The Grand Tour
Lacking anything better to do on a grey and cloudy day in Bath, we thought it might be a lark to go through every Holyrood constituency in Scotland and contemplate where it might go in next year’s election, based on the current state of polling.
And just to make things interesting, compared to our last assessment we’re going to give opposition parties the (often considerable) benefit of the doubt in a few seats for the sheer heck of it, and see if there’s any even slightly plausible outcome that means the SNP might win some list seats if all their voters vote for them on both ballots, or if they’ll waste a million votes for nothing and get dozens of Unionists elected like they did in 2021. [SPOILER: don’t prepare yourself for a surprise.]
DISCLAIMER FOR THE MENTALLY TROUBLED
It’s just a bit of Tuesday-afternoon fun with figures. We have zero knowledge of any local factors which might affect particular seats, just the 2021 results, current polling and our own instincts. We actually think polling will change a fair bit between now and the election, particularly with regard to Reform, and that could change things noticeably, though not to the SNP’s benefit.
There are also a number of boundary changes for the 2026 election, which are obviously difficult to take into account due to an absence of data. They’re unlikely to make any major differences, though, so we’ve largely ignored them except where noted. It’s just a bit of fun.
It remains our actual prediction, as it always has been, that there will NOT in fact be a pro-indy majority, despite the fact that THESE CURRENT POLLING NUMBERS suggest there could narrowly be. We’ve “predicted” some results that we don’t actually think will happen, to account for the “margin of error” we described in the previous feature, and for chuckles.
Full 2021 results are here, on one handy page for reference.
So enough chit-chat. Let’s get plums-deep in some numbers!
(If you’re in a hurry we’ve indented all our notional changes, and if you’re really in a hurry you can just skip everything between the two horizontal lines.)
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Aberdeen Central
Kevin Stewart (SNP)* – 6,594 majority over Conservatives
We’re going to save ourselves some work right at the start, though – we’re just going to flat-out disregard the chances of the Tories capturing seats from the SNP next year, because it’s just too implausible. The SNP’s 2021 national vote of 44% has been cut by a third to around 30% in current polling, but the Tories have seen their 23% slashed in HALF to around 12%, with most of it going to Reform.
We can’t see Reform becoming strong enough in time to win any constituencies, and the number they choose to stand in will be significant, but for now anywhere that’s currently SNP 1 Tories 2, even if the majorities are relatively small, we’re going to call an SNP hold unless it’s (a) a three-way fight where tactical voting might be especially significant, or (b) we just feel like it.
NO CHANGE
*All names are the 2021 victors, not all are standing next year.
Aberdeen Donside
Jackie Dunbar (SNP) – 9,026 majority over Conservatives
See above.
NO CHANGE
Aberdeen South and North Kincardine
Audrey Nicoll (SNP) – 1,671 majority over Conservatives
See above.
NO CHANGE
Aberdeenshire East
Gillian Martin (SNP) – 1,889 majority over Conservatives
See above.
NO CHANGE
Aberdeenshire West
Alexander Burnett (Con) – 3,390 majority over SNP
Definite chance of an SNP gain here. Reform will likely take a big bite out of the Tory vote and Labour are nowhere, so even with a big drop the SNP could reasonably expect to flip it. We’re calling it for them.
SNP GAIN
Airdrie and Shotts
Neil Gray (SNP) – 5,468 majority over Labour
With an absolutely colossal effort Labour managed to overcome a 4,500 majority in Hamilton to win by 602 last week, suggesting it represents something very close to the limit of their abilities, even against an absolutely hapless SNP candidate. Neil Gray is nothing to write home about, but he’s a serving minister with the benefit of incumbency, not a serial loser on her third shot at the gravy bus, and we can’t see him losing.
NO CHANGE
Almond Valley
Angela Constance (SNP) – 12,130 majority over Labour
That’s a huge majority.
NO CHANGE
Angus North and Mearns
Mairi Gougeon (SNP) – 3,509 majority over Conservatives
Tory opponent.
NO CHANGE
Angus South
Graeme Dey (SNP) – 6,117 majority over Conservatives
Tory opponent.
NO CHANGE
Argyll and Bute
Jenni Minto (SNP) – 8,963 majority over Conservatives
The Lib Dems are in a strong third place here, only 800 or so behind the Tories, but that’s a heck of a long way to get to first.
NO CHANGE
Ayr
Siobhian Brown (SNP) – 170 majority over Conservatives
The smallest majority in the Parliament, but with the right-wing vote divided between the Tories and Reform, even tactical voting from Labour and Lib Dem voters is unlikely to be enough to get the job done. It’s tempting to give this one to the Tories just to make the article more fun, but ultimately we can’t see a route to victory for them, and in South Scotland it’d be unlikely to make any difference anyway.
NO CHANGE
Banffshire and Buchan Coast
Karen Adam (SNP) – 772 majority over Conservatives
We’d love to see this one change hands, but the same rationale applies as for Ayr.
NO CHANGE
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
Maree Todd (SNP) – 2,591 majority over Lib Dems
The Lib Dems are polling more strongly than in 2021 by a fair distance, and with their trajectory pointing in the opposite direction to the SNP’s (they already narrowed the gap in both 2016 and 2021, from almost 7,500) this seat is a very strong bet.
LIB DEM GAIN
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Elena Whitham (SNP) – 4,337 majority over Conservatives
Tory challenger.
NO CHANGE
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane
Keith Brown (SNP) – 7,551 majority over Conservatives
This one’s at least interesting. Labour were a strong third just 700 or so behind the Tories, so there are tactical-voting possibilities, but it’s a very big majority and nobody will be quite sure what the best tactical vote is, so we can’t see the SNP losing it.
NO CHANGE
Clydebank and Milngavie
Marie McNair (SNP) – 5,274 majority over Labour
Again this requires a significantly bigger swing than Labour managed in Hamilton with all the advantages of focusing on a single by-election rather than a national campaign, so we can’t see them pulling it off unless there’s a serious change in their national fortunes.
NO CHANGE
Clydesdale
Màiri McAllan (SNP) – 4,578 majority over Conservatives
Another strong third for Labour on almost 9,000 votes to the Tories’ 13,000. But all the previous rules about seats with Tory challengers apply.
NO CHANGE
Coatbridge and Chryston
Fulton MacGregor (SNP) – 9,437 majority over Labour
More than twice the majority Labour overcame in Hamilton. A bridge too far.
NO CHANGE
Cowdenbeath
Annabelle Ewing (SNP) – 6,013 majority over Labour
A traditional Labour heartland, but 4,800 Tory votes here which one might think had a chance of being tactically deployed against the SNP, especially when Tory support is in freefall. Realistically, though, Reform will be the beneficiaries. However, while we can’t actually see the popular Annabelle Ewing losing here [EDIT: especially as she’s actually standing down], we’re going to play a wildcard and give it to Labour just to make things more interesting.
LAB GAIN
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
Jamie Hepburn (SNP) – 9,841 majority over Labour
This is just too far, though. Not enough Unionist votes to go around.
NO CHANGE
Cunninghame North
Kenneth Gibson (SNP) – 7,776 majority over Conservatives
Here, conversely, there ARE enough Unionist votes to unseat the SNP if they all voted for the same party, but only just. Realistically, and with a Tory runner-up last time, it’s safe as houses.
NO CHANGE
Cunninghame South
Ruth Maguire (SNP) – 7,952 majority over Labour
One of the very few SNP MSPs worth keeping, Maguire got more votes last time than Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems put together.
NO CHANGE
Dumbarton
Jackie Baillie (Lab) – 1,483 majority over SNP
The SNP have been coming close for years without ever quite making it, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that 2026 could be their year if Labour’s UK-wide unpopularity continues. But with the recent U-turn on the totemic winter fuel allowance, Baillie will most likely hang on, especially if a few Tories vote tactically for her as their own party crumbles.
NO CHANGE
Dumfriesshire
Oliver Mundell (Con) – 4,066 majority
The Tories will be nervous here, but with the possible help of some of the 4,700 Labour voters in the seat it’s one of their better chances at a hold.
NO CHANGE
Dundee City East
Shona Robison (SNP) – 13,337 majority over Labour
If Dundee East falls, check outside for flying pigs over a frozen Hell.
NO CHANGE
Dundee City West
Joe FitzPatrick (SNP) – 12,919 majority over Labour
Ditto.
NO CHANGE
Dunfermline
Shirley-Anne Somerville (SNP) – 8,664 majority over Labour
There are over 6,000 Tory votes here, but it’d be beyond a shock.
NO CHANGE
East Kilbride
Collette Stevenson (SNP) – 8,672 majority over Labour
Majority too big.
NO CHANGE
East Lothian
Paul McLennan (SNP) – 1,179 majority
Ah, the East Lothian Question. A certain self-described “expert” analyst is very excited about this one, and it undoubtedly represents a strong possibility for Labour, in the sense that if they can’t take East Lothian, they probably can’t take anywhere.
The Labour, Tory and Lib Dem vote combined here was almost 10,000 higher than the SNP’s, so let’s give the baby his bottle and chalk another one up for Anas Sarwar’s boys.
LAB GAIN
Eastwood
Jackson Carlaw (Con) – 2,216 majority over SNP
Much less of a three-way battle than it used to be, Labour are well behind here. Local factors, a personal vote and tactical voting will come into play here, but Tory support is so reduced that we just can’t see their former leader clinging on.
SNP GAIN
Edinburgh Central
Angus Robertson (SNP) – 4,732 majority over Conservatives
A relatively squeaky-bum seat for the SNP, and a big Green vote (almost 4,000 last time) makes things less comfortable than they might like, but a Tory challenger probably means safety.
NO CHANGE
Edinburgh Eastern
Ash Denham/Regan (SNP) – 10,117 majority over Labour
A five-figure lead is surely too big a mountain to climb, even with boundary changes sweeping in Musselburgh and Tranent.
NO CHANGE
Edinburgh Northern and Leith
Ben Macpherson (SNP) – 11,569 majority
Even with over 6,000 Green votes taking a bite out of the “pro-indy” count, Labour would need to double their vote here (or the SNP halve theirs) just to get close.
NO CHANGE
Edinburgh Pentlands
Gordon MacDonald (SNP) – 3,897 majority over Conservatives
There were over 9,000 Unionist votes here last time that the Tories couldn’t get, so let’s play another wildcard even though we don’t think it’s what’ll actually happen – let’s imagine that they fight off Reform, get tactical votes from Labour and the Lib Dems, and take the win.
CON GAIN
Edinburgh Southern
Daniel Johnson (Lab) – 4,022 majority over SNP
Thanks to Ian Murray this is now Labour’s strongest turf in Scotland.
NO CHANGE
Edinburgh Western
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Lib Dem) – 9,885 majority over SNP
With the Lib Dems on the up and the SNP on the slide, this one’s going nowhere.
NO CHANGE
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
Rachael Hamilton (Con) – 6,863 majority over SNP
Even if the Tories lost half their vote to Reform the SNP would be stretching here.
NO CHANGE
Falkirk East
Michelle Thomson (SNP) – 7,585 majority over Labour
Kicked out of Westminster last year, Martyn Day is shifting over to try to take over Thomson’s seat at Holyrood as she steps down. He should manage that comfortably – Falkirk East is absorbing the previous Linlithgow seat, where Fiona Hyslop had an even bigger majority of over 10,500.
