Today the Scottish Parliament spent several hours heatedly debating a motion to call for a second Section 30 order to enable a new independence referendum (several more will follow tomorrow before the vote). We watched all of it so you didn’t have to, and are delighted to present you with a few clips that probably won’t make the news.
On such a momentous topic, this was the intervention that Scottish Labour list MSP Monica Lennon felt was the most pressing issue to raise, for example:
We’re very touched, obviously, and will add it to our file of other mentions in the chamber and elsewhere. But there were probably more important things to discuss.
Here’s the Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, speaking to BBC News this morning and giving a striking illustration of the term “dancing on the head of a pin”.
Comically, his excuse for demanding another referendum on leaving the EU while opposing a second Scottish independence referendum is that his new EU vote would be a completely different question – he’d be asking voters if they wanted to accept the Brexit deal and exit from the EU (which one might reasonably summarise on the ballot paper as “Leave”), or to refuse to approve the deal and stay in the EU (or put another way, “Remain”).
Glad we cleared that up, then. But then it got weirder.
We joke, of course. The Spanish government has made this position abundantly plain several times over a number of years, and it still doesn’t stop idiot Yoons (and media pundits who should know better) from spouting it.
But this time, in the flesh, it’s really quite hard to spin a way out of.
It’s important to note, firstly, that the version of Sadiq Khan’s speech to the Scottish Labour conference he tweeted on Saturday morning simply flat-out said that Scottish nationalists were the same as racists and sectarian bigots. Its meaning was as clear as crystal to the Daily Record, a newspaper which is hardly hostile to Khan’s party.
“No difference” is a stark and unambiguous phrase. The speech did not contain the hastily-added qualifiers about “in this respect” and “of course I’m not saying the SNP are racist” which suddenly appeared when he read it out onstage that afternoon.
Robert Matthews on What Went On: “Will Alf Baird and James be attending? If not, why not?” Nov 29, 00:19
ben madigan on What Went On: “many years ago I worked with a urology surgeon who had created a “penis” for a woman who wanted to…” Nov 28, 23:47
Oneliner on What Went On: “Those from parties not based in and controlled by London/England. Some shuffling of desks and slippers may be required. House…” Nov 28, 23:47
Gregory Beekman on What Went On: “She walked up to me and she asked me to dance I asked her her name and in a dark…” Nov 28, 23:28
Mark Beggan on What Went On: “The less said about that’ the better.” Nov 28, 23:22
Robert Hughes on What Went On: “My partner was telling me about this ( I’m not on TwitX ) and that the Scottish dairy brand -…” Nov 28, 23:17
Ian Brotherhood on What Went On: “A stushie has erupted over whether or not fart suppressant being added to cattle feed is harmful to humans. I…” Nov 28, 22:28
crazycat on What Went On: “I think there are two strands of lunacy here. As you say, men cannot be pregnant. But people who swallow…” Nov 28, 22:08
znovak on What Went On: ““Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” It is…” Nov 28, 21:53
Craig P on What Went On: “The Scottish Government needs to take UEFA to court. Scotland clearly won the last Euros.” Nov 28, 21:50
Anthem on What Went On: “Exactly! There seems to be no law against their fraud, deceit and lies. How do we prosecute these people?” Nov 28, 21:40
Robert Matthews on What Went On: “Colonial Bingo – 0 ?” Nov 28, 21:39
Robert Matthews on What Went On: “Colonial Bingo- knock at the door 4.” Nov 28, 21:37
Andy Anderson on What Went On: “Is he not to old to become pregnant!!” Nov 28, 21:31
ben madigan on What Went On: “could I do that? Identify as a surgeon, I mean? I am confident I could scrub up and wear the…” Nov 28, 21:18
Lorna Campbell on What Went On: “The KC involved in fighting the SG’s corner is a woman – the biological kind. She was just doing her…” Nov 28, 21:09
Hatey McHateface on What Went On: “Looks like the 2024 award for the most institutionally gormless governing body in world politics is in the bag. The…” Nov 28, 20:55
Hatey McHateface on What Went On: “What’s the status of our bet, then? £50 too rich for you? This time of year, there’s plenty of temp…” Nov 28, 20:45
Hatey McHateface on What Went On: “Aw, are you missing him already? S’not even 24 hours. 🙂 Story I heard, he’s ordered a certificate of professorship…” Nov 28, 20:40
Robert Louis on What Went On: “Can no politicians see, as clear as day, the madness of this gender stuff? I mean seriously, we have leaders…” Nov 28, 20:38
SteepBrae on What Went On: “O/T (from ALBA): Saturday 30th November 2024, 12.30pm, His Dream Will Never Die, We call on all Scottish Patriots to…” Nov 28, 20:36
Chas on What Went On: “Great stuff. Another link to mince written by an erse. Have you not got anything original or new? Is plagiarism…” Nov 28, 20:33
Alf Baird on What Went On: “Swinney himself would need to become pregnant to prove his case; tho A widna haud ma breith.” Nov 28, 20:29
Nae Need! on What Went On: ““The UK Conservatives largely voted against the GRA 2004, but did little to repeal it when they returned to power.”…” Nov 28, 20:28
Alf Baird on What Went On: “Private school fees have to be paid somehow.” Nov 28, 20:25
Alf Baird on What Went On: “All that ethnic self-hatred is doing you no good, you know. Colonialism isnae really that difficult tae feegure oot: https://salvo.scot/scotlands-colonial-status/” Nov 28, 20:23
Campbell Clansman on What Went On: “Conservative MSPs voted 26-2 AGAINST the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. All the other parties voted overwhelmingly FOR the bill.…” Nov 28, 19:56
gregor on What Went On: “Karma @Illuminarty1111: “Lol , what a fanny”: https://tinyurl.com/mvhhxh95” Nov 28, 19:52
Nae Need! on What Went On: “It astonishes me that people are STILL falling for the ‘jam tomorrow’ carrot dangling of these liars.” Nov 28, 19:50
gregor on What Went On: “@PeteWishart has blocked you: “Also got signed copies for sale in Perth Waterstones.”: https://archive.ph/mYtrx” Nov 28, 19:48
