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The Lasting Effect Of A Single Word

Posted on August 27, 2023 by

This is a Sunday Mail cover story today:

And it’s almost easy to dismiss it as meaningless. You can report to the police that aliens dug up your prize petunias and they’ll record it and give it a reference number and promise to investigate, before concluding that it was actually the neighbour’s cat.

But there’s one word in the 500-word piece that makes it much more interesting.

Can you spot it, readers?

It’s Sunday morning so we’ll even give you a few clues.

Give yourselves an Alertness Point if you said “Manchester”.

We doubt the SNP have a lot of donors in the Greater Manchester area, so it’s baffling why the complaint would have arrived on the desk of that particular police force. Indeed, the only link we can think of between the SNP and Manchester is that it’s the location of the party’s new auditors.

It took six months to find a company willing to take on the party’s books after the last firm resigned in October 2022, coincidentally just after the UK government enacted new regulations regarding the responsibilities of accountants with regard to suspected money laundering.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales noted:

Readers may recall that the SNP accounts were published this week with a disclaimer from the auditors that they’d been unable to satisfactorily establish the provenance of an unstated (but presumably significant) amount of the party’s income.

The longstanding professional guidance for auditors notes that:

Which puts auditors in a tricky spot, because they’re not allowed to do anything that might count as “tipping off” a suspected money launderer that their activities have been discovered – including delaying the publication of the audit.

Of course, none of these things may be pertinent to the SNP’s accounts, with their big hole where donation receipts should be. We don’t yet know who made the complaint to police. It COULD have been the auditors, but we have no evidence that was the case.

It could also have been a political opponent simply looking to cause mischief or – say – a disgruntled would-be SNP candidate who’d been overlooked in favour of a rival for some unknown reason.

It just seems weird that the latter two would go to the Manchester police to do it, knowing that the matter would be referred back to Police Scotland anyway. Maybe they just happened to be passing through on the way to a campervan dealership, or visiting relatives or something, when the impulse hit them.

Wings Over Scotland makes no allegation of wrongdoing, and we’re confident that the fullness of time will provide answers to these questions.

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0 to “The Lasting Effect Of A Single Word”

  1. Jeremy Wickins
    Ignored
    says:

    This plot is thickening so much its congealing!

  2. Amandine
    Ignored
    says:

    Scottish laundrettes recommend Sturgeon™ for your wash.

  3. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    Why is a party operating within the jurisdiction of Scots Law dealing with a «foreign» company without representation in Scotland?
    What concern is this in any way of the Manchester police?
    Very Queer!

  4. Daisy Walker
    Ignored
    says:

    Perhaps they had travelled from Glasgow, to visit relatives in the Manchester area, and knowing the details, thought, wouldn’t it be efficient if we reported this possible crime to the Manchester Police (no Scot Gov influence there) and at the same time, with the auditors being situated in that city, they can get a head start on the investigation.

    I wonder where the locus of the crime actually is (if a crime happened at all). If a bribe was handed over in Scotland then Police Scotland would have jurisdiction, but if it happened in the Manchester area, then the Manchurian Police really should not have passed it to Police Scotland. If anything untoward happened at all, hypothetically speaking of course.

  5. Tommo
    Ignored
    says:

    Hmmm-Interesting. The Learned Editor has put on his old trenchcoat-collar turned up a La Columbo-and hit them with the old ‘Uhh -Just one more thing…..’ line.
    This whole tawdry shambles could explode in a shower of unpleasantness. But it will take time.

  6. Robert Hughes
    Ignored
    says:

    The dread phrase that has become the kiss-of-death for Scottish criminal investigations …..” referred to Police Scotland ” .

    Will this end-up being tied with a nice rainbow ribbon and dumped in the bottom drawer of the big filing cabinet marked ” Fuck Off ” ? Maybe not , this time . Might be too big to bury .

    Whatever the substance of these accusations and their outcome , it will be another nail in the SNP coffin . R.I.P

  7. robertkknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Hahahaha…

    Loving the SNP tug-boat hitting the skerries, yet again.

    A case of cash for seats (no names required, but…) and the ring-fenced 600k woven through the books as donations and/or raffle tickets and/or membership subs is it???

    Oh deary me… Poop all over the place.

  8. Doug McGregor
    Ignored
    says:

    Old north of England saying , “Where there’s brass , there’s muck.”

  9. Ian McCubbin
    Ignored
    says:

    Who back in 2015 would have thought SNP would end up in this state.
    It’s to be hoped all the murk comes out and the appropriate people are held to account.

  10. Yes United
    Ignored
    says:

    Yes have a candidate in the Rutherglen by-election in October. Independence for Scotland Party leader Colette Walker. You can donate to her campaign at http://www.ISP.Scot

  11. holymamoses
    Ignored
    says:

    I did wonder how and under what circumstances the SNP had managed to acquire their current accountants in England and often considered the fact that they may be being used to accommodate the needs and wishes of a third party who wished to delve deeper into the books but who was based and Scotland and had no way of getting hold of them.

  12. Captain Yossarian
    Ignored
    says:

    A chap used to write in here called smithie (or something like that). It was at the time of the SNP leadership election. He was saying that almost all of the postal and on-line votes had been returned, counted and that Humza had no chance of winning. He was threatening to pull-out of hustings events at the time because he knew that he had already lost. Then, we all found-out, a few weeks later, that he had won by the narrowest of margins. Hardly anyone admits they voted for him, but he won anyway. This is only an allegation of course and maybe Humza has nothing to do with this.

  13. holymamoses
    Ignored
    says:

    Sorry, should not have used ‘the FACT that’ in my previous post – everything is surmise:-)

  14. James Jones
    Ignored
    says:

    “It just seems weird that they’d go to the Manchester police to do it, knowing that the matter would be referred back to Police Scotland anyway.”

    In the days before the IOPC existed (which oversees police complaints in England and Wales only) one police force would investigate another in the most serious cases of incompetence or corruption. Just saying…

  15. Scotsrenewables
    Ignored
    says:

    Is a new wave of resignations about to break?

  16. Willie
    Ignored
    says:

    Just Rest and be Thankful that the complaint wasn’t nearer to home.