NO CHANGE
Falkirk West
Michael Matheson (SNP) – 11,839 majority over Labour
Matheson is also jumping ship in 2026, but Falkirk West should be unsinkable.
NO CHANGE
Galloway and West Dumfries
Finlay Carson (Con) – 2,635 majority over SNP
The SNP will definitely fancy this one as the Tories shed votes by the barrowload to Reform, even with total numpty Emma Harper on the ballot.
SNP GAIN
Glasgow Anniesland
Bill Kidd (SNP) – 6,588 majority over Labour
Once strong Labour territory, but with relatively few other Unionist votes to cannibalise we just can’t see this one switching hands.
NO CHANGE
Glasgow Cathcart
James Dornan (SNP) – 10,396 majority over Labour
Dornan is stepping down in 2026 for a complete unknown, although he hasn’t actually been seen in Holyrood for about two years anyway. His majority is one of the SNP’s largest, and while boundary changes mean the seat will become Cathcart and Pollok next year, it still ought to be safe as houses.
NO CHANGE
Glasgow Kelvin
Kaukab Stewart (SNP) – 5,458 majority over Labour
This will be firmly in Labour’s sights, not least due to the presence of Patrick Harvie, who gathered over 9,000 votes last time. The Greens don’t seem to have suffered in the polls from their toxically catastrophic time in government – Scotland evidently harbours rather more paedophiles and nappy fetishists than we’d all like to think – so they may nibble away further at the SNP vote, and the rearrangement of the seat to Kelvin and Maryhill throws a mystery factor into the equation, so we’re going to give Labour this one as well just for the giggles.
LAB GAIN
Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn
Bob Doris (SNP) – 7,924 majority over Labour
Maryhill and Springburn, on the other hand, has no such intrigue to offer, other than another boundary rejigging to Easterhouse and Springburn and a change of candidate to Ivan McKee, with Doris shifting over to the new Kelvin and Maryhill, and we doubt that’ll be enough to significantly affect an 8,000 majority.
NO CHANGE
Glasgow Pollok
Humza Yousaf (SNP) – 7,105 majority over Labour
Pollok has now been swallowed up into Cathcart, so this one’s effectively a ghost.
NO CHANGE/NOT APPLICABLE
Glasgow Provan
Ivan McKee (SNP) – 7,230 majority over Labour
Provan is another victim of the boundary changes, so who knows?
NO CHANGE/NOT APPLICABLE
Glasgow Shettleston
John Mason (SNP) – 8,025 majority
The controversial Mason is definitely off next year, and 2021’s Tory candidate already having joined Reform is a mildly interesting wrinkle, along with the seat transforming into Baillieston and Shettleston, but again nothing in current polling suggests that’ll help Labour overcome a majority of over 8,000.
NO CHANGE
Glasgow Southside
Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) – 9,456 majority over Labour
Sturgeon’s replacement with the imbecile Kaukab “DECAPITATE TERFS” Stewart will do the SNP no favours here, and it’s also Anas Sarwar’s constituency so he’ll be able to count on plenty resources, but with hardly any voters from other parties on the table this would still be an earth-shattering surprise.
NO CHANGE
Greenock and Inverclyde
Stuart McMillan (SNP) – 8,174 majority over Labour
Just Inverclyde next time, but that’s the most interesting thing about it.
NO CHANGE
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse
Christina McKelvie (SNP) – 4,582 majority over Labour
We already know, of course, that Labour can take this one. We still wouldn’t put a lot of money on Davy Russell holding it for more than 11 months, but we’ll count it as a Labour gain because technically that’s already happened.
LAB GAIN
Inverness and Nairn
Fergus Ewing (SNP) – 9,114 majority over Conservatives
There’s still a possibility of Fergus Ewing standing as an independent in this seat, and against the brainless Emma Roddick that could set a sizeable and wise old cat in about someone with the intellect of some pigeons. The Tories are a long way back, though, and have the thorn of Reform in their own side, so Roddick will probably pull off the ultimate downgrade for the constituency’s unlucky voters.
NO CHANGE
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley
Willie Coffey (SNP) – 11,681 majority over Labour
Too many, even with a large Tory vote in third place.
NO CHANGE
Kirkcaldy
David Torrance (SNP) – 7,831 majority over Labour
Still too many.
NO CHANGE
Linlithgow
Fiona Hyslop (SNP) – 10,105 majority over Labour
Linlithgow is being bundled up with Falkirk East under the new boundaries, so frankly we’ve got no idea on this one. It used to encompass Bathgate, which is now a constituency all of its own about which we can make no reasonable assumptions.
NO CHANGE
Mid Fife and Glenrothes
Jenny Gilruth (SNP) – 10,234 majority over Labour
The days of Labour taking Glenrothes are over.
NO CHANGE
Midlothian North and Musselburgh
Colin Beattie (SNP) – 7,906 majority over Labour
Theoretically this one could be up for Labour’s sights, a former stronghold with Beattie standing again after being caught up in Operation Branchform and over 6,500 Tory votes possibly looking for a new home, and Musselburgh shifting over to Edinburgh Eastern, but we can’t see it. An outside bet, maybe.
NO CHANGE
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
Christine Grahame (SNP) – 6,826 majority over Conservatives
Tory challenger, not happening.
NO CHANGE
Moray
Richard Lochhead (SNP) – 3,164 majority over Conservatives
Moray has of course been Tory quite recently, but again we can’t envisage them avoiding vote leakage to Reform in sufficient numbers to scupper any hopes.
NO CHANGE
Motherwell and Wishaw
Clare Adamson (SNP) – 7,813 majority over Labour
Labour pulled off a 20-point swing in nearby Rutherglen in the 2024 by-election, but those were very different times for Labour. This would take a turnaround nearly double that of Hamilton.
NO CHANGE
Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Alasdair Allan (SNP) – 3,441 majority over Labour
While 3,441 sounds like a relatively achievable target, that’s in a small islands constituency where fewer than 15,000 people voted last time, compared to over 34,000 in Motherwell and Wishaw, so it’s really more like 7,500 anywhere else.
We’re tempted once more to give it to Labour against our actual better judgement purely as a mental exercise, and what the heck, since they captured the Westminster seat pretty convincingly in 2024 (albeit in significant part because the SNP vote was divided by their former MP Angus MacNeil standing as an independent), let’s do it.
LAB GAIN
North East Fife
Willie Rennie (Lib Dem) – 7,448 majority over SNP
For reasons already noted, we expect the Lib Dems to hold all their existing seats.
NO CHANGE
Orkney
Liam McArthur (Lib Dem) – 3,869 majority over SNP
See above.
NO CHANGE
Paisley
George Adam (SNP) – 6,075 majority over Labour
As SNP majorities over Labour go this is at the lower end, but would still need a significantly bigger swing than they achieved in Hamilton. Another long shot.
NO CHANGE
Perthshire North
John Swinney (SNP) – 4,053 majority over Conservatives
This would be, what, 10th time of asking for Murdo Fraser? He’s had a good couple of years at the SNP’s expense over the gender debate, and the temptation to unseat the First Minister will be a big temptation for tactical voters, but with Labour on just 2,300 there probably aren’t enough of those here to get the job done, unless Reform lob a grenade in by not standing. Again possibly worth an outside bet if you can get the odds, but the SNP will obviously move Heaven and Earth.
NO CHANGE
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire
Jim Fairlie (SNP) – 1,948 majority over Conservatives
Again the only slight hope of an upset here would be if Reform didn’t stand. Even then it’d probably be a long shot, but we’re bending over backwards here to try to find constituencies the SNP might lose to give them a better chance on the list, so let’s chuck this one into the mixer for funzies.
CON GAIN
Renfrewshire North and West
Natalie Don (SNP) – 7,307 majority over Labour
There was a very substantial Tory vote of nearly 9,000 here in 2021, so this looks like prime tactical voting territory, but again it would realistically need Reform to stand aside, and since doing that would harm their own chances of list seats it’s not going to happen. What’s more plausible, in fact, is that Reform beat Labour and the Tories into second.
NO CHANGE
Renfrewshire South
Tom Arthur (SNP) – 7,106 majority over Labour
Both the Renfrewshire seats are being rejigged next year, so both of them are slightly unpredictable, but they’re really very similar prospects.
NO CHANGE
Rutherglen
Clare Haughey (SNP) – 5,166 majority over Labour
This is perhaps the most obvious candidate of all for a Labour gain. They captured it in last year’s Westminster by-election, it’s almost within the range of the more recent swing in Hamilton, and it was held by Labour even in the 2011 SNP landslide. If there’s any seat we’re going to give Labour in this analysis, it probably has to be this one.
LAB GAIN
Shetland
Beatrice Wishart (Lib Dem) – 806 majority over SNP
See other Lib Dem seats.
NO CHANGE
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
Kate Forbes (SNP) – 15,861 majority over Conservatives
As safe as it gets.
NO CHANGE
Stirling
Evelyn Tweed (SNP) – 6,895 majority over Conservatives
After being booted out of Westminster last year, this looks a pretty easy parachute job for Alyn “Daddy Bear” Smith backed by the rainbow stormtroopers of the Twitler Youth.
NO CHANGE
Strathkelvin and Bearsden
Rona Mackay (SNP) – 11,484 majority over Conservatives
A strong third here for Labour on 8,500 but the best they can probably hope for is to improve that to second, and even there they’ll face a challenge from the rising Lib Dems on 6,700. A fairly even three-way split in the Unionist vote, with no obvious candidate to rally a tactical vote behind, should make it way too hard for the SNP to lose.
NO CHANGE
Uddingston and Bellshill
Stephanie Callaghan (SNP) – 5,306 majority over Labour
Again in the same general geographical area as Rutherglen and Hamilton, and with a similar relatively modest majority, this will be another Labour target. So while we have little confidence in them actually doing it, let’s stick to our practice of extending them the considerable benefit of the doubt.
LAB GAIN
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So in summary:
LABOUR GAINS: 7 (all from SNP), net +7
SNP GAINS: 3 (all from Con), net -7
CON GAINS: 2 (all from SNP), net -1
LIB DEM GAINS: 1 (from SNP), net +1
That would make the number of constituency seats by region as follows:
CENTRAL
SNP 6
Lab 3
GLASGOW
SNP 7
Lab 2
HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS
SNP 4
LD 3
Lab 1
LOTHIAN
SNP 5
Lab 2
Con 2
MID SCOTLAND AND FIFE
SNP 7
Con 1
Lib Dem 1
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND
SNP 10
Con 0
SOUTH SCOTLAND
SNP 7
Con 2
WEST SCOTLAND
SNP 9
Lab 1
On the SNP’s current list polling of 28%, that makes their adjusted list-vote share:
CENTRAL 4%
GLASGOW 3.5%
HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS 5.6%
LOTHIAN 4.7%
MID SCOTLAND AND FIFE 3.5%
NORTH EAST SCOTLAND 2.5%
SOUTH SCOTLAND 3.5%
WEST SCOTLAND 2.8%
And folks, that is a LONG way short of even the tiniest prospect of a list seat anywhere but the Highlands, and pretty slim even there. Let’s break it down on current national percentages.
