The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Scottish Labour in one tweet

Posted on February 24, 2014 by

By an old pal of ours.

duncstarve

Let’s just walk through that one for a moment.

1. Is it “grotesque” that Norway builds up a wealth fund while folk in Africa starve? Why do the borders of “internationalism” arbitrarily stop at Berwick and Carlisle? Should the UK give away all its wealth until it’s no richer than the world’s poorest nation? (If so, which party should we vote for to make that happen, because it certainly isn’t on any Labour manifesto we’ve ever seen.)

What are the rules here? Is it okay if brown people starve, but not white people? Is it only Scotland that isn’t allowed to be wealthy while there’s poverty anywhere else on the planet? Or is there a set radius within which “poverty solidarity” applies? If so, what is it? 100 miles? 1000 miles?

2. If the people of England vote Tory, we know that Scottish votes can’t change the UK government. So why must Scots starve when they don’t have to? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a non-starving country next door that unfortunate English people could flee to?

3. Does the tweet mean that Labour is now conceding that an independent Scotland WOULD be wealthier than the rest of the UK? Is that finally an official acknowledgement that “pooling and sharing resources” does indeed mean “Scotland subsidising England even more than it does now”?

After all, it doesn’t help anyone who’s poor and hungry in Manchester to know that someone in Motherwell or Montrose is suffering too – you can’t eat someone else’s hunger. The only conceivable way it could make a difference to them is if they’d be losing money by the UK losing Scotland. In which case, why won’t Labour ever admit that’s the case?

We know the answers to all of those questions, of course. Labour takes the Scottish vote for granted in Westminster elections, so it wants to divert money south that’s being – electorally speaking – wasted on Scotland, to bribe swing constituencies in England with. The people with the most by far to lose from a Yes vote are Scottish Labour MPs (and wannabe Scottish Labour MPs).

(In the context of the UK budget, the subsidy sent south by Scotland is pretty small beer. The Treasury wants to hang onto Scotland for some prestige reasons and because every billion helps – especially with the balance of payments – but at the end of the day it’ll get by fine without us, whether Labour- or Tory-run.)

In just 18 words of a single sentence, the tweet at the top of this page lays bare the cynicism and self-interest at the rotten heart of Scottish Labour. Remember it when they tell you that it’s in Scotland’s best interests to vote No.

Because their definition of “best interests” is the freedom to starve when other people starve, so long as Ian Davidson, Anas Sarwar, Margaret Curran et al hang onto their fat expense accounts, subsidised dining and the promise of ermine. They don’t give a damn about the people of Scotland.

And don’t just take our word for that. They’ll tell you themselves.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

122 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
tartanfever

The tweet of a man desperate to get into office with UK Labour.

Jiggsbro

There really is no excuse for Duncan Hothersall.

Robert Louis

Is it grotesque for Iain Davidson to pocket over 100k per year, while some of his constituents starve?

Heck, this kind of nonsense is really easy once you start.

Jason F

It shows that Scottish Labour either know that people are starving in the UK now or think that people in the rest of the UK would starve after independence, they should really be questioning why that is the case, admitting they helped it happen, and then trying to do something about it.

frost

As utterly wrong and misguided Duncan is, you shouldn’t give him the oxygen of publicity. He’s probably knocking one off at the fact he’s made it back onto Wings again.

Alfresco Dent

That Hothersall chap really is a self-serving wee prick! At least he appears to speak the truth from time to time.

Cheryl

We could always build a wealth fund in London and feed the UK.

Stevie

Raving BritNat D Hothershall would prefer the community of Scotland’s children go hungry, cold, ragged and uneducated and inevitably take to drugs and crime. He would have us all enter some insane political suicide pact so that we all go down together. Well, here’s news Duncan – we are all down and the only chance for the country of Scotland to have a decent chance at a decent life is away from Westminster. You are a blinded (I hope) and banal politician with no sense of moral priority. Labour is your clarion call and you don’t even know what that means anymore.

McHaggis

D Hothersall…
a man so desperate to get on the Labour gravy train he sold his principles, his last shred of decency and probably both his grannies to get one shot in the trough.

A man who can twist words to suit whatever Labour sycophancy he is pursuing on any given day.

His tongue is so far up the arse of Labour Scotland its tickling their tonsils.

A man so bereft of scruples and beliefs, he simply regurgitates whatever Labour soundbite is the order of the day with no thought other than ‘will this get me a chance of being nominated for election somewhere, anywhere…

muttley79

Duncan Hothersall is unacceptable.

Kirriereoch

Maybe someone could guide Mr Hothersall to the ideas proposed by Robin McAlpine:

“Perhaps we should pay a proportion of our annual ‘direct debit’ payment not to the Treasury but to local authorities in the North of England, Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, the Midlands…

Better still, perhaps we should set up large cooperative development funds in these areas and put all our payments into them, allowing the people of the North of England and so on to manage their own resources. Scotland could send them money in a way London never would. ‘You can’t do that’ screams Boris Johnstone. Sure we can Boris.”

link to bellacaledonia.org.uk

That is far more likely to see wealth reach deprived areas of the rest of the UK than the current arrangements.

