The Toady
It’s hard to believe that it’s barely six months since grassroots SNP members rushed to the defence of Glasgow Cathcart MSP James Dornan when it looked like the party’s woke wing had pushed him out of his seat for electoral vampire Rhiannon Spear.
The loud uproar over a crooked NEC meeting that effectively deselected Dornan – the same one that stitched up Joanna Cherry – saw him reinstated as candidate, although the decision over Cherry wasn’t reversed. But the warning shot across Dornan’s bows clearly worked, because look at the state of him now.
Ever since the summer fiasco Dornan has been the most obsequiously loyal follower of the leadership in the entire party, but today’s tweet is a new low.
Alex Salmond – already perhaps half a million pounds out of pocket from defending himself against false allegations cooked up by the SNP – has spent tens of thousands more of his own money trying to assist the Holyrood committee which is pretending to investigate the giant shambles the Scottish Government made of the whole affair.
(It’s the Scottish Government, not Salmond, who is meant to be under “scrutiny” there. Salmond is voluntarily offering the committee his help in their task.)
He’s had to hire a team of expensive lawyers for months to wade through hundreds and hundreds of documents to establish what he is and isn’t allowed to talk about, under pain of prosecution by the grotesquely compromised Crown Office if he says the wrong thing. He’s been threatened with jail if he tells the truth, threatened with jail if he doesn’t tell the truth, and threatened with jail if he doesn’t turn up.
(Having survived the Scottish Government and Police Scotland sparing no expense in a massive operation to put him in jail over the false allegations, endured a months-long trial by media beforehand, been found innocent on all charges by a mostly-female jury drawn from Scotland’s most Unionist city, and then endured a third trial at the hands of unaccountable Scottish Government-funded quangos protected by anonymity and backed by the same media.)
His key written submissions, as well as the submissions of anyone who can support his claims about what happened, have been systematically hidden from the committee. When the inquiry makes any sort of effort to get its hands on any meaningful evidence, it’s blocked at every turn by the Scottish Government and the Crown Office and its own SNP convener and the committee’s other three SNP members.
It’s a Kafkaesque situation, where an innocent man trying to serve the Scottish public by telling it the truth has been put in an impossible situation where literally anything he does could get him locked up. And yet people who owe their careers to him – Dornan was a serial failure in elections for years until he was swept into his seat by Salmond’s 2011 landslide – now crowd around jeering while the entire machinery of the Scottish establishment is deployed to try to batter Salmond into silence.
In fact, the only election Dornan didn’t lose between 2003 and his 2011 victory was the 2009 by-election in Glasgow North-East, when he stood down amid controversy over his financial affairs.
So with retirement looming – Dornan will be 73 by the time the next Holyrood election comes round – perhaps it’s not surprising that he’s willing to debase himself without limits to hang onto his nice £65K-a-year job with its generous pension contributions.
He’s already been a central figure in the appalling stitch-up of Mark McDonald – the essential preliminary step in the campaign against Alex Salmond – where he casually destroyed a colleague’s career and life over a mobile phone’s autocorrect error (and more proven-false allegations from a woman hiding behind anonymity) to curry favour with the leadership. And it looks as though they know Dornan will keep jumping every time they yank his string.
We have no idea whether Alex Salmond will appear in front of the inquiry this coming Tuesday or not. We suspect that Salmond himself still hasn’t decided, torn between a desire to tell his side of the story by the book and the need to protect himself against further malicious prosecutions – which we know are the favourite tactic of the current Crown Office and Lord Advocate, knowing that if anyone should discover them they get to investigate themselves and proclaim themselves innocent.
If we were him, the option of just walking away from the irretrievably broken inquiry and holding a press conference instead would be a pretty attractive one, sullied only by the knowledge that Scotland’s media are every bit as bent as the SNP and not much more likely to give him a fair hearing.
But either way we doubt he’ll give much thought to the opinions of the wretched James Dornan, or any of the rest of the craven, snivelling henchmen of the masked criminal gangsters now running the SNP. And sooner or later, whenever justice and the rule of law finally return to Scotland, everyone will get what’s coming to them.