HIGHLANDS
SNP 28% divided by 5 (four seats) = 5.6%
Lib Dem 10% divided by 4 (three seats) = 2.5%
Lab 18% divided by 2 (one seat) = 9%
Reform 16%, no divisor = 16%
Con 15%, no divisor = 15%
Green 9%, no divisor = 9%
So Reform take the first seat with 16%, which then gets divided to 8%.
The Tories take the next with 15%, which then gets divided to 7.5%.
The next goes to Labour with 9%, which is then divided to 6%.
The next goes to the Greens with 9%, which is then divided to 4.5%.
The next goes to Reform with 8%.
The next goes to the Tories with 7.5%.
And the seventh and last goes to Labour with 6%.
The Lib Dems (2.5%) and SNP (5.6%) wouldn’t get a look-in, unless there were dramatic regional variations, and in fact in 2021 the SNP’s regional share in Highland was bang in line with their national average.
Let’s do Lothian too, since we’re here and we’ve got our calculator out.
LOTHIAN
SNP 28% divided by 6 (five seats) = 4.7%
Lab 18% divided by 3 (two seats) = 6%
Con 15%, divided by 3 (two seats) = 5%
Reform 16%, no divisor = 16%
Lib Dem 10%, no divisor = 10%
Green 9%, no divisor = 9%
Seat 1: Reform, 16% now dividing to 8%.
Seat 2: Lib Dem, 10% now dividing to 5%.
Seat 3: Green, 9% now dividing to 4.5%.
Seat 4: Reform, 8% now dividing to 5.3%.
Seat 5: Labour, 6% now dividing to 4.5%
Seat 6: Reform, 5.3%.
Seat 7: Lib Dems or Conservatives, 5%.
(Imaginary Seat 8: whichever one didn’t get Seat 7.)
And the SNP miss out again. (It’s worse than that in reality, because the Greens tend to significantly outperform their national average in Lothian while the SNP underperform it. The Greens got 12.7% on the Lothian list in 2021 compared to their national average of 8%, which would give them two seats here and shunt the SNP out to Seat 10.)
The other regions? Absolutely no chance. You could in fact take a further SIXTEEN seats out of our predicted SNP figure (one from Central, two each from Glasgow, Mid Scotland and Fife, and South Scotland, four from West Scotland and FIVE from North East Scotland), leaving them 23 down on their 2021 total, and still leave them with no credible chance of winning any list seats.
(Indeed, that map would be a more representative and proper outcome of the election. It’s got 38 SNP seats, which is the number a party getting 30% of the vote SHOULD have in a proportional electoral system with 129 seats. The SNP should be weeping gratefully at the feet of both Mr D’Hondt and Nigel Farage for the fact that they’re likely to gather considerably more.)
Anyone voting SNP on both ballots, then, for any reason, is unequivocally a moron.
It’s a moronic idea if you want lots of “pro-indy” MSPs, because every SNP list vote will be wasted and let Unionists in instead when you could vote Alba, or Green (if you’re also sexually attracted to children or just really hate women or Jewish people), or ISP, or any other candidate ostensibly supporting the idea.
It’s also a moronic idea if – as suggested in the above tweet – you want Unionists to get in and demonstrate how bad a Unionist government is and thereby increase indy support, because in that case why are you voting SNP on either ballot?
And it should go without saying that it’s a super-moronic idea if you actually care about achieving independence, because the SNP have spent the bulk of the last decade demonstrating beyond a shred of credible doubt that they have neither the wit nor the will to do that, or even to convincingly pretend any more.
We ourselves are of course on the record repeatedly as saying that they need to be destroyed, because they are the corpse blocking our path, and we think anyone giving them either vote is an active enemy of independence. A “pro-indy” majority next year will almost certainly do the cause far more harm than good, by wasting another half a decade. We provide the above analysis only to illustrate the mind-numbing stupidity of “Both Votes SNP” as a strategy for people who DO want one, and that anyone who advocates it is a drooling imbecile at best and an actual saboteur at worst.
If your car has no engine, it doesn’t matter how many times you repaint it or how much you polish it, it still isn’t going to take you anywhere. Polls can, and do, change. But the numbers are the numbers and that’s all there is to it.
Annabelle Ewing is standing down in Cowdenbeath. I’m not sure if the selection has been made yet but I’d think the SNP candidate will be Fife councillor, David Barratt. I don’t know too much about David’s politics but he’s a bright & hard working guy.
Edited, ta.
Would it be possible to finish the job, and add up the seats?
Constituencies SNP 56, Labour 9, LibDem 3, Conservatives 5.
Eh? I did.
You need to get the slacker cartoonist to produce a visual of a stinking festering corpse blocking the door to independence Stu.
Just wondering if anyone has put in an FOI about how the Scottish bond initiative is going.
I am so bored at the inevitability of the answer that I might be forced to do it myself.
Even if the SNP were the only option on the ballot paper I still wouldn’t vote for them. They need to be ground into the dust until all that remains is a greasy spot.
Rev, I take it that you don’t think that ANY SNP candidate can lose Edinburgh Eastern, given that Ash Denham/Regan is now Alba?
Having shown yet again how much work you can do in a few hours, have you a project in mind for boosting the election prospects of true “Scotland-restored” candidates?
Excellent analysis Stu as usual. I can’t disagree with any of it. Slightly disconcerting to me trying to stand as a principled Independence supporter and as an Independent Candidate. I arrived at the conclusion that I will lose my deposit. But I haven’t given up. Where there is a will there is a way. The fact that the MSM stick a microphone in the way of the SNP and Labour at every opportunity free gratis is a challenge. Take Scotland Tonight last night. Totally dominated by the SNP and Labour. A brief mention of the Conservatives almost losing their deposit at Hamilton and some newbie called Reform. If you stand with your public profile I doubt you would lose your deposit but equally I don’t think you be elected even with Wings activists. You’ll be subjected to the 30 second rule, here are the other candidates.
Slag off some minorities. That’ll get you noticed. Works for Farage.
“Slag off some minorities”
No need to stoop to that.
Use facts, evidence and examples to show that some minorities see women as second-class citizens. They see under-age white girls as sex toys. They will pronounce a death sentence on you for behaviour that is legal in our country. And some nutter will likely try to kill you as a result.
You can also detail cases of two-tier justice and two-tier outcomes from interactions between citizens and law enforcement. With white citizens in the second-class tier. And minorities in a special tier where laws do not apply.
That’ll get you noticed. Works for anybody prepared to interact with reality.
And yes, these will be isolated occurrences – not the norm – but the incidence continues to increase. Plot the graphs and ponder where the curves are heading.
“Slag off some minorities”
De-basing an entire national/ethnic group/culture is how colonization ‘works’ (Memmi). In other words, making ‘a people’ seem (and believe) they are unable to govern themselves, i.e. they are made ‘dependent’ on another supposedly ‘superior’ ethnic group and culture. The colonizer does it aw the time…. and the colonized native comes to accept it as fact.
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
“De-basing an entire national/ethnic group/culture is how colonization ‘works’…”
England would have the Scots believe they are useless and that their only path to independence is by way of a corrupt, error-prone and ineffective devolved government working in cahoots with a co-opted and compromised ‘Scottish’ national party ostensibly pursuing Scotland’s liberation.
The reality is that both Scotland’s devolved government and the SNP are wholly in the pay of a foreign power bent on the continued subjugation of the Scots and the theft of everything they own.
Here’s a link to one of Alf’s papers on the yoursforscotland website:
THE THREE PHASES OF DECOLONIZATION
“bent on the continued subjugation of the Scots and the theft of everything they own”
Hide your wallet, NC. That’s what I do. Wild horses couldn’t make me give it up into their thieving hands.
And I refuse to live in fear.
In 1965, historian A.J.P. Taylor observed that when the Oxford History of England began, “England” was still a catch-all. He wrote: “It meant indiscriminately England and Wales; Great Britain; the United Kingdom; and even the British Empire. Foreigners used it as the name of a Great Power and indeed continue to do so.”
Aye, Sam. Indeed.
But the ingles wi ther sinfu vogie hivna conseedert a muckle pouer than thersel greater even whin at the peak o’ a fawen an crummelt noo bitter auld empire.
A pouer faur yont ingles ken. A pouer tae fauvour Scots meesterious tae the mundane loutherin minds o’ ingles high heid yins. Aye, a pouer itchin’ wi tae wark its magic an fesh aw Scots tae freedom.
Deus amat Scotos… and that being so divine intervention might very well light the path to Scotland’s liberation.
Scots is a braw langage by the wey – hiv a no telt fowk that afore sure.
See “The Eclipse of Scottish Culture” Turnbull and Beveridge.
“English culture, or to be more precise, the public-school, Oxbridge, “Home Counties” formation is steeped, to a singular degree, in the bizarre belief that its own history, institutions and practices are paradigms for other less favoured peoples. It is therefore not surprising that when anglican chaps turn their attention to Scotland, their representations should reflect their assumptions of superiority: a violent history, a fanatical religion, an impopverished culture, a “dark”, “backward” even uncivilised country.”
“Scots is a braw langage by the wey”
“Scots” is Gaelic.
What you’re talking about here is a laughably badly spelt English. Not “Scots”.
Grow up.
“English culture, … is steeped, to a singular degree, in the bizarre belief that its own history, institutions and practices are paradigms for other less favoured peoples”
How odd!
Substitute Islamic for English and the sentence becomes even more true!
“divine intervention might very well light the path to Scotland’s liberation”
Sure, NC, why not get down on your knees and pray?
What I’ve heard though, is that right now, the Big Man has several rather more pressing issues to deal with.
So be prepared to wait your turn.
“a violent history, a fanatical religion, an impoverished culture, a “dark”, “backward” even uncivilised country.”
It would seem those ‘Anglican chaps’ are projecting, in their arrogance, the pathology of their own nation’s collective psyche; their own nation’s violent history, impoverished culture, fanatical religious beliefs and uncivilised nature onto those more spiritually and intellectually advanced and generally peaceful peoples unfortunate enough to make their acquaintance.
One of the other symptoms apparent in those both arrogant and very very very stupid is rudeness.
Rudeness is a trait commonly observed in those who frequently offer up their ill-thought-out, and frankly remarkably uninteresting, opinion on a vast array of subjects – ‘opinion’, if their scribblings can be described as such, that fails to betray the slightest indication of any understanding at all of the subject being opined upon.
We Scots who pursue Scotland’s independence must often tolerate displays of arrogance at its zenith; ignorance raised to an artform; and more stupidity than could fill an infinity of infinite universes.
But the Scots have been plagued by annoying brainless little insects for a millennia and a few more buzzing around here or there are of no great consequence.
Here are some more Scots wirds.
Every word can be found in the two major historical dictionaries of the Scots language:
Modern Scots (after 1700)
in The Scottish National Dictionary (SND)
Older Scots (before 1700)
in A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (DOST)
And now for some more Scots words written in Scots using Scots words:
Haud awa daurk thocht and dinna be disjaskit.
Be joyfu and rejois tho the road be haurd.
Mynd thaut ye journe thegither wi yer fellowis treavelers towart the leeberation o’ a great people lang oppressit.
Aye, and the leeberation o’ yer ain mynds tae. Mynds lang cheatit and trickit by sleekit treacherous swicks and inglis swickery.
