The Joker
Posted on
February 08, 2025 by
Chris Cairns
The world's most-read Scottish politics website
-
About
Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)
-
Recent Posts
- 03-17
- 03-17
- 03-16
- 03-15
- 03-12
- 03-11
- 03-08
- 03-07
- 03-06
- 03-05
- 02-27
- 02-25
- 02-22
- 02-21
- 02-20
- 02-15
- 02-12
- 02-11
- 02-11
- 02-10
A tall tale
Wee Books
Video
Probably a robbery
Transphobia
Like it or not, Reform is definitely gaining traction in Scotland.
Why do you suppose that is?
I’d guess to a large extent because they can pump out whatever views they feel are held by the majority of none woke, “left behind” disillusioned voters who are pig sick of being lied to, patronised by, having their views ignored and generally unrepresented by all main political parties.
Having no representation in the Scottish devolved administration and (to the best of my knowledge) no councillors in Scotland they’re in the enviable position of being able to make soundbites which greatly appeal to many middle of the road non extreme Scots without having to deliver on any policies.
“because they can pump out whatever views they feel are held by the majority of none woke, “left behind” disillusioned voters who are pig sick of being lied to, patronised by, having their views ignored and generally unrepresented”
Bullseye!
And also, just across the pond, they can see that it is eminently feasible and completely possible to democratically elect somebody who will at least make a start on fixing this.
So why not here, eh?
With “here” being wherever you want it to be. The UK, Scotland or just England.
The only issue I see is that a Reform takeover in England, while the UK holds together, and while Scotland remains in thrall to the more sick, progressive, leftie loonies we have running us at the moment, presents Scotland with some unique dangers.
For starters, there will be a new flight of outraged, reality-denying snowflakes across the border, where they will still be able to tell us that a man is a woman, and they can call the police on anybody who says otherwise.
Once again, I’m in total agreement with your sentiments, Hatey. Scotland’s “traditional” perma-left wing sentiments do present a specific danger, though I honestly think the shackles are coming off. Same in Wales, too; decades-long practical outcomes can’t be ignored for ever, and nor can all the off-the-scale batshit insane counter-reality stuff neither. There comes a point (even for the most politically entrenched) where it really is “James Bond Time”, as the saying goes.
As an aside, though, this cartoon imagery has annoyed me, which is unusual since despite being a Yoon (an English one at that), the redoubtable Mr Cairns usually makes me laugh. Here we see Farage with fag end and non-perfect teeth, which I suppose these days marks him out as beneath contempt among the Chattering Classes. I mean just who wouldn’t be spending £20,000-plus on veneers, three-sizes-too-big blue-white teeth that glow in the dark, right Tarquin…? Maybe Farage should be more “simpering nobody” like, say, Swinney, with his nicely tailored grey suit, shiny brogues and pressed shirt. NOT.
I’d even go so far as to say there’s a whiff of snobbery about it, which surprised me.
“fag end and non-perfect teeth, which I suppose these days marks him out as beneath contempt among the Chattering Classes”
I hadn’t noticed it CC, and I wonder if you’re reading too much into it.
You motivated me to seek out pictures of NF online (there’s a fair few on ebay at reasonable prices). His teeth look much like mine – a perfectly adequate but imperfect set after a lifetime of NHS dentistry.
And the fag is needed for the slow of comprehension. Ideally it should have been a pint, but not even NF could juggle one-handed.
And how could CC depict a warm, flat, pint of tasteless, weak, English bitter 🙂
Nowt wrong with a weak, warm pint of Greene King IPA on a warm summer’s evening at the village pub – weaned and raised on the stuff from 14 onwards lol. 🙂
Why don’t the pair of you sort your own fucking country out, rather than interfering in ours You have nothing to offer this site, and we are all sick of your bullshit.
Amen to that..
Take Max Headroom and Campbell (MIA) Clansman(sic) and Insider/Outsider/Ender/ couple of slices off the full loaf with you.
Agent provocateurs, Tories/ tw8ts and worst of all Unionists of varying stripes the lot o’ them..
And so say all of us!
It’s mingin and you have no sense of taste of you like it
Aye, pale English pish. For the ladies.
They have three councillors as far as I recall – one was recently in the news in Glasgow as a Tory transfer.
Thanks for the info, David.
Good morning Scotland!!
Let’s see below what keich the Engerlush propagandists and Scotch (Qwesterlings – Ed) infesting here have been despoiling these posts with over the last hours..
Here’s to a hopefully sunny day for all.
Well said Sven.
Because both the SNP and Labour are a bunch of woke- obsessed, useless morons who’ve made an absolute mess of everything and ruined Scotland?
Woke is bad news for any people, but Scotland’s ruination started with its annexation and imposed colonial rule from 1707, and will continue until independence/decolonization.
Scotland seemed to do quite well for itself for very significant periods post-1707. I will concede, though, lately not so much, which personally I regret.
Aye, the independence wars, evictions, clearances and transportations of the 1700s; followed by the poverty, deprivation and England’s colonial wars in the 1800s; and then more wars, mass unemployment, poverty, state-funded mass out-migration and theft of Scotland’s oil in the 1900s.
Didn’t we do well! Whit wad us Scots dae withoot thon blessed union hoax?
One of your many issues, Alf, is your point blank refusal to be even remotely objective, which for a supposed academic doesn’t do much for your credibility, I must say.
Here’s what a 5 sec Google AI search yielded:
‘… No, Scotland was not considered “rich” immediately after 1707 when it united with England, but the Act of Union actually laid the groundwork for significant economic growth in Scotland over the following century, particularly through increased trade and access to the larger British market, which eventually led to Scotland becoming a major industrial power, especially in Glasgow, with the rise of industries like tobacco and textiles; essentially, while not initially wealthy, the Union opened doors to greater prosperity in the later 18th century.
Key points about Scotland’s economy after 1707:
It is beyond ridiculous to suggest that Scotland gained no advantage(s) economically and/or politically at any time since the 1707 Union with England. To do so, in the face of clear facts, simply obviates whatever point(s) you wish to make for lack of credibility, sorry.
See also:
link to en.wikipedia.org
Here’s a ‘clear fact’: Scotland’s GDP-per-capita today is less than half that of our independent neighbours Norway and Ireland, and 50% below the rest; which makes us Scots the poorest people in NW Europe, all thanks to the blessed union hoax.
If you ask AI the right questions you might get the right answers.
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
None of that detracts from what I just said to you, of course, in response to your self evidently false assertion that Scotland has garnered no advantages from its union with England at any time since 1707, as over more than three centuries.
Why do people like you, when presented with a set of facts which disprove whatever ridiculous argument or statement you’ve just come out with, just conveniently ignore it and then move onto the next straw man argument? It’s so predictable and childish, like trying to patiently explain stuff to a surly 14-year old, not a university professor, if that is indeed what you are.
Where did I say that Scotland had a comparable GDP per capita to Norway (albeit this is comparatively a recent phenomenon in the context of c.300 years of course). If you read what I originally said, I went out of my way to graciously concede that Scotland’s much more recent relationship with the Union has been much less advantageous in my opinion, which I personally regret (for whatever that is worth).
Engaging in any sort of adult discussion is always going to be a Fool’s Errand though, eh.
Why did England oppose Darien ?
Simple Peter, it was potentially competition, and an unacceptable risk to Englands 300 year old piratical attempted bar on Scots trade abroad in order to keep us impoverished and to sow the seeds of cargo culture and division.
Everything worked out absolutely spiffing when some of the mighty in parliament were bankrupted and so utterly ripe for bribery.
The rest is history.
England learned the dirty tricks of Empire early..
Oh, and I might’ve known you’d link to your own bloody work (lol), very impartial and credible I’m sure…!
Blah, blah, blah. Blow it out your ass, troll.
Is that you in a bloated, drunken stupor sleeping on that park bench?
Maybe yer self Barney (infestation) Rubble after a few too many of yer flat warm English beers dan saf..
Anyone who has travelled or worked in Norway will know fine well the earnings of Norwegians.
Ditto our neighbour the Republic of Ireland. Look at the transformation there these last forty years. An economy. A GDP light years ahead of pig poor Scotland.
Scotland quite frankly, for its indigenous folks is a poor hole. Not of course for the corporates who suck on all the wealth.
Of course the problem is the people. Just like Gaza in a way. English settlers want the land and resources but not the peasants.
That’s colonialism.
The main key indicator of how well a country is doing is always its demographics.
Take a look at the population figures Scotland had in 1707 and the population it has currently.
Take a look at the population figures Wales had before it was conquered by England and the population it has now.
Now take a look at the population England had in 1707 and compare it with the population it has right now.
What do you see?
Those three countries are part of the same state, the same “union” and governed by the same clowns sitting in Westminster. Yet the demographic patterns of Scotland and Wales are diametrically opposed to those of England.
What you see is that the young population of Scotland has been continuously forced to emigrate for 300 years due to a deliberate lack of opportunities and, as a consequence, its population today is old and in decline. So much so that the current number of deaths surpasses the number of births, therefore the population overall figures, are only sustained due to continuous influx of immigrants or asylum seekers. England’s population is not affected by any of this and its number of deaths are lower than the number of births.
Now take a look at Wales. The population of Wales is experiencing a similar phenomenon to that Scotland has experienced under this toxic union. Speaking from memory about what I read around a year ago, Wales is also having low births compared to the number of deaths.
Conclusion: both Scotland and Wales are being treated and exploited as colonies for the benefit of England. They are continuously stripped off their resources, revenues are constantly being drained off their economies so they land in England’s economy. Both Wales and Scotland are forced to remain as consumers within England’s so called “internal market”, instead of being allowed to grow and raise as direct competitors of England as producers. For centuries, Scotland’s and Wales’ young have been forced to emigrate out of their countries because of the deliberate deprivation of Scotland and Wales of the same opportunities as England, all product of the absurd, obsessive and abusive centralisation of power, wealth and investment around England. This was never intended to be a union. It was an excuse to exploit Scotland in the way Wales has been exploited. Initially in 1706, the idea was to use Scotland as a supplier of soldiers and taxes to cover England’s neverending warmongering. But do not take my word for it. Go and read the history books written at the time, or even the record of the first parliament of Great Britain. The first thing the queen did was asked for funds to cover the wars the English crown was involved in. This continues to this day.
Now take a look at the oil fund Norway currently has. Scotland should have an identical oil fund to its own name, because Norway discovered oil in its waters at roughly the same time as Scotland did. The quality of the oil is the same and the quantity extracted similar. Where is Scotland’s oil fund? Where exactly did Scotland’s trillion dollars from the oil extracted from Scotland’s waters actually go? Because if you look around in Scotland, it is not here. Look at Glasgow. Look at Dundee. Where did that trillion dollars ended?
So please do not make a fool of yourself by claiming Scotland ever did well out of the union. It did not. Scotland has been exploited, robbed, pillaged, its population deliberately displaced so they could rob their lands and its demographics has been permanently damaged for the sake of propping England and its stupid warmongering.
Goodness, even today, why the hell is Scotland having to pay a portion of all those investments Rachel from accounts is planning for her beloved England? Why on earth is Scotland having to pay a chunk of England’s debt? Why is Scotland having to foot a portion of the bill generated by the eyewatering deficit of trade of goods caused by England? Why on earth do we have to contribute to the 3 billion pounds per year that the warmonger Starmer has handed to U for 100 years? When exactly did we give consent for such payment on our behalf and in which manifesto was that?
Let’s not forget that only 22% of the electorate in Scotland endorsed labour at the last GE. That is not a majority. That is a minority.
We are often told in these threads that it is not the number of seats in parliament that counts, but the number of votes. Well then, in what universe is a 22% of the electorate a majority?
This isn’t something I know much about, granted, but I took a quick look at Google (again)
link to google.com
(Sorry if there’s a better way of condensing that link)
Apparently, England’s median age is 41 vs. Scotland’s 43 (i.e. very little difference); the two countries’ populations both grew between the period 2011-21 by 6.4% and 3.5% respectively.
Scotland’s population now is c.5.5 million vs. c.1 million in 1700 – a 5.5-fold increase.
England’s population now is c.55 million from c.5 million – a 10-fold increase.
I’m not at all sure that these stats support what you’re saying, Mia? Sure, England’s population has grown faster, but Scotland’s population has significantly grown also – and continues to grow by around 4% per decade to this day – and the mean ages of both countries is near identical.
As for “So please do not make a fool of yourself by claiming Scotland ever did well out of the union. It did not”, you are quite simply incorrect – I have provided you and Alf with facts and credible linked information. If you choose not to like the truth, then there’s really not much to say; I guess we’re back to my earlier criticism of you the other week, in response to your saying you only listen to those in your inner circle or online echo chamber (or whatever it was).
Can’t argue with the point about the Investment Fund though. Major missed opportunity, conceded.
google and wiki are not really acceptable sources one should depend on.
All you are parroting here is a biased British/English narrative. There is plenty of evidence to the contrary of which I gave you several examples, including a GDP analysis.
Just like any other colonized people, most Scots clearly want nothing to do with what has always been a corrupt and unequal colonial hoax.
Ah, Google and Wikipedia “are not really acceptable”, but a piece written by Alf Baird is fine.
Gotcha.
Cheers, Alf, I think we’re done here.
They aren’t.
It’s well known Wikipedia is written & funded by the USA & is revisionist pish edited by a handful of ppl. Even ppl they feature have tried to correct/ edit their page & been blocked from doing so. They apparently know better than the individual themselves.
Google heavily filters the search function & persistently fcks about with algorithms to push certain narratives – we all seen that play out in real time during Brexshit with vote leave & Tories flooding social media.
We also hear it too when the likes of Facebook & Twitter are asked questions by various government committees. They openly admit to being heavy handed with censorship but were only following orders.
Then the latest news regards USAID and all of its funding, including the BBC & hundreds of media outlets spreading fake news.
Correct. Wikipedia is about as trustworthy as Western MSM. Propaganda.
Wikipedia is an excellent resource for basic knowledge of all subjects but for anything controversial, it has to be avoided.
Too right Geri.
The electronic media is heavily influenced in terms of what gets pushed, what gets suppressed, what gets blocked. And the big guns, big corporate tech and the establishment have the fire power to control the mass view. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.
And it will get worse. Mass mind control is the agenda and for the most part it works.
And worse still big tech knows all about you. Cambridge analytics is real. And the technology, the data collected, the analysis, the targeting, the filtering becomes ever more penetrating.
And the new US president surrounding himself with tech moguls. Does anyone wonder what that’s about. Mind you Putin is reported to have said that he who controls AI will control the world
And then you read utter pish where people suggest that internet content from the mogul empires is as pure as the driven snow.
Yes, Better Together, we know it makes sense. Most democratic parliament in the whole world.
You dont know what the fuck you’re talking about
Dress it up in your flowery, oxbridge, debating contest vernacular all you want, but bullshit is bullshit.
“Dress it up in your flowery, oxbridge, debating contest vernacular all you want”
😀
I was on the shop floor at 16 earning £35/week on the 5-tonne fly presses, bellend. I mean, “Captain Caveman” should be a bit of a clue, even to someone as thick as you…
All you, Lochinvar and the rest of the 4am crew have is ineffectual trolling. Not a brain cell between you, you couldn’t fashion a counter-argument is your sorry arses depended on it.
Shooting fish in a barrel mate.
A week or two’s work experience in Mater and Paters business?
Maybe the weighted ends of the fly hit you on the head, that would explain a lot..
At least Alf has researched his work.
You on the other hand havent, just lazily googled it..
Buzz off, stalker.
‘google and wiki are not really acceptable sources one should depend on’.
Far better to rely on the endless stream of mince posted by your goodself. The never ending, repetitive links to dross penned by someone, coincidentally also known as Alf Baird. Is that what we should all be paying attention to?
If you were chocolate, you would eat yourself!
Aw, christ on a bike. Here’s the other yin.
Or is it a just a name change?
Yes, of course it does support my point.