Henry Sloan

I’d reply to him on Twitter, but I have promised myself never to debate with a troll.

John B

“Labour takes the Scottish vote for granted”

If this is the case then they may be in for another shock. They took votes for granted for Holyrood and look where it got them.

Do we have any hard evidence to support the idea that Labour are now working harder to maintain their vote than they were doing before the last Holyrood elections? If they are not doing this, then they are sleepwalking into another Holyrood defeat, and even the possibility of losing several Westminster seats.

Does anyone have any info on the mood of Scottish Labour at the moment?

And what % of Labourites are in the Yes camp?

DougtheDug

If the English electorate vote in Governments who squander their money and rip up the welfare state that’s their business but that doesn’t mean we have to hand over our money and our welfare state to be ripped up too.

Proud Cybernat

An independent Scotland would be better placed to help other countries (including those in the rUK if it needed it) since the SG (if they are voted into power after the first indy Scotland GE) has put forward a higher & of foreign financial aid.

Will Westminster please stop rejecting EU offers of help to fund our food banks as some of them have no food left.

muttley79

How the fuck did Hothersall manage to rise up to the position he is at in SLAB? I know you can say the same for Stairheid Curran and Lamont, Davidson, Bailie, Sarwar, and a whole host of others. But why did they let Hothersall rise so far up SLAB?

scottish_skier

Note sure if this has been posted. Related.

link to archive.is

English group urges a ‘Yes’

THE pro-independence campaign has attracted a new and unexpected recruit:

England.

Backed by academics, writers, green activists and left-wing politicians…the group urges Scots to ignore him [Cameron] and take a once-in-a-lifetime chance to vote Yes.

In a letter to the Sunday Herald, it says the prospect of a future “beyond the oppressive and depressing Westminster political consensus is thrilling”, adding: “We don’t see or fear Scottish independence as separation, we look forward to it as a better way of living together.”

Paula Rose

The next Labour manifesto will put all previous communist manifestoes to shame then?

frost

If the likes of Kezia Dugdale can get elected to Holyrood then there’s no reason why Hothersall couldn’t.

muttley79

@Rev Stu

I am not sure. Is Hothersall not chairman of some SLAB branch? Even having him as an activist is embarrassing.

a Supporter

DH’s tweet is another example of a few implicit admissions about Scotland’s oil wealth I’ve seen over the last few days. Cameron’s offer that UK would back up investment in N Sea oil is a tacit admission that the oil is worth a great deal. And in the English D Mail today along with the bumf about Cameron’s visit there was also a box setting out who owned what in the N Sea and it was accurate vis a vis Scotland’s share. The text also moaned that the SNP wanted to move the current boundary further south into England’s area to ‘steal’ what little England has.

These are big statements which nullify a lot of the arguments the NO campaign has been using during the past two years.

Paul Cowan

Perhaps once Scotland becomes independent and wealthy she could play the same foreign policy games as the Statist Elites in London and meddle in the affairs of her less fortunate neighbour. We could “punch above our weight” by waving our “chequebook” and sending development aide money to encourage separatism in the North of England because after all Taxpayers “money is no object” and we would be supporting the cause of “freedom”.

(caution: comment my contain traces of sarcasm)

Calgacus MacAndrews

Foodbanks with no food in Scotland while the LabConDem dinosaurs in this clip enjoy subsidised meals in the House of Lords is way beyond grotesque.

HandandShrimp

Duncan doesn’t have to worry. Darling said there was only 2 billion barrels left. Better Together fall over themselves to tell us what a shite wee country we are and how we would be poorer than Zimbabwe because we are so fucking useless.

The moment there is any suggestion we might actually do OK we are then all the bastards under the sun. Labour are as weird as hell.

muttley79

If Hothersall is unacceptable WTF does that make Michael Forsyth? *scared face*

Macart

FFS

The mere existence of food banks and chronic child poverty in Scotland is F*****G GROTESQUE.

Mr Hothersall needs to take a step back and have a look around at the travesties created by his preferred style of government.

Macart

P.S. Apologies for the swerries.

Heather McLean

DougtheDug says:
“If the English electorate vote in Governments who squander their money and rip up the welfare state that’s their business but that doesn’t mean we have to hand over our money and our welfare state to be ripped up too.”

AMEN to that!

Mynas

On reflection I think Duncan has a point. So to rip off an idea from a few months back… We set up a UK aid Fund, contribute significant sums to it and use that to fund anti poverty grants and loans across the former British Empire including the former nations of the old United Kingdom.

JLT

Absolutely priceless!

Who …the f*** are these clowns?

Do they actually hear themselves? Seriously???

Indy_Scot

So once we were too wee, too poor and too stupid to become Independent, but now that boths sides agree that the oil is a windfall of trillions of pounds to whoever controls it, we are supposed to feel guilty for Scotland potentially becoming one of the worlds riches countries overnight.

It’s funny I cannot remember such concerns for folk in Scotland while the South squandered 40 years of oil while running Scotland into the ground

Murray McCallum

I take it Duncan has zero savings as that would be grotesque as long as some folk in the UK had none?

I also thought he was a business person. I hope it’s a not for profit?

