This week Scottish Labour quietly abandoned their “biggest party forms the government” election campaign after it was comprehensively debunked by this site and, belatedly, the mainstream media. An alert reader reminded us this evening of how the party wasn’t always so attached to the rules.
Because back in 2007, when Labour was neither the biggest party nor the incumbent administration, it had a damn good try at forming the government anyway.
By now we imagine most readers have already seen the alleged leak of the Ashcroft polling results which aren’t due to be officially released until 11am today [EDIT 00.47am: out now], and which suggest some jaw-dropping SNP gains.
We’re not going to go off half-cocked until those have been confirmed, so instead here’s something sent in by an alert reader. It’s an extract from the autobiography of former Radio 1 DJ Liz Kershaw, and describes events around the funeral of Princess Diana. We think you’ll find it enlightening.
Since we’ve been talking about mad letters from Scottish Labour MPs today, we’re sharing this one with you too. We’ve been trying to make sense of it all evening.
We haven’t made any progress. It’s not just a simple accidental transposition of words, because if you switch “increased” and “decreased” around it’s still gibberish – why would the threat have decreased because of proliferation? If anyone can explain it, do drop us a line.
Alert readers may recall this baffling story from last month, in which we discovered that Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie hadn’t been able to think of any more pressing issues to occupy himself with than finding out how many times Scottish Government civil servants had accessed Wings Over Scotland in the six months leading up to the referendum.
So we were intrigued when we got an email from a viewer who just for fun had sent a Freedom of Information request to Holyrood and asked them the same question for the official Scottish and UK Liberal Democrats websites. The results are below.
Alert readers will know that we very often like to bring to your attention both Scottish Labour’s fondness for radically rewriting history and its frequent struggles with basic counting. Today, though, the North British branch office has spectacularly outdone itself and managed to pull off both at once. This is going to be hard to beat.
Above is an extract from the official record of today’s proceedings in the Scottish Parliament. And we can only applaud Rhoda Grant’s ambition.
holymacmoses on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “I’m simply assuming that the Police and the Crown Prosecution Office knew they would have to prosecute someone – so…” Jun 27, 19:20
Mark Beggan on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “That’s what hells for. The post colonials are running out of text book excuses. “We’re going to need a bigger…” Jun 27, 19:18
Northcode on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: ““…you’re pebble dashing the site with high pressure shite.” Here we encounter the “Over-Invested Bathroom-Tile Enthusiast” School of Rhetoric. Only…” Jun 27, 19:09
Hatey McHateface on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Cants gubbed Panama 6-1 an a. Is there no justice under heaven?” Jun 27, 18:58
ALANM on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “There’s a simple explanation which I’ve also cited in relation to a case currently being pursued through the courts by…” Jun 27, 18:55
David Johnston on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “The problem with the two interviews is the both the DCC and COFS were talking about the embezzlement case and…” Jun 27, 18:32
Hatey McHateface on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Mind to come back on here, Northy, and tell us as soon as your resistance is criminalised and you’re punished…” Jun 27, 18:28
A2 on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Where’s Colin Beattie by the way? Slipped out the back door while no-one’s looking?” Jun 27, 18:19
Northcode on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “In The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon describes the colonial world as divided into the coloniser’s zone (privileged, protected, policed…” Jun 27, 18:15
M.E on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “There’s more waffle going on here than the freezers in Iceland.” Jun 27, 18:14
Hatey McHateface on The Promise: “Good Lord, Northy! Are you claiming that the hyphen (“-“) is an alien imposition forced on the Scots by the…” Jun 27, 18:10
Fiona on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Hands up anyone who agrees with Mr Logue that “we have a system that words” Or is there anyone who…” Jun 27, 18:04
Hatey McHateface on The Promise: “Haha, Alf, but I’ve noticed before that to be a fully paid up member of the tonto Indy faction that…” Jun 27, 18:01
Ex President Xiden on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Crown office are being disengeneous here. In cases like this the police investigate under the direction of the Crown office.…” Jun 27, 17:38
george wood on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “In the police interview at 26minutes in, the officer says “he was funding a lifestyle that he didn’t think he…” Jun 27, 17:34
Percy Adam on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “I see that Dorothy Bain, The head of COFPS at the time, has just resigned.” Jun 27, 17:29
gm on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “… on the other hand Sturgeon Swinney and others may have been in the UK pocket of course, maybe for…” Jun 27, 17:27
Oneliner on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Clearly, Mr Logue is used to dealing with those whose heads button up the back. And by that I mean…” Jun 27, 17:22
Effijy on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “I recall a higher ranking criminal relation of a friend telling me that his Uncle had got out of the…” Jun 27, 17:20
Andy Wiltshire on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Hi Rev, you had a second (stalling) answer from the police, but is there any sign of an additional something…” Jun 27, 17:03
Glenn Boyd on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “The only solution that presents itself is that of a Private Prosecution where Sturgeon’s duplicity, dishonesty and sociopathy will be…” Jun 27, 17:02
gm on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Excellent post, Sean Duffy. This is where I am with this affair. ‘We know that there’s at least two suspects…” Jun 27, 17:01
gm on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “No prosecutions for the AS stitchup, protected from prosecution from stealing from the SNP, the missing referendum funds. Combine that…” Jun 27, 16:49
Claire on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Police Scotland did not send advice & guidance ruling out prosecution or presenting a conclusion , as this option is…” Jun 27, 16:40
Willie on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Holy mother of Satan, can anyone have faith in tbe absolute shit show that is police and the prosecution. Trying…” Jun 27, 16:39
Sean Duffy on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “If my daughter’s school raises funds by asking parents to donate their cash for the purpose of purchasing new books…” Jun 27, 16:33
Andrew Morton on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Sturgeon is an asset of the security services and such, she and many of those around her are immune from…” Jun 27, 16:21
gm on Ping-Pong-Fiddle-Aye-No: “Sturgeon isn’t a First Minister. COPFS and the Police had no problem investigating and prosecuting a Former FM, Alec Salmond.…” Jun 27, 16:17