The information below has been taken from the ons.gov.uk website:
In the year to mid 2023, the proportion of births to deaths England, Scotland, Wales and NI is as follows:
England: 9,800 more births than deaths
Scotland: 19,100 more deaths than births
Wales: 9,500 more deaths than births
NI: 2,500 more births than deaths
The disproportion between births and deaths in Scotland is beyond alarming. Think about it for a second. Scotland’s natural population is decreasing roughly by 19,000 people per year.
This means that, at the present rate, since 2014, Scotland would have lost 190,000 people already. If we had to wait 50 years for a referendum as some colonial idiots are telling us we must, then we should expect that the natural population of Scotland would have decreased by 955,000 people. In other words, Scotland would have lost around 17% of its natural population. Now, the natural Scottish population that is being lost, is being substituted by migrants from elsewhere. So, in 50 years time, over 17% of the natural population of Scotland would have been swapped by population from elsewhere. Now add to that the fact that Scotland has ALREADY around 20% of people who were born elsewhere. Scotland’s natural population is being deliberately diluted at cruise speed within this toxic union.
If the “union” was homogeneous and “equal”, we would expect to see around 200,000 more deaths in England than births. But this is not what is happening, is it? No. England’s natural population keeps increasing because births surpass deaths.
So let’s try to understand the meaning of this for a second. Why would you have a number of deaths surpassing the number of births? Here are some possibilities:
Now, why is there more poverty in Scotland?
Why there is a lower proportion of females of child bearing age in Scotland?
Because they are forced to emigrate because of the lack of opportunities here, consequence of England’s successive clown governments’ toxic policies which insist in treating Scotland as a colony and forcing it to remain undeveloped to stop it becoming a producer that could compete with England. Migration from Scotland to England also ensures for England a continuous supply of labour.
The number of deaths surpassing births in 2023 is not a one off and it is not new. It has been happening at least since the political fraud Sturgeon took over. Yet, neither the useless Sturgeon, Yousaf or Swinney, or the UK government have done a single thing to stop it, other than flooding Scotland with migrants and asylum seekers, diluting the native population further.
So the disproportion between births and deaths in Scotland and Wales, and how that is not happening neither in England or NI, which are part of the same “union” shows how this union is actually rather toxic to Scotland and Wales.
“Yes, of course it does support my point”
There’s no “of course” about it: the (credible) information I directly linked to in my earlier post cites a 3.5% growth in Scotland’s population between 2011 and 2021, together with an almost identical mean age between England and Scotland to boot.
Neither of these basic metrics even remotely support any assertion on your part that Scotland’s population is declining – nor that it Scotland’s demographic is significantly older than England’s.
I am sorry but you are being deliberately obtuse. In just ONE YEAR, Scotland has had 19,000 more deaths than births. What this means is that its natural population is declining.
Scotland’s population has only increased because it is being constantly injected with migrants. But migrants are not Scots. The nation is being systematically destroyed by removing the young, by subjecting the population to poverty and by replacing the native population with people from elsewhere. Currently this is ethnic dilution, but soon it will become ethnic cleansing if the native population keeps being replaced at this current vertiginous pace. Sadly, all with the complicity of the so called Scottish Government.
Considering that Scotland is the part of the uK that is richer in natural resources, this is simply obscene and a clear indication that Scotland is being systematically exploited and abused by England.
I know exactly what you are doing. You are carefully avoiding to speak of Scotland’s Native population. Migrants are not Scotland’s native population. In the majority of countries, being born there is insufficient to be given nationality. It is also needed that at least one of your parents is a citizen of the country.
Now let’s have a look at the migration. The figures below have been obtained from the National Records of Scotland website. They represent the figures of one year to mid 2023.
Text in italics are quotes extracted directly from the National Records of Scotland website.
“Scotland’s population was estimated to be 5,490,100 at mid-2023 (30 June 2023)”
“In the year to mid-2023, net migration was positive in all of Scotland’s 32 council areas. In contrast, natural change (births minus deaths) was negative in all council areas”
So this means that the natural population in ALL Scotland’s council areas is being replaced by migrants.
“Migration was the main driver of population growth over the last year. Net international migration was +47,700 in the year to mid-2023. Net migration between elsewhere in the UK and Scotland was +13,900”
In the year to mid 2023, 82,800 immigrants from outside the UK entered to live in Scotland. Meanwhile, 35,100 people from Scotland emigrated abroad and outwith the UK. So we have potentially substituted 35,100 Scottish people with 82,800 people from elsewhere.
Let’s now look at the “migration within the UK” figures.
In other words, Scotland’s natural population potentially lost an additional 34,500 Scottish people which were replaced by 48,400 people from England, Wales and NI.
So let’s look at this for a wee moment.
34,500 + 35,100 = 69,600
In just one year, Scotland has potentially lost almost 70,000 people of its natural population to migration.
From the ons.gov.uk website, in the year to mid 2023, Scotland had 65,100 deaths
Therefore:
70,000 + 65,100 = 135,100
In just one year, Scotland has potentially lost as much as 135,100 people of its majority yes natural population.
Meanwhile:
48,400 + 82,800 = 131,200 people from elsewhere entered Scotland.
So, the amount of people Scotland is losing to migration and deaths is being replaced, EVERY YEAR, by almost the same amount of people coming from elsewhere who have no allegiance to Scotland and no interest in Scotland’s independence.
10 years have passed since 2014. This means:
135,100 x 10 = 1,351,000 and
131,200 x 10 = 1,312,000
In other words, in the 10 years since 2014, Scotland has potentially lost as much as 1,351,000 people from its majority to yes natural population and potentially received as much as 1,312,000 people from elsewhere, who have no allegiance to Scotland because their allegiance is to the country where they come from, and who are by default “No” voters in their majority according to the statistics published soon after the referendum.
The population of Scotland to mid 2023 was 5,490,100.
1,312,000 is 23.9% of 5,490,100
131,200 is a 2.39% of 5,490,100
The Rev often showed us in beautiful graphs how Yes/No hardly moved in 10 years. Well, I am actually surprised that yes did not tank down considering the industrial scale of replacement the natural Scottish population is being subjected to year on year.
And, despite this, the political fraud Sturgeon and her sycophants had the brass neck to tell us in the glory of all her arrogance that “time is on my side”. Is it hen? Well, then, on which side are you then, because it cannot be on Scotland’s side, can it?
How do you know what the self identification of the 35,100 who left was thought Mia? As the nativists never tire of telling us, nobody whose ancestors haven’t lived here since the time of Calgacus is really Scottish, so for all you or anybody else knows a lot of that 35K could be people who moved here recently, or even years ago but don’t consider themselves Scottish.
Similarly, of the 82K people who moved here from outside the UK, how do you know what their attitudes to Scottish independence are without asking them? Some might be opposed of course, but I’d imagine many would be in favour and persuadable too, given that they must come come from a pretty wide variety of countries, ethnicities and socio-economic and political backgrounds.
Of the 48,400 people who moved to Scotland from the rest of the UK, how many were Scots returning to Scotland? We don’t know. It’s also not at all obvious that many of those who moved are automatically anti independence, or even if they are that they will be permanent residents rather than here for work.
Your majority Yes natural population is a fiction. The fact that despite your valiant attempt to massage the figures to suit your faulty take on the data support for independence has increased gives the lie to your nativist anti immigrant ranting.
There’s nothing to stop the vast majority of native born Scots who still comprise the Scottish population delivering a convincing pro-independence majority except their collective lack of political bottle.
Sam Adams was right:
“how do you know what their attitudes to Scottish independence are without asking them?”
Goodness me, Andy Ellis, how many times do we need to repeat the same over and over again?
“Those born in other parts of the UK were much more likely to vote ‘No’, by 70% to 30%. There was a smaller ‘No’ majority for those born outside the UK”
Quote extracted from the article “Study examines referendum demographics” published by BBC news on the 15 September 2015—
“The third strongest correlation of the observed variables was between the proportion of the population born in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and the ‘Yes’ vote. Areas with a high proportion of people born elsewhere in the UK demonstrated the weakest support for ‘Yes’. In the case of the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway – the two LAs that share a border with England – this seems fairly intuitive. One might expect a higher concentration of people born elsewhere in the UK in these areas due to the close proximity to England, as well as a stronger desire to remain within the UK due to the social and economic ties such proximity brings. Interestingly, it is the urban areas in the centre of the country that have the lowest share of English, Welsh or Northern Irish and the highest support for ‘Yes’.”
Quote extracted from the publication “Demographic differences and voting patterns in Scotland’s independence referendum”, available from the House of Commons Library website (accessed today).
—
“The spread of the Scots’ positioning among British and Scottish national identities is very varied, going from quite dominantly British to quite dominantly Scottish. It appears that Anglican Scots – i.e. members of the Scottish Episcopal Church – are by far the outliers when it comes to relative British/Scottish national identity. While the population as a whole tends significantly towards a more dominant Scottish identity (1.10), Anglicans in Scotland tend even more towards a predominantly British identity (–2.17)”
Quote extracted from the article “Religion Counts: National identity and Scottish Independence”, published in the Theos website and accessed today
—-
“There are almost half a million English people in Scotland – and most of them want to remain in the union. But polls suggest one in four will vote for Scottish independence”
“The average “Yes” vote among those born in Scotland is 47%, compared with 25% among those “born in England, born in the rest of the UK as a whole, or born in the rest of the UK or Ireland”, according to analysis of Panelbase, YouGov, Ipsos MORI and ICM polls by John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University.
“People born in the rest of the UK are more likely to have a strong sense of British identity. That is one of the biggest things that influences voting – the economy is bigger though,” he says””
The two quotes above were extracted from the article “Scottish independence: How do the English in Scotland feel?” published by BBC News on 9 September 2014
—-
“Finally, according to YouGov only 26% of those who were born in England, Wales or Northern Ireland voted Yes, little more than half the equivalent figure (49%) amongst those born in Scotland. In contrast, the division of the vote amongst those who were born outside the UK (many of whom would have been Irish, Commonwealth or EU citizens) was much less distinctive, with 41% saying they voted Yes. Meanwhile, people’s sense of national identity was also reflected in how they voted. In Ipsos MORI’s two final polls, no less than 88% of those who said they were Scottish and not British voted Yes, compared with 65% of those who said they were ‘More Scottish than British’ and 26% of those who felt ‘Equally British and Scottish’. Amongst the two remaining small groups, only 9% of those who said they were ‘More British than Scottish’ identified themselves as Yes voters, and just 13% of those who said they were British and not Scottish.”
Quote extracted from “Scotland’s Decision: So Who Voted Yes and Who Voted No?” published by Coree Brown Swan on the 27 September 2014 within the “Centre on Constitutional Change Website” and accessed today.
—
“Findings from Scottish Referendum Survey show Scotland stayed in Union because of views of those born in other parts of Britain and further afield”
Quote extracted from the article “Majority of Scottish born voters said ‘yes’”, published by Lindsay McIntosh, on 27 March 2015, within the “The Times” website and accessed today.
—
“The biggest study yet of how Scotland made its historic decision on September 18 has found that the votes of people born outside Scotland were crucial to the result. While 52.7 per cent of native-born Scots voted Yes, a massive 72.1 per cent of voters from England, Wales or Northern Ireland backed the Union….Voters born outside the UK also rejected independence, with 57.1 per cent voting No.”
Quote extracted from the article “Independence referendum figures revealed: Majority of Scots born here voted YES while voters from elsewhere in UK said NO” published by David Clegg, on 26 March 2015 within the Daily Record website and accessed today.
Do you need more quotes?
A weak argument constantly repeated becomes no more convincing for the repetition Geri. The point is not whether the 70/30 split is valid which it may well have been at the time (and it is of course based on only 1 study the data for which appears not to be available, and could in any case be considerably different 10 years later post brexit), but the make up of the number of immigrants you’re apparently seeing as a threat.
You have precisely zero information of the make up of that number, or any real way of gauging their views on independence when they arrive, still less years later.
The quotes prove precisely nothing about the current or future situation, and have no bearing on you attempted and failed “rivers of blood” type scenario earlier. It’s still just amounts to blood and soil ranting to try and excuse the lack of political balls on the part of the overwhelming majority of native Scots who could easily outnumber New Scots if the case was strong enough and put across by real nationalists rather than milquetoast devolusionists.
The census tells us the Scottish regions in which there is a significant population from rest-UK. These are also the same regions recording the highest anti-independence vote in 2014, and in electing London/colonial party candidates, not nationalists.
The post 2014 indyref survey by Edin Uni similarly concluded that the independence vote came down to our identity; the more British one is or feels and hence not, or less Scottish, the more likely to vote No, and vice versa.
‘The solidarity of the independence movement is dependent on the oppressed ethnic group’, i.e. Scots and particularly Scots language speakers (Hechter).
Postcolonial theory is also quite clear in that liberation ‘is a matter only for the colonized’ (Memmi).
Just as well postcolonial theory doesn’t apply in the case of Scotland then huh….?
Glad we got that cleared up.
au contraire, postcolonial theory fits Scotland like a manky 300+ year auld pawkie; tho those suffering from a colonial mindset may continue to deny colonial oppression.
link to wp.towson.edu
SO another self referential “bigging up” of your own work then Alf…? Imagine our surprise. Anyone else in the whole academic, legal or political scene who agree with you perhaps…?
I mean if it’s so self evident, there must be folk all over the world with no axe to grind who are convinced of your take on this….so let’s see the evidence.
We’ll wait. [insert tumbleweed emoji here].
Of course, if it’s such a slam dunk, you’ll also be able to point to support for taking our case to the UN, having Scotland added to the list of non-self governing territories, and them making representations to the UK government.
Should make all our lives much easier, huh. I mean it worked a treat for the Kosovars, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, Abkhazia and Transnistria.
link to pure.coventry.ac.uk
“If such evidence of colonization as policy and practice exists, and it can also be shown that cultural attitudes typical of colonial situations were being employed against those being made subject to the colonizers’ projects, then it seems reasonable to contend that the late modern Gàidhealtachd is a site of internal colonialism…
…There is some evidence that proponents and implementers of policies and projects of territorial redistribution in the first half of the eighteenth century believed that their work was for the development of colonies and colonization. 27 However, it is after the defeat of the Jacobite army at Culloden in 1746 that explicitly expressed proposals and projects for colonization become more apparent. ..
…>MacKillop’s argument that crofting tenure originated in the settler colonies of the Annexed Estates, and that military recruitment had a central role in its development, has been elaborated further by Fredrik Albritton Jonsson. He contests the idea that crofting tenure developed purely as an economic strategy and claims instead it has origins as a practical project based on an Enlightenment ideology of moral and natural improvement. In this view the introduction of the crofting system was as a means of organising processes of internal or domestic colonization to ‘improve’ society and nature. ..
…This article’s introduction also set the question as to whether land use changes and territorial dispossession in the late modern Gàidhealtachd can be understood in terms of the ‘exploitation’ or ‘settlement’ colony types delineated by Osterhammel. Where indigenous and non-indigenous landlords brought in permanently resident overseers and other employees from elsewhere to run their affairs they may be thought of as creating what Osterhammel calls ‘settlement colonies’ on their estates in the Gàidhealtachd. Where landlords employed temporarily resident Lowland administrators to utilise the remaining indigenous population for economic ends they can be seen as creating ‘exploitation colonies’.”
Dinna quote facts, Alf; they’re no liking it.
Who needs UN definitions when you’ve got half a dozen Yoon trolls to keep us right?
Andy, it is your “blood and soil ranting” types who are unequivocally legitimate owners of Scotland’s sovereignty, and as I have said more than once in the past, democracy cannot legitimise the theft of something by the thieves outvoting its owners.
The franchise of the 2014 referendum was ill-conceived, and the stats from Mia’s link confirms it.
“There’s nothing to stop the vast majority of native born Scots who still comprise the Scottish population delivering a convincing pro-independence majority except their collective lack of political bottle”
Vast majority?
The 2011 census found that 83% of the population in Scotland had been born in Scotland. The proportion of people in Spain born in Spain is 86%. In Italy it is 92%. In France it is 88%. The percentage of people living in China who were born outwith China is less than 0.1%. 98% of people living in Japan were born in Japan. According to Google, the proportion of people living in Poland who were born in Poland is above 99%.
