We suspect that watching it will be profound waste of time and a grave danger to our monitor screens, but we’ll certainly at least tune in for the votes at the end, because which motion/amendment the Parliament puts its name to will be a revealing moment.
Some of our more alert readers may recall the events of four years ago this month, when a mob of SNP representatives all suddenly raged against the idea of (perfectly legally) “gaming” the Holyrood electoral system to produce a pro-indy supermajority.
Voters try to organise themselves to maximise their desired outcomes all the time (see various tactical-voting campaigns), and so do political parties – witness John Swinney’s current plans for a grand anti-Reform coalition. And of course, the SNP never objected to indy voters voting for a different party on the list if it was the Greens. The entire thing was just a poorly-disguised attack on Alba.
But even so, guess what? The rules just changed again.
It’s one of the most profoundly disappointing things about the last decade of Scottish politics that for about five minutes in 2015 we all thought that this awful dunderheaded foghorn was a bright new hope for the future.
In April 2021, the SNP were still the undisputed masters of all they surveyed. A poll conducted by Ipsos MORI that month showed them on 53% of the vote for the Scottish Parliament, a jawdropping 33 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
When the Holyrood election a month later was held, they won 64 seats, one more than they had done in 2016. Yet despite having led a minority government without any significant difficulties for the preceding five years, Nicola Sturgeon chose to invite the Greens to form a coalition with her party, and the effect that had on the public’s view of the government was… well, let’s see.
What with this poll apparently being such terrific news for John Swinney’s runaway popularity with the people of Scotland, readers might be wondering why SNP MSP Graeme Dey has apparently forgotten to include the actual figures or link to the source so that people can find out for themselves.
Welcome back to what will hopefully be normal service after we’ve been spending the last few days battling off a determined and temporarily successful attempt at hacking the site. Apologies to those who had clicks intercepted and redirected to a malware site which tried to get people to download dodgy .EXE files, but our readers are far too alert to ever fall for such things so no harm should have been done.
So back to business, which for us often means pointing out things that have been said in newspapers that aren’t true, which brings us to last Friday’s issue of The National.
A couple of days ago a reader asked on Twitter if we thought Reform, who continue to lead in UK opinion polling, might allow a second indyref if they actually got into power, as it would for obvious reasons be hypocritical of them not to. And to be frank we dismissed it out of hand, because Nigel Farage is the ultimate British nationalist, he’d have no obvious political reason to, and since when did hypocrisy bother politicians?
And then last night a longstanding Courier/Press & Journal reporter (who despite that is an all-round decent chap and indy supporter) tweeted this:
And actually, on further thought, that’s not the craziest idea at all.
The difficulty is that any minute now, someone is going to ask the beleaguered First Minister the staggeringly obvious question that arises from the fact, namely:
Much of Scotland, and indeed the rest of the UK and beyond (the story below ran in the London Standard), has been grimly gripped this week by the ongoing and scarcely believable trainwreck that is Sandie Peggie Vs NHS Fife.
The tribunal has now overrun the time allotted to it, and will reconvene for another 10 days in the second half of July, ramping up the already considerable costs incurred by NHS Fife, which is in the middle of a huge financial crisis.
According to legal experts, there is little doubt about the law surrounding the dispute. NHS Fife is clearly and unambiguously in the wrong – Dr Beth Upton, the transwoman at the centre of the problem, is legally as well as biologically male, and had no lawful entitlement to be in a female changing room. The authority also appears to be in very considerable potential trouble over failing to disclose key documents and evidence when ordered by the original judge.
So it seems remarkable that the board of NHS Fife is allowing the case to continue rather than immediately conceding to save money and any more public humiliation of both itself and its staff, like the hapless nurse manager Esther Davidson who endured a very uncomfortable two days in the witness box this week, and the clearly manifestly incompetent Equality And Human Rights Lead Officer, Isla Bumba, who yesterday deleted her LinkedIn page after being identified as the person who gave Davidson incorrect and unlawful guidance.
