The Outsiders
If you’re a fan of lazy, superficial political analysis from the mentally unwell, you might have read this week about John Swinney’s great strategic triumph of having “coaxed” an “endorsement” out of the Daily Record for Thursday’s by-election in Hamilton.
And if so, you might be forgiven for thinking that that analysis looks pretty stupid now.
(Holiday Boy is still jetting his way around the globe, and indeed will be for the next few weeks, so in the absence of cartoons what else can we do but look at comics?)
But what, if anything, do those front pages tell us?
Last month, Labour were the bookies’ favourites to win the election, although by just about the tiniest margin possible over the SNP.
But things have changed a lot since then. By a couple of weeks ago, the SNP had surged ahead, although Labour were still at a respectable 6/4 and looking nailed-on for at least second place, with Reform stuck miles behind, still on 8/1.
And here’s how it stands today.
William Hill’s odds are in fact pretty generous on the SNP – you only have to bet £5 with Hill to make a profit of £1, whereas on Bet365 you’ll have to lay out a whopping £12 for the same return.
But what’s striking is that both (and indeed every other bookie) now have Labour – who started as slight favourites, remember – trailing in a distant third behind Reform, and collapsing as far as a spectacular 10/1.
The SNP are now considered a safer bet by most bookies than Celtic were to win the Scottish Cup a week ago today.
Alert readers may recall how that panned out.
Now, it’s this site’s view that the SNP are still the most likely winners next week. But if everything we’re hearing about how much money the party is throwing at the election – despite being flat broke – is true, they’re not the least bit confident about it, and that’s a rational view for them to be taking.
Because the one thing that pretty much even the worst political analysts in the country agree with the rest of us on is that all the mainstream parties are poisonously hated by the electorate at the moment, and the latter are seeking to deliver a kicking to the former at every possible opportunity. And Hamilton offers near-perfect conditions for voters to act on that impulse.
Indeed, the party is even sufficiently emboldened to put Nigel Farage on its posters, despite his deep personal unpopularity in Scotland.
(Though even that is less of an issue than in recent years.)
Perhaps the most significant, though we haven’t seen anyone talking about it, is next year’s Holyrood election. If you’re a scunnered voter in Hamilton and you’ve seen both Labour (who held both previous Hamilton seats until 2011) and the SNP (incumbents since the creation of the current version in that year) hold the seat without doing anything noticeable to improve your life, the by-election is a free hit: you can give them both a boot in the haw-maws this year by voting Reform and still have a chance to return to “normal service” in just 11 months’ time if you feel like it.
There’s also likely to be a low turnout, with Reform’s voters the most motivated. The boundaries of the constituency encompass Larkhall, and there’s a ready-made and enthusiastic audience there for Reform’s Union Jack-waving British patriotism.
Reform are still riding a wave of support generally – national UK polls this week have shown them as many as ELEVEN points in front of Labour, and a YouGov Scottish subsample astonishingly showed them ahead of the SNP.
(Subsamples are generally useless and this one was <150 people, but YouGov actually weights its crossbreaks like full samples, so they can be considered to be at least of some interest as a broad-brush indicator despite the larger margin of error.)
And if we assume – for the sake of argument, rather than out of any actual conviction – that the Daily Record still has any influence at all in the constituency, then its front pages this week will have confused and divided the anti-Reform vote.
In truth Farage’s party would be delighted to come second, especially if it’s a fairly close second. It’s doubtful they’re even daring to dream of, let alone assume, victory in the way Jimmy Thelin and his players did.
But one thing that’s for sure is that whatever they’re dreaming of, they’re sleeping a lot easier right now than the SNP are.
A neat analogy with the Dons triumph last week … I’m still basking in the joyy of it all too.
Aye, I’m reckoning that Reform may very well come closest to the “A plague on all your houses” vote.
And, as our host points out, it’s a free shot at the other numpties as the Holyrood elections are due next year.
How anyone within even touching distance of sanity can vote for the Reform Company is beyond me.
This is the clown who brought us Brexit and the entire shambles that has resulted from it.
This is the clown who regularly gives Trump a rim job.
This is the clown who made sure he has both a UK and a European passport.
This is the clown who wants an insurance based healthcare system.
This is the clown who claims everything everyone wants can be paid for just by ending foreign aid. He knows it can’t be but he just lies like he did all the way through both referendums.
At what point are people going to wake up and smell the bloody coffee?