I hope he is not a “do as I say, not as I do” type person.

Craig M

The irony. There’s cash flowing from the North Sea at the moment and people are starving! I’ve said this before and I will say it again. Labour Unionists are sociopaths. Look up the definition if you are unaware.
I doubt self awareness if something they possess.

Lanarkist

Westminster and the City of London building up a wealth fund using Scottish resources whilst the rest of the UK outside London starve is grotesque!

There, fixed that for you Dunc.

Findlay Farquaharson

this guy must be trying to impress someone, didnt realise sycophancy could reach such levels.

Robin Ross

The universality principle is a favourite argument in the Labour anti-independence arsenal – “I care as much for the poor of Manchester as I do for the poor of Motherwell” – as it has an odour of sanctity about it (as well as the inevitable alliteration – you’ll never hear Johann Lamont care as much for the poor of Manchester as she does for the people of Drumnadrochit.)

Apart from the fact that J Lamont’s remit does not run south of the Border, there is precious little she can do about the poor in Scotland let alone anywhere else as long as IDS and his cronies have power over the welfare state. Thus, the more often we hear the universality principle trotted out, the more often we can highlight its inherent weakness and contradiction while at the same time stress that a sound Scottish economy can play a responsible part internationally.

Roddy Macdonald

I fear it’s a mistake to feed the useless wee nyaff’s narcissism. Other than spend all day every day on twitter, I’m at a loss to work out what the point of Hothersall is.

David

How much does Duncan Hothersall earn?

HandandShrimp

Likewise apologies for the cussing, been a difficult day in the more mundane things of life and was letting off a bit steam. I blame Duncan for making it easy 🙂

scottish_skier

Strange, but there’s no mention of the oil story on BT’s site or facebook page.

chapmankillie

Surely the folk in the rest of the UK only continue to starve if they continue to prioritise and vote they way they have accustomed too? That’s what’s grotesque. No?

MochaChoca

Doesn’t the finance sector in London dwarf North Sea output? A wee slice of that and hey presto! – No food banks anywhere in rUK either. They could even use the tax revenues from the city to start a sovereign wealth fund.

Once they actually start collecting the taxes that is. And they better not let on to the merchant bankers where those taxes are actually being spent or they’d end up with some posh version of the English riots on their hands.

Marcia

Reading between the lines of his tweet there is an admission that Scotland is far wealthier than the rUK. It cannot be as the rest of Labour/Tories/Libs say the opposite. It is up to the rUK to make sure their citizens don’t starve. Also that Labour will be useless in the rUK.

Chris

Wow, that’s emotional blackmail- we have gone from subsidy junkies to taking food from the starving!

gillie

Pooling and sharing poverty – Labour’s new welfare policy

Clootie

We can only focus on local change OR watch it all be wasted by Westminster.

If all the Westminster parties wish to dance to the Tory values of middle England then why should we be held to ransom. If they value Trident and son of Trident above feeding people what can we do except carve a different path.If the main parties are happy that the gap between rich and poor grows every faster we have the right to seek an alternative.

If we wish to share our wealth that is one thing. To have our wealth taken is another.

twenty14

I’m away to my bed wee’r, stupider and poorer than I was when I woke up this morning – God bless you Mr Cameron Sir

turnip_ghost

o/t

just came back from a debate at the RG University in Aberdeen. it was interesting but I felt the yes side weren’t all that strong. BT got to give the old “1200 more spent per head” etc and they weren’t rebutted. Hmmmmm.

Apparently it will be released as a podcast if you want to take a drink with every negative thing that’s said.

My personal disdain goes to Richard Baker’s answer to the question “If an independent Scotland was an animal, which would it be?” (Yes replied, we already are a Unicorn)

hIs reply “A wee cowering, timerous beastie wondering how it’s going to pay it’s way”

What a genuine….

G H Graham

Feel free Mr. Hothersall to share the percentage of your net annual income you donate every month to the poor.

After all, you do believe in pooling & sharing resources, right?

And is there any chance, that some of those recipients live in say, Botswana or Bognor or Belfast of Bellshill?

Dcanmore

It’s okay, Duncan just wants everyone to starve equally.

How about all Sottish Labour MP’s give up a year’s salary to ensure no foodbanks are devoid of food, for the struggle, the common cause and all that… Oh silly me the gravy train doesn’t pull up to a food bank does it.

Just a thought Dunc, but maybe if Labour hadn’t left the country £700bn in debt (at the time) in trying to out-Tory the previous government and leaving little notes at the Treasury saying ‘I’m afraid there’s no money left, good luck!’ Then maybe that scale of incompetence between two chancers of the exchequer wouldn’t have left communities to be so vulnerable today. I absolutely despise Tories of all colours!

But you know what, Duncan doesn’t bat an eyelid to any of that because to him every year is year zero.

Thepnr

Duncan Hothersall? Who is he other than an addicted twitter poster who posts mostly crap. Where is his pro-union blog with a million unique views.

Even his idea of what Labour now stands for shows his ignorance, Duncan New Labour is not Labour. Supporters are deserting in droves, you will never sit in any parliament.