  17. Lewis Moonie
    Ignored
    says:

    Pecunia non olet.
    God how I hated Latin at school
    Money has no smell.
    But it often leads to things that do.
    I find it very hard to believe that a well run political party would fail to ensure that all sources of funding were properly recorded, yet this seems to be so.

  18. Lorna Campbell
    Ignored
    says:

    If the matter in question was dealt with in Manchester as the locus,the jurisdiction will be English. In that case, both the Scottish and English jurisdictions will be involved and will collaborate. It might even come down to Manchester police becoming the main investigative force even if any illegal activity was carried out in Scotland but a discrepancy was discovered in Manchester, putatively putting the Manchester-based firm of auditors in an illegal position if they carried on with the work.

    By the way, Rev, you are on the front page of the National today in G Hassan’s piece.

  19. Merganser
    Ignored
    says:

    Tipping point for those who backed Humza for leader?

  20. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    When it’s so obvious to everyone that the wheels have come off, why haven’t any SNP staffers ‘told all’?

    Or MPs/MSPs for that matter? Loads of them are getting their jotters one way or another so why not spill all right now and at least make an effort to show some form of contrition.

    Is it because the shadow of Sturgeon still looms over everyone?

    Why on earth were they all so scared of her? Or was it her husband they feared?

  21. Corrado Mella
    Ignored
    says:

    With hindsight, what other reason would have been to rework all internal processes and procedures to neuter the NEC and disempower the branches, CAs and grassroots, if not to avoid accountability to hide the lurid work the high echelons were doing?
    All the excuses brough back to the angry branches – we’re a small party, we don’t have enough manpower, give us time – were just a smokescreen, because the accounts lodge a big fat lump of money on that chapter.

    Truth is like a big elastic rope.
    If you twist and bend it to your advantage, at some point in your life an event will unravel the kink, the truth whips back at you and chops your heid aff.
    Always, always keep your truth straight.

  22. John Main
    Ignored
    says:

    I fully understand why this can’t be taken any further, but if I lived in the RF, say, I could have a lot of fun speculating over the 44 names.

    The Mail article clearly states WM seats.

    Hmmm. 5 years at £X salary and £Y expenses PA. For all the good the Scottish MPs do, why not just skip the WM elections and auction off the seats on eBay?

  23. Karen
    Ignored
    says:

    Stu, can you post a link to your piece on yon lassie – I can’t find it. You know the one – with the rich daddy, Nic and Peter at her wedding despite her only joining the SNP from Labour a few months before? Thanks.

  24. Antoine Roquentin
    Ignored
    says:

    As the likelihood of holding Margaret Ferrier’s old R’glen seat slips even further out of reach. Little wonder the SNP’s auld-heids have announced their retiral from politics. Getting-out before the whole thing explodes, might better describe their decision.

  25. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    Ahaha. A whistleblower has ratted them out. Yess!!

  26. Mehs
    Ignored
    says:

    Still cash for a Westminster seat is more moral than what it costs for a Holyrood one

  27. Johnlm
    Ignored
    says:

    Appointing Leslie Evans was easy.
    Getting Beattie in as treasurer was the trick.
    Once these two caused the damage then ego, cowardice and dishonesty ran the show.
    It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up that always gets them.
    When Beattie (the banker who can’t work a computer) walks free then we will know.

  28. Stuart MacKay
    Ignored
    says:

    Pinch me I must be dreaming. John Main declares he’d feel safer discussing corruption under Putin’s protection than under the “rules-based” order of the democratic West.

    Come on John. Get on a plane and “Show us the money” trail.

  29. Breeks
    Ignored
    says:

    Daisy Walker says:
    27 August, 2023 at 10:02 am

    I wonder where the locus of the crime actually is (if a crime happened at all).

    Strikes me there’s still a relatively benign interpretation of these events still possible, or equally, you could go off the deep end believing the worst. We surely all know there are very few BritNat “newspapers” in the former category.

    Until the full truth properly emerges, we can only be guided by the conduct and integrity of those implicated in wrong doing, and their openness in helping the truth come to light.

    Therein, I feel, lies the SNP’s big problem. They’re not helping the truth emerge. Far from it. They are acting as if they’re guilty as sin, and determined to frustrate any diligent investigation into their activities.

    Far from the shining example of stoic integrity, (shown by “some” when under extreme duress and false criminal allegations), yet even under a much less rigorous scrutiny, the SNP’s hierarchy relies on amnesia, obfuscation, and redaction of documents to bury the truth. They clearly want to keep the truth suppressed, and thereby invite the obvious conclusion there must be something damning and dreadful, which must be kept hidden at all costs.

    This cavalier modus operandi is surely suicidal for a Political Party. These days the SNP hasn’t only lost it’s way, it has abandoned or forgotten about its own rudimentary survival instincts.

    Where does it leave Independence? Well, hopefully in the more capable hands of someone else…. Frankly, anybody else would be a step forward.

    The tragedy is, Scotland United will very soon have it’s own integrity problem if it allows contamination from these rotten SNP charlatans to come on board.

    If an SNP revolution and subsequent resurrection is coming, then folks, you gotta get on with it. It has to happen soon.

  30. robertkknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Ian Brotherhood…

    “why haven’t any SNP staffers ‘told all’?”

    They have. But only to their bosses in Thames House, who would appear to have lit a very slow burning fuse so as to cause maximum damage at a time of their choosing. (Closely followed by the granting of IndyRef2 by a benevolent Westminster… “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war” Sun Tzu).

  31. Wullie B
    Ignored
    says:

    Makes you wonder who has access to money to get a candidacy, and then when you look at who ISN’T standing next year or poss in 2026, I wonder if Humza’s special friend will get a visit, or possibly a humble crofter who wasnt involved with telecoms companies and who had a dislike for former FMs?
    As Mulder would say” The truth is out there”

  32. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    As the SNP makes fools of us all, a fact that looms bigger than a pink gigantosaurus in the kitchen is…
    The likelihood of Scottish independence being «granted» by London’s government will decrease in proportion to the desire for independence increasing.
    Scotland is strategically important, in every perspective, to the United Kingdom’s world presence. Such an «asset» will never be surrendered by the hard line British nationalism of the centre without a struggle.
    Is the current SNP leadership prepared to undertake such a struggle, no matter what that might entail?
    If you dare, you will be destroyed, is how London perceives this.
    It seems already the madness, prelude to destruction, has been initiated.
    Struggle, fight, resist a few steely single words worth their weight.

