We’ve noted on more than one occasion that the spectacular SNP surge since the referendum appears to have completely unhinged much of the Scottish and UK press. Having pumped out a vast avalanche of hysterical coverage which utterly failed to stop the Scottish electorate returning 56 SNPs out of 59, the papers have responded to the rebuff by simply turning the volume up.
But even by those standards, today has been special.
We watched the Labour leadership hustings this week with interest. The most striking aspect in our eyes was the warm reception afforded by the audience to left-wing outsider Jeremy Corbyn, who’s been almost uniformly discounted, sneered at and worse by the commentariat (with the notable exception of the Guardian’s Owen Jones) as a suicidal option fit only for a return to the days of the Militant Tendency.
The main reason cited by pundits for dismissing Corbyn out of hand is a perceived failure to speak to “aspiration”, which seems to have been defined for the purposes of the argument as “poor people who want to become Tories”.
The thinking runs that the unemployed and low-paid don’t want to be that way forever (reasonably enough), and that therefore there’s no point in Labour trying to redistribute wealth downwards, because nobody wants to see themselves as still being poor in the future, so they won’t see any benefit from it.
There are all manner of things morally and ideologically wrong with that approach, but they’re pretty obvious so we won’t bother spelling them out here. Perhaps a more compelling one, though, is that it’s a really stupid way to try to win an election.
Yesterday we highlighted a quote from Labour MP Kate Hoey about how the party secretly expects their next leader, whoever it is, to be in opposition for the next 10 years, meaning the UK will have a Conservative-led government for at least 15 years. Kate Hoey is on the Labour fringes, but today one of the front-runners for the leadership job proved her right.
Over and over again in the years leading up to the independence referendum, Scots were warned of the many dire consequences of voting Yes. Among the No campaign’s prime targets for scare tactics were subsidies for renewable energy.
UK government subsidies drying up certainly sounded like a scary prospect.
Unionists got very excited last week when the Office for Budget Responsibility once again downgraded its long-term North Sea oil revenue forecasts (which in 2011 it was predicting at £131bn) to just £2.1bn over 20 years. The new figure was as usual treated as a gospel fact and deployed to attack both independence and full fiscal autonomy by proving that Scotland couldn’t afford to run its own affairs.
We and others pointed out the numerous flaws in that argument, but of course those are just points of view. We could all debate it all day and all night and never achieve a consensus. There is, however, an easy way to settle the matter, by which supporters and opponents of independence and FFA alike can both put their money where their mouths are and everyone will be happy.
The first five words of “The Vow” – the solemn pledge made by all three UK party leaders on the eve of the independence referendum – are “The Scottish Parliament is permanent”. This is what happened in the House of Commons this evening when the UK government was asked to make good on that pledge.
With scarcely a moment’s pause for breath or reflection, the Unionist polity and media has seamlessly switched its focus to the elusive beast that is “Full Fiscal Autonomy”.
(The SNP thankfully seems to have swiftly dumped the silly and short-lived attempt to rebrand it “Full Fiscal Responsibility”.)
Having deemed the anti-independence “Project Fear” strategy a success because it won the referendum – seemingly oblivious to the fact that what it actually achieved was to turn a 30-point lead into a 10-point victory, at the cost of the annihilation of Unionist MPs in Scotland – the exact same tactics have been deployed against FFA.
And the main problem with that is that there are in fact two FFAs. And the Unionist side is fighting against the wrong one.