Well said Stuart. Its just too depressing.
Good Dornan Vietnam.
Well said Stu
That miserable wee shlte Dornan is as dodgy as they come.
A little weasel. Nuff said.
I saw Dornan’s latest bit of brown nosing and was going to reply but there is no point as he is a lost cause. I am not sure if the residents of his constituency would have noticed much difference if Rhiannon had replaced him as was the plan at one point. A spineless little man.
Sadly we see SNP officials who are tuned to the moon and insist we all follow
Or we see those supporting irresponsible colleagues
or equally bad we see so many office bearers fearing for their lucrative jobs
Knowing that ignoring public opinion may finish them, stick by silently party idiocy.
Nauseating sycophancy and seriously estranged from the truth.Take a long hard look at yourself Dornan.
Well said.
His baws are so much in Nicola’s tight grasp I’m surprised he’s not Tweeting in a high voice.
I cannot imagine being so in someone’s thrall as to come out with that
@kapelmeister – that’s the best contribution I have read in many weeks. Well done sir.
I have to agree with you Stu, maybe Alex should just go quietly into retirement although I doubt that option holds many attractions for him. I’m thoroughly sickened by the current SNP, it’s not the one I joined or campaigned for over the years and it still pains me to have walked away from membership myself. I get that it’s politics and power play that have got the SNP to where it is today, as the old saying goes “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely “, and with no opposition in Scotland that’s how the SNP view themselves – untouchable. It’s just the most horrific shitshow and I hate what it’s doing to the Independence movement, yet it seems hardly to matter to the party. I’ve signed up for Now Scotland and I’m also considering the ISP as the recipient of my monthly donation no longer being paid to the SNP. Where would we be without you Rev? Feel free to spend this months donation on Gin.
I have ZERO time or respect for Dornan who had a go at me on twitter [called into a pile-on by Cameron Archibald aka MammothGob] in the Mark McDonald stitch-up by the pouty painted one!
I believe AS will be better served by ignoring the whole damned lot of them, and I personally wouldn’t give them the ammo of a press conference [though I’d be seriously considering legal action for a malicious prosecution against the CO]
Did anyone note that the Law Society is hoping to bring in swingeing reforms to justice & the justiciary?
A real weasel of a man (apologies to weasels everywhere).
Have these people any self-respect or troubled by a conscience?
30 pieces of silver comes to mind, as does Uriah Heep .
Yuk!!
Good article. I was thinking that this week, that Mr Dornan benefitted from a good old rally round then appears to not return the favour. I’m sure Alex Salmond won’t forget him.
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Bob Mack says:
6 February, 2021 at 1:29 pm
30 pieces of silver comes to mind, as does Uriah Heep .
Yuk!!
Uriah DREEP would be more fitting! “Ah’ve wiped better aff the lavvy seat in the pub”
When you lose respect and hope for an organisation, its the organisation which leaves you. Getting clearer everyday what I should do with my constituency vote this May. Sad times for all of us wanting the truth to come out.
Salmond should crowdfund his legal costs.
He raised a fortune when he had allegations hanging over him. He’ll raise more now that he’s acquitted.
This is probably inappropriate but at least it’s legal.
There’s a whirlwind about to be reaped in certain quarters.
Must admit the mask is a great improvement on Dornan! He’s a liar tho’ when he says he only blocked unionists, he blocked me [a fellow member at the time] for questioning the veracity of “the pouty, painted one”‘s statement.
‘Kapelmeister says:
6 February, 2021 at 1:15 pm
Good Dornan Vietnam.’
Today, wins the Internet ??
I see Dornan is making snarky comments about Angus Macneil also – whom Dornan blocked on FB so MacNeil was unable to see the comments. Utter disbelief at the state of the SNP.
Game’s up the pole.
Since when has it been impractical to pull a meeting together? I thought that ‘zoom’ was available to all?
Judas
Alex Salmond has told the Times he may not appear at the inquiry and give a press statement instead.
So Rev Stu thank you for enlightening us as to the background of Mr Dornan.
