The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Filed in Receptacle 13 199

Posted on October 26, 2014 by

We haven’t bothered sending a submission to the Smith Commission.

wastepaper2

Here’s why.

Read the rest of this entry →

Sources in conflict 106

Posted on October 26, 2014 by

Here’s a quote from a piece in today’s Scotland on Sunday:

“A source close to Lamont said: ‘A call came through from one of Ed’s people to one of Johann’s people. He passed on the news about Ian Price and Johann’s guy said, “I assume this means you want Johann to resign?”.

‘The guy from Ed’s office said, “No, of course not,” but he just didn’t get it. He didn’t get the fact that Johann had been completely undermined.'”

So that’s clear – Ed Miliband DIDN’T want Johann Lamont to go. Right?

Read the rest of this entry →

A big boy did it and ran away 210

Posted on October 26, 2014 by

sadhenry

The Scottish Labour Goodbye 182

Posted on October 25, 2014 by

Iain Gray, leader of Scottish Labour, at First Minister’s Questions in March 2011:

After 92 times at this, you would think the First Minister would have realised by now that I get to choose what the questions are about. But his turn is coming soon enough!”

A few weeks later, Gray had resigned after just barely holding onto his own seat by around 150 votes as Alex Salmond led the SNP to a historic landslide victory.

Luckily, Gray’s successor learned from his embarrassing hubris, for if there’s one thing Scottish Labour ensure us they’re really good at, it’s learning lessons.

Read the rest of this entry →

The parting shot 97

Posted on October 25, 2014 by

Our undercover agent inside Labour (whose identity we can’t reveal, other than their codename “Nasa Warsar”) just leaked us this internal security-camera footage from both the Scottish and UK party HQs at the time of Johann Lamont’s resignation.

We’re sure readers can work out who’s who.

From Hell’s heart I stab at thee 166

Posted on October 25, 2014 by

We have many faults, but we try our hardest to ensure that hypocrisy isn’t one of them, so we’re not about to turn round and pay tribute to Johann Lamont just because she’s quit her job. We’re sure she’s a nice person in real life, but for three years the Scottish Labour “leader” has lived a lie, railing bitterly against London control while doing everything she could to impose that very fate on the people of Scotland.

(And ultimately succeeding, in so far as one could say that the mainly-absent Lamont could claim to have played any meaningful part in the referendum campaign.)

She leaves her party in the same abject state she found it, its position in the polls if anything slightly worse than it was after the SNP’s historic landslide victory in 2011. Her only achievement was to give Scottish Labour’s bitter, spiteful, tribal hatred of the Nats an accurate-looking corporeal manifestation, her face invariably contorted at First Minister’s Questions into a snarl of naked loathing for an opponent who’d done nothing other than successfully co-opt what used to be considered traditional “Labour values” after Labour abandoned them in pursuit of Middle England votes.

wkhan

But we will say one thing for her – she went out with a bang.

Read the rest of this entry →

You just can’t make this stuff up 297

Posted on October 24, 2014 by

The Daily Record last month:

byebyejola

But that’s not even the funny bit.

Read the rest of this entry →

From our community reporter 112

Posted on October 24, 2014 by

It’s been a very slow news day today and it’s chucking it down outside, so we found ourselves stuck for entertainment. Earlier this afternoon alert readers will have noticed us tweeting about breaking through 35,000 Twitter followers, and while we were comparing that to various other entities for our own amusement (eg it’s over 10,000 more followers than Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Lib Dems put together), we stumbled across this feature from 16 months ago.

socnet

And because – as readers of our Panelbase polling features will know – there’s nothing we like more than the occasional wallow in some stats, we got to work.

Read the rest of this entry →

Driven demented 130

Posted on October 24, 2014 by

It’s the beaten side who are supposed to lose their minds. But we couldn’t resist sharing with you two articles by Labour activists today whose authors have studied the last decade of Scottish politics and arrived at the conclusion that the salvation of Scottish Labour lies in… ramping up the arrogance and hating the SNP more.

network1

Oh, you’re going to love these.

Read the rest of this entry →

Trouble with numbers and words 106

Posted on October 24, 2014 by

From the Twitter account of the Aberdeen Conservative and Unionist Association last night, during the First Minister’s appearance on Question Time from Liverpool:

abtories

Just a couple of things.

Read the rest of this entry →

An incredible achievement 215

Posted on October 23, 2014 by

From today’s Media Guardian:

“Despite the huge interest and debate around the Scottish independence referendum, BBC Radio Scotland saw its figures fall for the third quarter of this year.

The station had a weekly reach of 870,000 listeners between 23 June and 14 September (the period accounted for by these audience figures) ahead of the independence vote on 18 September.

BBC Radio Scotland was down 2% on the year and 8.9% on the previous three months.

The BBC faced intense criticism of bias in its coverage of the referendum from pro-independence supporters, with a demonstration outside the corporation’s Glasgow headquarters and participants unfurling a banner calling for political editor Nick Robinson to be sacked.”

It’s worth taking just a few lines to examine those stats more closely.