Granted the options for who to vote for are all awful but Farage and the Reform Company has to be at the bottom of that list.
He knows the difference between a boy and a girl. That puts him miles ahead of SNP plc ltd and Dirty Filthy Labour plc.
And after the disaster of Brexit thats the biggest issue facing the UK? The lies Farage told and continues to tell.
Don’t get me wrong that stuff needs resolved but we have way bigger issues to face.
Odd how you refer to the SNP as a “plc ltd”.
Tell us all who owns the majority of shares in the Reform Company. Take your time now.
Yup. Good enough for me.
“And after the disaster of Brexit thats the biggest issue facing the UK?”
And you think if the SNP win this byelection Brexit will be reversed, or something?
Do you think the guy who caused the problem should be rewarded with peoples votes and hence power?
There is certainly a greater chance of closer ties with Europe under Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem or SNP than there is under the Reform Company.
As I said all the options stink but Farage smells the worst.
Well I’m sick of the elephants and chimpanzees in drag.
Bring on the Clowns!
And the Lion tamer was fake.
Rookiescot;
Quite agree, I suppose it shows just how thick and/or gullible the populace are becoming, and the power of the (broadcast especially) media – these fools are falling for it, hook line and sinker.
Vote for the Scottish Socialist Party or spoil your paper ffs, these charlatans in ‘Reform’ along with the SNP and any other yoon parties need chased.
Seeing that picture/description of Larkhall though ,made me realise that the douce denziens of that particular locale deserve everything they fecking get.
True about Farage but I’m more shocked that we can’t produce an independence party of integrity and achievement.
Aye, George, that pretty much sums it up for me.
FFS, Scottish footy fans will unify and get over the embarrassment of belting out some cheesy euro pop I can boogie song, and others pick up on it so it goes viral.
Now contrast that with oor supposed brightest and best highfalutin political intelligentsia who jist cannae put their wafer thin egos aside and coalesce around a simple straightforward initiative that would have started to draw on the past several years of increasing political vacuum before Reform came along and hoovered up disgruntled and disenfranchised voters.
There’s got to have been something put in the water or food chain up here that turned a country into such a coagulation of fucking imbeciles.
Said it before, but folk really need to comprehend what highly motivated folks with an agenda get up to. They put aside their differences and work together to achieve their primary objectives by continued commitment and focus whilst they doggedly pursue their intended aims. They do not let themselves get distracted from their desired end game by falling out with each other and creating unnecessary hurdles and / or pissing away time on other stuff.
The public are incredibly uninformed on a huge number of very important subjects.
I posted about it before but does anyone think the likes of Farage / Vote Leave / Matthew Elliot, Dominic Cummings, etc took their foot off the gas after the “Brexit” vote occurred.
Do folk think they all just stopped what they were doing and took up knitting or stamp collecting so you didn’t need to do anything to counter what is happening.
The utter fucking naivety and lack of sustained commitment to the cause of returning Scotland to self-governance and improving our society is incredible.
But we now have Freeports and SEZs being implemented, further exploitation of our resources, free at point of need health provision under pressure.
The nihilistic-like desire to destroy the NuSNP by allowing some other incredibly bad option to garner political ground, rather than actually working to creating a better option, is in my view just going to perpetuate the dire political situation for a more protracted time than needs be.
Continually pissing away electoral opportunities as and when they come along means many will continue to suffer because of all this.
All it took for evil to triumph was for supposedly good folk to do nothing…
“folk really need to comprehend what highly motivated folks with an agenda get up to. They put aside their differences and work together to achieve their primary objectives by continued commitment and focus whilst they doggedly pursue their intended aims. They do not let themselves get distracted from their desired end game by falling out with each other and creating unnecessary hurdles and / or pissing away time on other stuff”
One thousand upticks, Dan.
Is it something in our oh-so-precious water?
Maybe midgies carry an undiscovered parasite that saps the will.
Others might see it as some kind of genetically determined curse.
Myself, I’m more than ever convinced that Scotland is just another of these artificial countries, held together by a more powerful neighbour, but destined to fall apart into its constituent pieces if that external pressure is ever relaxed.
The Borders. The Central Belt. The Highlands and the Western Isles. Grampian, Orkney & Shetland. Four distinct and distinctive regions, with widely diverse political and economic outlooks, whose differences are unlikely to be reconciled. Once the breakup of the UK starts, I expect they will want to go their own separate ways.
