The Sun (English edition only, the Scottish one goes for a domestic murrdurr story) has an inflammatory front page today, as Parliament debates the most important series of votes so far on Brexit, including one to overrule devolution.
It’s a rerun of a(n in)famous previous front-page illustration from the paper, which you can see below. But there’s something odd about it.
It’s probably fair to say that the voters of Scotland have been feeling a little put-upon lately. In the last decade they’ve been sent to polling stations on no fewer than 12 occasions (Holyrood elections in 2011 and 2016, UK elections in 2010, 2015 and 2017, council elections in 2012 and 2017, European elections in 2009 and 2014, and finally referendums on AV, independence and the EU).
And they’ve been subjected to endless weeks, months or even years of campaigning and haranguing each time. One woman – who only had to endure nine of those 12 – had famously had enough of it.
Yet Scots face possibly three more in the next 12 months or so, if various factions get their way, taking the total to 15 major votes in a decade. And if we want to secure the desired outcome in any of them, we’re going to have to ease the load on folk a bit.
This Wings story from April about a wildly untrue Scottish Daily Mail front-page splash has been entirely vindicated by a correction in the paper today, conceding both of the key complaints we made in our piece.
The Mail has, as you’d imagine, printed the correction rather smaller than the original story, so we thought we’d blow it up a little here for easier reading.
Because we’re sure they wouldn’t want anyone to miss it.
Some new data from the long-running Scottish Social Attitudes Survey was released tonight, and it makes for fascinating reading.
The headline stat is that for only the second year in the 18 years the study has been running, independence is the most popular option for the governance of Scotland:
This doesn’t, however, mean that it’s the majority view, because while independence is backed by 45% the “No” option is split into two – support for devolution (41%) and those ultra-Yoons who want Holyrood abolished (8%).
Now, considering that as recently as 2012 those figures were independence on 23%, devolution 61% and no Parliament 13%, that’s still a remarkable shift in Scottish public opinion in a very short space of time – support for indy has DOUBLED in five years while devolution has dropped by a third.
And indeed, when the survey asked a straight Yes/No question the results came out even closer, at 48% Yes to 52% No – a 3% swing to Yes from the 2016 figures.
We must admit, folks, that our initial reaction to this Scotsman headline from a couple of days ago was simply a weary sigh of “Oh FFS, here we go again”.
Blaming the Scottish Government for a private company’s decision to close down its plant and make hundreds of Scottish workers redundant is just the sort of ludicrous negative spinning we’ve come to expect from the country’s press over the past seven years, so this latest example just seemed like nothing more than par for the course.
But there turned out to be a little more to it than that.
So this story is the front page of tonight’s Evening Times.
It’s a pretty slim piece deploying a Glasgow mother to attack the SNP-run city council over a recent increase in nursery fees, and it sounds like the new higher cost might be a pretty big deal to her.
And no, we don’t even mean the FOUR spelling mistakes in this 42-word tweet.
We mean the bit that we’ve highlighted above in blue. Because what Scottish Labour’s lowest-watt bulb was gloating about earlier today was that Lord Bracadale concluded there’d been no gap created in the law by the Kelly-driven abolition of the OBFA.
And that’s… well, that’s not quite what Lord Bracadale said.
