We’ve now filed a formal complaint with the Scottish Information Commissioner about this, because what we’d forgotten last week was that our original request was actually sent in September and it’s now been almost 60 working days with no sign of a proper response, not the 20 it’s supposed to take.
Because for some reason the Scottish Government REALLY doesn’t want you to know what the First Minister and Geoff Aberdein talked about in March 2018, and we think that you probably should.
We don’t normally like to devote much time on Wings to things that have been more than adequately covered elsewhere in the media, which is why you haven’t read much here about eg the Internal Market Bill. Unlike some we don’t see much point spending our limited human resources telling people stuff they already know and agree with.
But we’re going to make an exception for this next thing, which was already covered pretty well by Susan Dalgety in last week’s Scotsman, because (a) a lot of our readers, quite reasonably, will have an instinctively adverse reaction to either anything printed in the Scotsman or anything written by Susan Dalgety, and (b) a number of people have asked us to amplify this issue because it’s so important and so awful.
As well as the SNP NEC elections, the weekend saw the election of the first committee of a new grassroots independence organisation which is unfortunately and hopefully temporarily going by the stupendously terrible working name of “Yes Alba”.
15 people were elected to its ruling body by the votes of hundreds of delegates, with the top-ranked picks including SNP MP Angus MacNeil and former SNP MP George Kerevan. The majority of the successful candidates (eight) were female, even though there were no quotas or women-only shortlists imposed, and a wide range of ages was represented from young activists to former UK ambassador Craig Murray.
(We have no idea about any of their sexualities or gender identities, and also no interest in knowing, because those things have not the slightest bearing on their ability to fight for independence and are frankly none of our damn business.)
But that wasn’t good enough for Team Woke.
On a day when Joanna Cherry had a grown-up, reasoned and constructive column in The National calling for unity in the pursuit of independence, the outpouring of snide, sour sneering from a faction still raging with bitterness about being routed on the SNP NEC is instead curdling Twitter even as we speak.
And embarrassingly, not a single one of them has actually bothered to check even the most basic facts.
Alert readers will recall the deranged open letter released by a group of transactivists last Friday, in a nakedly transparent attempt to influence the SNP’s NEC elections that weekend which backfired on them horribly (and amusingly) when the party’s members instead kicked out three-quarters of the committee’s woke faction and replaced them with feminists, socialists and above all advocates of actually achieving independence.
If you don’t have the time to read Alyn Smith’s astonishing response to the SNP NEC election results in today’s National, we’ve edited it down to 10 seconds for you.
We must admit, the terrible people that we are, we’ve been enjoying watching today’s extended meltdown by the SNP’s woke faction about last night’s NEC election results. Because it appears their egos are so huge that they’re not even smart enough to play dignified to spoil our schadenfreudish fun. It’s been full-on public tantrums.
James Barr Gardner on The Only Notes That Really Count: “Wee Peem gas offered to repay, meantime he is in the gaol.” Jul 10, 22:45
Tartan Tory on It just takes a beat: “I certainly had and kept records, but after seven years it goes in the bin! By contrast, I recently cleared…” Jul 10, 22:43
James Barr Gardner on The Only Notes That Really Count: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse in any country. If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because…” Jul 10, 22:38
Mark Beggan on It just takes a beat: “That’s the guy that hates kids.” Jul 10, 21:58
Karen on It just takes a beat: “Does anyone remember Mr Boom (who lives on the moon)?” Jul 10, 21:28
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on It just takes a beat: “Much modern literature has sensed an encroaching silence: Vladimir. Écoute! Estragon. Je n’entends rien. Vladimir. Hsst! Estragon. Tu m’as fait peur. Vladimir. J’ai cru que…” Jul 10, 21:27
gm on It just takes a beat: “My bank account statements go back only 5 years. I would definitely have contributed to the first one. I might…” Jul 10, 21:25
Checks notes on It just takes a beat: “The more fronts they are fighting on, the better!” Jul 10, 21:22
Mark Beggan on It just takes a beat: “Houston. We have a problem….” Jul 10, 21:11
Daisy Walker on It just takes a beat: “When the SNP decided to use the ringfenced donations for their party business/elections, for every donation over £50, they had…” Jul 10, 21:04
Daisy Walker on The Only Notes That Really Count: “The SNP, should have obtained, and declared, the names and addresses of any person who donated over £50 to this…” Jul 10, 20:50
Hatey McHateface on It just takes a beat: “TT reveals himself to be perfect SNP/ScotGov ministerial material. Chances are he already holds a cabinet post, disposing of Scottish…” Jul 10, 20:34
Hatey McHateface on It just takes a beat: “That’s not a lamp shade. That’s the antenna via which MI5 and MI6 transmit colonialist orders straight into his heid.” Jul 10, 20:28
Hatey McHateface on It just takes a beat: “Permission granted. Try not tae shoot snot oot yer hooter oan tae yer surroundings.” Jul 10, 20:23
100%Yes on It just takes a beat: “Sturgeon got 60K worth of freebies she might want to action off.” Jul 10, 20:09
Andy Ellis on It just takes a beat: “I’m not sure I buy the “be careful what you wish for…” line though? The SNP must not only be…” Jul 10, 20:07
Mark Beggan on It just takes a beat: “A bad day for Leftyville and the Woke dogs.Permission to laugh out loud in a very annoying voice?” Jul 10, 19:41
100%Yes on It just takes a beat: “The SNP makes offer to refund Scots who donated to Indyref2, Its funny how the national has used a picture…” Jul 10, 18:51
100%Yes on It just takes a beat: “If he’s the one, thank you. I willing to be he won’t fork into his pocket to bail out SNP…” Jul 10, 18:42
Steve A on It just takes a beat: “Nice the see some media traction finally being gained. But…very naughty of several of the articles posted to call the…” Jul 10, 18:42
agentx on It just takes a beat: “You spent between £10,000 and £99,999 and you didn’t keep a record of it?” Jul 10, 18:31
Oliver on It just takes a beat: “Is it in the snp constitution that members’ subs can be used to repay embezzeled money? If the snp are…” Jul 10, 18:18
Young Lochinvar on The Only Notes That Really Count: “Well hold on there Bald Eagle. Now let me get this right, if you were having a go, as you…” Jul 10, 18:18
Lorncal on It just takes a beat: “As Mr Anderson says, and you suggest, Andy, they might well have to raid branch funds, raised by branch members,…” Jul 10, 17:53
BLMac on The Only Notes That Really Count: “Makes you wonder if the intention of raising the fund was actually to repay the Weirs. Wouldn’t that be intentional…” Jul 10, 17:50
Tartan Tory on It just takes a beat: “Having expended more than five figures in respect of the pursuit of independence (with both the SNP and YES Scotland),…” Jul 10, 17:44
Lee Floyd on It just takes a beat: “There’s no good answer to your question, Rev, because any answer exposes everyone involved beyond the point at which Joe…” Jul 10, 17:41
Young Lochinvar on The Only Notes That Really Count: “HMcH On the subject of ancestry and your curiously curtailed record going only as far back is 1850 despite the…” Jul 10, 17:39
Captain Caveman on The Only Notes That Really Count: “… He fires! He misses! Again 🙂 Missus full time housewife mate, and I get to choose my own hours.…” Jul 10, 17:21
agentx on It just takes a beat: “It is my understanding that legal proceeding have not yet been started. (just drafted and legal opinion published on here)” Jul 10, 17:16