And here’s a link for those too lazy to go and find it for thersels:
Dictionars o the Scots Leid
“more stupidity than could fill an infinity of infinite universes”
Classic NC! Inflated and exaggerated beyond reason and well beyond what would make a persuasive argument to an objective reader.
Is it because you really are abused, robbed blind, and living in fear? I always thought you were just generating hysterical, over-the-top click bait for the hell of it.
TBH, I still do.
“plagued by annoying brainless little insects for a millennia”
Millennia is the plural of millennium. So either write “a millennium”, or just “millennia”. Unless you enjoy looking brainless yourself.
Here’s an idea. Post only in Scots, then you can spout whatever ungrammatical rubbish you want, and nobody will ever be any the wiser.
“One of the other symptoms apparent in those both arrogant and very very very stupid is rudeness.”
As to the latter point, I’ve never suffered fools gladly and I’m not about to start now.
As for the former, I can’t imagine anything more stupid (and indeed laughably juvenile) than claiming the English language is “Scots” because of (absurd) phonetic mis-spelling yet retaining the same sentence structure, syntax etc and indeed words.
Somas I’ve said: grow up.
*So as I’ve said: grow up.
Can’t even spell…
To paraphrase a great writer; “Rude, arrogant and very very very stupid….”
Oh well, “Caveman” by name….if the cap fits etc…
I was reading over a couple of comments I made earlier just to see how good they looked when published on the site and I noticed an error.
“plagued by annoying brainless little insects for a millennia” is ungood English grammar.
Because, of course, the ‘a’ is erroneous as it singularly refers to a plural (what a fool am I) and the line should read:
1: “plagued by annoying brainless little insects for 1.1 millennia”
Or
2: “plagued by annoying brainless little insects for (no A required here) millennia” – hyperbole alert
Or
3: “plagued by annoying brainless little insects for (an A is required here to make good English) a millennium”
Hyperbole is one of the ‘flowers of rhetoric’ and is the technical term for exaggeration. Exaggeration is a tool for the creation of an effect in both writing and speech and humans use it all the time – even in normal conversation.
Or perhaps that should be especially in normal conversation. Which of us hasn’t been told five hundred trillion times not to exaggerate?
It is clear from one of my ‘brainless little insects’ lines – version no.2 above – that the use of millennia without the preceding numerical qualifier of 1.1 is hyperbole since Scotland as a unified nation has only existed for around 1100 years – that’s still a few hundred years longer than England, though. Yet another first in a long list of firsts for Scotland.
So, pick a version – 1, 2 or 3 – that suits your personality best and use that when reading my comment.
Hopefully, no-one was traumatised by my sloppy literary effort.
Right, urgent English grammar emergency successfully resolved. – we can now sleep easy… until the next one at least.
@NC
That’s an incoherent pile of word-vomit, mate. If that’s your idea of a rebuttal, well, it probably explains much, including why you think phonetically misspelled (and laughably badly written) English qualifies as a bona fide (other) language.
In short, you are a delusional nutcase, and likely beyond all help.
@James
Whatever, fatso.
“we can now sleep easy”
Great news, NC. No living in fear for you tonight (technically, last night now).
I enjoyed your post too. But a little niggling thought surfaces.
Why is it that every time they have something complicated to say, the Scots language aficionados resort to using the King’s English?
Naw. I’m not expecting a response, whether hysterically OTT, or just normal.
Heh. Just seen the timestamp on these posts, more “3am specials”… (rolls eyes)
Let’s face it, there’s no 6:30am daily alarm for a busy work day for this lot. May illicit a senseless response come 11:30am perhaps? Baited breath etc
@ Captain Caveman says: 12 June, 2025 at 7:43 am
To be fair, some of them are living in fear.
Others are enslaved, or traumatised, or have had everything stolen by the English, or are abused daily. Or even all of the above.
We have to hope that the people pleading Scotland’s case at the UN are not also trying these claims on. They will be facing serious professionals who will be used to dealing with real victims that genuinely have been and are still exposed to all of the evils fraudulently claimed as their lived experience by some of the more hysterical posters on here.
If this kind of shite really is being tried on at the UN, it’ll be laughed to scorn.
“… it’ll be laughed to scorn.”
£100 says it will be.
As a betting man, I believe that’s what is known as a “racing certainty”…
Thon Caveman needs his erse skelpit. A ganch, skite or slabber. Shilpit.A wee scrunt, couldnae screeve.
Anyone know the Sprachle frae Ahoghill?
S Gethins is earmarked to replace the useless Shona in Dundee East.
ALBA a complete no-show?
And what of the combination of all the other Indy parties, groups, and individuals, Liberate Scotland?
Indeed, Bill. I see Liberate Scotland as the answer. It can combine the independence vote in a wholly positive way.
If the SNP and Alba joined Liberate our cause would be unstoppable. But there is the problem – I cannot see the SNP ever agreeing to work with others.
In the real world, we need every source of publicity and support for Liberate in order to inform the voters of Liberate’s existence and purpose. The clock is ticking for the 2026 Holyrood election.
“Sarah,” do you really think the SNP (currently polling about 30%) would be interested in “joining” the splinter, polling 1%, Alba/Liberate/Salvo/ISP/I4I/New Scotland Party?
Why should the electoral elephant join forces with the electoral flea?
Just so you know, this is the first political *anything* I’ve read about Scotland in ages because I’ve entirely given up on the country and its politics. As per always it’s a good read and well put together but jeez, it must be hard to stir up any enthusiasm for doing this kind of thing these days.
The SNP does need to be snuffed out (at least the vast majority of its incumbents) and start again. Alba seems to have dissolved into bitchy infighting and sniping from folks spurned by the leadership from what I see on twitter, and everyone else is as despicable as they always have been.
I feel and for well over a year have felt like I did after leaving one count in Aberdeen in the early 90s after another massive disappointment, but its ongoing now and not at the lack of election, but at the people who’ve been elected. They’re rotten to the core: they actually make the red-rosette-on-a-monkey Labour from before look principled and because of that I’ve had to turn off the politics centre in the brain to enjoy life.
Alba are list only so to not split the indy vote, they’ve been saying that for a long time now. Unlike the Greens who will stand anyone they can, regardless of any safeguarding issues or dodgy background.
Interesting day tomorrow in parliament.
Will the vote on the decision released late tonight by the Scottish Government be enough to save John Swinney if a motion of no confidence vote in the government is called and lost.
Could John Boy be for his jotters. What would be the impact if such a vote is called and lost.
Ah well,we shall have to wait and see what transpires.
What has happened, Willie? What was the “big decision”?
I think you might have a pleasant surprise from Banff and Buchan, believe it or not, between the fishing and farming communies (fishing includes anciliary jobsdependent on the fishing industry like fish factories, engineers) make up the main jobs in the North East constituency, along with Offshore work, their hatred of the SNP is growing, and Reform is going to be the main player, where Labour voters(Not that many) and LibDem voters(a few more than Labour) that wouldnt think of voting Tory are already speaking about tacticallly voting Reform in, Karen Adams job is far from safe, esp if the new maritime protection ideas (think slightly altered HPMAs) start to go through the hearings before the election.
I think Reform will take this seeat by a minimum of 3500 votes, last time I was hearing chatterings like this from industry insiders , the North East turned blue, and I was called an idiot, didnt know what I was talking about etc in the run up to 2017
“Anyone voting SNP on both ballots, then, for any reason, is unequivocally a moron.”
They are worse than morons. Anybody advocating SNP 1 and 2 is a Quisling of the worst kind.
Do you think Ash Regan will retain her Constituency seat
in Edinburgh East? Given that her considerable majority was gained before she joined Alba. I’m unsure what Alba are going to do re this Constituency. It’s my understanding that they will not put forward candidates for Constituency seats yet they have a sitting Constituency MSP.
My guess is Alba will let Ash Regan stand in the constituency, if she wishes. It will either be a narrow SNP hold or a Labour gain. The transfer of Tranent, Macmerry and Wallyford will bring a few thousand Labour votes to Edinburgh Eastern and Musselburgh. That may give the SNP a chance of holding East Lothian Coast and Lammermuir, which wouldn’t change Stu’s arithmetic, given that both constituencies are now in the same electoral region.
AFAIK Alba aren’t standing in any constituencies, but even if she does I’d be surprised if she held it.
Unless Alba, SNP and the other nominally pro Independence parties adopt the ‘Manifesto FOR Independence’ nothing changes and Scotland will remain a colony and an integral part of UK plc!
Alba are no more than a MK2 version of the failed SNP! Scotland will need radical change brought about by its people who are Sovereign, not a rearranging of the failures who to date have failed at every level since 2014!!
I can’t understand why Liberate Scotland don’t adopt the Manifesto for Independence. It looks logical and foolproof so what is it they don’t agree with?
Actually quite depressing. With these majorities you can see why there’s such an air of entitlement. Why on Earth would they want to change anything when there’s 5 years more devo pension.
Only chance now is the SNP membership doing something extraordinary.
The useless Mairi Gougeon is not re-standing in Mearns, I am hopeful Conservative Tess White will win, as she is an excellent, current list, MSP supporting farmers and against the monster pylons.
There could be upsets in the Highlands too. The anger against mega pylons, huge substations and massive wind turbines is building steadily. Maree Todd’s coat is on a shoogly peg in our constituency because of this, and I am not convinced that the LibDems will get the renewables protest vote unless they start sounding far more convincing. Kate Forbes will see a vacklash too, I’m sure. There was talk today at a big Highland community councils meeting of fielding candidates specifically to fight the renewables tsunami up here. It could be a particular possibility for the list vote. Interestingly, the party doing the most to stick up for communities facing the renewables onslaught up here are also the Tories.
It is one thing shunning the SNP and another thing voting for a Scottish rep of an English party in Scotland. All of the main parties will give Westminster/England what it wants and will be no more than administrators for requirements of big business in Scotland. Votes for a labour MP in Alloa and Grangemouth gave the SNP a kicking and elected an MP who stated he would keep the refinery open. If Westminster wants big pylons in the Mearns they will get big pylons in the Mearns.
“elected an MP who stated he would keep the refinery open”
As in “would like to” or “will” keep the refinery open?
Or just “would” keep the refinery open.
Last I heard, the refinery is still going to close.
I “would” keep the refinery open too. Vote for me. TBQH, I need the money as much as the rest of them.
BTW. Whatever makes you think big pylons in the Mearns can be laid at Westminster’s door? They’re to take offshore-generated wind power down to the Central Belt. HR is far keener on this uber expensive will of the wisp than WM is, especially since WM and Labour are finally coming to their senses.
As things already stand, offshore wind power will always be eye-wateringly expensive. Trying to bury the transmission infrastructure will simply add yet more to the humongous bills that we are all going to end up paying.
F.Y.I. The candidate for Cunninghame South is now Patricia Gibson.
While I am not a reform voter nor likely to be I do think you are underestimating the effect they will have on the vote.
I think that there will be a number of surprises in how much of a vote they get, not because they are worth voting for but more as a protest vote against the other parties who are now all despised by most of the electorate.
“not because they are worth voting for but more as a protest vote”
Ah, come on now Rob.
Their “secret” weapon is that they do have policies that are worth voting for.
