The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland



Nationalism in reverse 234

Posted on February 16, 2016 by

We saw a very interesting article on the London School of Economics website today.

lseblog

It notes that in 2006, the year before the SNP came to power, 65% of Scots identified themselves as “Scottish not British” or “more Scottish than British”, but by 2014 – the year of the independence referendum – that number had fallen to just 49%.

It concludes, correctly, that just as we noted on Sunday, support for independence is fundamentally political in nature, not nationalist. But that only tells half the story.

Read the rest of this entry →

Person swears on internet 425

Posted on October 19, 2015 by

Nation’s political journalists shocked.

fo1

More “news” at 1pm, 6pm, 10pm10.30pm, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Read the rest of this entry →

With permission 144

Posted on October 16, 2015 by

So shortly after this:

smartroy

Read the rest of this entry →

An outbreak of coyness 199

Posted on September 29, 2015 by

We know that the media isn’t normally shy about identifying which side of the Scottish independence debate people are on, especially if they’ve been behaving badly.

telegraphviolence

So we were a little puzzled by the papers this morning.

Read the rest of this entry →

A sour taste 223

Posted on September 23, 2015 by

Alert readers may recall an incident last year in which the Scottish media got itself very worked up about some independence supporters threatening to boycott holiday company Barrhead Travel after its owner sent a barking-mad letter to staff about how the company would go out of business if Scotland voted Yes.

The Telegraph, Express, Times, Daily Mail and Scotsman were among those covering the story at length – with the latter going so far as an extraordinary comparison to the Nazi atrocity of Kristallnacht – and someone called Jim Murphy opined that it was “a new low” and “the worst type of negative politics”, despite the SNP having discouraged and disassociated itself from any boycott.

So we’re sure that you won’t be able to move later today and tomorrow for newspaper articles about something similar, but significantly worse, that happened this weekend.

Read the rest of this entry →

Why we won’t give up 161

Posted on September 19, 2015 by

One year ago today.

Read the rest of this entry →

Don’t you just hate nationalism? 231

Posted on July 22, 2015 by

Tony Blair quoted in the Independent today:

blairnat1

Read the rest of this entry →

Friendly help for the Daily Mail 119

Posted on July 14, 2015 by

As part of their tireless campaign against abuse and threats on the internet, the Mail’s ever-alert reporters will doubtless be wanting to run a major piece on the deputy leader of UKIP calling today on a widely-read website for Nicola Sturgeon to be killed.

huffnutt

No need to thank us for the tip-off, guys. All part of the service.

Read the rest of this entry →

The grinding wheels of justice 80

Posted on June 10, 2015 by

An update for those interested, via an alert cartoonist:

From: Garreth.Lodge

To: Christopher Cairns

Subject: RE: Ian Smart

Date: 9 June 2015 14:25:33 BST

Dear Christopher,

Thank you for your e-mail to Kezia with regards to her exchange with the First Minister in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 23rd April 2015.

Kezia can confirm that the person mentioned in the exchange has had their membership of the Labour Party put under administrative suspension and an investigation is currently being conducted by the General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party.

If you have specific questions on the investigation you will need to direct them to the Scottish Labour Party, not Kezia’s Parliamentary office.

If there is anything other issues Kezia can help with as your MSP, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Kind Regards

Garreth

Read the rest of this entry →

Under rocks and slime 347

Posted on June 02, 2015 by

I had no time for the way that Charles Kennedy conducted himself in the referendum campaign and it would be hypocritical to pretend that I did.

But before that he was one of the main reasons I voted Lib Dem for over 20 years – a compassionate, principled man who took some difficult stands and left his party in a far healthier place, both politically and morally, than it occupies now.

ck3

He deserves better than this.

Read the rest of this entry →

Waiting for Nicola 323

Posted on May 04, 2015 by

Taken in Greenock earlier, prior to the First Minister’s visit.

flegs

It seems an appropriate image for today.

Read the rest of this entry →

The side of the thugs 129

Posted on May 04, 2015 by

Amazingly enough, the Scottish press today ISN’T wall-to-wall with stories about Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, UK peer and lawmaker, endorsing the “f***ing booting” of Conservative supporters at the weekend, in a striking contrast to when a young SNP candidate said similar but less offensive things some months ago.

(Lord McConnell’s friends were talking in the future tense about something they would do. Mhairi Black was talking in the past tense, about things which she HADN’T done.)

sunjack

As far as we’ve seen, the small piece above in the Scottish Sun is the only coverage. (The Daily Record, as well as not reporting the McConnell comments at all, actually has another go at Mhairi Black instead.)

But we were having trouble recalling any “hate-filled violent mobs” (McConnell’s actual full quote) on the Yes/SNP side. And so was an alert reader who had a dig through the papers from the last couple of years.

