Here’s (a few seconds into the clip) George, Baron Foulkes Of Cumnock.
Born in 1942 in Oswestry in Shropshire and privately educated at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in Hertfordshire, George was first elected by the public in 1979, serving for 26 years. During his time as an MP he was convicted of a drunken violent assault on a policeman and fined £1,050. In 2005 he was ennobled into the House Of Lords and will make laws for UK citizens until he dies, no matter what voters say.
You’d think he’d have learned better manners by now.
As we write there’s a protest going on outside the Scottish Parliament regarding the privatisation of ferry services to the Western Isles. It was formally announced almost three hours ago that there definitely wasn’t going to be any privatisation and that the service would remain in public hands, but the protest still went ahead.
The people conducting the protest, who’ve got the exact thing they wanted, are now doing their level best to lose it again. Welcome to Scottish politics.
Over the past few days, readers, we haven’t been able to avoid noticing a recurring theme among Unionist types on social media – namely that the Holyrood election results are proof that support for independence is declining.
But it’s not until you ask them to explain that it gets completely mental.
For much of its life, this site has been warning readers that, as their default position, they should always assume newspaper headlines are a lie until proven otherwise.
Today, Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper admitted it in public.
You win a historic third election with a second massive landslide, getting more than twice as many seats as your nearest challenger – the first time such a thing has ever happened in a Holyrood election – on the back of what’s (self-evidently) by and large a very popular policy programme and record, and before you’ve even taken your seats in the chamber all the parties you just thrashed out of sight line up to explain how you’ve been doing everything wrong.
And as alliances go, they don’t get much less holy.
We’re supposed to be taking a few days off, but it’s been tipping it down outside for 36 solid hours, so when an alert reader emailed us a question relating to this article from Monday, we couldn’t help but go and research it just to pass some time.
They’d asked how many of the Tory MSPs elected last Thursday had been rejected by the voters of a constituency seat on the same day, and we were startled by the answer – of the 24 Conservative members of the Scottish Parliament elected on the list last week, every single one was also a failed constituency candidate.
In amongst a torrent of pretty mad analysis of the election result at the weekend, we noticed the most insane reason yet suggested for the loss of the SNP’s majority:
The co-founder of a much-lauded but little-read pro-independence website asserted that the SNP were cruising to victory until the Nats got the backing of the Scottish Sun and Nicola Sturgeon was pictured posing with the front cover endorsing her party.
The whole litany of gaping flaws in that argument is something the Yes movement has needed to talk about for some considerable time now. So let’s bite the bullet and do it.
Lorncal on Looking up at the stars: “Mark: I recall listening to a programme about Iran after the Shah was deposed, when Khomeini (1979, I think) had…” Mar 18, 15:56
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““big tent party” I guess the tent is implied by the flag. Still though, in the original meaning of “big…” Mar 18, 15:35
Jamie on Looking up at the stars: “Good article Rev. Talking about elections, as someone who was briefly politically homeless after the death of Alba, after some…” Mar 18, 15:19
Geri on Looking up at the stars: “Tis true about the drugs. It even dispenses itself through a driver if swallowing starts to become difficult & even…” Mar 18, 13:59
Mark Beggan on Looking up at the stars: “A braw n grand sunlit day Oan ma bike n faraway Er the Clyde an alang the Kelvin Up Maryhill…” Mar 18, 13:36
Mark Beggan on Looking up at the stars: “God told me your a pain in the celestial arse.” Mar 18, 13:28
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Good to know God doesn’t go in for that Scots speaking bollox. Get Alf on the phone and tell him.” Mar 18, 13:21
Northcode on Looking up at the stars: “I spoke with God in a dream last night. “What of Trump?” I asked Him. “fucked,” said God, His voice…” Mar 18, 13:01
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Shame you missed out on your ScotGov contract, Confused, but let’s not pretend your mobile gas chambers idea was ever…” Mar 18, 12:27
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Any flexibility creeping in with the tenth, Northy? What with us being culturally colonised by the Yanks and all, plenty…” Mar 18, 12:18
Confused on Looking up at the stars: “assisted dying failed – what do I do with the mobile gas van now? spent 100s fixing it up, getting…” Mar 18, 12:09
Northcode on Looking up at the stars: ““Thou shalt not kill” In more modern versions of the Bible “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) is the more…” Mar 18, 11:55
Mark Beggan on Looking up at the stars: “” I came down from the misty mountain I got lost on the human highway take my head refreshing fountain…” Mar 18, 09:49
Mark Beggan on Looking up at the stars: “Calm down to a riot. Omniscient, omnipotent omnipresent. It’s all I need to know. Shalom.” Mar 18, 09:41
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “The “Keeping Faith With The Declaration Of Arbroath” bill. A selective variant of the assisted dying bill. Alert readers will…” Mar 18, 08:40
Sven on Looking up at the stars: “Northcode @ 08.25. You may be bored, Northy, however you succeeded in giving me a smile this morning at those…” Mar 18, 08:39
Northcode on Looking up at the stars: “The “Compassionate Killing” bill. The “Merciful Murder” bill. The “Bonnie Butcher” bill. What do these ‘better’ alternative names for the…” Mar 18, 08:25
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Fear the loon or quine watching you via the FPV camera on the drone they control. Wake up, Mark! It’s…” Mar 18, 07:54
Mark Beggan on Looking up at the stars: “Death is as natural as life. It’s the deal we made. Don’t fear death. Fear not living when you have…” Mar 18, 07:23
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““This, I hope, will also clear the minds of some posters” You should re-marry, Cynicus. That too has been described…” Mar 18, 07:17
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: ““He doesn’t speak for the majority” Good point, Geri, that’s your job, to bring the unelected, uneducated, hysterical POV to…” Mar 18, 07:12
Cynicus on Looking up at the stars: “Mark Beggan says: 17 March, 2026 at 4:39 pm “Maybe it was ST Brendan then.” ======== LOL Nice try, Mark…” Mar 18, 00:44
Geri on Looking up at the stars: “& who is he exactly? His party has FIVE MSPs. How many seats are list? FOUR. So they effectively have…” Mar 17, 23:33
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Perhaps some of the money saved will be spent on trans. Be honest here, sarah. Who do you think is…” Mar 17, 23:04
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Eh? Yousaf and his co-religionists allow pet dogs to suffer. Many of them would be happy to see all dogs…” Mar 17, 22:59
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “@Geri Liam McArthur says the system “has been failing dying Scots for too long” and that many will feel let…” Mar 17, 22:54
sarah on Looking up at the stars: “Interesting to see the SNP names, 37 for and 22 against. Swinney and Sturgeon against, Robertson for. But anyway, a…” Mar 17, 22:50
Hatey McHateface on Looking up at the stars: “Election in May, x. Too close to the poll for the voters to develop the usual amnesia. They’ll bring back…” Mar 17, 22:47