  33. robertkknight
    Ignored
    says:

    Karen…

    https://wingsoverscotland.com/news-roundup/

    You’re welcome ?

  34. Peter
    Ignored
    says:

    I think we can all guess one particular MP whose wealthy family bought her seat.
    Her branch members pretty much know that’s what happened.

  35. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    Well done to the whistleblower. I hope the SNP sturgeon cabal get a taste of their own medicine. We know Nicola Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, leaky Liz Lloyd was like a dripping tap for a woman that couldn’t recall anything.

  36. Dorothy Devine
    Ignored
    says:

    Anyone know how the YES biker involved in a crash is doing?

  37. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    Why Manchester?
    Might this be the rationale?
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-66620547
    Like seeks Like?

  38. Dave Llewellyn
    Ignored
    says:

    I wonder if it will go back as far as Tommy Sheppard. ?

  39. Ian Chisholm
    Ignored
    says:

    Accounts are subjective by nature. Open up all the SNP bank accounts. There every income and every expenditure will be noted…even cash donations. Of course they could go offshore or even to private Accounts. The private Accounts of all the Leaders should be scrutinised.

  40. PhilM
    Ignored
    says:

    ‘Constructive knowledge’ will be key here: if you really SHOULD have known what was going on, then you did know.
    I’m going to make a somewhat bold prediction that an organisation with the name the Scottish National Party will never win another UK or Scottish general election.

  41. Axel
    Ignored
    says:

    How often does Lythgoe go to Manchester?

  42. Charles (not the R one)
    Ignored
    says:

    Every time one thinks it couldn’t get any worse, it does.

    There is a vast amount of historical nonsense (verging on drivel) being posted here on a daily basis.

    Look back to 1707, and with an honest unbiased eye, compare what happened then, and WHY it happened then, with what is happening now.

    In 1707, Scotland had been ruled over for donkeys years by just about the most incompetent and corrupt government imaginable, even by the standards of those days. Then came the absolutely disastrous “Darien Scheme”, which literally BANKRUPTED the whole country, virtually overnight, right down to individuals and household levels.

    Scotland was BUST. The whole country was bankrupt, from top to bottom
    The currency collapsed.
    England paid a LOT OF CASH to save Scotland from complete and total financial and economic and social collapse. But that didn’t come free – why would it?.

    The Union had been on the cards for a long time, and this was a good time to set it up. Both sides agreed to that. Lots of the wealthiest Scots (many the ones who had led Scotland’s own parliament into the disaster) abandoned ship and moved south at the invitation of the English government, and sold their Scottish estates cheaply to English buyers. There was seen to be little future in Scotland. It all began to settle down rather nicely, until the Jacobite Rebellion threatened further stramash. Well, the Scots weren’t having any more of that. The Jacobites were stopped in 1745 at Culloden, by an army of MOSTLY SCOTS, led by The Duke of Cumberland. The mainstream Scots were not willingly going to give up the improvements they were experiencing as the Union developed.

    Today, the situation is only too plain to see, and it is DISGUSTING. Then SNP-Green coalition is treating Scotland and the Scottish people with ABSOLUTE CONTEMPT. Just imagine it – had the SNP won the Referendum of 2014, the very same people now featuring in all those nearly daily squalid headlines alleging all sorts of financial shenanigans and insane laws would be running an independent Scotland!

    There is a time and a manner to do anything important, such as going independent, and AS IT TURNS OUT, 2014 was not the time to do it.
    The 2014 Referendum has almost certainly saved Scotland from a disaster of unimaginable scale. It was NOT the time, and the people who would have been in charge, are shown now as clear as crystal to have been hopelessly incompetent, and by all accounts a good deal worse.

    2014 was not the time for a move to independence.
    2023 is certainly not looking like a good time either.
    There may come the day when the time is right, but today isn’t it, in my opinion.

  43. Mac
    Ignored
    says:

    Interesting that article says “…that allegedly were raffles, fundraising etc.”

    Sound like the cash donations were reported as raffles income. From the recent accounts these raffles allegedly raised nearly 583k in 2021 & 2022. Thinking about it that does seem a lot for raffles…

    It would be potentially very interesting to review previous years (pre-2021) and plot out the history of raffle and other fundraising ‘income’. See if it grows a lot in any period and where it spikes.

    The Murrells are unbelievable corrupt. It is everything you look at.

  44. Karen
    Ignored
    says:

    Robertknight thank you, that’s the one!

  45. Mike
    Ignored
    says:

    Amandine said at 9:51 am:
    “Scottish laundrettes recommend Sturgeon™ for your wash.”

    I thought Sturgeon™ was only used for hand-washing?

  46. Anton Decadent
    Ignored
    says:

    Manchester, so much to answer for.

    @L.C, I sometimes wonder if he is the Gerard Gerard SNP zealot who posts BTL in the Herald.

  47. Gordon
    Ignored
    says:

    @Charles not the R one

    Dunno how you figure that out, the SNP politicians in 2014 were a far cry from the intellectual pygmies (with a few exceptions) that disgrace the party now (especially after the NEC takeover coup engineered by Agnes (sic) Robertson.

  48. Lenny Hartley
    Ignored
    says:

    Anum Qaisar‘s Grandfather emigrated from Pakistan to Manchester in the 50’s
    Perhaps she was down in Manchester visiting rellies and she nipped into the local Polis Station to report some stories she had heard !

  49. Confused
    Ignored
    says:

    The 2014 Referendum certainly saved England from a disaster of unimaginable scale.

