The Daily Mirror’s “Ampp3d” offshoot used to be a fantastic resource for statistical debunking, and sometimes still is. But ever since it’s been officially absorbed into the Mirror, it’s been increasingly deployed as a Labour spin tool.
Today it tries to juggle numbers to excuse Gordon Brown’s bargain-basement sale of the UK’s gold reserves in 1999 – a subject that was raised by an audience member on last night’s Question Time special and which we now know with certainty cost the country a whopping $19bn (or £12.5bn at current exchange rates).
We’ve added the emphasis on that last sentence. And it’s a fair enough point broadly speaking, although of course with the gold sell-off we’re looking back with the benefit of hindsight about what actually did happen, not trying to guess, so calling it “fantasy maths” is somewhat inaccurate, given that it’s exactly the opposite of a fantasy.
The trouble is that Ampp3d isn’t always so dismissive of predicting the future.
Today’s Scottish Sun has a full breakdown of all 59 Scottish seats at Westminster, including bookies’ odds for the favourite in each one. It suggests that nine Labour MPs will have jobs in Scotland a week from today, along with two Tories and a single lonely Lib Dem, with the SNP sweeping the other 47.
We ran the incumbents in those 12 seats through MP Report Card, an independent site which tracks the activity of all the UK’s MPs including expenses claims, outside earnings, how often they turn up to vote or speak in debates and how good they are at replying to constituents’ letters, to gauge their calibre.
We’re only doing stats posts quarterly now, but since the last one we ran was for the January readership figures that means it’s time for a quick update.
Almost 23,000 extra readers compared to last month and nearly 600,000 more page views? Yeah, we’ll take that. (For perspective, here’s April 2014.)
You’re probably going to see this misreported in the press quite a lot tomorrow. We thought we should get the whole thing up for the record, to avoid confusion.
We were as stunned as everyone else for a moment. On the Question Time special earlier tonight, Ed Miliband appeared to state that he’d rather not form a government (ie he’d let the Tories in) than do so with the support of the SNP. It sounded like he’d gone dramatically further than he’d ever gone before.
And then he realised what he’d done, and panicked.
As far as we know, this is the final major set-piece interview that Jim Murphy will have to give before the general election.
As Sally Magnusson of Reporting Scotland makes an admirably dogged but ultimately unsuccessful effort to get a straight answer on just about anything out of Labour’s regional branch manager, we’d swear it was possible to actually measure the delirium of relief on his face as the end draws near and the desperate evasion is over forever.
We gather that for the next week Scottish Labour are just bringing in boardgames.
On the left, Jim Murphy campaigning for the Scottish Labour leadership a few months ago (the backdrop is distinctive, placing the pic sometime last November).
It’s come awfully late, but we’ve finally got an answer to a question people have been asking Jim Murphy since last December.
In an interview with the BBC’s Gary Robertson this morning, the Scottish Labour regional manager told listeners that should he win the East Renfrewshire seat in next month’s election, he’d stay in the job for the full five-year term, but would also stand for election as a Holyrood MSP in 2016.
Greg Moodie’s Election Dissection, a compilation of splendid cartoon strips from The National, Bella Caledonia and elsewhere, is available to order now.
Scottish Labour branch office manager Jim Murphy will be appearing on BBC Radio Scotland’s “Call Kaye” programme from 9am today, taking questions from voters as well as presenter Kaye Adams. The phone number to ring in is 0500 92 95 00.
Below are a few posers readers might like to put to Mr Murphy, because he seems to have been adept at avoiding them throughout the campaign. Feel free to reword them.
It’s from an exhibition at the Leiper Fine Art Gallery in West George Street in Glasgow (a firm friend of the Yes movement), featuring political artwork by Wings cartoonists Chris Cairns – creator of the pic above – and Greg Moodie, along with many others, of which you can buy originals to enhance your home.