When one has to resort to an analogy of an uncouth sexual act; it highlights how desperately worried and ill informed they’ve become. Erm….. you left out net zero cancellation and closing migrant hotels, which are not only to the fore but the topics for seriously installing Nigel Farage as our next sensible leader in Westminster Nigel Farage and Ross Lambie deserve that chance.
“….our next sensible leader…” LOL, parody; like it.
‘People in Scotland wake up’
Good luck with that one.
Excellent article. SNP and Labour are fools because they are on the front page speaking of their enemy Reform. So everyone is going to vote for them!?
Such as the the link to the Guardian article –
Liam tells the group: “I’ve always been a SNP and a Labour voter, but I’m running out of options now. Is Reform the change that’s needed?”
It’s “time to give someone else a chance,” says Jamie, a service engineer from Hamilton even though he thinks Farage is an “arsehole”.
Winnie Ewing will be turning in her grave!
On a different point I thought the BBC coverage of the Scottish Cup Final was as bad as I’ve ever seen. The female commentator at half time really upset me. And Scott Brown was miserable. What happened to Gordon Strachan why is he not in the tele anymore?
Yeah, was pretty rank. Couldn’t believe there wasn’t even any post-game studio analysis.
Gordon Strachan is no longer a regular pundit for Sky Sports due to controversial comments he made about Adam Johnson, a convicted sex offender, in April 2019. Strachan, who is not a Sky employee, said his remarks appeared to conflate Johnson’s situation with racial abuse. Sky Sports distanced itself from his comments and has not used him again
Interesting. Very. Quite exciting in a way. I’d so like to see the main parties getting a good drubbing!
As pointed out, the voters in that constituency have nothing to lose, and potentially have something to gain, even if it’s just the feeling of satisfaction that comes from saying ‘Fuck You, Throbbers!’, by voting ReformUK.
I particularly liked the wee quote from Jamie, the service engineer ;-)) pmsl
There’s another type of reform that has been the hot topic of two excellent articles recently . . . but more of that later.
The Independece minded electorate should abstain as they did the last westminster election. The present snp colonial administration Will see any by-election victory as conformation to their lack of involvement with salvo or any pro independence movement. Flamingoland Swinney and Freeports Forbes. Have sold out scotlands people to big business based in England for the funds to function as an party since snp/independence supporters deserted them.The snp are as much our friends as Reform They have the same paymaster.Our lifeboat is docked at the UN. The Swinney/Forbes Colonial Administration is illegal under International law the UK does not exist. The Scotland act has no legal standing. Vote for Scotland. STAY AT HOME.
“Vote for Scotland. STAY AT HOME.”
A slogan that should be on posters pasted over every bus stop, billboard and any available free wall space in Scotland leading up to ‘democratic’ elections.
Reason tells us that for an oppressed people to participate in a fake electoral system wholly owned by their oppressor and designed to ‘keep them quiet’ is not only pointless but is also harmful to their mental health as it reinforces their illusion of choice and adds to their confusion over the reality of their subjugation .
The Scots as a people are ‘out of the game’ as Alf Baird puts it.
Any notion the Scots are given real choice over what happens in their own country and over their own lives and futures and the lives and futures of subsequent generations of Scots is in itself illusory.
The ‘Flamingo Land fiasco’ is the reality of Scotland’s colonisation in microcosm – 178,000 locals utterly ignored and their democratic will casually dismissed with a wave of an arrogant imperial hand…the hand of England’s Scottish colonial administration service.
The people who have the least say in how they and their country is governed are the Scots themselves – such is the nature of colonialism.
Everybody and ther dug has more say on what happens in Scotland than the Scots themselves…even those folk from other parts who are in Scotland for a fortnight on their holidays or are just passing through.
So make a REAL choice; retain your sanity and do as Stu H suggests… vote for Scotland and STAY AT HOME.
“Everybody and ther dug has more say on what happens in Scotland than the Scots themselves…even those folk from other parts who are in Scotland for a fortnight on their holidays or are just passing through.”
So does that mean my missus has twice as much say as I have, or is it three times as much.
Haud oan though, do manboobs count?
Somebody kind, gentle and caring should take you aside, NC, and sympathetically tell you just how pathetic and whiny you sound when you post this kind of utterly whinging, cringing shite.
For Gods sake, man up.
How much money, that the SNP don’t have, was spent on the election?
Good question.
And who, other than [Redacted], has their grubby paws on the cheque book these days, now that the 3 Amigos don’t?
