Wings Over Scotland celebrates its 8th birthday this Thursday. And it looks as though we just might be in for a genuinely unexpected surprise party.
Because very suddenly, through sheer dumb luck, and for the first time in over three years, we can actually see a tantalisingly almost-viable route by which the SNP could, almost entirely accidentally, lead us to independence.
It’s a long time, apparently. Because while a general election on 12 December would be a “barking mad” idea according to the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford on Thursday, having one on 9 December instead is genius.
So in a month in which this site has been extensively screamed at by SNP diehards as the work of a “traitor” and an “MI5 plant” for suggesting that maybe the SNP could vote with the Tories (or perhaps just abstain) to let Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal go through in exchange for a second indyref, the official SNP plan is to now vote with the Tories to give them the election Boris Johnson has been trying to call for weeks – which all polls suggest he’d win, allowing him to enact any sort of Brexit he wants – but to cleverly NOT get a second indyref out of it.
It’s Monday morning, readers, so welcome once again to the world’s favourite situation comedy, the United Kingdom.
The current position is that absolutely nobody has the slightest idea what’s going to happen this week, or today, or by lunchtime. The Prime Minister is as we speak being taken to court (again), and a whole series of votes in the House Of Commons may or may not take place and may or may not determine anything.
But there’s one particularly interesting thing going on.
As we write this, Boris Johnson’s new Brexit deal appears to hang in the balance. According to Sky News this morning the arithmetic is poised on a knife-edge.
The four “in play” groups down the middle of the graphic are, from the top: three Tory “Spartans” (hardcore Brexiters who might yet back the deal), 19 Labour MPs who’ve suggested they might do so for various reasons, 20 former-Tory “rebels” who had the whip removed by Johnson for voting to block no-deal, and 14 independents, mainly from the “Change UK” wing or whatever they’re called this week.
The government needs 36 of the 56 to vote with it to get the deal through, and can probably count on most of the 20 former Tories. Labour sources are suggesting, quite plausibly, that double-figure numbers of their 19 will also back the deal. So it’s close.
If it passes, England and Wales will get what they voted for (Brexit), Northern Ireland will – after a fashion – get what it voted for (effectively staying in the EU), and Scotland will get shafted. It’ll be placed at a significant economic disadvantage to NI, at a likely severe cost in jobs and investment. The nation which voted the most decisively on Brexit (for either option) will be the only one not to get its democratic wishes respected.
And slightly surprisingly, the whole UK thinks that’s unfair.
As we write this, in between bouts of weeping with exhausted misery, frustration and rage, Her Majesty’s Opposition’s interminable will-they-won’t-they game of attempting – maybe, one day, perhaps – to bring down the government and force a new election leading to a new EU referendum continues.
And as the SNP in particular devotes huge amounts of energy to trying to stop Brexit, against the wishes of its own voters, we wondered how the public not just in Scotland but in the two constituent nations of the UK that voted Leave felt about that.
It’s been quite the week so far. For the vile and sickening crime of [check notes] finding out what SNP voters were thinking about the important political issues of the moment, we’ve had (especially on Facebook) a two-day barrage of stuff like this, and worse:
So, y’know, on with what we always do: reporting the facts.
Yesterday’s poll results attracted quite a surprising amount of anger from people who apparently don’t consider it at all important to the cause of independence to find out what people intending to vote SNP at the next Holyrood election think.
They’re probably not going to like these ones much either.
A third of SNP voters are unconvinced by the First Minister’s constant assurances that a second indyref will be delivered in the next 18 months. But the related question posed by several readers yesterday was “If you don’t think the SNP has a coherent strategy for securing a new vote, what would YOU do, Mister Smartypants?”
Which is annoying, because it’s a question we’ve answered in various contexts half a dozen times in the past year and a bit. So we thought we’d see if voters had been paying any more attention.