Mark Beggan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Put your colonial feet up on the colonial stool. Make some colonial tea and have some Corbyn and Sultana cake.” Jul 24, 12:40
Mark Beggan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““coordinated attacks” That’s right we all meet up at the Troll Bar on Union Street and after singing God save…” Jul 24, 12:32
Confused on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Nothing wrong with nuclear power stations – we don’t need them though, nor will ever – we have a full…” Jul 24, 12:31
Confused on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “if you have been scanning the civil service jobs of late, one theme has been that of “energy security”; they…” Jul 24, 12:26
Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “@Sarah – until such time as a political party is formed, led by serious people with a properly developed and…” Jul 24, 12:24
Confused on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I feel the need to talk about some “boring shit”. So flip the channel if you are continuing with the…” Jul 24, 12:23
Alf Baird on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Perhaps the most important theory in our case, given the long period of colonization, is that of the colonial mindset,…” Jul 24, 12:14
Andy Storrie on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Just say the word, Campbell, and the readers could chip-in for a wardrobe full of frocks for ye.” Jul 24, 12:12
sarah on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Rob, independence is a dead duck only if we all give up. I know it is depressing when the cause…” Jul 24, 11:18
Stuart on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““ But perhaps most of all “the colonizer hates theory”, for theory (such as postcolonial theory) ultimately reveals the colonial…” Jul 24, 11:10
Northcode on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““But perhaps most of all “the colonizer hates theory…” Indeed so, Alf. As is plain for all to see here…” Jul 24, 11:09
Captain Caveman on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Constructive criticism – even if robustly or incredulously asserted – isn’t “trolling”, mate. Are you and your ilk such snowflakes…” Jul 24, 10:58
Captain Caveman on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “‘… Sometimes the response to a particularly stupid attempt at making some useless point or other by a singularly dim-witted…” Jul 24, 10:55
Dan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Well worth a read. https://dearscotland.substack.com/p/why-nuclear-power-in-scotland-is” Jul 24, 10:39
Alf Baird on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “As Memmi wrote, and as we can see in oor ain laund an among oor ain fowk, a “Colonized society…” Jul 24, 10:24
Aidan on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I will give it to you Northcode, that is quite an amusing post, and a spirited defence of what you…” Jul 24, 10:07
Rob on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I know that I have never “attacked” Alf Baird. Like a number of folk on here I just think he…” Jul 24, 10:02
Chas on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Why is it that the fantasists and cranks assume that any one commentating on the repetitive, self centered dross produced…” Jul 24, 09:55
Northcode on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “A staunch unionist (colonialist?), and a proud Ingle tae boot, on here has just re-stated almost the entirety of a…” Jul 24, 09:46
Callum on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “The BIG questions. Should any doctor who is incapable of determining the sex of their patients be allowed to practice…” Jul 24, 07:42
Young Lochinvar on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Quality Doctor eh.. . Did she pass basic biology? Doctor! Doctor! Road traffic accident casualty just in and it looks…” Jul 24, 06:02
Young Lochinvar on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Aha!! P3nisbreath McP3nisbreathface is back after an absence no doubt at Langley and.. T A..v. And upset about a Barbie…” Jul 24, 05:51
Willie on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Reading the various comments it does seem that Alf Baird has very much become the focus of coordinated attack from…” Jul 24, 05:19
Hatey McHateface on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““You’re all afraid and it shows” Sure. I’m forever shitting ma kegs at the idea that TH and ‘Mrs James’…” Jul 24, 03:57
Hatey McHateface on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““There’s barely a comment posted here by a unionist (colonialist?) that is anything other than childish insult, threat, lies, diversion,…” Jul 24, 03:44
Hatey McHateface on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: ““What does tomorrow hold – an accusation of genocide?” Well, to be fair, the bar for that is being lowered…” Jul 24, 03:26
Young Lochinvar on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Lorn @ 11.32 This deviant crap has been about in Europe for ages. Remember the early 90s Harry Enfield/ Paul…” Jul 24, 01:25
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “Ah! I didn’t know Bill Rolston had died. Tá sé anois ar shlí na fírinne, as the Irish say. Ar…” Jul 24, 00:37
Lorn on Everybody’s Normal Nowadays: “I agree, even if I don’t agree with every word Alf says. He is a distinguished academic and researcher and…” Jul 23, 23:45