We figured you’d probably want to see this.
(Skip to 3.00 to get past the pointless title frame. Text of speech here.)
Even we can’t quite believe this one, readers.
Good grief, where do we even start?
Jim Murphy had an uncomfortable few minutes on Sunday Politics this morning (though in fairness, not quite as uncomfortable as those Natalie Bennett of the Greens had just endured as Andrew Neil shone some light on some of the more out-there sections of the party’s manifesto).
Murphy did his best to waffle and stall for time as he avoided almost all of Neil’s questions. He had no opinion on whether Nicola Sturgeon should take part in election debate, no view on whether Labour would work with the SNP in the event of a hung Parliament, and refused point-blank to clarify his own position in terms of standing for his current Westminster seat this May.
(Even though the BBC had told us he’d cleared that up three days ago.)
He did make one unequivocal statement, though.
Tonight’s Question Time for some reason featured a question about the SNP, which Labour, Lib Dem, Tory and UKIP representatives got to discuss at length with nobody from the SNP (or even from Scotland) there to respond. It was an enlightening insight into England’s attitude to the Scots as a whole, not just the SNP. Here’s how it went.
We recommend all of it, but UKIP’s Paul Nuttall is the star, from 3m 42s.
It is sometimes said, unkindly, that in parts of Scotland it would be possible to get a monkey elected as a Labour MP, so long as said monkey was wearing a red rosette.
Here, not entirely unrelatedly, is Brian Donohoe (Central Ayrshire), earlier today.
Um, just a couple of points.
Willie Rennie, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, 12 January 2015:
Tavish Scott, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Tuesday 3 May 2011:
Still, at least he was wrong about Salmond fiddling the referendum result, eh?
We thought you might like a wee glimpse into the machinery.
In an alternative universe, Keir Hardie reacts to news of the election of Jim Murphy.
Alex Salmond as the Terminator. Any way you slice it it’s a remarkable mental image from the mind of a clearly distraught James Kirkup of the Telegraph.
Apparently death wouldn’t stop him anyway. We’ve actually cut this clip before the point where the woman from the Economist calls the former First Minister a “zombie who just keeps on powering through to the end of the horror movie”. Of course, if you think of the Union as the horror movie, it’s not the worst analogy we’ve ever heard.
We’ve noted on a number of occasions that the BBC is fond of using the late-night papers review show on the News channel as a sneaky little Nat-bashing section in which London-based broadsheet journalists (always, always Unionists) get to display the full depth of their arrogant cluelessness about Scottish politics.
Last night’s, however, was quite something even by the usual standards.
In the wake of the story carried by many newspapers today about Scottish Labour changing its position on the devolution of taxation for (by our count) the 15th time, we thought it only fair that we should let each of the three candidates for the branch office managership explain it in their own words.
We’re certain that it’ll all be clear once they’re finished.
Ed Miliband on the BBC 10 O’Clock News, 21 November 2014.
Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.
