The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


One for our Labour chums

Posted on June 08, 2013 by

1 Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. 18 03 15 23:50

    The Devo Files: Douglas Alexander (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) | A Wilderness of Peace

38 to “One for our Labour chums”

  1. handclapping says:

    Showing my age, BT and the armed forces means Black and Tans.

    Reply
  2. sneddon says:

    I nearly forgot what a vile excuse for a human being Gove is.  Thanks for reminding me.

    Reply
  3. HighlandMartin says:

    Just don’t mention the legendary Free Polish Spitfire Squadrons or those other ehmm pesky foreigners.

    Reply
  4. SCED300 says:

    Alex Salmond did warn Labour about the danger of joining with the Conservatives.
    In many ways it would be a win for the Tories. Labour does a ‘hatchet’ job on Scotland wrecking what is left of its reputation, loses the general election, loses what could have been an alliance with another social democrat party, the SNP, alienates part of the population of Scotland.
    The Tories win.
    I also read in the Times ,Gove using the same words about families becoming foreigners as Margaret Curran did.

    Reply
  5. Gizzit says:

    Increasingly, the Labour and Tory parties are becoming indistinguishable – the LibDems have always been hopeless caricatures of politicians.
     
    Right now, unless the Labour party can get in touch with long sacrificed core-Socialism, they are useless to the people who need them most.

    Reply
  6. Luigi says:

    A No vote would represent a Tory victory.
    Of course it would. DC is no daft. If Scotland votes No, Cameron takes the credit. If Scotland votes Yes, Darling gets the blame. Either way, Labour are screwed. Devo Max was Labour’s get out of jail card. Sadly, stupidly, they threw it away last year and jumped into bed with the Tories.

    Reply
  7. SCED300 says:

    Alistair Darling is now encouraging the Armed Forces to join the No campaign.
    Interesting, since some soldiers were court-martialled for taking photographs of themselves in uniform with their vehicles, with EDL flags on the side!

    Reply
  8. muttley79 says:

    Just read this quote from a trade unionist outside the Tory conference.
     
    Iain MacDonald, organiser at the Unite union, inflated a seven-foot rat with the slogan “Standing Up To Tory Ratbags”.
    He said: “I’m quite shocked that Alistair Darling is in there. I’m tempted to sing to him that he’s not Labour anymore, but as a trade unionist and a Labour member I want the UK to stay together so on this occasion I will excuse him.
    “He’s got a lot of work to do. I don’t know if it will be reciprocated with David Cameron coming to the Labour conference – I hope not.”
     
    Sometimes I feel we are banging our heads against a brick wall.  This guy, a trade unionist, turns up at the Scottish Conservative Conference allegedly protesting against the Tories, but is still going to vote No, and effectively supports Darling’s attendance at said conference?  FFS!  What is it with people like him…

    Reply
  9. Bill C says:

    @”SCED300 says:     

    “Alistair Darling is now encouraging the Armed Forces to join the No campaign.” I find this development disturbing if he is talking about the military taking on an official role. The Armed Forces should be neutral on the referendum. It is purely a political issue and the Armed Forces should play no part, unless members as individuals and off duty wish to campaign in their own time. 

    Reply
  10. muttley79 says:

    I think Darling is feeling the pressure somewhat!!  He appears to be getting more and more agitated and narky as we move closer to the referendum, and we still have around 15 months to go.

    Reply
  11. velofello says:

    Why vote Yes? Why vote to change a system that has since 1946 created the NHS and a welfare system?
    Well,the NHS is being dismantled in England.
    The welfare system is being dismantled across the UK.
    The undemocratic political system of first past the post is wholly unsuited to a group of four nations where one is some 10 times larger than the other three and so dominates UK political and financial policies to its clear advantage.
    And this imbalance has enabled a military policy that does not meet the expressed wishes of the general population
    The House of Lords a breathtaking arrangement of Establishment preference.
    So looking at the situation rationally, what is the point in continuing within the UK?
     

