In this site’s view, the proposed new employee-parking levy which the 2019 budget will enable local authorities to implement if they choose to – but which is in no sense being imposed on anyone by the SNP, who don’t have a majority on a single Scottish council – is a pretty rotten idea, which will do nothing to combat climate change or congestion and will punish ordinary workers purely to make Greens feel important, but that’s neither here nor there. Councils can answer to voters if they use it.
What we’re a lot more worried about is the rampant Zimbabwe-style hyper-inflation that’s apparently running wild across Scotland, at least if you listen to Olympic-grade imbecile Jamie Greene MSP.
That was at 10.18 yesterday morning. But by halfway through lunchtime the situation had become far more serious.
We had an interesting exchange with Scottish Labour MP Paul Sweeney this week on the deathless lie that is the “fiscal transfer” – the £10bn or so that Unionists rather startlingly insist the rest of the UK generously donates to Scotland every year out of the goodness of its heart, just for the pleasure of our company.
As you can see, the debate was of a high intellectual standard.
Last night we observed the considerable statistical difficulty involved in getting to speak on the BBC’s flagship political debate show Question Time not just once, or even twice, but THREE times, and the remarkable ease with which shouty sectarian UKIP and Loyalist bigot Billy Mitchell has achieved it.
But readers, we’re afraid we must acknowledge a rare factual inaccuracy on Wings Over Scotland. Because he’s actually been on it at least FOUR times.
And the odds against that happening by chance are really quite something.
It was comment-worthy because it’s actually quite a feat to get on Question Time twice. The audience is vetted on numerous grounds and the show deliberately discriminates against people who’ve previously come through the heavily-oversubscribed ballot, so that the widest possible range of voices get a chance to be heard.
So the odds of not only getting on twice but then being selected to speak twice are extremely long – an absolute minimum of 1,000 to 1 depending on the size of the venue. The chances of managing it three times are astronomical.
So we tip our hats to Eileen from Glasgow tonight.
Alert readers will recall that earlier today we conducted one of our regular context checks for statistics misleadingly-incompletely reported in the Scottish press. But while those are like shooting fish in a barrel, there’s one thing that’s an even more reliable open goal for the website editor looking for content in a slow news week.
Ladies and gentlemen, once again we give you… Scottish Labour.
There’s absolutely nothing that happens in Scotland that Scottish Labour are happy with. Day in and day out they can be found putting the bleakest possible spin on any statistic for a dwindling audience of diehard supporters and Scottish journalists.
Something bad happened? SCOTLAND IS TERRIBLE AND IT’S ALL THE SNP’S FAULT. Something good happened? IT WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH AND IT’S ALL THE SNP’S FAULT. And the solution is always the same: let Labour run things.
As readers will have come to expect, the article is entirely free of any figures by which readers could gauge whether 1000 was a high number or not. So as usual, we’ll have to do it for them.
This is Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald on today’s Andrew Marr show:
While she doesn’t say so explicitly, McDonald appears to strongly imply that the SNP’s MPs would be as well to boycott the UK Parliament, as Sinn Fein’s have always done.
