The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Sideways In Reverse 124

Posted on April 25, 2023 by

Humza Yousaf has now been the First Minister of Scotland for a month.

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”, as they say in Kirkcudbright.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Vulnerability Olympics 76

Posted on April 24, 2023 by

Last week the property-porn TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp described severely disabled people requesting same-sex care as “demonising male nurses”, although the statistics suggest that they’ve demonised themselves.

That charities have had to develop a way for severely disabled children who may have mental ages of six to eight to say “willy”, “hard” and “squirt’’ evidences the widespread nature of the sexual abuse of the vulnerable and who is most likely to do it.

Instead of trying to understand the position of disabled individuals and their families Kirstie has decided that it is best to ignore the evidence and call us man-haters.

Read the rest of this entry →

Let’s Get Tattoos 92

Posted on April 24, 2023 by

You really have to go some to stand out as a proper grade-A scumbag in the ranks of trans activists, readers, but let’s be fair and commend some serious effort when we see it. Everyone, meet Beth (no, not that one).

Beth is a nasty little grifter trying to monetise “transphobia”, although it’s not going massively well so far, with only five donors signed up. So they’ve come up with an idea, although not a very original one: a list.

Read the rest of this entry →

The perfection of the moment 224

Posted on April 22, 2023 by

Oily SNP MP John Nicolson – a man who was pompous and condescending even as a teenager presenting Open To Question in the 1980s – this week posted an extended and theatrical Twitter rant at the fine Herald and National columnist Kevin McKenna.

It was quite the performance.

Read the rest of this entry →

Big Sister Isn’t Watching 46

Posted on April 22, 2023 by

Something to hide 86

Posted on April 21, 2023 by

Alert readers may recall our last foray into Freedom Of Information requests, when a couple of weeks ago we belatedly received a peculiarly evasive response from Police Scotland with regard to a meeting in February between the then-Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and the justice secretary Keith Brown.

We duly followed it up with an FOI to the Scottish Government for Keith Brown’s official diary on that day – just about the most mundane, run-of-the-mill request possible. We expected nothing remarkable, just a short list of meetings, fully corroborating what we were told by Police Scotland.

What we got was rather more intriguing.

Read the rest of this entry →

Putting our foot in it 415

Posted on April 19, 2023 by

Goodness knows we could all do with some cheering up at the moment, so let’s have a momentary change of tone and kick today off with a chuckle or two.

We’ve been working a bit too hard lately, and yesterday’s Wings post went to press with an unprecedented FOUR errors in it, including an “is is” instead of “it is”, a “more far” in place of a “far more” and a “strata” where there should have been a “stratum”. We’re deeply ashamed, and thanks to the alert Wings readers – including our mum – who swiftly drew our attention to them.

The most embarrassing clanger was this one, which we fixed promptly:

So imagine our surprise when we were reading this morning’s Scottish press.

Read the rest of this entry →

And so far yet to go 199

Posted on April 18, 2023 by

Almost every day is now a new crisis for the SNP.

But it better get used to it.

Read the rest of this entry →

At close of day 276

Posted on April 16, 2023 by

Some years ago while working in the NHS I investigated a situation where a group of very senior staff colluded in an attempt to cover up the misdeeds of a colleague, in the full knowledge of the devastating effect their dishonesty would have.

Yet in amongst that betrayal of professional ethical values one person’s integrity could not be swayed and they spoke the candid truth. I don’t know how it affected them in the long run, but it was clear that integrity mattered to them and doing the wrong thing was a burden they were unwilling to carry.

Anyway, their courage  to hold firm to these principles impressed me and chimed with the values I believe are absolutely necessary when you are charged with responsibility over the lives of others: honesty, integrity and a strong sense of justice.

Read the rest of this entry →

Fashion And Crisis Hits New York 83

Posted on April 16, 2023 by

As the SNP burns down around their ears, nothing stops the gravy bus. But even as they gallivant gaily around another “Tartan Week” junket in the USA, one might have thought the Constitution Minister would have shied away from this particular photo-op.

Let’s find out why.

Read the rest of this entry →

An unforeseen emergency 120

Posted on April 15, 2023 by

A reader has sent us an interesting follow-up to yesterday’s article.

Let’s just check what we’re being told there.