    Reply
  12. sneddon says:

    In regards to Darling ‘recruiting’ active service personnel he might want to be aware of the Queens Regulations in this respect  
    “Political Activities 
    J5.581. a. Regular Service personnel are not to take any active part in the affairs of any political organisation, party or movement. They are not to participate in political marches or demonstrations. b. No restriction is to be placed upon the attendance at political meetings of such personnel provided that uniform is not worn, Service duties are not impeded, and no action is taken which would bring the Service into disrepute.
    So basically they can’t wear uniform, leaflet and speak but can go a meeting and eat sausage rolls and drink tea.  And to be honest most service personnel have better things to do I imagine(such as getting to the pub 🙂 )

    Reply
  13. Davy says:

    I watched Goves on TV and saw Ruthie’s speech, same result in one ear and out the other, please remember folks this is the party who have only one MP in Scotland and he appears to be aductioning for the muppet show every time he opens his mouth.
    The tories try to make something about their importance in Scotland they have none, and its easy to remember what they stand for, its “everything for us, nothing for you”.
    When we have won the referendum and independence is ours, we will never have to think about them and all their backstabbing lies ever again.
     
    Vote Yes and live within a more fair and honest society of our own making.
     
    Vote NO – get nothing.
     
    Hail Alba.  

    Reply
  14. deewal says:

    Bill C says
    “The Armed Forces should be neutral on the referendum.”
     
    They should unless the Government are intending to deploy them against the Nationalist Insurgents.
    Wonder how long it will be before the National Insurgents become a threat to The UK’s National Security and need to be extinguished ?
    Not long by the feel of things.  What would happen should the Rebel forces try to capture the WMD’s ? They could use them against London in errr about 45 minutes.
    No Fly Zone needed. Siezure of Rebel’s asset’s. Regime change.  
    Dail Mail, Sun, Spectator and EBC in full hate mode.
    Of course it could never happen here in this day and age.
    Syrians and Libyans thought that too.
     

    Reply
  15. Well, there’s a first. Never thought I’d agree with an oleaginous wee nyaff like Gove.  He’s right though: Blue Tory, Red Tory or Yellow Tory – a No vote is a Tory victory.

    Reply
  16. Bill C says:

    @sneddon -Thanks for the info. makes you wonder what Darling is actually talking about. Is he encouraging members of the Armed Forces to break the Queen’s Regulations?

    Reply
  17. Jiggsbro says:

    I watched Goves on TV and saw Ruthie’s speech,
     
    The medal’s in the post!

    Reply
  18. scaredy cat says:

    If the armed forces are allowed to campaign, then civil servants should be allowed to speak up too!

    Reply
  19. deewal says:

    Oooo. Dave made a pledge.
    link to guardian.co.uk
    Lying again. By body he means Mouth. His heart is Evil and he hasn’t got a soul.

    Reply
  20. Seanair says:

    Sneddon
    My thanks also for the explanation.
    Could you clarify the Queen’s position also. Is she not Commander-in-Chief of the UK forces? In an independent Scotland retaining her as Queen of Scots, she would also retain her C-in-C title for Scottish forces, in which case she loses no authority. Unlike the Westminster and BT gangs.
    Perhaps HM  could come out with a gentle warning to those apparently exceeding their remit!

    Reply
  21. sneddon says:

    @seanair
     
    I’ve no idea if HRH would be C-C of independent Scottish forces.  It’s one of those things, much to the despair of wee wullie rennie, that will have to be negoiated(sic) I imagine the relationship will be that similar to Canada et al  As long as we’re keeping her as head of state of course.

    Reply
  22. Jiggsbro says:

    “Alistair Darling is now encouraging the Armed Forces to join the No campaign.”
     
    I do hope he makes himself very clear. Usually when you ask the armed forces to join a campaign, they have certain expectations.

