One of the stranger criticisms regularly levelled at this site is that we don’t attack the SNP/Scottish Government enough.
That’s weird firstly because it’s not like there’s currently a shortage of hostile media scrutiny of Nicola Sturgeon and her colleagues, and secondly because we’ve never in our four-year life claimed for a moment to be neutral.
What Unionists insisted was the biggest and most important parliamentary transfer of powers to a devolved government anywhere in the world was squeezed into five and a half hours of debate time in the House Of Commons tonight, approximately two hours of which were taken up by Westminster’s farcical voting system.
Of the remaining three and a bit hours, a third of the time was taken up by the three MPs you can see video of at the bottom of this post. We know it’s a lot to ask to watch an hour of politicians deliberately trolling Scotland, but if you didn’t see the debate live it’s about the minimum you need to get an accurate sense of the tone.
At the end of it all, a small number of things had been decided.
The tiny number of people who watch the BBC Parliament channel is undoubtedly a blessing to the parties of the Union. We’ll be bringing you some eye-opening excerpts from today’s Scotland Bill debate later, but as a taster here’s one brief exchange.
Alberto Costa, the Scottish-born Conservative MP for South Leicestershire (of whom we’ll be seeing much more in a bit), is heard loudly expressing his satisfaction that not a single Scottish MP of any party (nor indeed any from Wales or Northern Ireland) has been permitted to sit on the Joint Committee discussing the government’s plan to scrap the Human Rights Act, although six unelected peers do get places.
When challenged, Costa explains that he’s happy about it because it’s a matter reserved to the “United Kingdom Parliament”. The fact that he apparently doesn’t consider any Scottish members elected to that parliament to have any business with its affairs is perhaps rather more revealing than Mr Costa intended it to be.
Last Friday’s article on the limitations of GERS caused quite a stir among the stout defenders of the Union, as social-media users may have noticed over the weekend.
Amidst the wildly-flailing fury-storm of shouty, abusive responses which pathologically evaded addressing the article’s point, the one vaguely factual argument raised was the notion that an independent Scotland wouldn’t be able to make significant savings on its current (notional) £3bn defence budget because NATO supposedly requires all member states to spend 2% of their GDP on defence.
When it comes to Scottish Labour’s great brainwave about “restoring” Tory tax-credit cuts, the madness just won’t stop. Here’s Magnus Gardham, formerly political editor of Scotland’s staunchest Labour paper the Daily Record, in the Herald today:
So, it’s our birthday. It was exactly four years ago today, on the 7th of November 2011, that Wings Over Scotland published the first post of what was supposed to be a pretty insignificant spare-time blog picking out interesting politics stories in the day’s Scottish media and challenging any inaccuracies in them.
It’s been such an exciting, action-packed week for Scottish Labour since a dynamic and thrusting PPB launched the 2015 branch-office conference that we worried there might be a danger people had forgotten it already. So we’ve brought it back for a curtain call, in a version a bit more appropriate for what remains of their core vote.
This is amazing, readers. It’s an extract from this afternoon’s The Big Debate on Radio Scotland, in which a journalist – the BBC’s Gordon Brewer – finally gets round to asking someone from Scottish Labour how they can make the extra £500m they need to fund their tax-credits “policy” while keeping all taxes the same.
You might have to listen through a few times to get your head round it, because that really is what a grown woman actually tried to get away with in front of a live audience.
