Better late than never. But there’s still something not quite right in the image above, and you’ll have to be one of our extra-specially alert readers to spot it.
Readers will know that as a rule we don’t just pinch bits of other peoples’ work wholesale, but in this particular case, given that the entire UK media’s been going on about it misleadingly for a solid week and still shows no sign of stopping, it seemed only fair that everyone should be up to speed on the source.
It’s a Bank Holiday and frankly there’s absolutely bugger-all of any interest in the news today, so I hope you’ll forgive me a personal indulgence, readers. I’ve only used the personal pronoun for a couple of Wings articles out of over 2,300 in the site’s two and a half years of existence, because the independence debate isn’t about me. But a curious piece in today’s Herald by David Torrance merits such a response.
If you don’t see what it’s got to do with that video*, bear with me.
To cheer you up a bit, we thought you might like to see a couple of rather curious pieces from this weekend’s right-wing press. 300 years of the Union have infamously left Scotland with the lowest life expectancies in the UK, as illustrated in particularly stark fashion by some maps published a couple of years ago in the Guardian:
Respectable author Allan Massie (father of Spectator columnist Alex) rather shames himself in today’s Scottish Mail On Sunday, with a particularly grim piece of what we assume is supposed to be comical crystal ball-gazing, painting a melodramatic picture of an apocalyptic post-independence Scotland as seen by Project Fear.
Over 2500 words long, it ticks all the boxes – no currency union, a mass exodus of business, Spain vetoing Scotland’s EU membership, economic Armageddon forcing the return of tuition fees and prescription charges, Trident staying on the Clyde permanently, Orkney and Shetland voting to stay with the UK and somehow taking the oil with them in direct contravention of all international law, and so on.
Which would all be a super piece of knockabout fun, were it not for the fact that we’ve already almost lost count of the number of times the right-wing English media, and in particular the Mail itself, has already trotted out this same dystopian drivel.
Despite the strikingly unequivocal nature of David Trimble’s clarification yesterday of his comments about the independence referendum’s potential impact on Northern Irish politics, remarkably the media are today still trying to spin them into a dire warning about a Yes vote causing renewed violence in the province.
The picture below is a page from this morning’s Sunday Times.
It doesn’t seem to have had a great deal of coverage, perhaps because most of the answers were in the “bleeding obvious” category – business frets about change, and the more change there might be the less they like it.
We’ve quite frequently highlighted the ugly, irresponsible tone of the No campaign’s – and especially Labour’s – comments about “foreigners”in the independence debate. And the reason we do is because that sort of language feeds attitudes like these.
Whoops, eh? Oddly, while the original story is still on the BBC NI website, we can’t seem to find one reporting the correction anywhere, even though Lord Trimble spoke to GMS more than eight hours ago. We’re sure it’ll be along any minute now.
A reader this morning pointed us to an article by the arch-Unionist blogger and pundit Professor Adam Tomkins, who we must once again emphasise in the interests of clarity is almost definitely NOT the gentleman in this picture:
It was a piece from a few weeks ago about the currency debate, which the reader felt made a reasonable and “quite convincing” case, so we went and had a look.
twathater on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “I too stopped believing in the Alba party after the sidelining of Sara Salyers ,Sara received a standing ovation at…” Mar 9, 03:01
Cynicus on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Mark Beggan says: 8 March, 2026 at 11:45 am “I can’t watch women’s football without thinking about sex. Does this…” Mar 9, 00:59
sarah on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “@ Geri at 10.57: “Holyrood …has zero power to legislate for a referendum.” But it can hold an election on…” Mar 8, 23:21
Geri on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Sarah, Only Westminster is the recognised seat of power. They need to concentrate on winning seats there. Holyrood is a…” Mar 8, 22:57
James on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Adrian; It’s not you concern, and it’s past your bed time.” Mar 8, 22:56
Northcode on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “It might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s a good thing that Alba is out of the way… it never was of…” Mar 8, 21:44
Geri on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Cause they don’t have foreign agents as donors. Unlike yoons. & The pro independence movement has the wit to stop…” Mar 8, 21:27
Geri on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “His end is nigh. He interrupted the Don to correct his bullshit at a mini press conference aboard Airfarce wanker.…” Mar 8, 21:08
Alf Baird on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Fitba wis nivver a colonial game, Hatey, Scots gied fitba tae the warld wi nae strings, tae be played by…” Mar 8, 21:07
sarah on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “@ David Holden – I’ve just found a silver lining in this cloud. There is nothing now stopping the Alba…” Mar 8, 20:53
Aidan on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “It’s quite worrying though, if a new party can’t make it when it is run by the most prominent pro-independence…” Mar 8, 20:43
Hatey McHateface on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “TURABDIN Reason and wisdom were kicked out of the room when we made it clear we would pay generously to…” Mar 8, 20:34
David Holden on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Alba no more a day of mixed emotions. The launch of Alba looked hopeful and the SNP 1 Alba 2…” Mar 8, 19:53
sarah on Off-topic: “Hi, Dan. How’s things? Have you started planting and sowing yet? As for your comment – in Sussex they have…” Mar 8, 19:46
Hatey McHateface on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Is the UN still a thing? BTW, how do you reckon that we, the people, have to “put up” with…” Mar 8, 19:34
Dan on Off-topic: “Oh, jist fuck off and die with this ongoing pathetic moderation shite.” Mar 8, 19:21
Red on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Bigotry, ignorance, nastiness seems the characteristic of many of the type. Is the gloom of North Europe to blame? No,…” Mar 8, 19:13
sarah on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Sad, indeed. The corrupted SNP leadership will be cheering, no doubt. The SNP members have no mechanism to remove the…” Mar 8, 18:54
TURABDIN on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “People are supposed to acquire wisdom with age, that is now highly questionable. Bigotry, ignorance, nastiness seems the characteristic of…” Mar 8, 18:43
agentx on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Kid Starver – I believe he has cancelled the two child benefit.” Mar 8, 17:45
twathater on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Is Kid Starver only supplying flights for holiday makers in the Gulf regions , or is he also supplying flights…” Mar 8, 17:36
Hatey McHateface on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Ah, C’moan noo, TURABDIN. At least go through the motions of impartiality. Gie’s the numbers for the missiles and drones…” Mar 8, 16:44
Marie on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Religious nationalism (of ANY variety) drives human beings insane. Heggy can’t wait for the rapture/end times. Dangerous for all of…” Mar 8, 16:30
agentx on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Is Swinney telling any SNP candidate on ADP to get out before the election?” Mar 8, 16:07
Young Lochinvar on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Racial purity lecture courtesy of Main Kampf..” Mar 8, 15:51
TURABDIN on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “IDF reports 400 killed in S.Lebanon in the last week. That OT god of Don & Bibi, not a guy…” Mar 8, 15:29
Hatey McHateface on Scotland’s Most Frightened: “Ah, C’moan noo, Red. It’s only 2 PM. The people who really, REALLY ken how to solve the world’s problems…” Mar 8, 14:24