    Reply
  23. Davy says:

    If Cameron is going to fight “head, heart, body and soul” for the union, well I’m going to be doing the same for Scotlands independence, but I will be adding a knee, elbow and forehead into the mix.
    Bring it on.
     
    Hail Alba.

    Reply
  24. Jim Mitchell says:

    As a Nat’ i think this Tory conference has been good for Scotland, why? well it serves as a reminder of the following:
    Tory (and unionists in general) hypocrisy, they decry Scottish nationalism with words like ‘poison’ yet use British Nationalism as a rallying cry.
    How they misuse history: whilst i think there have been times when our service men and women have been deserving of the highest praise, there have been times when H.M. government have sent them to do things, in purely British imperialist interests that history has shown to be shameful, just ask those Kenyan’s who received compensation awards just this week or what about those loyal Gurkha troops who have been treated as second class time and time again.
    And if i remember my history it was units of British Army, even if they were Scots who helped with  aspects of the highland clearances,
    The very clear warning for the future: If there is a NO vote,  they, and it won’t just be the Tory’s, are set on changing the Holyrood voting system, and I believe that that would just be the start.
    They are still lying and bending the truth: Both Darling and Gove made assertions without offering proof or unsurprisingly without being pushed on these matters by political commentators e,g, Darling, that independence would threaten Scottish jobs as British companies would no longer place contracts with ‘foreign’ companies.
    Gove, (amazingly) claiming that Tory welfare policies  are popular in Scotland, (well at least with his mum and dad)! 
    And a very timely reminder at that.
    BTW has anyone taken up that Welsh tort for his use of the word poison in connection with Alex Salmond and Scottish independence?   they can’t weazle their way out of it this time!

    Reply
  25. ianbrotherhood says:

     
    Darling’s attendance at the Tory conference has an obvious practical purpose – rather than communicate via potentially embarrassing back-channels, it’s a chance for him to sit down with the Tory high-heid yins in a quiet room (plenty to choose from) and try to work out WTF they’re going to do. As things stand they’re heading for a total doing and they know it.
     
    ‘Don’t panic Darling! Don’t panic!’

    Reply
  26. ianbrotherhood says:

     
    @Bill C (4.47)
     
    ‘The Armed Forces should be neutral on the referendum. It is purely a political issue and the Armed Forces should play no part, unless members as individuals and off duty wish to campaign in their own time.’
     
    It’s dodgy, desperate stuff, but no more than we should expect from an outfit happy to take Ian Taylor’s dosh. And it’s pretty presumptuous – what if it turns out that the majority of squaddies are Yes-men? (I always thought military people weren’t allowed to say ‘No’)
     
    Reminds me of the stushie a few years back when Strathclyde Police briefly got their testes caught in a mangle over having political posters (Labour, I presume) in their van windows. Anyone remember that?

    Reply
  27. Manic Monday says:

    O/t
    Norway under 21s 3 Enland 1.
    David Cameron. Alistair Darling, Jackie Baillie , Richard Baker  your team took one hell of a beating!

    Reply
  28. alasdair says:

    The Tories have won every GE since Thatcher came to power.  Just because the rosette was red doesn’t make any difference.

    Many years ago I thought there was a party called the Labourtory Party – no doubt confusion with politics and science, a perversion of ‘laboratory’.  Shocking though that it was actually more of a premonition than anything else . . .

    Reply
  29. Marcia says:

    Tomorrow’s Sunday Herald front page:
     
    link to twitpic.com

    Reply
  30. James Westland says:

    Marcia
    Just realised that your image is a “TWITpic” !!!! 
    Only fudpic or bawbagpic could beat that!
     