Your type piss me right off, I voted Labour for the last 40 years only to see absolutely useless imposters just like you hijack the party. You have been exposed, smell the coffee and call it a day.

Desimond

“wannabe Scottish Labour MPs”

Oh Duncan, you just got served!

Onwards

What is grotesque is the failure to set up an oil fund over the last 30 years.

When fracking gets going in England, rest assured the local councils will be the first to get a nice cut.

And if it comes to fairness, then Scotland already exports a big chunk of population, jobs, wealth to London every year, and this will continue after independence.
We *deserve* a wealth fund to balance the scales a bit.

And the ability to provide some security for future generations is more ethically sound than just pissing it away until it is gone.

What is so wrong with looking out for your own country first?

I wonder if this guy won the lottery he would split it evenly amongst all the residents in his street..

dramfineday

Macart

“P.S. Apologies for the swerries.” no need for apologies old chap.

The real obscenity is the fact that we have cold and hungry people in our land of plenty – how long before rickets arrive I wonder?

Your people had control of it all Mr Hothersall and they proved themselves lacking in both skill and imagination to manage or indeed use it wisely.

Chris

According to the most recent GERS figures (2011-2012) Scotland effectively subsidised the rUK by £4.4Bn.

link to yesscotland.net

To put this subsidy into perspective, the spending in the rUK in 2011-2012 was £629bN, meaning that Scotland subsidised 0.7% of rUK spending in that financial year.

I am sure that rUK will be able to find a way to plug such a small hole in their income without requiring their citizens to starve, for example, tax avoidance in 2010-2011 was estimated to have cost the UK £9Bn.

link to gov.uk

Nkosi

People are starving already there are food bank. I find that fact abhorrent in a modern “First World” society. That alone is all I need to vote YES to try to ensure we can eradicate food banks from Scotland. Once we have done that we can send humanitarian aid to England to help get rid of any food banks they have. But not one penny to Westminster anymore, we shall do the humanitarian through recognised charities.

Grant

Just ignore the troll.

CameronB

I think it is grotesque that I am powerless to influence the selection of blue or red Tories in Westminster, because Scotland’s political subordination was ensured 300 years before universal suffrage.

This map isn’t working very well now, but it is the best national maps I’ve found of multiple deprivation (both Scotland and England). Fiddle with the focus a bit and you will get national views of where needs based allocation of resources will be focused.

link to casa.oobrien.com

@ Duncan Hothersall

Are you really sponsoring IngSoc (English Socialism)?
link to en.wikipedia.org

Calgacus MacAndrews

@twenty14 says:
I’m away to my bed wee’r, stupider and poorer than I was when I woke up this morning – God bless you Mr Cameron Sir

Cameron: Capital Dear Boy

Other Toff: Small Port?

Cameron: Lochinver?

(apologies to John McGrath)

SquareHaggis
Camz

Here’s some fun.

link to bbc.co.uk

“Ukraine crisis: Russia steps up Ukraine rhetoric”

When we read:

“Scotland crisis: England steps up Scotland rhetoric”

we’ll know the BBC are finally getting the picture.

John Boyes

The SS Great Britain is sinking and there’s only lifeboats for 10% of the passengers. In that situation it’s clearly the case that no-one should get into a lifeboat and all should perish together. Aye, my erse.

joe kane

When in government the Labour Party extended the DWP sanctions regime to include single parents (yes, Labour were willing to starve the children of unemployed working class people) and disabled people (yes, Labour were also quite willing to starve people in wheelchairs).

In the last years of the Labour Government, it was sanctioning an average of 150,000 people a year. These were people who had already proven they had no visible means of income and relied on the pittance known as British social security to feed themselves.

geeo

Without wishing to sound glib,that is like saying it is obscene for a GP on £100k per year referring patients to a foodbank.

It may seem harsh to hear for some people,and I have no wish to come across as heartless,but the bottom line is that when we vote Yes then it is up to the rUK politicians and their electorate to sort out themselves.

Having said that, the SNP have shown real human compassion by offering to take what they see as a fair share of debt interest repayments which they are under no obligation to take,so as to lessen the negative effects on rUK government and its population.

Look what we get in return,yet the offer is left on the table.What more proof is needed that a Yes vote brings with it a fair and just ethos to politics in Scotland.

Calgacus MacAndrews

From what Dave is telling me today, if I vote YES, do I get a £200 Billion Cashback?

Paul Martin

From the same party that was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”

HandandShrimp

From the same party that was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”

Not ordinary Scottish people though, they are a shower of plebs.

Alba4Eva

Rev… you really need to do a piece just with the tweet above, Jim Hood and Michael Kelly video clips and any more that have been collected or are yet to be.

No words needed in the piece… just a compilation of vids and images to go through. That would do it I think.

Jimbo

Would Duncan think it grotesque that David Sainsbury (the billionaire Labour Party Donor and Labour lord), charged poor people money for food?

Does Duncan think it acceptable that a Labour Party member should build up enormous wealth selling food to poor, starving people?

There are people in the Labour Party who are more equal than others, and the likes of Duncan want to make sure it stays that way.

