Alert readers may recall that almost three years ago, the No campaign issued a series of dire warnings that independence could cause supermarket prices to rise:
Thankfully, by staying in the UK and therefore leaving the EU, Scotland etc etc.
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.
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““every accusation is a confession” Erm. Nah. Don’t tell him.” Mar 14, 14:28
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “The original Roman calendar was based on the lunar cycle. The Ides was the first full moon of the month.…” Mar 14, 14:25
Confused on Looking up at the stars: “The london regime is an illegitimate terrorist junta by any decent standards of normal human behaviour, operating as an organised…” Mar 14, 14:07
Sven on Looking up at the stars: “How applicable to Scotland if one subscribes to colonial theory, and apposite also on the eve of the Ides of…” Mar 14, 13:37
Northcode on Looking up at the stars: “The Ides of March arrive tomorrow… I wonder if anyone has told Trump what that means. Et tu, Hegseth?” Mar 14, 13:17
Dan on Looking up at the stars: “Wings killed itself because it continued to allow obvious disruptors to piss pretty much everyone off btl to the point…” Mar 14, 11:54
Northcode on Looking up at the stars: ““…if the metric is posting repetitive unhinged drivel then your team wins…” You are funny, AI Dan… for an artificial…” Mar 14, 11:11
Northcode on Looking up at the stars: “Would you look at that! Naw e’en haufway thru the day and us liberty lovin Scots seekin oor liberty frae…” Mar 14, 10:59
Aidan on Looking up at the stars: “Oh no doubt Northcode, if the metric is posting repetitive unhinged drivel then your team wins the gold! Obviously it’s…” Mar 14, 10:57
diabloandco on Looking up at the stars: “Thanks Turabdin – that’s a brilliant quote.” Mar 14, 09:39
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““it’s becoming a bore” Ach, Northy, you’ve brought a fleeting smile to my slow, weekend breakfast. Alert readers can clearly…” Mar 14, 08:54
Northcode on Looking up at the stars: “Maistly a surfeit o humour-free, tantersome, bauch and cat wittit colonist remerks in here yesterdey… which be hou maistlins nane…” Mar 14, 08:27
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “85,000 failed asylum seekers at £10,000 each is still less than £1 billion pounds. Small change for our UK government.…” Mar 14, 07:48
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Great posts, YL. There’s something about 2 AM that just seems to bring out your best. Re your claims. Do…” Mar 14, 07:34
Mark Beggan on Looking up at the stars: ““it has centuries of experience” 47 years of totalitarian theocracy. The Persians are the only ones who can justly claim…” Mar 14, 05:42
twathater on Looking up at the stars: “I commented recently that I had contacted ALL my MP’s and MSP’s of ALL parties to complain about Shabana Mahmood’s…” Mar 14, 03:39
Young Lochinvar on Looking up at the stars: “HMcH Oaths? Let’s have a wee look at yours eh? 1. The Cub Scouts: Rule number 3: (That you swear…” Mar 14, 01:57
Cynicus on Looking up at the stars: “Iain More says: 12 March, 2026 at 10:24 pm “So the SNP SG continues to drag its heels over releasing…” Mar 14, 01:33
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “On the subject of pets, Geri, hows the dugs? At weekends, do you usually permit them more freedom? Let them…” Mar 13, 22:37
Geri on Looking up at the stars: “House Jock implies someone who still lives here who suffers an identity crisis. Pet Jock is about right, the token…” Mar 13, 20:41
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Monarchy is the default for humanity, TURABDIN. It’s wired into our DNA, almost certainly because over the long term, it…” Mar 13, 20:31
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Sure, Alf, these arguments go round and round with such depressing regularity that we can now all predict where they…” Mar 13, 20:30
Scot Finlayson on Looking up at the stars: “Lord Byron penned the song, Dark Lochnagar,about his youth in the highlands, Ah ! there my young footsteps in infancy…” Mar 13, 20:30
Alf Baird on Looking up at the stars: ““as if their Scottish Sovereignty is superior to the Scottish Sovereignty of other Scots” You appear to misunderstand the colonial…” Mar 13, 20:00
TURABDIN on Looking up at the stars: “«The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike…” Mar 13, 19:43
100%Yes on Looking up at the stars: “What is there to talk about that hasn’t already been said. Looking at the Rag today I had to look…” Mar 13, 19:20
TURABDIN on Looking up at the stars: “The MASSIVE elephant in the room is the US and its emerging absolutist «monarchy». If the sun sets on the…” Mar 13, 18:52
sarah on Looking up at the stars: “O/T Does anyone know what is happening with the Voices for Independence site? There has been no entry for today…” Mar 13, 18:41
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““the case with most of” What’s this, Alf? Are Cesaire’s ideological foundations starting to crumble? That “most” permits some doubt…” Mar 13, 18:09