Readers may be aware that Wings Over Scotland is (fairly remarkably, really) the UK’s second-most-read politics blog, behind the hardcore right-wing “Guido Fawkes”.
Our “competitor” isn’t a site we look at a lot – the comments make the Daily Mail readership seem like enlightened and thoughtful moderates – but last week someone asked us about a smear piece they’d run on SNP MP Corri Wilson, and we only just remembered today to check it out. Our initial findings weren’t well received.
It seems that Mr Fawkes and his minions aren’t too keen on scrutiny themselves.
Ever since Scottish Daily Mail political editor Alan Roden jumped ship to go and rearrange the deckchairs for Labour, his former paper has very noticeably toned down its hysterical “SNP BAD” content. We can go through the Mail for days on end now without finding some ludicrously distorted misrepresentation or screaming outrage piece about how a Nat MP found 20p down the back of their sofa without declaring it to HMRC or such.
But we suppose that it’ll at least be bleakly funny, whenever the second independence referendum comes round, watching Labour try to sell a vote for the UK as a vote for internationalist brotherhood and solidarity.
To be honest, readers, we gave up on taking any notice of David Torrance‘s mundane attempts at trolling in the Herald some time ago. But some alert readers pointed us towards this week’s column, suggesting that it was a bald rewriting of history some way beyond their usual bland irritancy.
This was the passage they objected to:
It’s a patronising piece of “shut up and eat your cereal” condescension for sure. But to be fair to Torrance, it does also happen to be true. Wait, not true. The other thing.
The starting pistol hasn’t actually been fired on the two-year Brexit process yet, but now we have a clear statement of when it will be: this morning on The Andrew Marr Show, the Prime Minister pledged that it would happen before the end of next March.
(We might end up broke, in other words, but at least we’ll be good old British broke, with none of those awful smelly foreign Euro-Johnnies around to see it.)
And nobody was getting a sick note.
And for supporters of independence, that’s about as good as news gets.
The Daily Telegraph just released a video called “100 Reasons Why Brexit Was A Good Thing”. It listed them to a soundtrack of “Jerusalem”, the same song that closed the Labour Party conference earlier this week with its stirring ode to just one of the four nations of the United Kingdom.
We’ve saved a few of the highlights below, just in case the Telegraph should delete the video in a fit of sanity. We’ve also added one fake one. See if you can spot it.
Low-wattage Labour list MSP Neil Findlay (rejected by the electorate of Almond Valley by a thumping 8,393 votes in May) puffed himself up to maximum socialism this week and attacked the SNP’s rather more popular Paisley MP Mhairi Black over a Scottish Daily Express story about travel expenses.
It might have been an idea if he’d read the piece all the way to the end.
Captain Caveman on A matter of class: “@Flying Iron of Doom “You never did explain to us what a fly press is, mate. I can’t be the…” Dec 23, 16:09
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “@Hatey 2.01PM I’m with you mate on wondering what motivates the usual suspects in their all too frequent recourse to…” Dec 23, 16:04
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “@Hatey 2.17pm So what’s your problem? I’m not sure we want to go there. If nothing else, you’d need more…” Dec 23, 15:47
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Fearghas macFhionnlaigh, I also saw that snippet of news, And notable that both the civil Servants and the BBC have…” Dec 23, 15:32
Insider on A matter of class: “Andy, I wish you would start posting more regularly again ! You were one of the few posters on this…” Dec 23, 14:45
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Just go all indigenous, nativist, Sovereign Scots on us, Confused, and refuse to acknowledge the alien, forced, cultural abomination of…” Dec 23, 14:25
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “But whit aboot the green shoots, Aidan? Ye hivnae conseedered the import o the green shoots! OFFS. Dinna tell me…” Dec 23, 14:20
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “You know what, Alf, “Porridge wogs” was a direct quote from willie’s post above. Tak it up wi him if…” Dec 23, 14:17
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: ““centuries long proclivity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by arguing amongst ourselves” Too true, Andy. To which…” Dec 23, 14:01
Aidan on A matter of class: “I’d also point out Northcode that the word “Northcode” appears 63 times in this post. Now of course not all…” Dec 23, 13:56
Alf Baird on A matter of class: ““us deluded porridge wogs” Well, whit can we say aboot that! As postcolonial theory (Memmi) so often reminds us, such…” Dec 23, 13:45
Confused on A matter of class: “Looking forward – interesting world cup draw and puts indy within our grasp; let me explain – Scotland and the…” Dec 23, 13:45
Aidan on A matter of class: “Whilst we are on the subject of the reality check, I note that the relentless spamming about the UN approach…” Dec 23, 13:43
Confused on A matter of class: “a rewrite of christmas carol, a real horror story with the ghosts – christmas past will tell us of imperial…” Dec 23, 13:41
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Should Scotland, If independent. Have a Monarchy? Or Some other head of Scotland, Or should it be the people as…” Dec 23, 13:33
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “Sadly Hatey the days when Voltaire famously observed that “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilzation” are…” Dec 23, 13:30
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “@Northcode 12.43pm It’s not just about length though bud: I’m sure you’ve been told that many times in your past.…” Dec 23, 13:15
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Hechter, eh? Another new one. Is that the same Hechter that forms a sept of the Clan McFarlane? Haha, just…” Dec 23, 13:12
Northcode on A matter of class: “Here, it’s braw on here the day. We indigenous Scots in this place are being treated tae a rare pre-Christmas…” Dec 23, 13:00
The Flying Iron of Doom on A matter of class: “Captain Caveman says: 23 December, 2025 at 12:35 pm Just have to laugh at trolls having the bare arsed cheek…” Dec 23, 13:00
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Mind the “green shoots” you were wittering oan aboot yesterday, Northy. Some muckle-clogged cant might dance all ower them. What…” Dec 23, 12:58
James Cheyne on A matter of class: “Gethin Chamberlain. The world has a planned craziness to it, set out to confuse the people and break down communities…” Dec 23, 12:57
Northcode on A matter of class: “Here, Ellis… thon wis a guid wee dance – although a wee bit oan the lang side fir my likin’…” Dec 23, 12:52
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Hey, I enjoyed your post, Twat H! Consider yourself promoted from Twat H to Twat A for the day.” Dec 23, 12:52
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Awww, Northy, so now you’re stealing my jokes. Sincerely, I’m flattered. Still though, I have to point out. Christmas never…” Dec 23, 12:48
Northcode on A matter of class: “I must say, Ellis… your paragraph etiquette is very good – excellent, in fact. It certainly makes your dancing, if…” Dec 23, 12:43
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “China’s strides in espionage and Intellectual Property theft have got them where they are today. President John Donald Trump has…” Dec 23, 12:40
Captain Caveman on A matter of class: “Just have to laugh at trolls having the bare arsed cheek to complain about the quality of BTL, whilst simultaneously…” Dec 23, 12:35
Alf Baird on A matter of class: “600 MPs of other national identities and ethnicities in Westminster force their laws (and culture, institutions etc) on Scotland. Which…” Dec 23, 12:31
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “@Northcode 11.38am The issue for you and other indigenes Northcode is that despite the reams of stuff posted by the…” Dec 23, 12:16