Stop the boats – only those with heads buried in the sand pretend the boats don’t adversely affect Scotland too.
End Nutt Zero – as above.
Drill baby, drill – jobs and economic opportunities for Scots.
Recognition of ‘O’ grade biology – the hopefully final nail in the coffin for Scotland’s reality-denying gender woowoo – something that hasn’t yet gone away.
The Site Prick is needing a reset again…
“…Drill baby, drill – jobs and economic opportunities for Scots….”
Meanwhile the oil revenues go to Engerland along with the refinery jobs.
Clown looking for a circus.
@ James says: 12 June, 2025 at 12:46 am
“prick”
I’m impressed. Few are prepared to voice their obsessions out loud and proud on a public forum like this one.
“refinery”
I’m impressed again. Four syllables. Quite an achievement for a knuckle dragger pounding words into his keyboard with his fists.
But I see I have struck a nerve by pointing out that Reform intends to ramp up oil & gas production and exploratory activities. I guess that even in an industry employing roughnecks, Neanderthal knuckle draggers will always be destined for the permanent KB.
Boo fucking hoo, James.
LABOUR GAINS: 7 (all from SNP), net +7
SNP GAINS: 3 (all from Con), net -7
Should that be net – 4
No. On those numbers, the SNP lose 7 to Labour, make a net gain of one from the Tories and lose 1 to Lib Dems.
I see it now… Thanks
A.I. BOTS are prey to «hallucination», sometimes with serious consequences but humans do it far better.
link to archive.is
Aberdeen South…beware!
That’s some read. As Scotland does not – yet – have diplomatic relations with any country and no embassies, I am not quite sure how we could close those embassies and break off diplomatic relations.
Incidentally, did you see the story in that link about the secret (oops) meeting of 25 senior SNP leaders on Monday night discussing the replacement of John Swinney as leader on the grounds he’s not done enough to progress independence?
Was it because “he’s not DONE enough to PROGRESS independence” or merely “not mentioned independence enough so we’ll lose votes and our paypackets”?
Mairi McAllan can be relied on not to spill the beans about Alex S. She’s a Sturgeon protege and loyalist.
Re Cowdenbeath.
The SNP candidate is David Barratt, who’s been doing a solid job as a councillor and has been very visible locally. I’d call it for the SNP, but it will be close.
This, link to aurelien2022.substack.com, is an interesting but slightly long read.
It’s well worth your time though, as then you’ll understand why the SNP is the epitomy of the current political system, and why they’re unlikely to be going anywhere – though the parasitic relationship with Labour means everything is likely to be a blend of yellow and red. Indeed the Rev has pointed this out on any number of occasions.
It also shows why Alba are never going to make the breakthrough a lot of people hope for. All the seats on the bus are already taken so there’s simply no room for them.
The most important conclusion you might come to is that unless Reform are going to offer root and and branch change to pretty much everything, nothing much will come of them either.
It’s neo-liberalism for you and me, and your offspring, as far into the future as the eye can see.
Only an asteroid, physical or political, can change things now.
Is John Swinney going to be forced out of office.
100%Yes @ 15.04.
Oh, if only.
Yes but – they’ll find someone worse, won’t they? Robertson, Sturgeon, all those up to their eyes in the fixing and backstabbing.
Aye wee Mary Mcnobody is a front runner to take over from Mogadon John.
I’m not sure Jackson Carlaw will lose Eastwood. I’m no fan of his but the SNP are putting up Kristen (decapitate a terf) Oswald who has irritated a great many independence supporters in the area. Carlaw was GRRB supportive though he might have abstained. But with 2 wokies standing, I’m not ruling out Con hold. I’ll of course be voting for the Liberate Scotland candidate Colette Walker of ISP. She’s no chance of winning but at least I can vote for a pro-independence candidate who knows what a woman is!
I’m not sure how much of Edinburgh Eastern was a personal Regan vote. But I hope she returns to Holyrood even if it’s on the list, though I hae ma douts. Similarly whilst I couldn’t vote Tory, Tess White has been excellent on women’s rights and can actually string a sentence together so I suppose it’s who the SNP put up in the seat.
Starmer giving Gibraltar over to the EU. He’s an enemy agent of. Britain. A globalist ("Tractor" - Ed).
Scots now have a choice Independence vs the globalist war mongering ("Tractor" - Ed)s.
I see Northen Ireland is kicking off. Civil war. It’s all to do with migrants raping young girls.
Catholics and Protestants unite against the common enemy! Sorry. Not sorry!
I’m getting fed up with the endless negativity .Why is HateyMac thing still allowed on wings?
And why the negativity about Alba from Stu?
From where I am ,as an activist ,we have a fair bit of grass root support and it certainly doesn’t help to have all the constant griping.
“Why is HateyMac thing still allowed”
Because the SNP-led government of Scotland dumped the Hate Crimes Bill on us, along with many other legislative abortions
Because despite all the sound and fury, nobody in Scotland that I’m aware of has proposed or promised to repeal it.
Because that’s an abomination in any twenty-first century, aspirational first-world, western country, and furthermore, it breaches my rights as a Sovereign Scot to speak my mind openly and freely.
Because if that’s the kind of country the existing Indy movement is intent on bringing into being, then bloody obviously we need a new and improved Indy movement.
I hope that’s not too negative for you, but frankly, if you can’t handle negativity then you’re no use to Scotland or Indy.
There’s a very important fact about being a Sovereign Scot that you need to wrap your head around. A Sovereign Scot doesn’t lose his Sovereignty just because he might say something you disagree with.
McShiteface;
Obvious Yoon plant/bot. Scroll past.
Oh Anne, don’t you know that Hatey is the Guardian of Truth and Justice. Shining a light into the dark corners of the interwebs to challenge the despicable idea that Scots should stand on their own two feet. He’s the Nora Batty of Nationalism.
Besides, he’s go nothing better to do.
Thanks for the Guardian thingy.
I don’t think the idea of Scots standing on our own two feet is despicable.
What I despise are the people like yourself who have made such a pig’s arse out of the concept over the past decade or so.
Just as I despise your narcissistic certainty that Indy belongs to you, despite your solid track record of right royally fucking up everything you have so far touched.
And your delusions that you have been appointed to speak for all of us Sovereign Scots. I despise that too.
The way I see it, Stuart, you had your chance. You blew it. You now need to get out of the way because tarnished by failure as you are, you are of fuck all use to any rebuilding of the Indy movement.
“the Nora Batty of Nationalism”
See? You think playground level insults are the route to nation building. You lack the smarts to notice that, after ten years of hurling playground level insults to no effect, you’re clearly onto a loser.
So, you’re a Sovereign Scot that is happy to hand all decisions to another country. How does that work, Nora?
Stuart…
Give up son !
Hatey can swat away a dozen wannabe wee trolls like you in the blink of an eyelid !
Just read on BBC Scotland website that Alexander’s in Falkirk is under threat of closure and the manufacturing will be moved to Scarborough.
This is awful Swinney,Sarwar and all other politicians and candidates in Scotland get your act in gear and unite and do your jobs to prevent further reduction in Scottish manufacturing.
they won’t realise the double standard,if it was a shipyard building ships for the Royal Navy all of the unionists would be opposing it and saying it is a result of the SN P policy the shower of useless bastards
Hear! Hear!
Less than bloody useless , positively acting against Scotland.
Aye, the same people who gave you Covid and killed your granny are now decimating your economy with cheap electric vehicles.
And the Trump tariffs are making it worse. Faced with rising import tariffs into the US, the Covid spreaders are dumping their state-subsidised, cheap fossil fuel manufactured products onto unprotected overseas markets. Such as our one, while our politicians, dicker, bicker and parrot the messages “Trump baaddd” and “gotta save the world”.
I’m not yet into trashing vehicles, but if I ever develop a taste for it, it won’t be Teslas I’ll be targeting. It’ll be Covid spreader specials and from all accounts, there will be lots of them to choose from soon.
Cheap junk on our roads to match the cheap junk we already all have in our homes.
Can we live on virtue signalling alone? Looks like we intend to seriously try to find out.
O/T British Hydropower Association Head Office, Sheffield.
England has no pumped storage, none in Northern Ireland, Wales has 2 sites – total 0.2GW Scotland has 9 sites – total 10.25GW, a further 6 sites earmarked in Scotland.
It’s shite being Scottish !
Many of the most advanced pumped storage projects are located in Scotland, where the topography is better suited for large-scale storage
Scotland’s power requirement is under 5GW……
There must be a dale/tarn or two in Ye Merry Olde Engalunt that would like a bi massive slab of concrete across it ?
@ JBG
Scotland’s leccy demand could / should be significantly higher than it is if we had more industries requiring power. Plus if folk could afford the high price more leccy power should be used for heating.
As it is the whole UK energy sector is a total fuck up with much of the generation infrastructure in Scotland’s geographic area sitting in curtailment mode where taxpayers pay companies not to produce power.
EG. The 6 farms that make up the Seagreen area off the Angus coast regularly are sitting in curtailment mode during the day when they could have been producing 1GW of power.
This link has a lot of information, but it’s a bit awkward to view and scroll the content in the restrictive box in the bottom left box of the page.
https://renewables-map.robinhawkes.com
Plus a lot of energy information on this page.
link to terravolt.co.uk
England didn’t want wind turbines on its land, and likely would be the case to flooding it for hydro power.
“The 6 farms that make up the Seagreen area off the Angus coast regularly are sitting in curtailment mode during the day when they could have been producing 1GW of power”
Aye, Dan. All that free leccy going to waste just because “they” are too grippy to shell out the tens of billions that’s needed to bring it onshore and distribute it to where it can be used.
Haud oan though. If tens of billions is needed to use the “free” leccy, is it still free?
Is it even cheap, or at least cheaper than the old-fashioned sort generated and distributed by infrastructure that was already all onshore and already all paid for?
Sorry to be asking awkward questions, Dan. Maybe you can call me names and hope I will go away.
@ Hatey
Oh do fuck off. Show me where you have ever seen me state leccy would be free?
If you looked at the linked to page you could see that the windfarm is currently in a generation mode and supplying pretty much all of the power it is producing, so its connection line to mainland is adequately sized and obviously capable of transmitting the 1GW of power being generated in the 6 farms, as and when it gets a slot to contribute the power being generated to the grid to get a return of investment.
It was just under a billion quid the taxpayer paid out in curtailment charges last year to big often foreign owned power companies, and that situation will continue for a good while longer because the mainland grid infrastructure improvements to facilitate the transmission and distribution of the potential amounts of power being generated here are lagging way behind the rate at which generation infrastructure is being built.
So as I said, the energy sector under London Rule is a total disjointed fuck up that has put the cart before the horse and allowed the corporates to extract returns even when the consumer can’t purchase the product.
“It was just under a billion quid the taxpayer paid out in curtailment charges last year to big often foreign owned power companies, and that situation will continue for a good while longer”
It will probably continue indefinitely.
The reason being that in order to handle the discrepancy between low wind situations and high wind situations, reliance on wind power alone means you need 5 to 10 times as much generating capacity as will suffice on a high wind day.
And when the wind is blowing strongly, you therefore have 5 to 10 times as much power as you need, which has to be curtailed at great expense.
Otherwise, the people investing their billions in this Heath-Robinson lash up invest their money elsewhere.
