On today’s Good Morning Scotland, a Tory MSP (in this case seven-time voter reject Murdo Fraser) was allowed to repeatedly get away unchallenged – for about the 100th time on broadcast media in recent days – with telling the flat-out lie that opinion polls show a clear and large majority in opposition to the Scottish Government’s position and proposed timing on a second independence referendum.
We’ve endlessly shown these claims to be absolutely and categorically false, yet for some reason that we’re unable to explain, no interviewer has ever stopped Fraser, or Adam Tomkins, or Ruth Davidson, or Jackson Carlaw, and pointed that fact out.
Today, a tiny bar buried on a left-hand page in the Herald delivers yet more proof of public support for the Scottish Government’s stance.
It deserves rather more prominence, and while we’re about it we figured we might as well collect some of the evidence together.
And yesterday, as Theresa May formally began the process that will tear Scotland out of the EU without its permission, those opposition MSPs queued up to demonstrate their pettiness, ignorance and stupidity.
The figure below is my own, but it’s also remarkably typical:
Click the pic to get yours.
(It actually feels like a lot more than that – quite possibly because I have, in fact, not for one minute of my entire life been represented by a government at Westminster – or anywhere else, come to that – that I voted for, unless you count the token presence of the Lib Dems in the 2010-15 coalition. Which I don’t, because they immediately betrayed every policy and principle for which I’d voted for them in the first place.)
For Scotland, democracy in the UK simply doesn’t work.
One of the favourite sneering Unionist memes of the independence referendum was the mocking dismissal of claims by some Yes supporters that there might be “secret oil fields” in a location off the west of Shetland known as Clair Ridge.
So amused were the Unionists by this notion that they were still sniggering about it regularly years after the referendum, right up to earlier this month.
Curiously, they’ve gone a little quieter in recent days.
As the Prime Minister prepares to meet the First Minister and doggedly give her “now is not the time” mantra another few dozen run-throughs for the cameras, we thought that you might enjoy a little trip down Memory Lane.
Normally the amateur blogger, unqualified would-be economist and unsuccessful dog-food salesman that BBC Scotland and the Daily Record employ on a regular basis to openly troll Yes voters restricts himself, when attacking this site, to crude abuse or smear and innuendo like the below, tweeted on Holocaust Memorial Day last year:
There’s a new hot buzz-phrase in the Yoonstream: “GERS deniers”.
It’s actually been around for quite a few months – coincidentally since this site started exposing the true nature of the figures – but has become a constant mantra recently, in particular since the intervention of an actual proper expert who doesn’t sell cat litter for a living, Professor Richard Murphy.
Ever since he set tongues and tails wagging by writing a series of hard-hitting articles for his widely-renowned Tax Research UK blog last week, rubbishing the quality of the data, Unionists have been in an increasingly shrill flap about it.
Today the Scottish Parliament spent several hours heatedly debating a motion to call for a second Section 30 order to enable a new independence referendum (several more will follow tomorrow before the vote). We watched all of it so you didn’t have to, and are delighted to present you with a few clips that probably won’t make the news.
On such a momentous topic, this was the intervention that Scottish Labour list MSP Monica Lennon felt was the most pressing issue to raise, for example:
We’re very touched, obviously, and will add it to our file of other mentions in the chamber and elsewhere. But there were probably more important things to discuss.
Ian on Binfire Of The Vanities: “It’s all down to the SNP. With a competent party the support for independence would be higher. So for many…” May 4, 21:38
Alf Baird on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““I don’t see a vote against the SNP as a right wing vote.” I see it as an anti-woke vote,…” May 4, 21:07
BroughtyBoy on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Jeezo, you’ve really learnt nothing from last 10 years Iain have you? Shrieking “Nazi !” at folk you disagree with…” May 4, 21:03
Bilbo on Binfire Of The Vanities: “As always, the only poll that matters in the one on election day. There is a far too many reasons…” May 4, 20:47
Alf Baird on Binfire Of The Vanities: “That implies there are some 35% of voters with a non Scottish-only identity, which is significant. In addition, as the…” May 4, 20:42
George Ferguson on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I don’t see a vote against the SNP as a right wing vote. Based on their record. Still a 20%…” May 4, 20:04
Bilbo on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I’ve had the misfortune to have to sit through it many a time on YouTube until I figured out how…” May 4, 20:03
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Did you read past the first paragraph? FFS.” May 4, 19:55
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The (notional) left is going to win the election, though.” May 4, 19:54
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Tory and Reform voters both think that, though.” May 4, 19:53
Dunter on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I’ve completed polls for both YouGov and Survation in the past week, both on voting intentions (Yes/HR intentions)/leaders’ performance/current issues.…” May 4, 19:39
Aidan on Seven Days Too Long: “Yea see James is more like a drunk piss soaked homeless guy who keeps bothering people for change at a…” May 4, 19:09
100%Yes on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Reform will look after England its the SNP who ruined Scotland.” May 4, 19:07
100%Yes on Binfire Of The Vanities: “If the SNP and MFI hadn’t rigged humza to be leader of the SNP and Forbes had won and she…” May 4, 19:05
Young Lochinvar on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Beggars Aye very good bumpkin.. It’s being so cheerie that keeps ye going eh Adolf..” May 4, 18:56
Dan on Seven Days Too Long: “I see Aidan’s channelling his inner Gavin Williamson now. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLr-jfbX0zM” May 4, 18:50
100%Yes on Binfire Of The Vanities: “I’ve no doubt Kelly’s eye will have a reason to debunk what’s being said.” May 4, 18:50
100%Yes on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The SNP has treated Scotland, its people and women with complete and utter contempt. Sturgeon was still banging on about…” May 4, 18:47
Captain Caveman on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Ah! What’s that Fatso, you looking down on the hardworking working classes again like McDonalds workers? Déjà vu! Brass neck…” May 4, 18:43
Ross on Binfire Of The Vanities: “The combined snp labour vote on the same basis plus Greens dwarves the point you’re making Plus some pro indy…” May 4, 18:37
agentx on Binfire Of The Vanities: ““National identity The percentage of people who said Scottish was their only national identity increased since the previous census (from…” May 4, 18:02
Mark Beggan on Binfire Of The Vanities: “There’s many reasons for not voting and one of these could be what is happening outside Scotland. The geopolitical situation…” May 4, 17:52
Young Lochinvar on Seven Days Too Long: “Geri @ 1.34 She doesn’t have the self awareness for that, that’s quite clear in her comments about Salmond. Classic…” May 4, 17:42
sarah on Binfire Of The Vanities: “Well, at least they were honest – unlike the leadership. But it is hugely worrying. It is a bit like…” May 4, 17:39
agentx on Seven Days Too Long: “It seems to a forgone conclusion that the SNP will win the election. I hope to God that no channel…” May 4, 17:31
Alex Thorburn on Binfire Of The Vanities: “In 2021 it took just 27,541 votes to elect each of the 8 Green MSPs on the Regional (List) Vote,…” May 4, 17:28
