We all knew this already, of course. Last year we commissioned a poll from Panelbase which found an enormous 41-point gap between Yes and No voters on immigration. But it was still nice to have it both confirmed and laid out so clearly by Sir John Curtice on Good Morning Scotland earlier today.
(About 1h 55m in. We’re having some trouble recording sound on our new PC at the moment, we’ll get you a proper audio link as soon as we’ve figured it out.)
It’s worth keeping to hand the next time some witless Scottish Labour goon tries to tell you that independence is bad because it’s “separatist” and that voting for the Union is the international-solidarity option. Because that’s a flat-out lie.
We now have the verdicts on Brexit from three of the UK’s four nations. The Scottish Parliament, speaking for the Scottish nation, voted overwhelmingly this afternoon to reject both Theresa May’s draft agreement and leaving the EU without a deal.
We’re on about Day 79 of NoScottishPoliticsNewsGate (today’s big “EXCLUSIVE!” in the Herald is something we told you about last Friday, and was also an “exclusive” in yesterday’s Scottish Sun), so we found ourselves getting diverted by something else in the papers this morning.
The Scottish Daily Mail had a piece on the cost of train journeys from Scotland, and living in Bath you don’t need to tell us how scandalously expensive British railways are compared to almost any other country in the Northern Hemisphere.
But the Mail is the Mail, and it couldn’t help distorting even an open-goal of a story like that until it had almost no relation to reality. And it’s a very useful illustration, should anybody need yet another one, of how this country’s newspapers vastly mislead their readers without actually technically lying.
At a time of unprecedented political chaos and uncertainty, just about the only thing you can still count on is that for any given situation, senior Labour figures will issue proclamations both firmly in favour of it and stoutly opposed to it, usually the same day.
So the stories below, which are respectively from today’s Scotsman and today’s Times, won’t come as much of a shock to anyone.
But against the odds, we think we’ve made some sense of it.
The front page lead of today’s Scottish Daily Mail:
As alert readers of this site will know, the Mail has a particular fondness for presenting statistics bereft of any context so that people have no idea how big or small they really are. So is 1,600 passengers a week receiving compensation for delays a lot or a little? Let’s find out.
All political discourse is plagued with genuine imbeciles, of course. But what’s far more depressing is when educated and normally perceptive people merely act like imbeciles for money, such as the case of Alex Massie in the Sunday Times today.
Because for the last two years, commentators who ought to know better have insisted in presenting Scotland’s choice as between Brexit or Brexit plus independence, and solemnly concluding that the uncertainties and risks of the latter being piled on top of those of the former prove that independence is no solution.
And we don’t care to have our intelligence insulted in that way.
Spartan 117 on Cowering From Destiny: “This morning’s event seems to have been an extremely lucky escape instigated by the vigilance of a good citizen (who…” Sep 27, 16:20
Spartan 117 on Cowering From Destiny: “Quoting Lavrov has to be an academic’s nadir. I’ll respect your democratic right to your views but sorry, you’ve lost…” Sep 27, 16:04
Captain Caveman on Cowering From Destiny: ““Foreign Minister Lavrov” Ah, the “R” guy at the UN. Figures, eh Alf. Hilarious to see you being a fawning…” Sep 27, 15:16
Dan on Cowering From Destiny: “Had a quick search and aye, the boiler issue was mentioned in the following article; Which also points out the…” Sep 27, 15:11
Alf Baird on Cowering From Destiny: ““Don’t be attached to it when it goes down” Foreign Minister Lavrov can also see it coming. Evidence here that…” Sep 27, 14:38
lothianlad on Cowering From Destiny: “Thats an anger i can relate to!! truly” Sep 27, 14:29
Willie on Cowering From Destiny: “Interesting comments Dan. Seems that there is a major issue with gas boiler tubes. But the plant has been beset…” Sep 27, 14:03
Mark Beggan on Cowering From Destiny: “Todays threat level in Scotland is at level 4. Severe attack is highly likely. Make sure you have batteries for…” Sep 27, 13:29
Dan on Cowering From Destiny: “That’s far from an ideal situation. Viridor are a big company that run many ERF sites across the UK so…” Sep 27, 13:10
Mark Beggan on Cowering From Destiny: “Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear. Alcohol does such damage to the brain.” Sep 27, 12:49
Spartan 117 on Cowering From Destiny: “Grrr, They Inglish. How dare anyone seek a better life for themselves away from their origin. *Awaits the inevitable Grassy…” Sep 27, 12:38
Spartan 117 on Cowering From Destiny: “You almost made a sensible post there for once, 8 Ace.” Sep 27, 12:33
Spartan 117 on Cowering From Destiny: “Someone really needs to keep you away from the COSHH cabinet. It’s bad for your liver.” Sep 27, 12:25
Captain Caveman on Cowering From Destiny: “That’s all very well, Confused, but may I ask: what’s your favourite cheese?” Sep 27, 11:54
Confused on Cowering From Destiny: “– as for this war game shite : The UK army is 50K men with guns, 2 aircraft carriers with…” Sep 27, 11:38
Confused on Cowering From Destiny: “No one quite whines like an Anglo – but oh no, the end of empire https://archive.ph/pDwRw everyone wants rid of…” Sep 27, 11:34
James on Cowering From Destiny: “Well said, Alf. Course the thousands of immigrants -sorry “ex-pats”- from Engerland won’t help things. Full English, anyone?” Sep 27, 11:01
Willie on Cowering From Destiny: “Ah well to change the dial a little too focus on third rate Scotland how many folks know about the…” Sep 27, 11:00
Captain Caveman on Cowering From Destiny: “So, there are no expat Scots resettling in Spain and/or Spanish islands, eh Alf? Like as if, pal. Isn’t being…” Sep 27, 10:19
willie on Cowering From Destiny: “9.08am says ” it not fair that people in England that unlike elsewhere people do not get free personal health…” Sep 27, 09:41
Alf Baird on Cowering From Destiny: “Spain’s housing crisis has the same root cause as Scotland’s, which is people from other countries (including ‘Brits’) being allowed…” Sep 27, 09:26
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: “The scandal of housing un-affordability in Spain: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/27/eviction-of-87-year-old-puts-spains-deepening-housing-crisis-in-the-spotlight It’s the Guardian so all the usual reality-denying shibboleths are trotted out…” Sep 27, 07:53
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: “I don’t have to pay. Perhaps “they” are limiting your access. You must have upset somebody.” Sep 27, 07:40
Willie on Cowering From Destiny: “An utterly apt critique quote by Yanis Varoufakis – ” Andy Burnham’s new government is a case in point. Having…” Sep 27, 06:33
Minceheid on Cowering From Destiny: “Mark, here’s an archived copy of that article: archive.is/I7Uhr” Sep 27, 04:31
James Barr Gardner on Cowering From Destiny: “1995 a wee bit before afore maist folk ?????” Sep 27, 02:36
Mark Beggan on Cowering From Destiny: “You have to pay to read it. Why don’t you just give us a summary.” Sep 26, 20:28
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: “An interesting article on what’s wrong with the left: https://unherd.com/2026/09/the-centre-lefts-slow-suicide/” Sep 26, 19:31
Hatey McHateface on Cowering From Destiny: ““Saint Nicola now fled to London” Jeezo, Willie, but you need to get out more. It’s an hour or so…” Sep 26, 19:11