    Scotland was never bankrupt.

    https://wingsoverscotland.com/weekend-essay-skintland-britnat-mythology-and-the-darien-scheme/

  50. panda paws
    Ignored
    says:

    Scotland wasn’t bankrupt at the time of the Union – the burghs had money and the country’s coffers were okay. Those who lost money in Darien were on the other hand bankrupt if those debts were called in. Scotland had NO NATIONAL DEBT, England did. Plus Darien failed, in part, due to a trade ban and blockade by, you guessed it, England

    In return for the Equivalent, the majority of which was paid to the bankrupt Lords who then voted for Union (corruption), Scotland had to submit to being party to the English debt (which of course increased due to the, you guessed it, Equivalent, AND be subjected to higher taxes as per England.

    So no, Scotland wasn’t bailed out, we paid and continue to pay for our effective annexation, against the will of the people who rioted when they heard about the Union. Indeed it had to be signed in a secret location such was the strength of feeling against it.

  51. Captain Yossarian
    Ignored
    says:

    I see Scottish Labour’s old granny Mrs Doubtfire gets a mention in the Sunday Mail article. If the SNP corruption goes-on for another twenty-five years, another fifty years, they will still come nowhere close to Scottish Labour when it comes to self-interest and doing nothing for anyone.

  52. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    CHARLES 12:33

    «Then came the absolutely disastrous “Darien Scheme”, which literally BANKRUPTED the whole country, virtually overnight, right down to individuals and household levels.
    Scotland was BUST. The whole country was bankrupt, from top to bottom»

    More questionable (neo colonialist) Unionist history of the wee, weak & poor variety.
    The reality was those, mostly aristos and the like, who invested lost out in the foolish venture, Scotland as a country did not, it was never «bankrupted» by the event as the idea of a central government etc in the modern sense, was non existant. Towns & burghs, continued to trade and were little touched by Darién.
    Repeat a falsehood often enough and it morphs into «fact».
    It was those who lost their cash that sold Scotland’s sovereignty in order to recoup their losses. They needed to, Scotland as such did not.
    That mercenary, price of everything, value of nothing type is still extant.
    Later in the 18th century the French found an answer to that particular issue.

  53. Jason Smoothpiece
    Ignored
    says:

    Strong sulphurous smell coming from the SNP very much like Scottish Labour before they collapsed.

    Brown envelopes and nods and winks everywhere and everyone knew about it.

    The time has arrived for the SNP to collapse sadly to be replaced by the same Scottish Labour which was rightly rejected by the people of Scotland due to their betrayal of Scotland.

    Labour won’t survive for long this will allow Alba to build its self up to be the credible Scottish pro independence party we desperately need.

    Care has to be taken that the rabble who left Labour for the SNP and possibly return to Labour do not infest Alba.

  54. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    CHARLES.
    Check the Wiki for a reasonably accurate account of the composition of the British force at Blàr Chùil Lodair aka Culloden.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden
    What history books are you reading?

  55. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    Why not interview SNP Rutherglen former MP Margaret Ferrier for a tell all tale. If she’d be keen to do so.

    She needs to tell her side of the story. So she’s remembered fondly for all the work she’s done.

    She deserves to have her voice heard before the vote eh?

  56. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    I want to hear the real impact standing up to Nicola Sturgeon has caused Margaret Ferrier. If she’d be willing to talk.

    Her constituents need to hear the real human pain the witchhunt against her has caused.

    Sturgeon is a bully and it sickens me. The backstabbers when they go door to door, should have it slammed shut.

    Ferrier needs to reveal all if she’d be willing that is.

  57. alan
    Ignored
    says:

    Hmm friends of friends and duaghters of same and envelope’s appearing ??

  58. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    I also want to read about the WhatsApp messages to the covid enquiry.

    Sturgeon was commended on her good communication during covid 19 press briefings. But the Scottish public want to know what went on behind the scenes.

    We have a right to know. I want to know if Sturgeon and her government ignored medical advice on sending sick patients into care homes from hospital without testing… There’s nurses in the newspapers bringing about corporate homocide charges? Why is that? What is it that they told Nicola that she doesn’t want us to know about?

    Hand over the WhatsApp messages Nicola.

  59. Charles (not the R one)
    Ignored
    says:

    TURABDIN says:
    27 August, 2023 at 1:42 pm

    CHARLES.
    Check the Wiki for a reasonably accurate account of the composition of the British force at Blàr Chùil Lodair aka Culloden.

    If the Jacobite cause was so popular why was there not a Jacobite army of half a million volunteers to rout Cumberland’s men?

    By the way, what language is “Blàr Chùil Lodair”?
    Is it a language foreign to 99% of the people of Scotland today?

  60. John Main
    Ignored
    says:

    @TURABDIN says:27 August, 2023 at 1:42 pm

    Check the Wiki for a reasonably accurate account of the composition of the British force at Blàr Chùil Lodair aka Culloden

    Or, instead, engage with stuff happening now in 2023.

    Face it, TURABDIN. Smoldering anger over Culloden, Darien or the Clearances isn’t going to power us to Indy.

    Sure, there’s a few dozen vocal nutters who can’t let it go, but there’s millions of Scots voters who don’t give a scooby.

    It’s the economy, first and last. Always was and always will be.

    Make the economic case for Indy, and Indy will follow.

  61. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    A Scottish government official on the covid enquiry secret WhatsApp messages..

    “I am also satisfied that to reveal whether the information exists, or is held by the Scottish Government, would be contrary to the public interest.”

    Why not in the public interest Nicola, what have you and the dentist got to hide?

  62. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    Manchester is def your kinda city Nicola.

    https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/manchester-pride-2023-132-stunning-112902651.html?

    All about freedom «to be».
    But if you choose not «to be», woe betide you.

    The LGBT+ agenda has become a tool in the globalist kit for enforcing attitudinal conformity on so called developing countries, especially in Africa.
    No conformity, no aid.
    No amount of camp can cover the nasty nature of this posturing hydra.

  63. Charles (Not the R one)
    Ignored
    says:

    TURABDIN wrote “The LGBT+ agenda has become a tool in the globalist kit for enforcing attitudinal conformity on so called developing countries, especially in Africa.
    No conformity, no aid.
    No amount of camp can cover the nasty nature of this posturing hydra.”

    Half an hour ago I would have sworn an oath in blodd that I would never agree with TURABDIN.

    Well Done Mr Turabdin. You expressed that as plainly and correctly as would be possible in any language.

