There really isn’t very much of a news story in this morning’s Sun “exclusive” that some Labour MPs say they’d quit the party rather than work with the SNP should the electorate deliver such a result in May. One told the paper:
Those of us who remember the parade of furious Scottish Labour figures going on TV and openly threatening to scupper any “rainbow coalition” involving the Nats in 2010, thereby ensuring that David Cameron and George Osborne came to power, won’t be the least bit surprised at the sheer depth of hatred and jealous rage that consumes Labour’s branch office in North Britain when the SNP are mentioned.
And there’s nothing eyebrow-raisingly new in Scottish Labour’s spiteful determination that if Scots vote against the Conservatives – but not for Labour – they should be punished with Tory governments. It’s the standard policy of electoral blackmail that the party has deployed against the rise of rivals from the left for years, and which it’s now also turning against the Greens south of the border.
But there is a telling phrase in that short quote.
Independent website Political Compass has just released its 2015 graph charting the ideological positions of all the political parties of the UK. It’s a fairly predictable one.
On the image above, we’ve added, for parties active in Scotland only, striped circles indicating each party’s 2010 position. But what does it tell us about 2015?
It’s somehow fitting that the lead article on Labour Hame today is headed by a lie before it even starts – an offer to join the party for £1 that takes you to a page where it actually costs five times as much.
(We’d noticed days ago that the much-hyped £1 offer had been quietly dumped after just a month, but it appears that nobody in the Scottish branch office thought to keep poor hapless Labour Hame in the loop.)
The article below, though, is remarkably even more dishonest.
A number of readers last night sent us copies of the response to complaints they’d made to the Independent Press Standards Organisation about the Daily Record’s infamous “The Vow” front cover. We attach the full judgement at the bottom of this article, and as far as we’re concerned it’s fair and accurate. The Vow was a deliberate deception, but it didn’t break any rules – it merely relied on readers misinterpreting it.
The bit we’re still interested in is the paragraph above.
It gets clearer with every passing day that Scottish Labour’s chief election strategy is to assume that Scottish voters are goldfish. There’s no other explanation for a piece in yesterday’s Courier on the SNP’s Jamie Hepburn’s call for the implementation of a 2009 report into which sporting events should be protected from pay-TV broadcasters.
The article concluded with some comments from Labour.
You almost have to grudgingly admire the sheer bull-headed tenacity of their dogged determination to prove once and for all to the people of Scotland that Labour think they’re dribbling gullible morons.
So, an experiment. Here on Wings we don’t tend to deal very much in specific political issues, other than independence. We’re not aligned to any party, and our primary goal is to see Scotland become a national democracy in which all voices can be heard. We happen to be on the left of the political spectrum, but that’s neither here nor there while Scotland’s politics are at the mercy of the whims of voters elsewhere.
But just for a change of pace at the weekends, when there tends not to be much happening, we thought we might try having a space where broader ideas can be debated outwith the framework of the constitutional debate or party politics. If there’s something you’d like to talk about in front of a sizeable audience, drop us a line.
To give you an idea of what we mean, we’re going to start off by outlining a personal pet idea we’ve had for years, and which is an attempt to tackle one of Scotland’s most toxic problems – alcohol abuse. It’s a simple concept, it’s cheap to implement, it doesn’t punish the innocent and it seems like it’d work. See what you think.
