I’ve just remembered that I meant to leave this pinned to the front page when I shut Wings down as a blog, so here it is. It’s just a short one.
I am willing to bet anyone in the UK any amount of money of their choosing that there will NOT be a second independence referendum in Scotland while Nicola Sturgeon is First Minister.
If you still believe she’ll deliver one, now’s your chance to demonstrate your faith in public AND get yourself some free cash. (It’s a matter of public record that I’ve never failed to pay up on a losing wager.)
So come on, SNP loyalists and true believers, let’s see you. Put your name and the amount you want to bet in the comments below* and let’s find out how much you really trust her. This is an entirely genuine, serious offer and remains open to anyone** until such times as Nicola Sturgeon stands down as First Minister, even if that’s 20 years from now. Any amount you like. I’m waiting keenly for your responses.
.
*PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT EXCEPT TO TAKE THE BET.
**WAGERS FROM GERRY “THE WELCHER” HASSAN NOT ACCEPTED.
Craig Murray is due to be released from HMP Edinburgh a week tomorrow, having served half of an eight-month sentence for contempt of court via “jigsaw identification”. Our latest poll data from Panelbase, surveying 2000 Scottish voters last week, reveals that just a quarter of Scots think that such an offence merits imprisonment.
Readers may find the figures for male and female respondents of note. The full data tables can be downloaded here.
So, in accordance with the wishes of the readership (and despite rather peculiar claims on some sites that all polls in Scotland are now commissioned by Unionists), Wings has its first polling data for you in its present form, relayed without comment.
In association with Panelbase, this month we surveyed 2000 Scottish voters (double the normal sample size) on a couple of subjects. The first question was this:
“Barring unforeseen events, next year Nicola Sturgeon will overtake Alex Salmond as Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister. She took office in November 2014, in a Scotland which was evenly split on the constitution. (Average support for independence in polling was at 50%, compared to the current 48%.)
Which of the following, if any, do you personally regard as her greatest achievement in office?”
Right, as promised, one last piece of admin. (This post will be removed in due time.)
We left yesterday’s piece and the associated poll up for two full days to make sure the people who don’t read Wings at weekends saw it and had the chance to vote in it too. But in truth it was pretty obvious how the vote would go from about 20 minutes in.
When the Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died last month, the first of their songs that popped into my head, for no particular reason, was “Under My Thumb”, a mildly controversial 1966 album track the band never released as a single in the West.
Its most infamous place in history, though, is this.
Until Watts’ death I was only very broadly aware of the events at Altamont Speedway in 1969, a free festival at a racetrack near San Francisco at which four people died in scenes of malevolent chaos and which is widely regarded as the grim headstone of the hippy era.
But on seeing the extraordinary footage above for the first time on the day of Watts’ death – taken from “Gimme Shelter”, notionally the official movie of the show, although the first two-thirds of it are actually a mundane travelogue of the preceding tour dates – I did some proper reading up on it.
And as I did, a horribly familiar feeling started to unfold.
For many years now, whenever I’ve done one of those “Which Political Party Should You Be In?” online quiz things, it always says that I’m a Green, which is weird because I really hate cyclists. Nevertheless, it was still the result when I did one most recently, just last month.
So I decided that for the first time in my life it was finally time to join a political party.
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “‘If Hitler invaded hell..’” Sep 1, 14:00
James on Anything But That: ““My interpretation of the consensus from the BTL comments on the last thread is that Swinney’s playing a blinder by…” Sep 1, 13:59
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Reforms membership is now at 12,000 and rising. Who says Reform want to do a deal? The time the election…” Sep 1, 13:51
am firinn on Anything But That: “I never thought I might be recommending Mr Churchill to Mr Swinney, for I have no time for Mr Churchill,…” Sep 1, 13:45
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “No matter how much Honest John and the other Fabians stamp their feet, if Reform form the next UK government…” Sep 1, 13:45
James Che on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Staying with what STU has posted in relationship to referendums, Scotlands as a Sovereign Country has every right to hold…” Sep 1, 13:37
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: ““Swinney has now dismissed every possible route to [Indy] out of hand” Hmmm. Is that bad? My interpretation of the…” Sep 1, 13:35
Hatey McHateface on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Not much to argue with there. As always, I query the “settled assumption” that once things start to fission, the…” Sep 1, 13:25
Morgatron on Anything But That: “Swinney is a true fascist, refuses in democracy and working with other democratically voted parties. A total arse wipe of…” Sep 1, 13:18
Hatey McHateface on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Naw, MH. The rate per word posting on here is too good. Plus unlimited double rate over the weekend. Also,…” Sep 1, 13:13
Chas on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “I think I have seen similar shite like this on Wings previously. Mind you, only 10,563 times. It never ends.” Sep 1, 13:05
Lorncal on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “The thing that all independence-supporting people need to realise is that England itself, and England-as-the-UK, has changed dramatically in the…” Sep 1, 12:58
laukat on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “It was in relation to the SG announcement that they cut the number of Health Boards from 14 to 2.…” Sep 1, 12:45
Minceheid on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Hatey McHateface says: 1 September, 2026 at 12:11 pm That being the case, with the tax take just about maxxed…” Sep 1, 12:26
Hatey McHateface on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: ““another distraction from the matter of the day” I couldn’t work out what the matter of the day is from…” Sep 1, 12:11
laukat on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “All the talk of how to get to an Indyref is I feel another distraction from the matter of the…” Sep 1, 11:50
James Che on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “If Scotland is being treated illegally by Westminster and the EU as a devolved region of England then the Nation…” Sep 1, 11:46
Hatey Mchateface on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: ““Still waiting for another real leader to emerge who will unite the movement” Wow! You have the difficulty in clear…” Sep 1, 11:28
Hatey McHateface on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Phew, Alf, you’ll have had a narrow escape. Back in May I predicted your comfort zone would consist of another…” Sep 1, 11:20
James Che on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Alf, Indeed, But we will be advised that one part of the 1707 treaty is applicable but not the bits…” Sep 1, 11:16
James Che on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “They say that it is the 1707 treaty of union, its terms, conditions and articles that binds Scotland and England…” Sep 1, 10:51
Luigi on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “How we miss Alex Salmond at this time. He would be running rings round the unionists, fearty nationalists and devolutionists…” Sep 1, 10:47
sam on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Very good, Northcode. Michael Collins believed that British strategic ambiguity was a tactic used to maintain control over Ireland, often…” Sep 1, 10:38
Alf Baird on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: ““it is the parliament for England … that continues a refusal for Scotland to leave the voluntary treaty of union”…” Sep 1, 10:32
Frank Gillougley on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “NC has it. Lo and behold! There’s the straw man for all, right there! A commission. (The sound of nails…” Sep 1, 10:32
James Che on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Scotland and Englands voluntary 1707 treaty of union created the parliament of Great Britain so they say, However the Parliament…” Sep 1, 10:16
Alf Baird on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: ““So you want to get rid of the party of government that’s actually doing what you want.” The SNP ‘Scottish…” Sep 1, 09:58
