When presenter Matt Frei sympathetically puts to her that she left Scotland because she was being “given a very very hard time” by Yes/SNP supporters, Mone denies it, saying “I didn’t actually leave, that wasn’t the main reason to have left Scotland”.
So where could Frei have come by such a misapprehension?
You can’t move for Michelle Mone in the media today, which is just the way she likes it. Almost every newspaper and broadcaster has been running lengthy stories and interviews about the publicity-craving ex-Labour supporter being commissioned by Iain Duncan Smith to produce a report on starting up businesses in disadvantaged areas.
(So excited was Mone – who now backs the Conservatives and is widely expected to be given a peerage in the next honours list by David Cameron for campaigning against Scottish independence – to be working for IDS that she just couldn’t keep the news in until the midnight embargo on the press release, tweeting it at 11pm last night.)
Nationalists have in the main reacted to Mone’s apparent imminent ennoblement as an unelected lawmaker in the manner you’d expect, but they’re not the only people to question her credentials as an expert business adviser and employment guru. So we thought we’d do a little digging and compiling.
Social media is alight today with the latest extraordinary opinion poll for next May’s Holyrood election, which puts the SNP on a record-breaking 62% to Labour’s 20%.
(The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats trail in with miserable stats of 12% and 3% respectively, which means that within the standard margin of polling error it’s possible that NOBODY in Scotland is still planning on voting Lib Dem.)
Pollsters TNS report the findings under what might in the circumstances be seen as the slightly negative headline “SNP holds poll lead in spite of mixed views on record in government”, which relates to figures concerning the Nats’ performance in power.
But there’s an interesting quirk in those numbers.
Alert social-media users will have noticed that it’s hard to avoid a constant low-level buzzing from a faction of the Yes movement, calling on the next Scottish Government (in the event, as currently seems likely, that it’s another SNP majority) to issue a Unilateral Declaration of Independence, or UDI for short.
And in the context of achieving Scottish independence UDI is indeed the answer, if we assume that the question is “What’s the stupidest thing the SNP could possibly do?”
There’s a comment piece by Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson in today’s Sunday Times, comprising 846 words which could be condensed into two: “SNP BAD”.
As such it could have been easily turned into a speech by any Scottish Labour leader of the last five years with nothing more than a quick search-and-replace of the words “Conservative” and “Labour”. It puts forward nothing remotely resembling a policy, just paragraphs of boilerplate waffle and a call for a debate.
Davidson professes to offer “a practical and pro-UK alternative to the SNP”, a programme which she boils down to two key components. It seems to have entirely escaped her notice that they contradict each other on the most fundamental level.
“In an independent Scotland, we’ll never have to worry about Tory governments again”, said the man on my doorstep, his YES badge gleaming in the sunshine.
“I am a Tory,” said I, watching with some amusement as the man’s jaw dropped.
Unalert readers will have been startled to read in much of the media this morning – including a front-page piece on the Daily Record – of the “shocking” £100,000 cost of renaming the new Southern General hospital in Glasgow after the Queen.
Yesterday, whatever the merits of the actual decision involved, we saw an admirable attitude to transparency and accountability from NHS Greater Glasgow And Clyde in their handling of our Freedom Of Information request about the renaming of the South Glasgow University Hospital. An extremely comprehensive response arrived promptly and without any attempts at evasion.
Today was different, because today we were dealing with the BBC.
Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Worth repeating the fact that even Westminster has acknowledged that the GDP Per Capita of an independent Scotland would be…” Jul 25, 23:01
Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Thanks for this Sam. I’ve met Mr and Mrs Cuthbert who are a tremendous asset to Scotland with their expert…” Jul 25, 22:15
James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Dan; on the “money” as always, what the Unionist Wallopers don’t want the Scotch to see: JOHN JAPPY As a…” Jul 25, 22:02
James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “So. The WALLOPERS have spoken. Take note, Scotch folk; you’ve never had it so good. Scotchland is the richest country…” Jul 25, 21:07
James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “So. Precious tactics failing, the new 77th tactic is “swamping”? Endless reams of unionist “shite” vomited up ad nauseam by…” Jul 25, 20:53
James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““Please note: “The Vow” did not break the law.” “Analysts from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre concluded that the fiscal…” Jul 25, 20:43
James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “I wish someone would get a grip of you, ya AI unionist walloper…Westminster apologist, tosser of the first order…for years…” Jul 25, 20:30
Northcode on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Captain Caveman @3:42 pm Once again you’ve raised several points, so I’ll address them in the same way as before.…” Jul 25, 19:50
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Alf, raising taxes in an independent Scotland.A study by Jim Cuthbert which I have edited to reduce its length “Fiscal…” Jul 25, 19:49
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Some good news today. “…a spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Our economy is one of the best performing parts…” Jul 25, 18:41
Spartan 117 on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Few things worse in life than “Socialists” who at the slightest sniff of power dig in and engorge themselves at…” Jul 25, 18:23
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf Re your wish list at 4:08. Surely the most third-rate economist would understand that the feasibility and profitability of…” Jul 25, 18:11
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Some great comments today. There remains but for Wally W. Walrus to expectorate partly masticated rotting fish guts over it…” Jul 25, 17:50
Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “On a cheerier note. Listening to Smooth Radio the hourly newsreader had me smiling, for all the world her rendition…” Jul 25, 16:37
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““ By definition, it is surely a rhetorical question also, since I am hardly likely to have published work on…” Jul 25, 16:32
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf – firstly, that is a description of (in your own terms) how GDP growth could be delivered, it’s not…” Jul 25, 16:29
Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““Scotland’s output would double” Near neighbour high-GDP sovereign states with similar or far lesser resources illustrate that a major increase…” Jul 25, 16:08
Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““So who do we believe?” 😀 😀 😀 And on that bombshell, time for a Negroni I think. Saluti! 🙂” Jul 25, 16:02
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Indeed Dan – it’s a case of: – the independently audited figures show one thing; – the (former) head of…” Jul 25, 15:51
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Indeed Dan – it’s a case of: – the independently audited figures show one thing; – the (former) head of…” Jul 25, 15:51
Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Northy “First, questioning someone’s published work isn’t a demand for credentials; it’s very often a request for clarity about the…” Jul 25, 15:42
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Waiting on new boys CC and AIdan pulling up Stu for posting this “shite” back in the day… https://wingsoverscotland.com/on-our-own-two-feet/” Jul 25, 15:33
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf – I’ve published work on a range of subjects, but my work, unlike yours, isn’t written starting with the…” Jul 25, 15:02
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf – Scotland’s GDP per capita is around the same as neighbouring countries like Finland and Belgium, and above almost…” Jul 25, 14:49
Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Confused – comedy gold from someone who thinks that incorporating a network of companies makes any person or enterprise “tax…” Jul 25, 14:44
Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““So that’s a big ‘naw’ then, ye’ve nivver published hee-haw aboot onythin.” Heh. Well, I’ve written countless landmark technical reports…” Jul 25, 14:35
Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf What has per capita GDP got to do with being “rich”? Especially if comparing the UK (and by extension…” Jul 25, 14:32
