The kiss of death
Alert followers of our Twitter feed will have learned over recent months that we have a seriously uncanny ability to influence the outcome of football matches. Need your side to grab a couple of quick goals? Just get us to tweet “Team X looks like they couldn’t score if they played till next Thursday” and get ready to watch the net bulge.
(One day we’ll reveal the size of the bribe we took from a shady consortium of wealthy Hamilton Accies fans during the SPFL playoff against Hibs on Sunday.)
And now it looks like that talent has extended itself to newspapers.
Because mere days after we tweeted a few mildly complimentary words about the Times and Sunday Times, noting how they were in a different league to their deranged, foaming-mouthed contemporaries at the Telegraph and such, they decided to run with this leader-column analysis of the European elections.
(If you’re bored of Euro election stuff, sorry. But this post isn’t really about the Euros, it’s about the extraordinary, reality-defying spin the media can put on facts. And if you’re bored of hearing about that too, you’re probably reading the wrong website.)
Wait, what? The party who got the biggest share of the vote in Scotland, and an even bigger share than UKIP got in the UK, are “staring down the end of an election barrel” in the same way as a party that was utterly destroyed at the polls? That seems a tad counter-intuitive. Quickly, anonymous Times leader writer, tell us more.
We’re not sure why “won the election” is in inverted commas there. Getting the most votes is generally accepted as a reasonable definition of winning elections. Had the election been done as first-past-the-post constituencies rather than a proportional system, the SNP would have won 18 of the 32 seats to Labour’s 10 and the Tories’ four – a comfortable absolute majority, equivalent to about 80 at Westminster.
(They were just 38 votes short of “winning” Edinburgh too.)
It’s down by 0.07%. To put that into perspective, if the results had been a standard opinion poll of around 1000 respondents, 0.07% would mean that LESS THAN ONE PERSON had actually changed their mind. That’s not a swing, that’s a rounding error.
The SNP in fact secured almost 70,000 more votes in 2014 than it did in 2009, despite having been the government in Scotland for seven years. When there are big protest votes in elections it’s usually the government that suffers, but the SNP held its share and increased its actual vote by over 20%.
An interesting definition of “important”, there. The European Parliament has 766 MEPs. It’s a bit of a stretch to imagine that a single extra SNP one would have made a very great deal of difference to anything, either there or in Scotland.
It was the opinion polls (which as it happened significantly overestimated the SNP vote), rather than the SNP, which said the sixth seat would be between the two. The Greens were the party who’d been campaigning explicitly as the anti-UKIP vote for months – the Nats didn’t actually mention them until quite late in the campaign.
Sure, if “just as prevalent” means “roughly a third as prevalent”.
Um, no it hasn’t. The gulf between Scottish support for UKIP and that in the rest of the UK actually significantly increased in these elections, from 11% to 17%.
On the basis that one in ten people, on a low turnout, in an election specifically about Europe, cast their votes for the anti-EU party? Last Thursday 70% of Scots voted for unequivocally pro-EU parties (the SNP, Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems), and another 17% for the officially pro-EU Conservatives.
Which crazy idiots could possibly have given anyone the impression that Scots were more tolerant of immigration than the English, we wonder?
Setting aside the fact that the Euro elections are nothing to do with the referendum, we’ve seen that the SNP increased its “popular vote” by 20%, “picking up” another 70,000 of them. But, y’know, the Euro elections are nothing to do with the referendum.
“Ominous”? The gap that’s closed from 24% to 10% in the last six months or so? We’ve seen worse omens. But in any event, who says that’s the only way? And if it is, the wave of revulsion that’s swept much of Scotland in reaction to UKIP’s success could be exactly the “emotional response” the Yes movement allegedly needs.
No they don’t. In fact they suggest that its appeal is rock-solid, given that its vote share budged by less than a tenth of one percent despite the UKIP surge.
THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS ARE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE YES CAMPAIGN. Even so, turnout in Scotland was in fact up by almost 5%, which from a starting point of under 30% is a pretty big increase.
UKIP made significant progress in Scotland, in the midst of an unprecedented blitz of free publicity from the UK-based media. It still only came 4th (a long way behind the party in 3rd, who were in turn a long way behind the party in 2nd), compared to 1st in the whole UK. If that’s an echo, it’s a pretty faint one.
Wait, did Salmond ignore and dismiss UKIP or focus on the contest between them and the SNP for the sixth seat? Make your mind up, Times.
Almost every line of the leader column – we’ve left nothing out – is arrant, empirical and obvious nonsense. Perhaps if we tweet that the Times is in fact produced by a gaggle of half-witted incompetents unfit to be trusted with tying their own shoelaces it might return to its former intelligent self. We’ll give it a shot.
UK media strategy… a Westminster hand at the tiller.
This country can no longer criticise other nations for democratic deficiencies of any description.
Yet another London rag that no one reads spouts a load of mince.
Oh wait, that’s where the BBC steps in and regurgitates guff such as this as fact!
The Times has been living on it’s reputation since Murdoch bought it, and the Sunday Times since Andrew Neil was its editor.
The idea that a leader column is an opinion piece is well established in newspapers. The idea that it can be such a fact-free pile of logic-defying innuendo seems to be a more recent innovation; one that has infected The Guardian to such an extent that it’s virtually unreadable for me.
It is time to crowd fund a free printed Scottish Newspaper, for the next three months.
Stu, come to Scotland for the next four months.
Be the Editor
We will arrange accommodation
Office space
Research and Writing staff
Admin Staff
Finance / Accountant
Printing
Distribution
And PR
There are enough skills and resources between us.
There are people like
Peter Bell
Doug Daniel
Ivan McKee
Sneaky Boy
and many many more who could help make a Free Scotland publication a massive success.
Slip-on shoes and velcro waistbands I presume.
Great stuff Stu. Articles like this are why the nay sayers hate your articles. Keep them coming.
“Ukip is a very large cloud on the Scottish horizon” puffed up for years now by the BBC. They are all the same, UK media gets worse by the day. Progressive liberal Guardian via ever nastier Sevrin Carrell says UKIP’s actually caused by working class south side Glasgow.
link to archive.today
“working-class voters in Glasgow raised worries about Polish families pushing up local housing costs, and about Roma beggars and migrants undercutting wages.” Or, just one more BetterTogether journalist has a very creepy go at trouble making where there is none.