    🙂
     

    Reply
  31. ianbrotherhood says:

     
    A wee something to ponder:
     



     
     

    Reply
  32. Marker Post says:

    @Jim Mitchell and “How they misuse history”.
    Lots of stuff on the Guardian about destruction of documents from Britain’s colonial past, in Kenya, Malaya, Mauritius and others.
    Not only that, but UK government lawyers went on to lie about the existence of significant archives of documents. They were eventually forced to disclose most of them, but even now, some remain secret under exemption in the 1958 Public Records act. The FCO still refuses even to explain why certain files are being withheld.
    Which brings me to the documents still being suppressed by the UK government regarding the setup of devolution. Yes Scotland needs to keep campaigning, loudly and publicly, for release of those. Whatever dirty little secrets are there could make a significant difference to the attitudes of many in the referendum. According to article in the Herald this year, a source in the Scotland Office said they didn’t want to release anything that would be  a “gift” to the “SNP”.
    link to heraldscotland.com
    Not expecting Margaret Curran to have any knowledge, of course.
     

    Reply
  33. HandandShrimp says:

    Given it was Darling’s mob that sent our forces into Iraq under a lie I think he has got a bit of a cheek but then if he can go to a Tory Party conference then all bets are off I guess.
     
    The Tories are toxic and if Labour want to play in that swamp then that is their choice. I think it is incumbent on Yes Scotland to remind everyone just how close all this lot are these days.

    Reply
  34. muttley79 says:

    I was reading Tom Gordon’s article in the Sunday Herald about Darling at the Tory conference yesterday.  Darling apparently argued that
     
    the Union meant jobs, a single market with England, a strong voice in Europe, a shared energy market, a combined armed forces, and deep cultural and emotional ties.’
     
    What does he mean by the ‘Union means jobs?’  What does Darling mean by a ‘single market with England?’  Surely the single market involves the EU?  How can we have a strong voice in Europe when we are heading out of the EU?

    Reply
  35. CameronB says:

    What does Darling mean by a ‘single market with England?
     
    A coded message that Labour will not oppose withdrawal from the EU? Or just more squirrels?

    Reply
  36. muttley79 says:

    @Cameron B
     
    It does not make any sense to me.  I genuinely have no idea what Darling is talking about. 

    Reply
  37. CameronB says:

    @muttley79
    Sounds like ‘One Nation’ mince, to me. Or do I smell….?

    Reply
  38. Midgehunter says:

    What does Darling mean by a ‘single market with England?
     
    It’s part of the conditioning process (brainwashing), implying that the scottish economy doesn’t really sell anything of worth or in great numbers to the rest of the world. It’s the english market that keeps the scots economy afloat with their selfless sacrifice.
    Regurgitate it as often and widely as possible etc, etc, etc …….

    Reply


Comment - please read this page for comment rules. HTML tags like <i> and <b> are permitted. Use paragraph breaks in long comments. DO NOT SIGN YOUR COMMENTS, either with a name or a slogan. If your comment does not appear immediately, DO NOT REPOST IT. Ignore these rules and I WILL KILL YOU WITH HAMMERS.


