For some reason the Unionist community has this week been turning the bullhorn up to maximum on the subject of pensions. Most likely provoked by the publication of Dr Craig Dalzell’s fascinating “Beyond GERS”, the usual suspects have returned to the scaremongering tactics deployed during the indyref, attempting to terrorise the elderly with blood-curdling threats of destitution once again.
It’s a bewildering approach, given that the situation regarding pensions is one of the few around independence about which there is known certainty. The UK government already pays the state pension to millions of people outside the UK, under rules which would apply in exactly the same way if Scotland became a “foreign” country.
But just for fun, let’s look at exactly what the situation would be in the monumentally implausible event that Blair McDougall was telling the truth for once.
One of the videos below is a genuine “Better Together” campaign broadcast, pulled from TV at the last minute (despite costing £50,000 to make) and today revealed by Buzzfeed. The other is a spoof we made in June 2014.
Good luck figuring out which is the real one, folks.
We realise that there’s some stiff competition for that accolade, even if you restrict it solely to things said by Kezia Dugdale, but this needs preserving for posterity.
A couple of questions do spring immediately to mind: (1) how does every country on Earth that isn’t Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland do it, and (2) given that Scotland has now been in the Union for 309 years, how much longer is it going to take before the two things are finally eradicated?
We look forward to hearing the answers from Labour any day now.
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer in today’s Press & Journal:
55-45 is “far more decisive” than 62-38? We think we’re finally beginning to understand why the last Labour government left the British economy in such a mess.
An article by Nick Cohen in the Spectator last night fairly had social media ablaze with a heady brew of anger and mockery.
It’s the most extraordinary outpouring of deranged, spittle-flecked arsewash we’ve seen outside of a Daily Express comment thread in a very considerable time, and it merits attention solely because we think it might have broken a world record for the number of empirical falsehoods contained in an article in a respectable media outlet.
Get your clickers out, readers. You’re going to need a fast trigger finger.
The Daily Telegraph just released a video called “100 Reasons Why Brexit Was A Good Thing”. It listed them to a soundtrack of “Jerusalem”, the same song that closed the Labour Party conference earlier this week with its stirring ode to just one of the four nations of the United Kingdom.
We’ve saved a few of the highlights below, just in case the Telegraph should delete the video in a fit of sanity. We’ve also added one fake one. See if you can spot it.
You can see the full unedited Kezia Dugdale interview with Gordon Brewer on today’s Sunday Politics Scotland at this link, so you can verify that the shortened edit below isn’t misrepresenting anything. But if you don’t have time or attention span for the full 20 minutes, this’ll give you the gist without all the desperate waffling.
We think readers will agree that there can no longer be so much as a scintilla of doubt over whether Kezia believes Jeremy Corbyn can lead Labour to victory.
The press and social media today are frothing with excitement about a new Ipsos Mori poll for STV which shows (for the second poll in succession) Ruth Davidson scoring marginally higher approval ratings than Nicola Sturgeon.
But the problem is that that wasn’t what people were actually asked.
As several alert readers have already spotted, our Twitter account was suspended at some point in the early hours of this morning. We’ve had no email from Twitter offering any sort of explanation, but it seems most likely to have been at the behest of a Daily Express hack called Siobhan McFadyen who’s been huffily bleating to the company’s executives over the weekend about this tweet:
The reason we tweeted that comment is detailed here and here. But apparently it’s an opinion that you’re no longer allowed to have.
More or less since the morning of 19 September 2014, the Unionist parties in Scotland have kept up an unceasing chorus of “You lost! Accept it!” directed at the entire Yes movement, but primarily the SNP (despite the SNP having never to date disputed the result or called for a re-run of the referendum).
Readers may not be entirely astonished to discover this morning that at least as far as Scottish Labour are concerned, that principle only applies to other people.
Because we’re pretty sure there’s already a name for when political parties set out an “alternative programme of government”.
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “I love that song LOL “You said you loved losers – well look at your team” .. bloody brilliant! “Your…” Apr 13, 00:39
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “I’ve been listening to Baud for years. He’s excellent. That happened to him a few months ago. It’s terrible what…” Apr 13, 00:20
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Look at you, all big & all clever celebrating war crims, Jenny & bent, unelected midget president just lifting ppl…” Apr 12, 23:57
Confused on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: ““where is the lie”? www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G9DNx7xIIc but seriously https://archive.ph/QQgz6 telling the truth in wartime can get you in trouble – jacques…” Apr 12, 23:45
Confused on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Orban buys it; the only decent man in the EU. the 90B to yookie was a loan, but its the…” Apr 12, 23:41
Confused on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “not you, Scotland https://archive.ph/k6AUO “we” is doing a lot of faking going on, it means … me, josh, piers, the…” Apr 12, 23:39
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Thanks, CC. It’s a fraught time for anybody trying to run a small business so I have been busy. I…” Apr 12, 23:12
Frank Gillougley on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “I remember now, the apparatchick’s name was a Valerie. Two legs bad, four legs good kinda person. Back on topic…” Apr 12, 22:53
Mark Beggan on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “The Uruk-Hia are having serious staffing problems. There’s rumours they’re in discussions with G4S.” Apr 12, 22:43
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “I’m no fan of the EU but fair play to them. poot is down one apologist tonight and that’s a…” Apr 12, 22:26
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “90 billion Euros for our fighting friends in the east have just been unlocked as Orban is consigned to history’s…” Apr 12, 22:11
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “The EU was always going to get rid of him, by hook or by crook. He just wasn’t playing ball…” Apr 12, 22:00
Frank Gillougley on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Meanwhile, back at the ranch, here in sunny Hungary, Orbán concedes and Tisza will pass the 2/3rds majority needed to…” Apr 12, 21:42
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: ““There’s a very good reason the whole world hasn’t joined in with this madness” Sure, feart of the followers of…” Apr 12, 21:40
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “LOL! I asked myself that same question when it comes to UK elections & Brexshit referendum. Why does Pam fae…” Apr 12, 21:28
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: ““the Greens 11 seats” Was that before or after the Green quine announced that a Green Scotland will dig deep…” Apr 12, 21:22
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “First off – let’s remind the group these are war crims. An unjust & illegal act of aggression. There’s a…” Apr 12, 21:20
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: ““The tech Mafia will make their own version of obedient human” Truly it is as if you are completely unaware…” Apr 12, 21:15
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Aye, aye, Captain fckwit. Y’all will be swimming with the fishes in nae time. Mind wear yer armbands! Unleash the…” Apr 12, 21:09
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Oh dear, Geri, you’ve just provided two reasons for them to disappear you. The first is you’ve gone public. Doh!…” Apr 12, 21:04
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Then again, “Rt Hon. Lord Barony” may simply be cultural misappropriation by somebody of Caribbean or Indian heritage whose parents…” Apr 12, 20:53
Geri on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Transhumanism. The tech Mafia will make their own version of obedient human.” Apr 12, 20:48
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: ““Operation “Cutting your nose to spite your face””. I don’t see that. Blockading the towel heids exports in makes perfect…” Apr 12, 20:45
Hatey McHateface on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: ““should normally protect the sovereignty of the indigenous people, including those living abroad” Why should anybody care about the sovereignty…” Apr 12, 20:33
Alf Baird on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: ““the occupation of ALL of our top cultural, heritage, environmental, educational, etc. positions” Indeed, an Anglo cultural hegemony and hence…” Apr 12, 19:01
