Ridiculously, more than eight hours after voting closed in an all-electronic election in which “counting” should have taken a maximum of one second, and at 11.30pm, the SNP have released the results of this year’s NEC elections.
There are some big stories.
Alyn Smith is OUT as Policy Development Convener, replaced by Chris Hanlon.
We had, we think it’s only fair to say, extremely low expectations of Nicola Sturgeon’s keynote speech this afternoon to the SNP’s soporific, strangled 2020 non-conference. It seems that members felt the same, because 15 seconds before the speech began only 1,166 of them were logged in to watch it.
The speech she just delivered, though, limboed under those expectations in platform shoes and a stovepipe hat without even grazing the underside of the bar.
In a post last month we referenced a ZX Spectrum computer game from 1984 called “Worse Things Happen At Sea”. Today as we watched the First Minister on the Andrew Marr Show, we were put in mind of another nautical-disaster-themed one from a great deal nearer to the end of the Speccy’s life.
When’s a Plan B not a Plan B? Well, when it’s something that could and should have been done already, and won’t be anywhere near adequate even if delivered.
Yet that seems to be what some colleagues are now arguing for. It’s welcome that their thoughts are at last turning to the possibility of the Tories saying No to the Scottish people’s democratic vote. But it’s happening dangerously slowly as the dismantling of devolution and reintegration into the UK gathers pace. Which’s why the Yes Movement needs to act now, not after a Holyrood election.
This week on Wings has been altogether more navel-gazey than we’re comfortable with, as various SNP MPs have mounted a series of all-out personal attacks on the site before the weekend’s crucial NEC elections.
So we’ll have a proper article for you a little later on today, but in the meantime it’d be remiss of us not to tidy up the last fragments of shrapnel, so we’ll direct you to the right of reply to Alyn Smith’s column that The National kindly gave us today:
(Sadly they chose to disable comments, we’d quite have enjoyed the reaction from the few remaining diehard leadership loyalists still posting there.)
We couldn’t help but chuckle yesterday when the £100K-a-year Westminster MP and obsessive Wings Over Scotland reader “Pension Pete” Wishart announced – in the space of six minutes – that this site was simultaneously an irrelevance that nobody listened to, but also somehow one of the greatest threats to independence.
Wings Over Scotland marked its ninth birthday earlier this month. To be honest, we totally forgot about it until someone reminded us. Normally we mark the anniversary with a small reflection and taking of stock over how things are going, but this year we couldn’t be bothered – we’d already mentioned readership stats in August.
But today in The National we found out that we were apparently dead.
But reports of our demise have been, as the saying goes, somewhat exaggerated.
twathater on It just takes a beat: “That pathetic response from polis Scotland only serves to show just how ill served The Scottish public is with the…” Jul 11, 03:14
Frazerio on It just takes a beat: “The simplest way of putting it is: There is a cover up going on. Simple question. The big question. Why?…” Jul 11, 02:53
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