Glasgow South side next to Victoria Hospital, one Roma guy sells the Big Issue outside the Co-op across from Battle Field Rest Italian Restaurant. He’s been working there and bothering no one for years Carrell, you nasty old git.
It’s obvious that the mainstream media planned on running with the narrative above, if UKIP managed to get a seat, despite that fact that it ignores every conceivable index of SNP support. To suggest it indicates level of support for independence is just childish.
It is pure inverted propaganda, the likes of which The Times really should be ashamed.
As others have suggested since the UKIP result, it really does seem to be having the opposite effect to that anticipated by the Tory led anti independence campaign, with people indicating they are now YES. There is real fear of a Westminster parliament surging to the right with every passing minute.
It is becoming very clear, vote NO, and you consign Scotland to another five years at least of savage Tory cuts to health, welfare and spending, probably aided by UKIP. A scary proposition for anybody.
Only a YES vote gets us out of this uber right wing Westminster UKIP/Tory hell.
Stu
Do a story that unionit journalists can’t jump off a cliff and fly.
See if they try to prove you wrong.
“In the aftermath of the Euro-vote in Scotland, two parties are looking down the end of an election barrel.”
I think the SNP is looking down it from the trigger end.
So it was your fault the Hibees got relegated.
Oh and wingman Derek Bateman is also presently available isn’t he. He is always a good read.
This editorial provides further evidence of the media whipping up support for UKIP. In a balanced way, naturally…
I do hope you’ve emailed them a link to this superb unpicking of their propagandist efforts!
Crowdfunding a Scottish newspaper. Brilliant idea. Count me in. Let`s get it going!
Kenneth Shaw
Why when I clicked on your name, I was directed to a Wine Merchant in Bothwell?
So what is your wee post all about?
Be careful, if you want to talk wine, I am your Panda. I know my biddy.
So, wine is not OK here, apart from the confessional but, for an independence minded blog it is irrelevant?
We will still get oor wine after indepedence, even if we have to to Enster and engage the Montadors to do the smuggling.
Tsk, tsk.
that’s the Kiss of Death to September for us in the YES Camp,better move over Alex and give wee Nicola a go.
p.s. SNP membership card now on way to bin.
Glenn Campbell was almost needing a wipe-down hankie yesterday when spouting about “Scottish Labour increasing their share of the vote”. Thats when you know its all bumph, when they start selecting strange stats.
Im just sad the Tartan Army arent going to get to sing
“You can stick your Nigel Farage up your arse,
You can stick your Nigel Farage up your arse
You can stick your Nigel Farage,
His real name just rhymes with garage
You can stick your Nigel Farage up your arse”
at Craven Cottage tomorrow night.
It’s as if the Times are looking at a different set of results. Maybe they had written the piece before the election and couldn’t be bothered to change it.
How can WOS produce an informative graph that showed the Scottish summary results and the BBC can’t with their £3.6 billion budget?
The Scottish government got much criticism about the size of its White Paper. England’s most popular party has no written manifesto. Different countries, planets, or universes?
Obviously written by some dumb Oxbridge grad who is intellectually challenged in re of Scotland. They are all feeding from the same trough of bullshit. Alex Massie has an article of similar drivel published in the Spectator today.
OOPs
Kenneth
I clicked on your name link, and arrived at your business website.
So humble bamboo chooing.
Are you coming through for a wee taster at the Counting House in St Vincent Place on Friday coming?
I would like to have a wee, non commercial chat about wine with you?
All done in the best possible taste.
Sorry again.
My only defence is a bottle of Chateau Montner, Côtes du Roussillion Villages,
“UK media strategy… a Westminster hand at the tiller.
This country can no longer criticise other nations for democratic deficiencies of any description.”
We haven’t been able to do that for what, 13 years now?
At least.
Yeah, the SG clearly perform the impossible for an administration halfway through its second term and by the time its passed through the usual bullshit media wash its abject failure and electoral carnage. FFS!
And this from the Times?
They’re making themselves look like eejits.
dennis mclaughlin says:
Whit!
You are obviously a Troll?
d UKIP would be fighting for the sixth seat. The Greens were the party who’d been campaigning explicitly as the anti-UKIP vote for months – the Nats didn’t actually mention them until quite late in the campaign.
I disagree,the nats didn’t mention greens at all,and at end of campaign tried to brush Green Party out,made to a two way contest.
@Dennis McLaughlin,
Don’t be silly, did you honestly think this would be easy?
I love the fact that the SNP’s drop in vote share is so minuscule that they’re the only party whose change in vote share is specified to two decimal places.
And the idea that we can somehow correlate turnout between the EU election and the referendum is just arrant nonsense. If only 34% turned out for the referendum, it would be a 100% Yes vote, because I think I can speak for the majority of Yes voters when I say that I would crawl over broken glass to cast my Yes vote in September. If I was in a car crash and was paralysed everywhere but my left pinkie, I would still make sure I was wheeled into the polling station to cast that historic vote. Only death would stop me voting in September.
(In fact, maybe we should all cast postal ballots, just to be on the safe side…?)
Anyway, even a rise in UKIP vote means nothing. My dad is very anti-EU, and very possibly voted for UKIP on Thursday, but he wants it to be Scotland’s decision to leave. There have always been Gordon Wilson anti-EU types, but the important thing is they all recognise that independence comes first. As a result, they don’t need to be pandered to.
Bugger (the Panda) says:
27 May, 2014 at 12:57 pm
dennis mclaughlin
membership number :- 1463446
says:
Whit!
You are obviously a Troll?
good luck and thanks for all the piah
I thought Desnnis was jus being sarcastic in reply to the media claims.
perhaps we need a new title for posters with sarcasm
A sarcanat
“More ominously for Mr Salmond, it signalled that Euroscepticism may be just as prevalent north of the border as it is south of it.”
link to i.imgur.com
Sure, if “just as prevalent” means “roughly a third as prevalent”.
link to i.imgur.com
“Need your side to grab a couple of quick goals? Just get us to tweet “Team X looks like they couldn’t score if they played till next Thursday” and get ready to watch the net bulge”
Your services should be put at the service of the nation during the World Cup….especially for games in Group D 🙂
I guess if you need to promote a narrative where a staunchly pro UK party gets an MEP seat in Scotland, thereby undermining the referendum, then winning becomes the new losing.