Having your affairs run by an insolvency practitioner for four years is a serious business altogether. Quite why anyone with this hanging over them would have the gall to try to secure a public office of trust as an elected politician, and work as a director with the charity that runs Glasgow’s public museums and sports centres in contravention of their rules, is an absolute measure of the man’s total and utter disregard for probity.
No surprise therefore his most recent obsequious behaviour.
I think we can now understand the morality of a sewer rat.
Is he alone? Not bloody likely. Its amazing to watch treachery unfold before your very eyes in the SNP.
At one time I would have refused to believe this was possible, but here we are.
They are a political party who dont care about loyalty, service or even Independence.They care aboutnstsying in their jobs period and will tell you anything you want to hear to maintain that position.
Its a confidence trick on a national scale, given we have watched them even go to court to prevent a peoples action on a referendum.
I have one consolation. Time is my friend not necessarily my enemy. As time passes week by week, the remaining faithful will want more and more answers just like us, and they will get none.
There is much wisdom in old sayings and one such is this;
A house divided cannot stand.
I understand that Laura Kuenssberg of the BBC is on the case now as well. Henceforth, who gives a feck what James Dornan thinks.
The implication in the tweet that Mr.Salmond is “avoiding scrutiny” is disgraceful. He is not UNDER scrutiny, the Scottish Government is. This shapeshifting, dissembling little creep needs to be got rid of. A worm. Lower than a snake’s belly. His involvement in the governance of the nation is a matter of deep shame.
A man without merit or dignity. Begone.
I wouldn’t be too harsh or Dorian… Nic Jong-Sturgeon would probably have him fed him to a pack of stray dogs if he doesn’t tow the line.
I’m coming to the conclusion that the findings of Hamilton and Fabiani combined will comprise enough whitewash to paint the whole of Santorini twice over.
The sooner the current SNP disappears up its own backside the better.
“Power and greed and corruptible seed seems to be all that there is”
Dylan
How about a crowdfund to target the cancerous factions in the party.
After all the SNP is awash with money to pay legal costs and damages to people defamed by it. And folks like the big bucks Murrell’s on at least quarter of a million a year, they can well afford to pay damages.
Yes, a decent crowd fund to support targeted legal action is something that should be considered. Two Ranger directors have already been awarded over £40 million plus costs. Time Salmond, Hirst et al pursued the same.
Dornan has always been a wee weasel.
Dornan is a frequent guest on RT UK news for comment on Scottish politics (as are Tommy Sheridan and John Curtice!). NS won’t approve of James doing this that’s for sure. He;s certainly gone done now in my humble estimation.
100% correct StU!!
Eventually the truth will come out and the current srop of careerist, compromised, LIARS in the SNP SG will be exposed.
As for Dornan, just another back stabber, waiting for the wages of betrayal.
Alex, if you are reading this, I can only imagine your plight, your sense of betrayal and the powerlessness of facing the corrupt establishment.
However, take heart Sir, Scotland heros, of whom you are one, faced many trials. You shall prevail.
The demise of the liars will occur through time.
Be of BRAVEHEART Sir !!!
I am looking for some hope here. How confident are you that the guilty here will be held to account here?
“I am looking for some hope here. How confident are you that the guilty here will be held to account here?”
About 80% confident.
I was watching Scottish Questions, and there was a shot of Fabiani looking decidedly agitated. What spell has NS cast on everyone?
I think Salmond should go to enquiry and make it clear at the start that he will answer any question even if it breaches court orders and place the Chair in the position that she either suspends the session or tells comittee members what they can and can’t ask.
He has so little to loose and to my mind is now better off daring the crown to take him back to court for telling the truth. He might get a sanction but the courts would be creating a martyr.
David Lyon says:
6 February, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Salmond should crowdfund his legal costs.
He raised a fortune when he had allegations hanging over him. He’ll raise more now that he’s acquitted.
**********************************************
Alex closed his crowdfunder at 100,000, a lot of money to you and me but less than 20% of his legal costs for the Judicial Review of more than 512,000. The 512K awarded by the court all went to pay his lawyers, leaving him with the balance of the crowdfunder, but then it probably cost him as much again for the criminal case. So at best Alex is probably down 300-400K in legal fees from the criminal trial and burning up more for every week this farce of an Inquiry has dragged on.
