There’s another rather bizarre Kenny Farquharson column in today’s Times. Under the headline “Holyrood wasn’t built for a one-party state”, it asserts that “the Scottish Parliament is no longer fit for purpose” on the grounds that the opposition parties are useless, as if that were the fault of the electoral system rather than their leaders.
After that, though, it just gets flat-out insulting.
The papers these days are full of horrendous stories. For some reason this one just tripped a nerve, and we wanted to do something. Click here for details.
This debate between John “Mental Mad” McTernan and Owen Jones from the BBC News channel this morning doesn’t need a lot of commentary from us, to be honest.
It’s like watching someone try to reason with voicemail.
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.
100%Yes on There May Be Justice: “Sarah your opinion is one more and more people are taken.” Oct 8, 02:07
James on The Love Of Big Brother: “You two girls should stop being so coy – just get a room?” Oct 7, 21:51
sarah on There May Be Justice: ““This is about being a country that is worthy of independence… Scotland is not currently such a country.” It’s not…” Oct 7, 21:46
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: ““Scientists who believe technology will largely solve the problems caused by the climate crisis are less likely to engage in…” Oct 7, 21:00
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: ““Former Haringey Councillor Emina Ibrahim” I’m not seeing her as a credible witness or somebody who might automatically be afforded…” Oct 7, 20:15
Bilbo on There May Be Justice: “https://archive.is/AAfpG Scientists who put faith in technology less likely to take climate action – ‘Techno-optimism’ may lead to reliance on…” Oct 7, 20:11
Captain Caveman on The Love Of Big Brother: “@Aidan Yes, absolutely, “laughably half-arsed cherry picking nonsense” doesn’t even begin to cover it. I mean, it’s all so juvenile…” Oct 7, 20:07
Captain Caveman on The Love Of Big Brother: “”Bzzzzz….bzzzzz…bzzzzzz” One of your, ahem, appliances no doubt…” Oct 7, 20:05
Aidan on The Love Of Big Brother: “I don’t know what you keep going on about with this Fifeshire thing, I can only assume you’re suffering from…” Oct 7, 20:01
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: ““the war against the miners would not have been attempted” Anither gloaming, anither wee daunder doon Memory Lane, this time…” Oct 7, 20:00
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: ““when I lived in england I couldn’t even tolerate a cup of their tea it tasted so bad” Assuming you…” Oct 7, 18:46
James on The Love Of Big Brother: “Says the ‘dullard’ who doesn’t even know where he’s been. How’s things in “Fifeshire”, Adrian?” Oct 7, 18:37
Aidan on There May Be Justice: “You say you lived in England for a while, where were you? Frankland or Durham?” Oct 7, 18:26
agentx on There May Be Justice: “The £3 million civil misfeasance lawsuit is currently in the pre-trial “adjustment stage,” with a court-approved 12-week postponement pushing the…” Oct 7, 18:23
Confused on There May Be Justice: “the anglo always doubles down https://archive.ph/qNgB2 – their own water is full of shit, their biggest water company is 20B…” Oct 7, 17:58
Confused on There May Be Justice: “mind and keep your hatred pure https://archive.ph/w18yZ madame thatch created an “economic boom” by PUMPING OUR OIL LIKE FUCK -…” Oct 7, 17:55
Aidan on The Love Of Big Brother: “We know as well, CC and Hatey that those figures are wrong for the following reasons: – the figure for…” Oct 7, 17:16
Onlooker on There May Be Justice: “Anybody got any idea what’s happening with the Alex Salmond case? Not heard anything for a while. Thanks in advance.” Oct 7, 16:00
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Love Of Big Brother: “EQUALITY WATCHDOG CHIEF DEMOLISHES MYTHS ABOUT SINGLE-SEX GUIDANCE The Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has dismissed…” Oct 7, 14:43
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “Yet another spectacular pic in the MSM this morning. An oil tanker ablaze on the Black Sea. If the sea…” Oct 7, 10:04
Captain Caveman on The Love Of Big Brother: “Yup, seems totally legit, Hatey. Silly me. Who could doubt it, given such extensive, compelling evidence, watertight arguments and citation…” Oct 7, 10:01
Hatey McHateface on There May Be Justice: “Guardian of the people. Lord protector. Supreme leader. Head of state. There’s always one. All the arguments, and wars, ultimately…” Oct 7, 09:38
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “@CC 9:04 You’re misrepresenting what’s being claimed. It’s for everybody, not just those of working age. And it’s not just…” Oct 7, 09:24
Hatey McHateface on The Love Of Big Brother: “Superb copying and pasting there, James. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen better. Let me know which words, ideas and…” Oct 7, 09:13
Captain Caveman on The Love Of Big Brother: “Imagine believing that the mere act of gaining independence (method TBC) you would, overnight, magic up an EXTRA £60,000 per…” Oct 7, 09:04
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on There May Be Justice: “Transcription of part of Q&A exchange translated into English by app… QUESTION FROM AUDIENCE: You’ve spoken again about the Lieutenant…” Oct 7, 01:48
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on There May Be Justice: “PAUL ST-PIERRE PLAMANDON du PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS (PQ) présente ses priorités | Élections Québec 2026 « Le Parti québécois (PQ) a…” Oct 6, 23:58
willie on There May Be Justice: “Ah so this will be why the Standards Commission destroyed all the case records. In the light of Lord Sandison’s…” Oct 6, 21:44