Of course, you could interlink our system with other systems and trade leccy when one system is over capacity and another system is under capacity. Like the Norwegians do, for example.
But the “big brains” of Scotland are already ruling that out. As I said earlier, they are either liars or dumb.
As for you, Dan, get your own site and then you can tell people to fuck off. Simples.
O/t
A friend of mine text me a message to say that I should look at the synopsis of the storylines of this morning’s episodes of Frasier, which I did. Astoundingly at the end of each outline of the story content it continued with appraisals of England’s under 21’s Euro game against the Czech Republic tonight. Apart from the nauseating syrup laden comments why on earth was this English self promoting propaganda allowed to appear.
I have never seen this type of thing before and should never have been sanctioned.
I await Similar publicity when rUK teams play.
Aye right.
As long as Scotland allows another country to make our decisions for us, we can expect more of the same.
I blame the thick Unionists, actually.
Meantime, back on Planet Earth, Reeves has just announced a package of measures that will affect each and every Sovereign Scot.
Whether it’s the freeze on council finances, the pouring of yet more money into the NHS sinkhole, the starving of resources for law and order as criminality continues to rise, or the certainty of further tax increases soon and the consequent certainty of yet further squeezes to service the ballooning interest payments due on her careless borrowing, every Scot will feel the malign effects.
In a nutshell, WM managed decline turned by Labour into WM badly managed decline.
This really should be a day on which the supporters of Indy are capitalising on the increasingly unsustainable and unaffordable follies of WM, with their own costed and verified policies for how an Independent Scotland will escape from this quicksand.
But naw. Tumbleweed, some juvenile name calling, the usual religiously held belief that everything will magically work out for the best (maybe the UN and prayer will sort things) and some pointless speculation about what might happen in an election the best part of a year away.
I want to know why there aren’t tens of thousands of ordinary, decent Scots out on the streets of our cities and towns every weekend. No rainbow banners. No masked, Arabic speakers calling for Jihad. No twisted Marxists dreaming of Soviet gulags.
Ordinary, decent Scots telling our politicians that they need to get the finger out, repeal the thickets of virtue signalling legislation that are holding us back and deliver us cheaper energy, affordable homes, safe public spaces, and reliably paying jobs for our workers.
As you have pointed out, Scotland is in a complete mess because of Westminster’s priorities.
A culmination of a complete disregard for what Scotland needs or wants with no thought of investment whatsoever.
It does not square with the need to devise concrete plans of what a future Scotland in charge of our own decisions will do, that is an impossible caveat to realise. One government cannot bind the hands of another (succeeding government).
Asking for the bar to be raised to an impossible height might suggest you don’t want it vaulted.
What if we were to look at the problem,(because Unionism is a problem) from another angle, what if we were to ask ourselves what Norway would look like now if it were under Westminster rule for the last 300 years?
I’d be interested in anyone’s thoughts, especially thicko Unionists.
Recent legal advice on the subject confirms there was no ‘Union’ and that what occurred in 1707 was the annexation and subsequent colonial exploitation of Scotland and its people.
Which implies there is no ‘Unionism’, only colonialism.
And that is why Liberation.scot are currently petitioning the UN to recognise Scotland’s current status as a NSGT:
link to liberation.scot
Two thoughts, BP:
1) Read Alf’s post above. The UN will be handing Scotland Independence any day soon. So retire to your bedroom, close your curtains, sit down in front of your computer, and prepare for Indy.
2) And hold your breath in anticipation.
OK. A third thought, please bear with me. Think up some playground name calling insults, and practice them to yourself in a singsong voice. It will help pass the time and you’ll feel so much better and superior.
“what if we were to ask ourselves what Norway would look like now if it were under Westminster rule for the last 300 years?”
I suspect you haven’t got the faintest knowledge of the fact that Norway was “colonised” by Sweden until 1905.
And that in 1905, the Norwegians collectively grew a pair.
That’s the problem the Norwegians have. They are genetically incapable of endlessly greeting into their drams, declaiming “it’s not fair”, and blaming everybody but themselves.
They’ve no time for Orcs and Orc apologists either, which makes your choice of Norway as some kind of exemplar for Scotland all the more ill thought out. At least for you.
I agree Alf, of course what Scotland is subject to is not any sort of partnership, as I think that was part of my point, no?
They main point was a swipe at the enablers of this so called Union.
They won’t be calling themselves Colonialists anytime soon.
This is what more Scots, all Scots, should be made aware of:
Professor Alf Baird, co-convener of the Liberation Scotland committee.
There is no path to Scottish independence through Scotland’s devolved parliament using an electoral system specifically designed to block Scottish independence whilst giving the Scots the illusion of choice.
“This is what more Scots, all Scots, should be made aware of”
But when NC?
The most momentous event in all of our lives.
An event of such impact, it will make Brexit look like Partick Thistle losing an away game to one of the Old Firm.
When?
I’ll start to take all of this more seriously when somebody tells us what they are doing in preparation.
And of course, when it is all going to happen.
Let me make a wild guess – next year in Jerusalem, eh?
excellent and thorough work as ever, and as objective as possible I would think.
What I suggest, however, is that old-fashioned voting is gone. I reckon Hamilton 2025 was the last of it. Enough traditional labour voters who flocked to SNP a generation ago (wow) in disgust with old Labour’s corruption and incompetence, just held their noses at Starmer and Reeves’ stench and drifted back becasue they couldn’t see an alternative. I suspect few of them looked at the calibre of either Labour’s candidate or Labour’s Scottish leadership.
Across the country, I think no incumbent is safe.
If only high quality, non-party candidates were to step forwards.
@ Wally Jumblatt “If only high quality, non-party candidates were to step forwards.”
Your wish has been answered. Liberate Scotland is the umbrella grouping for such candidates – Independents For Independence has Eva Comrie as one of their candidates, plus Independence For Scotland Party under Colette Walker, and the Sovereignty Party. See Barrhead Boy’s blog today.
The Barrhead Boy article just reads as a wish list. He treats UDI as an end in itself. There’s nothing about how that will work in practice. For example, Scottish taxes are currently collected by HMRC and then handed over to the SG. This leaves the UKG firmly in control of Scottish tax revenue and the data required to collect those taxes. If UDI were to be declared, where would the SG get the money required to run the country? I can’t imagine pensioners and benefits claimants being very happy when their cheques fail to arrive.
@ Dunx
I can’t recall you ripping into the lack of detail with regard to Stu’s similar “wish listlike” suggestion.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Negotiations would be required to sort out and resolve numerous matters. (Trident article)
link to wingsoverscotland.com
@ Sarah
Could it be an aspect of why Liberate Scotland aren’t supportive of Peter Bell’s Manifesto for Independence is because it rejects using Westminster elections (where UK constitutional matters are reserved to) as a legitimate democratic process for Scots to express their desire for self-determination and returning to self-governance; And by doing so effectively closes off that option and restricts the available democratic processes Scotland could utilise as a plebiscite in the future.
Who knows, but there seems to be a fair bit of unresolved differences of opinion going on between folk regarding process.
As an engineer minded person I would always suggest trying to utilise a KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid process when creating a system requiring to be delivered.
A straightforward robust plan is far more likely to garner desired objectives than an overly complex setup which is more likely to be derailed or confuse the less politically aware electorate.
Right, morning cuppa finished after veg garden chores for the day completed, and now aff out to work on rally car engines and gearboxes and teach the young apprentices some old dog tricks of the trade.
John Main, you can project (whine) all you want but you do well to avoid answering how Norway would fare in a “Union” with England, after all, everybody knows the answer.
Northcode…
Couldn’t agree more!
There is no block to independence through the SP is folk genuinely want it.
It just takes a party standing for it as the main prospectus plank, and meaning it.
If this happened then there could be no impediment or block on another referendum.
However no matter how much shouting and moaning about independence from a minority there are a majority of folk don’t see this as either a priority, want it at all, or simply don’t care one way or the other.
The SNP don’t do anything about it because they know it will fail, but use it as a stick to justify the usual woe is us agenda they always do and which most folk are sick of.
None of the other independence parties are likely to ge anywhere with their agenda because of the lack of enthusiasm for independence.
Independence isn’t even in the top 5 important issues that the general public are even interested in, its a very minority issue and likely to stay that way for a long time, folk still remember the grief of the last referendum and most, including me, don’t want a repeat anytime soon.
Couldn’t agree more, other than with not wanting a re-run soon.
Let’s have the re-run, lance the boil, and Scotland can either put up or shut up.
I mean, are we really going to spend another decade pointlessly insulting each other and howling at the moon on here?
Rev Stu won’t live forever.
Hatey McHateface says:
Rev Stu won’t live forever.
—————————————
Is that what the polls say?
“…Independence isn’t even in the top 5 important issues that the general public are even interested in…”
Maybe they don’t know exactly how much they are being robbed by the English Parliament on a daily/yearly basis, thanks to your yoon chums that run the entire ‘UK’ “media”?
Aye James, most of the top 5 “concerns” that sit above Scotland returning to self-governing status can’t and won’t be able to be properly dealt with until Scotland returns to self-governing status…
The MSM and endless trolls obviously have an interest in not explaining this to the electorate, but that our own supposed brightest and best can’t even be arsed trying to explain this situation to the electorate says it all.
That’s right, we’ve all had enough of this democracy nonsense.
Democracy isn’t even in the top 10 of things people want, all this ask the people this, ask the people that. It’s just a waste of time.
This country didn’t get where it is today by asking the people what they want and we shouldn’t start now, I mean where will it end.
Referendums, pah!
Waste of my time, when I could be napping and farting God save the King.
Bloody voters, I’d like to blaa blaa blaa…
Alex Cole Hamilton is in Lothian and you’ve got no change. That means Lothian has at least one constituency seat for Lib Dems, not sure if that changes the predictions though as it would probably give Seat 7 to a different unionist party.
Scotland’s Imaginary Debt;
In 2022-23 Scotland raised £87.5bn in tax which goes directly to Westminster. However, the Scottish Government only received a budget back of £59.7bn, a difference of £27.8bn staying in London .Scottish Budget: 2024 to 2025 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
64% of revenue is reserved to London and 36% devolved to Edinburgh. While 41% of expenditure is reserved to London and 59% is devolved to Edinburgh.
The Scottish Government can borrow £3 billion for capital expenditure in the term of a parliament with the annual limit for 2023/24 set at £450 million. Resource borrowing is set at £500 million annually. The Scottish Government legally can NOT overspend its budget outside of the agreed borrowing limits, which leads me to my next point. link to gov.scot
It was reported for 2022/23 Scotland had a deficit of £19.1bn. The media and unionist politicians mistakenly or deliberately report this as Scot Gov overspending. However, it is a lie. There are some very interesting figures within Scotland’s ‘deficit’, for example: the figure of £9.1bn under the name of ‘Reserved public sector debt interest’ is Westminster debt being allocated to Scotland; debt Scotland had no part in creating or spending. That is 47.6% of Scotlands ‘deficit’, almost half is being created by debt loading from Westminster. If this debt was not being allocated to Scotland, the nation’s deficit would go down from 9% of GDP to 4.7%. I would like to note another interesting point: this debt Scotland is allocated actually stems from the 1707 Union. One of the terms was that Scotland would be paid £398,085 to offset Scotland being allocated a share of England’s debt for all of time. That in 2021 prices is £71,260,439 million. As you can see, that was not nearly enough to offset the burden on Scotland of England’s debt, Scotland has paid more than £9 billion more in one year on their neighbours debt than the whole amount that was supposed to offset it forever. link to gov.scot
Scotland is also allocated £4.5 billion for defence, but the UK government only spends £1.9bn on defence in Scotland. £2.6bn of Scotland’s money is being spent outside of Scotland, where it would better be used in the country to bolster the nation’s defence.
