Yesterday we noted that nothing had yet been heard from Scottish Labour’s policy review into universal services, launched amid much hoopla in September 2012 off the back of Johann Lamont’s infamous “something for nothing” speech.
The party has spent much of its time since then attacking the SNP over social justice, claiming that universal benefits are a middle-class subsidy, hurting the poor by spending money on giving the well-off free stuff they could afford to pay for.
Those two years have come and gone, and nearly six months more, and there’s been no sign of a single report from the commission. And it turns out there never will be.
The Scottish media’s daily MurphyGram this morning (which is dutifully reported by the Scotsman, Herald, Courier and doubtless more) is that a vote for Labour in next year’s Holyrood election won’t mean a return to tuition fees for university students.
We’re not absolutely sure why a Holyrood election pledge is news just weeks out from a Westminster one, but we’ll let that slide, because we’re more interested – as ever – in what the reports DON’T say.
Scottish Labour’s mustard-keen Kezia “Deputy” Dugdale bravely tried a tweet all on her own on Friday without running it past Labour central office in London first.
The categorical support of Andy Murray for Scottish independence, though only finally unambiguously revealed in today’s Sunday Times (the tennis star’s day-of-poll tweet backing Yes could by a strict semantic interpretation have been said to be somewhat equivocal), isn’t much of a surprise.
So it’s perhaps worth reminding ourselves what the media told us.
Perhaps we’re just being over-sensitive, readers, but we think the Daily Record might be a little bit upset with us.
That’s the editor of the semi-popular Scottish Labour fanzine, Murray Foote, pictured above this afternoon apparently issuing his own very special honours list, but it’s not the crankiest thing the Record’s published in the last 24 hours.
Alert readers may recall that five weeks ago we pointed out a whole bunch of Scottish media outlets reporting as fact that Jim Murphy would definitely stand for the East Renfrewshire seat at May’s general election – despite Murphy having actually made no such announcement, just repeating his weeks-old fudge that he was currently the selected candidate.
Hatey McHateface on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “Good spot, MH, but no pun was intended. It never crossed my mind. Unless … Who can tell how deep…” Jul 3, 09:29
Hatey McHateface on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “An interesting article about how “independent” Ireland, enmeshed in the EU, and trussed like a chicken by US big tech,…” Jul 3, 09:11
Minceheid on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “Hatey McHateface says: 3 July, 2026 at 7:47 am iron grip I can’t speak for anyone else but I for…” Jul 3, 09:11
sarah on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “@ Skip_NC: after years of exposure [!] to Wings, that thought crossed my mind too. 🙂” Jul 3, 08:22
Hatey McHateface on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “People with establishment jobs and careers are generally reluctant to set out on a course of action that would logically…” Jul 3, 08:12
Hatey McHateface on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “So close, Northy. You got all the way to your penultimate paragraph with an excellent example of a logical, reasoned,…” Jul 3, 07:47
Aidan on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “I think you are overestimating the scale of the challenge here Northcode. I don’t believe for example, that donors would…” Jul 3, 07:17
Aidan on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “It’s actually more revealing than that. I think it’s extremely likely that one of the KC’s was Dorothy Bain KC,…” Jul 3, 06:29
Northcode on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “Ring?fenced should, of course, read ring-fenced. I changed text editors recently and it looks like the new one is inserting…” Jul 3, 05:50
Northcode on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “The “ring?fenced” status itself is legally ambiguous. Unless the SNP created a legally distinct fund, with formal restrictions and clear…” Jul 3, 05:29
Skip_NC on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “Are you using the same counsel that drafted the original correspondence. If so, it’s high time COPFS paid attention to…” Jul 3, 03:38
twathater on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “IF you were to go forward for a judicial review of the COPFS decision to IGNORE the THEFT of the…” Jul 3, 03:27
Young Lochinvar on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “There’s always the possibility that it’s just the sheer laziness of these characters. Umpteen KCs looked at it but it’s…” Jul 3, 01:16
David Ferguson on Tuning In The Shine: “I cannot understand why Beattie stood again… Beattie didn’t “stand”. There was no fresh election after the elected treasurer and…” Jul 3, 01:12
Young Lochinvar on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “One of the “chaps”.. Job well done and all that “old girl”.. Who’ll ever forget her embarrassing performance down in…” Jul 3, 00:54
Angus on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “The lying scum who dictated that reply claims: “The further information you have provided – – – does not raise…” Jul 3, 00:34
Young Lochinvar on Tuning In The Shine: “F Correct. It’s called obfuscation. Plus, the whole “who are you” thing, what job did you do, are you just…” Jul 3, 00:27
Young Lochinvar on Tuning In The Shine: “S @ 3.27 I’m afraid the answer to that is probably extremely unpalatable to the bulk..” Jul 3, 00:06
Frazerio on Tuning In The Shine: “Yeah but, Only thing I’d pick them up on, they taglined it as something like ‘Why Wings wont let the…” Jul 2, 23:31
John McDonald on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “Giving the money back wasn’t the only option. The SNP could easily have offered donors the ability to have their…” Jul 2, 23:28
Alasdair Roy on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “When all this is finally over will the Rev. Campbell please turn some of his considerable forensic abilities and rhetoric…” Jul 2, 22:32
GM on Tuning In The Shine: “Truer today than at any time in my life.” Jul 2, 22:09
Mark Beggan on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “Everybody Knows.. “Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows the war is…” Jul 2, 21:00
GB on Fob, Fob, Fobbing Along: “and now Dorothy Bain has been appointed as a Judge according to the Herald” Jul 2, 19:50
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Tuning In The Shine: “A speaker of Irish would most likely pronounce the name as: “Ma-gila-WAAN” Some no doubt would say “VAAN” (as would…” Jul 2, 19:40
