Dr Craig Dalzell of the Common Weal is a very sharp guy we’ve run several pieces by on Wings, and he’s currently appearing all over the place with a highly accessible and concise explanation of how an independent Scotland could sensibly run its economy.
If you haven’t been able to make it out to see him, a quiet Sunday might be an ideal time to catch up with it.
So, some official and very brief Wings analysis, because we just watched an army of pundits on the TV all missing the bleeding obvious and talking as if a delay to Brexit was now a done deal.
After tonight’s series of votes in the Commons, all five of which were technically won by Theresa May, there are three possible outcomes. Let’s whizz through them all.
Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the ALDE group in the European Parliament (essentially the Euro Lib Dems), is by no means our standard go-to guy for political guidance. Like most European politicians he’s been criminally silent on the outrages being perpetrated by the government of Spain, and in general he’s a bit neoliberal for our tastes.
But his speech from yesterday is powerful stuff.
As we write this, the UK’s parliament is blundering through a third successive day of toe-curling farce on the floor of the Commons, aimed this time at securing some sort of extension to Brexit to avoid a disastrous no-deal in just 15 days’ time.
It may yet be that such a request will be issued and the EU will grant it, dragging out the whole awful mess for God knows how much longer. But judging by the tone of M. Verhofstadt’s impassioned, exasperated address in Strasbourg, we wouldn’t like to have money on it. It appears that an entire continent has had just about enough of us.
For some time, most polls for “Who’d make the best UK Prime Minister?” – the stat that really decides who wins general elections – have shown a solid lead for “Don’t know”, narrowly ahead of Theresa May and a long way ahead of Jeremy Corbyn.
It’s a prime symptom of a UK-wide contempt for politicians the magnitude of which we’ve never seen in our lifetime, and Scottish voters are in no way immune.
We loaded this question from our latest Panelbase poll in the party leaders’ favours, because you don’t have to think any of them is doing a GOOD job to say that one of them is doing the BEST job out of the four. Everything is relative – and we also didn’t ask the question specifically about Brexit.
But even with those get-outs, “They’re all useless” came out on top by a clear seven points over Nicola Sturgeon, and the rest weren’t even at the races.
Tonight sees what’s likely to be a highly-charged Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at Ibrox Stadium. Defeat will effectively end the losing side’s season, and games between the participants, Aberdeen and Rangers International, have tended to be fierce affairs ever since the latter club was formed in controversial circumstances in 2012, with this season’s clashes already having seen numerous red cards.
(Mainly for the home team’s temperamental striker Alfredo Morelos.)
Football authorities will be hoping for a minimum of flashpoints on the field which might lead to repeats of shocking recent scenes of abuse and violence from spectators, which have prompted the nation’s media to wring its hands in theatrical angst and demand that something be done.
The public’s view on the subject, meanwhile, has remained absolutely consistent.
Sundays have been the low point of Scottish political journalism for a while now. Traditionally a day when newspapers are heavy on comment and light on news (because politics tends to happen on weekdays), they unleash all the weary old dinosaurs who’ve been driving away readers for the last 30 years.
So you really have to stand out to be noticed for especially appalling hackery on a Sunday, which is probably why nobody from Scotland On Sunday wanted to have their name on this toe-curling piece of second-hand, lifted-from-another-paper garbage.
Professor Ronald MacDonald, you say? That name seems to ring a bell.
MARR: “What would [Theresa May] need to bring back [from Brexit negotiations] to win you over?”
DAVIS: “She needs to bring back a clear ability on the part of the United Kingdom to be able to leave this treaty when it chooses to. There is no other treaty in the world I’m aware of where a sovereign nation undertakes to join up and can only leave when the other side says so.”
We’re pretty sure we can think of an example, David.
Michael Glackin of the Sunday Times is the only serious contender to the Scotsman’s demented Brian Wilson as the most poisonously, blindly instinctive hater of anything even passingly connected to the SNP or independence in the Scottish media. His weekly bilious rants in the paper make even Scottish Daily Express hacks wince and say “Blimey, that’s a bit strong”.
But even by those standards, this week’s column is quite something. So let’s take a little look at just how much of an idiot you can make of yourself if you never allow facts to get in the way of your rage.
