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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Tags: Kenny MacAskill, perspectives
Category
comment, scottish politics, uk politics
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.
Category
comment, idiots, scottish politics, uk politics
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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comment, debunks, media, scottish politics, uk politics
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.
Category
comment, scottish politics, uk politics
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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Tags: David Hooks, soapbox
Category
comment, scottish politics
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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Category
analysis, comment, idiots, scottish politics, surrender
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?
Category
comment, media, scottish politics, uk politics
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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Category
analysis, comment, media, scottish politics
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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Tags: poll
Category
analysis, scottish politics
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.
Category
comment, scottish politics
