A super-alert reader pointed out something about today’s Sunday Politics that we hadn’t noticed. Before the galaxy-class trainwreck that was the Scottish leaders’ debate, the networked section of the show had a piece on Scottish polling, and our eagle-eyed viewer spotted that the chart of projected seats wasn’t in proportion.
So we measured, and this is what it should have looked like.
With there only having been three hours of the Scottish political party leaders (and Jim Murphy) debating on TV so far this week, and four days to wait for another one, BBC Scotland thought they might need another 40 minutes on this afternoon’s Sunday Politics Scotland to discuss the issues around the forthcoming general election.
It went well, but for busy readers in a hurry we’ve edited the show down to a compact nine-minute cut, which still gets across everything the full version did.
A great example of adult discourse, expertly set. Well done, everyone.
There’s very little actual political news today, so the papers have largely been forced to either basically not have any at all (the Sunday Post and Scottish Sun On Sunday) or make up totally mad stuff for laughs to fill the space.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Scottish Liberal Democrat manifesto 2015:
I voted for this pathetic shower of useless snivellers for 23 years, folks. I’ve learned my lesson. Once again, I can only hang my head and beg forgiveness.
With the “biggest party forms the government” lie now sunk and rusting slowly on the seabed (weighed down even further by polls suggesting that Labour actually will be the largest party even if they lose all of Scotland to the SNP), and four weeks of campaigning left to fill, Scottish Labour have had to grab a hammer, smash the glass on the “EMERGENCY – IN CASE OF DESPERATION” box and clutch desperately at whatever they found inside.
The abject answer is “Project Fear 2 – This Time It’s Full Fiscal Autonomy”.
After this week’s STV and BBC debates, in which the Scottish Labour branch-office manager’s combative performances were favourably received by the Scottish media, Wings exclusively interviews armed-forces enthusiast Jim Murphy for a response to the latest numbers from YouGov, pausing first for the delivery of some refreshments.
It’s worth reminding yourself before you watch this clip from BBC News this morning that the gentleman at the lectern isn’t some rabid Daily Mail columnist, but is in fact the Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon.
The “SPACE MONSTERS!” rationale for foreign policy. Who saw that one coming?
Last night the not-noticeably-cybernat Liberal Democrat Voice website declared that a young woman in the audience of the STV leaders’ debate, professing herself to be an undecided who’d been “totally convinced” by Jim Murphy to vote Labour, appeared to be the same person as one who’d previously appeared in Labour leaflets.
Then this happened.
I don’t know why anyone is surprised that revelation having teenage lassie in Tuesdays STV debate was a Labour plant. They are desperadoes.
We already KNOW the solution to the problem of panellists shouting all over each other. It’s used every day in the Scottish Parliament: the chair is in charge of all the microphones and only the person whose turn it is to speak gets theirs switched on.
If someone else raises a good point while someone is speaking, the chair can hear it and bring them in in a controlled manner if appropriate, rather than the self-defeating, time-wasting exercise in irony that is shouting at everyone to stop shouting.
The fact that the system is never used therefore leads us to only one possible logical conclusion – the broadcasters WANT chaotic rammies where nobody gets to make their points properly. As for why, you’d have to ask them.