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “They can do all this stuff themselves can they. Well that’s good news, now that they can do without the…” May 20, 10:57
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: ““Let’s not be stupid Northcode…” I was only highlighting your stupidity with some stupid of my own. You were the…” May 20, 10:47
Alf Baird on The Land Of No Laws: ““I can trace my Scottish ancestry, both sides of the family, back to the 1850s.” Colonialism, and therefore the colonial…” May 20, 10:34
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: “AI Dan They can do all of those things themselves, ya dunce. They don’t need Colonisers fleecing them & taking…” May 20, 10:22
Skip_NC on The Land Of No Laws: “Alf, that was the author’s argument, either which I strongly disagree. Scotland’s success csn be put down, in significant part,…” May 20, 10:20
Little Surbiton-on-Forth on The Land Of No Laws: “Been out of action in the Vicky for a couple of days so apologies for the late reply to your…” May 20, 10:01
Captain Caveman on The Land Of No Laws: ““A word for the colonized until the day of liberation: doun-hauden: Oppressed.” Honestly, Alf, as has oft be mentioned to…” May 20, 10:00
Mark Beggan on The Land Of No Laws: “#Goats have feelings too. Just saying.” May 20, 09:55
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “Let’s not be stupid Northcode, “Barbara fae Manchester” is a stereotype for a certain type of “Brits abroad” you get…” May 20, 09:53
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: ““You want to be taken seriously, Alf, but you never, ever, call out the idiocy that is endemic on here…”…” May 20, 09:32
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: “Note: The entire italicization of my previous comment is not intentional… I screwed up and forgot to close the HTML…” May 20, 09:15
Northcode on The Land Of No Laws: ““Non-Muslims aren’t even allowed into Mecca” This is true, but you make the mistake of assumption, AI Dan. You assume…” May 20, 08:33
diabloandco on The Land Of No Laws: “There was once a contributor on here , a unionist, who put forward several interesting points and ideas – his/her…” May 20, 08:14
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: “@ Aidan says: 20 May, 2026 at 8:02 am Ah, c’moan noo, Aidan. Cut the lassie some slack. She’ll be…” May 20, 08:08
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “Non-Muslims aren’t even allowed into Mecca, but of course Geri doesn’t know that because Geri barely knows anything, unless it…” May 20, 08:02
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: “@ Aidan says: 20 May, 2026 at 6:36 am And zilch about Big Barbs fae the scheme semi naked trampling…” May 20, 07:32
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: ““Some you win, some you lose” Not like on here, then, Geri. Where you lose every time. I almost feel…” May 20, 07:26
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: “@ Young Lochinvar says: 19 May, 2026 at 11:56 pm “Shit, near midnight and I haven’t posted how not gay…” May 20, 07:04
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: “@ Dan says: 19 May, 2026 at 11:39 pm “Never mind the “prick” and “twat” post from earlier. Can I…” May 20, 06:55
Aidan on The Land Of No Laws: “Well look everybody, today we have Geri’s economic master plan for the UAE, and she even stayed up until 2:30…” May 20, 06:36
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: “AI Dan, Whit a moron you are. High worth *individuals* are of very little benefit to any country. What exactly…” May 20, 02:32
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: “AI Dun @ 5.42 The hoores excuse.. You Tories really are a right bunch, just lurking, beneath the radar but…” May 20, 00:15
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: “HMcH Hurry up now catamite! 11.20 is getting awfy close to midnight and Matron switching off the lights and turning…” May 19, 23:56
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: “Dan @ 9.44 It’s because he’s a Scotchland office superannuated/ private healthcare scheme tax hating/ aspiring evader Harry hoofter with…” May 19, 23:45
Dan on The Land Of No Laws: “So just diversion and no effort to provide detailed costings on the health provision model you want. Yer not the…” May 19, 23:39
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: “Faithless people? Away & behave! They’re defending their territory. WTF that had to do with his comments is anyones guess.…” May 19, 23:31
Geri on The Land Of No Laws: ““if they can’t get the huns to win, will try to get the wee huns over the line.” LOL! Love…” May 19, 23:21
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: “Credit where due, Confused, that’s a good post. Seems you missed an obvious solution to Scottish football’s sectarian problems though.…” May 19, 23:20
Young Lochinvar on The Land Of No Laws: “Well happy anniversary tomorrow, particularly for the Pict supporters on here of tomorrow’s anniversary of the Battle of Dunnichen/ Nechtansmere…” May 19, 23:18
Hatey McHateface on The Land Of No Laws: ““our ancestors were ethnically cleansed, displaced, slaughtered & starved” Are you sure, Geri? Only, I would have thought that if…” May 19, 23:08