83% in 2011 was already small.
According to the Scottish government website and in relation to the 2022 census:“Scotland’s population grew by 144,400 (2.7%) since 2011”
but
“Between 2011 and 2022 the number of people living in Scotland who were born in Scotland decreased by 90,400″
“This decrease was offset by increases in the number who were born in the rest of the UK (up 49,200) and born overseas (up 185,600). So the increase in Scotland’s population was driven by an increase in people born outside of Scotland.”
In other words, we lost 90,400 Scots and we got instead an extra 234,800 people from elsewhere. That is 2.6 times the amount of Scots that Scotland has lost.
If the population “grew” by 2.7% but the growth was exclusively thanks to migration and migration also balanced out the loss of 90,000 born Scots, then the proportion of people born in Scotland can no longer be 83%. It has to be close to 80% at the maximum. So it is decreasing and decreasing fast.
Let’s not forget that many of the people that has been born in the last ten years in Scotland were born from parents who themselves were born elsewhere. In any other world country this would not automatically qualify for nationhood. In most countries, at least one of your parents has to have the nationality of the country before you can be considered an native of that country.
Many of those people who migrate into Scotland from abroad, will have kids here and will return to their own countries after their studies have finished or their work contracts have ended or they move elsewhere with better prospects. They do not develop allegiance to Scotland overnight, only after staying here for a long time, but that is not the most common for migrants from abroad. The same applies to their children even if born in Scotland. The have allegiance to the country their parents come from.
So no. Voting Yes/No does not only depends on Scots voting for it. That is a fallacy because the population of Scotland is very small for the massive influx of migrants it is experiencing. Scots ALREADY voted Yes in 2014, but their vote was frustrated by the avalanche of rUK voters who cast a no vote and also by the migrants from outwith Scotland who were duped by the Better together campaign. Voting Yes/No will only depend on Scots when only Scots are part of the franchise and only Scots are allowed to vote. That was not the case in 2014. Everybody and their dog was allowed to vote, resulting in the frustration of Scotland’s majority yes vote by the majority no vote from people coming from elsewhere.
So, every year that passes, where we have more deaths than births and were we have a continuous net influx of immigrants into Scotland, the proportion of native born Scots, who are the most interested in seeing their country independent, continues to diminish at pace, possibly by design. If you look at other colonies like the Falklands, for example, the proportion of people born there is actually even less than 50%.
How many actual Scots, if we guide ourselves by the citizenship rules applicable to any other country in the world, are here? Goodness knows. The devolutionist “Scottish” “government” is very careful to leave that information out.
If you don’t think >80% is a vast majority you’re just innumerate, sorry. If every single non native born person voted against, nothing on earth could stop independence if enough Scots just grew a pair.
Of course we all know that 10 years after 2014 it hardly likely the 70/30 split of New Scots still applies.
No other country in the world uses or has used putative citizenship criteria to decide the franchise for self determination referendums. It doesn’t matter how often you and all the other nativist bigots keep regurgitating this false equivalence.
It simply isn’t true, nor would it result in an outcome that would be recognised by the international community. You’re not comparing like with like, because you don’t want to acknowledge the truth, which is that virtually every other self determination referendum uses open, inclusive franchises. Cope harder. It isn’t going to change.
That’s why the mainstream movement thinks your a bunch of regressive blood and soil cranks.
You clearly didn’t follow the ‘international community’ ICJ court case & the rules of self determination.
It cannot be manipulated by the coloniser. They don’t get to set the rules.
So like everything else of yours – you just make shit up as you go along. Think about it – even common sense tells us every fcking country would be invaded & overthrow if outsiders were allowed votes on that country’s constitution.
Speaking of which – have you had a reply yet from the English government of why they restricted the Brexit vote? Why they don’t allow EU citizens a vote in general elections & soon to be council ones too?
Get back to us when you’ve had a reply eh?
When you get your PhD in International Relations Geri I might take your hot take on the ICJ.more seriously.
The ICJ doesn’t accept that Scotland is a case of colonisation, nor does the UN.
Cope harder.
When you and all the other moonhowlers convince the UN to add Scotland to the list of non self governing territories get back to us.
Still time for you to start that IR 101 course tho’ Geri.
Or you know…..open a book mebbe?
When was it presented? I must’ve missed it.
It does recognise the UK though huh?
Scotland is not a self governing territory. First, it’s not a territory. It’s a country – but glad you recognise it’s under the fake control of another. That’s a start at least at recognising yer contradictions we’re not a colony.
2nd, it can’t even hold a fcking referendum despite voting for it repeatedly in legal & fair elections. It can’t collect it’s own money, have it’s own trade deals, have any say over it’s own resources &:can’t borrow so it’s a strange kind of self governing territory eh? Hog tied by the Scotland Act.
No wonder Alba is failing. I suspect that’s always been yer mission tho. You’ve BritNat oozing out of you & definitely don’t see Scotland as an equal signatory to the fake Union. Away back to yer mother ship…
For the avoidance of doubt..
“Self-governing territories are regions that have their own governance and are independent from colonial rule or absolute government. They are also known as autonomous regions. ”
We’re not independent & we are under absolute government. Try telling Chucky to ram his Royal assent – Or for the branch office to legislate for indyref – see how far you get.
We have an administration. We do not have a Scottish parliament. It’s an English branch office – hog tied by our colonisers & by the Scotland Act. THAT CAN BE REMOVED AT ANYTIME.
It’d help if you actually understood what Holyrood even is before you try yer best to get a seat in it.
Don’t really tell me he’s Alba!!
Seriously?
FFS!
I was going to vote for them whenever one stood in our area but if Max Headrooms repellently unpleasant opinions/ keich stated here represents the party view- then Christ, we’re effed..
Who to vote for?
Are any better than this?
Surely?
“False Equivalents” then “blood and soil cranks”..
Got a real high opinion of yourself AE eh?
Between that and your obvious comfortability with the Unionist trouble makers on here, your shared language oozing disdain of fellow countrymen and women; well, I hope you’re not out chapping doors for the cause; because between you and your rank disdain for all but yourself and the Mendacious ones resort to facetiousness as standard then God help the cause.
Barrack room lawyer.
Yes, that’s the one. That’ll rankle your obvious sense of self entitled superiority no end!
Don’t bother replying with one of your.. lengthy humourless, in fact lacking in any humanity at all rants.
Perhaps that’s why you’ve chosen to use the Max Headroom emoji; he was an artificial f0ckwit with a glitch too.
I know a number of English people resident in Scotland. Most, not all, regard themselves as English.
Why should English people resident here or in England decide any part of the future of Scottish people?
A number of these folk say they will go back to England should Scotland become independent.
As English people settle here in increasing numbers it may become impossible to achieve a vote in favour of independence if they have the vote in an independence referendum.
Here is the final paragraph of a paper by Iain Mackinnon of Coventry Uni who research interests include the Scottish highlands. You should read it.
“From the perspectives articulated by indigenous scholars, the emerging historiography disclosing the Scottish Gàidhealtachd as a site of internal colonization over many centuries – a historiography of which this article forms a part – may also be understood as a contribution to the decolonization of the Gaels of Scotland. Such contributions are being made not only in order to retrieve what we were and recover ourselves now, but also, in so doing, to support the opening of creative spaces in which recovering Gaels can develop a sense of our own authentic humanity. These are spaces in which we can take up the work of restoring and reworking traditional modes of being and of agency; of re-imagining and remaking a future, by way of our own lights.”
Ochone! Don’t tell Alf and his mates, they’ll be disenfranchising any non-Gaels living on the wrong side of the Highland Line and insisting that any non-natives learn the Gaelic for citizenship of the new pure blood Gaeltacht. 🙂
Really? It all sounds a bit too: “Halp! we’re being swamped” to be honest. One of the reasons folk reacted badly to Powells’ Rivers of Blood speech back in the day was the undisguised racism underlying the sentiment of course, but another was surely the fact that it was regarded as a fanciful over dramatisation.
There’s no way of making windows in to the souls of people who come to Scotland, whether from England or anywhere else. Neither you nor anyone else can point to any evidence showing what % will be pro independence and what % will be against, or how those attitudes might change over time.
I wonder how many who have arrived in Scotland since 2014 have changed their position? Or indeed how many of those who voted No in 2014 are now regretting their decision? How many who moved here are Scots who moved back after time “abroad”?
It does seem passing strange that when “native born” Scots still comprise >80% of the population, we can’t construct a majority of 50% +1 of the eligible voters from amongst that overwhelming majority of natives along with pro-independence newcomers.
Just answer the question I put, if you will. Why should non-Scots decide the future of Scots?
So, what is your definition of a “Scot” ???
I’ve answered it before. You must be new here. Self determination referendums are overwhelmingly held on the basis of open, residence based criteria encompassing all of those in the area seeking self determination. If you don’t believe me, go and do your homework. I’ve supplied the list of such franchises in the past.
You don’t get to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of New Scots because you don’t consider them ethnically pure.
If Scots are too politically emasculated to construct a pro independence majority out of more than 80% native born Scots plus the pro indy New Scots, we don’t deserve to call ourselves nationalists, or to have our own state.
If you want a defence of civic nationalism as opposed to regressive, blood and soil nationalism, I refer you to the Rev Stu’s own fisking of plans for franchise restriction on twitter some years ago.
I’d reproduce that too but it would trigger the usual suspects in here who can’t stand the idea that their regressive world view is about as popular with mainstream Scottish nationalists as J.K. Rowling at a troon convention.
Because that’s the way self determination referendums work sam. I know a number of English people in Scotland who regard themselves as English and are keen supporters of independence, campaigned for it in 2014 and intend to take Scottish citizenship if we ever bestir ourselves to take our independence rather than ask politely and accept Westminster telling us “now is not the time”.
Self determination referendums are decided on open, residence based criteria not on the grounds of putative future citizenship. If they were decided on that basis, there would likely be pressure to enfranchise the 800,000 or so Scots born resident of the rest of the UK.
How many of them do you think are pro independence, sam?
I’m genuinely interested why you single out English origin people in Scotland as being forever English, yet blithely seem to believe that people of every other nation, tribe, race, colour, creed and religion in the world immediately become Scottish the moment they arrive here.
I know plenty of English origin people living in Scotland. I find them to conform with about the same ratio of nice guys to winks as every other group of people. In other words, mostly decent people, with a leavening of arseholes. Just like the Scots.
As for politics and Indy, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that face-to-face with some of the swivel-eyed, spittle-projecting loons that post on here, I’d take great delight in announcing I’m opposed to Indy, purely for the shits and giggles of the reaction.
I’m not saying you’re in that category, sam, but maybe you need to ask somebody who knows you. Somebody who you can trust to be honest.
I have found it incredibly difficult to track the figures of internal migration for 2023 for England. I could only find figures for the “whole UK” or for “England + Wales”. A cynical mind like mine, immediately wonders what those figures of England are hiding that cannot possibly be released on their own.
So I had to go as far back as to mid 2020 to actually find internal migration figures for England. Because 2020 is when Covid started, the figures, particularly for the latest months may be an underestimation of yearly migration.
The information has been obtained from the Dataset”Internal migration: matrices of moves by local authority and region (countries of the UK)”, published in the ons.gov.uk website for 2020
So internal migration (from the UK) to Scotland in the year up to June 2020:
38,618 from England
1,338 from Wales
1,868 from NI
In total, the migration from the UK into Scotland was 41,824 for the year up to June 2020
By comparison, the emigration from Scotland to the UK in the same period was 32,842 people.
38,618, which is the people from England who emigrated to Scotland, represented 0.7% of Scotland’s total population in 2020 (5,413,100 according to Google AI)
Lets now look at internal migration from the UK into England:
30,095 from Scotland
51,337 from Wales (wow!)
9,220 from NI.
In total, the migration from the UK into England was 90,652. The emigration from England to the UK was 110,945
According to Google’s AI, the population of England in 2020 was 56,326,000
30,095, which is the people of Scotland emigrating to England in one year, represents a meagre 0.05% of England’s population.
Meanwhile, 30,095 represents as much as 0.6% of Scotland’s population.
In contrast, 38,618, which is the people migrating to Scotland from England, represents just a 0.07% of England’s population.
38,618 represented 0.7% of Scotland’s total population in 2020
In other words, with the current migration trends, if we continue to give the vote to everybody that comes to Scotland, no matter how long they have stayed before the vote, the influence that migration from England can have on Scotland’s voting intention is over 10 times the amount of influence that Scotland could ever have over England’s.
But the impact is even more brutal for Wales.
Internal migration (from the UK) to Wales in the year up to June 2020:
962 from Scotland
450 from NI
64,489 from England
In total, the migration from UK into Wales was an astonishing 65,899 just for the year up to June 2020
By comparison, the emigration from Wales to the UK in the same period was 53,031
The estimated population for Wales in mid 2020 was (according to Google AI) 3,170,000.
This means that 64,489 people from England that migrated to Wales represented as much as 2% of Wales population, just in ONE YEAR.
51,337 people from Wales migrated to England in 2020. This is as much as 1.6% of Wales total population. So poor Wales is being wiped off the map. Each year it sends 1.6% of its natural population to England and receives in exchange the equivalent of 2% of new population from England.
Meanwhile, 51,337 people from Wales represents only a 0.09% of England’s population. In other words, it didn’t even put a dent on it.
If England is draining Scotland of its population, the draining of Wales has reached cosmic proportions.
England is actively changing via “UK internal migration” the populations of Wales and Scotland. Meanwhile, despite of the draining Scotland and Wales’ populations are subjected to by England, given the massive difference in total population, England’s population is affected by over an order of magnitude less than the effect its own migration is imposing on Scotland and Wales. This shows the importance of having control over the borders of a country.
For both Wales and Scotland, there are more people from England moving into Scotland and Wales than the other way round. In the case of Wales, the excess is of almost 22%. In the case of Scotland, the excess is over 28%!
However, the case of NI appears to be the opposite. The flow is in the opposite direction: more people from NI going to England than the other way round. 9,220 people from NI went to England in 2020 whilst 7,838 went from England to NI. If this trend continues, reunification of Ireland might happen sooner than expected!
The numbers from NI to Wales and Scotland are currently very similar to the ones traveling in the opposite direction. Scotland received 1868 people from NI in the year to June 2020, whilst 1786 left from Scotland to NI; Wales received 450 people from NI, whilst 355 left Wales to NI.
Sorry, I’m not reading all of that TL;DR.
I’ve made the necessary points ie Scotland’s population is increasing, not shrinking, and isn’t any older than England’s. (Further, who says population size is the sole indicator of a country’s success anyway – how unbelievably myopic).
Lazy is, lazy does..
Y’all..
Facts, eh? They won’t like to read that post, Mia, as it proves they’re spouting BS. As always.
Loving the way, Mia, you are quite unable to tell the difference between a finite resource, such as oil and gas, and an infinite one, such as wind.
The simple facts, that a finite resource has intrinsic value, and an infinite resource has none, elude you.
The logical step therefore, that a value-free infinite resource must cost what it costs to harvest it, plus some profit to make it worth the harvester’s while, will be forever beyond your ken.
As will be the fact that as the vast majority of the cost of harvesting this free, renewable resource is being paid by the consumers of England, it’s entirely reasonable that the vast majority of this free, renewable resource should go there.
Of course, the icing on the fecking cake is that 30 seconds of online research into the costs of consumer electricity in the UK reveals that the benighted inhabitants of London pay the most.
But whatever you do, Mia, don’t risk your eggshell ego by exposing it to the facts.
Oh yeah. And don’t risk your academic understanding of the “facts of life”, Mia, by wondering how it is that third-world immigrants to Scotland manage to breed like rabbits.
And it seems there’s SFA Sturgeon, Yousaf, BoJo, Swinney or any of your other imaginary bogeymen can do to stop them fucking and procreating. Just imagine that, eh. The mind does boggle at the thought.
What you have to deal with and accept, CC, is that the golden age of Scottish educational achievement, when Scotland legitimately claimed to have the best educational system in the entire world, is long gone.