  64. TURABDIN
    Ignored
    says:

    JOHNMAIN
    There you go again with your fanciful «economic case». No «case» for a nation’s independence is ever needed, except in the minds of those determined to prevent it.
    Scotland may face both ways, to its past and its future. The future, however, can only be secured on the basis of an understanding of the solid foundations rooted in what has gone before.
    Knowing where you have been is as important as knowing where you are heading. Confusion about the former leads to confusion about the latter.
    The current quandary, an intellectual, existential even philosophical matter which politics, a crude «bread and circuses» thing at best cannot deal with, is the spawn of such confusion.
    Those who think in terms of «bawbees» with respect to independence are little better than those who sold out in 1707.
    The desire for independence is visceral or it is fake.

  65. Mia
    Ignored
    says:

    “England paid a LOT OF CASH to save Scotland from complete and total financial and economic and social collapse”

    ??????????

    If you read the Treaty of Union, what England paid was not “a lot of cash” and certainly even less to “save Scotland”. It was called “the Equivalent” and it was to cover the future contribution that Scotland would be forced to make, once it became part of the union, to pay for England’s rather substantial debt contracted PRIOR to entering the union and which was generated as a consequence of England’s beligerant nature and thirst for war conflict, which seemingly continues today.

    And if you read the history books written around that time, in fact it took England quite a bit of time to actually effect that payment. What this tells you is it was England which was skint, not Scotland. Confirmation of this was that the articles of the ToU were breached by forcing on Scotland taxes for which it was exempt under the articles of the ToU.

    That the corrupt crooks in charge of administering the Equivalent in Scotland did so primarily to favour those aristocrats who had lost money in the Darrien scheme is a different matter entirely. But then, if those aristocrats had not been paid (bribed?), it would have been highly unlikely the crown would have managed to get support from enough MPs and lords to pass the Treaty in the parliament of Scotland. So, in a practice which seemingly continues today, not only England did not “paid a lot of cash” to Scotland at all, it very much seems Scotland’s own money was used to effect the bribes made on behalf of crown.

    Scotland was not at the verge of “total and financial collapse” as you claim. That is rubbish. Scotland entered this political union WITHOUT DEBT. That is not what happens when a country is “at the verge of total and financial collapse” as you claim. The country that entered the union with eyewatering debt is England.

    That England rescued Scotland from itself is complete and utter bullshit. That Scotland was bankrupt is more bullshit. The one which was much closer to bankrupcy was England.

    Of course, another completely different chapter in history is who caused the collapse of the Darrien scheme…. But that is a discussion for another day

    The crown pushed very, very hard in 1706 for the union to take place. It had been pushing for it for years. If you read the history books written at the time, you will find out that the crown did nothing to stop the Darrien scheme folding. One guesses this was because the folding of the scheme suited the crown very well to force Scotland into the union.

    Look around you today: who ultimately controls the “crown office”, the courts, the police and the civil service?

    Who has the power to make, allegedly the three independent powers executive, judicial and legislative to undemocratically collude to instigate the political persecution of one man and bring forward a fake criminal case based on perjury and seemingly involving the police, the government, the civil service, the courts and the crown office?

    Who has the power to then suppress all the damning information reaching the public and the identity of the perjurers under the threat of criminal prosecution?

    Who has the power to move all the culprits away from their posts on to other safe posts out of the way without even an attempt at a single prosecution against any of them being initiated?

    It would not surprise me on the least if the crown, continuing with its trend from 1706, is the main force pushing hard for this union to continue since 2014.

    One has to wonder how many of those voices and hyperbole we have been hearing gaslighting the hell out us against independence since 2014, like the discredited Brown, for example, are, just like Defoe was, crown envoys.

    Take a look at this section of Nadine Dorries’ resignation letter:

    “It became clear to me as I worked that remaining as a back bencher was incompatible with publishing a book which exposes how the democratic process at the heart of our party has been corrupted. As I uncovered this alarming situation I knew, such were the forces ranged against me, that I was grateful to retain my parliamentary privilege until today. And, as you also know Prime Minister, those forces are today the most powerful figures in the land. The onslaught against me even included the bizarre spectacle of the Cabinet Secretary claiming (without evidence) to a select committee that he had reported me to the Whips and Speakers office (not only have neither office been able to confirm this was true, but they have no power to act, as he well knows). It is surely as clear a breach of Civil Service impartiality as you could wish to see”

    In the above paragraph you read about “destruction of party democracy process” – that is what we have seen happening in the SNP since the political fraud Sturgeon took over. We know the democratic process in labour has been destroyed too. If this democratisation process of the main political parties in the UK is occurring pretty much simultaneously, it suggest some entity above all parties is directing it.

    You also read about “claims without evidence”. That is what we have seen in the fabricated case against Mr Salmond, Mark McDonald before him and the charade that the Fabiani’s farce was. Again, when independent political parties like the SNP and the Tories are suffering from the same malignancy, it suggest an external entity, common to both, is responsible.

    You also read about “breach of Civil Service impartiality”. Well, that is precisely what we had in Scotland with the unlawful complaints procedure and during 2014 with the Treasury civil servants “working to save the union”.
    Who controls the Civil Service?

    You also read about “forces which are the most powerful figures in the land” behind Ms Dorries’ grievance. My question is, are those the same forces responsible for moving Sturgeon and Yousaf’s strings to transform the SNP into a pro-union party, and are those the forces ultimately responsible for designing, orchestrasting, executing and then swiftly attempted to cover up and forever suppress the damning evidence of the disturbing illegalities and irregularities commited during the frustrated attempt to destroy Mr Salmond’s political career?

    Who is the “most powerful figure” in the land? Because that is most certainly neither Sturgeon, nor Murrel nor Yousaf, nor any of the professional clowns currently sitting in either the SGov or UK gov cabinet.

