Below is part of a segment from Monday’s edition of Good Morning Scotland (from 2h 35m at the link beneath the clip), which featured an interview with Professor Allyson Pollock, an extremely experienced academic in the field of healthcare on both sides of the border who so far as we know has no dog in the Scottish constitutional fight.
These are the comments of UK defence secretary Michael Fallon in a short interview with today’s Herald. We don’t know about you, folks, but to us it feels like Christmas.
We think our favourite line is “There are other voices in Scotland now, not least Ruth Davidson’s”, but there are a lot to choose from.
This is Conservative MP Dominic Raab, a member of the Brexit Select Committee, speaking on the BBC News Channel’s “Hard Talk” programme at 00.45 this morning. Perhaps imagining that nobody would be watching at such an ungodly hour, it seems he felt able to be unusually candid.
We left the last bit on in order to demonstrate that he was still talking about Scotland as well as Ireland. (He went on to recite the usual boilerplate about all leaving together as the UK etc etc, you can watch the whole show for yourself on iPlayer.)
But let’s just get that key early exchange down in writing for the record.
Because when you really want people with their finger on the pulse of Scottish politics to analyse the implications of the Supreme Court decision on Brexit, where else would you go but to Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, to hear from um, former rugby league star and haircut pioneer Martin Offiah?
Way back in October last year we analysed what now seems to have become the key plank of Unionist argument against independence in the wake of Brexit – the idea that because Scotland does more trade with the rest of the UK than it does with the EU, independence would be economic suicide because Scotland would be sacrificing “the UK single market” (a thing that doesn’t actually exist ) for a much smaller one.
It’s a completely idiotic position, but to be honest we didn’t do a very good job of boiling the counter-argument down to something snappy and quoteable, so let’s have another go and see if we can manage something a little better.
We’ll be honest with you, readers, we’re not looking forward to 2017 one little bit. It’s going to be the most tedious year in Scottish politics since we started this website, and perhaps since the advent of devolution.
Other than the mild distraction of the council elections in May – which are likely to be a bit of a damp squib due to the deadening effect of STV and the propensity of Labour and the Tories to do deals to keep the SNP out of power – pretty much nothing even a little bit interesting is going to happen.
All we ARE going to hear about is Brexit and the EU, over and over and over and over again, and everything we’re going to hear is the same empty, pointless, space-filling speculation we’ve already been hearing since June. So let’s just get it down, and then we can link to it every week and go and do something useful with our time instead.
Xaracen on Believers In The Ruins: “The decision was wrong, because the UK government lied. The UN is in the process of waking up to that…” Aug 14, 19:50
TURABDIN on Believers In The Ruins: “it is not as if the one at westminster is any better, ppe, hs2,to cite but two cases of epic…” Aug 14, 18:16
TURABDIN on Believers In The Ruins: “IN THE LIGHT of houses burning, vide Daily Dogpile, a wild thought anent the puny temporary prohibition on nasty portable…” Aug 14, 18:04
Alf Baird on Believers In The Ruins: ““none, of the things delegated to the Scottish Govt in the past decade or more has been a success” True,…” Aug 14, 17:09
Wally Jumblatt on Believers In The Ruins: “I really don’t care if in 1632 or quarter to eight some treaty or law was passed. Since don’t have…” Aug 14, 14:49
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: ““Scotland absorbed, annexed, incorporated is actually how the world sees it and many English do also” Aye, TURABDIN, just like…” Aug 14, 14:11
Captain Caveman on Anatomy Of A Grift: ““Plus any attempt to discuss a subject btl just gets relentless trolling from obvious disruptors to the point few can…” Aug 14, 13:46
Captain Caveman on Anatomy Of A Grift: ““trannyism is deadly boring” Yeah, it’s only “deadly boring” if you don’t have a wife, daughters, granddaughters, dear female friends;…” Aug 14, 13:41
TURABDIN on Believers In The Ruins: “Scotland absorbed, annexed, incorporated is actually how the world sees it and many English do also. A face to face…” Aug 14, 13:40
Hatey McHateface on Anatomy Of A Grift: “As always, it needs to be pointed out that the alternative to the NHS needn’t be an “American style” system.…” Aug 14, 13:25
Confused on Believers In The Ruins: “that was an odd segue into footy about halfway; don’t knock it, it gives joy to many people www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrgJ_-stYHw anyway,…” Aug 14, 12:51
Confused on Anatomy Of A Grift: “trannyism is deadly boring and only becomes interesting once you realise what it is all connected to; it is not…” Aug 14, 12:47
aLurker on Believers In The Ruins: “@Breeks. I always enjoy your posts, but this one has prompted me to respond. I am assuming that you are…” Aug 14, 12:22
Spartan 117 on Believers In The Ruins: “A good post that accurately sums up many of the problems in the West currently. Although along with HMcH I…” Aug 14, 12:21
Hatey McHateface on Anatomy Of A Grift: ““I’ll take the gammon over the quinoa every time” An unforgettable classic line! Hoping I can re-use it occasionally with…” Aug 14, 12:05
Stevie on Believers In The Ruins: “As Reform does better, amplified by the likelihood that pro-indy voters won’t be actually motivated to go vote for the…” Aug 14, 11:55
Aidan on Anatomy Of A Grift: “Probably also worth pointing out that the trans issue IS one of the most important issues in Scottish politics, both;…” Aug 14, 11:27
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Anatomy Of A Grift: “Since we started covering gender, something like 5% of Wings posts have been on the subject, so the idea that…” Aug 14, 11:19
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: ““we welcome the soporific effect of mindless, tribal politics” You got that right. “In the West, we live in a…” Aug 14, 11:12
Aidan on Believers In The Ruins: “This was considered by the UN in 1954 and a decision was taken that Scotland would not be listed as…” Aug 14, 11:09
Hatey McHateface on Believers In The Ruins: ““I must remember to keep repeating that” You must, sam, and tae hell wi the environment. Let it burn! One…” Aug 14, 11:07
100%Yes on Believers In The Ruins: “Senior Police Accuse Prosecutors of Master-Servant Power Dynamic After Peter Murrell Scandal youtube.com/watch?v=rY9LqiAk1M4” Aug 14, 10:41
James Che on Believers In The Ruins: “Claiming UDI from a Colony,? uK general elections in Scotland when the Scottish parliament was dissolved from the parliament of…” Aug 14, 10:04
Vivian O’Blivion on Believers In The Ruins: “Marx said; “religion is the opium of the people”. In the West, we live in a post religious world. In…” Aug 14, 10:02
James Che on Believers In The Ruins: “Correction to last post, Meant to say over 3 hundred years,” Aug 14, 09:55