GM on The Slowest Dawning: “Hopefully long gone by then Spartan. I see that contemptuous individual Von Der Leyen wants to make use of the…” Aug 28, 21:10
Red on The Slowest Dawning: “ChatGPT, has Alex Kerr (SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament) ever had a real job? === Prior to entering elected…” Aug 28, 20:34
Nicky T Naquetti on The Slowest Dawning: “Jesus Fucking H. Christ – that absolute STATE of that dysgenic little weasely hipster in front of that rainbow bus..…” Aug 28, 19:44
factchecker on The Slowest Dawning: ““And turned it was no by the tried and tested strategy of blavkmail, bribery with all any any assistance needed…” Aug 28, 19:24
Terry on The Slowest Dawning: “I have seen this on another Indy site. It’s excellent.” Aug 28, 19:19
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The Slowest Dawning: “That IS peculiar.” Aug 28, 18:59
Mark Beggan on The Slowest Dawning: “Brilliantly put Rev. It’s the Woke Jihad.” Aug 28, 18:42
Captain Caveman on Spot The Problem: “Well, I’m sure we’re all devastated, Fatso. (“LOL” – definitely at you pal).” Aug 28, 18:35
100%Yes on The Slowest Dawning: “Just in at The National, “SNP Westminster leader U-turns after opening door to indyref deal with Nigel Farage” I have…” Aug 28, 18:17
Karen on The Slowest Dawning: “What jumped out at me was “15. [Making the case] … over time, well ahead of any future referendum campaign”.…” Aug 28, 18:16
100%Yes on The Slowest Dawning: “The National doesn’t make good reading for people wanting Independence or the SNP membership. It states “SNP members’ fury as…” Aug 28, 18:14
James on The Slowest Dawning: “Or just don’t bother. Would suit most.” Aug 28, 18:13
100%Yes on The Slowest Dawning: “Certain people actually believe ATLS is the party you should now vote for, NAW they ain’t. They have been actively…” Aug 28, 18:09
James on Spot The Problem: “LOL. [at you, not with you].” Aug 28, 18:09
viscount ennui on The Slowest Dawning: “SNP supporters v Christians “So do you actually believe that an angel impregnated Mary to produce JC?” “Well, obviously no.…” Aug 28, 18:03
100%Yes on The Slowest Dawning: “The National doesn’t make good reading for people wanting Independence or the SNP membership. It states “SNP members’ fury as…” Aug 28, 18:00
Spartan 117 on The Slowest Dawning: “Worse than that, Honest John and his cronies want to offshore and outsource democracy to the undemocratic EU and turn…” Aug 28, 17:53
agentx on The Slowest Dawning: “I’ll wait for James Che’s in depth analysis and Alf’s quotes before passing judgement!” Aug 28, 17:46
Spartan 117 on The Slowest Dawning: “Last time round, I found the argument put forward for independence inadequate and lacking in key details, just as the…” Aug 28, 17:46
Aidan on Spot The Problem: “It’s all true CC, but it’s alright James can put a tin foil hat on his oversized head to protect…” Aug 28, 17:45
100%Yes on The Slowest Dawning: “What attracted my attention was the elephant in the room “59. abolish The Scotland Office”. What ever the UK PM…” Aug 28, 17:38
GeoffC on The Slowest Dawning: “They’ve missed out support for Gaza, a favourite topic of The National.” Aug 28, 17:33
Gav on The Slowest Dawning: “The Wee Blue Book is the gold standard in getting reliable, fully-sourced information out there in a format that supports…” Aug 28, 17:23
ScottieDog on The Slowest Dawning: “When in difficulty, there’s always the civilian branch – Believe In Scotland to get the (non-jingling) collection tins going” Aug 28, 17:15
Willie on The Slowest Dawning: “Absolutely yes, bang on Fheargas. The SNP exists now purely to stymie independence. That’s is exactly what its handlers in…” Aug 28, 17:13
Willie on The Slowest Dawning: “Absolutely yes, bang on Fheargas. The SNP exists now purely to stymie independence. That’s is exactly what its handlers in…” Aug 28, 17:05
robertkknight on The Slowest Dawning: “None so blind as SNP members who will not see. Apart of course from the gender Woo-Woo and Wokerati carpetbaggers,…” Aug 28, 16:49
Jim Thomson on The Slowest Dawning: “Right at the top of your post you point out that anyone disagreeing with the general direction of the party…” Aug 28, 16:28
