It’s more than two years now since we published this article, but it’s worth quickly going over it again, because there’s nothing on Earth more tedious than boneheads on social media going “Oh, you slag off the SNP but what’s YOUR plan if you’re so clever?”, who haven’t bothered to read any of the dozen times we’ve already answered that question since 25 months ago.
This is it. This is our plan. Try listening this time, thickos.
The SNP have been all over the place since Wednesday’s judgement of the Supreme Court. Astonishingly, the party hadn’t prepared an agreed line in the event of the Court ruling against it, with the result that various party figures had popped up with all sorts of different versions of what a supposed plebiscite election would mean.
It’s nice to see the British media (and perhaps, if we might be allowed to dream for a moment, the law) catching up with Michelle Mone.
It’s such a shame nobody did any proper investigative journalism into what a crooked, venal chancer she is before now – seven years ago or even four years ago, say – or the country might have been saved a few billion quid. Ah well, you live and learn, eh?
Let’s get straight to the point: this is a straight-up categorical lie.
Since Wednesday’s events there’s been a lot of chatter and confusion on social media about whether the Scottish Government has the ability to trigger a snap Holyrood election and use it as a de facto plebiscite on independence.
The short answer, as we told you yesterday, is “officially no, in practice yes”. But that needs a bit of further explanation, so as usual let’s do the job of actual journalism that nobody else in Scotland can apparently be bothered to.
So it’s official – Scotland is not a partner in the UK, but a prisoner. Supposedly equal signatories to a treaty, we were in fact captured in 1707, with no hope of release other than at the whim of our jailer. It is an outrage, but a wholly predictable one.
Nicola Sturgeon could have put the matter of Holyrood’s legislative authority to the Supreme Court at any point since she became First Minister in November 2014. More particularly, she could have done so in July 2016, after the UK voted to leave the EU, thereby triggering a clear and explicit condition of the manifesto on which the SNP were re-elected as the Scottish Government just weeks earlier.
Instead, she’s wasted a decade of your time and probably sold Scotland’s future.
A week ago, readers, I had not the slightest interest in bringing Wings Over Scotland back full-time. I had my Twitter account again and was having fun and I was happy with that. It scratched the itch of being able to engage with politics (and people) without the depressing business of wading in it for work.
And then I witnessed the quite extraordinary sight of an elected member of Parliament, in the shape of the SNP’s pico-witted ambulant brain vacuum Karen Adam, publicly gloating about having managed to shut down the voice of someone critical of her party.
At the same time, an extremely minor blogger (the word “rival” would be to over-dignify them) re-opened hostilities in his campaign of self-declared “open warfare” against this site, with a rapid succession of posts (just a few of dozens) forming such a demented scattershot tirade that to patiently debunk all of it would have taken until Christmas.
And I’ll be honest, folks, it all pushed my buttons a wee bit. It really shouldn’t have, but it was properly outrageous and I’m occasionally human, so I thought “Sod it, if I’m going to have to put up with all this crap anyway I might as well make it worthwhile”.
Well, it looks like Wings is coming back, then. Blimey. So let’s see where we’re going to be picking things up from. Exactly eight years ago today, Nicola Sturgeon took over as First Minister from Alex Salmond.
robertkknight on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Rip it up and start again. SNP is lost to the Woo-Woo brigade. They’re welcome to it!” Jul 24, 22:26
sarah on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “O/T but very relevant to the overall theme of why the SNP hasn’t made any progress in restoring Scotland’s independence…” Jul 24, 21:53
Alf Baird on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““Sometimes I wonder where Scotland would be if we weren’t “colonised” Probably aroond aboot £150 billion a year better aff,…” Jul 24, 21:29
Hatey McHateface on The Wheels Of Industry: ““No one is talking about expunging people” Oh yes they are. Just about weekly. You ignore it, Northy, because you…” Jul 24, 20:48
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “All very well, sam, but what does Cuthbert know of Fanon, Cesaire, Memmi and the rest? That’s the yardstick by…” Jul 24, 20:38
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Cheers, James! Although your obsession with my tackle does raise a few red flags. But hey, a child could see…” Jul 24, 20:29
Southernbystander on The Wheels Of Industry: “Just needs a ‘like’ really as I cannot disagree with much. Just one thing, ‘recover’ is a bit of a…” Jul 24, 20:16
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Jim Cuthbert has a M.A. in mathematics and economics. A M.Sc. in mathematics and statistics and a D Phil in…” Jul 24, 20:01
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@Onlooker An analysis of Confused’s posts suggests you missed one: Confused’s parent’s home. How else to explain his recurring, extreme…” Jul 24, 19:56
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “@ factchecker Thanks again for confirming the significant and negative predicaments Scotland endures whilst being in a Union with the…” Jul 24, 19:27
Onlooker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Lorncal says: “There has never, to my knowledge been a matriarchy in human history…” Wrong. https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/ancient-cultures-matriarchal-society-0011588 https://historified.in/2024/12/24/matriarchy-a-historical-and-cultural-perspective/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/angela-saini-patriarchy-matriarchy-gender-equality https://www.maloriesadventures.com/blog/the-forgotten-matriarchal-societies-that-still-exist/” Jul 24, 19:26
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Thank the Good Lord ScotGov doesn’t have control of North Sea licensing, eh? They’d have shut in the entire place…” Jul 24, 19:22
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Good post, FC. You’re understanding why, outside of the UK, Scotland is as likely to split apart as it is…” Jul 24, 19:10
Hatey McHateface on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““tartaned up and kilted bourgeoisie strutting about” Crivens, help m’boab! Some cunning cant maist hae telt them they were aboot…” Jul 24, 19:01
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Nothing inadvertent almost it, Dan – just a statement of the obvious. Please name me a democratic union of formerly…” Jul 24, 18:20
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Well aye, guilty as charged Judge Mark, but when one’s talking about the proper sensible governance of an entire country…” Jul 24, 18:17
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: ““we have to grow our tax revenues…” You have to pay some Tax in the first place. Talking of which,…” Jul 24, 18:17
100%Yes on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Dan, The funny thing is the Scot hater who where born in Scotland, when abroad call themselves Scottish and when…” Jul 24, 18:04
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “For a wee guy you talk really big. You and the rest of the pure Yessers are going to do…” Jul 24, 17:53
Dan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “^^^ That’s a very lame post, but I guess Mark jist tried to squeeze in as many derogatory digs as…” Jul 24, 16:53
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Fair enough, sam; but you are quoting the opinion of Jim Cuthbert, a single civil servant, albeit a well-informed one,…” Jul 24, 16:40
Lorncal on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “I’m not into male-female rivalry, Mark/H McH. There has never, to my knowledge been a matriarchy in human history because,…” Jul 24, 16:39
Lorncal on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Proselytise means to aggressively push your religion/ideology/whatever on to others, not to give them a wee lecture and a couple…” Jul 24, 16:21
sam on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Factchecker says: “Please note: Analysts from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre concluded that the fiscal changes set out in the…” Jul 24, 16:16
factchecker on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “100%Yes says: 24 July, 2026 at 1:36 pm Scotland had a referendum in 2014, I know the Unionist mention it…” Jul 24, 15:24
Mark Beggan on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Colonial. This word is getting thrown about here as if it has some sort of special powers. Just add “colonized”…” Jul 24, 14:15
100%Yes on Ain’t it funny how things change?: “Scotland had a referendum in 2014, I know the Unionist mention it all the time. The day before the referendum…” Jul 24, 13:36
Northcode on The Wheels Of Industry: “There’s a lot of interesting history in your comment, but I think you might be mixing together several different concepts…” Jul 24, 12:51