If you were in Alex’s position and been maliciously framed in a plot that could have seen you spend the rest of your life in jail, with your public reputation trashed and 500K out of pocket – would you slink away quietly. Hell no! The only way Alex’s reputation can be restored is to blow the lid off Sturgeon’s plot and expose her and his accusers as malicious liars.
Is every single one of them terrified of Sturgeon?
Hold your nose and vote SNP? You’re voting for dictator.
I find myself wondering if the entire Dornan deselection stooshie was just to deflect from what they were doing to Joanna Cherry.
Dornan should be campaigned against in May. Couldn’t some high profile ‘Independent for Independence’ candidate run in his constituency?
Maybe even Mark MacDonald could do it – if he has already resigned, or will resign, from the SNP!
Of course, such a contest, splitting the vote, could result in a Unionist candidate slipping through. Would that really be such a tragedy, since Dornan almost certainly has to be considered a Unionist candidate himself.
The SNP will never reform (re-form) itself of itself. It will have to be wounded for it to do so. I think the seats of the worst of the SNP candidates should certainly be targeted in this way.
Even if the only outcome seems to be to wound the Party, that will do the Party good. And getting rid of dead wood like Dornan is actually doing it (the SNP) a favour.
Of course, I do not want to see a Unionist majority in Holyrood, but I am not afraid of it. The idea of a Unionist coalition looks ludicrous, especially if it has to involve all three Unionist Parties.
How long would it be before they are all three at each other’s throats, with hackswas handily at hand? It would be a fiasco.
Meanwhile, there would also be a blood-letting at the SNP, hopefully with the desired effect of getting the Party back to its original purpose – devoid of all these self-serving opportunists like Dornan.
A genuine pro-Indy candidate in Cathcart, or wherever it is, would also give voters who want independence but can no longer stand either the SNP or Dornan someone to vote for, in the constituency ballot.
Mr Salmond should stand for election in May, and once re- elected, use parliamentary privilage to blow the lid off the whole shebang.
Mr Salmond, should do a press release from Ireland via video link to the whole world and disclose the whole dirty tricks and corruption, (excluding the alphabet names).
When the chips are down, you discover who your real friends are, and they are very often not the ones that you thought were. Quite frequently, you find yourself standing alone. It is human nature to be sycophantic and salivating and grovelling in the face of whatever brings the challenge and the need for a spine. For every person with a spine, you get 99 invertebrates and/or sleekit billies who look after no. 1 at all times. It’s a sad truth.
Anyone with sense can see what is happening. Mr Salmond has had every avenue closed to him through sheer spite and connivance. He deserves to be recompensed for the anguish caused to him personally, and to his wife, Moira, and for the expense he has incurred. Even an apology would go some way to restitution, but that is very unlikely now.
The illegality of this whole process has shown Scotland and its legal system in a very bad light. Even were I a Unionist, I’d be angered at what has been happening. If this had occurred to a Unionist politician, I’d be angered. Quite apart from the personal anguish to the person/s involved, it says much about our present that should not, in any circumstances, be brought into our future.
Just read something the day by a political pundit who said that it was in 2014 that ‘wokerie’ started to raise its head in several Western countries at once.
I wonder whether James wrote that himself, or did one of his staff on instruction from Edinburgh.
Either way, he’s responsible.
I stood up for him against various members after he spoke at a branch meeting ages ago about his mental health troubles. Takes a bit of bravery to do that.
But I certainly won’t ever again.
That’s a low, low “avoiding scrutiny” jibe. I’m certain he knows better.
Never trust anyone who poses with a mask on in their twitter pic. Pure unadulterated virtue signalling .
I think Alex should refuse to attend the enquiry, because by doing so, he’s recognising it’s legitimacy, he should call a press conference and insist he will attend a judge led inquiry so he can tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
One of the most shocking things in this post is that MSP’s apparently collect £65k, plus expenses. Can anyone tell me what they actually do for this? Where is their casework for their constituents, and what benefits do they provide? I am beginning to think that the Scottish parliament is a gigantic gravy train, which a very large number of very mediocre people have alighted on, no doubt dumbfounded with their luck in securing free money and benefits.