I definitely liked this article, especially the comment related to….. “the by-election is a free hit: you can give them both a boot in the haw-maws this year by voting Reform and still have a chance to return to “normal service” in just 11 months’ time if you feel like it.”
Oh yes, please. PLEASE.
Just for the media melt-down afterwards….and just for the slim chance that it makes some of the other politicians actually sit-up and think about their actions and choices between now and next year.
“and when you’ve got them by the balls their hearts and minds follow”.
Folks have clearly had enough of woke politicians and their crazy laws which oppress the people; which explains why astute voters are coalescing behind the anti-woke party – Reform UK.
O/T
the pride flags were removed by “persons unknown” from the route of the march in Arran
Polias alba are treating this (hate crime) very seriously we are so glad to know-NOT
“that’s a rational view for them to be taking.”
Well that’s new, have we turned a corner?
Andrew Scott @ 19.34.
More power to their elbow … I’d gladly buy them a half.
I’ll bet the blustery wind demolished them – it did for the Westend festival.
However ,I’d buy them a half too – in fact a whole bottle!
Don’t really have an issue with the gays but if I held a march and waved about flags pronouncing I was right into sodomy with my wife the very least I would get would be some strange looks.
Not quite sure what the point of pride marches are about, its not like there are counter marches from heteros that the are marching against
don’t vote for unionists
don’t vote for fake nationalists
don’t vote for people who do not represent your views
don’t vote for people who – actually fucking hate you
don’t vote for satraps
all politics is lesser evilism
tactical voting?
– unless you have some specific reason, about some particularly egregious scrofulent execrescence and tactical voting will work against them, I wouldn’t bother
don’t vote at all, or spoil the ballot – call them all cunts, ballots are supposedly read out
write things like
the SNP killed indy
or
reform is the english bastard party
or
the greens are a death cult of paedos whose hard drives should be sent to special branch
or why not get creative
if farage entices as an edgy protest vote, think on this
link to youtube.com
link to archive.ph
Aye, Confused, if only Humous were fielding a candidate, eh?
Then you’d have somebody you could endorse.
Maybes in 2026.
It has just been announced in the press that the UK government has stated that it will build new munitions factories in the UK will any be in Scotland as they are all quick to mention the shipyards on the Clyde and how they are dependent on contracts from the MOD.
Recently Rheinmetal are reported to have made a deal to build
a gun factory in Britain could John Swinney not have made a deal with them which if not could contradict the above arguement and undermine Starmer.
Or will Scotland only be regarded for Gruinard or the Beaufort dyke
Should * we * really be clamouring for a few crumbs to fall in our direction from the utterly insane ” Military Keynsian ” policy being advocated by the cartoonishly stupid / unhinged Queer Starmer ” Labour ” Gov ?
The pampered , petulant children that control the EU/NATO are proposing to spend trillions of euros – at the behest of the Yanks – on ” defence ” , at a time when their economies and societies are imploding and the UK – having effectively rejoined that thoroughly corrupted collection of clowns – is in complete lockstep with this latest wheeze to siphon vast quantities of public money into the sweaty , insatiable palms of predatory Corporations .
Where do you think the money to fuel this proposed cancerous expansion of the Arms ( in reality , Death ) Industry will come from ?
It will come from the death of public services – some of which are vital ; the accelerated selling off/out of the NHS ; zero investment in crucial infrastructure ; higher income tax ; council tax , the greatest burden of which will fall on the lowest earners ; frozen/devalued ( by inflation ) pensions ( remember the sheer arrogance of that fckn buffoon so-called * leader of NATO – Rutte – TELLING us * we * will have to sacrifice things like pensions to pay for this massive transfer of public monies to private Corporations : a cunt who is extravagantly paid , with a salary and pension ordinary workers could only dream of telling us WE have to accept diminishing financial safeguards FFS ) .
Is THIS what Scotland should be aggrieved about ?
Instead of spending obscene amounts of money in supposed * defence * against the latest chimeric , manufactured/ deliberately invoked/provoked bogeymen , what if those vast amounts were spent on creating well-paid jobs repairing the neglected/decrepit infrastructures of our cities ; creating quality homes , roads , public buildings ; preserving/improving our parks , rivers , woodlands and landscapes – urban & rural – generally ?
In short….how about spending that money on Peace ; rather than life/soul-destroying , neverending horrifically brutal War ?