Marie on The View From Row Z: “She claims to be serving a sentence. Nope – that sentence starts when she’s in a prison cell. Best place…” May 31, 18:25
David Lindsay on The View From Row Z: “If Nicola Sturgeon is “serving a sentence for a crime [she] did not commit,” then is she serving it on…” May 31, 18:16
Jon Drummond on The View From Row Z: “Regarding the pepper grinder I can assure everyone that Sturgeon has never had a “sausage” supper in her life. Maybe…” May 31, 18:14
The Friendly Sassenach on The View From Row Z: “John Crace in the guardian put it like this… https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/31/nicola-sturgeon-interview-peter-murrell-snp-politics-sketch” May 31, 18:06
Peter S on The View From Row Z: “A word to the wise, hen – when you’re in a hole, for goodness’ sake stop digging !” May 31, 18:05
James on The View From Row Z: “Blamed for a crime I haven’t committed But it was ok to try and get Salmond sent down? I can’t…” May 31, 18:04
Victor Clements on The View From Row Z: “The really obvious missed opportunity today was when Sturgeon said words to the effect that “at that point, the people…” May 31, 17:48
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The View From Row Z: “The 2021 accounts list no motor vehicles under expenditure, and the “miscellaneous” entries don’t include the campervan.” May 31, 17:12
Karen on The View From Row Z: “Oh yes, I meant to say, hubby pointed out flying AA down to London on a Sunday must have been…” May 31, 17:12
David Blake on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Small technical question? When someone is interviewed under auction,, arenythe defence entitled to a copy of the tape? Even if…” May 31, 17:10
Karen on The View From Row Z: “1. You’re retired? Wow, you produce error-free great stuff nearly every day! 2. Why is Laura wearing lavender? 3. At…” May 31, 17:08
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The View From Row Z: “I did pull him up on that 😀 https://x.com/WingsScotland/status/2060847209914999278” May 31, 17:08
Campbell Clansman on The View From Row Z: “With her lies Sturgeon climbed to the top of the (Holyrood) political heap. Lies have been the secret of her…” May 31, 17:00
Spartan 117 on The View From Row Z: “Dig, dig, dig. Nothing to see here. Look, over there, a squirrel, another indy ref! Some more red meat to…” May 31, 16:56
J Galt on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: ““The Demons” comes to mind – although that may give them more dignity than they deserve – a shame Dostoyevsky…” May 31, 16:38
Graham on The View From Row Z: “My wife teased me for buying salt & pepper grinders for just under £200 a couple of years ago, but,…” May 31, 16:37
Andy Wiltshire on The View From Row Z: “She claimed she didn’t even recognise them.” May 31, 16:35
Andy Wiltshire on The View From Row Z: “An interview was probably only granted on the proviso that it would be undertaken by a London bod who didn’t…” May 31, 16:32
alan_b on The View From Row Z: “The camper van is listed in the balance sheet as a fixed asset, presumably at current (second hand) value. The…” May 31, 16:31
GeoffC on The View From Row Z: “She loves the tax regime she helped introduce in Scotland, she’s decided to live in England…..” May 31, 16:30
robertkknight on The View From Row Z: “I’m afraid that the coffee went all over the keyboard the moment I read the contribution from Sam Taylor in…” May 31, 16:30
Nemisis Benn on The View From Row Z: “To be quite clear, I have no wish to even think of taking sides, be it this woman’s or her…” May 31, 16:29
Shibboleth on The View From Row Z: “I don’t know all the various financial positions in this squalid affair, but am I correct in assuming that Murrell…” May 31, 16:07
crazycat on The View From Row Z: “The National’s article from 28/10/20 claims that “the SNP has e-mailed all of its donors in a bid to “quash…” May 31, 16:03
Neil Mackenzie on The View From Row Z: “Have the books that so many people weren’t allowed to see been seen, yet?” May 31, 16:03
Jeremy Wickins on The View From Row Z: “The only thing I’m willing to cut Sturgeon some slack on is the cruet set – until the week, I…” May 31, 15:56
duncanio on The View From Row Z: “By 1. Signing off the accounts 2. Shutting down questioning and scrutiny of the books 3. Raising money for a…” May 31, 15:48