Read the rest of this entry →

Clearing the bar 118

Posted on April 15, 2023 by

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,958 Posts, 1,247,588 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Now that he’s on pre-mod (I expect) he’ll go off and haunt some other forum.Jul 23, 23:15
    • robertkknight on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “His King’s Colours didn’t go down too well either, with the Scots deciding upon their own design, which was contrary…Jul 23, 23:12
    • Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““I’m every bit as much a Sovereign Scot as you.” In a colonial society there are plenty of assimilated natives…Jul 23, 22:41
    • Angus on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““Ain’t it funny how things change?” Ain’t it also funny how things never change? Labour has been promising to abolish…Jul 23, 22:35
    • Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Heh, oh really… Well, I’d “knock it on the head” and quit whilst you’re (self evidently) behind, Confused. 🙂Jul 23, 22:23
    • Confused on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “EFTA came up, in the context of GDP/capita – the small, rich countries club – but you realise evil never…Jul 23, 22:23
    • Xaracen on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “A, B, C, and E don’t mean anything to you, Aidan, and they don’t have to. They did mean something…Jul 23, 22:10
    • Confused on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “you’re a bit of a pedant, and prone to miss the point (like some others round here, the reading age…Jul 23, 22:05
    • Confused on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “sure www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5FbYBiJiuA caveman, you’re the kind of turnip a bash on the head might knock some sense intoJul 23, 22:01
    • Confused on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Main – the mobile gas van is on route number 6 000 000 as any fule knoJul 23, 21:59
    • sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Auld enemy. Different language,they didnae ken. Deid Mum. Divine Right was right up their parliamentary noses. On the plus side…Jul 23, 21:28
    • diabloandco on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “I see Queen Camilla is thoroughly enjoying the opening ceremony!!Jul 23, 21:21
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “A, B and C don’t mean anything but E is interesting, what proportion of Scots had the vote in 1707…Jul 23, 21:18
    • Cynicus on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Alf Baird says: 22 July, 2026 at 4:31 pm There is a long history of elite Scots selling out their…Jul 23, 21:00
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““The people paid far less in taxes” Sure Xaracen. And not only did we get free cradle to grave benefits…Jul 23, 20:55
    • Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Divide an rule is aye the colonizer’s tool. The colonized are made ‘bystanders’ in their own land; they are ‘out…Jul 23, 20:53
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Assuming rounded populations of England at 50 million and Scotland at 5 million. The political will to address the issue…Jul 23, 20:47
    • 100%Yes on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “What John Swinney has just signed Scotland over to Manchester and he’d doesn’t even know what powers the Scottish parliament…Jul 23, 20:45
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Oddly enough, that greater trust in Scottish governments peaked under Nicola Sturgeon during the Covid Years. Nowadays, the ex party…Jul 23, 20:35
    • 100%Yes on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Wings predicted on here and by people posting on here as well. But the SNP commitment to the union has…Jul 23, 20:29
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““proselytising religions” Naw. A proselytising religion is one where its adherents chap your door, earnestly attempt to tell you the…Jul 23, 20:24
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Havers, Mark. Check out the front lines (and the combat casualty lists) from the war in the east. You’ll find…Jul 23, 20:09
    • Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Why not. No one else wants the job. What about asking Jack McConnell to step in.Jul 23, 20:06
    • sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-social-attitudes-survey-2025-core-module/pages/5/ Factchecker. Link above. Of interest to me, the steep decline in trust of the Scottish government since 2015. Signs…Jul 23, 19:55
    • Xaracen on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““What made Scotland “much better” before 1707, Xaracen?” A, it was independent, B, it wasn’t a colony of England, C,…Jul 23, 19:29
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Sorry, Alf, but I’m every bit as much a Sovereign Scot as you. What have I already told you about…Jul 23, 19:15
    • factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “sam, my comment on the uncontextualised use of survey data relates to the original post. Not the survey itself. Hence…Jul 23, 18:18
    • factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Dan, regarding the much-quoted “Union of Equals” that I know is such a popular trope, I am unaware of any…Jul 23, 18:12
    • sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Don’t forget the colonisation of Ireland by the Scots and English. James granted confiscated land from Irish Catholics to Protestant…Jul 23, 18:06
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “FC Apology accepted. Always laugh when those who know their wordsmithery isn’t cutting it feel the need to conclude with…Jul 23, 17:49
  • A tall tale



↑ Top