So let’s be absolutely clear: if Jeremy Corbyn wins the Labour leadership election next month, as almost everyone expects him to, the UK (and therefore Scotland) is doomed to Conservative rule until at least 2025.
That’s not our view, but the official public position of the leader of Scottish Labour.
Should there be a second independence referendum in the next few years, Scotland’s choice will be a clear one: a generation of brutal Tory austerity, isolated from Europe (losing out on billions of pounds in funding) and the protections of the Human Rights Act, or taking responsibility for ourselves.
And every time Kezia Dugdale or her Labour colleagues in Better Together 2.0 protest that there’s another option she’ll be contradicted not by angry nationalists, but by her own words. So we’re sure everyone on all sides of the debate in Scotland will be watching the outcome of the leadership contest with interest. There’s a lot at stake.
The Scottish media has worked itself into an indignant froth over the last few days about the appearance of Sputnik News – an Edinburgh-based arm of a publicly-owned, state-run Russian news agency, fronted by (among others) former Dateline Scotland and NewsShaft stars Jack Foster and Carolyn Scott.
(Any resemblance to publicly-owned, state-run national news agencies of questionable impartiality in other countries is of course entirely coincidental and totally different.)
The Sunday Herald ran a bizarre smear piece yesterday on the pair’s past fundraising initiatives for their two previous projects (which were obviously completely unrelated to Sputnik), and today’s Times has an even weirder column by Melanie Reid in which Foster and Scott are directly and startlingly compared to the Cuban Missile Crisis:
We tried, for the purposes of satire, to think of another country that played host to nuclear missiles that were controversially imposed on it by an external government, but unfortunately we couldn’t come up with anything. Sorry about that.
If there haven’t been as many posts on this site as people might expect at a time of such incredible political turmoil, it’s because Wings isn’t at heart a commentary blog. We don’t do a lot of flat-out opinion pieces, tending to concern ourselves more with measurable, empirical facts, and since nobody knows anything about anything at the moment, we haven’t had all that much useful to say.
But the closest thing there is right now to a certainty is that sometime quite soon, Unionist politicians in Scotland are going to have to grow up and deal with this:
And their problem is that there’s no possible way to.
So the official Westminster line is that Scotland will HAVE to become independent if it wants to remain in the EU. We’re sure the FM will be absolutely gutted to hear that.
Earlier today we were moved to tweet our scepticism regarding a claim made by the Scottish Labour branch manager Kezia Dugdale, as reported in the Guardian.
Even on the most casual glance, the numbers just didn’t seem to add up. If 62% of Scots voted to stay in the EU and 55% voted to stay in the UK, with no correlation between the two things, then the Venn-diagram intersection between those two groups seems pretty unlikely to add up to more than 50%, let alone a “vast” majority.
James on The Love Of Big Brother: “Soubds good but it’s not right….. In fact it doesn’t even sound good. Must try harder, “troops”.” Oct 6, 15:50
Marie on There May Be Justice: “Correct. I’ve not long finished reading Dr Jim Swire’s book on Lockerbie and his efforts to seek justice for the…” Oct 6, 15:27
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: ““having hoovered up our votes” Zat so, James? More fool you then.” Oct 6, 15:04
Aidan on The Love Of Big Brother: “@Alf – even if we took your somewhat suspect view of a foreign military occupation in the 1700’s (rather than,…” Oct 6, 14:55
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “Professor Baird demonstrating correct use of the royal “we” there. I’ve noticed its increasing use by many, these days. Always…” Oct 6, 14:31
James on The Love Of Big Brother: “Adrian wouldn’t know a fact if it punched him in the face, chum. Who are you anyway, his carer? “Their…” Oct 6, 14:27
Alf Baird on The Love Of Big Brother: ““outside of a military occupation or colonialism (neither of which apply in Scotland)” Who told you this, colonial history books?…” Oct 6, 14:25
Captain Caveman on The Love Of Big Brother: “Let’s put it this way, if he was any thicker he’d need watering twice a week.” Oct 6, 14:23
Insider on The Love Of Big Brother: “James @12:41 James, Are you REALLY that thick you can’t understand understand what Aidan explained quite clearly ?” Oct 6, 14:09
James on The Love Of Big Brother: “So, Adrian; “The right to self-determination is indeed universal and inalienable…” Except for Scotland. Need the crossword clue again, brains?” Oct 6, 12:41
Alf Baird on There May Be Justice: ““No judiciary or legal establishment has ever been about justice for the plebs” Valid point, Angus. However the reality might…” Oct 6, 11:58
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “Good point, MH, and approximately 43.8% true. Have a word with one of the New Scots who arrived last week…” Oct 6, 10:40
Minceheid on There May Be Justice: “Hatey McHateface says: 6 October, 2026 at 9:20 am The rest of us have been enjoying free health care Eh?…” Oct 6, 09:55
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “If it’s true that Scotland’s judiciary and legal establishment were world renowned, it can only have been during Scotland’s most…” Oct 6, 09:31
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: ““Have the plebs ever benefited from fighting and dying for the elites?” I guess not you, Angus. Shame. The rest…” Oct 6, 09:20
McDuff on There May Be Justice: “How does it go ………..”When good men do nothing”. Well good men and women are doing something. Respect and thanks…” Oct 6, 09:05
Spartan 117 on There May Be Justice: “Great to see this issue transcending politics and uniting people, just goes to show people do still care for integrity…” Oct 6, 07:57
Angus on There May Be Justice: ““the credibility and respect that Scotland’s judiciary and legal establishment were world renowned for” No judiciary or legal establishment has…” Oct 6, 04:23
twathater on There May Be Justice: “Thank you and the legal Eagles supporting you and us on this challenge to corruption and lies within the legal…” Oct 6, 02:02
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “Quote Cesaire until the cows come home, Alf, it won’t undo the fact you selectively cropped Northy’s post to change…” Oct 5, 21:56
Alf Baird on There May Be Justice: “That’s quite a meaningless diversion even for ‘an operator’ like you Hatey. The obvious reality here is that Scotland is…” Oct 5, 21:36
Rev. Stuart Campbell on There May Be Justice: “I’m in touch with Paul, but he’s not an ATM. He’s been supportive and we’ll see where we are if…” Oct 5, 21:08
100%Yes on There May Be Justice: “Who can blame him, I wish him well and thank Bruce for all he’s done. grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com is no longer available.…” Oct 5, 20:43
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “The cheek of her to complain. When she’s looking so well, hale and hearty on the very fare she’s complaining…” Oct 5, 19:59
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “Your selectively cropped quotation is blindingly obvious, Alf. Not quite the best way for an academic to impress his peers.…” Oct 5, 19:54
Dickie on There May Be Justice: “Ever considered contacting Paul McManus?” Oct 5, 19:54
Aidan on The Love Of Big Brother: “The right to self-determination is indeed universal and inalienable, but outside of a military occupation or colonialism (neither of which…” Oct 5, 19:49
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Which is going to break up first then, Alf? The UK or Orcland?” Oct 5, 19:14
Alf Baird on There May Be Justice: ““Scotland is the mess it is because it isn’t independent” Indeed so. Colonialism is ‘a Manichaean world’ (Fanon) where light…” Oct 5, 19:14
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “Don’t waste your time. The list of independent, corrupt countries is longer than both your arms.” Oct 5, 19:10