Of course, we still have many clever and even brilliant people in our midst – but one characteristic of these people is that they don’t waste portions of their valuable lives posting endlessly repetitive mince on here.
Haha, present company excluded 🙂
It’s another disquieting fact that Scotland’s educational decline maps well onto Scotland’s educational devolution, which maps well onto the SNP, whose tenure in power is the responsibility of the usual suspects on here, who continue to delude themselves they are going to get a second chance at fecking everything up.
Not if we sane, rational, grounded Scots have our way.
They’ll get a vote. Of course. But just as with the current ScotGov, the revitalised Indy movement will have to round up and fence off the nutters well away from where they can do any harm.
And so we must plough on, listing incontrovertible facts, applying simple logical principles, and pointing out that the intersection of hysteria, tribalism, Soviet-era Bolshevism and chip-on-shoulder revisionist dogma changes nothing in the real world.
“…I have provided you and Alf with facts…”
Big LOLZ. Look, we’ve been Yoonsplained!
Oh do shut up, you brainless fat twat.
Find someone else to creepily stalk.
Well said Mia. Add to that too that vast swathes of land in Scotland are privately owned either by the English or that man nobody who can only be traced as far a Tory tax haven.
The oil fund is an absolute friggin scandal We don’t have one. We know where it went. Straight into Georgie Porgies refurbishment of slums & all it’s never ending wars in its quest to steal yet more of what doesn’t belong to it around the globe. Including Africa where they’ve £trillions invested in the mines. Good to know tho – half of that will be ours tho when it comes time to divvy up the assets of the Union. We know Scots won’t have to worry about divvying up our assets – two fcking ginger bottles & a dog eared ration book would be about it…
The Union has never been a union with benefits. It’s been an excuse to thieve.
Oh dear, “Geri” !
You’re not well, are you ?
Not well at all.
Check out Mia puffed up in outraged anger at having to stump up some peanuts to aid a free, independent, sovereign nation that is desperately fighting for its survival against an aggressive, colonising neighbour.
A real coloniser too, not one of Alf’s academically theoretical efforts.
There’s nothing and nobody that more harms the Scottish Independence cause than the Vlad fluffers giving it their all.
But they just can’t help themselves. They can never STFU for long.
Don’t get me wrong though. I’m grateful for every time the mask slips. We can all then see the future for Scotland that they want. Forewarned is forearmed.
Scotland’s population was roughly one third of England’s at time of union; today it is approx. 8% of UK and falling.
Nope !
It was less than a quarter !
That’s rubbish.
Engurland blocked trade & went out of its way to make sure it blocked it with others to. That great colonisers trick they continue today – tho not for much longer. China is taking no shit from anyone in this trade war malarky..
Ooops! There goes Tungsten as we speak…tsk!
Colonisers kinda need that for weapons eh? D’oh.
Keep it up, Trump..lol He’s not thinking this one through is he?
What is that even supposed to mean?
It’s just an angry, semi-coherent, insult-laden, childish rant that’s of very little – if any – bearing on the subject matter (and a lot more to do with your petty dislikes of me, “Ingerland”, the “Ingerlish” or whatever).
Yeah, we shouldn’t believe Google AI, we should only listen to “Geri” off the internet or one of Alf Baird’s obscure publications for all data and information.
You people, honestly. I’d get more sense from my dog.
Reverend- ban this prick
He claims (as do other Unionist trolls on here) to be besties with the site owner.
Strange.
Senses Fail: Renancer: Canine:
“This life is part of a struggle
Searching for balance and truth in the rubble
The answers that you seek
Always right at your feet
If you want the proof then go dig up the grave
Fucking dig up the grave
Fuck what you know
Fuck what you believe
I am the architect of my destiny
There is only one truth
There is a voice in you…”:
link to tinyurl.com
#Dogefather
Correction: Renacer:
“To be reborn.”
“To reappear come up again.”
“To revive.”:
link to collinsdictionary.com
Did the English parliament not oppose Scottish trade with others?
Try visiting a library or repository of records M9r9n.
Your likes criticise others for a reliance on Wikipedia etc; deferring to AI suggests you are an unobjective lazy off the scale nugget.
Stay off the warm crap English beer as it’s clearly not agreeing with whatever yer aff yer t1ts with smoking.
Try sorting yer own backyard dan saf before lecturing us here..
I’m puzzled, CC; what ‘political advantage’ did Scotland gain from the Union, given that its formal representation in the Union’s parliament was, and still is, utterly inadequate to defend Scotland’s interests against the huge numeric advantage of England’s representation?
And it is beyond sane doubt that Scotland’s wealth has been stripped from it over a very long period, and that is still ongoing, and it is also beyond doubt that one of England’s key goals of the Union by treaty in 1706/7 was to have Scotland be forced to help pay England’s national debt.
Well said, Alf. It’s almost as if this cretin wants us to say we’re grateful.
Scrolling on by as ever, eh.
Rent free. In. Your. Head.
What planet exactly are you on Barney (infestation) Rubble?
Try reading Alfs list below and actually trying to understand it..
I realise you struggle with that and see dissent from your Punting on the Thames and Beagling on the Downs mindset as tearfully considered as being rewibbly tewibbly rude ?
Beastly Jocks spoiling yer supper eh?..
Rich tobacco and cotton barons following in the wake of Englands piratical ban in Scottish overseas trade is hardly a reasonable starting point for comparison!
M9r9n!
Or do I offend?
And before they chip in; Mendacious McCarthyismface, MIA Campbell Clansman(sic), “a couple of slices short of a full loaf Insider” and the ever effervescent “Max Headroom” can go and do one..
Have a nice day y’all..
True.
But look at the bat sh1t mess Blue and Red Tories at Westminster has made of just about everything..
Now THATS in a whole different league of rampant f0ckwittery..
Probably a good one handed read for you though Barney (infestation) Rubble..
Or am I being rude?
Boo hoo!
Back to yer warm crap English beer ya pointless/ voteless long range sniper..
Looks like my jokey reference to warm, flat, weak, English bitter yesterday has triggered something in poor, old, young, Lochinvar.
The double periods are coming thick and fast now! Parkinsons, stress, or just the DTs? We will all have our own ideas. I’m hoping it’s just a hyperactive Chihuahua that got shut in his bedroom jogging his arm.
I’ll request a note to be added to his file at Langley for further follow up though – just to be sure 🙂
Your second paragraph; writing about your own lived experiences again eh..
Be interesting to see a breakdown in which party their supporters were formerly voting for, where their support in Scotland originates with regard to country of birth, and which football team their supporters follow.
How about it Rev?
Be interesting to see the prognosis for a country in which the football team you support is significant.
It’s truly remarkable that people can get themselves all worked up to believe that your football loyalty trumps everything else.
But that’s where we are. No point in denying that many view politics and economics with the same amount of nuance and consideration that supporters bring to an Auld Firm derby.
And no point in denying just how that attitude fecks up everything it touches.
Oh, pardon me, I forgot that an actual grown up might be in the room, seeking to achieve a sense of moral self satisfaction over the lesser mortals.
Turning to UKIP or whatever that tw@t Farage calls his collective of groupies this week, I just wanted to know how my vision of your stereotypical Farage disciple holds up to the reality.
I imagine them to be a bit like Trumpy the Clown’s supporters, who if I recall correctly had several cameo appearances in the film Deliverance.
Reform are English nationalists who want to keep control of England’s colonies. Scottish naationalists don’t to control so much as a blade of grass from any other country. You can see the appeal of Reform from some personalities on that basis.
And Wales and England. It’s on its way to 200000 members maybe even by Sunday night. Phenomenal movement.
You just pished yourself with excitement, didn’t you?
Think i’ll stick with this guy;
“Anyone, but especially any Scot, who votes for reform is so far from sanity they should be immediately sectioned and sent to Carstairs”.
These things are pendulums, look at the SNP and Farages other previous life’s for example..
You’re probabbly not wrong
Mea Culpa for the Woke and the horse it rode in on.
It wouldn’t be so if they knew how to run a country
Oof! That’s a scary image.
Fa’s Sturgeon?
That is pure genius, but so true.
Yup, so true:
link to tinyurl.com
#PureGenius
The Whingers hate truth/s –
I love it…
#DuhWhingers
Put reality, explicitly, right in front of them –
And they still cry and refute (lol):
There are a few former SNP members signed up
How many? Couldn’t guess. Small number due to a lack of bravado,in contrast to Labour’s behaviour,SNP were alway closet Tories especially during the Curly.Larry & Moe period
I’m sure Farage is giving lefties everywhere VERY bad dreams, and rightly so.
Time’s up.
Oh I’d imagine the sort of dreams about Trump in his dressing gown would go down just as well with the lefties in their dreams as the righties in theirs..
Front page of The National online
COMMENT
Photo of Trump.
Mhari Black: The powerful are taking money from the poor on order of the rich.
————————————————————————-
However when you click on the article it leads to:
Nazi seizure of power in US is no help for rights of women and girls
By Mhairi Black
link to thenational.scot
————————————————————————————————–
I wonder why The National does not show the Nazi headline on it’s front page and what Swinney thinks of describing the US government as Nazi?
” I almost don’t want to talk anymore about the extremists in the White House” These are the words of a child.
The National Snake is a disgrace:
The Whingers strongly disagree –
Long Live Fake Scotland News (WTF)
Respect, Rev:
link to x.com
#Champion
Check out the sheer contempt and disrespect for our wonderful Rev –
You reprehensible shadoWhingers will regret that (promise:)
A fascist..
Just not her/ him/ it/ their kind of fascism..
The banners don’t like being banned themselves.
Chris that is a fine, political cartoon. I think you’ve captured the moment.
Terrifying cartoon, Chris.
The wee juggling balls are Swinney, Trump and Lammy? But who is the 4th ball? I recognise the chubby coupon but I can’t place his name (i.e. not a criticism of the artist’s skills).
Just got it! Starmer! Duh!
Goodness me! I must get an appointment for an eye sight test ASAP. I thought the juggling balls were Swinney, Sarwar, Starmer and Badenoch. I was wondering what on earth was Sarwar doing there…
I thought Swinney, Sarwar, Scottish Tory leader, and ?. I thought they would all be Scottish and Holyrood politicians – but could well be wrong.
You were right, Mia. I’ve just wasted a few minutes looking at photos of the Scotland and England Labour and their main opponents leaders i.e. SNP in Scotland and Conservative in England. So on the left of the toon, from top down, Sarwar, Starmer, Badenoch, and on the right, Swinney.
Not this tit again. Oh well … let’s just imagine a few years hence
Being PM is a bit like being England’s football manager – a poisoned chalice; you know what you are meant to do, but you know it’s probably not possible. The best you can do is take a good run at it and hope the people won’t lynch you when you fail. Losing on penalties in the semis will save face at least.
So, Farage is PM; what now?
He has been selling the english their own narcissism back to them, crap about “make england/britain great again”. How will that work? Shall we start running opium to China? Discover more gold in the Transvaal? Make england the workshop of the world? See, the 80s … and thatcher, and … yeah, we all know what happened, and all that industry, all that infrastructure no longer exists, and all the people who knew how to “make stuff in the real world” are old or dead – will blue haired non-binaries with smartphone addiction be lining up for apprenticeships that don’t even exist? – they all want to be tiktokers and influencers (and god forbid what happens if you let these diversity hires loose with “real stuff”) – it’s not happening.
To re-use the football analogy, England never won anything after 1966 because – they weren’t good enough, they didn’t have the players – other teams were better. But this kind of truth the English can’t handle. They will sacrifice all to maintain the delusion.
He has to placate the southern tory and the city. Give the punters what they want always works, for the short term. He will do whatever the city wants, which will amount to loosening further whatever financial regulations still exist. He will cut taxes for the middle class and make sure house prices keep going up. This seems to work for a while, but then people start to notice the pips are starting to squeak, people are just being squeezed, crushed; rents no one can afford, stagnant wages, inflation, austerity all round.
When the centre is under pressure, the “extremities” have to suffer, in which case Scotland, yet again, gets hosed for cheap energy and hydrocarbons allied with continuous cuts to the block grant. Energy is the key, if you have that you have a chance to, e.g. build your new Silicon Valley between Oxford and Cambridge (no, there’s no Silicon fucking Glen coming), or the flood defences you will need.
– oddly decent program from the beeb, with candid admissions “Scotland is a powerhouse in renewable energy”, reminds me of Richard Tice up in Scotland telling us all how well-resourced we are (not for long!)
link to bbc.co.uk
England has deep problems : e.g.
who can afford a house anymore?
link to archive.ph
all of this to come, it’s legal migration, nothing to do with boats, that’s a sideshow.
link to archive.ph
You also have to remember (for no one will help you) that to the current orthodoxy, all economic ills can be solved by printing more money, giving it to the already rich (you can’t give it to the poor as that is inflationary) and when the chickens come home to roost – you fix that by “austerity”; which is a nice way of saying “squeeze the people”. Economics is full of ridiculous assumptions, one of which is that the people are an infinite reservoir which can handle any amount of austerity.
England was asked a question – it answered : “Farage” – and it failed … bigtime, it shat the bed, all because of narcissism, of imperial delusions.
Do you want to be ball-and-chained to these idiots when they are going down? Or join me, rich in indy Scotland, behind the Great Wall of Caledonia and its AI controlled phalanx gun systems?
22 mins into this video from 1977, Hugh MacDiarmid dropping bombs on the English to audible gasps from the audience.
link to youtube.com
Hugh MacDiarmid, what a man. Brilliant clip that. Some audience.
Tories really are the scourge of everyone’s life.
Look at those unelected fascists rant. I see it’s the same pish tho, jobs, cost of living – Zzzzzz Same shit, different decades.
Instead of fighting communism the West should’ve fought Toryism. The disease that sucks the life out of everything. Do you know, I’ve never actually met a happy Tory in my life. They’re always miserable control freaks.
I hope that tosser at the back was deported. Now there’s a group I wouldn’t mind paying a flight to Rwanda for. Round them up…tell them there’s other ppls freebies on board – it’d fill up in no time.
Hugh MacDiarmid I totally agree. I never wanted devolution but I thought it was the stepping stone to Independence. I also thought getting rid of the monarchy before Independence was the correct thing to do and I still do. Both Hugh and Margo will be turning in their graves at what the SNP has become a Unionist party tinkering with Independence as if its a means for the Scottish people to be grateful for.
Imagine him if he were alive today witnessing the nonsense of a degree in woo woo Gender Studies & outdated English Literature LOL!
Alex Krainer was on Dialogue Works last week chiming with what Confused said above, the narcissism, exceptionalism & arrogance of the Anglo American thinking they’re the best at everything & everyone else is just too stupid.
He was talking about education & deep seek/ tech where the Chinese have state funded STEM schools – science, technology, engineering, mathematics & producing 4/5 million students with degrees a year. Top ranked universities excelling across all sectors measured by an Australian institute comparing countries on papers published, patents filed by universities etc & they excel in 60 out of 64 on key areas of technical advance & innovation. USA on leads in 6 or 7 LMAO!
Larry Johnson is another great commentator on there about the narcissism of the West when it’s really as dumb as feck & so in love with itself to notice other countries are far better than they are.
Love this. Those educational statistics are music to my ears.
Scotland should invest in similar. STEM & it should only be for Scottish kids & state funded. Imagine the potential of allowing talent to flourish.
Scots used to be leaders in shaping the modern world. Now they’re dumbed down with gender woo in universities or their place is taken by blow-ins who intend to leave first chance they get.
Ppl may not like Chinese government – (cue the fluffed tosh) who says you have to? But there’s no denying they’ve raised millions out of poverty & are world leaders in innovation & technology cause they educated & invested in young ppl & they’re bearing fruit now & they’ve achieved it all in record time. Lessons can be learned or ‘stolen’ as Trump would say lol
1977
You do know that indy doesn’t come with a free Time Machine?
When we go indy next year we get dropped into a very different world while led by politicians who hate oil
While at the same time a population which is firmly against renewables
we’re screwed
That’s manufactured bullshit.
Who hates Rs oil & gas and are doing their best to block them selling it to their perceived enemies & to the EU?
