Some of the more cynical independence supporters among our readership may today be asking themselves “What is it that Labour are trying to bury today with all this ludicrously farcical ‘Labour For Independence’ business?”
Allow us to suggest a few possibilities.
“Independence ‘yes’ camp given fillip by welfare analysis: Institute for Fiscal Studies says independent Scotland could discard ‘poorly designed’ Westminster reforms”
(“McColm! Never mind checking the facts, get that story out NOW!”)
“I think one of the difficulties a Labour Party member would say to you, and I would say to you, I have difficulty knowing what we stand for now. Do you know, because I don’t, our position on welfare, do you know our position on education, do you know our genuine position on how we’d run the health service?”
(Join the club, Labour MP George Mudie.)
“Defence ministers have admitted the UK has been forced to pull out of key Nato naval defence groups in a sign of just how stretched the Royal Navy has become. The MoD has acknowledged it has not provided a frigate or destroyer for Nato’s maritime group defending the North and East Atlantic since 2009.”
(Wait, wasn’t it independence that would make us a “second-rate” power?)
“There is a lot of press around North Sea Oil being in decline, but the truth is there is still 30 – 40 years left in the North Sea and that estimate increases all the time as new fields are discovered and come online.”
(Are you sure? That nice Mr Darling said it was nearly gone.)
“Labour’s poll lead has been slashed to three points despite Britons declaring a dislike for coalition government, a new survey has revealed.”
(And if you assume a third of UKIP will go back to the Tories when it comes to the crunch in a general election, the Tories are actually ahead, in mid-term.)
Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure. Probably just coincidence.
Fit’s yer problem wi…
Not a squirrel, an American Tree Rat and the bird in the background is an aerial rat. I wonder if the article has something to do with “Scottish” Labour?
Bloody immigrant grey squirrels eating all our indigenous nuts.
BTW rats are quite clean, sociable and intelligent. A lot better than Westminster politicians and especially the ones in the “other place”.
Regarding oil fields.
We’ve identified 579 “Suitable” fields worldwide already,most of these are in the North Sea.
Quote by Alan Minty,CEO of Enegi Oil Plc.
But of course if Mr Darling says the oil is running out it must be ..musnt it?.
The Great Deception continues.
The oil is NOT running out. In 1979 we were told it would only last twenty years, so the oil in fact has ALREADY RUN OUT!
FACT!
oh, and back on topic, the thing we’re being distracted from is the Absence of Johan Lamont. Anyone else think this shift in “Policy” if I can call it that towards LFI Might just co-incide with a shift in power????
@handclapping
Did you know the humble wood pigeon is the largest pigeon in Europe, and heres a mind boggling fact about old woody pigeon, his feathers weigh more than his skeleton.
Rev,
Seeing as how BMcD is clearly not up for any debate, phone calls or anything else, couldn’t we have a kind of ‘dry-run’ with some lesser YES/BT reps?
What if you extended the same invitation to Yes Scotland and BT, but they can pick who they want (they don’t even have to use their real names) and you host/moderate them right here. We could voluntarily shut-up for the duration, or conduct our own ‘analysis’ on a separate thread.
It’s just an idea, but it would be interesting to see how the respective camps responded.
For a long time I thought you could get splinters from wood pigeons, and if you touched a stool pigeon, well, you had to wash your hands afterwards.
Andy-B Interesting fact that. We have an interesting pairing at our bird table of a young feral pigeon and a wood pigeon. Do they ever mate?
Now that could be seen as a Labour/SNP coalition. Hahahaha.
Johann Lamont has given an interview in Pink News supporting equal marriage.
Very commendable Johann.
Now, perhaps you could give us your views on LfI, bedroom tax, welfare reform, food banks, Trident, recent polling results, anything…
Mr Darling must know something the oil companies don’t. There is huge onshore investment going on around Aberdeen these days. People in the oil business say the industry is in excellent shape. Many are also bemused by all this excitment about fracking – apparently, unlike the USA, the potential reserves in the UK are tiny by comparison. Hardly worth the effort. The question is, why is Westminster so keen to start fracking? It must be worth a few bob to someone, I guess!
