The Scottish Tory MSP reacted furiously to a story in The National which said Scotland had been absorbed into England by the 1707 Act Of Union, rather than becoming a “partner” in anything, and had ceased to exist as a state in international law.
Which was a weird response, because that’s been the official stated position of both the UK government and the Conservative Party for at least the last 12 years.
Despite everything, we almost allowed ourselves just the very tiniest little micro-flicker of optimism when we read Tommy Sheppard’s latest in The National.
Because that much is certainly true, and it’s uncommonly candid to have anyone in the SNP admit it. So what’s the answer?
(Kelly’s article is here. Link to Grok’s answer here. The ChatGPT analysis that triggered the article can be read in this tweet thread. A verifiable analysis by Grok of the debate, based on a neutral question, can be read here.)
The legal imprint at the bottom means that that’s official SNP election communication. One assumes it’s intended for leaflets to be put through actual voters’ letterboxes.
Hi! I noticed, with very considerable amusement, your complaint last night that I hadn’t made a “substantive reply” to the [EDIT] EIGHT posts (totalling nearly 11,000 words) of semi-coherent ranting about me that you’ve made on your site in the last eight days.
(I’ll be absolutely honest, I’ve only skimmed the last few.)
We both know the reason that’s so tear-streamingly comical, of course.
In so far as it’s worth talking about Scottish constitutional politics at all these days, it’s worth taking a moment to analyse the bloodless, anodyne nothingness spouted by the First Minister on The Sunday Show at the weekend.
That clip is less than three minutes long, but it’s so soul-crushingly boring and full of content-free drone and waffle that it’s almost impossible to sit all the way through it, so we’re going to translate and summarise it for you.
Warning: despite the quite zingy title this is actually going to be a very dry stats post, readers. It is, on the other hand, based on a man having something disturbingly close to a complete psychotic mental breakdown, so there’s always that for a bit of colour.
Because the paragraph above, and in particular the highlighted part, is without a doubt the most dishonest, diametrically false and wildly extreme lie about Scottish politics that we’ve ever seen anyone tell in the 13.5 years of Wings Over Scotland’s existence.
And as a rule we don’t bother addressing them because they’re so demented you could spend 5,000 words pulling apart all the individual strands of lunacy every time, and lunatics thrive on attention, but this one does merit a very brief comment.
Because “Vote Labour, get indy” wasn’t our plan. It was John Swinney’s.
Even by the embarrassing standards of The National, the gulf between this morning’s blaring front-page splash and the weak, watery weasel words in the actual article is a chasm so wide and so yawning (in every sense of that word) that it would put the epic planetary scar of Mars’ Valles Marineris to shame.
Coupled with a feebly underwhelming Programme For Government (in which the main policy was the re-abolition of peak rail fares just months after the SNP insisted such a move was unaffordable, with no clue as to where the money had suddenly been found) and a pitiful list of candidates for next year’s Holyrood election featuring the likes of Sally “all aboard the gravy bus!” Donald, Kaukab “DECAPITATE TERFS” Stewart, Kirsten “DECAPITATE TERFS” Oswald, Alison “DECAPITATE TERFS” Thewliss and Alyn “throw anyone who doesn’t want to DECAPITATE TERFS out of the SNP” Smith, the story was an abject vision of a bleak future for independence.
On reflection, we feel we may have not taken this story seriously enough. After all, they don’t put just ANY old guff on the front page of the Sunday Mail.