Instead of wasting time and energy trying to secure Scotland a tiny slice of the blood money generated by the business of Death , we should focus our entire time and energy in getting Scotland out and away from the poisonous clutches of it’s demented , delusional kidnapper – England .
It’s a view I suppose Robert, but I wonder how much support your views about defence spending have in either the pro-independence movement or the broader Scottish electorate Robert? You are of course perfectly entitled to believe and campaign for lower defence spending, or even zero defence spending if that’s what you’d prefer. I know there are plenty of folk out there who oppose NATO membership and think we should just let Putler have his way, but all the evidence is that your views are very much in the minority.
It’s inconceivable to most of us that post independence Scotland will exist in some sophomoric fantasy land as a neutral country, outside NATO, spending little or nothing on defence, opposing the production of defence equipment and armaments in Scotland and existing in splendid isolation. I have my doubts any party campaigning on such a platform would get much support, but perhaps time will tell.
It seems to me a strange conceit of the nuttier far left fringes of the independence movement that Scotland will almost uniquely amongst our European neighbours plough its own furrow post independence.
It’s great to see the popularity of independence increasing according to recent polls – particularly in the event that Reform do well in the UK, but it’s worth bearing in mind that most of that increase in recent months will be coming from disillusioned Scottish unionists who will be overwhelmingly pro NATO, pro EU and even less likely than existing independence supporters to accept sub-RISE/SSE/CND student politics.
“It’s inconceivable to most of us that post independence Scotland will exist in some sophomoric fantasy land as a neutral country, outside NATO, spending little or nothing on defence, opposing the production of defence equipment and armaments in Scotland and existing in splendid isolation. I have my doubts any party campaigning on such a platform would get much support”
Inconceivable it may be, but we should remind ourselves at this point that such absurd far left, wet behind the ears, sub 14-year old schoolboy politics no doubt formed the *actual policies* and political mantra of the Scottish Government (SNP/Green under NS) merely months ago?
I’m old enough to remember Michael Foot’s Labour Party of the early 80s which was openly aligned to the CND with far left tendencies (albeit at least in this case, the loons were nowhere near the levers of power and had to wait 20 years before finally being able to start blowing up the economy again in 2008, after 11 years in power at that point).
Fundamentally, it all comes back to the need for politicians to have had a successful, “real”
career in the private sector as is oft discussed here by other posters – a view I entirely concur with. Let’s face it, 20 years’ exposure in the Darwinian furnace of “the real world” is going to iron out such nonsense.
@Captain Caveman 9.49am
I take your point about the quality of the wet-behind-the-ears politics of the devolved administration, but the point is that the SNP abandoned opposition to NATO because it knew such sophomoric politics had limited electoral appeal, particularly if it wanted to construct a majority from former (braodly) Atlanticist, pro-NATO unionist voters.
Similarly, a large part of the reason Foote’s Labour was in the political wilderness for so long was its dogmatic attachment to wedge issue politics with scant popular resonance (see also SNP & gender woo!).
The fact is defence companies employ thousands of people across Scotland, many of them in high tech industries providing taxes, innovation and opportunities which help fund spending. There’s no reason why post independence Scotland can’t be building e.g. warships for out own and foreign navies and supplying other equipment in a range of areas, just as many companies in our near neighbours do.
There’s no political mileage post independence suiciding our defence industrial base in the name of being a European Costa Rica with no defence forces at all.
No surprise , in fact , totally predictable that an Arms Industry employee like you would leap to the , defence of the set-up that keeps you in the comfortable lifestyle you enjoy
That ” Chelsea Tractor ” you drive didn’t come cheap , eh Andy .
” Putler ” ahahahahahahaha . Say no more . I hear V.P eats babies for breakfast : can you confirm this story , Sherlock ?
” sophomoric ” ahahahahahaha . FFS , Andy , are you really STILL using that sad little term ? Aye , ye ur . LOL
” Broader Scottish electorate ” , sigh ….there you go again , making the ridiculous assumption you can speak for the opinions/feelings of 1000s of people you’ve never met .
Here’s the thing , Andy , no one who has read your comments over the last few years takes anything you say seriously : oh sure , you have a tiny smattering of support from dafties who get their views supplied to them from MSM and – for the pseudo- intullektuls , form the useless joke of * left wing * ( lol ) ” newspaper ” – the Guardian ; and that sick fuck – Main – who condones atrocities like the bombing of starving children in THAT Hell-On-Earth ; as you do too .