There’s yer answer. They, the control freaks in the US, must dominate the oil in every country. Their reserve currency depends on it. Countries have only to purchase it from them. They weaponised the oil so they can use it for trade wars & Sanctions. They’ve tonnes of their own & also just what they steal from others around the globe, but the US is on a mission to dismantle & cripple the EU and that includes its energy supplies & security. Cue the wee diddy protests – probably funded by the same mob that’s been funding all the rest who are currently all over the news at the moment.
Your thieving heroes in the English parliament will be doing ok out of it next year.
Oh aye I forgot, it’s only worth anything if it’s British.
” Your thieving heroes in the English parliament will be doing ok out of it next year.”
Now try and wedge this into your skull
The only notable achievement that the SNP have achieved in the past decade is to make the Westminster tories look vaguely sane and competent
As in isolation the Westminster lot are morons
FFS when you look at the DROSS that was representing Scotland and Scots it’s no wonder that we’re in the shite state that we are , ALL that englified posh speech in a desperate attempt to show they are anything but Scottish
The only recognisable Scots speakers were Margo McDonald , James Eadie and the shop steward from Linwood , the last 2 were supportive of devolution maybe they thought it would lead to indy which it would have if the poisoned dwarf hadn’t betrayed Scotland
The Linwood shop steward was all supportive of his colleagues in engerland but his loyalty was misplaced as Scottish jobs went south to engerland , the very same thing is happening in Grangemouth ONLY the Scottish jobs are going to engerland and Belgium , maybe we could refer to these employees taking food from the mouths of our families and bairns as NEW SCOTS, you never know they might have set foot in Scotland for three minutes or even dreamed of Scotland in their sleep
They’ve nae chance of a silicone valley or anything resembling it. Not even the EU is allowed that. The man from America, he says no – you buy that snooping shit from them or you go without. Anyone thinking of even starting will be shut down & sanctioned.
This is a business.
Trump thinks he’s Tony Soprano. England & the EU will do as it’s telt. He’s sick of riding it’s ass & would rather deal independently with each one. Oh dear, that’s the EU on notice – let’s hope it includes to perpetual parasite that bolts itself to Scotland unwilling to make its own way in the world.
What is it with the male genital references when referring to England. Bit of a Freudian slip.
unfashionable opinion follows
I work with apprentices and not one of them is a blue haired woke idiot
Most of them are smart and capable
You must work in a worthwhile productive sort of traditional build or manufacture something industry then..
I assume..
Lucky you.
The bulk of ours have or are being shut down.
No in northeast scotland in a company doing mostly oil and gas work
The company is still surviving despite the efforts of your beloved SNP to shut us down
Now did you assume I was in England ?
Why
Can you not grasp the concept that I think that indy will be a total disaster due to the levels of stupid in Holyrood
Aye, so just give all of that precious black stuff to the neighbour for free, that’s fix it!
What century are you living in? Have you seen the morons next door who mismanage the UK government?
Has it ever crossed yer tiny wee Yoon scum mind that the branch office is actually run by Westminster? Scotland doesn’t actually have a parliament you know. It doesn’t have the authority to do as it pleases. The pretendy Secretary of State for Scotland, appointed by Westminster, is responsible for the branch office & what goes on inside of it.
yep I’ve seen the idiots in westminster
the only difference we have is you believe the morons in Holyrood are any better
And its the morons in Holyrood who want the north sea shutdown
remember your beloved Nicola shouting “stop rose bank”
There’s nothing better than watching academics throw charts and reference sources at each other. Such fun. Can I just say that you are all wrong. Using these stats is like weather forecasting. Maybe Ayes Maybe Naws. Stalin once said ‘ one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.
To readers who want Scotland restored to normal statehood and out of living in the lie of the Union:
Do you agree with Peter A Bell that the Manifesto for Independence contains the only process that can lead directly after the 2026 Holyrood election to a vote on leaving the Union?
If you agree that the Manifesto for Independence is a sensible document, have you signed it? Can you spread the word to get more supporters?
No.
Why?
Cause he’s fae Manchester…
Ahh..
Signed it Sarah. I think it is a logical move.It is out there now, the SNP will ignore it. Eventually their supporters will question why a vote for the SNP is not a vote for Independence.
Thanks for your constructive response, G m. I had hoped to spark a discussion on here because the wording of the Manifesto is a little complex so its meaning is not immediately apparent to those who like, or need for lack of time, a short, clear, message.
No, because it isn’t true and I wouldn’t trust Peter Bell as far as I could throw him. It’s still overwhelmingly likely that the the most plausible and fastest route to achieving independence is plebiscitary elections.
For schemes such as his, or other such as Salvo, Conventions of the Estates, calling a Constituent Assembly, throwing ourselves at the feet of the UN and bagging them to declare us a colony and do the work for us or whatever other outlandish hobby horse folk choose to ride, to actually work they’d need to demonstrate majority support.
How’s that going for any of them?
Whether I agree or disagree with what he has to say Peter Bell is a Scottish nationalist. I trust what he writes on the subject and distrust what you write on that basis.
Placing such trust in someone based on your subjective view that they are a nationalist you agree with on issues seems pretty well….. uncritical.
Isn’t that what a lot of people did with the SNP and Sturgeon post 2015? From memory it wasn’t that long ago Mr Bell was a tub thumping SNP loyalist who would criticise any who disagreed with his now discredited stance.
This site is clearly dying on its arse with regard to the worth of btl discussion and contributions.
But that’s not unexpected when there’s so much deliberate disruption being allowed to go on, and Stu has consistently pushed the notion that there’s nothing going on in Scottish politics and independence will have to wait until Salmond gets “justice” from within the very setup that created and facilitated that injustice.
You purport to support the plebiscitary election route and have previously had one of your usual digs at me for you wrongly presuming that urgency of delivering Scotland to self-governing status was not a priority of mine.
You tried to lever in that dig when I was merely pointing out the difficulties in delivery of such a plan with the limited campaigning timescale to 2026, the voting system for Holyrood, and the lack of will of the NuSNP being willing to work with a pro-indy initiative.
So for all the time you spend on here and your fluffing for Stu like the sun shines out his arse, it seemed odd that you (and he for that matter) wouldn’t add any response to my inquiry as to whether Stu’s plebiscitary manifesto suggestion could be reviewed and tweaked to take account of political parties circling the pan and losing evermore trust of the electorate as voter disengagement shows.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
link to wingsoverscotland.com
This site is “dying on its arse” as you so eloquently put it for one reason: imbecilic, aggressive trolls who stifle all discussion and debate. Oh, and a spammer to boot.
They should not be tolerated and should all be PERMA banned. Simple as that.
People disagreeing with each other is fine. Heated, impassioned discussion is also fine, in fact to be encouraged. Leering, aggressive stupidity, trolling, obsessive stalking and/or dribbling spamming isn’t.
Simples Dan, fixed it for you.
I’d say it’s unionist trolls who don’t even live in Scotland who are spoiling BTL.
Their intention to bait & disrupt. Oh lookie, the Gestapo is asking for permanent bans – how surprising – NOT.
You & yer ilk have no vote here. Therefore – none of yer business of what’s happening in Holyrood, Holyrood elections far less a political party that doesn’t even stand in your area.
You’ve fck all vote on an indyref either.
But like most English twats – they’ve no fucking manners in someone else’s hoose!
It may have escaped yer notice but the UK is circling the U bend & is in big trouble. Recession, downgrading growth, highest interest rates anywhere, inflation, high energy costs, high rents, high electricity (WTF) than Europe, a pensioner crisis, a heating crisis, an NHS crisis, shit GDP, higher NI & heading straight for stagflation.
& Guess what? Fck all of it was to do with brown people! Yer Reform pish won’t save it. They’re Tories – they’ll head straight to the kitty & help themselves. It’s what Tories do.
So, rather than nose into Scotlands business & elections – fck off & sort yer own shit out because that’s yer union for you. Fucking bleak just as it’s always been. Zero prospects, continually mismanaged & SKINT – except for its endless wars which Scotlands resources BANK ROLL.
So do fuck right off.
You make my case for me.
Again.
“endless wars”
Diversions are needed from the “endless orgies” you were wanging oan aboot not so long ago.
BTW, Geri, I’d get a “proper” plumber to take a wee lookie in yer shithoose.
Nothing circles the U bend in a properly installed shunky. Not even a turd so ginormous it can stretch to reach the keyboard and post on here 🙂
Oh, the irony!! Jeezo.
I’m guessing Stu doesn’t want the BTL comments to comprise of a deeply polarised, low-wattage shitshow echo chamber, infested by self-appointed aggressive one-track morons with literally nothing better to do – day or night – than stifling any views or discussion counter to their own tiresome boilerplate, endless grievance.
On the other hand, perhaps he’s past caring, pal. Who can blame him, in that case.
No “irony” at all, Chief. You demonstrably don’t contribute anything whatsoever of value, anything besides creepily stalking others you’ve decided you don’t like. If it were me, your arse wouldn’t touch the floor, pal.
Stu can no doubt speak for himself, although he’s famously stated that he hasn’t read BTL comments for years and only seems to intervene if prompted via a specific complaint, or when he brings his hammers out in response to something that attracts his ire.
I doubt many people would disagree with his general assessment that there’s SFA going on in Scottish politics. Absent some Black Swan event, what exactly are you expecting to happen?
I don’t “purport” to support plebiscitary elections, I’ve consistently called for their use since the concept was first put forward when it became obvious trying to use the 2014 indyref1 route was a dead end in current circumstances. There’s nothing purported about it.
If I misinterpreted you as supporting “cunning plans for indy” and novel woo-woo wishful thinking rather than plebiscitary elections, then that’s my bad and I’m happy to retract if that’s the case.
My point relating to those proposing novel non parliamentary routes to indy was indeed that they risked taking much longer than plebiscitary elections, and being much riskier in terms of gaining recognition. Folk can (and do) disagree with my assessment. As we’ve seen however most of those wedded to the idea are happy to traduce people arguing with them as yoons, tractors* (ed) or 77th Brigade. It’s tiresome and they can hardly complain if people react to their attacks or respond in kind.
I tend to agree that the window for achieving anything in time for HR2026 elections is becoming ever smaller. Again, I’ve thought that and said so for some time now. Absent either the collapse of the SNP or some internal coup to convert the party to pushing the plebiscitary elections route, the gam’e probably a bogey.
It’s pretty obvious the SNP vote is (inexplicably to many of us) holding up, that Reform are making inroads into the Scottish Tory vote, and that Alba, ISP & others haven’t made any big breakthrough.
There’s nothing in my view to stop non-part independence candidates contributing to the plebiscitary elections: the deciding factor is the total number of votes cast for ALL candidates standing on a plebiscitary platform. They don’t need to agree with each other.
As for this place dying on it’s arse, Captain Caveman is I’m afraid correct in his assessment below. Some of the worst offenders have mercifully either abandoned the place or been banned, but others still remain.
I can and do disagree with Stu on some issues. I don’t feel the need to fluff for him, unlike some of the uncritical hard of thinking types in here who are happy to parrot extremist agitprop that mainstream folk in the movement regard as a huge turn off.
That’s a big part of why so many have disengaged and why the number of comments are a fraction of what they used to be, although as noted above it’s also partly due to a generalised sense of ennui with the current bùrach that is Scottish (and indeed international) politics, and the fact there are far fewer articles than the daily output in the past.
We’ve also noted how many of the “usual suspects” in here are happy to tolerate and even encourage notorious spammers like gregor, just as they did in the past with Cameron Brodie. Again, Captain Caveman (whose general politics I have no time for) is quite right: that’s another aspect of why this place is dying on it’s arse.
Stu can no doubt speak for himself, although he’s famously stated that he hasn’t read BTL comments for years and only seems to intervene if prompted via a specific complaint, or when he brings his hammers out in response to something that attracts his ire.
I doubt many people would disagree with his general assessment that there’s SFA going on in Scottish politics. Absent some Black Swan event, what exactly are you expecting to happen?
I don’t “purport” to support plebiscitary elections, I’ve consistently called for their use since the concept was first put forward when it became obvious trying to use the 2014 indyref1 route was a dead end in current circumstances. There’s nothing purported about it.
If I misinterpreted you as supporting “cunning plans for indy” and novel woo-woo wishful thinking rather than plebiscitary elections, then that’s my bad and I’m happy to retract if that’s the case.
My point relating to those proposing novel non parliamentary routes to indy was indeed that they risked taking much longer than plebiscitary elections, and being much riskier in terms of gaining recognition. Folk can (and do) disagree with my assessment. As we’ve seen however most of those wedded to the idea are happy to traduce people arguing with them as yoons, tractors* (ed) or 77th Brigade. It’s tiresome and they can hardly complain if people react to their attacks or respond in kind.
I tend to agree that the window for achieving anything in time for HR2026 elections is becoming ever smaller. Again, I’ve thought that and said so for some time now. Absent either the collapse of the SNP or some internal coup to convert the party to pushing the plebiscitary elections route, the gam’e probably a bogey.
It’s pretty obvious the SNP vote is (inexplicably to many of us) holding up, that Reform are making inroads into the Scottish Tory vote, and that Alba, ISP & others haven’t made any big breakthrough.
There’s nothing in my view to stop non-part independence candidates contributing to the plebiscitary elections: the deciding factor is the total number of votes cast for ALL candidates standing on a plebiscitary platform. They don’t need to agree with each other.
As for this place dying on it’s arse, Captain Caveman is I’m afraid correct in his assessment below. Some of the worst offenders have mercifully either abandoned the place or been banned, but others still remain.
I can and do disagree with Stu on some issues. I don’t feel the need to fluff for him, unlike some of the uncritical hard of thinking types in here who are happy to parrot extremist agitprop that mainstream folk in the movement regard as a huge turn off.
That’s a big part of why so many have disengaged and why the number of comments are a fraction of what they used to be, although as noted above it’s also partly due to a generalised sense of ennui with the current bùrach that is Scottish (and indeed international) politics, and the fact there are far fewer articles than the daily output in the past.
We’ve also noted how many of the “usual suspects” in here are happy to tolerate and even encourage notorious spammers like gregor, just as they did in the past with CBB. Again, Captain Caveman (whose general politics I have no time for) is quite right: that’s another aspect of why this place is dying on it’s arse.
“Stu has consistently pushed the notion that there’s nothing going on in Scottish politics”
Because there isn’t. Tell me you’re not living in the tragic fantasy world of BiS’s “indy convention” or James Kelly’s imaginary “pro-indy majority” in 2026 that’ll somehow magically be able to achieve something that the pro-indy majority we ACTUALLY HAVE RIGHT NOW can’t.
Be More Alert and lolz if you think I believe the current crop of political dross in Holyrood are pro-indy.
Nice bit of your usual short and curt deflection though, whilst still avoiding not answering my query on the potential to review and tweak your previously suggested manifesto taking into account all that’s happened since it was first posted.
How do you expect any meaningful change to actually occur without there being a roughly defined and agreed process folk can start to unify behind and start the process of delivering it. Trump may be able to start dealing with the genderwoo, but we’ve still got to do the job of electing folk to do that here so better get busy or settle in for another 5 years of gender nonsense.
FFS Alba (like so many other political Parties) are more of a skipfire than I ever thought possible.
Andy was as per normal mo giving me his hostile grief a good few months back when I pointed out a that Holyrood 26 was really not viable for various reasons, yet now he admits the window for achieving anything of worth is becoming ever smaller… well of course it is when nobody was prepared to actually discuss and address the issues.
You are a supporter of plebiscitary elections, Andy is a supporter of plebiscitary elections,
I am a supporter of plebiscitary elections, and I’m pretty sure many others are too, so why the fuck is there such dogged resistance to avoid discussing and nailing down a strategy that we could work towards delivering instead of you stating there’s nothing going on…
Big fan of Freeports and SEZs are you? That shit got rolled out when focus on genderwoo was the distraction, bit I digress.
Anyway, I pointed out the same useless compromised un-deliverable tactical shit with the previous Holyrood election 4 years ago with the launching of Alba when AFI and ISP were already in existence, and that of course came to nowt because it was never going to be a deliverable strategy in such a short campaigning time span.