Andy Ellis on Too Tight To Mention: “I always thought the usual suspects were a bunch of space cadets. From the mouths of babes….” Jul 6, 16:28
sarah on Too Tight To Mention: “The SNP should be adopting the Manifesto for Independence and then we wouldn’t need to be signing it! The SNP…” Jul 6, 16:21
Young Lochinvar on Too Tight To Mention: “Interesting post NC. In line with what you have said, St Columba (originally from Ireland) could not communicate with the…” Jul 6, 16:21
sarah on Too Tight To Mention: “I am sorry that the Free zones and ports petition “can’t be found”. It’s almost as if someone doesn’t want…” Jul 6, 16:17
Aidan on Too Tight To Mention: “@Captain Caveman – yes, I would say “officially” is probably putting it too strongly, it’s likely one of the admin…” Jul 6, 16:15
agent x on Too Tight To Mention: “” Northcode says: 2 July, 2025 at 12:24 pm I am descended of the Danaans. When we first arrived here…” Jul 6, 15:53
Hatey McHateface on Too Tight To Mention: “Great stuff, NC. Looking forwards already to your first post in Brittonic. Be sure to make it a belter. This…” Jul 6, 15:13
Andy Ellis on Too Tight To Mention: “….even if this genetic heritage is invisible and rarely acknowledged. Surely given recent scientific advances in DNA sampling and technology…” Jul 6, 14:35
James on The Con Merchant: “Nice to see the Rev named this post after “Aidan”….” Jul 6, 14:31
Mark Beggan on Too Tight To Mention: “And Edinburgh is the branch office.” Jul 6, 14:24
Mark Beggan on Too Tight To Mention: “Hey you’ve been Colonized twice.” Jul 6, 14:22
Northcode on Too Tight To Mention: “It turns out Cináed mac Ailpín was described by the Irish annalists as rex Pictorum ‘King of the Picts’. In…” Jul 6, 14:03
James on The Con Merchant: “Andy, I haven’t got tourettes. Fuck off.” Jul 6, 12:44
Andy Ellis on Too Tight To Mention: “@Dan Yet more of your disingenuous misdirection on your part. Same old, same old. I’ve frequently taken issue with the…” Jul 6, 12:31
TURABDIN on Too Tight To Mention: “DUCK.AI ON AN OVERVIEW of MONEY LAUNDERING in London London is often referred to as a major hub for money…” Jul 6, 12:19
Dan on Too Tight To Mention: “@Anne Unless there’s been a change in the last 6 months, that’s a different Liz Lloyd. https://www.thenational.scot/news/24712043.liz-lloyd-responds-liz-lloyd-gets-top-job-keir-starmer/” Jul 6, 11:43
Aidan on Too Tight To Mention: “@Dan – it’s a fine article by Barrhead boy. I particularly liked the description of the “vicious” attacks by independence…” Jul 6, 11:32
Captain Caveman on Too Tight To Mention: “@Aidan So is it the definitively the case that Baird’s petition to the UN has officially been rebuffed/rejected? If so,…” Jul 6, 11:19
Anne on Too Tight To Mention: “I believe L.L.also works as a policy advisor for the Labour government.All her past efforts are bringing home the gravy.Will…” Jul 6, 11:12
Captain Caveman on The Con Merchant: ““This is quite the corner of concentrated wit and wisdom…” Well, quite. There’s something ghastly yet inexorably compelling about it…” Jul 6, 11:12
Hatey McHateface on Too Tight To Mention: “Sorry, Dan, nothing personal, but I can’t let that one go unanswered. “Over the decades, 5.5 million folk in the…” Jul 6, 10:54
Hatey McHateface on Too Tight To Mention: ““Groundhog day” Clear case of cultural colonisation there, Dan. Anyway. Didn’t some famous boy once say that most people sincerely…” Jul 6, 10:23
willie on Too Tight To Mention: “Tax Payer facing the bill to fund Peter Murrell’s legal defence against fraud charges screams the headlines very much typifies…” Jul 6, 10:17
TURABDIN on Too Tight To Mention: “MEANWHILE elsewhere in the British Banana kingdom. https://archive.is/QImRZ” Jul 6, 09:58
Hatey McHateface on Too Tight To Mention: “Look at Starmer. Look at Farage. Haud oan though, that’s England. And this is Scotland. Nothing happens here in years…” Jul 6, 09:53
Hatey McHateface on Too Tight To Mention: “You can never hae too mony flags, x. You can use them tae keep warrum in the winter. Wrap one…” Jul 6, 09:47
Sven on Too Tight To Mention: “100%Yes @ 09.33. OldJapanese saying, “Even monkeys fall out of trees”. Let’s just hope it’s a very long drop onto…” Jul 6, 09:46
100%Yes on Too Tight To Mention: “Liz Lloyd appointment, FFS what can you say. The SNP are the biggest threat to Scotland and our people, they…” Jul 6, 09:33
Hatey McHateface on Too Tight To Mention: ““same lunatic asylum as the rest of us” No way TH. There’s “lunatic asylums”, and then there’s lunatic asylums. Most…” Jul 6, 09:27
Dan on Too Tight To Mention: “Lolz at waking up to another groundhog day with Andy accusing and complaining of others mischaracterising folk when for years…” Jul 6, 09:24