I wonder if the Times actually *ahem* hired a *cough* journalist from the newly re-branded UKIP Channel to write that piece of bumph. 😉
I wonder if messers Dimbleby, Curtice and Robertson have recovered yet from the slight face slapping they all received from the First Minister on Sunday night. 😛
I wonder if the Times actually *ahem* hired a *cough* journalist from the newly re-branded UKIP Channel to write that piece of bumph. 😉
I wonder if messers Dimbleby, Curtice and Robertson have recovered yet from the slight face slapping they all received from the First Minister on Sunday night. 😛
I personally think that the SNP did pretty very, very well on Thursday.
If you consider the pounding that they have taken in the Scottish Press and Media in the last 4-5 weeks, to come out of the European Election with their vote virtually intact says enough for me.
Dear Letter page of the Times,
Today I read the first cuckoo of Spring. It was on your leader-column.
Your Sincerely,
Scotland
I have taken to pointing at the ridiculous headlines on the papers when in shops and guffawing loudly while remarking “they must think we’re all bloody stupid” it’s amazing how many heads nod when you do that nowadays.
Fit like Times in Aberdeen hysterical excitement over UKIP today, with their big “Shockwaves as anti-EU ‘revolution’ comes to Scotland” headline. Also not sure why ‘revolution’ has P&J inverted commas but lots of “sending Shockwaves” thrills in there alongside very nice photo of their hero “Victor: UKIP MEP David Coburn” not looking like Jabba the Hut for once.
On balance, Scottish democracy is a revolution for all kinds of sneeky twerps in news rooms across teamGB
Oops last post seems to have been put up twice…Hmm. 😉
Great article Stu. Only one flaw : there are no wealthy Hamilton Accies fans. (I should know…I am one)
For my tuppence worth (that’s all it’s worth) many Yes folk were secretly hoping for a good showing for UKIP in the Euro elections in the RUK to clarify folks minds.Possibly having a ‘Scottish’ UKIP MEP will clarify folks minds even further.
Oh and liking the crowdfunding idea for a paper, there’s a very large readership just crying out for it.
Bagsy me the horoscopes
Capricorn
” I see a very important positive event in your future, YES, YES it’s definitely there waiting for you and all for one small cross”
You know Steve, I do exactly the same when I pass the newsagents on my way to catch a bus on the way home.
Brendan says:
Crowdfunding a Scottish newspaper. Brilliant idea. Count me in. Let`s get it going!
Great idea,i`m with you, count me in…Hail Alba
My youngest just pointed out that the Daily Fail headline ” UKIP in shock Scotland win” is missing a comma, it should be ” UKIP in shock, Scotland win”
How very inventive looks like all that time at Uni paid off
Jeez this is just fantasy guff from The Times. They can’t hide their glee at UKIP success, in fact it is in David Torrance territory of spinning something out of nothing to fit with some political point scoring. This is the sort of writing that supplies the answer first and tries come up with the story and ‘facts’ afterwards. Once again a newspaper is not reflecting public opinion it’s trying to change it.
Any truth to the rumours that Labour activists voted UKIP to keep the SNP out of a third seat?
Ukip’s share of the vote in Scotland only went up by 5.2% of which 1.7% probably came from the BNP which lost that share of the vote from 2009.
Hamish Humphy says:
Great article Stu. Only one flaw : there are no wealthy Hamilton Accies fans. (I should know…I am one)
Oh they are around Hamish it’s just you don’t move in the right circles, isn’t that right Stu. 😉
Had the SNP romped hone with a big increase in share of the vote it would be getting spun as not enough.
I’d love to say the press were irrelevant and the ground campaign is everything but if those 10% of people who soiled their ballot paper on Thursday prove anything it is that the media narrative gets through to an extent. Particularly the BBC.
The campaign proper has yet to start. If the impartiality of the BBC doesn’t change we are looking at a rigged vote.
The moment that gave me most courage on Sunday was when the First Minister signalled they were investigating the BBC’s conduct.
The Scottish Government are I think waiting for the campaign to start before taking the beeb on . He was jovial about it as is his way but he won’t suffer their pish forever.
I know we are all upset about the UKIP vote but let’s face it: It’s called democracy; live with it!
SOT
(This didn’t post on the last thread)
In recent threads I have seen it claimed that the Greens needed less votes to beat UKIP than the SNP did.
Don’t think that is the case.
By my calculation the SNP needed 32,100 extra votes to do so whereas the Greens needed 32,231.
A minor point, but one which should get a mention. (sorry if someone else already has).
How about a discussion in the counting house on setting up a Newspaper?
‘Scotland First’
Crowd funded, resourced, staffed, and all our efforts focussed on disseminating Stu’s debunking and deconstruction of the increasing media lies and propaganda?
Wingman is right. If we could do that, then we should do it.
But if we can’t do that, then there are other ways. Doing street work for Yes the ukip tendency was clear. What was also clear was that the mainstream media had planted the idea of ukip in so many minds. What wasn’t clear and still isn’t clear, is what the broader Yes campaign intends to do about that in practical terms.
The rejection of the mainstream media by many in the Yes campaign has been a stupid mistake. A mistake because every local newspaper in the country has a letters page where comment is free. Every newspaper needs fresh copy with interesting photos. Every radio station needs lively guests and local events. The Yes campaign is well endowed with enough creative, communicative talent to ensure that our message gets heard. To refuse to engage with the mainstream media is to walk away from an opportunity. Walk away and look what happens. We have let ukip in. All we had to do was get more voters out, get more people to actually vote. Pretending that the Euro elections don’t matter, that all that matters is the referendum was really stupid. Pretending that the mainstream media don’t count, that we can do it all online with Facebook and Twitter is just kidding ourselves.
I love the way that you take a Unionist crop of lies, dismantle it, and systematically tear the ‘Rag’ a new one. With extra orifices, The Times won’t have to look far for paper for wiping.
Isn’t it high time Ken McQuarrie, Director of BBC Scotland,
was asked for an explanation of his decision to totally oppose the Yes campaign and to commit BBC Scotland to do the same ?