I’m not insane and have no interest in, and can find better things to do, than pissing away my time doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Had just hoped there’d be a wee bit more passion and commitment from influential movers and shakers to help Scotland and her people improve our lot. But maybe Alf has it right in that some folk become a little less motivated and comfortable existing within the system they once wanted to end…
Like or loath him, Trump knows how the Mainstream media works and he plays it to his maximum advantage.
He’s going to be in the media a lot in the next couple of years and that coverage as well as the ‘muscle’ from his confederate Musk’s Twitter/X is going to have an effect on our political system, the main benefactors being Reform.
Expect a lot of gains for Reform in next years Holyrood election.
He’s not got as much media coverage as Sturgeon.
Knt tho she is – I must’ve missed her in the media asking France if they’ll take the English off our hands cause we quite like the look of Bournemouth beach & we could clean up the area.
Trump has managed to insult the entire world with his stupid & wreck less behaviour. Wipe billions off Wall Street & receive far harsher Tarrifs & push back on his wee trade war. Fck sakes, it’s the yankie version of BoJo let loose on the world stage. Frog face joining him on it would guaranteed Indy in no time.
Stay awake. What a time to be alive! Permanent clown world has arrived.
BBC (08/02/25): Musk’s Doge takes aim at US consumer protection agency (Mike Wendling🙂
“The agency is the latest department of the US government to be targeted by Doge, an unofficial cost-cutting group that Donald Trump has given broad leeway to slash government spending and remove employees.
Musk and Doge have already spearheaded the effort to eliminate USAID,..
The agency has long been a target of Republicans who have accused it of overreach, unduly restricting banks, and using money from fines and settlements to fund left-wing activist groups…”:
link to archive.ph
Socialist Worker (2024): Day of Reckoning—the rise of the US far right:
“Mike Wendling‘s new book paints the chilling story of how the far right—and conspiracy theories—have gripped the US…
…Covid pandemic which exposed US health inequalities. The far right used this moment of crisis to spread a distrust of masks and vaccines and to cast doubt on the very existence of the Covid virus…
When we think of the far right in US politics, we often think of QAnon, a group of people who believe that a global cabal of paedophiles is manipulating the US government…
…if Trump wins, his politics will embolden the far right and push mainstream politics rightwards.
Ultimately, Wendling’s book fails to take the final step and call for mass action to defeat Trump.”:
link to archive.ph
“Socialist Worker is the name of several newspapers currently or formerly associated with the International Socialist Tendency (IST). It is a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the United Kingdom…
The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is a far-leftpolitical party in the United Kingdom…
The SWP has founded several fronts through which they have sought to coordinate and influence leftist action…
The SWP describes itself as a “revolutionary socialist party” and considers itself to stand in the tradition of Leon Trotsky. It also shares many of the political positions of other Trotskyist groups, a tradition rooted in Marxism and Leninism…”:
link to en.wikipedia.org
Day of Reckoning How the Far Right Declared War on Democracy (Mike Wendling🙂
“The MAGA movement was in retreat after Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020, but the fascist fringes have not just survived, they continue to thrive and burrow into the mainstream…
…a movement that threatens to shatter the foundations of democracy.”
(Pluto Press is a radical political publishing house… we proudly identify as anti-capitalist, internationalist and politically independent)”:
link to plutobooks.com
Amazon: Books: Mike Wendling:
“…a National Digital Reporter with BBC News, based in Chicago. Previously he was the editor and host of the popular BBC World Service show Trending, which covers social media stories from around the globe, and in early 2020 he co-founded the BBC News disinformation unit…”:
Alt-Right: From 4chan to the White House:
“This book is a vital guide to understanding the Alt-Right – the white nationalist, anti-feminist, far-right movement that rose to prominence during Donald Trump’s successful election campaign… exclusive interviews with members of the movement and evidence linking extremists with terror attacks and hate crimes, it is clear that despite its high-profile support, the movement’s lack of a coherent base and its contradictory tendencies have already started to lead to its downfall.”:
link to amazon.co.uk
‘Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive’
OMG, BBC devil
#BBCSacked
The Woke socialist worker now Gregor, sadly.
With gregors numerous posts, I thought I’d reply to the last comment on my OP.
When you see the big ships sailing up the Clyde, they cause small waves which when colliding with rocks that aren’t submerged causes waves that goes in different directions giving a disruptive look to otherwise calm waters.
This analogy is the effect that American politics has on ours whether it is with Trumps media manipulation, the alleged USAID funding of a BBC charity aimed at spreading ‘unbiased’ news around the world, Viv’s allegations of Scottish politicians going on US government funded programs and other activities that we don’t know of which is funded by the US government.
Make no doubt about it, Trump is going out to hollow out the US government to the detriment of the US people.
However, that is what the people of the US voted for and if it cuts a lot of the tentacles that the US government has in our political system, that should be a good thing.
While on the subject, I am getting bored with all these so called leftists going on about fighting this and fighting that.
Rather than spewing such worthless rhetoric, why can’t they come up with policies that can be implemented by political parties as an alternative to get rid of all these fascist/far right enemies they see?
America didn’t vote Trump for the detriment of the people – they voted Trump to save America and drain the Washington/NWO swamp.
Leftists cannot come up with anything, because they have nothing worthwhile/tangible to offer, and people are sick of their non-stop hysterics – hypocrisy, duplicity and baby tantrums (and rampant collusion, corruption and criminality).
Elon Musk:
“Is the left really just a giant kleptocracy?
The evidence increasingly suggests it is.”:
link to x.com
Kleptocracy:
“A society whose leaders make themselves rich and powerful by stealing from the rest of the people:
This was not a democracy; it was a kleptocracy.”:
link to dictionary.cambridge.org
It’s not really to their detriment. Just look at the money they’re wasting on that shit in its obsession to spy on everyone & play world police while it’s own country burns.
Not often reported here but they’re on the verge of civil war. A healthcare crisis, a homeless crisis, a drug crisis, an immigration crisis & all off it’s income, squeezing other countries, is drying up as they switch to BRICS with more favourable terms of zero Tarrifs on poorer countries.
Americans are already locked & loaded too. Each owning more weapons each than a small country has LOL
Trump will kick it off because while Mexico answered the call to help them with their fires & shortages of manpower – Trump was gobbing off they eat babies & is going to deport them all LOL! While also announcing he’s spending billions on everyone else’s country instead of his own.
He was voted to end wars but it looks like he is going out of his way to create more & it’s just following on from Biden & that was a certainty because Oligarchs are running the shit show & they only care about themselves & their wealth & Trump has ten of them in his cabinet and invited loads more to his wee inauguration shindig.
The North (09/02/25): SHORT READ: The roles played by Scots in the emergence of America’s far-right:
“Scottish Confederates, are connected to the incumbent of the White House.
Trump’s presidency has begun – as many people feared it would – with a flurry of political statements and legislative declarations that mark his administration out as unambiguously of the far-right…
At Trump’s victory rally, Elon Musk (who is a supporter of both the multiply convicted English fascist Tommy Robinson and the far-right AfD/Alternative for Germany) threw two Nazi salutes.
Musk’s sieg heiling at the Washington rally – have drawn comparisons with the Nazi regime that came to power in Germany in 1933…
Take America’s most notorious, murderous white supremacist organisation – the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) – for example. The Klan has its origins in a group formed in 1865, in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, by six former Confederate officers of Scottish and Irish descent…
There can be no question that the pro-Confederacy, pro-slavery actions of so many Scots… As mentioned above, historians estimate that something in the order of 50,000 Scots served in the Union Army during the US Civil War…
History weaves complex webs…
…may well be taking the US ever closer to its second civil war…”:
link to archive.ph
BBC (2012): Study reveals ‘extraordinary’ DNA of people in Scotland:
“The DNA of people living in Scotland has “extraordinary” and “unexpected” diversity…
…actor Tom Conti is related to Napoleon Bonaparte… Conti and Napoleon both share the M34 marker, which is Saracen in origin.
The project found that Scotland has almost 100 different groups of male ancestry from across Europe and further afield. More than 150 different types of female DNA from Europe, Asia and Africa were discovered…
Researchers believe that Scotland’s location could be a factor in the “astonishing and unique” origins of people from the country…
Scotland’s DNA also found that more than 1% of all Scotsmen are direct descendants of the Berber and Tuareg tribesmen of the Sahara, a lineage which is around 5600 years old.
Royal Stewart DNA was confirmed in 15% of male participants with the Stewart surname. They are directly descended from the royal line of kings…
Fred MacAuley’s ancestors were slaves, sold at the great slave market in Dublin in the 9th Century, despite his name suggesting a Viking heritage. They said MacAuley’s slave ancestor was taken by ship to the Hebrides and had an affair with his owner’s wife, thereby intruding DNA into the MacAulay line…”:
link to bbc.co.uk
So there’s a slave DNA now? Wow, mind boggling stuff. But handy for when it comes to divvying up the reparations.
Any progress in proving the ship taking slaves to the Hebrides was English, and that the Hebrideans who bought or bartered for the slaves were coerced into it by the English?
It’s obvious that’s what must have happened, but you know how it is with the nay sayers. They’ll demand proof, or write this all off as revisionist, pseudo-scientific shite.
Do you know what I’m gagging to know though? That slave ancestor who had the affair with the “owner’s wife”. Male or female?
Oh yes. And what is it that says that the wife couldn’t have owned slaves in her own right? Why does the patriarchy have to take the blame?
Mario Nawfal
@MarioNawfal:
“SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICAL LEADER: WE WILL CUT THE THROAT OF WHITENESS Julius Malema:
“These people, when you want to hit them hard, go after a white man. They feel terrible pain because you have touched a white man. We’re cutting the throat of whiteness. We will kill white women, children, and their pets.”
Video:
link to tinyurl.com
World Hall Of Fun
@WorldHallOfFun:
“Newly elected member of Parliament in South Africa:
“We will kill the white man’s children
We will kill their woman
We kill their Gods
We kill their dads
We will kill anything that we find in our way…
They kill one of us – we will kill five white people...”
I bet you don’t see this on mainstream media”:
link to tinyurl.com
Donald Trump (09/02/25):
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention. A massive Human Rights VIOLATION is happening, for all to see. The United States won’t stand for it – We will act. Also, because of this, I will be cutting off all aid to South Africa until further notice!”:
link to x.com
You’re defo oan tae something, gregor.
The N@zis liked cars too.
Keep drawing those comparisons. Ask nicely and nursie will find you some big, colourful, non-toxic crayons.
Perfectly safe for you to eat 🙂
Farage’s message is
Leaving a union will make us all rich and I am not like those other elite politicians. I’m just like you as I know you are poor due to others but we are a unique and special race and once freed we will rise up
sounds very like the message of the SNP
you guys can see that?
No.
The EU didn’t collect ALL the UKs income, give it back some pocket money & tell them how to spend it, then present it with a bill of debt it spent on their behalf.
Funny how England wanted independence from the EU but not from Scotland. You know, the one you continually think you lot subsidise & costs you millions.
Why is that?
“Funny how England wanted independence from the EU but not from Scotland.”
Just what the hell are you gibbering about now ?
Scotland ruled England ????
Brexshitters wanted to take back control. Have yer wee independence referendum/day.
Yer not independent tho are you?
Turns out you only meant from the EU. Yer still dependent on two nations & a provence keeping you afloat.
Nope !
You’re still gibbering !
How could “England want independence from Scotland” ??
LOL !
I think the point Geri is calmly and repetitively making Hovis to your contrived questioning is that if, as per British propoganda perpetually states; we in Scotland are living free off the fat of bounteous merry old Englands largesse then what exactly is their problem with us becomingindependent?
Why the hysteria?
One less begging bowl surely?
No?
Hmmm. Wonder why. You clearly aren’t keeping up with insightful commentary here, or, are you one of the Revs special so called “besties” too.
Eff off m0r0n.
Doesnae compute does it? Go for your independence you wank and stop fucking whining.
” you lot ” ??????
Who is us lot?
Or do you assume every YOON is english
In spirit if not in body..
Truth hurts eh?
Well the “we” in that piece refers to England with the “Celtic fringes” dragged along for the ride (whether we want it or not) with precious few of the beneficent promised but missing benefits.
Can’t you see that?
Claptrap.
Latest Westminster voting intention, Scottish sub-sample.
Opinium 5 – 7 Feb, population sample 126
Con 12%, Lab 15%, LibDem 6%, SNP 36%, RefUK 23%, Green 5%
RefUK in clear second place in Scotland.
Repeat, again repeat. This is not because RefUK are particularly genius at policy & communication, it’s because the rest are unbelievably crap.
[spoiler title=”CHERRYBANK “] [/spoiler]
Reform’s Professor Matt Goodwin is formidable political evangelist.
modern politics = picking up a turd by the clean end
C’mon, you shouldn’t put yourself down so!
Chin up..
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
And you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin’
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’
Piss off, Gregor !
Sorry no can do.
Gregor is my alter ego
Niceone Mark, thanks
I’m here till the fat lady sings.
By the way where is Gregor? I hope you haven’t upset him
I don’t take orders, Insider
But I’ll help you to destroy your integrity, np
Hovis has been on the sauce again..
I know, it is a shame, worry and humanitarian concern to us all that England is “Britains” sump.
Sandbags can only do so much. Terrible, just terrible.
Why are some folk so down on Gregor?
I don’t get it.
He posts quirky stuff – sometimes stuff with a bit to chew on – and he isn’t rude, aggressive or negative.
I just wish folk would get off his back. God knows, this place has lost enough of the regular commenters who weren’t greetin-faced fannies.
I am perfectly happy with gregor. I’m sure in the good old days on Wings there weren’t so many personal comments nor off-topic threads – everything was focused on independence.
Aye.
Sarah, you posted your comment just 8 or 9 minutes ago and someone had already downticked before I upticked.
What’s that all about?
It just feels vindictive and pointless.
I wonder that, as well, IB. But it makes me laugh because who would bother to downtick most things on here? They must be sad types or 77th Brigade!
I don’t know about you but ticking those boxes can be a silent relief.
But there seems to be a lack of discrimination. 🙂
Ok you need to break that down for me.
Yep. 77.
Got to laugh, haven’t we!
Good to know that they’re scared.
77th Butts (forever-kicked:) Brigade –
Far too easy, lol
Hasn’t @DefenceHQ got ANY effective capabilities/competition (WTF)
“Understanding Modern Warfare has established itself as the leading introduction to the issues, ideas, concepts and context necessary to understand the theory and conduct of warfare in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It is an invaluable text for military professionals and students…”
link to amazon.co.uk
#BOSS
AOAV (2024): Mission Creep? Freedom of Information disclosure proves 77th Brigade was deployed on UK operations during Covid pandemic:
“The recent Freedom of Information disclosure… shows the Brigade monitored UK citizens’ social media posts to detect so-called “disinformation trends” during the pandemic.
…noted that in March 2029 the Ministry of Defence, “identified the need for Info Ops capability, orchestrated centrally from the Mil Strat HQ in support Op RESCRIPT”.
Operation Rescript was the code name for the British military operation to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic…
This means that while government officials initially stated that the Brigade’s role would remain internationally focused, evidence now points to a mission creep, raising questions about the proper boundaries of military involvement in civilian matters.”:
The 77th Brigade was established as a response to the changing nature of conflict in an increasingly digital age. The Brigade’s mission was explicitly to protect the UK from external online threats…”:
link to aoav.org.uk
The public should be aware that a harem of malicious shadoWhingers/deep-state actors, are stuck to me – like glue (obviously my reality-hammer has ruffled a few feathers:)
Don’t overly worry about these deranged bad Scotland actors (they’ll ALL be outed in due course:)
Be thankful for their profound stupidity in showing you the way…
#TeamScotlandChampions
The Intercept (2014): Hacking Online Polls and Other Ways British Spies Seek to Control the Internet:
“The secretive British spy agency GCHQ has developed covert tools to seed the internet with false information, including the ability to manipulate the results of online polls, artificially inflate page view counts on web sites, “amplif[y]” sanctioned messages on YouTube, and censor video content judged to be “extremist.”…
JTRIG urges its GCHQ colleagues to think big when it comes to internet deception…”:
link to theintercept.com
link to archive.ph
“they’ll ALL be outed in due course”
Puts me in mind of other Wings BTL posters of yesteryear who eventually had to re-invent themselves with new identities as the dead weight of unfulfilled promises and fatuous predictions dragged then under.
