Vile abuse and harmless banter 299
Posted on
October 22, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
In that order, we presume.
Two kinds of lies 203
Posted on
October 22, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The reaction of the Scottish media and political opposition to Audit Scotland’s annual report on the NHS today has been nothing if not predictable. But we thought you might like an instructive and enlightening look at the two very different types of approach they’ve taken to trying to mislead the Scottish people about it.
First up is the non-specific Scottish Labour apparatchik (as far as we’re aware he has no official role in the party since Jim Murphy quit – indeed we don’t know what he does for a living at all any more) Blair McDougall:
This is what we in the writing trade call a “flat-out lie”.
Pieces fall into place 133
Posted on
October 22, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
This month we’ve been noting a sudden avalanche of factually-questionable articles in the media attacking the SNP’s record in government. At the weekend and yesterday we also picked apart a highly misleading and disingenuous claim by Andrew Neil on the BBC’s Sunday Politics that there had been no cuts to the Scottish Government budget since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.
And today we can see why.
That happened quietly 165
Posted on
October 21, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The Scotland Office is unexpectedly no more.
It’s had an unannounced rebranding as “The UK Government For Scotland”.
Fiddling the figures 189
Posted on
October 21, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
At the weekend this site noted that on the BBC’s Sunday Politics, presenter Andrew Neil claimed that the Scottish Government’s budget had not been reduced in real terms in “the last five or six years”, and that therefore Scotland has not faced cuts.
But as we pointed out, the Scottish Government budget HAS been cut, year-on-year, since the Tories took office. The independent Fiscal Affairs Scotland assessed the cumulative reduction at a hefty 10%, or a little over £3bn a year.
And then things got interesting.
Tiny Correction Watch 144
Posted on
October 21, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The SNP MP for Dumfries and Galloway, Richard Arkless, made a post on Facebook last night in relation to this article in the Scottish Sunday Express three days ago.
You can read it below.
Readers’ Question Time 520
Posted on
October 20, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Okay, so we’ve tried everything. We’ve read all the papers, we’ve been through all the emails, and we’ve even gone out for a walk, which usually never fails to trigger some cataclysmic political upheaval or animal-sex scandal.
But it didn’t work. There’s still no news, which is probably why the papers – including the FRONT PAGES of the Scotsman and Telegraph – are on an incredible second day of the astounding revelation that someone told someone to f**k off on the internet.
As spectacular and mindboggling as some of the coverage undeniably is – most notably Alex Massie’s barking-mad, lie-filled howlatribe “J.K. Rowling and her heroic attack on the wicked cybernats” (whose title, remarkably, does not appear to be ironic) in ultra-right-wing loonzine CapX – even we’re fed up of reading people going on about us, so to pass the time we’re going to do something else instead.
Person swears on internet 425
Posted on
October 19, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
A failure of briefing 346
Posted on
October 18, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Angus Robertson won’t enjoy watching today’s Sunday Politics Scotland again:
But neither should Andrew Neil, because Andrew Neil was lying.
With permission 144
Posted on
October 16, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
How politics works 127
Posted on
October 16, 2015 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