Bill McLean

Hotherstall should be rejected and ignored. It is impossible to describe his blind stupidity without resorting to language that I will not use although he will be well used to it mixing with the rubbish that calls itself Scottish Labour (the New Tories in reality)!

Alt Clut

I’m sixty two, went to live in England at the age of fifteen, and only got back to Scotland a little over a year ago. I’ve been a Constituency Chair and Borough Councillor for Labour in England and, at this moment, I’ve never voted anything but Labour in my life although, based on their obscene stance on INDY, I shall never do so again.

Although, I suppose, I left Scotland before Labour ‘tribalism’ had time to bite on me I am truly baffled that they manage to hold supporters in this country. The venality of the opportunism and currying of favour with the Westminster elite is breathtaking.

In stark contrast, working in the ‘Yes’ campaign is proving inspiring and rewarding compared to the gut wrenching,’there’s nothing else so here goes’ attitude with which I cast Labour votes for so many years.

After forty three years as a Labour voter SLAB has made it completely painless – indeed a great release – for me to permanently leave them behind. The foolish person who scribed this tweet just confirms it all !

Come on Labour voters give your conscience a chance – it’s much easier than you think !

Jack Beck/Scotus

Geeo – indeed, the point about an ethical approach to government is well made! The Scottish Government (even the Lab/Lib one) has always shown a much more ethical approach.

On an O/T note – Here in the US I’ve had no problems at all with the DDOS stuff – see every comment and don’t need to do any of the complicated stuff. Could the attack be targeted on UK residents?

rab_the_doubter

Listening to big shooders Cameron put me in mind of Begbie at the end of Trainspotting.

Linda's back

I see one Cameron’s little helpers,Peter Jones in Hootsman, is suggesting that the UK government will dispute the established North Sea boundaries if we vote YES

link to archive.is

Calgacus MacAndrews

@Mynas says:
We set up a UK aid Fund, contribute significant sums to it and use that to fund anti poverty grants and loans across the former British Empire including the former nations of the old United Kingdom.

A very wise and perceptive suggestion.

We have the experise and admin vehicle to progress this in iScotland ready-and-waiting in DfiD (or maybe soon-to-be SfID) in East Kilbride.

Scotland entered a forced marriage in 1707, but undoubtedly subsequently enjoyed the benefits of our status as joint-but-2nd-class-empire-enforcers for 250 years.

However, these benefit were tainted benefits.
They were tainted by racism, disrespect for other cultures, exploitation, theft, and worse.

In an iScotland we will be able to finally make reparations for these past misdeeds.

In terms of the potential for our engagement with countries and communities and individuals across the planet, this represents what is probably the most significant and history-making global opportunity lying open for all of us to take up.

Just sayin’

Training Day

Mmmm. ITV just reported that Salmond ‘does seem to have lost momentum’ without producing a shred of evidence for that statement. Natch, of the two oil workers they spoke to in the pub one couldn’t see any difference whether the money went to London or Edinburgh, while the other thought things were fine as they are.

Subtlety is certainly not the forte of the English media.

rab_the_doubter

Should that not have been deep pockets and short arms Dave.

Calgacus MacAndrews

@Training Day says:
ITV just reported that Salmond ‘does seem to have lost momentum’

Bollocks … Somebody of Salmond’s heft / girth does not readily lose momentum.

(speaking as a Chartered Engineer)

Iain Hamilton

OT. rev. A comment on a debate site earlier when Wings was cied as a source for some great info:

“some time ago he photoshopped the coffins of dead british soldiers draped in the union flag to make a point”.

“He” is obviously you. Can you shed some light or point me at the original article so I can go “pick a fight”

heedtracker

I don’t know what you see in this idiot. Yes I do. There’s a even bigger Vote NO Welsh Labour twit that CiF’s on the Guardian who goes apeshit if you dare to ask questions about the bloated charlatans that are Labour in Scotland. Plus he says Jojo Lamont is his personal friend. Lucky him.

TYRAN

Duncan Haverhole

Calgacus MacAndrews

Just a random minor point that would have been MEGA-news a couple of months ago, but is small beer these STRANGE DAYS.
(apologies if anybody has picked this up earler)

On Fred MacAulay on BBC Radio Scotland this morning resident tech guru Gary Marshall was asked a question around DDOS attacks, and (seemingly unprompted) said that, as an example, it was currently happening to “both pro-independence and anti-independence websites”.

I immediately thought:

“Great news … some truth emerging (slowly) on BBC Sotland.”

Then I thought:

“Are there REALLY any anti-independence websites?
And if there are, who WOULD BE AR$ED bothering to DDOS such sad, pathetic, excretions.”

(Knowing that no self-respecting Cybernat would in any way be AR$ED.)

Make of it what you will.

The Rough Bounds

This is exactly the same baloney as we got during the ’79 campaign. We had leaflets and badges and posters everywhere saying ‘It’s Scotland’s Oil’ and then the No campaigners started to feed into the latent Scottish sense of fairplay and complained that the Yes campaign was making Scotland ‘greedy’ and that it wouldn’t be fair on poor wee England if we kept the oil for ourselves.

