We don’t know whether Sky News’ senior Scotland correspondent James Matthews recognised double-jobbing Labour MP and councillor Hugh Gaffney on today’s strike march in Glasgow or not. (We suspect he did, but as Gaffney’s only been an MP for a year and a half we can’t be sure.)
What’s certain is that he gave him plenty of time, opportunity and cues to disclose who he was, and Gaffney didn’t take any of them, leading to this extraordinary clip.
The indyref sometimes caused feelings to run rather high, and people on both sides made themselves very unpopular with those on the other side. But four years of water has flowed under the bridge since then, and not everyone is still in the same trenches.
Some high-profile names have switched to from No to Yes (often but not exclusively as a result of Brexit), and the reception afforded to floor-crossers like Murray Foote, Eric Joyce, Jackie Kemp, Mike Dailly, Tom Morton and Simon Pia hasn’t always been an entirely warm one, with some unable to keep a lid on their old grudges.
And in a similar vein, some of the remarks in recent days on the reported switch to Yes of Billy Connolly – a few from people I thought better of – are deeply offensive and potentially deeply damaging.
Well well, look who suddenly believes in second referendums.
It’s fascinating to note how you can completely reverse Kezia Dugdale’s position on the subject simply by substituting the word “Scotland” for the words “the UK” in that second tweet, and imagine she was talking about the independence march in heavily-Remain-voting Edinburgh earlier this month instead of the (proportionately smaller) one in London yesterday.
The BBC’s Scottish politics website today prominently carries this story:
Our famously alert readers may recall as far back as five-and-a-half months ago, which was the last time the Scottish media tried to whip up demented scare stories about baby boxes, which have been given to every new mother in Finland for approximately 70 years and caused absolutely no documented problems.
So what’s fresh about the story to justify this significant new coverage? Let’s see.
Tory MP Kirstene “dumber than a box of” Hair is best known for being the member of the UK Parliament who didn’t vote in the Brexit referendum because it was too difficult.
The Scottish Daily Mail today has a big headline relaying the seemingly-unambiguous bad news that unemployment in Scotland has apparently risen by 11,000.
But cheer up, folks, because better times are ahead.
We’re pretty sure it was “Listen to you about being ‘better together’, so that they ended up with a Tory government they didn’t vote for but which was imposed on them by the people in a much larger country, and which has a long track record of imposing brutal, callous welfare policies on the poor for largely ideological reasons, and which has entirely predictably continued to do so”.
robertkknight on The Guilty Party: “Excellent! Thanks for posting” Jun 26, 12:53
100%Yes on The Guilty Party: “I’ve just signed a petition “Hold a referendum on abolishing the Scottish parliament & Government.” if you interested the link…” Jun 26, 12:42
robertkknight on The Guilty Party: “The Westminster Parliament’s finest trick is to persuade you that the Act of Union as an international treaty binding two…” Jun 26, 12:36
Alf Baird on The Guilty Party: ““every custom design costs a lot” Exactly the same with Edin trams, the ‘new’ parliament building, and of course ferries:…” Jun 26, 12:34
Lorncal on The Guilty Party: “In politics as in life. So often, the least competent/laziest/most mediocre/most parasitical are rewarded for sucking up to the boss/appearing…” Jun 26, 12:29
Northcode on The Guilty Party: “The Scottish Parliament is a corruption. The Scottish Government is a fiction. And Holyrood is no more than a colonial…” Jun 26, 12:14
sarah on The Guilty Party: “@ James Che – you know, and I know, that we aren’t legally or in practice in a Union. It…” Jun 26, 11:58
Confused on The Guilty Party: “something for the connoisseur of driest wit – the scotgov has -rejected- plans for the new replacement monklands hospital as…” Jun 26, 11:45
Confused on The Guilty Party: “tits posting bollocks here isn’t exactly novel here … but let’s make one thing clear : if YES wins in…” Jun 26, 11:43
Spartan 117 on The Guilty Party: “Indeed, one only has to look at the pathological obsession with many across Scotland and Britain more widely with the…” Jun 26, 11:36
Captain Caveman on The Guilty Party: “(@TURABDIN obviously).” Jun 26, 11:14
Captain Caveman on The Guilty Party: “I don’t think anyone – not even here – could sensibly argue, with a straight face, that 2014 Sturgeon/Murrell and…” Jun 26, 11:09
Alf Baird on The Guilty Party: ““it spreads like a disease” Yes James, colonialism ‘is a disease of the mind’, and ‘like a cancer it seeks…” Jun 26, 10:43
MaryB on The Guilty Party: “Xaracen, that’s a really interesting article explaining the inner working of the UN. Especially interesting to know that Scotland’s case…” Jun 26, 10:40
TURABDIN on The Guilty Party: “It has become what it was intended to be, in that respect, exercising the limited powers of the old Scottish…” Jun 26, 10:35
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Guilty Party: “Further relaxed respectful (1 hr 15 mins long) interview yesterday with Cynthia Guthrie and Allison Graham (by Gina Davidson LBC…” Jun 26, 10:32
James Che on The Guilty Party: “Alf Baird. Xaracen post is very clear regards the UN, as were your own and mind mine over the years,…” Jun 26, 10:18
Rab Dickson on The Guilty Party: “Interesting to note that Cheese Eating Weasel, Doug Daniel, sat on his chubby hands.” Jun 26, 10:17
macbeda blackstone on The Guilty Party: ““Oh what a tangled web we weave/ When first we practice to deceive,” from Marmion., Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter…” Jun 26, 10:13
Spartan 117 on The Guilty Party: “Interesting reading, thank you for sharing. I always get rather unnerved by the PRC’s engagement in anything, being a hostile…” Jun 26, 10:06
Spartan 117 on The Guilty Party: “Well, considering devolution was a project by The War Criminal to turn the other regions of the UK into permanent…” Jun 26, 09:59
James Che on The Guilty Party: “Xaracen, Thank you so much for your post today, It clarifies much of what we have been trying to explain…” Jun 26, 09:56
James Che on The Guilty Party: “Sarah, We (Scotland ) are not in a Union, and was not in a union in 2014, Read Xaracen,s post.” Jun 26, 09:45
Captain Caveman on The Guilty Party: ““Promise us you won’t change your mind post Indy when some exhilarating highly able exile returns to take your job.”…” Jun 26, 09:37
Alf Baird on The Guilty Party: ““Short read please” This may be more up your street, Hatey. Liberation only comes when the oppressed group finally see…” Jun 26, 09:35
TURABDIN on The Guilty Party: “Another guilty party. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/labour-attempts-to-defuse-blair-s-parish-council-power-for-scots-1.59202 What you see is what you get, Garbage in, garbage out, You cant make a silk…” Jun 26, 09:31
Hatey McHateface on The Guilty Party: “Alf Promise us you won’t change your mind post Indy when some exhilarating highly able exile returns to take your…” Jun 26, 09:09
James Che on The Guilty Party: “Willie, Thats what happens when we have a controlled pretendy Governance in Scotland from Westminsters Scotland Act, If anything, these…” Jun 26, 08:59
Hatey McHateface on Hey Lord Don’t Ask Me Questions: “I saw an army of weekend nationalists who would rather go to the pub than stick with the hard graft…” Jun 26, 08:56
Kate L on The Guilty Party: “That pile-on would be disgraceful in a knitting facebook group, let alone a professional forum for a political organisation. “hashtag…” Jun 26, 08:53