Can there be anything more morally depraved than bombing starving children ? THAT is what you and your oh-so-sensible cohort have been the enablers of .
So don’t fuckn lecture me in your superior tone about what’s right and wrong or what the ” broader Scottish electorate ” thinks – as if an insulated Middle Class lifestyle ponce like you has his finger on the pulse of * ordinary * people’s views – views which for the most part are derived from the propaganda purveyors that call themselves * News * Outlets – how can we know what such a disperate group thinks , how can we give credence to what people believe to be true when every MSM source does nothing but spew the same regurgitated intelligence-insulting lies , projected demons and tells us who to hate 24/7
You have forfeited ANY right to pontificate on the mores or political judgement of anyone . You’ve been consistently wrong about everything of importance in recent times ; but rather have the humility to concede this fact you are doubling-down on your seriously warped / laughably inaccurate opinions .
@Andy Ellis says: 1 June, 2025 at 10:11 am
“industries providing taxes, innovation and opportunities which help fund spending”
I’d certainly like to think there are enough disbelievers in the Scottish magic money tree to overrule in the real world the whiny fantasists that post on here.
Talking of the real world:
link to edition.cnn.com
Another icy cold draft of reality down the necks of those Scots who made the lifestyle choice to sit on their erses and hold their hands out. Studiously ignored on here, of course.
Bob says:
What our ever generous host describes as “wanking on and on”.
@Robert – it’s an amusing pattern on here that those railing against “warmongers” or the “death industry” are normally doing so in the context of a certain country in Eastern Europe defending itself against an invasion by its neighbour. I equally find amusing the implication within the 0% on defence camp that rUK would continue to defend a newly independent Scotland, surely one of the reasons to become independent is precisely not to have to rely on the capability of the larger neighbour to the south.
@Andy Ellis
I find myself in almost complete agreement with your post. The only thing I’d take slight issue with would be an independent Scotland’s ability to manufacture and successfully sell/market large scale hardware like warships et al (though I know you’ll differ here of course).
To sound a slightly pessimistic note, one does have to consider the truly dire calibre of the Scottish political talent pool right now (even worse than the clowns in WM, who are slightly less clueless). If Scotland were independent tomorrow, is there any realistic mechanism to clear out the stables and replace this lot with people who are up to snuff, who have the nous needed to do the things you allude to?
It’s not a problem with the Scottish people per se of course, whose calibre remains as high as ever (in my humble opinion), but the inability of its political system to promote and insert people worthy and able to competently lead the country. (Like I said, hardly a uniquely Scottish problem, but it does seem particularly bad even by dire contemporary standards).
Bluntly put, there’s a pressing and urgent need – and public appetite – to keep swivel-eyed loons and/or the clueless away from actual levers of power.
@Captian Caveman
I don’t see why an independent Scotland would be any less able to produce the kind of ships or indeed any other complex weapons systems or platforms than Scotland within the union produces? Both the Clyde and Rosyth are currently doing so and there’s no real reason we can’t continue to do so post indy: if the Danes, Norwegians and Swedes can do it there’s no real reason to suppose it’s beyond our ken.
Indeed it is at least arguable – and I’ve argued it as far back as 2012-14 during the indyref1 campaign – that an independent Scotland will in fact be in a better position in defence and security terms than it is now. We can probably spend less than we currently contribute towards the UK defence budget and actually gain more by spending more of the post independence defence budget inside Scotland, and deciding what our own priorities will be in terms of what to buy, what to build ourselves and what our defence posture will be and where our bases will be sited.
Having a few billion pounds a year to spend will ensure that lots of other countries will be keen to do business with us and potentially do offset agreements in return for us buying their systems rather than those of the opposition.
Robert, I think you’ve hit a nerve at 77th Hq! lol
Not one, not two, not three, not four but FIVE unionist pricks roused from their slumbers to “…speak for the majority of Scots…”
Wonder if any of them have actually met any?
Warmongering bastards, IMHO.
A couple of excellent posts there, Robert.
“The SNP have been accused of threatening Scotland’s national security after blocking plans to build a specialist welding centre on the banks of the Clyde. Rolls-Royce were set to invest £11m in the facility but proposals fell apart after Scottish Government quango Scottish Enterprise pulled a £2.5m grant.
Specialist equipment worth £11m was set to be provided by Rolls-Royce which would have helped boost Scotland’s faltering shipbuilding industry. However, the economic development agency decided not to go ahead with funding it due to a SNP ban on “munitions” funding.