I want to finish off with a question; first let’s look at the statement: Andrew Bowie, Tory MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine admitted in an interview for the BBC “We now tax oil and gas companies 75% on their profits that they make, that 75% tax has gone towards paying for half of everybody in this country’s energy bills over the past winter. Oil and gas is important and it will be with us for the next 25-30 years.”
How can a nation of 5.5 million that has 90% of the UK’s oil reserves and roughly 60-65% of the gas reserves subsidise 34 million people’s energy bills for a whole winter but run a deficit and apparently be subsidised by its southern neighbour? The answer is; it can’t. Someone is lying: it’s the establishment in our neighbour’s capital that benefits tremendously by having Scotland shackled to it.
“it’s the establishment in our neighbour’s capital that benefits tremendously by having Scotland shackled to it.”
Yes, colonialism (aka ‘the Union’) is costing Scots between £100-150 billion every year:
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
James says
‘There are some very interesting figures within Scotland’s ‘deficit’, for example: the figure of £9.1bn under the name of ‘Reserved public sector debt interest’ is Westminster debt being allocated to Scotland; debt Scotland had no part in creating or spending. ‘
As one example, Westminster borrowed billions during Covid. restrictions, part of which was spent in Scotland supporting Scottish workers during the period of furlough.Perhaps James would have preferred Scottish workers to have been laid off.
If we want to convince soft ‘no’ voters, we have to be honest if we are going to have any credibility.
Wait til Vivian O’Blivian takes a keek at that line-up for the Project 2050 conference…
This extract from an article by Sara Salyers posted on the Salvo website.
Political ‘Kryptonite’ and UK Exceptionalism:
…Management of our own assets, even with a tax liability due to the UK Treasury, (though potentially offset by the action of a trustee which has impoverished the owners with their own assets), is a significant step towards full self-determination and certainly guaranteed under international law.
It includes not just oil and gas, but renewable energy and water.
It allows Scotland to separate its national grid from that of England and to provide its people with cheap renewable energy before exporting to England or anywhere else.
It allows Scotland to set its own license terms and profit share prior to tax and to relieve Sunak of the new licenses he is flogging and develop a responsible energy policy that allows responsible, staged exploration and recovery of new forms of energy from existing fields.
In short, it is a game changer.
If none of the actual terms of the Treaty, (and none of the modern, legal provisions for self-determination of nations), apply, then Scotland is a de facto colony.
It is further anticipated that the Scottish National Congress, representing the Liberation Movement, will graciously allow the UK government to answer that question.
All this has depended on just one thing. Knowledge of the constitutional position and its implications, knowledge which has been hidden, distorted or subverted by the self-interested and self-authorising legalism of the British establishment for over a century.
And knowledge of and access to an international forum where the absurdities of the this establishment can be exposed by the spotlight of international, legal scrutiny.
Without doubt, this approach will employ the application to Scotland’s case of “the notion that the domestic concept of parliamentary sovereignty somehow bears upon the position of the UK as a State under international law” as the political kryptonite it really is.
It is long since time that the people of Scotland and the establishment that has so relied on it, watched it as it “disintegrates upon contact with legal reality.”
I suspect that as we have no intention of demanding support for UDI or even a referendum but only the answer to a clear question and the concomitant regularisation of the ‘voluntary’ union, there are many former colonies who will enjoy delivering the rather painful slap on the wrist that the UK government so richly and is so widely now seen to deserve.
We have a great deal of work to do but we can be sure of one thing at least. We will not be following the coils of snake-law round and round in the same circles it has described for us until now.
Author: Sara Salyers
Here’s the full article on the Salvo website
“provide its people with cheap renewable energy before exporting to England or anywhere else”
Sigh.
It is undeniable that the “cheap renewable energy” trope is going to take many, many years of exorbitant bills for us all before it finally dies.
Meantime, those people who plug it as a carrot deserve to be pushed aside. Either they are lying through their teeth, or they genuinely don’t know what they are talking about.
“new forms of energy from existing fields”
My, my. Existing fields have oil or gas, or often a mix of the two. People will search for new forms of energy in vain.
But enough rationality for one post.
Tell us true, Northcode. Are you the same Northcode who just a few brief hours ago was telling us that English is the language adopted by liars?
If you are, what does that tell us about your post?
“We have a great deal of work to do”
No shit, Sherlock!
Has anybody tried switching the internet aff, and jist leaving it aff…
Was trying to find the Wings article on Trident and it being a bargaining chip in negotiations should Scotland move towards self-governing status. So googled “Wings Over Scotland Trident” hoping that the particular article would be in the search results.
The AI result, which I’ve found to be akin to the drunk guy in the pub produces this result…
AI Overview
The term “Wings Over Scotland” refers to a right-wing, pro-UK commentator, Rev. Stuart Campbell, who has written extensively on the subject of Scottish independence. Campbell and other commentators have debated the potential implications of Scottish independence on issues like Trident nuclear weapons, currency unions, and other aspects of the relationship between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
A while back I searched for a headgasket for a particular classic model of Japanese motorbike to see if the gasket was still available for a top end rebuild…
And the cretinous AI twat rocks up spouting pish that the cooling system if not maintained is prone to give issue with symptoms like coolant loss and steam. The thick chip brained bot cunt obviously didn’t know that that particular model has an air cooled engine, so it would be a fucking miracle if it developed a coolant leak and produced steam with a headgasket failure.
Dan – was the bot a “John Main” model? ;-D
“Was trying to find the Wings article on Trident and it being a bargaining chip in negotiations should Scotland move towards self-governing status“…
See also RAF Dheklia and Akrotiri on Cyprus…
The price of Cypriot independence…
Now what was that about a bargaining chip?
Take your time now..
@Dan
Hi Dan a good example of AI on X. I wrote a post and Grok3 said I was George Ferguson of Bristol an Architect. Twice I try to correct them. Then they had me down as an Engineer from Torres Pines. Try to correct them and gave up. AI doesn’t know the difference between an Architect and an Engineer. And doesn’t know how to respond to corrections. Is it a bad thing? No, but it’s infantile in it’s development.
George Ferguson ….
FFS !
Grow up !
Have you never realised there may be more than one person in the world called “George Ferguson ” ???
FIRST Minister John Swinney has said he does not think a challenge to his leadership would be a “good idea”.
link to thenational.scot
——————————————
But when he has been right about anything?
“I’ve obviously taken forward a number of steps over the course of the last 12 months to get the SNP into a better position.”
How did the SNP do in the general election?
“He said that the party put itself “in contention” in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election thanks to his leadership, when it would not have been before.”
That is the seat they had held since 2011 and LOST.
Even Norway has a national debt,
it borrows money to pay for infrastructure like every other nation,
it is cheaper for Norway to use other people`s money than use their own,
they make more interest on their own money than the interest they pay on a loan from other people.
Ports,roads,airports,reservoirs,bridges all because they didn`t let someone else steal their oil wealth,
London,Liverpool,Manchester all modernised with new infrastructure.
Scott, I thought that every country that uses a central banking system has a ;national debt’. You say that it’s cheaper for Norway to use other people’s money than to use their own, whch has confused me, as I thought that a country uses their own money, and that it was all borrowed from the country’s central bank, but that these banks are not owned by the government, and are in private hands. I understand that The Bank of England was in private hands from 1694 until it was partially nationalised in 1947 or thereabouts, and I confess to having no idea who issues Norway’s currency, but would be surprised if it was the Norwegian Government. I’m not trying to be a smart arse, I just want to know what you meant when you said Norway finds it cheaper to use other people’s money. y other people, do you mean countries other than Norway? Do any governments issue currency these days? I know President Lincoln issued government money to pay for the Civil War, and these US dollars were known as ‘greenbacks’ as they were green on one side, so if you could tell me where Norway borrows money from other people, I’d really like to know. I find fiat currency such a weird idea, I cannot understand how the system was ever adopted anywhere. It’s such a crazy way to run the world, and we all know that one day it has to go tits up. ‘Borrowing’ money from central bankers, and taxing the population just to service the interest seems the most wonderful scam ever thought up, and i think William Paterson was a genius to sell the notion to the English Government all those years ago. Governments don’t need to borrow money, they could issue their own currency, but they just carry on with the central banking system, which shows you who the real bosses are, I suppose. And they have to be the bosses of The Bank of International Settlement, which seems to be the central bank’s central bank.
Findlay…
“Governments don’t need to borrow money, they could issue their own currency…..”
Aye right !
I’ve still got some 500 million dollar Zimbabwe banknotes I bought for joke Xmas presents years ago !
Scot goes Pop so pathetic. Asks a question about who should have a vote in an Indy ref. But won’t print any suggestion which doesn’t suit his own personal inheritance narrative.
The UN have many protocols for franchises. For eg, a residence qualification of say, 15 or 20 years. Pretty straightforward and uncomplicated.
Careful there, MaryB -you’ll set off the Yoonhowlers and Franchise fannies!
@Insider
Of course I know there is more than one George Ferguson. The point I was making which you missed completely was I could have been on the hook for misappropriation of someone else. Grow up? I use my real name you don’t. QED.
Ireland is one of the most indebted countries in the world,
`The national debt of Ireland was estimated at approximately 236.50 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.
Between 1990 and 2024, the national debt rose by around 199.63 billion U.S. dollars,
though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend`
I tried to work out once who actually owns the world’s national debt.
The facts are that with only a handful of exceptions (shitholes like North Korea, for example), all countries are indebted.
The people most of the debt is owed too are the people not yet born. Most governments have borrowed against the future. Lots of our taxes now go directly to servicing that debt. Our grandchildren probably won’t succeed in clearing it if there is no catastrophic financial crash first.
It’s a difficult concept to get your head around, but once you do, it’s brilliant. Borrow from people who can’t say no (the unborn) and you can have as much money as you want today.
Think about it from the perspective of Mohamed, just arrived on a dinghy this morning. When he gets a job as a doctor, dentist or research biochemist, he might reasonably ask where the eye-watering tax deductions from his pay are going.
When he is told much of them are going on the interest and loan repayments for stuff that selfish, greedy, entitled, white kafirs bought on tick, years before he was born, he might choose to say “Fuck that” in whichever sub-Saharan language he is most comfortable in.
I think, that in his place, I would too.
main spends all day trying to save old blighty, but it’s done
link to archive.ph
and it won’t be 2100, more like 2040.
Wasn’t brexit meant to stop all that, taking back control?
Good ole nige, he will sort it – “less poles, more P4kis”
the question for me is : will england completely destroy Scotland before islam completely destroys england?
– and then from a tactical perspective : should scot nats support the complete islamisation program since it will tear english society apart – riots, terrorism, ghettoes, 2 tier policing, martial law, backlash by the angry working class against bbc/guardian liberals and the people who did all this mass immigration and diversity … it’s all fun stuff and if it gets us closer to indy then by definition it is a good thing, an absolute good in fact and we must remember : you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.
