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Wings Over Scotland


Progress to nowhere 160

Posted on April 14, 2023 by

Alert readers may be familiar with the market research and polling company Progress Scotland. Readers of The National certainly will be, as the semi-newspaper has run over 120 stories about it, most of them around the company’s creation in early 2019.

The company was formed by Angus Robertson, at the time an unemployed former SNP MP after he lost his Moray seat in the 2017 election, and its stated goal was to persuade those not yet fully decided.

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When you’re already gone 308

Posted on April 12, 2023 by

So it turned out there was very little new information in this story.

But the tiny bit there was raises an extremely disproportionate number of issues.

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Also Humza Yousaf 89

Posted on April 12, 2023 by

7 April 2023: “Your priorities will be my priorities.”

1 April 2023: “Here are our priorities.”

Now for the surprise!

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Standing on quicksand 143

Posted on April 11, 2023 by

So let’s just recap where we are with this.

Because it really doesn’t look very good.

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From the mouths of idiots 113

Posted on April 11, 2023 by

Readers with any modest working knowledge of Scottish politics in recent years would naturally assume at first sight that the illiterate, corrupt, self-serving, gravy-hoovering drama student with whom the SNP hilariously replaced experienced KC Joanna Cherry as shadow justice secretary simply couldn’t spell “final straight”, a term meaning the easy last stretch of a horse race where there are no jumps or turns.

(We are, after all, talking here about someone who can’t spell her own name.)

But they might be wrong.

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The Party’s Over 399

Posted on April 09, 2023 by

On a day like today, all an honest person can really do with the Scottish National Party is make like Pontius Pilate and wash their hands of it.

Because there ain’t no resurrection from this.

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That Sinking Feeling 217

Posted on April 08, 2023 by

Stranger Things 364

Posted on April 05, 2023 by

Well, what an odd day that’s been.

Because for a start, if you’re the one person in Scotland who believes the above, please drop us a line. We’d love to have a chat with you.

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Lipstick On Your Collar 338

Posted on April 05, 2023 by

Until a few weeks ago Calum Steele was the chief of the Scottish Police Federation, so as due-credits go we particularly appreciate this one.

So let’s remind ourselves of a few things.

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Two separate facts 114

Posted on April 05, 2023 by

Presented without comment.


And a bonus one, from two years and one day ago:

At the edge of the deep blue sea 76

Posted on April 04, 2023 by

So a week and a bit after the deadline, this arrived.

And it’s not quite what you were told before.

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Inside The Cult 161

Posted on April 03, 2023 by

In June of last year, I started work at Transport Scotland. It wasn’t the best job I’ve ever had. It was pretty much an entry-level post and it was only a temp gig through an agency, but after spending almost six years out of the workforce following a bout with cancer, two frozen shoulders, and chronic knee and hip pain, it was a huge relief just to be earning my keep again.

Of course, June is Pride Month, and Saltire (the Scottish Government’s intranet) was full of news and blogs about “LGBTI+” issues.

Also on the Saltire front page was a prominent invitation to two training sessions to understand the issues facing these groups: “LGBT+ Awareness 101” and “Trans 101”.

These were both run by the LGBTI+ Network, one of several “affinity networks” for civil servants belonging to different groups. With the GRR Bill on the horizon, and having heard stories about how difficult it had been for gender critical groups to get a hearing from the Government in relation to it, I was very curious to hear what this training involved, and I signed up to attend via Teams.

The first session was “LGBT+ Awareness 101”. This session was fairly inoffensive. The content regarding gay people was about what you would expect, and the T+ stuff was clearly biased, but not terrible.

However, the tone of the event suggested quite strongly that you weren’t meant to disagree with anything that was said. Towards the end, when questions were invited, I typed my question into the chat:

“How does the Scottish Government handle conflicts between TERFs and trans people?”

And there my troubles began.