Alf Baird on The Nobodies: “Hatey, you are on the wrong side of history and morality in your admiration for the mafia and its backers…” Jul 29, 09:19
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: ““Racist yesterday, Alf, and now fascist today.” Is he really expressing such sentiments and views? If so, that’s a disgrace…” Jul 29, 08:53
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “On the subject of shite, Dan, it’s interesting that you have nothing to say to a poster who not only…” Jul 29, 08:13
Hatey McHateface on The Nobodies: “Racist yesterday, Alf, and now fascist today. You academics don’t half like to throw the big, complicated words around. How…” Jul 28, 19:54
Andy Wiltshire on The Nobodies: “Apropos of nothing, Rev, what ever happened about Lynsay Watson? Was any kind of justice ever served?” Jul 28, 18:26
Alf Baird on The Nobodies: “Indeed, “another lesson learned” is that fascist colonialism always has the ultimate method in its toolbox, if assimilation disna wirk,…” Jul 28, 16:06
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “I had also wondered what Monsier Pantalon in Scottish thought about the GSA situation. Robin ain’t happy. http://robinmcalpine.org/an-elegy-for-scotlands-dark-age/ Was thinking…” Jul 28, 15:52
Chas on The Nobodies: “It appears Labour are shite. The SNP are useless. Lib Dems are nonentities. Tories are well Tories. Reform are the…” Jul 28, 14:09
Hatey McHateface on The Nobodies: “No connection between colonialism and democracy, Alf? Doesn’t postcolonial theory also have something to say about the dead ends the…” Jul 28, 13:54
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: ““Labour: 22% (+1)” “Up 6 points in about 2 months and it is not a bounce.” “Since 14th May 2026…” Jul 28, 13:21
Hatey McHateface on The Nobodies: “Having exhausted all other decent options, Professor Baird resorts to trying the historically most fruitful one – blaming the Jews.…” Jul 28, 13:21
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Are your posts still getting held in moderation Mr Scottish troosers? It’s jist that I haven’t seen several of your…” Jul 28, 13:11
sam on The Nobodies: “On May 14th 2026 the Labour MP, Josh Simons, announced his resignation in the Makerfield constituency in order to allow…” Jul 28, 13:07
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “Whether you like it or not (and whether you can even comprehend the implications – unlikely), the SNP has to…” Jul 28, 12:53
Cynicus on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Breeks, I will occasionally re-visit this site in the hope of seeing a post by you, or by the one…” Jul 28, 12:47
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: ““there is a Burnham bounce for now.” “Labour recorded in our tracker since September last year, and is up six…” Jul 28, 12:44
sam on The Nobodies: ““Although these three parties are all within the margin of error of our previous poll, this is the highest figure…” Jul 28, 12:28
Alf Baird on The Nobodies: “The “desire for independence” as you put it is entirely negated since the national party leadership enters into ‘an accommodation’…” Jul 28, 12:19
sam on The Nobodies: “I can only find surveys from 2023 about levels of trust the people in England and Scotland have in their…” Jul 28, 12:18
Aidan on The Nobodies: “Now that the approach to the UN has failed and been rejected, does that mean therefore that there is no…” Jul 28, 11:55
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “You’re trying to tell me things that are painfully obvious (and in keeping with what I myself have been saying…” Jul 28, 11:48
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: ““Burnham Bounce” “Labour +1%” If that’s a “bounce”, Sam, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. 😀 Well within statistical…” Jul 28, 11:32
Alf Baird on The Nobodies: ““save for the moribund issue of the constitution” Its clear as day (except to colonialists it seems) that Swinney does…” Jul 28, 11:24
sam on The Nobodies: “While Scottish Labour elects another useless leader, there is a Burnham bounce for now. “Voting intention, 26-27 July 2026: Ref…” Jul 28, 11:11
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “Totally agree, Mincehead, red and blue rosettes both. Mind, I think most would agree that incomers hailing from Eastern Europe…” Jul 28, 10:42
Minceheid on The Nobodies: “Captain Caveman says: 28 July, 2026 at 10:02 am The product of years of counter-reality, supremely naïve, black-is-white doublethink politics…” Jul 28, 10:34
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “I admit nothing of the sort, Alf. As Stu notes in his piece (assume you read it, emphasis added): ‘……” Jul 28, 10:33
Alf Baird on The Nobodies: ““comparing the SNP to Labour is akin to looking at two near identical turds” So you finally admit that the…” Jul 28, 10:14
Captain Caveman on The Nobodies: “The product of years of counter-reality, supremely naïve, black-is-white doublethink politics of the Left forced down our collective throats has…” Jul 28, 10:02
Hatey McHateface on The Nobodies: “Hmmm. Yet I keep reading reports that across Europe, support for what the MSM likes to call the “far right”…” Jul 28, 09:41