The Leader of Scottish Labour must be a mole – she has gone undergound. Things must be really hot above ground. Even McCavity Brown never managed to disappear for that length of time!
related, but slightly o/t
Seriously, this is now beyond a joke, where oh where is Lamont. Has she left the country for good? Has she become a trappist monk?? or ran away with the circus??? Is she working at the Greggs factory in Gateshead, making pies for big jackie???
Perhaps she is getting intensive tuition in how to answer journalists without sounding like a dipstick.
Lamont is at present the supposed ‘leader’ of Labour in Scotland, yet has been absent for a very long time, aside from orchestrated once a week appearances at FMQ’s (which stopped a few weeks ago).
Falkirk – no comment available
Trident- no comment available
Scottish oil – no comment available
Welfare cuts – no comment available
Do members of the Labour party even care anymore??
@Helena – I couldnt resist and am sure there are one or two others but if Alistair Darling was mated with Blair McDougall on your bird table would they be :
‘Darling Duds of Nay?’
@Luigi
Propaganda – a) to try to take the shine off the prospect of Scotland getting to contol its own natural resources (yah-boo we’ve got some too we don’t need yours) and b) to try to ensure that there’ll be less panic down south when we do so.
Luigi – The mole surfaced today to congratulate Willie Haughey on his peerage and hey it was a bargain at £1.3 mil to the labour party – it is beyond sickening.
Is there anything less ‘honourable’ than the way Westminster politicians have behaved towards Scotland.
Lies and mega-deceit are the stock in trade, so wretchedly contemptible that even a conman (or woman) would have resigned in shame.
Annie,
A quick head above ground to test the air! I am sure she bolted back down the mole tunnel quickly, before someone asked her an awkward question!
Rev, how about putting together a list of questions for JL when she finally surfaces, starting with simple ones, such as:
“Where have you been during the past 8 weeks?”
and there is
link to twitter.com
Blair MacDougall is a Tory.
MajorB,
There is already a slight wiff of panic in the air – growing stronger every day!
Regarding the oil, truly the BBC have reached new levels of propagandism, twisting the McCrone report (which showed that Scotland would have been one of the wealthiest countries in the world, if England hadn’t stolen Scotland’s oil) into a ‘too wee, too poor story’, about how Scotland will not be able to afford an oil fund. Oh, poor wee Scotland, cursed with 60% of Europe’s oil reserves.
The BBC really have demonstrated over the last two years, that up here in Scotland, they are nothing other than a pro Brittania BritNAT, anti Scotland propaganda outfit.
I’m not even going to encourage their disgraceful anti democracy and anti Scotland propaganda by providing the source link.
Fortunately the REAL state broadcaster, has written an excellent piece on the subject of oil
link to bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk
A few comments regarding BT and other unionist recent rants.
Surely if as BT claim LSI is an SNP front and some of their members, (official Labours), have been consorting with the enemy, that must be in contravention of their membership, so official Labour should be taking steps to kick them out, something that hasn’t been mentioned!
Next, I can’t have been the only one who saw Gavin McCrone on Newsnight Scotland last night, who was struck by his refusal to answer some of the questions, after all he is entitled to his opinion, but I couldn’t help but think it was because if he gave an honest one it would expose his bias toward the union to such an extent that it would be obvious, but it did have me checking back on a bit in his famous report where he uses the expression, ‘I think the conclusion is that the most convincing way of taking the wind out of the SNP’s sails is by demonstrating that we now have policies which can make major in-roads into these problems’.
Note the We, I also think that it was not in his Civil Service remit to be supplying suggestions such as this to any party of government!
I was also struck by the fact that in the report he barely mentions Wales or NI and one of his favorite terms seems to be England and how North Sea Oil and Scottish independence would effect it, as in, ‘Britain is now counting so heavily on North Sea oil to redress it’s balance of payments that it is easy to imagine England in dire straights without it’, sadly the programme seemed to run out of time before such points could be raised! Nor of course was he asked anything about the most intriguing part of his report, the bit that says, ‘ and it is now likely that transfer of North Sea oil to Scottish ownership would occasion much bitterness in England if not an attempt to forcibly prevent it.
