Expressway To Fear 193
Posted on
February 21, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
DOOM!
GLOOM!
We’re not sure we can take many more blows like this.
Fear Factor Five 137
Posted on
February 05, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
We do hope none of these shock troops get caught up and hurt in the lovebombing.
Scottish independence: Cable warns of VAT on food
Caroline Flint warns that independence would mean £875 on energy bills
Warning of risk to transport links after Yes vote
No camp in grocery price rise claims (NB unrelated to VAT)
RBS would move to London if Scotland breaks away
That’s all just today. Anyone sound frightened to you?
Future tense 87
Posted on
January 28, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Yesterday’s Telegraph contained another example of something we’ve noticed becoming increasingly common in newspapers recently where Scottish independence is concerned – the incredible vanishing story. Check out these first two paragraphs from a piece about investment in the oil industry:
Just hold on a second, there, tiger. In the first sentence we’re apparently talking quite explicitly about something that IS ALREADY happening, but by the second sentence it’s immediately been downgraded to a “risk” and a “fear” that it “will be” happening in the future. We’re used to drastic and frequent revisions of UK government forecasts, but they usually take more than a single breath to collapse.
We’re endlessly told that the oil business is “volatile”, but that’s ridiculous.
Panic stations 115
Posted on
January 18, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
When we started the week with news of the UK government’s statement on debt, we wondered aloud whether it would be a game-changing moment. Judging by the No camp’s reaction since then, shrieking and flailing and lashing out blindly in all directions simultaneously, our question’s been answered.
It’s been hard to keep track of it all, but we’ll have a go.
UK population found sane 106
Posted on
December 29, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
We don’t normally post stuff straight out of SNP press releases, but we’re about to have some sort of breakdown today on account of the appalling Windows 8, and this is some powerful polling data, so we hope you’ll forgive us a bit of a cut-and-paste job.
The Nats commissioned a poll this month from Panelbase of 1,011 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which found overwhelming support for the rest of the UK sharing Sterling and the Common Travel Area with an independent Scotland.
Ian Smart is a liar 167
Posted on
December 20, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
So, this again:
But it’s hard to avoid in the circumstances.
The picture above is of Cumbernauld solicitor Ian Smart appearing on last night’s Newsnight Scotland, representing the Labour viewpoint. And we’re using that phrase in both its narrower and broader senses.
The End… OR IS IT? 131
Posted on
December 18, 2013 by
Paul Kavanagh
Spain’s supposed threat to veto Scottish membership of the EU is like one of those serial killers on a student campus in a slash ‘n gore movie. No matter how many times the evil maniac is stabbed, hit over the head with bricks, shot 46 times through the lungs with a depleted-uranium blunderbuss, drowned in boiling acid or baked in a kiln with the pottery-class homework, he’s still stalking the heroine in the final scene.
Today the vampiric figure of a Spanish EU veto threat received yet another silver, garlic-coated stake through the heart. But we expect it to get up and walk again every other week until September 2014 regardless.
War on satire continues 147
Posted on
December 09, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Oh dear lord. The No campaign really does seem hell-bent on making life hard for those of us who occasionally enjoy mocking it by (slightly) exaggerating the depths of its “Project Fear” scaremongering strategy. They’ve attempted to terrify Scots with uncertainty over the price of stamps, mobile-phone roaming charges and having to buy in Strictly Come Dancing, but none of it’s worked.
So now they’re pulling out the big guns: baked beans.
The Schengen deception 97
Posted on
December 07, 2013 by
Andrew Leslie
Whenever the hoary old story about passport checks along the border with England is dug up for another run-around (roughly once a month, as far as we can tell), the Schengen agreement usually features as the justification. Here’s a typical example:
“If an independent Scottish state were required to join the Schengen area as part of its EU membership, it would therefore have to implement the border and immigration policies required by the EU. As the UK has no intention of joining the Schengen area, this would involve border controls between Scotland and the continuing UK in order to meet EU rules protecting the security of the Schengen area.” (III 3.46)
And from there it’s only a small step for Project Fear to get to this:
“Joining Europe’s borderless Schengen area could open Scotland’s border up to mass immigration.”
This, as Theresa May knows full well, is utter rubbish. It relies, as so many of the No camp’s arguments do, on normal people’s lack of knowledge of obscure and complex laws (see also: the currency issue). So let’s cut through all the mumbo-jumbo and jargon and lay the plain and simple facts out for the record.
Clutching at straws 94
Posted on
December 04, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Surely that must be Project Fear at the bottom of the barrel now?
The lead story in today’s Herald, folks. If “story” isn’t putting it much too strongly.
Suppressed Memory Lane 87
Posted on
November 27, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
It’s been quite the week, so to celebrate smashing our all-time one-day pageviews record twice in succession, here’s a wee And Finally… bonus extra.
You’ve probably already seen this on Twitter today, after alert reader “Corstorphine Craig” knocked up an inventive graphic from some old material and sent it to us, whereupon we retweeted it and it went rather viral. But it deserves a front-page spot.
Viewers of a certain age will of course recall how well the coal mines, Ravenscraig, Linwood and Bathgate all flourished in the safe hands of the UK when Scotland was swindled out of its Assembly despite voting in favour of it.
But as the parties of the Union and their tame media fall over themselves to rubbish the sensible, achievable vision laid out in the White Paper this week, it never hurts to remember how their scare stories usually end.
The Loch Ness Monster’s underwear 119
Posted on
November 26, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
There’s an atrocious piece of journalism in this morning’s Guardian, and on this particular occasion we’re referring to its technical standards rather than any bias or spin. Here are the opening paragraphs:
We’re confused already.