    “2014 was not the time for a move to independence”

    2014 was the perfect time to move to independence. But this would mean for the VIP taxdodgers having to give up their beloved brexit and remain in the EU for the foreseeable future. THAT is, in my humble opinion, the real reason as to why Scotland did not become independent in 2014***

    When you have the establishment working so, so hard to make labour look like it will win the next GE in Scotland; when that establishment is going to the extreme lenghts of completely infiltrate the SNP tranforming it on to a shell that reneges on its own constitution; when the establishment is making that shell of a party to viciously attack its own MPs forcing them out to hand the seat to Labour making a mockery of the democratic process; when the establishment is exponentially increasing its efforts from within the SNP to deliberately destroy the party’s credibility and chances of winning, you quickly realise Scotland did not vote for the survival of the union in 2014 and the union survives because it is continuously on life support from that establishment.

    ***I am an unashamed and unapologetic cynic who

    1. does not believe ANY of the official result from ANY of the processes called “democratic” in which Scotland has taken place since 2011.

    2. will no believe any official result from any pretend democratic activity taken place in the UK until the day Scotland repeals the Treaty of Union and Act of Union with England.

  66. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scotland

    Banksy exhibition draws record crowds.

    Look at the picture of Glasgow museum. The pillars are Green. Next time you’re in Glasgow, have a look at the buildings. They are all filthy. You’ll not see a window cleaner in sight. It’s all part of their project Z. To run the city down to make it look like their planned demolition job is a good idea.

  67. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    There’s a meeting in the city chambers scheduled about the destruction of Glasgow City centre and it’s sell off coming up.

    Councillors in Glasgow’s city chambers will sit down this week to rubberstamp one of its boldest plans for Scotland’s largest city.

    The vision is to redevelop the “Golden Z” – the area encompassing Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street.

    The demolition job, to hand Glasgow over to the elite. To sell off the old shops and turn them into empty houses for the elite to funnel their cash through.

    That’s what’s happening to our soon to be hollow shell of a city.

    We need to stop them. Stop the Glasgow demolition.

  68. Iain More
    Ignored
    says:

    I think I actually died and the afterlife is a Nightmare Neo Fascist Corporate English Shithole.

  69. Towbar Sullivan
    Ignored
    says:

    Trouble at the uni in Glasgow involving pronouns, polyamory and the usual bollocks.

    https://twitter.com/CtRLsDaWeAthEr/status/1695743832229310724

  70. Confused
    Ignored
    says:

    America, following on from Britain, with a compliant media, has managed to frame any act of SELF DEFENCE made against its predatory foreign and economic policies as AGGRESSION.

    – this came to mind reading Hassan’s latest about “the war on woke”. It’s a wall of text and looks like it was written by a bot, but the gist of it is –

    it seems you (the rev and wingers are at the heart of it) are all just a bunch of “meanies” for e.g.

    – objecting to people wanting to cut your kids dick/tits off

    – or tell them, before knowing the alphabet, about the joys of buttlove and how much lube a 5 year old arse needs to take a good size cock

    – stating obvious biological facts

    – being upset by unhinged sociopaths making threats of violence to them

    – not feeling any personal guilt for – slavery, colonialism, the holocaust, the deaths of drugged up criminals when they try to fight armed police

    – being worried about “crime” or thinking that a mad stabbing spree in the city centre by an “asylum seeker” (jihadi mercenary on the lam) could be solved by “not having them here in the first place”

    not letting the rainbow / BLM brigade do exactly as they want is aggression and hate.

    The woke are just well meaning people trying to make a better world, where everyone shares the same opinions about everything. There is no coordinating force behind all this, no massive amounts of money, it all just happens randomly everywhere in the world, at the same time, with politicians saying exactly the same thing. And all with the same fucking logo – that abomination of a flag, once a symbol of God’s love and forgiveness.

    Anyone who objects to this is, however, part of a vast far right conspiracy, involving andrew neil, the daily mail, nazis on the internet, the john birch society, national action, combat 18, and all the rest of them … terrifyingly evil forces which infect the mind with “populism”.

    The woke seem to think that – swarm attacks on social media, doxxing, getting people fired from their jobs and their bank accounts shut down – is all part of the open exchange of ideas and this is what they count as a win.

    Seeing Patrick Harvie, our own gay rumpelstiltskin, called a “deviant” in the street was particularly distressing for Hassan; checks the dictionary

    “departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behaviour.”

    – seems about right. If they try to go for a “hate crime”, all the guy needs is a dictionary to mount a defence; most folks, about 97% are heterosexual, the purpose of the sex act is procreation ultimately – the anus is not a sex organ, it’s the waste pipe, that is your basic error.

    “sodomite” is a better word anyway.

    Homosexuals and lesbians (maybe trannies too, to look at some of the “women”) are stupendously ove-represented at Holyrood – we need a quota system to limit their numbers to around 6 in total; they should also excuse themselves from any decisions involving social policy and sexual matters, since they don’t represent 97% of the population.

  71. Ian Brotherhood
    Ignored
    says:

    @Mia (3.12) –

    Brilliant.

    😉

  72. Mia
    Ignored
    says:

    “would be contrary to the public interest”

    I find this expression incredibly patronising and deliberately disinforming. It is disinforming because releasing the messages is not contrary to the public interest. It is contrary to the interest of those desperately attempting to hide the information so the public cannot find out what these chancers and the political fraud have been up to.

    Somebody who puts the interests of paedophiles, rapists, perverts and deviants before the safety of women and children, and somebody who condones the chemical castration and mutilation of healthy children for the sake of geopolitics and pharma profits, in not way fit to determine what is or what is not “contrary to public interest”. Somebody who does the above has completely disengaged from reality and cannot be trusted.

    Judging by the actions and embarrassing verbiage emerging from Yousaf’s cabinet, the average Scottish voter’s brain power and common sense surpasses by a mile that his entire cabinet combined.

    Time for Yousaf to release the darn information and let the public decide themselves what is in their interest and what is not.

  73. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    Trouble at Glasgow Uni you say? A lecturer hitting on his pupil?

    Silly old man pronouns he/him/his. I wonder if he’s part of the John Smith Institute that corrupting the minds and freedom of speech of Glasgow University?

  74. David Hannah
    Ignored
    says:

    The John Smith Institute. Preferential treatment gang should be shut down. Sinister going’s on at Glasgow University.

  75. Liz
    Ignored
    says:

    There is no doubt in my mind, Glasgow is being deliberately run down to be sold off as a chartered city.

    This is where Sturgeon, the tractor, has led us.