The Nats have a policy not to invest in arms companies, and the welding centre would “support the construction of naval vessels” meaning it would be a munitions scheme. Rivals highlighted that this stance was “student politics” and had prevented new jobs and new investment in Scotland.”
link to scottishdailyexpress.co.uk
Seems like something of an own goal. There is of course an element of the movement which is resolutely anti-NATO or even pacifist in nature and plenty of folk advocating an Irish approach to spending basically SFA on defence and security on the basis that we’ll be uniquely immune to any pressure from malign actors for all time.
In the real world however, most Scots will be pretty incredulous that we shouldn’t spend a reasonable amount on our own defence post independence, just like our neighbours in Scandinavia – particularly given recent events and the potential for the USA to abandon NATO altogether.
Developing a strong shipbuilding capability (both military and commercial) presupposes increasing the number and quality of welders and other trades. Such welding can of course be useful for all sorts of fabrication including offshore energy and renewables structures.
There are plenty of examples of world leading defence contractors in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Building defence equipment for our own needs and for export will support thousands of jobs, many of them highly skilled and high earning. The British nationalist state will be dependant on Scottish shipyards post independence for an extended period: they can’t simply snap their fingers and replace existing capacity on the Clyde and in Rosyth overnight.
Even if that is their long term plan, the newly independent Scottish state will be able to build it’s own ships for our own navy (just as our Norwegian, Danish and Swedish friends do) and spend our own money on other defence equipment, whether developed and produced domestically or bought from abroad, again just like virtually every other independent state does.
The advocates of the far-left student politics approach to defence and security are likely to find themselves severely disappointed post independence, because their views simply don’t reflect those of the overwhelming majority.
Great news.
Let’s get some well paid manufacturing jobs back north of the border. Let’s use our own resources, such as plentiful coal, to get steel and feedstock chemicals production going.
Let’s get some of our young people into steady work, not food delivery gigs, so they can build decent lives for their families.
Let’s tell the whiny, gurnin, commie pinkos to shut it, or we’ll stop their hand outs.
Let’s send all the reality deniers (looking at you Bob) to live for 6 months somewhere where the air raid sirens sound just about every night. Even if that won’t shut them up with their chuntering about imaginary bogey men, maybe they’ll be too busy sleeping during the day to post on here.
…Any idea who was responsible for fucking up all the heavy manufacturing industries we used to have…
Big Country – Steeltown (with steel making vid)
link to youtube.com
The saddest thing is the likely low turnout. If more voted and, perhaps spoiled their ballots, any signal would be more powerful.
“The saddest thing” is that independence is more likely with Farage than Swinney:
link to thenational.scot
Better the deil ye ken…..
Aye, Alf.
If Indy comes, it has to be the right kind of ideologically sound Indy.
If it’s the wrong kind, we’ll tell them to stuff it right up their goitre.
For any colonised group ‘the most urgent matter is freeing the people’ (Memmi) and removing an oppressor.
Political ideologies of whatever hue are for after independence, to be decided only by the liberated people who are no longer subject to external interference and domination.
Which is why policies of left and right are merely a needless diversion for now.
@Robert Hughes 10.21am
So is your position that it’s bad for anyone to work for a company that does defence work then Bob? That’s quite a few thousand Scots…and many more who are indirectly in the supply chain, quite apart from all the money contributed to the Scottish economy. I’ve worked for companies in various industries in my career and have absolutely no issue working for those involved in defence and security. Again, that’s overwhelmingly likely to be the majority view amongst ordinary Scots: you don’t speak for more than handful of fringe nutters and never have.
I doubt what I drive counts as a Chelsea tractor: it’s probably smaller than the average in todays world of SUV’s. Having such a vehicle wouldn’t really be practical given that I live in the middle of the city. My current 1.2 ltr petrol vehicle routinely gets >50 mpg….or is your point à la Scottish Greens that I should be cycling everywhere? Might take me a bit of a while to cycle the 40 odd miles to work of a morning, but would do wonders for my fitness I suppose?
I’ve never claimed to talk on the opinions/feelings of 1000’s of other Scots I’ve never met Bob: you seem a tad confused. I’ve simply pointed out that my very “mainstream” views are those of the overwhelming majority of Scots, as evidenced by polls and the Scottish social attitudes surveys. In opposition, all you have are your feelz and it appears what the other folk in your scheme or at the bar of the local Clansman equivalent you doubtless frequent. Don’t try and tar everyone else with the brush of your own inadequacies Bob.