There is no doubt about it the SNP did very well in the Euro elections. Holding their share of the vote in a low turn out after being seven years in government to me is a vote of confidence. As for the rUK, Tories will be disappointed but that was expected because of UKIP surge; Labour will be horrified at their non-performance a year before the GE; LibDems are toast, bye bye. Meanwhile UKIP will force themselves into Better Together and the YES campaign will go into overdrive next month and independence here we come!
You just need to read the Times text to marry it up with the voice of Angus McLeod, the extreme Unionist editor of the Times in Scotland.
And, isn’t it high time Ken McQuarrie, Director of BBC Scotland, was asked for an explanation of his decision to allow four times as much exposure to UKIP than to anyone else, in the lead up to the EU elections.
wingman 2020
Not keen on that name. Rather have a name line ‘Truth’.
Great graphic that Stuart. On FPTP UBLIP would not have won a seat.
line = Like
@Craig
“I know we are all upset about the UKIP vote but let’s face it: It’s called democracy; live with it!
I dont agree Craig. Democracy is about equality, fairness, justice, fraternity and freedom.
UKIP have risen (slightly) in Scotland as a DIRECT result of Better Together and Westminster blitzing Scotland with barrage of propaganda that fails to meet any of the values above.
Westminster are doing as they always do when faced with a country seeking their right to independence… They are causing political, religious and economic division.
People are not annoyed at UKIP, people should be annoyed that some residents of Scotland are fooled.
And although, in its simplest terms, democracy is ‘one person, one vote’…. Some people ought to be asking themselves, ‘Am I informed enough to be casting this vote?’
We no longer have democracy in the UK. Scotland is in a fight for democracy.
(Justice, equality, fairness, fraternity and freedom of choice)
Sorry if this has been put up before but here’s a clip of Alex Salmond putting the boot in, sort of, to the BBC around 3 minutes 50 seconds. 😛
Damn it!
I hear it’s always good to include the link when putting up posts!…DOH! 😛
link to tinyurl.com
OT
I had previously posted a link to an ISO image for a DVD I had been handing around to undecideds, it had some downloaded YouTube videos of Ivan McKee, John Jappy, Dr Philippa Whitford etc.
A few people had expressed interest in it but afraid I later found out that some of the videos would not play on Windows media player so I have now redone it.
Link here
link to dropbox.com
A film should be made of the recent contribution made by Ken McQuarrie, the Direcor of BBC Scotland, to Scottish political life.
I’m sure Ken could play himself in the film.
I’m also sure he would be well paid for the part.
The money would come in handy after he has to resign from his post at the BBC.
Something he should have done voluntarily and before now.
(This is one of a series of comments designed to put in the spotlight, people who are doing harm to Scotland in the name of Unionism, and particularly those who are being paid by the taxpayer.
Please feel free to adopt the idea and to join in as you see fit)
“How about a discussion in the counting house on setting up a Newspaper?
‘Scotland First’
Crowd funded, resourced, staffed, and all our efforts focussed on disseminating Stu’s debunking and deconstruction of the increasing media lies and propaganda?”
Strangely, about 10 years back, that was the name which first occurred to me for our proposed pro indy movement, but eventually we used ‘Independence First’.
The former option I thought over emphasized national self interest slightly whereas the second option had perceived potential to help cement the widely different factions we had from the party political spectrum and keep them focused on the central aim.
Maybe the inevitable implosion would have occurred sooner with a different name, who knows?
ob suggestion:
“Wings of Freedom”?
O/T. The new BBC Scotland ‘Sarah Smith show’ starts tonight,dont forget folks after 30th May you can start complaining to OFCOM!
Think they might go into meltdown…
Another good reason to vote Yes.
If you don’t, you’ll be stuck with the ‘Scottish’ MSM.
Lesley Anne,
That clip put a smile on my face right enough.
🙂
How do you make Better Together feel good about themselves?
Easy.
Go to Dunblane with the Courier when it’s doing its referendum thingy and listen as people ask “what’s the Better Together campaign?” 😛
gerry parker says:
Lesley Anne,
That clip put a smile on my face right enough.
🙂
Aye it is gerry. I actually watched it live and thought “gawn yersel big man!” when I heard him having his dig at the BBC. What’s more after the interview, if I remember right, Nick Robertson was a wee bit miffed as well. 😉
I think that 4 or 5 minute stint on the UKIP Channel was the best 5 minutes all night. 😛
Getting fair sick of the deluge of crap
link to parliament.uk
that’s the Kiss of Death to September for us in the YES Camp,better move over Alex and give wee Nicola a go.
Aye, quite a few folk started saying that after the 2009 EU election where the SNP got a lot less votes and about the same % share. Their share in Holyrood intention subsequently dropped to lows of 28% in polls as we entered 2010 while labour rode the crest of a wave, climbing to as high as 49% in polls as 2011 dawned.
Interesting how that worked out in the end. 😉
Lesley-Anne 1.48pm.
Thanks for the link Lesley-Anne.That’s what I like about Alex Salmond, he tells it like it is.He can’t be bought, and they hate him for that.
Curtis’s mask is slipping too, isn’t it?
I wouldn’t be surprised if Lindsay MacIntosh had been involved in penning that editorial. She appears frequently on Sunday Politics (Scotland)and always seems to have a dig at the SNP government or Alex Salmond. No doubt she sees it as a dose of realism to counter the nationalist fervour or maybe she is of the “I kent his faither” variety of Scot who fails to be inspired at the prospect of our chance to reclaim democracy.
@ Chic
Maybe a simpler strategy is just to use Wings over Scotland as the printed version of WOS.
Less confusing.
Depends if Stu is up for leading this in Scotland? Or at least doing an oversee / Editor role?
How about we officially invite all the ‘big hitters’ to a meeting? (All egos and differences aside)
Bateman, Kane, Sherridan, Joyce…. and many many more. The objective being to stand-up to the printed propaganda that is blitzing the Scottish psyche on a daily basis.
We could show ‘No Borders’ what a real passionate movement looks like…
Debbithebruce
“O/T. The new BBC Scotland ‘Sarah Smith show’ starts tonight,dont forget folks after 30th May you can start complaining to OFCOM!
Think they might go into meltdown…”
The ‘Subtled Will of the Scottish People’?