    What the hell do we do about it?

    As for Chas, ignore him, he’s shit stirring.
    I believe we need to stop wasting energy explaining Darien, etc to people who couldn’t care less about the truth

  76. Merganser
    Ignored
    says:

    It is clear that the SNP since 2014 has been built like a house of cards. It won’t take much for it all to come tumbling down.

    The desperation to keep the secrets secret are there for all to see: the resignation of Sturgeon; the (previously) unfathomable support for Humsa from so many of the upper echelons of the SNP; the refusal to let its own audit committee see the books; the resignation of the elected treasurer and the re-appointment of the previous one; the resignation of the party’s auditors; the struggle to find new auditors; the finding of incomplete records in the accounts; the appointment of an insider as CEO.

    They could only keep the lid on what has been going on by preventing proper scrutiny from an impartial insider, or from an outsider.

    They have turned into a circus act of plate-spinners, and they are having more and more plates to spin.

    Someone earlier asked if there will be more resignations. That is possible if more people seek to try and distance themselves from what they know has gone on, or from their complicity in it.

    I reckon that there is a lot more information that cannot yet be published openly. When the time is right, it will no doubt become available.

  77. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Everything given on lend from “Westminster to the” branch office” sent up run Scotland in Colonial style is in the “Scotland Act legislation” from Westminster.

    Holyrood and all political parties, Civil servants, NHS, police Scotland, Ports, Crown Courts, referendum permissions, etc, are not and do not come under Scots Laws,

    Because the very” Scotland Act ” and all it entails comes under UK parliament legislation first and foremost,

    Sticking the Word Scotland or Scots in front of the branch, of a Westminster based system is a decoy and excellent facade.

    Police Scotland have connections to the metro police as head of security information Structure overall,

  78. stuart mctavish
    Ignored
    says:

    Is cash for access illegal, or simply frowned upon?

    Strikes me that a good compromise to save Humza (he was one of only 3 members -and the only man – to step up to the plate when dopey resigned for no reason after all) might be to raffle ALL westminster constituencies with a view to recapturing imagination of the electorate.

    It would remove any concerns about troughing in a single stroke and, with any luck, could prove so popular, and so contemptuous and uncivilsed (and possibly catching) that England’s appetite for S30 agreement would be rediscovered within couple more terms, tops.

  79. James Che
    Ignored
    says:

    Mia,

    Did you know that the privy Council in Westminster is still under the parliament of England and has not converted to a union privy Council,?
    I came across it by accident while researching another subject,

    As is the Bank of England, it never converted or became the bank of the union.

  80. Cynicus
    Ignored
    says:

    With every passing day the SNP resembles less a political party and more a crime syndicate. Allegedly.

  81. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    Will Scotland ever get HONEST politicians, IS there such a thing, or as connolly said the very fact that these people want to be politicians should actually BAR them from doing so

    At 72 yoa I have lived under some shite governments and leaders but TBQH the last 10 years both the UK and HR have excelled at being shite not only the political parties but the individual politicians

    YET we still have idiots and clowns decrying the efforts of Salvo and Liberation.Scot to bring some form of democracy back to Scots

    WHY would anyone of sane mind NOT want our politicians to be answerable to the people , the last 9 years of Sturgeon the dictators rank incompetence, corruption, lies and deviant and perverted policies should have voters desperately scrambling to sign up to Salvo and Liberation.Scot

    The very fact that politicians are against Salvo and Liberation.Scot shows that they are frightened that Scots will embrace the power to hold them to account

    Just imagine a people’s assembly telling politicians that THEY determine what is in the people’s interest not politicians, lawyers or bent judges and they instruct the politicians to produce and publish the evidence of any wrongdoing, or a people’s assembly telling the parliament that their proposed bills are against the wishes of the majority and will be trashed , or a people’s assembly overseeing the finances given to deviant and perverted organisations instead of addressing poverty and deprivation
    Just imagine a people’s assembly demanding ALL lobbying by ANY organisation or individual MUST be recorded verbatim and lodged at the parliament
    Just imagine any politician or political party refusing to comply with a people’s assembly, they would be sacked and the people WILL hold the POWER

  82. John Main
    Ignored
    says:

    Twathater

    I’ve imagined all the things you wrote and it’s V Innarestin.

    I’m imagining a representative people’s assembly being made up of Sovereign and New Scots, socialists and Tories, toffs and binmen, Indys and Yoons, all religions and none, coal burners and eco warriors, old maids and swingers.

    TBQH, I’m imagining a useless talking shop that never can agree on anything. In other words, a second Hollyrood.

    Are you imagining a place packed with TH clones? That would explain a lot.

    The politicians ARE answerable to the people. As always, throughout the history of democracy and beyond, the people get the governments they deserve.

    Scotland had serious, competent politicians once. We can have them again. But these things take time, and first of all, we Scots have to rediscover our own seriousness.

  83. Neil in Glasgow
    Ignored
    says:

    Money laundering allegations are handled by the NCA. Any firm with a MLRO will know this and raise any suspicions appropriately. If its been raised with GMP then that might uggesy it’s been done by someone acting in a personal capacity

  84. Politically Homeless
    Ignored
    says:

    Hmmmmmm.. I spotted “Manchester” first but also spotted “money laundering.” What’s that got to do with cash-for-seats? Two completely different allegations.

    Either hilarious if true. From devolution and Brand Progressive Scotland back to the good old days of Rotten Boroughs in the style of 18th century Westminster.

    When it comes to this SNP, once anything gets barmy enough you start to believe it.

  85. Kcor
    Ignored
    says:

    “It COULD have been the auditors”

    Auditors wouldn’t bite the hands that feed them.

  86. Mac
    Ignored
    says:

    I also thought it was Manchester then talked myself out of it as Manchester was mentioned more than once. So went for raffle, which now I think is maybe also another standout word.

    That said I think the speculations here are very plausible regarding the ‘Manchester connection’. So let’s play close attention to what they said… raffles, obscure fund raising methods, well known money laundering trajectories… like motor homes.

    It really looks (IMHO) more and more like they had oodles of cash… way more than they could not get rid of… legally.

