read the whole thing and now present it here in précis form:
The title of this article might sound a bit like the name of a band making their debut at Glastonbury this year, but in fact it’s something infinitely more serious.
News broke late last night that the person we must presumably now refer to as an “individual” who had been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a missing Galashiels schoolgirl (happily found safe and well and back home with her parents) had in fact been charged with an as-yet-unspecified crime.
But the alleged crime wasn’t the only thing going unspecified.
People across Scotland breathed a sigh of relief this morning when missing Galashiels 11-year-old Kaitlyn Easson was found safe and well after a multi-service search.
The police have arrested[EDIT: and now charged] a 53-year-old man in connection with her disappearance, named by the Daily Record as Andrew Miller, a local butcher. This was one of two names that numerous sources had been passing to Wings since the man was detained, but the two names only referred to one person.
Sven on Seven Days Too Long: “He should be okay as long as he doesn’t go onto the roofs of any high building or too near…” May 3, 13:29
Mark Beggan on Seven Days Too Long: “James was locked in a cupboard as a child. That’s when the voices started.” May 3, 13:00
Mark Beggan on Seven Days Too Long: “Even the Scottish Greens are afraid of the Tit Whisperer. A gay Jew who is best chums with Islamic cut…” May 3, 12:53
Towbar Sullivan on Seven Days Too Long: “OIC…I didn’t realise. I’ll say a prayer for the poor demented old dear.” May 3, 12:47
Insider on Seven Days Too Long: “Towbar Don’t be too hard on “James”. It is actually a very old lady who has sadly “lost the plot”.…” May 3, 12:28
Geri on Seven Days Too Long: “Oh Sturgeon had her moments. Who could forget her idiotic post glorify the death count of Rs with various muscle…” May 3, 12:19
Towbar Sullivan on Seven Days Too Long: “James, have you been on the poitin? It was the 1800 Acts of Union, there was an Anglo-Irish Agreement, but…” May 3, 11:51
Bilbo on Seven Days Too Long: “@ Geri Have you not considered that Polanski, as a person well known in the media at the present time,…” May 3, 11:23
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “Recognising that the elections held in Scotland are actually the elections of United kingdom of Anglo-Irish parliament agreement 1800 and…” May 3, 11:21
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “These records can be checked, Once you dissolve one of the Countries of only two parties to the 1706/07 treaty…” May 3, 11:06
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “Today The UK is the united kingdom and parliament of England and Ireland, And does not include Scotland (twice).” May 3, 10:56
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “Scotland regained its status as an independent Country in 1707 and in 1800 respectively. Minus a monarch. Due to the…” May 3, 10:53
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “There has not been a Scottish parliament in the parliament of Westminster until the united kingdom of The new state…” May 3, 10:40
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “Englands parliament which it rebranded as the parliament of Great Britain held NO Scottish parliament since 1707, Twice Scotland had…” May 3, 10:19
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “The Anglo- Scottish parliament was dissolved 1800, resulting in a ceased union parliament of Great Britain Meaning that the transferred…” May 3, 10:07
Geri on Seven Days Too Long: “Bilbo, He probably apologised because he’d have received the Corbyn treatment. Bullied, intimidated, threatened by media mauling, Lawfare etc. I’ve…” May 3, 10:02
Bilbo on Seven Days Too Long: “@ James Curious how the trolls have been quiet for a while and then they coming piling in here just…” May 3, 10:01
Bilbo on Seven Days Too Long: “If anybody who doesn’t realise that the SNP can’t deliver independence by now isn’t going to change their mind to…” May 3, 09:57
James Che on Seven Days Too Long: “How, where and when, The case for lord gray, Hansard, Debate, a) That the kingdoms of Scotland and England continue…” May 3, 09:56
Northcode on Seven Days Too Long: “Yet another excellent comment by Geri. The rhetoric is strong in this one…” May 3, 09:42
Geri on Seven Days Too Long: ““Didn’t you also assert that our planes would never get off the ground?” Wrong conflict, shitface. Do keep up with…” May 3, 09:21
Northcode on Seven Days Too Long: ““I disavow nothing.” Ouch!! I suspect even God Himself is having a divine chuckle at Geri’s devilish comment. Geri puts…” May 3, 09:19
Captain Caveman on Seven Days Too Long: “@“Geri” 13:35 Well, I’d say your bizarre sentiments and misplaced sense of priorities serves as a handy “User Guide” for…” May 3, 09:15
Sven on Seven Days Too Long: “I’d guess that their plan B will be the same as it’s always been, 100%. That is, to make plan…” May 3, 08:54
100%Yes on Seven Days Too Long: “The SNP getting a majority isn’t a bad thing!! When the UKG turns it down the SNP has going to…” May 3, 08:02
Bilbo on Seven Days Too Long: “@ Sven You are right and it is wishful thinking on my part that these revelations about Mr Paulden/Polanksi conveniently…” May 3, 08:01
Bilbo on Seven Days Too Long: “Just to add as a thought from my previous reply, it’s ironic that while there is so much hate towards…” May 3, 07:50
Sven on Seven Days Too Long: “Hi Bilbo, In direct reply to your point, I greatly doubt that the now retracted comment by the man once…” May 3, 07:28