(with accompanying duck)
Rev, excellent article. The Establishment are at it and we should brace ourselves for many more lies until 19 September. Even when YES is declared the winner they will refuse to accept it.
What annoys me is the incestuous relationship between the BBC News/Sky News and the newspapers. The Paper reviews fills 15- 30 minutes with low cost broadcasting and it allows the papers to print all sorts of guff and get free advertising. The BBC and Sky trot out so called panels of experts, most of whom are press luvvies and like the sound of their own voices. They all indulge in some mutual backslapping and get brownie points to promote the establishment message.
On a similar theme: Scotland 2014 is the new BBC NorthBritain programme which starts tonight. I would not be surprised if there is a similar Papers review slot for the Scottish based titles- that will be free advertising for the NO camapign which will be disguised as “Analysis.” I am also curious about the choice of title. It suggests that the programme will be dumped by the end of the year with John Smith’s daughter returning to Grand Central Establishmentland, having done her bit for the cause. Alternatively, the programme will need to be re-branded to Scotland 2015, which seems stupid.
Anyway, lets hope that the YES campaign are going to meet this head on.
I think any ‘We could launch a newspaper’ with great success idea is up there with “Labour will become Socialist”. A dream long gone in a distant age.
I dont know anyone who reads newspapers to GET information. They may read newspapers and see misinformation but its not the same thing. And Stu already takes care of that.
Im an ardent YES fan but I for one dont even read the YES paper that comes through my door. Its a new age so a calemeo style magazine might be your best bet( James Forrest may be able to assist there given his experience).
To paraphrase Bruce Willis…“Papers dead baby, papers dead.”
Desimond 2.21 pm – I agree – spend the money and energy where it is known to work.
I don’t know where we are going to have to send The Rev.S for a holiday after 19th but I fear it will have to be a short break as our media will not change course overnight after all they will have to side with WM on the Independence negotiations whatever the Edinburgh Agreement stated?
To watch the vile spectacle of unionist drones exchanging high fives, and gloating over the rise of fascism and right wing zeonphobia in the UK is shocking and shows us how UKIP has provided the conduit for the true sentiments of unionism to blossom. Just like the spectacle of the Labour party delegates whooping and cheering at the news that RBS and HBOS were in trouble. The union has been nurtured this way for 307 years.
All that is dangerous about right wing zenophobia has now blossomed under Farage and his agent the BBC. The tattooed low lidded mouth breathing oiks of BNP are now slavering in his wake, as they drag their knuckles and beer bellies to his camp.
The BBCs shameless promotion of Farage in a last desperate effort to try and undermine the SNP is blatant and an affront to decency and democracy.The sneering and gloating of Dimbleby and his pet Proffesor Curtice was vomit inducing stuff. The unionist Twitterhea from the likes of Murdo Fraser,Sarwar and Lamont was political porn.Their vileness will haunt them for ever.
However the SNP vote has held up even under the biased MSM barrage we have seen. The lies and duplicity of Unionism and their lackeys in the MSM are a gift to the Yes vote, as the UK careers on the road to hell. Curse them and shame on them all. A black year for the UK.
@Clarinda
Sept 19th we can send Stu wherever Aberdeen are playing in Europe..they did qualify didnt they?, even after collapsing in the last minute versus Motherwell 🙂
BTW..loads of rich Hamilton fans if the long queues for the ice-Cream at Equi’s is anything to go by!
@Desimond
I get the whole ‘on line’ thing…. I spend a huge amount of effort directing people to read WOS.
The Establishment are fighting a rearguard on line…. But they have us in flight in the printed media and BBC. (The source of almost every uninformed ‘NO’, is the MSM)
Not everyone has time, energy, inclination or intellect to read beneath the headlines (propaganda). Evidenced by the reasons people gave for voting UKIP in Scotland.
Ok – nearly O/T, but not quite …
If you’re seriously fed up with images of Niggle Fradge, AND you have a chrome browser, this is an essential add-on
link to chrome.google.com
Enjoy 🙂
FFS – Westminster are even running Ads in Mumsnet (The biggest pregnancy site) that refer to all their printed material.
@HenBroon
“The BBCs shameless promotion of Farage in a last desperate effort to try and undermine the SNP is blatant and an affront to decency and democracy.The sneering and gloating of Dimbleby and his pet Proffesor Curtice was vomit inducing stuff. The unionist Twitterhea from the likes of Murdo Fraser,Sarwar and Lamont was political porn.Their vileness will haunt them for ever.
This will never be forgotten.
On a newspaper run by Rev I can see the headlines now: New pro-indy newspaper run by ‘cybernat’ residing in England.
Britnat press.
Anonymous author tells you all you really need to know, but of course more than a few Britnats are willing to peg their names to shite like this; Cochrane is the best example I know of.
@Jim Thomson
That is pure genius!
Aye, if you think this was mince then you really ought to read George Galloways piece in the Irish Post this past week. Pure bile.
@Tam Jardine
Agree with you there. I have been wondering why the Yes and SNP have not been complaining about the extraordinary bias against them by the BBC.
It now looks like they are going to do something about it at last – perhaps once we get into Campaign Mode proper in June?
Should get very interesting…
Given an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of word processors they would produce the works of Shakespeare. All it takes for an infinite amount of crap about Scottish politics is one mainstream media journalist and an etch-a-sketch.
@wingman2020
And whats the clickthrough for people then reading said prined pieces? Look at how many times Stu cries out that no-one clicks his links in articles.
As for they have us in flight? Sounds a tad over-dramatic, i thought we and most other folk were jus laughing at Operation Scaredy-Cat these days. UKIP wont help them any.
I do appreciae the enthusiasm and all ideas to promote our views. I just gave my thrupenny biscuit with a suggestion to check out a calameo style online magazine idea.
As for Mumsnet, Im more a Fathers4Justice man myself.
It is exactly this sort of slavish, uncritical drivel that has propelled UKIP to a place of prominence. I think the intent is to drive Cameron to reposition the Tories and then the press will drop UKIP and advocate the Tories for 2015.
I gave up reading half way through. No reflection on your skills Stu – just the opposite! You had destroyed the article in the first few comments.
Why do people buy that trash?