TURABDIN on Yelling at the tide: “Cherish the gifts of the past, but do not overlay those gifts with personal additions. Give the gifts room to…” Jan 25, 11:58
TURABDIN on Yelling at the tide: “As an enthusiast for the potential of so called Artificial Intelligence i link to the following article on an aspect…” Jan 25, 11:39
Sven on Yelling at the tide: “Can’t really say it’s much of a surprise that in the US if you aim a car or a handgun…” Jan 25, 11:27
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Get a grip, Alf. Why don’t you demand that the citizens of Venezuela, say, stop speaking Spanish? Brazil now. Shouldn’t…” Jan 25, 11:07
James Cheyne on Yelling at the tide: “Should we just accept all the turmoil and chaos happening simultaniosly around the world or should we question why? The…” Jan 25, 11:02
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “@Marie Calm down dear. It’s a white guy got killed. No boxes ticked. Nothing to see here. Even the previous…” Jan 25, 10:57
James Cheyne on Yelling at the tide: “And now we can add AI imaging into the mix for confusing the narrative and directional purpose of goal.” Jan 25, 10:51
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Sure, Willie. When you encounter an opinion you disagree with, then that’s abuse. I don’t mind so much that this…” Jan 25, 10:48
David Holden on Yelling at the tide: “I think You tube needs to work on its targeted ads as while watching a quite impressive often foul mouthed…” Jan 25, 10:46
James Cheyne on Yelling at the tide: “How many people are fallen prey to these multiple provided situations of psychological conditioning..” Jan 25, 10:45
James Cheyne on Yelling at the tide: “The question is who is funding all the disruptions, From just stop oil, Black lives matter, Antifa, Gender ideology Climate…” Jan 25, 10:39
Alf Baird on Yelling at the tide: ““As for the ludicrous idea that any young Scot should aim to graduate from university with a degree in Scots…” Jan 25, 10:23
Marie on Yelling at the tide: “They’re not doing their jobs. They’re murdering people in cold blood.” Jan 25, 10:07
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Yelling at the tide: “Un mot pour nous tous les vieillards… Dominique de Villepin: LA MORT D’IVAN ILITCH – PAR LÉON TOLSTOÏ www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7neR3E6jWU” Jan 25, 10:02
DaveL on Yelling at the tide: “Hey Wee Adolf, can’t you spell ‘cunt’?” Jan 25, 10:01
willie on Yelling at the tide: “Another thoroughly objectionable post by commentator Hatey. Rather than address issues being raised this commentator goes into personal attack making…” Jan 25, 10:01
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Say something stupid or denigrating. Sure, how about “Wee Adolf”, will that do?” Jan 25, 09:56
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Get a grip, Alf. That’s not “preventing” in any meaningful sense of the word. As for the ludicrous idea that…” Jan 25, 09:42
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “What happens when governments choose to finally implement border control, Willie, and people choose to try to stop authorised public…” Jan 25, 09:35
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: ““Pax tecum” Et cum spiritu tuo. “An quhen all cessyt he spak” Thanks for the link, Fearghas.” Jan 25, 07:16
Willie on Yelling at the tide: “The use of troops to intimidate and kill protestors in Minnesota is now very much beginning to resemble the actions…” Jan 24, 23:02
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Yelling at the tide: “Meant to add this link to the online text: VIRGIL’S AENEID, TRANSLATED BY GAVIN DOUGLAS (1513) www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/49884/pg49884-images.html” Jan 24, 22:33
DaveL on Yelling at the tide: “Aye, there’s Wee Adolf McHateface reliable as ever. Wee Adolf, I’ve got to say it, It’d be a first for…” Jan 24, 21:35
Alf Baird on Yelling at the tide: ““You tell me whoever it was prevented you from learning Scots” First nursery school, then primary school, followed by secondary…” Jan 24, 21:12
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: ““hundered ” Aye, a ken aboot that yin anaw. Whit am a like the day? A’m aw flustered because nane…” Jan 24, 20:50
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Great post, Northy. See that “theirs” in your last sentence? Is that the Scots leid richt their? Always keen tae…” Jan 24, 20:41
Northcode on Yelling at the tide: “Aye, Hatey, they are a shower o cunts, right enough. Thank fuck for you, though…” Jan 24, 20:39
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “@TURABDIN You just don’t get it. Scots invented the modern world. Only, the “modern” world our ancestors invented was the…” Jan 24, 20:34
Hatey McHateface on Yelling at the tide: “Aye, Willie, what’s the world coming to, eh? You can’t even threaten armed cops with your own handgun any more…” Jan 24, 20:26