The sad thing is that a lot of the Scots believed it, and many voted No because of this ridiculous feeling of ‘guilt without cause’…and then we got Thatcher, and the realisation of what they had done to themselves at last began to slowly sink in to the Scottish psyche.

Well sod ’em. It’s Scotland’s Oil and we’ll bloody well do with it as we please, and we’ll make damn sure that any largess on our part will be given to the deserving poor, and not to that bunch of grasping, money grabbing bastards down in Westminster.

heedtracker

“Are there REALLY any anti-independence websites?

Check out the Man of Action PM Cameron takes control of the burden that is, Scottish oil BBC propaganda pics. Bet Norway wishes they had massed ranks of Lord Snooties to save them from the hell that is their huge oil reserves.

link to bbc.co.uk

Calgacus MacAndrews

@heedtracker says:
“Are there REALLY any anti-independence websites?

Sorry … I meant “APART FROM THE MASSED RANKS OF ALL THE F**KING MSM ones etc. etc. etc. etc.”

heedtracker

@ Calgacus MacAndrews. lol. I know.

heedtracker

BBC Radio 2 news at 10 tonight went on and on about the “burden of oil” with some wet fart acting like a driller fae Aberdeen and his long dreary vote NO FUD was the terrifyingly costly costs of rig decommission and how the UK really wants all of that too so vote no and bettertogether Whoopee.

Hope the West of Scotland uni is doing BBC vote NO propaganda research on more than just the god awful BBC in Scotland teatime propaganda splurges. Its vote NO BBC everywhere, on every wave length.

Seasick Dave

Alt Clut

Go on yersel!

BTW, Mr Hothersall, how does this story register on your moral outrage sensors?

link to dailymail.co.uk

thejourneyman

In an independent Scotland skilled workers from the south will find work and higher standard of living in Scotland where they can live, pay tax and balance our challenges with age demographics and pensions. Could be most of our future immigrants will be English. A successful independent Scotland will be good for England.

David Agnew

Ah Duncan Hothersall. I am always wondering if he truly is demented with his turns of swivel eyed logic, or if he really doesn’t have a clue how idiotic his defence of a broken UK actually is. Are we really expected to believe that it would never occur this man, that the fact that UK citizens are starving is a bad thing – not a rallying call for union?
Does he truly believe that Scotland should also starve to show solidarity? Does he not think that people starving right now in the UK is also grotesque? Where is his anger. Where is his passion for justice for something he keeps telling us, provides Scots with the best of both worlds?

You just know that if you were to challenge him, he’d twist it some way or laugh it off with a silly joke. He’d mock your outrage by telling how it wasn’t a Hollywood movie. You could point out that indeed it wasn’t, and that real peoples lives are being scarred by this. But deep down you know he’d flip you off with another silly little joke.

After reading two years of this man’s thoughts in defence of union, I have to come to a simple conclusion.

That man is a lying cunt.

Calgacus MacAndrews

@Seasick Dave says:
BTW, Mr Hothersall, how does this story register on your moral outrage sensors?

Sorry! I didn’t manage to read past the first “multi-millionaire” word …

muttley79

@heedtracker

“There’s a even bigger Vote NO Welsh Labour twit that CiF’s on the Guardian who goes apeshit if you dare to ask questions about the bloated charlatans that are Labour in Scotland. Plus he says Jojo Lamont is his personal friend. Lucky him.”

Who is that? It is not Niclas is it?

heedtracker

@ muttley79 Yep mad old Welsh charidy worker, Labour in Scotland activist, friend nae lover of the poor and Stair Heid Rammy. I don’t think I ever been sworn at so much in my short life as I have been by good old sweary vote NO Welsh Niclas:-)

muttley79

He is a nasty piece of work.

heedtracker

@ muttley79, he says he’s leaving Scotland with the YES win so that’s one more in christ knows how many reasons there are to vote YES.

Geoff Huijer

I would not give this man the time of day.

His name pops up on all sorts of sites spouting
the usual mixed-up, myopic dirge.

I like to listen to different points of view but
when someone is s terminally blinded by his own opinion
and self-importance it’s far more sensible to just let them go on with it. Waste of time otherwise.

‘Socialist’ my erse.

west_lothian_questioner

Mr H. is asking me to consider the people of rUK in my decision on how to vote in a referendum about Scotland reclaiming independence. That’s fair enough. I’ll consider them after I finish considering the people of Scotland. I’ll stop considering that once I put my ballot into the box.

Or maybe…

Sorry Mr H. … I know that every word in that tweet is true. However I refuse your guilt-trip. If rUK has problems after we depart on our own road, that’ll be their own government’s fault won’t it? I won’t have a vote in electing their government, ergo… not my problem. I’ll put spare change in a tin at the corner shoppie maybe.

thoughtsofascot

The Union had a chance to do this. it had a chance to use it to spread equality to all. Instead it pissed it up against a wall like a profligate drunkard, and continues to do so.

