As we steel ourselves for the wretched purgatorial misery of (at least) the next six weeks, we’ve been sitting up late trying to think of a positive aspect of the coming election campaign, and the best we’ve come up with is this: if it’s awful for most human beings in the country, just imagine how terrible it is for Nigel Farage.
Because as has been increasingly obvious from the Brexit Party leader’s comments this month, Farage knows only too well the truth that the rest of the country is going to realise quite soon, if it hasn’t already: he’s now the only thing that might stop the UK leaving the European Union.
Wings Over Scotland celebrates its 8th birthday this Thursday. And it looks as though we just might be in for a genuinely unexpected surprise party.
Because very suddenly, through sheer dumb luck, and for the first time in over three years, we can actually see a tantalisingly almost-viable route by which the SNP could, almost entirely accidentally, lead us to independence.
It’s a long time, apparently. Because while a general election on 12 December would be a “barking mad” idea according to the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford on Thursday, having one on 9 December instead is genius.
So in a month in which this site has been extensively screamed at by SNP diehards as the work of a “traitor” and an “MI5 plant” for suggesting that maybe the SNP could vote with the Tories (or perhaps just abstain) to let Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal go through in exchange for a second indyref, the official SNP plan is to now vote with the Tories to give them the election Boris Johnson has been trying to call for weeks – which all polls suggest he’d win, allowing him to enact any sort of Brexit he wants – but to cleverly NOT get a second indyref out of it.
It’s Monday morning, readers, so welcome once again to the world’s favourite situation comedy, the United Kingdom.
The current position is that absolutely nobody has the slightest idea what’s going to happen this week, or today, or by lunchtime. The Prime Minister is as we speak being taken to court (again), and a whole series of votes in the House Of Commons may or may not take place and may or may not determine anything.
But there’s one particularly interesting thing going on.
As we write this, Boris Johnson’s new Brexit deal appears to hang in the balance. According to Sky News this morning the arithmetic is poised on a knife-edge.
The four “in play” groups down the middle of the graphic are, from the top: three Tory “Spartans” (hardcore Brexiters who might yet back the deal), 19 Labour MPs who’ve suggested they might do so for various reasons, 20 former-Tory “rebels” who had the whip removed by Johnson for voting to block no-deal, and 14 independents, mainly from the “Change UK” wing or whatever they’re called this week.
The government needs 36 of the 56 to vote with it to get the deal through, and can probably count on most of the 20 former Tories. Labour sources are suggesting, quite plausibly, that double-figure numbers of their 19 will also back the deal. So it’s close.
If it passes, England and Wales will get what they voted for (Brexit), Northern Ireland will – after a fashion – get what it voted for (effectively staying in the EU), and Scotland will get shafted. It’ll be placed at a significant economic disadvantage to NI, at a likely severe cost in jobs and investment. The nation which voted the most decisively on Brexit (for either option) will be the only one not to get its democratic wishes respected.
And slightly surprisingly, the whole UK thinks that’s unfair.
As we write this, voting has just ended to elect the membership of a number of key SNP internal bodies, including the Member Conduct Committee which has the power to discipline members and even expel them from the party.
This year has seen a concerted attempt by a small but active faction within the SNP, led by the Young Scots for Independence and Out For Indy groups, to flood the MCC (which in normal times struggles to fill its ranks) with officers aggressively committed to transgender ideology, with the openly-declared intent of purging “gender-critical” women from all party candidate lists and ensuring that anyone seeking to protect women’s sex-based rights can be expunged for “transphobia”.
(An attempt to deselect Joanna Cherry on such grounds failed earlier this year, but with control of the MCC the faction could pretty much dump anyone it wanted to.)
The matter has not escaped the attention of the independence-hostile media.
We avoided discussing the committee elections while voting was taking place because it’s not our business to interfere in the internal affairs of the SNP, and also because a certain element of the party has been having a massive tantrum over some poll results we published last week and it might have ended up being counter-productive.
But make no mistake – the outcome of these elections will have a huge impact on both the SNP’s electoral fortunes and the chances of securing independence. We’re about to find out, in other words, how screwed we are.
As we write this, in between bouts of weeping with exhausted misery, frustration and rage, Her Majesty’s Opposition’s interminable will-they-won’t-they game of attempting – maybe, one day, perhaps – to bring down the government and force a new election leading to a new EU referendum continues.
And as the SNP in particular devotes huge amounts of energy to trying to stop Brexit, against the wishes of its own voters, we wondered how the public not just in Scotland but in the two constituent nations of the UK that voted Leave felt about that.