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    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “CC @ 11.39 Well hold on there Bald Eagle! “Scotland was doing much of the colonis1NG before and after the…Jul 26, 00:06
    • Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Worth repeating the fact that even Westminster has acknowledged that the GDP Per Capita of an independent Scotland would be…Jul 25, 23:01
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Good post James.Jul 25, 22:33
    • Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Thanks for this Sam. I’ve met Mr and Mrs Cuthbert who are a tremendous asset to Scotland with their expert…Jul 25, 22:15
    • James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Dan; on the “money” as always, what the Unionist Wallopers don’t want the Scotch to see: JOHN JAPPY As a…Jul 25, 22:02
    • James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “So. The WALLOPERS have spoken. Take note, Scotch folk; you’ve never had it so good. Scotchland is the richest country…Jul 25, 21:07
    • James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “So. Precious tactics failing, the new 77th tactic is “swamping”? Endless reams of unionist “shite” vomited up ad nauseam by…Jul 25, 20:53
    • James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““Please note: “The Vow” did not break the law.” “Analysts from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre concluded that the fiscal…Jul 25, 20:43
    • James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Speaking of cants….Jul 25, 20:33
    • James on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “I wish someone would get a grip of you, ya AI unionist walloper…Westminster apologist, tosser of the first order…for years…Jul 25, 20:30
    • Northcode on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Captain Caveman @3:42 pm Once again you’ve raised several points, so I’ll address them in the same way as before.…Jul 25, 19:50
    • sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Alf, raising taxes in an independent Scotland.A study by Jim Cuthbert which I have edited to reduce its length “Fiscal…Jul 25, 19:49
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    • Spartan 117 on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Few things worse in life than “Socialists” who at the slightest sniff of power dig in and engorge themselves at…Jul 25, 18:23
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf Re your wish list at 4:08. Surely the most third-rate economist would understand that the feasibility and profitability of…Jul 25, 18:11
    • Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Some great comments today. There remains but for Wally W. Walrus to expectorate partly masticated rotting fish guts over it…Jul 25, 17:50
    • Young Lochinvar on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “On a cheerier note. Listening to Smooth Radio the hourly newsreader had me smiling, for all the world her rendition…Jul 25, 16:37
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““ By definition, it is surely a rhetorical question also, since I am hardly likely to have published work on…Jul 25, 16:32
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf – firstly, that is a description of (in your own terms) how GDP growth could be delivered, it’s not…Jul 25, 16:29
    • Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““Scotland’s output would double” Near neighbour high-GDP sovereign states with similar or far lesser resources illustrate that a major increase…Jul 25, 16:08
    • Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““So who do we believe?” 😀 😀 😀 And on that bombshell, time for a Negroni I think. Saluti! 🙂Jul 25, 16:02
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Indeed Dan – it’s a case of: – the independently audited figures show one thing; – the (former) head of…Jul 25, 15:51
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Indeed Dan – it’s a case of: – the independently audited figures show one thing; – the (former) head of…Jul 25, 15:51
    • Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Northy “First, questioning someone’s published work isn’t a demand for credentials; it’s very often a request for clarity about the…Jul 25, 15:42
    • Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Waiting on new boys CC and AIdan pulling up Stu for posting this “shite” back in the day… https://wingsoverscotland.com/on-our-own-two-feet/Jul 25, 15:33
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf – I’ve published work on a range of subjects, but my work, unlike yours, isn’t written starting with the…Jul 25, 15:02
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Alf – Scotland’s GDP per capita is around the same as neighbouring countries like Finland and Belgium, and above almost…Jul 25, 14:49
    • Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “*what has MEAN per capita have to do with “rich”Jul 25, 14:44
    • Aidan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Confused – comedy gold from someone who thinks that incorporating a network of companies makes any person or enterprise “tax…Jul 25, 14:44
    • Captain Caveman on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““So that’s a big ‘naw’ then, ye’ve nivver published hee-haw aboot onythin.” Heh. Well, I’ve written countless landmark technical reports…Jul 25, 14:35
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