ScotsCanuck

The Forsyth/Lang video had me cussing so loud, the profanities must have been heard at least two blocks away. Not for nothing was (is) Forsyth known as “Thatcher’s spawn” … ("Tractor" - Ed)ous, evil wee contemporary Menteith. I hated Thatcher for her “undeserving poor” & “society does not exist” mentality but she took the fire that came her way for those policies. In Forsyth I saw a skulking Uriah Heep … “ever so humble, Mistress” feathering his (future) nest but never exposing himself to Scottish opinion, until booted out by said same. Now his privileged lifestyle is threatened he reverts to his Heep alter ego, with threats but just like Heep however, the threats are empty.

mr thms

link to derekbateman1.files.wordpress.com

“If you look at Norway’s oil fund, the annual interest payments and dividends are around £14 billion profit on investment already made, which would still be there if the wells ran dry tomorrow. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that Britain’s revenues from North Sea oil this year will be less than half that.”

Camz

Labour? Most of them have never seen a day of it in their lives. The ‘Gravy Party’ would be more appropriate. If they had half the decency they claim, they would give their expenses to food banks.

john king

“I’d reply to him on Twitter, but I have promised myself never to debate with a troll.”

I stopped myself mid tweet for that very reason.

Tamson

@dramfineday:

Rickets is back already – didn’t you know that particular “Victorian value” was on the rise again last year?

link to news.yahoo.com

john king

“From what Dave is telling me today, if I vote YES, do I get a £200 Billion Cashback?”

Would you like that in tens or twenties?

Macart

@Dramfineday

If any form of twisted logic could force me into a fit of the swerries or in particular any tactic, it would be the false moral blackmail bullshit that Mr Hothersall is espousing.

Now that is both grotesque and despicable.

SquareHaggis

Would you like that in tens or twenties?

Not fussed except Scottish notes please 🙂

Ian Brotherhood

Tuesday Teaser:

Which is more of a threat to Wings?

Anonymous Russian DDOSsers

Duncan Hothersall

Ehrmm…I’ll have to ask the audience.

Marcia

Audience say DDOS.

Helena Brown

Mr Hothersall thinks he is being attacked on WOS because he is a threat, well Mr Hothersall as I had very little knowledge of you until I checked out your Twitter page. I would like to disabuse you of that. I would say that people are commenting here because you are a silly prat.

Marcia

Dunfermline on 18th August?

link to yesdunfermline.com

Marcia

a summary of the BfS events. Now off to do my bit today.

link to businessforscotland.co.uk

Alexandra-M-

Helena “Mr Hothersall thinks he is being attacked on WOS because he is a threat, well Mr Hothersall as I had very little knowledge of you until I checked out your Twitter page. I would like to disabuse you of that. I would say that people are commenting here because you are a silly prat.”

Indeed. His “Threat” tweet did make me laugh, but it was mostly cringeworthy – as are the majority of his tweets looking through his page.

I do wonder how many in the No camp are actually planning to vote yes, but just too afraid to admit it? The No voters doth protest too much, me thinks.

Morag

Iain Hamilton at 10.33 above.

Looks as if nobody has answered your question. The Wings post being referred to is this one.
link to wingsoverscotland.com

It is a straightforward unaltered picture with an added caption. The only photoshopping that was done was the blurring of car number plates, which is pretty standard.

Macandroid

Where are the ghosts of the dead Scots who would be alive now if the oil revenue had come to Scotland and been used to eliminate poverty and deprivation, build more homes and schools and re-vitalise industry, creating more jobs and encouraging Scots to look for opportunity, not abroad, but at home?

To my mind there is blood on the hands of those who hid the value of oil from us all, as a lot of unnecessary deaths would have been avoided if Scotland had received the oil revenue.

CJ

I`ll definitely be considering the folks of the rUK when casting my vote. The problem Scotland has is that they now believe the subsidy myth so a NO vote isn`t even an option (like it ever was) as the power will be back in their hands and we`ll have no leverage to resist the billions of more cuts to our budget.
This ancient nation of ours has been under siege by the British media for as long as i`ve been on this planet. The sheer scale of the lies we are bombarded with daily to crush any aspirations we have is truly scandalous.
If we`re gonna win this the media have to be shown up for what they are and our aspirations must be fired up. The official campaign period is when the gloves MUST come off.
I hope everyone who can will be out there campaigning, when people see huge numbers of Yes campaigners compared to the few No ones it should be obvious which way the wind is blowing.

Tim

It is, of course, illogical. If Scotland gets the chance to build a wealth fund, there will be *no* “rest of the UK” anyway. That’s kinda the point of independence, isn’t it?

HandandShrimp

Duncan is not a threat. I see him more as an ally, albeit an unintentional one. His Twitter escapades are often the light relief of the day.

Should we love bomb Duncan to make him feel better?

dramfineday

Tamson and Macart

Guys, my face burns with embarrassment and my heart with rage that these monsters have been loosed upon our people – AGAIN – while the greedy haul up the drawbridge and shout NO.

SLabber

O/T but looking forward to seeing Johann Lamont twerking during the debate on TV tonight to deflect attention from her Debater of the Year skills.

Iain Hamilton

Thank you very, very much Morag.

I’m off tae pick a fight…

Morag

Let us know how you get on!