Read the rest of this entry →

Lord Smith And The Seven Magic Beans 212

Posted on October 23, 2014 by

Today’s Herald carries a report from the initial meeting of the Smith Commission on “enhanced devolution” for the Scottish Parliament. The paper quotes from what seems to be a press release issued by the Commission, in which it explains that it thinks the people of Scotland are idiotic, drooling simpletons who’ll swallow anything.

smithcomm

Read the rest of this entry →

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,898 Posts, 1,240,343 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • James Che on Push The Button: “Mark Carney ex – governor of the bank of England, not the Bank of Great Britain or of the Bank…Apr 29, 08:28
    • James Che on Push The Button: “Fearghas, Thank you for contributing those snippets of information, much appreciated,Apr 29, 08:08
    • Bilbo on Push The Button: “You would think this is a parody but it is actually real as per Linkedin link shows that he is…Apr 29, 07:26
    • Peter McAvoy on Push The Button: “In the original statement of the article,there are two more options press both at the same time to cancel each…Apr 29, 02:15
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Push The Button: “GROUP SINGS AT LONDON MARATHON IN WAKE OF SCOPE TRANS-DEBACLE Disability charity Scope has come under fire for dropping a…Apr 28, 23:21
    • Iain More on Push The Button: “I se that mark Carney the Canadian PM is to introduce a Canadian Sovereign Wealth Fund. I guess he saw…Apr 28, 22:55
    • Mark Beggan on Push The Button: “To argue with a fool only creates two fools.Apr 28, 22:34
    • Geri on Push The Button: ““it is not mandatory for you to read my posts or comment on them.” I wasn’t the one crying. You…Apr 28, 21:11
    • Chas on Push The Button: “Geri It seems that you think of yourself as the site moderator! It is not mandatory for you to read…Apr 28, 20:49
    • Aidan on Push The Button: “@Cheyne – your repetitive posts do not have value because they don’t make sense to anyone, either pro-independence or unionist.…Apr 28, 19:31
    • Geri on Push The Button: “Why don’t you? No one has forced you to come here, ya eejit. & No one is forcing you to…Apr 28, 18:27
    • Geri on Push The Button: “They are held back by fear. That’s why they’re an embarrassment to democracy. They’d rather just not have one at…Apr 28, 18:22
    • Chas on Push The Button: “How many people do you turn off this site and the thought of Independence with your repeated deranged ramblings. Go…Apr 28, 18:03
    • Aidan on Push The Button: “Any facts or information are “news” to you Geri because you’ve allowed your mind to be poisoned by dubious YouTube…Apr 28, 17:44
    • Aidan on Push The Button: “What’s in it for a unionist to hold a referendum? The best case scenario for the unionist out of that…Apr 28, 17:35
    • Jamie on Push The Button: “If they were not terrified, they would have a referendum. Wendy Alexander was not terrified, in fact, she said bring…Apr 28, 17:11
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Push The Button: “LEGAL CHALLENGE TO HATE CRIME RECORDING RULES GIVEN GO-AHEAD A free speech campaigner has been granted permission to challenge Home…Apr 28, 16:46
    • Geri on Push The Button: “Look at the point just fly on over yer head LOL Is Reform leading in Scotland, Wales & NI? That’s…Apr 28, 16:46
    • diabloandco on Push The Button: “Thanks Cynicus – like all three renditions but Paul Robson was the one I remember from my youth and my…Apr 28, 15:42
    • Aidan on Push The Button: “It’s funny because I don’t remember supporting Reform at any point. However, if I did support Reform I might be…Apr 28, 14:40
    • Geri on Push The Button: “Cave dweller “Also, using China as an example for the success of Socialism, as opposed to free market economics….. priceless.”…Apr 28, 14:05
    • James Che on Push The Button: “Scotland does not need to appeal, beg or fight for what has already taken place hundreds of years past. Recorded…Apr 28, 13:44
    • Geri on Push The Button: “You are shitting yourself, AI Dan. What else brings you here? No one here is interested in Reform. In fact,…Apr 28, 13:27
    • Captain Caveman on Push The Button: “I find myself in agreement with you Northcode! If I were an AI, the “logical” action would be to press…Apr 28, 13:20
    • Athanasius on Push The Button: “Here’s the problem, though. When I initially read the question, my immediate reaction was to go blue. It was only…Apr 28, 13:12
    • James Che on Push The Button: “Here is the evidence for independent thinkers that my repetitive posts hold merit for Scotland and its people, The unionist…Apr 28, 12:52
    • Northcode on Push The Button: “Yeah, that’s right… I posted my last comment twice on purpose coz it was sooo good! If you don’t like…Apr 28, 12:44
    • Northcode on Push The Button: “Only a very few folk know that the song, “Ol Man River” – music composed by Jerome Kern and lyrics…Apr 28, 12:28
    • Northcode on Push The Button: “Only a very few folk know that the song, “Ol Man River” – music composed by Jerome Kern and lyrics…Apr 28, 12:28
    • Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Push The Button: “Thanks for that link, Cynicus. Brilliantly resonant poetry brilliantly sung. Ol’ Man River had been notionally on my mind for…Apr 28, 12:11
  • A tall tale



↑ Top