Almost a year ago we ran a short piece mocking a Scotsman headline which claimed that “THOUSANDS” of people had signed a Tory anti-referendum petition, when the actual number was a strictly-accurate-but-pathetic TWO thousand.
We didn’t think that could ever be beaten for technically-true hyperbolic exaggeration, but we’d reckoned without the bold boundary-pushing ingenuity of the Daily Express.
Hundreds of thousands? How many hundreds, exactly?
Because when you really want people with their finger on the pulse of Scottish politics to analyse the implications of the Supreme Court decision on Brexit, where else would you go but to Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, to hear from um, former rugby league star and haircut pioneer Martin Offiah?
You very rarely get useful stats about online newspaper readership, so we were quite intrigued by this snippet on tonight’s BBC2 Scotland documentary “Paper Thistle”, about the 200th anniversary of The Scotsman.
We don’t know what the numbers are or how brief the period was, but Wings’ average traffic is higher now than it was in 2014, while we suspect The Scotsman is moving in the opposite direction. For a single-issue website to be anywhere even in the same ballpark as a two-centuries-old broadsheet news brand with scores of full-time writers and production staff and a daily newsstand presence is a remarkable thing indeed.
We might start doing classifieds and sport just to see what happens.
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer in today’s Press & Journal:
55-45 is “far more decisive” than 62-38? We think we’re finally beginning to understand why the last Labour government left the British economy in such a mess.
This is the demented, McCarthyite state of madness the Labour Party has reached:
This is a party now openly rejecting anyone as a member who has ever supported any other party. We’d take a minute to try to explain to them how the arithmetic of that one works out, but they’re a long, long way beyond the grasp of reason now.
One thing you can always guarantee on GERS Day is that the latest set of figures for Scotland’s devolved economy inside the UK will trigger another uncontrolled spurt of “SNP HONEYMOON OVER” articles from the nation’s dogged commentariat.
Today we’ve seen already examples (links below) from two ex-Scotsman editors, Iain Martin and Magnus Linklater, the latter popping up in the Times by way of a rather crass and unpleasant analogy involving Oswald Mosley and the Blackshirts.
And since we’d rather watch “Suicide Squad” again than spend any more time going over the arguments about GERS (and trust us, readers, we don’t say that lightly), we thought it’d be more fun if we finally got round to compiling a semi-definitive list of all the times the collective wisdom of Scotland’s media and opposition has confidently predicted the SNP’s imminent demise.
Angela Eagle isn’t happy in the Labour Party and the Tories need a new leader. STV News Edinburgh may have jumped the gun slightly this evening, but this alternative career path makes a lot of sense.
Knuckle Heid on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “I agree Iain – who are these polling companies talking to?!” Apr 11, 13:13
Geri on Not So Octopus: “Arsey, I don’t need to. A well respected KC has already given his expert, legal opinion. Go look it up.…” Apr 11, 12:42
Northcode on Not So Octopus: ““…no constructive engagement of any sort, just the blanket unreasoning assertion that anyone who disagrees with you is… a unionist.”…” Apr 11, 12:23
Lorncal on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “They’ve posted a photo now, have they? It still looks doctored and seems to be an image that has been…” Apr 11, 12:22
Geri on Not So Octopus: “Alf, I know. Whit a dunce! Maybe we should all club together & buy him a dictionary? Oh hang on,…” Apr 11, 12:19
James on Not So Octopus: “We see you, Yoon.” Apr 11, 12:09
Aidan on Not So Octopus: “@Geri – if you believe that your absurd and paranoid ramblings are shared by a majourity of people, or even…” Apr 11, 12:06
Captain Caveman on Not So Octopus: ““Why are the Unionists here so intolerably kiss-ass to the site host?” Well, I daresay it’s all relative. Basic courtesies…” Apr 11, 12:01
Captain Caveman on Not So Octopus: “Good grief… Well, I very much doubt that an articulate, intelligent and interesting poster like Lorncal will take this, ahem,…” Apr 11, 11:57
agentx on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “It sounds like a clear breach of his disability rights in that they have failed to make reasonable adjustments to…” Apr 11, 11:41
Alf Baird on Not So Octopus: “The colonialist tells the natives they’re not colonized. LoL.” Apr 11, 11:20
Geri on Not So Octopus: “You don’t speak for the majority of Scots, thank fck, so why don’t you pack up yer wee violin. Only…” Apr 11, 11:00
willie on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “As we move towards an election voters might do well to reflect on how this Scottish Government have made provision…” Apr 11, 10:39
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Not So Octopus: “Salmond bequeathed us a sparkling oasis. Sturgeon left us a foetid swamp. Swinney is key-holder of the toxic taphouse.” Apr 11, 10:27
James Che on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “These English registered politicians encouraging perversion sitting in Scotland would be outed if Scots recognised that they are not in…” Apr 11, 10:14
James Che on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “The pedo nest preying like vultures on innocent humans are like an alien species, In day past politicians would have…” Apr 11, 10:00
Alf Baird on Not So Octopus: ““Why is the name in English and not Scots?” Alliance tae Leeberate Scotland Pairty. Thair, sortit!” Apr 11, 09:20
Andy Ellis on Not So Octopus: “@YL 2.04am Same old same old from you and the usual suspects then YL? No no actual ideas, no constructive…” Apr 11, 09:03
Aidan on Not So Octopus: “Why doesn’t Sarah start a fundraiser to have this abusive nut job “James” sent to North Rona for three months?…” Apr 11, 08:54
Iain More on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “On matters of belief – I dont belie the latest Opinion Poll giving the SNP 67 seats and the Greens…” Apr 11, 06:13
Young Lochinvar on Not So Octopus: “Why are the Unionists here so intolerably kiss-ass to the site host? Yeah yeah they’ll dissemble and talk boll0x but…” Apr 11, 02:04
Young Lochinvar on Not So Octopus: “Wilma Flintstone.. I.e. failed Reform candidate (yup folks- a failed Reform candidate 🙂 🙂 🙂 ) Yeah! I know, hilarious…” Apr 11, 00:51
Young Lochinvar on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Beggars “Your” Not “Our” Are you another Cotswold based Right wing paid spammer? Looks like it.. (Old boy)..” Apr 11, 00:37
Blunt Gaper on Not So Octopus: “Too long. With the implosion of Your Party concentrating the nutter vote firmly in Green hands Q Manivanman is my…” Apr 10, 20:44
Black Joan on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “Great work. Thank you. As someone has already pointed out, a “Charles” Rennie has crept into the text, when the…” Apr 10, 19:37
Alf Baird on Do You Believe In The Westwood?: “What do we expect when the colony advertises and recruits for all its top jobs in the metropolitan capital of…” Apr 10, 19:11
Northcode on Not So Octopus: ““This song is brilliant lol” Brilliant, indeed. Professionally produced anti-Trump Persian propaganda. Clever rap rhetoric wrapped in visual rhetoric and…” Apr 10, 19:08
Northcode on Not So Octopus: ““The knives will no doubt be out for him cause the Union fears him.” Aye, Geri, there’s no doubt about…” Apr 10, 18:47