Aye, it’s a real problem, those massive North Sea oil reserves. What rotten luck! An independent Scotland just wouldn’t be able to cope. How lucky all those other small independent countries were, without the volatility of oil price to hold them back.
Wings, I’ve asked the following a few times, in a more or less jokey manner, but since you appear to be one of the better informed sources around I think it might be time to ask directly.
Do you, or anyone you’ve got contact with, know where the leader of Scottish Labour currently is? She didn’t comment on Falkirk, presumably told to keep out of it, but she’s also been completely silent on LFI and, of all things, the Royal sprog. Every other major political leader in Scotland issued congratulations; Anas Sarwar stepped forward for Labour.
Now, when you see Anas Sarwar commenting on everything supposedly in his role of deputy, and no sign of the dear leader… it starts to beg a question. Has there been regicide at Scottish Labour?
“Do you, or anyone you’ve got contact with, know where the leader of Scottish Labour currently is?”
I don’t know what her physical location is, but she did show up this afternoon to
bitterly condemn the undemocratic, unsocialist exercise of privilege in the awarding of peeragesobsequiously pat our new lords and ladies on the back for becoming much better than plebs like us.There is also the issue of dishing out peerages to party donors.
Same old corrupt you scratch our back stuff.
link to scottishindy2014.wordpress.com
sorry if its a repost, seems that labour aren’t in any position to be calling out anyone for misrepresenting….
Thanks. So, she’s alive, then. Completely and utterly out of the way, but alive.
Ah well; nothing’s perfect.
RE oil and gas.
There’s a good reason Westminster is going like a bat out of hell on getting fracking up and running in England. Well you don’t want to be overly reliant on the neighbours do you? Would ease the concerns of the electorate too.
Just in case it hadn’t crossed anyone’s mind.
@Helena brown
Re Woody wood pigeon.
Ive no idea if they mate, but I do know the grey pigeons with the two dark bands on their wings, are the real pigeons, their true name is “Rock Doves” I take it all other variations of the humble Doo!..are of the Heinz variety.
Lamont breaks her long silence on Falkirk and other matters by …eh congratulating Sir Willie Haughey, the well-known west of Scotland SLAB (patronage rewarder, media darling, luvvie) philanthropist. Proof if any was needed, that SLAB are more interested in seeing their own supporters rewarded by the British establishment, than any concern for the welfare of the people of Scotland. Arise Sir William H. in your ermine, your pursuit of social justice has taken a turn for the (worse) better, you have now reached the same arena as fellow SLAB (chancers) luminaries, such as Jack McConnell and George Foulkes.
@Rev Stu: Can’t get the score through button to work?
Re oil R4 tonight at 8.30pm.
Labour/Tory blood boiling buffoonery induces media propaganda parody.
link to twitter.com
Like so many others on here I too have been totally bemused by the long absence of Lamont. I have spent many a sleepless night worrying, naw only joking, about where the most formidable leader of our times was. I think I now know where she has been, she has in fact been kicked out of office by her side kick (apologies for the pun) Sarwar who is the NEW “leader” of Labour in Scotland.
Alternatively perhaps she has been in London organising her new cloak of Ermine. After all if Annabel Goldie can get her paws on a cloak of Ermine then surely a cloak of ermine is the very least Johann can expect demand!
Luigi says: MajorB, There is already a slight wiff of panic in the air – growing stronger every day!
I’m glad it’s just that: I thought I’d stood in a stool pigeon again.
I shan’t be watching but Allan Grogan of Labour for Independence is on Newsnicht tonight.
This stuff about the unknown whereabouts of Johann Lamont…who cares?
Like the pigeons, it’s much ado about nothing.
J.Lamont.
They seek her here, they seek her there, those journos seek her everywhere.
Is she in heaven, is she in hell, that damned elusive labour belle.
Did Allan Grogan really say there was only 13000 SLAB in Scotland?