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Wings Over Scotland


View from the green benches 108

Posted on July 24, 2020 by

The closure of the UK Parliament for the summer holidays this week marked the end of my first political “year” with the SNP Group at Westminster, albeit a truncated one under unusual circumstances. Having served in Holyrood much is similar and familiar, even if anachronistic in style and reeking of snobbery. Staff are remarkably helpful and individual members can be exceedingly pleasant.

But this isn’t our Parliament and we’re most certainly not amongst friends.

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Nationalism rejection of the day 141

Posted on July 23, 2020 by

Maybe the flag could have been a bit bigger, but a solid 8/10 for the staunch rejection of all things nationalistic in this picture and tweet.

Jamie Halcro Johnston, incidentally, secured a whopping 4.1% of the Orkney vote for the Tories in the 2016 election, losing his deposit in the party’s lowest vote share ever (the nadir of a long slide from 23% in 2003), so we’re not absolutely sure he’s qualified to speak on behalf of the whole constituency, but we’ll let that one go this time in the light of such an absolutely stunning rejection of nationalism. Trebles all round.

Return To Arsehole Mountain 405

Posted on July 22, 2020 by

The Scottish media is in a total frenzy this morning over the long-delayed publication of the “Russia Report” into alleged interference by Vladimir Putin’s regime in UK politics.

The Herald, Scotsman, Mail, Express and the i all lead their front pages with the story today, and the Telegraph did it yesterday. So we thought you might like to see the entirety of the indyref coverage that’s actually in the 55-page report.

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Sailing away 302

Posted on July 21, 2020 by

Farewell, civilised world.

But don’t worry, readers. The SNP have a cunning plan to secure independence by 2050, maybe, if they can find time in between letting rapists into women’s changing rooms, criminalising almost any sort of speech and stopping you getting cheap pizzas. No rush. There’s still a lot of MP wages and Short money to be claimed.

Soapbox: What price freedom? 436

Posted on July 19, 2020 by

It’s literally carved on the walls of Parliament.

“I ken, when we had a king, and a chancellor and parliament men o’ oor ain, we could aye peeble them wi’ stanes when they were na gude bairns – but naebody’s nails can reach the length o’ Lunnon.” (Sir Walter Scott)

There are those who stay and there are those who leave. Since the 1700s the eyes of the ambitious Scot have looked towards London. Many have made the journey there and, as with Ireland, Scotland’s most precious export has been its people.

But for those of us who have remained in Scotland our eyes are still turned south.

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Surgical strike 185

Posted on July 18, 2020 by

Giving up on independence 411

Posted on July 17, 2020 by

It’s hard to express quite what a revolting piece of rank hypocrisy this is.

Behold, ladies and gentlemen and other genders, some pious little twerp whose own comfy seat in the Scottish Parliament was secured entirely by what he calls “cheating”, saying that nobody but him and his mates are allowed to cheat now.

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The land of mystery 282

Posted on July 16, 2020 by

The BBC website is playing it rather enigmatic this morning.

Does anyone know the name of the place it doesn’t want to say for some reason?

The bitter minds 359

Posted on July 15, 2020 by

A concept has recently arisen in Scottish politics for which this site feels at least partly responsible, and which is making the strangest bedfellows of Unionist commentators and SNP ultra-loyalists. It’s summed up very concisely in today’s Times.

Let’s just unpick that extraordinary meltdown for a moment.

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There is no opposition 310

Posted on July 14, 2020 by

Two opinion polls, just over one Parliamentary term apart:

MAY 2014

JULY 2020

That is not a politically healthy country, readers.

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The Beaten Surrender 414

Posted on July 13, 2020 by

No comment needed, really.

Sooner or later, you have to stop screaming that anyone pointing out what’s happening is an MI5 plant or a secret Unionist (or in the case of some of the people who replied to Craig Murray yesterday, simply flat-out denying that the First Minister said what she actually said), and either just accept the complete abandonment of the Yes movement by the current SNP leadership or do something about it.