I hear over on Twitter/X that Rev Stu is in receipt of some bombshell polling evidence that will upset some of the usual suspects: five will get you ten you and they will loudly proclaim that you don’t believe in polls (except those that back up what passes for your points) in much the same way brexiteers & MAGA types don’t believe in experts.
I’m intrigued to know what issue/s you feel I’ve been consistently wrong about over the years Bob: I’ve certainly missed any evidence of such wrong think. Please feel free to point out where I’ve gone wrong and your evidence to back it up.
Surely in this place in particular given Rev Stu’s record of providing chapter and verse rebuttals of “things that are wrong” you have easy examples to hand. We’ll wait.
Incoming!
This should be interesting! Rev Stu just posted the following on twitter/X:
“Have just taken delivery of some EXTREMELY interesting polling results. Some of it is going to blow your minds tbh.
For one thing, you’re finally going to find out how the people of Scotland REALLY feel about the conflict in Gaza.”
link to x.com
The next 11 months is vital for Scotland. The simple arithmetic message must be got across that the Holyrood votes MUST be for different entities for the constituency and the regional list.
The same grassroots drive as we had in 2014 needs to be applied to this message.
As all we readers of Wings know, Scotland is being plundered and weakened in every respect at a faster and faster rate. Everyone who cares about Scotland’s existence must help in the task of improving the quality of MSP, and the numbers who are real Scottish patriots, so that, pending direct democracy, we will get better administration AND serious attempts to remove us from the Union.
What exactly will we be stockpiling this ammunition for. Is it for the defence and security of Scotland and its people. Or is it to maintain A foreign colonial power over our people and resources.The world is a dangerous place.We have nuclear submarines 30 miles from glasgow.Will they bring jobs in ammunition factory’s to Aberdeen, Dundee, and Edinburgh. Ammunition Storage facilities to Perth Inverness and Stirling. Then call it a Union dividend. £1.5 Billion is a small price our colonial masters have to pay to ensure Scotlands subjugation.We wont build them if you vote for independence will be the cry.With the desired insurance policy of if it goes pear shaped a few drones in the right place means.l Lucy Fraser(mp) gets her dream of genocide in Scotland. And you can bet your bottom dollar flamingoland Swinney and freeports Forbes will have there accountants buying up shares in these new company’s via a new Mc VIP LANE.In ww2 Winston Churchill,s goverment had plans made up to abandon Scotland and make a stand on the English border if the Germans invaded through Norway. He famously said. (WE) will fight them on the beaches and never Surrender. Then missed out the bit unless the beaches are on the coast of Scotland.Invading a country and it’s territory is as act of war. In 1999 The English stole 6000sq miles of Scotlands maritime waters.That does not happen in a supposedly all pulling together inclusive voluntary united union.The most successful Union ever created they say.That is illegal under international laws of the sea.On thursday Scots will be asked to vote for Swinneys colonial administration in Scotland. The torys and 60% of labour will vote Reform. If you want your say.Vote for Scotland and stay at home.
Excellent post.
Another good one from Stu H.
Robert Harris’s novel ‘Conclave’ is about the death of a Pope and the ensuing search for a new one by the College of Cardinals under the leadership of its dean, Thomas Lawrence. There is a movie spawned by Harris’s book by the same name starring Ralph Fiennes as Lawrence.
There’s a scene where Lawrence reads the scriptures to the assembled cardinals followed by an improvised homily in which he tells of what he now believes is the greatest sin of all.
Lawrence tells his audience: “There is one sin which I have come to fear above all others…certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance…”
There is way too much certainty kickin’ aboot on planet Earth and nowhere near enough unity and tolerance. A wee bit more doubt might make folk think before they launch themselves over a cliff-edge into certain disaster…into the fathomless unknowable abyss of certainty.
I’m going to indulge myself, though, and admit to being certain about one thing…Scotland is a colonised territory illegally annexed by England.
If only we had a national bard who could pen a poem about a character quoting religious authority against the kind of thinking and behaviour which that character then goes on to adopt, eh NC?
Maybe our hypothetical national bard could call the poem something like Holy Willie’s Prayer.
We can make a difference. We have 11 months to get the message out that we must have 2 different choices – one on the list and a different one on the constituency.
It’s a simple message but the MSM and SNP, nor Unionists, will spell it out.
Surely we can all do something to make the difference.