  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,668 Posts, 1,202,275 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • sarah on The People You Most Suspected: “What drivel, piffle, spiel by Kerr. If he can’t tell the truth i.e. that they can’t afford this number of…Nov 16, 22:12
    • Shug on The People You Most Suspected: “12 by-elections lost in short order. Yep bug car crash aheadNov 16, 22:10
    • James on The People You Most Suspected: “Prick.Nov 16, 21:57
    • James on The People You Most Suspected: “smart-arsed half-educated sophistry merchant. Check.Nov 16, 21:56
    • Hatey McHateface on The People You Most Suspected: “There’s a nasty war on TURABDIN. Most Scots will be glad to see our defences being bolstered. If that means…Nov 16, 19:54
    • sarah on The People You Most Suspected: “Jazz festival, someone reported yesterday. He’s got no sense of responsibility, has he? 🙂Nov 16, 19:10
    • Hatey McHateface on The People You Most Suspected: “Just imagine how much would be wiped off the share price of any company that showed an advert true to…Nov 16, 17:50
    • robertkknight on The People You Most Suspected: “Saturday, Rev! Where’s “Holiday Boy” ???Nov 16, 17:20
    • George Ferguson on The People You Most Suspected: “Speaking of chest binders and Wokeness in general. £800 million wiped off the share price of Boots for a Woke…Nov 16, 17:16
    • Hatey McHateface on The People You Most Suspected: ““Scotland’s net zero emissions target date of 2045 is ahead of many other countries, including the UK whose target is…Nov 16, 16:50
    • Hatey McHateface on The People You Most Suspected: “I wonder why you can’t refute my logic and disprove my facts then. It aught to be child’s play for…Nov 16, 16:36
    • Hatey McHateface on The People You Most Suspected: “There’s a big improvement when you plagiarise somebody elses post, James. How else could you ever deploy multi-syllable words? My…Nov 16, 16:20
    • Michael Laing on The People You Most Suspected: “He’s doing it!Nov 16, 16:13
    • Michael Laing on The People You Most Suspected: “You post the biggest amount of steaming excrement on here, Fuckface, but you’re really outdoing yourself now. I hope you…Nov 16, 15:59
    • Mike D on The People You Most Suspected: “The Snp/ green government wont be deciding net zero for Scotland ya prat, That decision when and if it happens,…Nov 16, 15:51
    • Republicofscotland on The People You Most Suspected: “So the Mayor of Scotland (Swinney) and his Vichy government are looking for people to take redundancies at their HQ.…Nov 16, 15:39
    • moixx on The People You Most Suspected: ““…the REV has always got it – and not just got it, but gets right to the marrow of it…Nov 16, 15:16
    • James on The People You Most Suspected: “What’s this? Oh aye I remember, it’s a “smart-arsed half-educated sophistry merchant” in full flow. Prick.Nov 16, 14:56
    • Alf Baird on The People You Most Suspected: ““As a colony, you’re anybody’s.” Aye, deid richt: the colonized ‘are made bystanders’ in thair ain laund; they are ‘out…Nov 16, 14:46
    • SteepBrae on The People You Most Suspected: “Absolutely.Nov 16, 13:45
    • sarah on The People You Most Suspected: “I’m sure that very many more folk will be going. This is just one source that I have noticed. I…Nov 16, 13:17
    • SteepBrae on The People You Most Suspected: “Many thanks, Sarah.Nov 16, 12:59
    • TURABDIN on The People You Most Suspected: “As a colony, you’re anybody’s. ANNOUNCING THE COMMISSIONING OF THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER,  USS SCOTLAND https://www.armadainternational.com/2024/05/uk-opens-additional-us-p-8-facilities-at-raf-lossiemouth-enhancing-integration/ https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/funds-allocated-for-us-to-base-p-8-poseidon-aircraft-in-scotland-alongside-british-aircraft/ Rumour has it the «Scottish…Nov 16, 12:43
    • sarah on The People You Most Suspected: “On facebook “The Crossgate Centre supports Alex Salmond”, people have said they will be going. These are individuals, not an…Nov 16, 11:58
    • Alf Baird on The People You Most Suspected: ““Lets go wi the status quo?” So long as colonialism is permitted to continue, an oppressed nation and culture are…Nov 16, 11:21
    • SteepBrae on The People You Most Suspected: “O/T Does anyone know whether arrangements are underway for people to gather to pay their respects to Alex on the…Nov 16, 11:12
    • Hatey McHateface on The People You Most Suspected: ““thousands of Scots kids go hungry” Is this in “scotland” then? Here in Scotland, we’re supposedly not having any kids.…Nov 16, 10:41
    • Hatey McHateface on The People You Most Suspected: “Fa’s this gen0cide and ethnic cleansing ganging aboot then? The only wan ah ken aboot is the wan in Eastern…Nov 16, 10:20
    • Alf Baird on The People You Most Suspected: “Such is life in all colonies, where the development of the native people must always be limited – deprived of…Nov 16, 08:24
    • Alf Baird on The People You Most Suspected: “On “pointing out the truth” Such is the psychology of colonialism (Cesaire). Where the defence mechanisms of a colonial mindset…Nov 16, 08:18
  • A tall tale



↑ Top
180
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x