I’ll hazard a wee prediction myself.
You’ll be attaching no timescale to your “in due course”, will you gregor.
Re-inventing yourself..
Is that why so many here identify you as John Main?
Hey, Brotherhood, ya big stirrer, whit day ye think o this: link to youtube.com
Wish I could find the complete and original fillum of Hugh being interviewed by a very earnest young female English student when he exclaimed, “I have always been an intellectuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!”
No SNP politician now would even understand the concept.
Gravy! Now, gravy is the boys!
Cheers TC, don’t think I’ve ever seen that.
🙂
Nae probs, doll 🙂 . Those sessions with Hugh, Sorley, NM and a good few bottles of malt must have been pretty epic.
Meanwhile Spiderman Swinney sips feebly on a decaff skimmed milk Horlicks and wonders where the magic went.
Cheers Sarah
You’re a Team-Scotland star.
Another true champion.
Some folk (forever-losers) can’t handle reality, Ian
I commend your attitude and openness.
I’ll remember your national courage and support.
#ChampIan
Keep on keepin on Big Stuff.
😉
Yes Ian but you see the biggest objector is the franchise fanny who cannot stand anyone having more to say than him
He did the same with Cameron Brodie he bullied and harassed him for ages until his good pal the Rev (according to him) was forced to ban him
Funny enough the Rev has said repeatedly that there is nothing happening in politics in Scotland and gregor is just supplying links to things that are actually happening in Scotland and worldwide that may have a bearing on Scotland
That’s just SUCH bullshit twatbyname and you and the other moonhowlers all know it. I’ve got no issue arguing the toss on substantive issues with all comers on here, or indeed anywhere else.
My issue with gregor as with CBB of ill fame has SFA to do with the content of their tsunamis of generally off topic intellectual diarrhoea, but the sheer thread diverting quantity. CBB was admittedly much worse than gregor, but neither is welcome.
However much it pains you and the other moonhowlers, my view is overwhelmingly likely to represent the vast majority. Hence the consistent and crushing weight of downvotes his bilge solicits.
Lots of other folks apart from me can’t abide such inputs, including many who are generally on the opposite side from me on a range of issues.
On this, as on so many other things you’re on the wrong side. Imagine our surprise etc.
Wrong:
“Not correct in action, judgment, opinion, method, etc., as a person; in error:
You are wrong to blame him.”
link to dictionary.com
” my view is overwhelmingly likely to represent the vast majority”
My ,My ,My view , I’ve got news for you Fanny your views mean nothing to anyone , you’re just like the rest of us POWERLESS
“but neither is welcome”
I’ve more news for you Fanny it’s not your website so you don’t tell anyone they’re not welcome , ONLY yer best pal Stuey (slurp, slurp) can do that ya FUD.
Put up or shut up twatbyname: if you think you and aw the other nativists in here have significant support, then show us evidence.
The downticks tell their own story of course, even given the sad reduction in quantity and of course in your case quality of BTL contributions.
As per usual it’s all mouth and trousers with the Wolfie Smith sophomoric extremists soiling this place with their fantasy cunning plans for indy.
I love Scotland (my home nation)/humanity with all my heart and soul –
My mission, here, is Scotland’s protection, enlightenment and liberation.
Sovereign Scotland cannot/doesn’t relinquish control…
#Freedom2025
Awa an’ bile yer heid, ya bam !
(translation copyright by Alf Baird 2025)
Am yer Heid.
#LongLiveAlfBaird
#Everything
Yeah Tom…
#Mission:
Yeh Gregor the franchise fanny doesn’t do nationalism , he prefers to give Scotland away to anyone who takes a day trip , he’s that fucking stupid he cannot look around the world and see how indigenous people’s are being cast aside and disadvantaged
He’s more concerned about being a progressive pussy that hates his Scottishness , He’s ashamed of being Scottish that is if he even is, which I hae ma doots
Says the snivelling anonymous coward too chicken shit to post his bigoted, regressive nativist views on his own name.
Scotland the brave, eh? Away and cos up to your regressive ideological bum chums line Trump, Farage and Tommy Robinson.
re. “franchise fanny doesn’t do nationalism”
“He’s ashamed of being Scottish”
I’m so proud of my bonnie Scotland and its braw people.
I love my nation and will defend it to the hilt:
#ScotlandChampionsForever
“I love my nation and will defend it to the hilt”
While giving its unique languages the body swerve!
It’s OK, gregor, we won’t clipe on you to Alf 🙂
re. “While giving its unique languages the body swerve!”
I’m never afraid to face you and your child demands, HateyPuss
I love it when you speak without limitation.
OMG, they’ve actually done it !!!
They’ve deployed ‘The Negatron’ (gasps)
What a card!
the Joker js wild.
R.E.M.: Shiny Happy People:
“Meet me in the crowd, people, people
Throw your love around, love me, love me
Take it into town, happy, happy
Put it in the ground where the flowers grow
Gold and silver shine
Everyone around, love them, love them
Put it in your hands, take it, take it
There’s no time to cry, happy, happy
Put it in your heart where tomorrow shines
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Whoa, here we go…”:
link to tinyurl.com
You have just ruined my day. vomit.
The Scotsman (09/02/25): For her sake and Scotland’s, Nicola Sturgeon should not run again as an MSP:
“It’s about knowing when to walk away…
A big name no longer at the forefront of politics, but instead choosing to serve from the backbenches. She absolutely shouldn’t…
For the good of the SNP, for her own sake, and perhaps the good of the country, it’s time for Sturgeon to walk away. The era of her being a bulletproof politician who could get away with anything is over. To stay would make her an anchor around the neck of the SNP, a former asset now tainted not just by police digging up her garden, but a record of delivery the public have a new view of in the aftermath…
For her personally, there also must be better things to do. She’s got a memoir coming out this year, why not enjoy it? Do the book tour, go on the speaking circuit, maybe join a podcast. She could even go on holiday, take the campervan out. What is there left for her to do in Holyrood?..”:
link to archive.ph
msp salary would be hard to walk away from unless the good people of her constituency give her the cold shoulder at election time.
Gregor! Two in a row ! Have you no mercy???
Hmm, I manage to serve my local community, for most of the year – on less than £12,000 –
And I’ll liberate Scotland (for free:)…
#FreedomScotland2025
They’re owed a £11,950 refund: Scottish DOGE should get right on that! 🙂
Tell that to my local elderly community whom value my help and work efforts.
You must love the fact that I awarded myself with a £1 pay rise e.g. for picking up peoples’ dog shits and cleaning out guttering with my hands, etc –
I’m not even gonna bother with a wage rise this year (the bigots have inspired and empowered me)…
Alex Jones
@RealAlexJones:
“100% True! I don’t think the public is ready to learn the true scale of the crimes committed against them. Nevertheless YOU are about to find out and the world will never be the same!”:
link to x.com
Doge Dogeman: The R****d: Frees:
link to tinyurl.com
Does SHE whose name shall not be uttered ever take pictures of things or places other than herself?
Smacks as being something of an issue there..
Where’s Pete BTW?
Holyrood PR: Sturgeon’s PR masterclass with selfies: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as Clinton Copies Sturgeon’s Smartphone Selfie Blueprint:
“Nicola Sturgeon is the undoubted Scottish ‘Queen of the Selfie’ – and now her smartphone-based photography skills could be having an impact on the US Presidential election.With a keen eye for both popular trends and media opportunities, Ms Sturgeon established herself as a selfie-taking force to be reckoned with…
Her dexterity and discipline in learning how to use multiple different mobile phones to best frame and shoot picture of herself with well-wishers, campaigners and members of the public sparked multiple headlines… – with the likes of the BBC proclaiming the ‘Art of the Sturgeon Selfie‘. Political journalists from across Scotland further recognised her skills… All of which must have helped build La Sturgeon’s enviable public profile as one of the most admired and respected politicians in Scottish history.
…her expertise with multiple phones has all been gleaned through practice – doing the hard yards…
Now it seems the First Minister’s finely honed ability has moved well beyond Scottish shores and caught the attention of another female politician – in this case the woman bidding for the highest and most powerful office on the planet (Hillary Clinton:)”:
link to holyroodpr.co.uk
Aw! C’mon!
I’ve never read any of Val’s books but I’d like to – the only thing putting me off is her association with that narcissist
Many people enjoy Val’s crime fiction –
I’m more interested in Sturgeon’s book…
I know but the stench of Sturgeon is simply too great
I sympathise with you, traumatised Mhairi (re. rotten SNP matter of fact)
“You have shown me prejudice and greed
And you’ve shown me how
I must learn to deal with this disease
I’ll look at things now
In a different light than I did before…
Now I found you
(Things can only get, can only get) come near, we’re twin now
Things can only get better
Can only get better…”:
link to tinyurl.com
You deserve a downtick or two for not giving a warning of that photo!
However , I am as puzzled as Ian B as to why you seem to attract a plethora of downticks and so quickly – 15 as I post this.
Somebody must have a secret button!
re. “You deserve a downtick or two for not giving a warning of that photo!”
Yup, fair enough Diabloandco
“I am as puzzled as Ian B”
Don’t be puzzled –
Rogue deep-state and its Big Banana Tech, totally sucks at keeping state secrets (enjoy:)
“BREAKING: The UK Just Ordered Apple to Kill Encryption for 2 Billion People—And They Can’t Even Talk About It
A global privacy nightmare is unfolding. The UK government secretly ordered Apple to backdoor encrypted iCloud storage worldwide—but Apple is legally forbidden from revealing this order, or they face criminal charges.
This affects 2 BILLION USERS.”:
link to x.com
Washington Post (07/02/25): EXCLUSIVE: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts:
link to archive.ph
The explanation is quite simple surely? Alert readers generally don’t appreciate one user posting a plethora of (generally) off topic extraneous bullshit derailing threads.
This is hardly a new phenomenon, and whilst some users appear immune and even the Rev Stu remains inexplicably loathe to take action against such wreckers, the general readership now has a way of registering their views.
The people it seems have spoken. (Unless of course you’re one of the coterie of tin foil hat conspiracy theorists insisting it’s all the 77th Brigade, who they inexplicably have nothing more urgent to do than try and have a roaster like gregor banned from WoS). Then of course it’s all a plot.
Declassified UK
@declassifiedUK:
“The British army’s 77th brigade – which specialises in psychological operations – held secret exchanges with the IDF, Declassified can reveal. The information was obtained in leaked I***eli military documents.”
link to x.com
“Leaked documents about the encounters originate from a hack of the IDF by a group called “Anonymous for Justice”. The dataset was subsequently published by Distributed Denial of Secrets.
Although some of the documents reference “secret” matters, there is strong public interest in reporting on their contents…
Professor Paul Rogers, an honorary fellow of the Joint Services Command and Staff College, commented:
“This is a highly significant revelation that shows the extent of high level links between I***eli and British counter-insurgency and psychological warfare operators – and, as ever, the need for greater transparency from the military right across the board”..”:
link to archive.ph
One of the most astonishing aspects of Wings BTL is how many of the posters claim to have “secret” knowledge.
Whether it’s the existence of 800 hitherto mostly undiscovered countries, biolabs and military bases. Or rendition, re-supply and bombing missions. High-level meetings, deniable western boots on the ground killing Orcs, or intelligence sharing.
Then there’s the battlefield readiness status updates, military aircraft performance envelopes, and kill rates for different types of ordnance.
There’s always somebody popping up from deep inside their bedroom to claim they have the inside dope.
Just as astonishing is the unlikely correlation between those claiming to know all these secrets, and the perception that the claimants would struggle to accurately tell anybody what day it is.
I’m still waiting on “things various” promised to us slam dunk certainties by the usual suspects, varying from Turkish boots on the ground to save the Riviera the Donald now has his eye on as the 51st state, to Chairman Xi’s D-Day expedition to Taiwan, to the imminent victory of BRICS, the New World Order and the demise of the yankee dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
Any time now…..right….? 🙂
It’s the 800 countries of the world that intrigue me.
Hoaching with F16s that can’t get off the ground.
All explicable if we accept it’s not the Earth that’s under discussion. It’s a new world with little or no atmosphere.
Maybe that’s where we could find “scotland” 🙂
Do you wonder if bagpipes need artificial amplification there? Imagine if gravity is stronger. A Highland Games arena will need much less space for the heavy events 🙂
SunDayNight…
“The period of darkness each 24 hours between sunset and sunrise, as distinct from day.”:
link to collinsdictionary.com
Dream Theater: The Astonishing: The Answer:
“I don’t pretend to have the answer
Never said I had the key
But somehow they see, a light inside of me
Am I not the man who I was meant to be?
As the people gather ‘round me
I never felt so all alone
Is this the chance to be someone, my moment in the sun?
Why am I afraid of facing the unknown?
They are finding faith in me and they believe I’m the one to set them free”:
link to tinyurl.com
Leaked information published subsequently by Declassified UK. Can you not read?
Nnnaaaawwwww!!!
Not Declassified UK!
Did you ever pause to consider that if “they” don’t like what Declassified UK are doing, then Declassified UK will be snuffed out of existence within 24 hours?
You should accept that thought. Embrace it. Then extend it. Imagine what role Declassified UK might play in a context where “those who Declassified UK seek to expose” are happy for Declassified UK to exist.
Could it be that Declassified UK and their ilk serve as the perfect conduit for the dissemination of information “they” want put out there?
Gosh! If that’s true. Wow. The mind boggles.
I’m betting you’re one of life’s lucky ones, Mhairi. As with most posters on here, you’re entirely free of the burden that comes from knowing that your enemies have sworn a holy oath before their God to exterminate you and every other member of your family, town, workplace, country and nation from the face of the earth.
If you did carry that burden, Mhairi, and you knew that foolish behaviour might directly cause the death of your loved ones, you would think very carefully indeed about the kinds of information you would “leak” to outfits like Declassified UK.
There’s nothing quite like the threat of imminent extermination for cutting through all the BS.
No. I refuse to hate. I’ll leave that burden to people like you.
Haha, my Bullshit Meter is now fitted with a low-current fuse.
That saves me having to buy myself a new one, every time I read a post like yours.
Carry on hating.
Elon Musk
@elonmusk:
“Wow, what a dick this guy is!”:
link to x.com
#FeedomDick
You talking real life or porn, gregor?
Only, without context, your post defies interpretation. It could be a slur, or an amazed and jealous compliment 🙂
Can you not read, McLazy:
“Can you not read”
Naw. Never felt the need to learn. It’s not only a grossly over-rated skill, but it also infects the not-so-smart with an unjustified sense of knowing what they’re on about.
I predict that within 20 years, “experts” will be saying that AI will have rendered the need to read, and write, completely unnecessary. Ditto for the vast majority of schooling too.
BTW, gregor, just to tide you over for the next 20 years – it’s customary to conclude a written question with a question mark “?”.
That applies to both written English and written Scots.
re. “BTW, gregor …it’s customary to conclude a written question with a question mark…”
This is your question to me:
Meanwhile in Wales, RefUK are set to rewrite the history books. Find Out Now, Westminster voting intention, Multilevel Regression Poststratification poll, field work 22 – 29 Jan, sample population 5,743 (in my opinion an unrealistically low sample for MRP).
Predicted seat distribution: RefUK 23, Labour 4, Plaid Cymru 2, Con 2
This isn’t the “white settler” effect of retirement age “gammons” from the SE of England selling their properties and moving to Wales. The biggest looser here (by a humongous margin) is Labour. The working class is justifiably enraged.
Note: This poll was conducted before Rachel from Accounts announced a raft of investments exclusively located in the South of England.