In that light, no wonder none of them want to rock the boat, by doing such things as questioning the executive, standing on principles or being in any way accountable for their actions or open to scrutiny. Nicola has them where she wants them, as long as they keep their heads down, go along with whatever she and her circle say, no bother and the money keeps rolling in. In that light independence is a handy way of keeping the punters voting for you, while of course its actual implementation might bring to an end such delightful freeloading on the taxpayer.
And what better way of keeping the show on the road by cooking up conspiracies and enemies that you can spend time denouncing and generally posturing about? At least it gives the impression that you do something, albeit a rather flimsy cover.
You know, I wrote to SNP head office at the time of the notorious NEC meeting to complain about the disgraceful treatment of Mr Dornan and Ms Cherry. Naturally no reply.
So you may guess what I think about the treacherous little rat now – but I’ll keep that to myself!
Recently I’ve been asking myself whether SNP MPs and MSPs actually do know much of the reality.
I’ve had conversations with one recently, where it’s become apparent the person had much less knowledge about the situation around Alex Salmond’s case than I do. And I don’t know that much.
Ok, maybe they were feigning ignorance, but you can usually tell when a person is hearing shocking facts for the first time.
Do some of them actually live in that famous bubble?
Would they actually shut out info from non-party sources?
Would they dare think the unthinkable about their party and their bosses?
Another toady! A few points of overview
One. In my opinion Liz LLoyd is vested with royal prerogative powers. She will have learned how to use such powers against recalcitrant civil servants from watching Alastair Campbell when dealing with Dr David Kelly and others. She may have learned some subtlety as well from Sally Morgan and Jonathan Powell, also vested with such powers while Lloyd was Powell’s deputy. This is the reason that Lloyd attends so many important meetings of civil servants.
Two. In my opinion the remainder of “Establishment Scotland” turns a blind eye to all of this criminality because Liz Lloyd is protected by s3 of the Treason Felony Act of 1848. Any person whatsoever who seeks to put any force or constraint upon her is in breach of this act, is a felon, and can expect the fullest weight of the law for the rest of their life.
Three. In my opinion the Declaration of Arbroath was superseded by the “emergency” 1848 Act, which made “Her most gracious lady The Queen” the de facto sovereign of the United Kingdom and all constituent parts thereof including Scotland.
Four. In my opinion (and in my personal experience) the powers of the sovereign are protecting a long string of egregious criminality. Yet the sovereign pretends not to know about it. Let me quote the only one of us who got close to her, and who spilled the beans in total ignorance. From the BBC website
“No-one, Paul, has been as close to a member of my family as you have.”
Then, with the Queen looking him in the eye to make sure he knew she was being “deadly serious”, she issued her dramatic warning about his safety.
?
“There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge.”
“I had no idea who she was talking about,” Mr Burrell says.
link to news.bbc.co.uk
Five. When crowned, Queen Elizabeth swore:
Will You to Your power cause Law and Justice in Mercy to be Executed in all Your Judgements.
I will.
The things which I have here before promised I will performe and Keepe Soe help me God.
The only hope for Scotland lies in petition to the sovereign at Buckingham Palace.
@ Lorna Campbell
Great post, agree with every word.
Weasel faced Doran, will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after he retires, just like Sturgeon and her vile clique will be remembered.
Salmond has tried to tell the truth, but he’s been hamstrung by the Lord Advocate and the crown office who are actively pursuing the suppression of the truth.
The Lord Advocate and the Crown office, are meant to seek out and uphold the truth, no matter where it leads, they bring great shame on Scotland by not doing this.
Another excellent post Stu, I have taken great pleasure in sharing this umpteen times on different platforms, folk need to know the level of corruption within our government.
I’d rather cut my own throat than vote for this nest of vipers.
i usually just lurk and enjoy the back and forth, but sometimes i see a post that grabs me by my throat.
in the revs last post, “shooshening^ wull posted at 15.51pm something impressive, to me anyway if you have not read it please look, its a work of art.
im not his pal and if you find it a waste of time be free to call me fool, dont think you will though.