England has a karmic debt to the world and the collectors have arrived. Islam could be seen as the scourge of God and these people deserve destruction – “england is amalek”.
Of course the tendency will be for the english to use our country as a lifeboat and loot its resources to try and fix the economic problems at least (- the idea being you can kick your societal problems down the road by paying people off; e.g. the blacks who rioted in 2011 never did so in 2012, olympic year, because they got paid off, about the price of a new pair of trainers each – money fur da ‘yout wiv da programs fur da bredren)
– but you just don’t let them. What was that thing, that old fella who is deid, did in 2014 … indepedence, whitaboot that?
The tendency among people in general is to assume things can just go along as is, better the devil you know, the SNP are a bit shit now and aren’t interested … but when we can see england being torn apart night after night even the sevco fans will start thinking : “time to get the fuck out, now … ” – organise a quick “wildcat” referendum, win it by a mile since the postal votes are not “counted” in an RAF hangar in Northolt, then fly to the UN and tell them the treaty is no more.
– sometimes real life overtakes any satirical action
link to archive.ph
I have to comment after that exchange I have just had. Decades ago when I join the SNP and a lot of nice people I did meet. Post Referendum after I campaigned for Independence I joined the SNP again only to find Thuggery. Nicola Sturgeon stamped her authority and it was one of thuggery. Be prepared for lots of that before 2026. Especially on the most read Independence blog. What can I say. One half of my family one of the best A and E Doctors and his GP wife are leaving Scotland. So I have to get on a plane to see my grandchildren. You were telt 2 years ago after Humzas fag packet reforms. We are running out of time Scotland. If the SNP win a majority in 2026 I will vote for abolish the Scottish Parliament in 2031. Controversial? Not if you realise the movement in the SNP values.A Unionist party now full of chancers.
“Post Referendum after I campaigned for Independence I joined the SNP again only to find Thuggery.”
Fanon similarly describes a national party elite that has been ‘co-opted by colonialism’ and ‘taken under its their wing’ as ‘a gang’; their immoral and irrational behaviour, ‘mystifying laws’, attacks on so-called radicals’ and ‘lack of innovation’ on the main cause – i.e. liberating the people – follows suit and this is what ‘sickens the movement’, which leads to its ‘rupture’.
According to postcolonial theory they are now ‘condemned by their own hypocrisy’ (Cesaire).
Ane wey nor anither thon SNP deceivers are on the wey oot, swith-like. Scots fowk hiv haed mair than eneuch o thay chancers.
I give up… the unionists have beaten me down.
The constant negativity and the sniping at every post made by anyone who appears – even slightly – to support Scottish independence is depressing and commenting here now feels… unproductive at best.
I suppose that’s its purpose in the end – the constant yapping and the endless sniping. It’s a very effective tactic for demoralising fowk and shutting down debate.
It certainly seems to have driven away many independence supporters who at one time posted their comments here. Comments I used to enjoy reading. I miss those folk.
Thankfully, Alf Baird and Confused and James and Breeks and Dan and robertkknight and Xaracen and a few other independence supporters still post occasionally, although not nearly often enough for my liking.
And of course there’s Mia who still comments regularly.
These are the noble diehards of this place stoutly braving the frequent onslaughts of unionist vitriol – I selfishly hope they continue to do so for the benefit of those independence supporters who watch from the sidelines (of which I will now be one of) and who are reluctant to raise their heads above the parapet and post their own comments (and who could blame them?).
I’m a sensitive soul and certainly not a pugilist and I abhor the barely disguised aggression underlying the often nasty attacks on independence supporting posters we frequently witness in this place.
Perhaps it’s because I was raised in the gentle Latin tradition and not in the harsher Anglo-Saxon ways that I prefer civilised debate to that of crude adversarial ‘punch-ups’.
Sadly, there’s not much in the way of civilised debate to be had around here.
And so, even though my return has been brief, I’m done with this place.
I’m done rubbing shoulders with those who despise Scotland and my people.
I’m done seeing those who comment here in favour of Scotland and the Scots being ridiculed for no other reason than having been born Scots and who seek only the opportunity of a decent life for themselves and their families in their own free country – especially for their children who will one day become the hopeful future of a liberated nation.
But whatever future for Scotland and the Scots eventually comes to pass… I am done with this place.
Farewell.
It’s Nirvana – for the77th.
Behind you!
Too late. Maybe next time.
I asked Grok to summarise your post. Here it is:
“Ochone! It’s nae fair. They’re a’ agin me”
I’ll add my tuppenceworth.
“the noble diehards of this place”
You must have missed when Confused and Barbie were calling for the introduction of mobile gas chambers to deal with awkward Scots. Did you mis-read that as “noble gas chambers”?
“reluctant to raise their heads above the parapet and post their own comments”
Terrifying, eh? Posting anonymously online from the comfort and safety of your own home must be making you live in fear. My, how the great Scottish traditions of bravery and determination in adversity has atrophied on your watch.
“barely disguised aggression underlying the often nasty attacks on independence supporting posters we frequently witness in this place”
But the undisguised aggression when attacking those simply pointing out facts is A-OK with you, eh?
“ridiculed for no other reason than having been born Scots”
Nah. If I ridicule you, it’s when you post something ridiculous.
“not much in the way of civilised debate to be had around here”
Debate? When did you ever debate? You pronounce something hyperbolic, over-the-top, or just plain daft. If anybody takes you up on it, you ignore them.
And now you’re flouncing off in a monumental huff. Ciao!
Yawn.
Surely the oldest story on the internet…
Here, have the world’s smallest violin from me, mate, and don’t let your “erse” hit the door on your way out.
Anybody who dares to criticise the fantasists, cranks and downright nutters, you mention, is a Unionist!!!
The individuals you mention constantly post the same repetitive bilge irrespective of what the article relates to.
To my mind there are two types of Independence supporters-
1)Those who would take Independence tomorrow and don’t care who would form a Government or how it would work.They are the vocal minority.
2)Those who desire Independence but would want to know what that would entail and realise that an honest competent Government is a must at the outset. Nobody even attempts to present a projection of finances. ‘It will all be fine’ is the cry. This group make up the silent majority of Independence supporters.
Some state that Scotland simply walks away from the UK National Debt because of some 300 year old mince. If by a miracle this actually happens, it won’t, we also walk away from UK assets.Things like a Navy, Army, Airforce. All the UK institutions that we leave behind will need to be set up in Scotland. There are too many to count.It will be costly to replace. Where is the cash? Will we able to borrow given that we walked away from previous obligations? Central Bank/Currency? Who would want to to lend to us? At what rates? If the electorate somehow decide to vote for Independence, despite all the unknowns, there will have to be protracted negotiations with the UK Government. Who do we see leading the discussions for Scotland? Swinney, Forbes??
As it stands at the moment, Independence is pie in the sky stuff. The fantasists might not like it but that is the reality. Meanwhile our politicians ride the gravy choo choo.
I would say that I am sorry to see that you are leaving Wings but that would be a lie. It’s a shame that your site ‘heroes’ don’t do the same. They actually put the sane, educated Scots off the idea of Independence.
Change will only come via the ballot box. As it stands presently, there is no one to vote for. Sad but true.
What you mean is you’ve been continuously posting the same repetitive fantasist delusions day after day after day regardless of the subject of the blog post, and people who support Scottish independence and want to have a mature informed conversation about the opportunities, the challenges and the strategy for achieving it have rightly called you out. The fact that you are praising “James”, a man whose height of intervention is occasional swearing, shows a site where people discuss complex topics isn’t for you. Nothing personal, all the best.
@Northcode
Respect mate.
Dinnae gee it aw up tho.
ye can still go off topic fae time tae time.
😉
Agreed, aLurker. Northcode’s excellent points were proven almost immediately by five posts from the usual Yoon suspects.
The arrogance of these people is breathtaking, that they should attempt to take over the discussion btl on an independence site with their BritNat garbage.
Divert, divide, disrupt, rinse and repeat.
Unionist pricks to a man/bot. Some of them paid by the hour nae doot. (Clutch your pearls, “Aidan”, the jock said a bad word).
Stay on, Northcode; truth hurts and they don’t like it up ’em!
I’ve only just caught up on today’s “real” news.
I expect people will want to apologise to me for ridiculing my previous statements that we’re already in WW3.
Haha. In these difficult times, we all have to find humour wherever we can.
No doubt in the days ahead, the existential conflict unfolding in the ME will spawn its own localised skirmishes on the streets of UK cities. Probably in Scotland too.
And the lessons for Indy? To start with, it’s very definitely not 2014 any more.
No, it’s been 1984 for some time now.
Northcode , I will be deeply disappointed if you vanish , your return has been all too brief.
I do not bother reading certain contributors , they are not worth the effort and it’s so easy to scroll on by. Those who respond to them are just encouraging them and goodness knows why they would want to do that.
I asked Grok to summarise your post.
“There’s an excellent echo in this silo and if some people were to shut up, I could hear it more clearly”
It really was a shame Ian Lawson passed away he gave so much to the cause of Independence. Its a shame that a certain blogger doesn’t follow Ian commitment, instead he keeps attacking anyone with an opinion that doesn’t live up to the SNP or The National opinion.
But for him to be attacking Sovereignty party & Liberate Scotland comes as no surprise as he’s been attacking anyone and everyone. The SNP and every other party has been offered to join forces to bring about the end of deadlock the SNP created on the constitutional question. I really can’t see why anyone who wants Independence other than these who’s making living from it can have anything negative to say about Roddy’s good will intentions regarding liberate Scotland.
Roddy and Scottish prism is trying to educate and move the goal post nearer to achieving Independence, where as he’s spouting his bull and isn’t achieving a single thing other than division. He’s become a nuisance within the Indy movement and he’s dangerous because he’s got an Anonymous following who’s listening on to his everyone word and its this that’s dangerous.
Yes he’s got an Anonymous following that for some reason aren’t willing to put a name to their post, I wonder why.
“become a nuisance within the Indy movement and he’s dangerous because he’s got an Anonymous following who’s listening on to his everyone word”
I know this one!
It’s CM isn’t it?
100%Yes@ 9.52am
Couldn’t agree more with what you say. Roddy, SSRG, Sovereignty and ISP are the only sensible voices to find way to liberate Scotland. Their work with the UN is the only positive thing happening at present. But rather than lauding their work, the other independence groups seem resentful and try to pretend it’s not happening. But it is and good for Liberate.
SNP are too comfortable and devolutionist. The ghost of what they did to Alex Salmond will always haunt them and their guilt is a very powerful motivator to be silenced.
I’m not really sure about what Alba really want, though Kenny McAskill is a powerful figure.
Scot Goes Pop is just a disturbed attention seeking troublemaker, probably writing all his own anonymous posts himself.
So for those who really do want independence, Liberate seems the only way forward.
I agree, Mary – the whole independence movement should get behind the two prongs of Liberate Scotland for the 2026 Holyrood election, and Liberation,scot at the UN.
If only Wings and all the others promoted both efforts. We’ve get 11 months to make a difference. It is vital that the nearly 2 million Yes voters understand and support the work being done.