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.
The less said about the Scottish Government’s toe-curlingly embarrassing “summit” last week, the sooner we can all pretend it never happened. We’ve got little to add to the withering assessments of Robin McAlpine and Kevin McKenna and just about everyone else who’s bothered covering this pathetic waste of everyone involved’s time. (Not that the time of most of these worthless quangocrats was worth anything anyway.)
We take a moment only to note something remarkable: the closest Scottish Labour’s hapless branch manager Anas Sarwar has ever come to understanding anything.
Yesterday the Scottish media gave Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman what she’s never willingly given anyone else – a platform on which to make her case.
Most did a very poor job challenging her on her outrageous comments about the Supreme Court, with BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime show being an especially wretched example of allowing the interviewee to ignore every question and then just ramble on endlessly about something else entirely, but LBC’s Gina Davidson was on top of her brief and put all the points that reasonable people wanted to be made, while giving Chapman ample time to answer uninterrupted.
Let’s break down how that went, with the help of our handy Bullshit Buzzer.
At the weekend, Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman was filmed applauding as a notoriously unhinged transactivist ranted through a megaphone to a small and almost exclusively male crowd of protestors about how he was going to openly break the law by continuing to use women’s public toilets, and addressing JK Rowling with the words “We should all take a shite on you, you heinous creeping old bitch”.
At another protest, Chapman herself asserted that the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on the correct interpretation of the Equality Act 2010 was motivated by not by a solemn consideration of the law or by the arguments of counsel who appeared before it, but by “bigotry, prejudice and hatred”.
Chapman is – incredibly – Deputy Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament, and as such her comments sparked a storm of wholly justified outrage over her flagrant breach not only of Parliamentary rules but also of the law – specifically the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, which requires all MSPs to uphold the independence of the judiciary.
Regular readers of Wings won’t need any reminding that Dani Garavelli of the Herald is, among some very stiff competition, one of the most contemptible pieces of nightsoil currently operating in the Scottish media.
But if you’re new here, we can give you a quick illustration.
If the sneering piety of that opening paragraph made you feel a little revolted, a bit angry and somewhat nauseous, then congratulations, because that means you’re still something minimally approximating to a decent human being. But unfortunately it gets a lot worse from there.
Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “@Dan – I’m well aware of that, and well aware that the nuSNP see gender (and the stuff that is…” Jul 23, 14:39
Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I’m not calling for anyone’s views to be suppressed. I’m suggesting the quality of debate might be improved if reasonable…” Jul 23, 14:29
Dan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “@ Aidan Be more alert! Have you not noticed you’ve been regularly posting on a site that highlights the rather…” Jul 23, 14:14
Rob on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I don’t think the gender woo woo was really imported, the idea maybe but the distance that the SNP and…” Jul 23, 14:13
Northcode on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “To quote Northcode. “There’s barely a comment posted here by a unionist (colonialist?) that is anything other than childish insult,…” Jul 23, 13:58
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Regarding the colonialism question, the following Vimeo discussion with Bill Rolston will be of interest to Scots, even though its…” Jul 23, 13:57
Mark Beggan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““heroically restrained” Ok Dorothy We’ve heard enough.” Jul 23, 13:37
Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Professor Baird may have spent a lot of time on the subject, but that in itself isn’t a validation of…” Jul 23, 13:27
Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “@Dan – you’re obviously right, but at the moment there is no place more supportive of this kind of stuff…” Jul 23, 13:18
Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Of course we always have the option of scrolling on by, but to ignore the endless tide of incoherent waffle…” Jul 23, 13:06
Mark Beggan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “And your going to colonial hell as a punishment for being a gibbering auld dafty.” Jul 23, 13:04
Dan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Lorn says: “I want independence, have wanted it from around the age of 11 to now, and I’m no spring…” Jul 23, 12:52
Northcode on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Alf Baird puts forward a coherent and convincing argument based on sound and methodical academic research. He’s written several papers…” Jul 23, 12:51
Stuart on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “How about readers are freed from the colonialism of Professor Baird colonising this forum with er posts about colonialism? Meanwhile…” Jul 23, 12:24
Lorn on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Alf: absolutely agree that colonialism is abhorrent, and I also agree that Scotland is certainly treated like a colony. I’m…” Jul 23, 11:37
Captain Caveman on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “‘… these are all cultural illusions enforced by hateful fascist tendencies and laws, fascism sitting at the root of colonialism…” Jul 23, 11:30
Chas on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Oh goody. Another link provided by our learned Professor. I wonder who wrote the subject matter in the link. Surprise,…” Jul 23, 11:24
auld highlander on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “If you are not happy with what Alf has to say the solution is simple, just sling your hook.” Jul 23, 11:01
Alf Baird on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Correct definitions are very important, as the Rev illustrates. Important then for an oppressed colonized people to know that independence…” Jul 23, 11:00
Chas on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “It is amazing how the esteemed Professor manages to shoehorn his favourite subject into EVERY thread irrespective of what the…” Jul 23, 10:18
Alf Baird on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “A colonial and hence dominated society will always be left subject to whatever form of cultural imperialism its external rulers…” Jul 23, 09:49
Anthem on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Totally agree Twathater. These sickos know exactly what they’ve done, and doing. They are in these positions to serve themselves…” Jul 23, 09:01
twathater on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “WHY should any of these deviants and perverts get to resign, NHS Fife have been acting unlawfully against the rulings…” Jul 23, 03:53
Rob on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Its become very obvious that having failed to purge the nurse through suspending her that they are trying all the…” Jul 23, 00:14
Young Lochinvar on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “MB @8.07 A depressingly accurate assessment I suspect.” Jul 22, 20:27
Mark Beggan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Is it case the Scottish government can’t step into it as they are the cause. It’s their secret cult of…” Jul 22, 20:07
Milady on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Wait, just when I think I’m keeping up we get “trans*” – what does the * mean?! (Other than I’m…” Jul 22, 20:02
agent x on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Mark Beggan says: 22 July, 2025 at 7:43 pm Can the UK government step in on this scandalous behaviour? ———————————————–…” Jul 22, 20:01