  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,718 Posts, 1,213,998 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Young Lochinvar on Signal and noise: “I thought the telling bit on the TV was when SHE who shall not be named love-honey was quoted hoping…Mar 12, 23:57
    • sarah on Signal and noise: “The problem is that most people haven’t heard about Salvo and the Liberation Movement. Even an ex-MSP of the Highlands…Mar 12, 22:03
    • lindsay on Signal and noise: “By extension this has to be the best discription ever of what today passes as Scottish “parliament”Mar 12, 21:55
    • Nae Need! on Signal and noise: “Of course there’s only ONE side cloaking the debate. The ones wearing cloaks, real and figurative.Mar 12, 21:40
    • Nae Need! on Signal and noise: “Couldn’t agree more, Lorn.Mar 12, 21:35
    • sarah on Signal and noise: ““Because it’s a waste of time. You cannot declare independence…unless you’ve had some sort of democratic event demonstrating that it…Mar 12, 21:28
    • Nae Need! on The evolution of fairness: “I don’t agree with everything you say, but I do agree with some. See the last sentence, can we change…Mar 12, 21:10
    • Mark Beggan on Signal and noise: “All aboard!! The last train to Wokeseville leaving from platform Scotland. All aboard!Mar 12, 20:58
    • Mark Beggan on Signal and noise: “Generations of inbreeding.Mar 12, 20:48
    • Nae Need! on The evolution of fairness: “IF there are any changes they’ll be the type of changes that remain the same.Mar 12, 20:42
    • Nae Need! on The evolution of fairness: “Undoubtedly. There is always more. This is the REDACTED parliament, after all. But I don’t think it’s what YL says.…Mar 12, 20:36
    • Southernbystander on Signal and noise: “Yes I am sure you are right that in fact it is a very narrow set of ‘communities’ being referenced…Mar 12, 20:35
    • Nae Need! on The evolution of fairness: ““I cannot understand why Stuart Campbell has chosen to ignore organisations like SALVO and Liberation.Scot consisting of dedicated independence supporters…Mar 12, 20:14
    • George Ferguson on Signal and noise: “Agreed. Young people have no understanding of Scotland of the past. Social migration was there for working class Scottish people…Mar 12, 20:13
    • Hatey McHateface on Signal and noise: ““transgender and nonbinary people contribute immensely to the wellbeing of Scotland’s communities” You need to focus on the communities that…Mar 12, 19:52
    • lorn on Signal and noise: “The ‘trans’ lobby utilizes these individual cases at huge public cost in order to wear down women. Simple as that.…Mar 12, 19:49
    • Nae Need! on The evolution of fairness: “They’re not stupid. They are richer. And the deal they made with their ‘lack of conscience’ bothers them not one…Mar 12, 19:49
    • Nae Need! on The evolution of fairness: “Indeed. It’s certainly interesting (to me, at least) how Tommy has been scrutinised by both Peter A Bell AND Wings…Mar 12, 19:33
    • Nae Need! on The evolution of fairness: ““And they would turn Scotland into a extreme left wing authertarian hellhole And they would make trump look like an…Mar 12, 19:29
    • sarah on Signal and noise: “OK that’s me put off my dinner. Holyrood is sickening and Sturgeon having the gall to open her mouth and…Mar 12, 19:22
    • lorn on Signal and noise: “The rights of these men to enter female spaces? Is there such a right? Don’t think so, Scott K.Mar 12, 19:19
    • Lorn on Signal and noise: “That Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans Manager, Equality Network, stated that his organization makes sure that people in public and private…Mar 12, 19:15
    • Southernbystander on Signal and noise: “‘The Parliament believes that transgender and nonbinary people contribute immensely to the wellbeing of Scotland’s communities’, say the Greens. Eh?Mar 12, 19:11
    • Chris on Signal and noise: “Without wishing to stress the obvious here, but isn’t the simple way to stop this nonsense to elect more Tory…Mar 12, 19:08
    • Hatey McHateface on Signal and noise: “The entire stooshie is looking and sounding most unfortunately WHITE, WHITE, WHITE. I’m not a big fan of the BROWN,…Mar 12, 18:28
    • twathater on The evolution of fairness: “To use your example of IT being a waste of time, you used your knowledge and dedication to produce the…Mar 12, 18:14
    • agent x on Signal and noise: ““Speaking to reporters ahead of the debate on a rare appearance at the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said: “I think…Mar 12, 17:52
    • KT Lorimer on Signal and noise: “The tranny dickheads are still in charge SNP amendment passed all is well in la la land.Mar 12, 17:40
    • A2 on Signal and noise: “At least misogyny and transmisogyny are seperate things now… progress!Mar 12, 16:30
    • KT Lorimer on Signal and noise: “No they are not – this is nothing to do with people who have been diagnosed with dysphoria and chose…Mar 12, 16:25
  • A tall tale



↑ Top