agentx on The Party Of The Dead: “The “I won’t say any more on the matter” Sturgeon: “She argued the scrutiny she faced had a gendered dimension.…” Aug 8, 20:25
Dan on The Party Of The Dead: “Ach, now yer jist acting out like a spoilt bairn due to yer lack of tolerance of other folk’s often…” Aug 8, 18:59
Stevie on The Party Of The Dead: “I would add, the same people who attacked me are the same gullibles travels, believing Hamas are freedom fighters and…” Aug 8, 18:12
Chas on The Party Of The Dead: “Maybe, just maybe your ‘speech’ is being censored because it is the same shite over and over again? The learned…” Aug 8, 17:17
Captain Caveman on The Party Of The Dead: “That’s right Dan. Fed up of twats like you.” Aug 8, 16:57
Dan on The Party Of The Dead: “Had a wee chuckle at a Reform supporter stating they’ve had enough of the UK, and he and wife now…” Aug 8, 16:39
Stevie on The Party Of The Dead: “Reading through this thread, reminds me of my being te first voice to point out that they/them had discarded all/any…” Aug 8, 15:12
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: ““It is a spectrum, none of which is any worse, or less or more worse, but it is a spectrum…” Aug 8, 14:05
Captain Caveman on The Party Of The Dead: “Yes, I read that piece that Hatey linked to the other day with incredulity giving way to rage, rage giving…” Aug 8, 11:41
David Ferguson on The Party Of The Dead: “It appears I was wrong. Glasgow did in fact award him a full professorship. I think it was the Dugdale…” Aug 8, 11:09
James Che on The Party Of The Dead: “Treaty of union article XV111private Rights Scotland.” Aug 8, 10:47
James Che on The Party Of The Dead: “If the 1707 treaty of union were a reality Scotland would have complete ” freedom of speech ” under “”Private…” Aug 8, 10:44
James Che on The Party Of The Dead: “Again free speech is being censored by moderation, no swear words, no attacks on diversity, no disagreements with others included,…” Aug 8, 10:05
James Che on The Party Of The Dead: “The policy of keeping the people blindly ignorant from the reality of facts allows for the people to be easily…” Aug 8, 09:53
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: ““Glasgow denies any knowledge of the ludicrous mountebank in any form at all” They’ve most certainly heard of him now!” Aug 8, 08:00
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “Extraordinary, Confused, that you still can’t bring yourself to get onside with a former colony fighting desperately to fend off…” Aug 8, 07:56
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “Sure, Alf, but our membership of the EU was never on the basis of a multi-party treaty between the individual…” Aug 8, 07:39
Aidan on The Party Of The Dead: “Oh yeah that’s a cracking idea that, let’s keep North Sea oil and gas in the ground but instead by…” Aug 8, 07:14
Confused on The Party Of The Dead: “main – What part of EFTA did you not understand you persistent eructation of bad faith argumentation? – I did…” Aug 7, 22:49
Alf Baird on The Party Of The Dead: “Personally, like you I’m not a big fan of the EU, Hatey. But really this should have been and is…” Aug 7, 21:44
Captain Caveman on The Party Of The Dead: “” Note the ‘C’ word there. Readers who have swallowed whole Professor Baird’s “Scotland as colony” thesis can’t seriously be…” Aug 7, 19:33
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “An interesting article on how the pro-EU government recently voted into power in Hungary is gerrymandering the constitution to ensure…” Aug 7, 19:11
Chas on The Party Of The Dead: “Just out of intetest who is ‘our own people’? Have you got any names?” Aug 7, 17:32
Vestas on The Party Of The Dead: “Presumably they’ll have the “Murrell Money” to rely on for next years accounts?” Aug 7, 16:33
David Ferguson on The Party Of The Dead: “@Ian Smith it seems Glasgow may be an innocent party here. Arday’s claim that he was a “full Professor” at…” Aug 7, 15:34
I. Despair on Anatomy Of A Grift: “…and a sequel, Gorillas on the Piss.” Aug 7, 14:35
lothianlad on The Party Of The Dead: “The SNP leadership has capitualted to the notion of westminster soverignty!! Thats something the SNP NEVER did util sturgeon took…” Aug 7, 14:21
Hatey McHateface on The Party Of The Dead: “Once again, Alf, many thanks. As you write, it seems difficult for me to understand. But ultimately, I’m not seeing…” Aug 7, 12:23
Captain Caveman on The Party Of The Dead: “Good grief, Alf, thought you might’ve taken the (very clear) hint from this site’s Editor last time: give it a…” Aug 7, 11:14