It runs until 11 May, so you should probably pop along if you’re in the vicinity. We’re not saying we’ll definitely stab you if you don’t, but why take unnecessary risks?
twathater on A matter of class: “Dan has the Franchise Fanny nailed with all his grandiose sounding pish, a proud Scot BUT who has returned to…” Dec 22, 02:50
James on A matter of class: “Stained bedsheets, there? Careful, lads.” Dec 21, 23:19
James on A matter of class: “Uh-oh. Franchise Fanny just stained it’s underwear after mentioning it’s Heroine. It was popular in Scotchland right enough. Not.” Dec 21, 23:13
James on A matter of class: “Careful, DaveL; the Site Prick fancies you!” Dec 21, 23:04
James on A matter of class: “The Site Prick shilling for the Daily heil there. Quelle suprise!” Dec 21, 22:52
Captain Caveman on A matter of class: “Hey, maybe Fatso, maybe. However, at least I pay my own way, have a job and don’t look down on…” Dec 21, 22:52
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “Our country is being stolen from benief our feet.” Dec 21, 22:47
James on A matter of class: “Quite right, Alf – ‘Unison’ is a ‘UK’ (London based) organization that supports the Yoon Labour party without question, and…” Dec 21, 22:31
James on A matter of class: ““As it happens, I lack a union-flag covered duvet.” ROTFLMFAO!!” Dec 21, 22:25
James on A matter of class: “Northy; Careful now, the site Prick wants to kiss your interface!” Dec 21, 22:10
James on A matter of class: “Aw, sweethheart, are you still carrying a torch for me? Thanks, but I’ll pass. What a sad bot you are.” Dec 21, 22:04
McDuff on A matter of class: “This country stinks from the SNP to the judiciary and just about every where else .I never imagined Scotland would…” Dec 21, 21:48
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Turkey, sprouts and gravy, Dan? No True Scot would ever pollute the ethnic purity of his body with the hated,…” Dec 21, 21:37
Dan on A matter of class: “@Southern(not so)bystander Not saying it’s the case with the specific matter you are responding to; But I think that posted…” Dec 21, 21:35
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “Try posting “Bairns Not Bombs”. Works every time.” Dec 21, 21:20
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “This is just so desperately sad. Once again, I’m the only one to respond to Northy’s attention seeking – his…” Dec 21, 21:16
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “@Alf Have you considered translating the complete works of Fanon, Cesaire, Crivens and Jonesie into Scots? That would really supercharge…” Dec 21, 21:08
Northcode on A matter of class: ““No country, people or polity has a God given right to exist in perpetuity.” Unless it’s England, apparently: “There’ll always…” Dec 21, 21:01
Hatey McHateface on A matter of class: “@Alf 2:05 I want my Scotland to be run by the meritocratic best. I don’t want my Scotland to be…” Dec 21, 20:59
Dan on A matter of class: “Something to read and mull over. https://angrypict.substack.com/p/scotland-ai-convergence-and-the-case” Dec 21, 20:36
Southernbystander on A matter of class: “Hatey: ‘You didn’t used to pussyfoot around this’ Did he not? I once asked Alf after he labelled the English…” Dec 21, 20:32
Alf Baird on A matter of class: “Like any peoples language the Scots language plays ‘a vital role in shaping and defining ethnic identity’, serving as ‘a…” Dec 21, 20:24
Al-Stuart on A matter of class: “. Hi Stuart, I see the Scot-Goes-Splat fundraiser Jimmy McGrifty has now gone full stalker mode with his obsession about…” Dec 21, 19:55
Dan on A matter of class: “Franchise Fanny returns! But tae fuck with offering a shred of crimbo goodwill to fellow supporters of Scotland returning to…” Dec 21, 19:53
Cynicus on A matter of class: “Andy Ellis says: 21 December, 2025 at 4:09 pm “One wonders if the Post Colonial Snake Oil Salesman in Chief…” Dec 21, 18:44
Northcode on A matter of class: ““Lovely people the Finns…” I’ll write to the Finnish embassy in London and let them know you think they’re patronizingly…” Dec 21, 18:25
Northcode on A matter of class: ““How about the >5% of Finns who are of Swedish language and ethnicity, having lived in Finland for centuries?” You…” Dec 21, 18:09
Alf Baird on A matter of class: “Is that you on the colonial backshift, Andy? Hatey on his weel-deserved brak. Surprised ye didna ken that language aye…” Dec 21, 18:00
Mark Beggan on A matter of class: “Well God Bless you sir. Merry Christmas.My Grandfather would be proud of that.” Dec 21, 17:46
Andy Ellis on A matter of class: “@Northcode 4pm Ethnic Finns, or Suomalaiset, are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland, with a rich cultural heritage…” Dec 21, 17:15
