Earlier today Gordon Brown gave a speech in London, on a subject and for reasons which are unclear. It was widely trailed in the press, however, as an intervention in the Labour leadership campaign, with the particular goal of stopping Jeremy Corbyn from winning. It was – naturally – broadcast live and in full by the BBC News channel.
Corbyn wasn’t mentioned by name so far as we noticed, but to tell the truth we drifted in and out of the rambling, 49-minute, 30-page monologue full of celebrity namedrops and unconnected anecdotes, hypnotised as we were by Brown’s relentless pacing up and down the room like a caged animal.
Nobody who isn’t getting paid should have to endure the entire grimness of it, so using the magic of technology we’ve compressed it all down to a mere fraction of its length (just 20%) for you, but without losing any of the tone, content or intellectual nuance.
We offer it to you as an elegy. It marks the day that Labour reanimated the walking corpse of the only person left in the party that it considers to have any gravitas – not to win an election, but to try to crush the first man in living memory to enthuse tens of thousands of new members to join a political party in the hope of restoring the values it was created to uphold.
It is the day the soul of the Labour Party finally died.
Michelle Mone, the fake-tan-and-diet-pills tycoon who threatened to leave Scotland if the SNP won the 2007 Holyrood election (but didn’t when they did), then threatened to leave if Yes won the referendum (but did when it didn’t), now lives in a very expensive flat by the Thames in London with a lovely view of Tower Bridge.
So who’d like to see the Order tolerating and defending other people’s ideals in a double-page spread from the latest edition of their house journal, The Orange Torch?
The Daily Record has a major editorial in today’s edition bleating piteously about the way David Mundell and the Conservative government have – to everyone’s complete and utter astonishment, except not so much – ignored the wishes of almost all the MPs elected by the Scottish people just two months ago and blocked every single amendment to the Scotland Bill.
The picture above, by alert reader Neil Hepburn, seems to sum the situation up.
On the day Jim Murphy stands down as leader of the Labour Party North Britain branch office, we’d like to take this opportunity to offer our humble, heartfelt tribute to both him and the insightful political commentariat of Scotland.
twathater on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “1st let me say I agree with everything you have written here ,2 wee crawlers doing their best to protect…” Jun 27, 16:09
Martin on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Maybe we should have the USA Grand Jury system to decide if there is enough evidence for a prosecution trial.…” Jun 27, 15:53
Alf Baird on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: ““a rather more eloquent speaker” An whit difference daes it mak?” Jun 27, 15:51
robertkknight on The Promise: “See reply at 10:09pm” Jun 27, 15:45
Mike on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Stu, I admire your ‘dog with a bone’ tenacity. I simply cannot believe that Scotland is openly sweeping a crime…” Jun 27, 15:32
I. Despair on The Guilty Party: “Surely “Well said, Ian”? 😉” Jun 27, 15:29
Brian McKaig on The Promise: “Call me a cynic but did the SNP canvass for IndyRef funds in the full knowledge Sturgeon’s case for one…” Jun 27, 15:03
James Che on The Promise: “As with the SNP, politics in America or Britain its good to remind civil servants when the time comes, there…” Jun 27, 14:24
James Che on The Promise: “Civil servants acting as the government, make a mockery of Westminster parliament, but then Englands parliament has no written constitution,…” Jun 27, 14:15
James Che on The Promise: “Thats because their busy still working in desperation at trying to make the union a reality for Westminster in 2026.” Jun 27, 13:45
crazycat on The Promise: “As Spartan 117 says, it’s for security. When I sent out messages to everyone on our Yes group mailing list,…” Jun 27, 13:35
Northcode on The Promise: “It’s time for another warning. First, in Scots: Ther scarce be a wird pit doun here fae colonialists (unyonists if…” Jun 27, 12:53
Alf Baird on The Promise: ““the UK will eventually break up. But when it does, Scotland will too. Probably into four smaller states.” Jings, Hatey,…” Jun 27, 12:26
Alf Baird on The Promise: ““the Civil Service isn’t politically impartial” Of course its not; the main political and ideological purpose of all (UK) civil…” Jun 27, 12:11
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Promise: “Worth noting here that a “state of exception” regarding impartiality was in play during the 2014 referendum campaign. When the…” Jun 27, 12:09
Captain Caveman on The Promise: “Oh, probably add “too indoctrinated”, “incapable of critical thought” and “too left wing” to the mix as well.” Jun 27, 12:02
Lorncal on The Promise: “They might charge a couple of ‘sacrificial lambs’, who would probably go on to be cleared anyway, but they will…” Jun 27, 11:59
Captain Caveman on The Promise: ““The wrong people got their hands on the power because the right people were too nice, too innocent, too tolerant…” Jun 27, 11:49
Lorncal on The Promise: “It would set a legal precedent, I think, Robert, for governments to be forced to use promised ‘ring-fenced’ funds only…” Jun 27, 11:48
Desimond on The Promise: “Subtle difference in first sentence of each email. I wonder if this was a prompt or just one of those…” Jun 27, 11:45
Spartan 117 on The Promise: “A large part of current issues are the fact that the Civil Service isn’t politically impartial. A sensible ruling that…” Jun 27, 11:13
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Promise: “NI CIVIL SERVICE IMPOSES STAFF ‘PRIDE’ PARADE BAN The Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) has halted its participation in LGBT…” Jun 27, 10:08
Hatey McHateface on The Promise: “The wrong people got their hands on the power because the right people were too nice, too innocent, too tolerant…” Jun 27, 09:57
Hatey McHateface on The Promise: “Logic, Confounder? No way. When you start with a conclusion and then interpret everything that happens as proof of your…” Jun 27, 09:39
Hatey McHateface on The Promise: “That’s right Bob, amaze and inspire Scotland and the rest of the world with your profundity, erudition and scintillating wit.…” Jun 27, 09:15
Eric on The Promise: “Hats off to WoS and your summary also excellent. The SNP need this to go away or they will be…” Jun 27, 09:01
Captain Caveman on The Guilty Party: “Heh. Well, there is no “work” to blow out of the water, YL – unless you count 30 seconds’ worth…” Jun 27, 08:59
willie on The Promise: “Just to say another excellent article exposing the absolute scandal at the heart of the SNP and the supposedly hypothecated…” Jun 27, 08:29
David Blake on The Promise: “I think you are doing a great job exposing a huge scandal o am therefore reluctant to pick fault. But…” Jun 27, 06:54
Aidan on The Guilty Party: “Whilst that’s true Alf you aren’t entirely comparing like with like. The MV Finlaggan is a higher capacity vessel than…” Jun 27, 06:15