Captain Caveman on Faces In Sand: “Good grief, it’s just relentless. Truly, it doesn’t matter how many times Alf is shot to ribbons, up he pops…” Oct 25, 11:49
James Che on Faces In Sand: “Alf Baird, The question of referendums for Scotland to leave the rUK become legally obsolete as soon as the Scottish…” Oct 25, 11:12
Alf Baird on Faces In Sand: ““to deny the reality of the country you live in” Which is essentially the intended effect of a colonial mindset,…” Oct 25, 10:57
James Che on Faces In Sand: “When indigenous populations starting with Scotland are dismissed So are other populations and nations, The politics and records do indeed…” Oct 25, 10:54
James Che on Faces In Sand: “Recognising indigenous Scots is going to become the same legal issue in recognising whom are indigenous English people, Irish people,…” Oct 25, 10:40
James Che on Faces In Sand: “Hatey, I can see that understanding the situation politically or lack of, may be out of your line of view…” Oct 25, 10:22
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: ““there is no ‘United Kingdom’” A recurring advert on TV has a comely young lady, the daughter of an Italian…” Oct 25, 10:12
Geri on Faces In Sand: “During March 2022 Senate testimony, U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland stated that U possessed biological research facilities and…” Oct 25, 10:09
Alf Baird on Faces In Sand: ““Does Scotland need a referendum to leave the rUK. If it is not legally in the rUK” Yes James, the…” Oct 25, 09:48
James Che on Faces In Sand: “The framework to End the power of the false mighty empires = is the diversity agenda. Wether it is Gender…” Oct 25, 09:34
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: ““Scotland is independent” Great news, James. What do you intend to do with your life now?” Oct 25, 09:07
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “@Lorncal There is no protective gear providing 100% effectiveness. The best that can be said is that some may be…” Oct 25, 09:05
James Che on Faces In Sand: “Does Scotland need a referendum to leave the rUK. If it is not legally in the rUK since the 28th…” Oct 25, 08:38
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “How odd, Bob. My benchmark 30 seconds of internet research, which any eejit can repeat for herself, reveals that in…” Oct 25, 08:35
James Che on Faces In Sand: “Scotlands prison without bars is just a story book that Westminster parliament made up to impress other Countries and officials…” Oct 25, 08:25
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: ““stick yer moon cheese up yer arse ya rocket” Good to see you having a relaxed Saturday night, Dan. Sad…” Oct 25, 08:18
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Whoops, Geri! Ye’ve dropped 10 biolabs there. One of the many problems with making stuff up. You lose track. “No…” Oct 25, 08:00
James Che on Faces In Sand: “Scotland democratic vote for a referendum to leave the UK, There is no democratic way or mechanism, Hatey is correct,…” Oct 25, 07:47
Dan on Faces In Sand: ““The same people with a flourishing space program and credible plans to exploit the Moon.” Oh aye, have they fired…” Oct 24, 22:52
robertkknight on Faces In Sand: “Posted without comment… Religion: CofE: 80.6% No, 19.4% Yes” Oct 24, 22:12
Geri on Faces In Sand: “See Shit face, there exists this little thing called international treaties. Those treaties carry international clout. They’re, supposedly, upheld by…” Oct 24, 22:11
Lorncal on Faces In Sand: “Hmmmmm… You may be right, H McH. I did read somewhere that some of the masks for medical staff were…” Oct 24, 21:36
robertkknight on Faces In Sand: “2014 Referendum Study Demographics Birth place: oUK: 57.1% No, 42.9% Yes rUK: 72.1% No, 27.9% Yes SCO: 47.3% No, 52.7%…” Oct 24, 21:35
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: ““the real nations are the tribes and the country boundaries reflect nothing of this” Check out the big brain on…” Oct 24, 20:14
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Having made the bulk of the transition to renewables (which I believe Norway has), it’s foolhardy to pull up the…” Oct 24, 19:49
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: ““But guess what???” Hmmm, let’s see. I guess that EU Citizens, in addition to those of the Republic of Ireland,…” Oct 24, 19:32
robertkknight on Faces In Sand: “Our learned misnomer talks about democracy. LOL. If all were fair, equal, democratic and meaningful, then EU Citizens, in addition…” Oct 24, 18:35
Luigi on Faces In Sand: “Sigh. Is it too much to ask for our aspiring politicians to take an IQ test? No need to raise…” Oct 24, 18:34
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: ““you can’t go swimming until you can swim” Let’s see now. That thing you’re doing when you’re out of your…” Oct 24, 18:23
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: ““the same ppl who love a Jenny” I think I get what you’re on about there, Geri. You’re insisting that…” Oct 24, 18:13