All hands to the pump.
Re ‘Sic a parcel…’ When something outgrows its definition, then where are we at right now ffs?
A bundyclegg? (No Google ref!)
A skip load?
A landfill of rogue’s ?
bugger! i meant 12.51pm!
Craig Murray answers a few questions on Now Scotland, get asking.
link to craigmurray.org.uk
David Holden says:
6 February, 2021 at 2:36 pm
I find myself wondering if the entire Dornan deselection stooshie was just to deflect from what they were doing to Joanna Cherry.
Me too.
Especially seeing this groveling obsequious lickspittle in action now.
With a few exceptions you can count on one hand I find all of the SNP’s I encounter thoroughly dislikeable and contemptible.
I am not voting for the SNP until these loathsome tossers are cleaned out.
Taking out the worst of the SNP by fielding strong high profile candidates against them makes a lot of sense. At a stroke there is every chance of the high profile well respected independent candidate supplanting the incumbent.
Voters are not daft, they know the benefits of a strong committed high profile alternative candidate. And what do they owe an SNP candidate gone rotten.
Moreover with an ISP hoovering up list seats a majority of overall seats gives us the power to move forward. Voting blindly for the current SNP is to put your head in the noose.
John says:
Two. In my opinion the remainder of “Establishment Scotland” turns a blind eye to all of this criminality because Liz Lloyd is protected by s3 of the Treason Felony Act of 1848. Any person whatsoever who seeks to put any force or constraint upon her is in breach of this act, is a felon, and can expect the fullest weight
of the law for the rest of their life.
But you can read about section3 of the Treason Felony Act of 1848 here:
link to en.wikipedia.org
And it refers to overthrow of the crown (by force).
What the actual duck does that have to do with Liz Lloyd ???
Answer required.
@Bob Mack says:
6 February, 2021 at 1:29 pm
…as does Uriah Heep .
He does have something of an easy living….at the moment.
Sad though I am to say this. I suspect enough shite has been flung at Alex Salmond to ensure, should he ever stand for public office again, he will be well-nigh unelectable.
He, however, has a future as the eminence grise of the true Independence movement. What he really needs is for the right people – Cherry, McAskill etc., to either regain control of the SNP and clean-out the stables, or perhaps do a SDP and leave to form a new party – with Eck as something like a non-executive Chairman, able to guide, support and warn when necessary.
If he had a genuinely pro-independence media outlet – and I don’t consider The National to be this, he could be an even better and more-important figure in the Independence debate.
I’d say, at 66, he’d be good for a minimum of ten more years of influence, but, given the pressure he’s been under over the past few years, he does not need a front-line role.
SORRY OT I posted this on the “things to do today” post and asked ANY OFFICIAL from ISP to address my concerns, those concerns are
twathater says:
6 February, 2021 at 2:58 am
To ANY official within the ISP I just looked at your website and below the banner of ISP it STATES ” Let’s Make the May 2021 Scottish Elections a Plebiscite on Independence ” as far as i’m concerned that is NOT an unambiguous declaration that the ISP is fighting the election on that mandated policy, sorry to be pedantic but if ISP don’t want to be accused of misleading voters you HAVE to make that a firm statement
Also again ISP has this statement further down which is UNTRUE and causes confusion
“Scotland’s Parliament is sovereign and it remains for the people of Scotland alone to decide how they are governed and by who.”
Scotland’s parliament is NOT sovereign , it is Scotland’s people who are sovereign and make NO mistake we ONLY LEND the SP OUR votes, which is the mistake that the SNP are making
This has to be corrected also as it is misleading there are a few ISP members and officials reading and posting on Stu’s site and it would be simple to read and answer the concerns that Daisy , I ,and others raise , silence does NOT engender TRUST
According to Wikipedia, Dornan was born in 1953. I assume like many of hois fellow weasels he had associations with the Labour party when ther were running the show in Scotland. Seems to me that SNP is full of people who were formerly in Labour
Micropenis…
Dornan is a fully fledged trougher. He is an awful MSP, Ruth Davidson has probably given more time to her constituents than this total waste of space. As for that tweet – arshole.