    And also they were so sloppy… they clearly thought they were untouchable or just very used to doing what they were doing.

  87. A Scot Abroad
    Ignored
    says:

    It’s an old trick. If you want there to be a full on public investigation, you tip off a neighbouring police force and engineer some minor involvement to give them an official excuse, and get a national newspaper involved with the promise of a scoop. In this case, Police Scotland are the rabbit in the headlights.

  88. 100%Yes
    Ignored
    says:

    Reading between the lines you’d have to believe the auditors have found mischief behaviour regarding the SNP financial records and have to follow the letter of the law and reported it to the police. If this is indeed true then how come the media has got hold of it and haven’t, they just alerted the SNP to this.
    I’ve also heard that the investigation has been looking into donations from people wills, so you’d have to presume that the wording of these donations in these wills would have to be investigated, for the police to do their job correctly.
    Why do you have the likes of Penny Mordaunt saying the investigation has to come to and end, when it seems to me more avenues of investigation is opening all the time.
    We made the monster by allowing the person (Sturgeon) to become more important than the cause. She went on the grant tour of Nicola Sturgeon which at the time I thought it was an excellent idea it was keeping the momentum going for Independence. We all remember people had pitched tents outside the Scottish parliament and when the SNP had them removed this was the first signal of things to come.

    If i was the UKG I’d be asking the police to look into the leaderships bank account.

  89. Cameron Robson
    Ignored
    says:

    The mantra of three hundred years of successful union etc is often chanted by unionists, especially by PM’s. Therefore, the historical perspective is not completely irrelevant to the indy cause and to be replaced solely by an economic argument.

    In which case, there is total drivel being churned out by unionists regarding Scot’s history. In particular there is a load of crap being spouted about Darien and England bailing Scotland out when King Billy’s support for the East India Company and seeking peace with Spain had a lot to do with the failure of the Darien venture. (Only for Great Britain to invade the region, ironically with Scot’s troops, a few decades later eg the failed siege of Cartagena).

    More Scots did not support Cumberland than Charlie in the ’45. Four regiments, back from fighting alongside English troops in Europe, is not a great anti-Jacobite professional army anyway. Besides, I thought Murray Pittock had settled that mouldy old unionist chestnut years ago.

  90. twathater
    Ignored
    says:

    @ John MOAN, as usual John never look for the positive, always try to undermine any suggestion that Scotland could do things better, you like to denigrate and demean the Scots working classes did you learn that aff your pals Chas, ArSA, or many of the other britnat shills that like to frequent btl

    Face it John pointing out the weaknesses and incompetence in Scotland’s politicians and political parties is like shooting fish in a barrel and I and most others agree with you on that ,but as has been pointed out endlessly Scotland is not alone in its suffering, your favoured group from darn south WM which you never seem to criticise can leave Scots politicians standing when it comes to corruption , lies or incompetence

    If you really are Scottish and live in Scotland I find it reprehensible and incomprehensible that your disdain and disgust of the Scottish working classes is so deep that all you have is negativity and malice

  91. John Main
    Ignored
    says:

    @twathater says:28 August, 2023 at 6:25 pm

    all you have is negativity and malice

    Naw, I have suggested plenty of ideas on here, and I get shot down in flames every time.

    So here’s some of them again. No thanks needed:

    1) The issue is that Scots politicians sell out and get comfortable. The solution is for ordinary, decent, apolitical, savvy Scots to stand for office, and to remain grounded in their local communities. That’s not a new idea – it’s exactly how the Labour Party was founded, built and brought to power, back before the carpet baggers took it over. Only 129 + 59 ordinary, decent, apolitical, savvy Scots needed. Once every seat in both assemblies is taken, they can start the UDI process.

    2) The issue is that most Scots voters don’t much care about Culloden, 1707, Darien or The Clearances. The solution is for Indy supporters, campaigners and policy makers to prioritise the economy above everything. Support only candidates for office who sign up for policies aimed at improving the material wellbeing of ordinary Scots. Exclude the obsessives. This idea dovetails with Idea 1).

    3) The issue is that Scotland, like every other country, contains a diverse mix of views, opinions, religions, etc. The solution is to kick out all of those who are carpet bagging Indy because they see Indy as a means to achieving their personal hobby horse. Focus relentlessly on the essentials.

    This idea dovetails with Ideas 1) & 2).

    So there you go TH. Find 188 ordinary decent Scots to form a new Indy party and stand for office at both WM and HR on a no-nonsense, material well being, platform. No sideshows, hobbyhorses, green hair, etc. Just unshowy, grey, boring, competence. Show us they have what it takes, get all the seats, or most of them, then tell us up front how they expect UDI to work out, and call IndyRef2. And yes, our representatives will have to be prepared to take on a hostile, uncooperative rUK. And yes, the franchise will have to include every tax-paying Scottish resident.

    But no, that won’t be a problem, because New Scots value unshowy, grey, boring, competence, too. Especially when favourably compared to the shitshow going on south of the border.

  92. akenaton
    Ignored
    says:

    Above all the good sense printed above by John, we need a conservative administration (note the small C).
    In my youth the left were dedicated to constructing a more equitable and workable economic system which provided for the most needy in society, today the left is an insane rabble spouting identity politics and taking so called “Equality” to absurd lengths, which benefits no one except the mad, corrupt, or power hungry.
    In the US Trump sees the media as the destructive power holding back national pride and draining the people psychologically.
    I think we need to sharpen up our political perceptions before we are fit for Independence.

  93. Chas
    Ignored
    says:

    Twathater

    I have NEVER demeaned the Scottish Working classes of which I am one.

    However, I regularly try and demean the nutters on here who are living in the past. The ones who like to type, using guid Scottish words to show that they are more ‘Scottish’ than others. The folks who fail in their attempts to show that they are smarter than everybody else. The individuals who simply want Independence and do not even care how it would work and who would form a competent Government.

    There are a lot of probably well intentioned people posting on Wings, who see the mess that Scotland/UK is in. Let’s be honest-it is not too difficult. Their own individual ‘pet’ solution to make things better will/does not gel with the majority of Scots. However anyone who does not agree with their madness is a Unionist, a troll or a plant.

    Round and round we go-getting nowhere!



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