Anyone seeking to make a compelling argument for the proposition that Scotland’s politicians and lawmakers are simply too farcically incompetent to ever be trusted with running an independent country had a gift-wrapped Godsend delivered to them last week by the idiot student children of Edinburgh.
But we can’t really put the blame on the colourfully-haired, keffiyeh-clad cretin kiddies of the capital for that, because it’s their elders and betters who opened the door.
With Reform now pretty consistently miles in front in polling for the next UK election, logically this is brilliant news for the Scottish independence movement, isn’t it?
So can anyone explain why the SNP is so desperate to stop them?
As recently as this weekend, the Scottish Government claimed that it has “made clear it accepts the Supreme Court ruling [in For Women Scotland] and is taking forward the detailed work necessary”.
But as with so much the Scottish Government says, it’s a barefaced lie.
Police Scotland have nevertheless denied that prisoners in their custody are being excessively pampered, following reports that a man was hustled out of St Leonard’s station in Edinburgh with an electric blanket over his head.
Meanwhile, following the Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case, the force’s HQ at Tulliallan was burgled by a gang of militant transactivists who stole all the toilets. Officers say they have nothing to go on.
One of the very few phrases universally recognised in Scotland but which will draw blank looks anywhere else in the UK is the dry, dark “Well, ye ken noo”. Until recently it had no equivalent that we can bring to mind in the rest of the English-speaking world, although arguably that gap has now been at least partly filled by the acronym “FAFO”.
(We try not to swear on the site, so let’s say it stands for “Fool Around, Find Out”.)
So now the smoke has cleared, the troops have departed the battlefield and the winner is enjoying the spoils, what did we find out on Thursday night, and what didn’t we?
Despite everything, we almost allowed ourselves just the very tiniest little micro-flicker of optimism when we read Tommy Sheppard’s latest in The National.
Because that much is certainly true, and it’s uncommonly candid to have anyone in the SNP admit it. So what’s the answer?
At the weekend, Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman was filmed applauding as a notoriously unhinged transactivist ranted through a megaphone to a small and almost exclusively male crowd of protestors about how he was going to openly break the law by continuing to use women’s public toilets, and addressing JK Rowling with the words “We should all take a shite on you, you heinous creeping old bitch”.
At another protest, Chapman herself asserted that the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on the correct interpretation of the Equality Act 2010 was motivated by not by a solemn consideration of the law or by the arguments of counsel who appeared before it, but by “bigotry, prejudice and hatred”.
Chapman is – incredibly – Deputy Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament, and as such her comments sparked a storm of wholly justified outrage over her flagrant breach not only of Parliamentary rules but also of the law – specifically the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, which requires all MSPs to uphold the independence of the judiciary.
TURABDIN on The Queer Parliament: “What next? Text books? The shelf life for politicians ought, for public health, to be short. Hallucination in the breed…” May 21, 17:02
Northcode on The Queer Parliament: “Here, I meant to add this, my final analysis bit, to the end of my last comment, but I forgot…” May 21, 16:42
agentx on The Queer Parliament: “Couldn’t you get a few more paragraphs in there?” May 21, 16:40
Northcode on The Queer Parliament: ““Speaking to the Press Association on Thursday, the First Minister said…” There’s some good rhetoric going on here… does Swinney…” May 21, 16:19
Marie Clark on Off-topic: “Hi Tinto, Geez oh, whit a sad place we live in now. I had absolutely no one to vote for…” May 21, 16:16
BigJay on The Queer Parliament: “Come on Rev., do a takedown on that howling success of an SNP politician, Angela Constance. I think she’s now…” May 21, 15:53
lothianlad on The Queer Parliament: “Lets not forget his so called friends in PIE. Harvey that is. Disgusting!!” May 21, 15:33
Geri on The Queer Parliament: “No reason that can’t happen again & forever more. Better to sail our own ship, & remove fools. Than someone…” May 21, 15:12
agentx on The Queer Parliament: “Speaking to the Press Association on Thursday, the First Minister said: “I intend to bring forward a motion to Parliament…” May 21, 15:04
Captain Caveman on The Queer Parliament: ““And the demonstrated possibility of such a condition existing is, I’d suggest, the period between 2007-2014 when with the deft…” May 21, 14:40
Sven on The Queer Parliament: “Lorncal @ 12.16. “I want a return to the norms by which society can thrive.” Exactly, LornC. And the demonstrated…” May 21, 14:22
sam on The Queer Parliament: “Having read the Tribunal Tweets transcript of much of the Employment Tribunal hearing of Ms Young v Manchester City Council…” May 21, 13:46
Stuart MacKay on The Queer Parliament: “Returning to norms does not benefit any of the existing political parties, or their positions. In fact quite the opposite.…” May 21, 13:42
Alf Baird on The Queer Parliament: ““decent unionists” Scotland was annexed by England in 1707, Scots made subject to colonial procedures ever since. There niver wis…” May 21, 13:28
Alf Baird on The Queer Parliament: ““Personally, I want a return to the norms by which society can thrive.” Return? Really? Has the hale o Scotland…” May 21, 13:20
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “Do you think Geri is enjoying a Pimm’s in the garden CC, or do you think she’s hanging around her…” May 21, 12:53
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “There are now a grand total of 70 mentions under the phrase ‘Northcode’ under this one post. All referring to…” May 21, 12:47
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: ““I’d add extreme ideology, thought police, group think/hive mentality to accept without question the State amending laws for said ideology.”…” May 21, 12:39
Captain Caveman on The Queer Parliament: “I pretty much agree with all of that. I’m used to Reform being denigrated as “far right” (especially by “ultra…” May 21, 12:35
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: “Southerbystander We know that isn’t the reason for illegally attacking a Sovereign Nation. These clowns would have us believe they’re…” May 21, 12:25
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “” I do love the smell of burning Northcode in the morning.” Man, I really got into your head, didn’t…” May 21, 12:23
Captain Caveman on The Land Of No Laws: “Agreed, Southernbystander. As would any decent, sane, rational person with an IQ>80. 🙂 The facts speak for themselves.” May 21, 12:20
Lorncal on The Queer Parliament: “HMcH/CC: Ia absolutely agree that something drastic needs to be done now, but I am not sure the far right…” May 21, 12:16
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Queer Parliament: “EX-BBC DIRECTOR: ‘PRO-TRANS BIAS PERVADED CORPORATION’ A former BBC Director of News and Current Affairs has revealed how the trans…” May 21, 12:12
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: “Yer flying today, Northy..haha! Trust the dour, humourless, clypey eejits not to see any humour in anything. Also, absolutely spot…” May 21, 12:11
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “I never found any of the shite you pissed aboot this place amusing… or interesting. “boring the life out of…” May 21, 12:06
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “Look, Geri… atween the twa o us we really pissed off those thick Inglis colonialists. Mission accomplished, eh? I don’t…” May 21, 12:05
Southernbystander on The Land Of No Laws: “Isn’t this all dancing on the head of a pin? ‘Persia’ is a murderous and very oppressive regime, that has…” May 21, 12:00