Mia on The shifting sands of memory: ““the ToU is a fraud” There is indeed something rather iffy about the Treaty of Union and the way the…” May 21, 18:46
Northcode on The shifting sands of memory: “Replying to James Cheyne: 21st May @ 5:19 pm “Give us our Country back, you must be joking” I was…” May 21, 18:42
Lorn on The shifting sands of memory: “Agree with most of that, James. I would say that both the Queen and her English Commissioners did negotiate a…” May 21, 18:23
Alf Baird on The shifting sands of memory: “Perhaps Mr. Kerr and others of his ilk are suffering acute anxiety from discovery that there is no union; hence…” May 21, 18:15
Lorn on The shifting sands of memory: “Oh, I’m afraid they will if they want international recognition.” May 21, 18:12
Lorn on The shifting sands of memory: “I believe that most FMs have been complicit in devolved chicanery because they have always accepted devolution, bar Salmond. He…” May 21, 18:10
Lorn on The shifting sands of memory: “Does it? Politicians say all kinds of ordure that cannot be termed ‘legal’. Either the Treaty was and remains an…” May 21, 18:03
Wally Jumblatt on The shifting sands of memory: “A nation makes it’s own laws. When the people of Scotland wish to confirm they are a nation, they will…” May 21, 17:59
James Cheyne on The shifting sands of memory: “Northcode. Give us our Country back, you must be joking, England will fight tooth an nail and avoid everything in…” May 21, 17:19
James Cheyne on The shifting sands of memory: “Thank you stu for taking this discussion up, it is sorely needing clarification, It is without doubt that England presumed…” May 21, 16:47
Ian McCubbin on The shifting sands of memory: “Northcode has it clearly. The book legitimacy….self determination clearly sets out the legal routes for colonies like Scotland. The Independence…” May 21, 16:28
GM on The shifting sands of memory: “Aye, it is a wonder Peter. I recall at the time being extremely frustrated at Swinney accepting what was on…” May 21, 15:55
Northcode on The shifting sands of memory: “My understanding of Professor Black’s view is that Scotland was illegally annexed as a territory of England and that the…” May 21, 15:48
Peter McAvoy on The shifting sands of memory: “As I have mentioned on previous comments to articles on Wings Why do the SNP and other independence supporting parties…” May 21, 14:47
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The shifting sands of memory: “Scottish Sovereignty Research Group Conference (17 May 2025) KEYNOTE SPEECH BY PROFESSOR ROBERT BLACK KC Starts at 1.46.35 into youtube…” May 21, 14:30
Skip_NC on The shifting sands of memory: “Can you extrapolate a Scottish sub-sample of Westminster voting intentions to Holyrood with any accuracy? Voters (well some at any…” May 21, 14:30
Peter McAvoy on Just a couple more shots: “While watching the tv baftas,I wondered if someone would make a drama about For Women Scotland and their long and…” May 21, 14:24
Effijy on The shifting sands of memory: “House Boy Kerr sits happily on the gravy train and no second class colony is going to take it away.…” May 21, 14:13
PhilM on The shifting sands of memory: “Re: the inevitable comments of people unqualified to discuss the history of international law or the constitutional history of the…” May 21, 13:59
Vivian O’Blivion on The shifting sands of memory: “Extremely rare for the SNP to hit 2%, four times in a row on UK wide, Westminster voting intention polls.…” May 21, 13:53
aLurker on The shifting sands of memory: “CJ that link is broken. So use this one instead: “The UK – A Voluntary Union or Capture by…” May 21, 13:20
Ian McCubbin on The shifting sands of memory: “Well it just clarifies to us all that Scotland is a colony . Thus seeking independence has clearer reasons to…” May 21, 13:19
100%Yes on The shifting sands of memory: “What ever happened to the new site layout, I preferred it.” May 21, 13:17
Young Lochinvar on The shifting sands of memory: ““We have catched Scotland and will hold her close” The Speaker at Westminster 1707 following the Treaty. Says it all…” May 21, 13:17
100%Yes on The shifting sands of memory: “I believe whats upset Mr Kerr is the fact he’s been running about like a tit all his life shouting…” May 21, 13:12
Jennifer Livingston on The shifting sands of memory: “Robert the Bruce has made it clear by being accused of being a leper that he plans on being resurrected…” May 21, 13:07
Aidan on The shifting sands of memory: “I’m not aware that anyone has ever said that ‘Scotland is a partner in the Union’ as a legal position,…” May 21, 13:06