As well as being the Director of the John Smith Policy Centre (a job with no known responsibilities but which nevertheless pays around the same as being an MSP making laws in the Scottish Parliament) she writes regular columns in The Times and The Courier and is now, hilariously, the new Professor of Practice in Public Service in Glasgow University.
(A post with unspecified duties and unknown salary and which was also not, as far as anyone can tell, ever publicly advertised.)
We were bored so we thought we’d find out, via Panelbase, if her latest lucrative role was perhaps the result of a noticeably impressive performance in the first one.
A year and a quarter ago, we contrasted the performance of the SNP’s last two leaders in terms of building support for independence. As the First Minister crows about how much better she’s been at staying in power than a succession of UK leaders, it seems only proper to bring the stats up to date.
Do you remember, readers, how the next UK election was supposed to be a single-issue de facto referendum on independence if the Supreme Court ruled Holyrood didn’t have the power to hold one itself?
Well, it appears that policy has been abruptly and quietly ditched.
Because just a couple of hours ago SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford told BBC News that “I can assure you” the SNP “will have a growth manifesto” for the whole UK whenever the next election comes around, because in his view the UK economy hasn’t been growing enough for the last few decades and the SNP would have a plan to fix it. Because apparently fixing the UK is the SNP’s purpose now.
Guess we better hope for a good result from the Supreme Court, then.
And while the prediction itself wasn’t vindicated, the reasoning behind it certainly was, because she duly lost her majority just as we said she would, and limped pitifully into oblivion over the next two painful and shambolic years. (While Nicola Sturgeon ponced around hopelessly trying to stop Brexit instead of saving Scotland by getting it the hell out of the UK before it was too late.)
So it’s in that spirit that we’re going to stick our necks out once again and predict that despite the opinions of most political pundits Liz Truss is going nowhere any time soon, because as incredible as it seems, she’s almost certainly the least worst option for the Conservative Party right now.
Between recesses and the mourning period for the Queen, the UK Parliament has been sitting for just four weeks since the 1st of July this year.
In that time the government has somehow managed to lose three Chancellors Of The Exchequer and is about to engage its fourth in the alarming form of Jeremy Hunt, a man whose primary claim to fame and utility to the UK is as rhyming slang.
Sometimes even fools and liars and charlatans speak the truth.
Thing is, we rather liked it when the horses south of the border were frightened. Things happened in those days. But to coin a phrase, those days are past now.
Honestly, readers, swear to God, all joking and sarcasm aside, when we saw this tweet yesterday we were wondering how on Earth some clever satirist had managed to hack Anas Sarwar’s account to insert the screenshot into it.
Because we didn’t believe that even Scottish Labour’s low-watt-bulb of a branch manager would willingly post something that made him look so much of an imbecile.
Because the SNP are now openly, publicly telling you that they’re never going to achieve independence for Scotland, nor even make any meaningful attempt at it.
Geri on Only An Excuse: “Slap some Rosemary oil on yer napper. It’s supposed to be good for stimulating hair growth. The proper recommended strength…” May 23, 12:32
Aidan on Only An Excuse: “@Alf – it’s going to be 23 degrees in Edinburgh this week, do you think the coloniser will allow the…” May 23, 12:23
Aidan on Only An Excuse: “What a load of drivel.” May 23, 12:16
Aidan on Only An Excuse: “Great post Geri – you get em told mate. Did you go to sleep between the post written at 2am…” May 23, 12:13
sam on Only An Excuse: “This is the Sovereignty Act 1606. Still on the bukes. Not a hint of the peeple. Just bowing, scraping and…” May 23, 12:07
Aidan on Only An Excuse: “Northcode however has lost both his hair and his marbles so it’s a double pain, although on the latter I…” May 23, 12:04
sam on Only An Excuse: “Mornin Northcode Up at the screek o’ dawn? My mum always said screagh o’ dawn. But then we used pleugher…” May 23, 12:02
Northcode on Only An Excuse: “I posted this on the off-topic thread by mistake… So here it is again on the correct thread – not…” May 23, 11:58
Northcode on Off-topic: “This from a story by Maybelyn B. Paden for the IBTimes UK: “Donald Trump was accused by Fox News viewers…” May 23, 11:54
sarah on Off-topic: “Make the most of everything. Though easier said than done, I find. However, we’re still here and we’re still speaking…” May 23, 11:33
sarah on Off-topic: “Make the most of everything. Though easier said than done, I find. However, we’re still here and we’re still speaking…” May 23, 11:32
Captain Caveman on Only An Excuse: “I feel your pain, Northy – bald as a coot. Watching the last wisps of my once-great “Bruce Dickinson” stylee…” May 23, 10:47
Northcode on Only An Excuse: “Christ this place is deid. So to pass the time I’ve been pondering the mystery of life on this Earth,…” May 23, 10:31
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Btw, Marie (aka Ginger Rogers), I believe Fred has been two-timing you with Rita Hayworth……… www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbuFLUJ89Kw Men, eh?” May 23, 09:57
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Agree in spades, Marie. As for time, this lady summed it up rather well quite a long time ago: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkOB57UcYk8…” May 23, 09:46
Geri on Only An Excuse: “YL Aye & did ye notice that nane of his chuntering rubbish was even remotely relevant tae the convo? Just…” May 23, 09:44
Northcode on Only An Excuse: “Outsiders, foreigners, those others, often, if not always, misinterpret Scottish internal criticism as an invitation for external criticism. Inside Scotland…” May 23, 08:53
Hatey McHateface on Only An Excuse: “@ Auld Lochnagar says: 23 May, 2026 at 8:11 am “I’mnogay” Course you’re no! Who said you are? We’ll put…” May 23, 08:46
Hatey McHateface on Only An Excuse: “Ah’ve telt ye afore aboot posting tae early, Aul Lochnagar. Ye divnae hit yer stride until aroond 2 AM. So…” May 23, 08:11
Young Lochinvar on Only An Excuse: “I’mnogay McI’mnogayface @ 7.34 Wi-Fi back up and running in padded cell land and he’s off and chuntering again before…” May 23, 08:11
Xaracen on Only An Excuse: “Hmm, feels more like a vergence in the Force.” May 23, 08:05
Hatey McHateface on The Queer Parliament: “No such thing as a Yoon, Geri. How could there be, when there never was a Union? You really need…” May 23, 07:45
Hatey McHateface on Only An Excuse: “Loving your ongoing linguistic developments, Geri. “fckn” “crms” “Naz” Any chance you could make like the ancient language bods and…” May 23, 07:34
Geri on Only An Excuse: “America is losing its empire because every foreign blow-in with a grudge going back fckn decades were allowed inside their…” May 23, 01:56
Geri on The Queer Parliament: “Shiteface “As our generous host evidences to us week after week after week, Scotland’s malady is tribalism. That leads to…” May 23, 00:23
Young Lochinvar on Only An Excuse: “I’mnogay McI’mnogayface @ 10.43 I shouldn’t even respond but if you have the steely patience to search back through your…” May 23, 00:01
Hatey McHateface on Only An Excuse: “Come back the morn. Translate yer post frae jakey tae English.” May 22, 23:57
Bilbo on Only An Excuse: “Aye…Monroe Doctrine…” May 22, 23:44
Bilbo on Only An Excuse: “Is there are a glitch in the Matrix 😉” May 22, 23:40
Hatey McHateface on Only An Excuse: “Fascinating stuff, Alf. So you’re saying Hechter essentially predicted last Saturday’s bourach. The basturt in the black was simply “tending…” May 22, 23:40
