Yesterday we reported how the only people who were risking the privatisation of key ferry services to the Western Isles were the Scottish Labour politicians and media crowing about how the decision to keep them in the hands of publicly-owned operator Caledonian MacBrayne had been made for political reasons.
(Which, were it true, would render the award of the contract illegal under EU law.)
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.
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “sam, my comment on the uncontextualised use of survey data relates to the original post. Not the survey itself. Hence…” Jul 23, 18:18
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Dan, regarding the much-quoted “Union of Equals” that I know is such a popular trope, I am unaware of any…” Jul 23, 18:12
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Don’t forget the colonisation of Ireland by the Scots and English. James granted confiscated land from Irish Catholics to Protestant…” Jul 23, 18:06
Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “FC Apology accepted. Always laugh when those who know their wordsmithery isn’t cutting it feel the need to conclude with…” Jul 23, 17:49
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““The original question and comment on the survey data still stand.” Why don’t you look it up for yourself and…” Jul 23, 17:42
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “YL, the third person usage was simply because I don’t know you. As a literature graduate I am well aware…” Jul 23, 17:30
Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “FC I’ll reply even though in your intemperate response you referred to me in the 3rd person while also managing…” Jul 23, 17:10
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “If the Union was meant to be equal and UK Governance actually attempted to serve its constituent part’s best interests;…” Jul 23, 15:45
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Wes Streeting would be better positioned in Hollyoaks. He could play the nasty gay with big ideas.” Jul 23, 15:43
Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Did ye no get the message fae King Jimmy, England-is-the-UK and its Shires, wi Scotland makkit intae anither English Shire:…” Jul 23, 15:42
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “You could say Jesus did his job. With Mary behind him how could he fail.” Jul 23, 15:13
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Interesting point on Islam. Western countries grew up from spoon fed orthodox religion. The Western mind has evolved but most…” Jul 23, 15:00
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Young Lochinvar says: 23 July, 2026 at 2:23 pm FC The Scotchland Office in auld Reekie is part of the…” Jul 23, 14:50
Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “FC The Scotchland Office in auld Reekie is part of the UK government. Surely it was set up to look…” Jul 23, 14:23
Rev. Stuart Campbell on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Confused: I have deleted your comment. Any more of that shit and you’re on pre-mod.” Jul 23, 13:42
diabloandco on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “OT another expensive heart wrenching ad from RSPCA – remember that that is only for England and Wales , here…” Jul 23, 12:25
Lorncal on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Why are we always surprised/shocked/outraged by the perfidies of people who owe no allegiance to Scotland whatsoever? These people are…” Jul 23, 12:21
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Serious question – why should a UK Government work in the best interests of any single geographical sub-section of the…” Jul 23, 12:03
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Scottish Social Attitudes Study 2025 “18% of respondents said that they trusted the UK Government to work in Scotland’s best…” Jul 23, 10:20
Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Aye Hatey, up tae yer wee mischievous tricks agin: ‘divide and rule’, the colonizer’s tool.” Jul 23, 10:14
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Sarwar’s degree in dentristy and his role as Scottish Labour Leader where he led the party to its latest debacle…” Jul 23, 10:13
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Sure, Xaracen. But you’ll be long deid. 🙂 Me too. And, whilst no doubt Scotland will leave the UK as…” Jul 23, 09:31
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “What made Scotland “much better” before 1707 Xaracen? I doubt there is a single objective metric that could be used…” Jul 23, 09:31
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “With the departure of Sarwar, once again, we see that Scotland’s loss is England’s gain. And, as the pool of…” Jul 23, 09:18
Xaracen on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Hatey said; “Scotland was a much better place when it was a monarchy.” Scotland was a much better place when…” Jul 23, 08:55
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““buses; but I haven’t been on one for 30 years, and you’d have to get the gun out to get…” Jul 23, 07:55
Hatey McHateface on Progressing To Oblivion: “His phone too, so there will go his language translation app. Come to think on it, taking his phone away…” Jul 23, 07:44
Aidan on Progressing To Oblivion: “I think James’ clothes will need to be buried in concrete on Gruinard Island.” Jul 23, 07:11
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Culpable homicide isn’t an offence in England (it’s manslaughter) and Donald Findlay isn’t a member of the bar in England…” Jul 23, 07:08