Big Jock on Pick Your Poison: “Reform are an English national party. Any Scot voting for an English national party is deranged! Kelly is still spouting…” May 7, 16:03
robertkknight on Pick Your Poison: “Constituency paper duly spoiled… W.nkers, the lot of them! Pity about two separate pro-Indy parties on the regional list (I…” May 7, 15:37
Captain Caveman on The value bet: ““I couldn’t give a shiny shite what Mayor’s they vote for in another country today,” Er what? What are you…” May 7, 15:34
Hatey McHateface on Pick Your Poison: “Nice try, Alf. I doubt very much that anybody half-decent fears the kind of people who cheer on lassie torturers.” May 7, 15:29
Geri on Pick Your Poison: “That’s what happens when you agree terms, (Minsk1 & Minsk2) get the United Nations to rubber stamp it & then…” May 7, 15:25
Hatey McHateface on Pick Your Poison: ““Scotland has zero control over immigration” Bleeding obviously, if Scotland votes Reform at the next WM GE, Scotland has lots…” May 7, 15:24
Hatey McHateface on The value bet: ““a shiny shite what Mayor’s they vote” What Mayor’s what, Geri? Such a tiny little thing, yet completely and irrevocably…” May 7, 15:20
Hatey McHateface on The value bet: “Hae a haddie this time, Wally. And keep that free flipper still. Nae flapping doon below.” May 7, 15:15
Alf Baird on Pick Your Poison: ““who do we vote for to fix that?” Obviously, to end ‘that’ and the continued colonization of Scots we need…” May 7, 15:08
Geri on The value bet: “Aye James, Now that wouldn’t be deliberately interfering in another countries elections now would it? I couldn’t give a shiny…” May 7, 14:46
Captain Caveman on The value bet: ““Tick tock” Yeah, but that’s enough about your source material, eh pal. Tool.” May 7, 14:42
James on The value bet: “They bite every time. Bless. Comical.” May 7, 14:37
Hatey McHateface on Pick Your Poison: “I forgot about the autopsy. I’ve been thinking about the wake. Bet there will be SFA put behind the bar.” May 7, 14:37
Hatey McHateface on The value bet: ““Tick Tock”, Wally Walrus? That’s ane o the fragrant Geri’s signature lines. Just how many identities are you posting under?” May 7, 14:20
Aidan on The value bet: “Oh aye does he, and this information was provided with supporting evidence to the police who arrested and prosecuted the…” May 7, 14:14
James on The value bet: “The three yoon stooges are all oot the day eh? Funny, Phil Boswell has 2 or 3 returning officer contacts…” May 7, 14:02
Hatey McHateface on The value bet: “Loving your Pictish support for ATLS, Northy. OK if I gatecrash the wake on Saturday? (That’s a rhetorical question :)…” May 7, 13:43
Hatey McHateface on The value bet: “Are there 2 CM’s? The famous one is a cheerleader for the tunnel-skulking, lassie-torturing ham ass scum.” May 7, 13:40
Hatey McHateface on The value bet: “Here’s another fish fer ye, James. Enjoy, but mind, baith flippers above the table!” May 7, 13:35
Hatey McHateface on Pick Your Poison: “That’s a bit better, Confused. But I note you’re still being coy. Interesting that you believe it was US warmongering,…” May 7, 13:32
Hatey McHateface on Pick Your Poison: “Please revise and re-post, Confused. We need to know how to vote if we hate Dews.” May 7, 13:26
Captain Caveman on The value bet: “Yes that’s right James, it was … THEM!!! “ooo-oOOooOOO-ooOOHHH!!!”? Get the Bacofoil headgear ready, DEFCON1! (Alternatively, y’know maybe the source…” May 7, 13:14
Cynicus on Pick Your Poison: “Northcode says: 7 May, 2026 at 12:20 “VOTE FOR:” ======= Nobody! The key question here is whom to VOTE AGAINST?…” May 7, 13:12
Aidan on The value bet: “@Dan that comment was aimed at Geri not you, you at least seem to be one of the few BTL…” May 7, 13:10
Captain Caveman on Pick Your Poison: “@Cuphook Yes, it’s a major concern for many in the UK, including Scotland, and Reform is avowed to tackle it…” May 7, 13:01
Dan on The value bet: “AIdan says:”I’d guess this is all a bit of a game for you since you spend 100% of your time…” May 7, 12:51
Confused on Pick Your Poison: “Then theres the nutter parties – an abolish holyrood party (I appreciate the sentiment but – do you really think…” May 7, 12:50
Confused on Pick Your Poison: “ERECTION DAY on telly last night john curtice does not look well; the poor man looks like a cadaver what…” May 7, 12:46
Geri on Pick Your Poison: “Reform will fix nothing on immigration. That’s a global elite problem & we don’t get a vote on them. &…” May 7, 12:45
Cynicus on Pick Your Poison: “#No Votes SNP Zero For any Swinney bonehead reading this, BOTH -2 equals zero” May 7, 12:43