Jim Thomson says:
27 May, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Ok – nearly O/T, but not quite …
If you’re seriously fed up with images of Niggle Fradge, AND you have a chrome browser, this is an essential add-on
link to chrome.google.com
Enjoy 🙂
Be advised
Kittens will also access all your data on all your websites.
The core of unionism has been exposed by UKIP’s success: racism.
No unionist politician can claim that it is not a significant part of Unionism.
They must be confronted with it at every opportunity
Several politicians and a Nobel prize winning economist from Catalonia wrote to the editor of Times, i think it was last year, to ask him to stop a Times journalist continually briefing against Catalan Independence.
Even the most casual reader of The Times knows that it’s a Unionist newspaper. It selects stories and then spins them in accordance with its political views. It’s about as subtle and nuanced as a sledgehammer, and, as a reader for almost thirty years, I don’t take its hopelessly biased politics seriously. I can only assume that Angus Macleod, the editor of its Scottish edition, fears that the No voters among his readership require to have their confidence boosted by a daily diet of “Blow to Salmond and the SNP” stories. The No voting Times readers I know, however, are fed up with crass propaganda which insults their intelligence, while Yes voters consider it to be a useful guide to current Unionist thinking and a measure of how frightened Unionists are by the Yes campaign. To put it bluntly, current measurements suggest that Macleod and his editorial colleages in London are terrified.
The UKIP result in Scotland is a bonus. The real aim which was achieved very successfully was the result South of the border.
The MSM and of course the BBC were the midwifes for UKIP.
We really ought to ask why! Start people thinking! The First Minister is correct. Airtime into our homes and into our ears was impressive. Why? why? why?
The next question is who? Cui Bono?
The obvious answer is the London bankers and spivs. Certainly not the people.
This whole episode is an affront to democracy.
May I suggest that whenever the UKIP gains are mentioned merely respond with
“Yes the BBC did a good job there!”
Wingman 2020, The print newspaper is a good idea.
O/T … Atrocious click bait non-story on The Herald:
Uproar as Annie Lennox posts Union flag picture online
link to heraldscotland.com
As far as I can see there’s one bad comment out of 184 on Annie’s Facebook over this Union flag photo she’s posted when out and about in London. The Herald, creepily, has picked it up and used it as a Cybernat attack on Annie. They’ve then went and wired the above heading across the internet so people will click back to the The Herald website. Shame on them.
@manandboy
I’ve checked the source code on github and it’s not gathering any of your information.
… yes I know the irony of providing a link to a click bait story 🙂 How do you do the whole ‘archive’ and link on a newspaper website, so I don’t need to link the actual story at the Herald’s advantage?
Desimond :
I will be at Craven Cottage and you may just hear something similar.
Lesley-anne : you should see a doctor about that cough.. 🙂
In the same vein, the tireless Ian Smart offers his analysis of why the UK wouldn’t vote to leave the EU. This analysis overlooks the existence of the hundreds of thousands who voted for the anti-EU UKIP, an omission which rather destroys his argument IMHO.
link to ianssmart.blogspot.co.uk
The thing is … obviously the press are correct. They can publish their own twisted version of things and have them widely believed and only questioned by small (relatively small?) groups of people amongst themselves. Change of tack needed. Of course, having just surfaced from watching only, I have been part of the problem. Need to get to that get together for inspiration.
haud on the noo says:
Lesley-anne : you should see a doctor about that cough.. 🙂
I was thinking of doing just that hotn but I have a problem. You see the *cough* cough only really seems to appear when I’m reading or more often talking about certain *ahem* individuals otherwise I don’t have a problem. 😛
@manandboy 3:15 & Heather 3:34
Both comments noted, thanks 🙂
The Times at it today with Peter Jones on the front page with “falling oil revenues”, “blow for Salmond” etc etc. Then again, how many read the Times in Scotland, or pay to look at their website?
Good deconstruction, of this inept article, but then again what can you expect from a Newscorp paper. Andrew Neil another numpty was replaced as editor of the Times by John Witherow, a Boer, in more than one aspect. Mr Witherow flasely accused Michael Foot of being a KGB agent, is the Times really credible anymore I think not.
Good article here
link to eveningexpress.co.uk
over at the Independent Jackie Bailey being her usual vile self AS hates the UK blah de blath….
link to independent.co.uk
O/T and sorry if this has been mentioned already:
We’re all sick of the lies, and Rev is sick of telling us that the ASA can’t do anything, but did anyone see the comment at the end of the article in the Herald about the referendum adverts in the cinemas?
A Yes Scotland spokesman said, “While it may be the case that political advertising is unregulated, it may well be possible to challenge false or offensive material through the courts.
“In 2010, two High Court judges in England ruled against former UK immigration minister Phil Woolas who they found had lied about his LibDem opponent in a bid to stir up racial tension.”
link to heraldscotland.com
Any lawyers out there willing to take on a wee case against VoteNobOrders? I would be delighted to make a donation to the crowdfunding campaign.
The headline you missed in the Times:-
“Scotland & England Euro Vote : Failure by Labour to Top Polls Sparks Crisis”
While you were reading The Times you will also have noticed the following. Scottish government estimate (a year ago) for net oil revenue was around £7bn. Actual figure (from Scottish government website) is, at best, £5bn.
That’s a worry when you think about the veracity of their other claims and projections.
I know that this particular set of circumstances might be unique Mary but in Falkirk they were able to have the NOB adverts removed from the local cinema which I understand is actually owned by the council. So there are some ways round this but only if the cinema is actually owned by the council as far as I can see. 🙂
Over to you legal eagles out there for further information. 😉
link to tinyurl.com
Dcanmore – try this:-
link to archive.today
Rev, your the only person I am aware of who’s day is 48Hrs long, must be, in order to “post” with such detail!.
Some visual thoughts on the stark choices ahead;
link to whitefeatherclub.wordpress.com
@Alabaman says:
Rev, your the only person I am aware of who’s day is 48Hrs long, must be, in order to “post” with such detail!.
He can read and write faster than AD can blink his eyebrows.
Link for above post.
link to en.wikipedia.org
Sorry rev.
We should tell the times and mr., jones that if they really believe their own lies about the oil running out , then they will understand why trident must go ,so that we can drill in the Clyde and to do that we will need independence so thanks for that article ,when will you ever learn. As they say give them enough rope etc, vote yes
@Phil Robertson
Has there been any Westminster factors in last year that could have affected projections? ie They wont in future projections?
