Only an idiot would try to write anything today about the epic mess currently unfolding in British politics. You’d barely get to the end of typing a sentence before events had rendered it obsolete. But there’s one thing we’d really like to know, which bewilderingly nobody is mentioning.
The primary root cause of Brexit was idiots complaining about immigration. The core supposed aim of leaving, no matter what anyone said, was to reduce the number of foreign people coming to live and work in the UK. The issue of immigration regularly topped polls of what voters were most concerned about, and a 2017 study showed it was the biggest factor in the Leave vote.
But yesterday the UK government, after two and a half years of quite spectacularly inept negotiation, produced for the approval of the electorate a Brexit deal which did precisely NOTHING about immigration, and nobody in the media even mentioned it.
Ever aware of its need to deliver informed enlightenment to the populace, the state broadcaster has recently put up a “BBC Brexit Jargon Buster” page on its website. We’re not sure it was meant to be quite this candid.
This piece ran in the Telegraph – a newspaper with no Scottish edition and almost no Scottish sales – on Friday. Click to enlarge.
Our favourite line is:
“Think of what the UK would be like without the vast wealth generated by the 44bn barrels of oil pumped from British territory over the last 40 years.”
(Curiously, this is a rather different line to the one Critchlow took during the indyref, when he was the Telegraph’s full-time business news editor penning a string of articles about how bankrupt an independent Scotland would be despite possessing an asset that’s now apparently big enough to prop up an economy 12 times Scotland’s size.)
It’s worth keeping in mind whenever Unionists tell us (a) how volatile and worthless and used-up oil is, (b) how much Scotland depends on the kind benevolence of the UK to survive, and (c) why we can’t have another referendum until years after Brexit.
Wings Over Scotland is seven years old today (the period of time defined by the Good Friday Agreement as a “generation” in terms of referendums), and it doesn’t feel like a day over 25. Can we hurry up and have another indy vote before the entire country burns to the ground around our ears, please?
There was a certain uncomfortable 2018 inevitability this morning over the fact that where people were offended, arrests would follow.
And the burning of a cardboard model of the Grenfell Tower last night was certainly right up near the top in the pantheon of cretinously offensive things. Many victims of the appalling tragedy, which killed 72 people and injured many more, still haven’t been properly rehomed almost a year and a half later.
Peter McAvoy on Believers In The Ruins: “When Independence is declared whether after a referendum or UDI who would recognise Scottish Independence and for what reason,and how…” Aug 14, 01:34
sarah on Believers In The Ruins: “@ BLMac “Scotland is lacking..a leader who the enemy fear…”. I’d be happy with any leader i.e. with enough personality,…” Aug 13, 22:24
BLMac on Believers In The Ruins: “Looking at the history of independence movements what Scotland is lacking is a right nasty bastard as leader, ie a…” Aug 13, 22:00
sarah on Believers In The Ruins: “O/T: Mark Hirst fundraiser today for £5000 to pursue his case against the Crown Office for malicious prosecution. The crowdfunder…” Aug 13, 21:33
Breeks on Believers In The Ruins: “The weakness of a UDI isn’t necessarily constitutional legitimacy, nor political justification, both of which I consider favourable towards Scotland’s…” Aug 13, 21:14
Dan on Anatomy Of A Grift: “Trouble is Stu that there aren’t that many people btl now… That’s because 8 years of an awful lot of…” Aug 13, 20:17
Aidan on Believers In The Ruins: “Aye thats it – there’s about 15-20 regular posters here, the plan is to bore than to death until what?…” Aug 13, 20:10
Chas on Believers In The Ruins: “Made me laugh Kenny. Alf has a plan-what is it? Bleating on about colonialism every fucking day is not a…” Aug 13, 19:40
Kenny on Believers In The Ruins: “I happen to be encouraged by Prof Alf Baird’s ‘shite’ – he has a plan, wtf do you have, Salmond’s…” Aug 13, 19:16
TURABDIN on The Other Kind Of Winning: “glad to find below the liners with a sense of proportion not to mention a sense of humour. have this…” Aug 13, 18:28
sam on The Other Kind Of Winning: “I may be wrang but I think Turabdin lives in Scotland. a wee bitty racial stereotyping going on with you.…” Aug 13, 17:49
100%Yes on Believers In The Ruins: “Yes, and it can only improve and it doesn’t need the backing of the SNP to support it.” Aug 13, 16:58
Chas on Believers In The Ruins: “I owe the learned professor an apology. He is clearly suffering from dementia as this is the only reason why…” Aug 13, 16:41
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “So that’s what we’re doing, Alf, we’re following the decolonisation template. Crivens! Care to provide a concrete example? Maybe a…” Aug 13, 16:40
Hatey McHateface on The Other Kind Of Winning: “Perhaps you need to educate yourself, TURABDIN. You might discover that the Earth-Moon system is unique within our solar system,…” Aug 13, 16:13
Alf Baird on Believers In The Ruins: ““Written in the post colonial textbooks” Correct Hatey, Scots are, sure as Celts winning the league, following the ‘decolonization template’…” Aug 13, 16:12
Hatey McHateface on The Other Kind Of Winning: “An interesting idea, Chas, but in a country where the immigrants are doing an ever increasing share of the jobs,…” Aug 13, 15:47
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: “Listen to Professor Baird. He’ll tell you that Fanon, Memmi, Cesaire, Elkins and the Jonesy boyo predicted all this was…” Aug 13, 15:37
Hatey McHateface on The Other Kind Of Winning: “All very well but where aboot’s this genocide at? Thing is, if there’s a real genocide ongoing, none of the…” Aug 13, 15:31
Captain Caveman on The Other Kind Of Winning: “Can you imagine the scale of brass neck required to approach a hard-pressed charity for a new sofa, when you’re…” Aug 13, 15:28
Alf Baird on Believers In The Ruins: ““I know the numbers who support UDI are low” One third is not that bad considering colonial rule inevitably results…” Aug 13, 15:10
Morgatron on Believers In The Ruins: “Being a Clyde supporter, I never got the whole ugly sister bitterness. But being an independance supporter my whole adult…” Aug 13, 15:03
100%Yes on Believers In The Ruins: “Scotland’s Fucked!!! The National in my opinion is having to twist the truth because it knows its failed as an…” Aug 13, 14:41
robertkknight on Believers In The Ruins: “Ugly sisters everywhere you look! Tommy: “Doesn’t it make you feel proud to be Scottish?” Renton: “It’s shite… etc.” Aug 13, 14:30
robertkknight on The Other Kind Of Winning: “Indeed… Full-time (38hr week) employment on the (voluntary) Living Wage gives a gross annual salary of £26,600 A gross annual…” Aug 13, 14:26
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Anatomy Of A Grift: “We’ve been covering this topic for eight years now, so it seems rather unlikely that there are many people here…” Aug 13, 14:24
duncanio on Believers In The Ruins: “The SNP and British Labour in Scotland are like two unipeds laying claim to a pair of ragged trousers.” Aug 13, 14:18