Read the rest of this entry →

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,778 Posts, 1,220,181 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Chas on Holiday Relief: “Maybe Robin realises it is all a load of shite. Unlike the fantasists on here!Jun 18, 12:25
    • James on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Behold: the language of the [Site] Prick!Jun 18, 12:20
    • lothianlad on Holiday Relief: “Surely the SNP members will start to see they are being lied to!? its taking them lomng enough!Jun 18, 12:17
    • James on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Welcome back, Northcode! Yes indeed they are becoming much bolder.Jun 18, 12:16
    • James on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Go easy on her, YL, she was a “captain” – of industry ROTFL. And the Site Prick “P3nisbreath McP3nisbreathface”… LOLZJun 18, 12:11
    • sam on Holiday Relief: “I wonder if Alf will be at Holyrood tomorrow, meeting 12.15, to protest and meet FH with regard to ferries…Jun 18, 11:38
    • Northcode on Holiday Relief: ““…completely missed the big news for the independence movement…” It seems unlikely McAlpine missed the news of the Liberation.Scot petition…Jun 18, 11:37
    • Aidan on Holiday Relief: “Perhaps Robin is aware that the highly vaunted “approach to the UN” has been completely rebuffed at the first hurdle?…Jun 18, 11:27
    • sarah on Holiday Relief: “That is interesting, Alf. I generally agree with what Robin says and I hadn’t noticed theses striking omissions. Can someone…Jun 18, 10:58
    • Alf Baird on Holiday Relief: “A daeless Swinney and his hot-air speechwriter seems an easy target, however Robin and certain other seemingly pro-indy intellectuals within…Jun 18, 10:06
    • Sven on Holiday Relief: “Crazycat @ 23.12. I believe that policy was effectively jettisioned back in 2015 when Ms Sturgeon forced the then PM…Jun 18, 09:02
    • Hatey McHateface on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: ““roll back over and cosy up with yer new “bestie” P3nisbreath McP3nisbreathface..” Aw naw! Signature double-tap there from Wings’ only…Jun 18, 08:24
    • Callum on Holiday Relief: “‘The world’s most embarrassing relaunch’ by Robin McAlpine | 16 Jun 2025 “So anyway, we have learned loads here. Mainly…Jun 18, 08:22
    • Sven on Holiday Relief: “Off Topic; Hardly surprising that our SNP led devolved administration (was never a government) have declined to have an inquiry…Jun 18, 08:21
    • Captain Caveman on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Heh! Gone “fishing” have we YL? About the only thing you’ll catch (in your piss-stained shoes) is an empty bottle…Jun 18, 07:55
    • Hatey McHateface on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: ““Is it my imagination or is our coloniser becoming bolder in its shameless extraction of Scotland’s wealth?” Every night before…Jun 18, 07:36
    • Hatey McHateface on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Whats this then? Three lengthy posts from NC, all of them written in the King’s English? Isn’t that the language…Jun 18, 07:28
    • Northcode on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “A little, hopefully informative and not overly didactic, light-hearted diversion. Aristotle is one of my favourite ancients and was a…Jun 18, 06:25
    • Northcode on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “The only plans they’re concerned with are their pension plans. And the only future they’ll be shaping will be the…Jun 18, 06:07
    • Northcode on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Great news! It turns out I was feeling a wee bit sensitive the other day and just needed some me…Jun 18, 05:40
    • Young Lochinvar on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Fred Flintstone aka (so called Captain Caveman) at 8.26am with a p1sh English beer hangover! Good morning jaikie!! Just up…Jun 18, 05:00
    • GM on Holiday Relief: “I PDF’ed most of his articles in the period after Iain died. I go back to them from time to…Jun 17, 23:46
    • crazycat on Holiday Relief: “The legislation only applies to England and Wales. It always used to be SNP policy not to vote in cases…Jun 17, 23:12
    • Insider on Holiday Relief: “agent x…… Well, we must all wait with bated breath to see what “post colonialism” tells us ! It will…Jun 17, 22:45
    • Towbar Sullivan on Holiday Relief: “This vote on Abortion – did the SNP go AWOL? There’s no record of them voting at all. WTF? https://votes.parliament.uk/votes/commons/division/2058Jun 17, 22:35
    • George Ferguson on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “@James 9:56pm Welcome to the World of lost deposits. I was a member of the SNP and Alba. I thought…Jun 17, 22:35
    • Scot Finlayson on Holiday Relief: “What is wrong with this British Labour government, Starving kids, freezing pensioners, allowing the mass rape of young girls, assisted…Jun 17, 22:23
    • James on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Voting for me? Dunno what planet you’re on, George. I ditched my membership in 2018 when the missing money/Salmond stitch…Jun 17, 21:56
    • George Ferguson on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “@James An SNP thug. Nuf said. When you come up with intelligent policies I will start voting for you again.…Jun 17, 21:20
    • James on Let’s Not Make Some Plans: “Ah. Freeport Forbes supporter eh? ‘nuf said.Jun 17, 20:58
  • A tall tale



↑ Top