@Brian Doonthetoon…
thanks! 🙂
This referendum campaign has turned out to be thoroughly assymetrical, with one side pulling out all the stops to lie, cheat, deceive and generally be as undemocratic as possible as it fights to retain power.
That, girls and boys, is normal for any REVOLUTION !
O/T Just heard BtBC Scotland use the phrase ‘NHS in Scotland’. Hmmm. Slip of the tongue, or intentional misimformation. I plump for the latter. BT realise half of Scots think the NHS is UK wide and they want that to continue. People having that false view suits their agenda.
@desimond
I agree that newspapers aren’t gonna do it.
Some folks here may know about the ‘tipping point’ theory. I’m hoping the YES branding is up to it, but as many have said on this site before, people really need to get ‘branded’ up. The metal pin badges are chic enough I think, but any YES label (I walk around at work with a YES branded drinking cup). Something a bit more hip for the youngsters and we’ll hit tipping point by the end of August. Ideally we need today’s equivalent of the Beastie Boys endorsing us by wearing big metal YES badges around their necks.
I hope the Yes campaign are going to start fighting back now…
link to newsnetscotland.com
O/T – I have been on a round of complaints over the last few days.
I had a long chat with the Electoral Commission on Friday and there nothing they can do about BBC as they cannot interfere with the “free press”. They referred me to OFCOM.
Also on the CBI there is nothing they can do about them as it is up to the CBI to decide who should have signed their registration forms. They cannot decide who is deemed a “junior official”. All they can do is monitor the CBI and make sure they are not spending lots of money during the referendum campaign supporting the No Campaign.
OFCOM call was very instructive about how our country works. OFCOM monitors the BBC output for everything apart from BIAS and ACCURACY. They have no authority to regulate the BBC on these issues and can do nothing about bias against the Yes campaign. I was speechless.
So the BBC has to regulate itself via the BBC Trust – I am sure they will do a great job.
Here is the BBC Trust’s number 03700 103 100
Do not bother complaining to anybody else – they will all do nothing.
Will the BBC Trust do anything – perhaps an in-house enquiry after a No vote?
galamcennalath says:
This needs to be corrected at every opportunity as the media don’t care about accurate details when punting a story.
Phil Robertson says: While you were reading The Times you will also have noticed the following. Scottish government estimate (a year ago) for net oil revenue was around £7bn. Actual figure (from Scottish government website) is, at best, £5bn. That’s a worry when you think about the veracity of their other claims and projections.
Luckily, as you know, Scotland’s GDP per capita without oil is practically the same as the UK’s (that’s UK gov’t figures thank you) so anything beyond that is a bonus. Plus from day one we get to save £1bn per annum for not paying for Trident, the London Underground, HS2, London Crossrail, illegal wars, etc.
Seems like you had a few *ahem* interesting phone calls ther Dr. Mackintosh.
OFCOM call was very instructive about how our country works. OFCOM monitors the BBC output for everything apart from BIAS and ACCURACY. They have no authority to regulate the BBC on these issues and can do nothing about bias against the Yes campaign. I was speechless.
This just leaves one question to be asked, in my view.
What the hell is the point of OFCOM?
If this is what we have to oversee the broadcast industry then it looks like we will cancelling our T.V. tax tonight! 😛
I wouldn’t trust the UKIP Channel, sorry BBC, Trust as far as I could throw them!
cynicalHighlander,
For a ancient fellow like me, who learned the rudiments of writing on a slate using some sort of hard pencil , I find Rev’s speed of posting (and the information contained within ) somewhat bewildering , I’ ve got to sleep some time!!.
So OFCOM are there to address every issue unless it involves lies and distortions.
Well, that’s reassuring.
We need a short series of magazines / newspapers for peeps who are not online.
Not the YES paper, it looks like your local village rag boring.
Printed media is crucial,powerful especially if included dvd with choice articles.
Most people like my elderly mum have a DVD player.
Need proof the system you are fighting are frightened of creative powerful printed media ?
link to en.wikipedia.org
Re newspapers. Are we forgetting the wee blue book? I have faith in project blue and if another fundraiser is required to print the maximum number so be it.
Re distribution, could be coordinated with Yes to go out with a newspaper delivery. 1 going through every door would go a long way to winning this thing.
“Re distribution, could be coordinated with Yes to go out with a newspaper delivery.”
Actually, if we did that I believe it’d count double for campaign spending, so we’ll have to do something more informal or we’d be effectively robbing Yes Scotland of money.
“desimond says:
27 May, 2014 at 4:59 pm
@Phil Robertson
Has there been any Westminster factors in last year that could have affected projections? ie They wont in future projections?”
Afraid not. Projections and actual figures are all the Scottish government’s own work.
@dennis mclaughlin
Thanks for those inspirational musings, Dennis.
Since the result is a foregone conclusion then, 2 questions:-
1. Should we all just pack up & shut up?
2. Are you happy with what the ‘result’ is going to be?
@Phil Robertson
One year’s Scottish Govt estimates inaccurate, Phil?
Take a look at the impartial OBE estimates for oil revenues 2010-13 & then come back on & tell us if they were accurate.
“MajorBloodnok says:
27 May, 2014 at 5:31 pm
Plus from day one we get to save £1bn per annum for not paying for Trident, the London Underground, HS2, London Crossrail, illegal wars, etc.”
So there’s just another £1bn to find.
So, there we have it in CAPITAL letters – Dr JM McIntosh seems to have established the fact that the Electoral Commission is powerless to avert bias and propaganda from the BBC and they refer him to OFCOM, which in turn has no powers, to never mind, even investigate allegations of bias, but is specifically prevented from doing so.
How much protection as individuals do we therefore have when treated in such a fashion by the state? The official bodies responsible for refereeing are powerless. There must be a UN authority responsible for broadcasting and human rights. They should be activated immediately to this.
We should be demanding UN protection and monitoring of the referendum. The Electoral Commission appears to be as effective as a chocolate watch. Action now is needed and necessary.
With you exactly , Colin. A local paper full of local people, local interest, local landmarks, well written and with lots of not overtly political stuff among the campaign points (these always in the voices of local people) is a winner.
