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.
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.
Southernbystander on Anything But That: “You read some strange stuff on here but this comment is one of the oddest. You think England should still…” Sep 2, 16:27
sam on Anything But That: “The Great Tapestry of Scotland is now in Galashiels in its own building. It is about twice the size of…” Sep 2, 16:25
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “No surprise there then. Unshocked am I that the omniclusterfuckpermashambles don’t have a kcufing clue (or “claim” not to) what’s…” Sep 2, 16:05
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “I think it’s an enema that’s sorely needed to flush oot all the keech, followed by an industrial-level disinfectant.” Sep 2, 15:58
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Now that’s funny! Although Mrs Spartan (from Dahn Sahf) cannot stand jellied eels, pie and mash acceptable but a full…” Sep 2, 15:54
Willie on Anything But That: “Nutzlose Essen or Useless Eaters was a term in the 30s to describe certain classes of persons. But using the…” Sep 2, 15:41
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “HMcH Maybe explains why he didn’t receive his invitation, doesn’t spell his name right.. Double a’s, I ask you! 🙂” Sep 2, 15:28
Willie on Anything But That: “Guarantees from John Swinney, either in public or in private are as good a bit of used toilet paper. A…” Sep 2, 15:26
Willie on Anything But That: “Guarantees from John Swinney, either in public or in private are as good a bit of used toilet paper. A…” Sep 2, 15:25
TURABDIN on Anything But That: “ANYTHING BUT WHAT & WHY. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/02/uk-datacentres-ai-boom-foi-environment” Sep 2, 15:17
lothianlad on Anything But That: “Just read that twat from scot goes pop ( what kind of a frucking name is that anyway) saying the…” Sep 2, 14:49
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “PS At the Dan Sahf reception following the viewing they were treated to Dan Sahf cuisine; pie mash and jellied…” Sep 2, 14:40
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “That’s another diplomatic slur. It’s King Haakon VIII.” Sep 2, 14:32
lothianlad on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “I find it hard to forgive the record and the unionist media!! They are looking to survive when independence happens!…” Sep 2, 14:31
lothianlad on Anything But That: “When they skipped the lite fandango, they didnt know the cartweels would make them fall so hard! the time to…” Sep 2, 14:29
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “Ochone, Spartan! Professor Baird has a special beef with the Gaels. But he’ll tell you himself.” Sep 2, 14:26
Billie on Anything But That: “Back in 2024 there was a man who secured the required signatures to lodge nomination papers to contest the coronation…” Sep 2, 14:21
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Thanks YL. Must admit, I giggled at that.” Sep 2, 14:17
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “I see the famous Bayeux tapestry is out on loan and will be viewed today by T’ King of Oop…” Sep 2, 14:11
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Are we talking Lowland Scots or Broad Scots here? Something we, er, “Teuchters” as you lowlander plastic Scots call us,…” Sep 2, 14:10
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “It is odd, TURABDIN. Somebody on here is forever claiming that every English defeat gets airbrushed out of history.” Sep 2, 13:49
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “As always, Alf, I question your “abeelity” to make yourself understood even to a majority of your fellow Scots when…” Sep 2, 13:33
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Aye Hatey all that could be said has been said. The Leftys are self combusting at an incredible rate. General…” Sep 2, 13:00
TURABDIN on Anything But That: “The English establishment today celebrates an artefact depicting their conquest by a foreign «power», Normandy. Eccentricity is a national trait…” Sep 2, 12:49
Lorncal on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “You may be right, H McH, that Balkanisation would occur. That is a risk we have to take. Throughout English…” Sep 2, 12:31
Chas on Anything But That: “Hatey Why respond to an obvious nutter? Nothing you say will ever change it’s deranged mind.” Sep 2, 12:05
Alf Baird on Anything But That: ““Aye you spooks based at Vauxhall Cross” Aye James, aw thay skivers aye lat ken thairsels as suin as thay…” Sep 2, 10:36
Minceheid on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Hatey McHateface says: 2 September, 2026 at 9:05 am MH. Indeed, nothing wrong. But mind, you’re on Wings BTL. That…” Sep 2, 10:13
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “As Dan says, consumption of oil and gas is very much not living in the past. And indeed the North…” Sep 2, 10:00
Captain Caveman on Anything But That: “Honestly Spartan, I’ve gotta say I think it’s all the preserve of the Bacofoil headgear wearers! 🙂 It does provide…” Sep 2, 09:44