When the people have no bread 443

Posted on July 11, 2020 by

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    • Lorncal on Looking up at the stars: “H McH: what are you doing? Destroying the only policy we have? If we can’t top anything England does in…Mar 16, 21:53
    • sarah on Looking up at the stars: “@ Lorncal at 8.52 p.m.: I feel very much the same as you. The world as it is being run…Mar 16, 21:30
    • Lorncal on Looking up at the stars: “H McH: Every statistic and every study undertaken shows categorically that a country where women are treated as less than…Mar 16, 21:04
    • Dan on Looking up at the stars: “Hmm, think I’ll finish my fishing session as some quarries jist aren’t worth the effort… But I’m all but fucking…Mar 16, 20:59
    • Lorncal on Looking up at the stars: “Sarah: your faith does you proud; but I very much doubt it would be possible to dislodge them after independence…Mar 16, 20:52
    • Aidan on Looking up at the stars: “I’m sorry to have disappointed you, but equally I do feel the likelihood was always that it was going to…Mar 16, 20:29
    • Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““It cannot be Gaelic because only 50,000 people speak the latter” Scots speakers are a minority too, Alf. A bigger…Mar 16, 20:06
    • Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Lebanon is in for a kicking because they lack the ability to expel the terrorist cuckoos who have been occupying…Mar 16, 20:00
    • Dan on Looking up at the stars: “Dan says: “Would you eat a wild Scottish caught salmon or trout out of the Tay, when we still pump…Mar 16, 19:56
    • Alf Baird on Looking up at the stars: ““Gaelic, the language of the actual historical ‘Scots’.” No one can dispute this, Fearghas, however it is only ever part…Mar 16, 19:45
    • Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “We can’t all be related to Adam and Eve. In the pictures, they’re clearly white, white, white. And, TBQFH, that’s…Mar 16, 19:44
    • Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““maybe you participate in things like that” Nobody is much bothered that you’re “pig curious”, twathater, but you’re defo on…Mar 16, 19:41
    • 100%Yes on Looking up at the stars: “I suppose if we go right to the beginning were all related to Adam and Eve.Mar 16, 19:40
    • Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““Majorities of MSPs and MPs at Holyrood and Westminster have led to absolutely no progress whatsoever in the independence fight”…Mar 16, 19:34
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    • Sven on Looking up at the stars: “Mark Beggan @ 18.01. Perhaps one of the most accurate and depressing posts on WOS btl recently, Mark. Self inflicted…Mar 16, 18:59
    • Aidan on Looking up at the stars: “To be clear, I ate it this morning, it didn’t come out of the Tay this morning. It was smoked,…Mar 16, 18:57
    • Dan on Looking up at the stars: “Ach, that’s a pity you don’t like fishing like I do. But make your mind up will you, as after…Mar 16, 18:50
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    • Young Lochinvar on Looking up at the stars: “You are welcome.Mar 16, 18:40
    • Aidan on Looking up at the stars: “The Tories voted against it 26 to 2 (in favour), that’s just a fact regardless of whether it upsets you.…Mar 16, 18:34
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    • Aidan on Looking up at the stars: “Fine – but you did say that travelling around quite a lot I should be aware of how well other…Mar 16, 18:31
    • Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““Your hatred has blinded your judgement” Not at all, Mark. The judgement is that women’s rights have to be watered…Mar 16, 18:25
    • Northcode on Looking up at the stars: ““WERE THE SCOTS IRISH?” Yes, they were – they were called the Scotti and came from Ireland, but the Picts…Mar 16, 18:25
    • Scot Finlayson on Looking up at the stars: “The Picts (not that they called themselves that)or Caledonians are indigenous to Scotland, the Scots are (for want of a…Mar 16, 18:23
    • Northcode on Looking up at the stars: “My God, Sven, you’re right. How could I have missed such preposterously incorrect grammar? Well spotted, that man. Only an…Mar 16, 18:15
    • Dan on Looking up at the stars: “@Aidan FFS, just because I highlighted one engineering project in Egypt, that does not mean I agree with or am…Mar 16, 18:14
    • twathater on Looking up at the stars: “@ Ada you are lying again the bill passed in HR with the votes of the tories, not all tories…Mar 16, 18:12
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