You can post one to every houshold in an area for as little as 12p or 13p each
Hard copy info is still enormously impactful if done right, i’ve been looking into this for work and you’ll notice all the big retail brands, including amazon just recently, do hard copy direct mail to drive traffic to their websites for info & sales.
And again, if you look at the pieces of direct mail that seem to be most successful they’re often quirky in format, very succinct on information with conversation editorial and give an incentive for going to the website.
Newspapers like the Yes one will be more effective for targetting an older demographic I suspect, but for people who use online media they should be clever and snappy and provocative. Postcards from a future Scotland travelling back in time dropping through people’s doors? I dunno, can’t see crowdfunding a newspaper having much impact at all though and the costs would be prohibitive (speaking as a former newspaper circulation analyst…)
@Phil Robertson – please provide links your assertions you can’t just quote figures and not provide links come on…
@ Dave McEwan Hill
A local newspaper / newsheet however inserted into local newspapers, or indeed produced as part of the local newspapers as part of an advertising feature… that might be interesting, especially for those local newspapers that have very strong household penetration rates
Rev, If you put copies of the wee blue book for sale on ebay I’d be willing to buy some to distribute locally to don’t knows. It could help raise some more funds to get more printed.
“Rev, If you put copies of the wee blue book for sale on ebay I’d be willing to buy some to distribute locally to don’t knows.”
Once it’s done it should be a relatively easy job to get more printed, whether we have enough money to do it ourselves or have to get people to pay something towards it or whatever.
OBR predictions are farcical.
For 2012 they predicted a fall in oil revenue – it went up, and then, later on in their report when talking about why the overall GDP for the UK had not risen as much as they had predicted, they cited an interruption in oil production in the 4th quarter of 2012.
So they predicted there would be less oil production than there actually was, but somehow oil doing better than they predicted, explained the shortfall in their growth prediction???
Consistency not.
The real problem was the very sharp drop in financial services ‘exports’ (my apostrophes), Which they admit they couldn’t explain.
But you never hear anything about that on the MSM or how volatile that ‘industry’ is. It is a frighteningly vulnerable sector.
Croompenstein – Google for Scottish National Accounting Project aka SNAP.
Just been reading on Huffington Post an absolute tirade from the founder of UKIP in 1993, Professor Alan Sked, against Nigel Farage and the others. He says (amongst a lot of other things and some very harsh comments about Farage), “The party I founded has become a Frankenstein’s monster.” Well worth a read if you can find it. (Sorry I can’t paste links here with my browser.) He tears Farage to shreds and accuses him of all sorts of things including becoming a millionaire from expenses. Frankly I think England has voted itself a monster (raving loony) party, and may regret it.
Dr JM Mackintosh,
The whole Westminster centred system has been extremely fine tuned over the last 300 years to keep the ‘plebs’ and colonised people in their place, despite giving a completely false impression of democracy and freedom.
It is only thanks to the internet that the ‘plebs’ have finally found both a voice and a source of information that challenges the establishment propaganda.
Complaining to any official body is a complete waste of effort and just leads to more frustration. Let us all just forget about complaining to the likes of the Electoral Commission.
It is very good that Stuart so comprehensively exposes the media’s lies on a daily basis. He does an infinitely better job than any ‘regulator’ in this corrupt system will ever do – they are genetically programmed to deliver whitewashes.
The only chance of Yes winning is through grassroots activity.
As there are some other Craigs posting, to avoid confusion I will now post as ‘Rock’.
A little quote I picked from the Guardian
“A little fact for all the Labour supporters out there, in May 2015 Alex Salmond will have been First Minister longer that Dewar, McLeish and McConnel combined and he is still winning elections.
Way to go fella
stick it to em.
On the subject of the Blue Book, what sort of numbers and distribution methods are envisaged?
wingman 2020 says:
How about a discussion in the counting house on setting up a Newspaper?
‘Scotland First’
Crowd funded, resourced, staffed, and all our efforts focussed on disseminating Stu’s debunking and deconstruction of the increasing media lies and propaganda?
Wont be there on Friday Wingman But a brilliant idea! Keep me informed on the outcome!
Wouldn’t it be better to get out there talking to folk using the information from this and other sites, rather than printing yet another piece of wood pulp destined for the re-cycling bin? In our independent Scotland we will need a national press media but at the moment I don’t think supporters of this ‘paper’ realise how much effort would be involved.
“I don’t think supporters of this ‘paper’ realise how much effort would be involved.”
I tend to agree.
indigo
I can buy a page in a local Newspaper for anywhere between £500 and £1000 pounds. I can have printed 10,000 eight page newspapers, in half full colour, for less than £900.
Hood says:
27 May, 2014 at 1:52 pm
I had previously posted a link to an ISO image for a DVD I had been handing around to undecideds, it had some downloaded YouTube videos of Ivan McKee, John Jappy, Dr Philippa Whitford etc…
In my previous life as a video producer I would have been totally offended by someone using my work without permission.
Hood, as a member of Clan Destiny Films, if you or anyone else wants to use our material to get a Yes vote, you just go right ahead.
link to tinyurl.com
Craig,
I am just a bit slow on the uptake – it must be all these years of nice auntie beeb conditioning.
At least I now know where to complain – the BBC Trust – 03700 103 100
I will still keep complaining all the way up to the 18th – it is just my nature.
I am not expecting much but for the price of a local phone call it makes me feel a lot better.
Dr JM Mackintosh,
“I will still keep complaining all the way up to the 18th – it is just my nature.
I am not expecting much but for the price of a local phone call it makes me feel a lot better.”
The system IS designed to make us plebs FEEL better.
But we certainly won’t be feeling better in the event of a No vote.
We need to work beyond the system – that is at grassroots level.
(ex-Craig)
Sorry for elbowing in here folks
My fundraiser for the local yes campaigns (a bike run from Rome to Glasgow) will end tomorrow morning at 7AM. I’m looking for a late surge. I’m sitting above £10,000 which is fantastic but would love one final punt.
Facebook link: link to facebook.com
Fundraising link: link to indiegogo.com
and my speech on arrival at St Enoch Sq on Sunday evening:
link to new.livestream.com
Please donate. This is for the crucial cause: the grassroots movements.
I will be doing another one possibly in July or August.