On a rather satisfying note, one of the seats RefUK have the highest probability of winning is currently occupied by Stephen Kinnock. Kinnock is the epitome of the reason RefUK is flourishing. A political nepo baby, with zero real life experience, married to the former PM of Denmark (who is herself the apotheosis of the Neoliberal, globalist elite), they have a trans son / daughter / something.
This old song has resonance.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
I’m a joker in the pack
We hit the dance hall
So smart and so chic
I make them laugh a lot
I make them accept me
Secrets are spoken
And plans are drawn in the dust
With a gay bravado
I?m taken into their trust
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
I’m a joker in the pack
Farage as the totem of Brit Unionism might not be a bad thing.
Oh Gawd !
Don’t do a “gregor” on us !
Yes, Gawd…
“God:
My Gawd!”:
link to collinsdictionary.com
#Heid
Wunderhorse: Cub: Leader of the Pack:
“Some people have a special kinda knack
Getting what they wanted just to stab you in the back
Nine times out of ten it’s the leader of the pack…
In between of you and me
The puppet and the master
The moon the tide the ties that bind
The shadow and the dancer
You and I are intertwined
Forever now and always
You’ll echo down the hallways…”:
link to tinyurl.com
#Q
Haven’t you got homework to finish for school tomorrow ?
ScHoolboy Q: Blank Face LP: Kno Ya Wrong:
“When y’all was sleepin’, who was workin’ with me…
You’re tryna blur my picture
Want me down there with you
Tryna blow my high
You wanna steer my drive
You askin’ more than my moms
Try corruptin’ my mind
Let’s do some work with them comms
When I was broke, you was gone
Know you’re wrong, oh-ah
Know you’re wrong, oh-ah…”:
link to tinyurl.com
Are you in the market for a new set of wheels Gregor? If so, I’ve found the perfect car for you – here, have a look 🙂
I don’t think they give homework to the special needs pupils bud.
I’m from a teaching family, Andy
My dad was a headmaster.
Mother was a teacher.
Sister is a guidance teacher.
Wunderhorse: 17: 17:
“Release the rain
From your skydive eyes
When you smile like a razor blade
You look so alive
Do I look pretty in your pictures?
Did I fool you with a laugh?
Don’t be the clown who lets his armor down
Just take the photograph…”:
link to tinyurl.com
RefUK are predicted to be the largest party in the 2026 Senedd Election. Most recent polling is perhaps past its sell-by-date. YouGov, field work 25 – 29 Nov, sample population 1,121. Con 19%, Lab 23%, LibDem 5%, Plaid Cymru 24%, RefUK 23%, Green 6%.
2026 will differ technically from previous elections in two ways. Total seats will increase from 60 to 96. Previous elections used the same, two vote, D’Hondt system as Holyrood. 2026 will use a single vote D’Hondt variant called Closed Proportional List System.
Predicted seat distribution from YouGov poll above (using baseline of 96 seats)
Plaid Cymru 25 (+4), Lab 25 (-22), RefUK 26, Con 20 (-8)
Analysis: Labour take the mother of all humpings. How RefUK end up with one more seat than Plaid Cymru on 1% less of the vote eludes me. The fortunes of Labour for Westminster voting intention have dropped a further 3% since this poll was taken. The implications of the Press Conference eleven days ago when Rachel from Accounts announced a wheen of budget busting investments exclusively in the South of England are yet to be tested by polling in Wales.
Why no article yet on ALBA’s current state of disarray, Stu?
Are you annoyed that his focus is on your beloved snp corrupt ,liars ,deviants, perverts,
Adam Drummond, head of political and social research at Opinium, commented:
«Voters generally know three things about Reform: it’s a party led by Nigel Farage, they don’t like immigration, and they aren’t the Labour or Conservative parties.
The first point is what’s most likely to drive voters away from the party, the second draws some people towards it, but it’s that third point that is Reform’s strongest card at the moment»
Not SNP either? A step too far maybe. As desirable as as a bullet in the brain.
Ladies and gentlemen May I introduce your next prime minister.
People are worried about immigration Tories did not act.
Labour wants to make it illegal to talk about it.
Farage and his crew will walz right in there.
Any political party which does not deal robustly with the immigration question will have no chance in any election.
Immigration and woke ideology are two key issues for much of the electorate in UK, as in USA and elsewhere in the West.
The ironic thing is that illegal immigration is not that big a problem here in Scotland as most illegals head south of the border as it is easier to disappear into the black market down there.
If they are sent here and their benefits are being paid here then they will stay here for that reason alone. There is an immigrant hotel near me, and the local council is now apparently moving some of them into new council houses.
Local people who have been waiting for a long time for a house are unhappy about this. Added to which there have been rumours of young girls being attacked by immigrants but nothing has been printed in the press about that. There have been no official denials either, which only fuels the rumours.
I think I’ve walked through the minefield successfully there.
How can they claim benefits if they’re here illegally?
France warned the UK it was no longer cleaning up it’s crap because the UK government repeatedly refused to pay it’s bills.
So they’ve had plenty of time to make other arrangements & build housing until ppl are processed. They didn’t do it – preferring to build private houses on floodplains cause houses means rents & rents get added to the GDP scam.
If the English have a problem with their borders they should invest in them & it’d be job creation too. It’s not like they’re not responsible for Scotland & Wales too. They deduct enough money from everyone..
They’re pretty shit at this Union malarky eh? LOL!
I don’t suppose they do get benefits while they are in these hotels. Obviously their situation must have changed by the time they are given a house. I’m no expert on the subject, so maybe someone an enlighten me. Our local council tell us nothing about it. Which is why there are so many rumours.
Some immigrants in our area at the moment appear to be perfectly genuine refugees. I’m thinking of what seems to be African families with young children. Others are more worrying. There are young single men who hang around doing nothing, which is bound to raise suspicions.
What? Refugees from France?
Coffee bogging over there now?
Croissants not a patch on what they once were?
Pardon me, John, but my tiny violin will remain in its case until France itself is riven by ultra-violent civil war, or an invading horde of Orcs.
And until the millions of Brits currently planning their 2025 summer holidays in France have been told it’s too dangerous to go there.
France? I never mentioned France. Maybe you should read my comment again before you go firing from the lip.
“I never mentioned France”
Indeed, you did not, John. One poster did in response though, to no denial from you.
The entire comment thread started with PacMan talking about illegal immigration. As virtually all of that drifts across the Channel, I’m not seeing what was wrong with my assumption that France was in the frame.
But by all means do please clarify.
Assume All you like. But don’t put words into my mouth.
OFFS
Yet another rude, thin-skinned Winger.
OK then. Don’t clarify – just lose the heid with anybody who tries to debate.
I can see how that makes your life so much simpler.
BBC (09/02/25): SNP MSP to stand down at Holyrood election:
“The SNP MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Audrey Nicoll, has announced she will not stand in next year’s Holyrood election.
The party leader at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, repesents the area of Aberdeen South and announced his intention to challenge Ms Nicoll for the Holyrood seat in November…
A spokesman for Nicoll said her decision to stand down was unrelated to Stephen Flynn’s interest in her seat…”:
link to bbc.co.uk
Leant on ???
This is 2025 – ‘The Age of Enlightenment’.
Who knows what goes on behind closed SNP doors.
Flynn sent the boys round.
I was reading the comments section on the Guardian article about the threat that RefUK poses to Labour.
It was the same old tired nonsense of Labour needing to reconnect with the working classes, Labour needing to embrace socialism, Labour up against the media that is 80% right wing, etc.
It was depressing but I remembered the quote from Hugh McDiarmaid in the clip that Ian B posted earlier about education which IIRC Jimmy Reid mentioned and I’m sure Jim Sillars would echo as well.
If we had a education system that was impartial and non-politicised that focused not only turning out economically productive citizens but also helped children learn about themselves are individuals and the world around them then we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in now.
As well as that, if children were allowed to study Scottish history, the Scots language and Scottish arts & literature they would become well rounded individuals who would be able to think for themselves and be comfortable as themselves in this every changing world we live in.
This is something that can be done under devolution. We have the powers and the financial resources to do so.
The SNP has been power for over 17 years and could have achieved this but what have they done? They are more interested in teaching our children pronouns and gender identities.
Such a wasted opportunity.
Too right Geri.
The electronic media is heavily influenced in terms of what gets pushed, what gets suppressed, what gets blocked. And the big guns, big corporate tech and the establishment have the fire power to control the mass view. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.
And it will get worse. Mass mind control is the agenda and for the most part it works.
And worse still big tech knows all about you. Cambridge analytics is real. And the technology, the data collected, the analysis, the targeting, the filtering becomes ever more penetrating.
And the new US president surrounding himself with tech moguls. Does anyone wonder what that’s about. Mind you Putin is reported to have said that he who controls AI will control the world
And then you read utter pish where people suggest that internet content from the mogul empires is as pure as the driven snow.
Yes, Better Together, we know it makes sense. Most democratic parliament in the whole world
Do hope you will all be in attendance when a halfwit tells us why the political career she grifted at for ten years, doing practically fuck all but getting minted and crying over transvestite storytimes, was and is not for her. Guaranted a laugh riot from start to finish. Cow.
link to thegaiety.co.uk
Andy Ellis is as vile as the Labour Party:
“I don’t think they give homework to the special needs pupils bud.”
Daily Mail (08/02/25): EXCLUSIVE: Labour minister is SACKED after vile jibe saying he hopes pensioners who don’t vote for the party ‘die before the next election’ – as we expose his racist and sexist messages:
“A Labour Minister has been sacked after The Mail on Sunday exposed his racist and sexist messages, including one vile post saying he hoped a pensioner who didn’t vote Labour would die before the next election.
Andrew Gwynne also made anti-Semitic slights and ‘jokes’ about a constituent being ‘mown down’ by a truck…
In one particularly shocking comment, the Gorton and Denton MP says he hopes a 72-year-old woman will soon be dead after she dared to ask about her bins…
After the councillor shared the letter among fellow Labour figures in the WhatsApp group, Mr Gwynne wrote a suggested response: ‘Dear resident, F*** your bins. I’m re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you’ll have croaked it by the all-outs.’ ‘All-outs’ are elections at which every council seat is contested at once…
The MoS gained access to thousands of messages from the closed group, which was set up in 2019, and discovered a barrage of abusive texts. Among them are:
Mr Gwynne saying someone ‘sounds too Jewish’ and ‘too militaristic‘, apparently from their name alone;
Racist comments about veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott, mocking her historic achievement in becoming the first black MP at either Despatch Box for Prime Minister’s Questions;
Sexist comments about Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner performing a sex act;
Mr Gwynne mocking a local Labour leader as ‘Colin C*mface‘…”:
link to archive.ph
Andrew Gwynne MP
@GwynneMP:
“I deeply regret my badly misjudged commments and apologise for any offense I’ve caused…”:
link to x.com
re. “Dear resident, F*** your bins”
Ellis Council:
Have you ever performed any voluntary work for Scotland/planet earth, Andy
I’ve participated in a range of voluntary work initiatives (many months worth) with charities/trusts/organisations/bodies (e.g. with my district council – maintaining, repairing and enhancing outdoor public/social amenities, etc), including residential placements with high responsibility.
Lots of clues in these quotes.
Let’s ask Rev Stu to set up a wee competition: Match Andrew Gwynne to the identity of his Wings BTL alter ego.
Or ego(s) 🙂
Haud oan though. What’s “vile” about hoping a pensioner who didn’t vote Labour will die before the next election?
That’s the entire justification for removing the WFA. That’s just pragmatic, practical, Labour Party politics in action.
The old mostly vote Tory, so kill them off.
Special needs:
“special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological…
…can range from people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, blindness, deafness, ADHD, and cystic fibrosis. They can also include cleft lips and missing limbs…
In the United Kingdom, special needs usually refers to special needs within an educational context.”:
link to en.wikipedia.org
Citizens Advice: What counts as disability discrimination:
“Someone is harassing you if you find their behaviour towards you offensive, frightening, degrading, humiliating or in any way distressing. Examples of harassment could involve nicknames, teasing, name-calling, pulling faces, jokes…”:
link to citizensadvice.org.uk
BBC (10/02/25): Nurses at psychiatric unit called teens ‘pathetic‘:
“Former patients at Scotland’s biggest children’s psychiatric hospital have spoken out about a culture of cruelty among nursing staff.
Patients who were teenagers when they were admitted to Skye House, a specialist NHS unit in Glasgow, told BBC Disclosure some nurses called them “pathetic” and “disgusting” – and even mocked their suicide attempts.
“It was almost as if I was getting treated like an animal,” one young patient, being treated for anorexia, said.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it was “incredibly sorry” and has launched two inquiries…
One said the 24-bed psychiatric hospital, which sits in the grounds of Glasgow’s Stobhill hospital, was like “hell“.
“I’d say the culture of the nursing team was quite toxic. A lot of them, to be honest, were quite cruel a lot of the time,” she added.
Others reported the over-use of medication and sedative injections so the staff could have a quiet shift, leaving patients like “walking zombies“…”:
link to bbc.co.uk
link to archive.ph
Andy Ellis:
“I don’t think they give homework to the special needs pupils bud.”
I read that article, gregor.
I wondered why the BBC couldn’t find one former inmate, prepared to provide one quote, thanking the staff at Skye House for saving their life.
Many of those interviewed would be dead, at their own hands, if it was not for the care and attention of the staff who continually foiled their self-harm and suicidal efforts. In between calling them “pathetic”.
What will be next? Compo claims for the survivors of the suicide attempts?
Where’s your dictionary when it’s needed, eh, gregor?
Pathetic:
adjective
arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness.
‘she looked so pathetic that I bent down to comfort her’
synonyms: pitiful, pitiable, piteous, to be pitied, moving, touching, poignant, plaintive, stirring, affecting, distressing, disquieting, disturbing, upsetting, miserable, heartbreaking, heart-rending, agonizing, harrowing, mortifying, sad, wretched, poor, forlorn, tragic, doleful, mournful, woeful, distressful
re. “Where’s your dictionary when it’s needed, eh, gregor?”
I’ve lost many friends and acquaintances to suicide over the years (all good people).
Thank God you’re not a nurse:
Heartless:
“Cruel and not worrying about other people:
Don’t be so heartless!“:
link to dictionary.cambridge.org
@amuse
@amuse:
U***INE: Zelensky claims that the people of U***ine oppose elections and prefer he continue to rule:
“Our population is against elections – All people are against it. Why? Because everyone understands what will happen…”:
Video:
link to tinyurl.com
#DemocracyCancelled
Andy Ellis Regime, quotes:
“My view is overwhelmingly likely to represent the vast majority.”:
link to tinyurl.com
“The people it seems have spoken.”:
link to tinyurl.com
Looks like you’ll never be able to shake the videogames tag.
England’s Future.
(with a negative knock-on effect upon Scotland)
AI version attempt:
JOKER
Joaquin Phoenix gu tur buadhmhor,
an Seòcair san fheòil fa ar comhair,
fon daorach le saicòsas an uilc,
plìonas mòr deargte air a ghnùis.
Mar Apolion a’ dol fodha san lioft
gus an daosgar-shluagh a lèirsgrios.
Na dhian-lasair eireachdail phurpaidh
a’ teàrnadh staidhre iutharna Dhante.
Le cineamateòlas fìor bharraichte
siod e a’ tarraing ceò air toitean,
a’ dannsadh le breaban do-chreidsinn
gu glòrmhor a-nuas na ceumannan
gu ruige trèana fo-thalamh a’ bhàis
mar bhàt’-aiseig damainte an Stucs,
gu aiseirigh air bonaid càr mhillte
sa Bhaile Mhòr creachte le gràisg.
Am Fear-Fèinigs ag èirigh on luaithre,
ach tha sgiathan eile cuideachd a’ dùsgadh
air druim balaich a’ caoineadh san duibhre
far an deach a phàrantan dìreach a mhurt
le fear-gunna le aghaidh-coimhich thuaisteir.
Batman air ùr-bhreith ’s a sgiathan ialtaige
gan sgaoileadh gus ar n-iadhadh le truas
air beulaibh taigh-dhealbh mar uaimh seunta.