Embarrassed that I spoke up for Dornan 6 months ago. Hope he has trouble sleeping knowing he sold whatever principles he had for cash.
‘And sooner or later, whenever justice and the rule of law finally return to Scotland, everyone will get what’s coming to them.’
The Murrells’ stooges follow all instructions to take actions and make statements in public and it will be the same in private.
Those involved in the Scottish Government’s (il)legal actions and (mis)management of public projects will be exposed by the inevitable investigations that will follow the return of the rule of law to Scotland.
Many collars are going to be felt.
@ alistair x and wull at 12.51 on previous thread: I suggest that wull send his poem into the National – they might print it as it is amusing and littered with cultural references.
Wee fucking toad right enough
This is hilarious. A wee video of the fundraiser comments. Check out the “donators” – even alyn smith. Lol.
link to twitter.com
If he had a genuinely pro-independence media outlet – and I don’t consider The National to be this, he could be an even better and more-important figure in the Independence debate
Wasn’t he about to take a major role or stake in The Scotsman just before all this conveniently prevented that happening? How different would the Scottish political and media landscape look now if that had happened five years ago instead of having an SNP dedicated to destroying AS and JC along with deliberately splitting the party over exactly the same tiny side issues Labour and the Greens have been infiltrated and split over?
Many of you wanted ISP to make elections a plebiscite for independence. I’m a new member, so I emailed Colette explaining your views ie plebiscite/conditional working arrangements with other parties.
In her reply she explained they are still working towards that by using the petition link to plebiscite.scot started on 4th January, so you know what to do! Sign, share and share again!
They are looking to inform voters of the importance of a 2/3 SUPERmajority of independence supporting parties in the coming election.
John @ 2:51
The Elizabeth Lloyd who worked with Powell in the Blair Goverment is a different person from the SNP Liz Lloyd.
Power is what matters and power is obtained through the ballot box.
The only way to resolve this is to have people stand against the SNP for Holyrood, And for everyone to vote against the SNP in May. If they win a majority there is no justice. They have to be stopped.
I want Alex to come back to politics he could lead a list party and of course loads of mud has been flung but things change quickly, He hasn’t had a chance to put his case to the public. We should wait and see what the reaction is when he states his case.
It’s exhausting being up against the weight of the establishment and it seems hopeless. But there is no option but to keep trying.
I think once the scandal breaks and the full facts of the conspiracy to fit-up Alex become known to the general public then opinion will change quickly. But we’re running out of time. It’s a disgrace that the Inquiry has stretched out proceedings so that the election is almost on us and they still haven’t got full access to documents or compelled testimony from witnesses. But maybe that was the plan all along.
Well said, Stu. I hope I live to see the day justice is done. Scotland is a depressing and corrupt place to live at the moment. Without your writing, we wouldn’t know all this was happening. (I’m enjoying your latest crowd-funder, hope it reaches BIG BUCKS)
I stuck up for dornan when he was being trashed and ridiculed by the loyalist brigade , I also emailed him and a few other SNP reps about the mental wokeists and their deranged vile tweets on twatter, I included screenshots of their venom and bile and the result was TUMBLEWEED
I have never been a member of any political party but I have voted SNP for at least 30 years and I am OUTRAGED at what Sturgeon has done to the SNP over the past few years
If I am outraged I cannot imagine how you members who have given your time , energy and finances to support this ongoing CANCER of YOUR party feel
If the academics of old were intelligent and wise enough to foretell the future and realise that the english establishment were untrustworthy and so created the DECLARATION OF ARBROATH how is it that the founders of the SNP were NOT wise enough to include in their constitution rules that would foresee this clusterfuck and actions that could be taken to save the party
Surely someone who knows the SNP constitution can rally the members and DEPOSE STURGEON
“They are looking to inform voters of the importance of a 2/3 SUPERmajority of independence supporting parties in the coming election”
That is incredibly disappointing and off putting, actually. It sounds like more procrastination to me. Do the ISP party want independence yes or not? Sorry, but “supermajority” nonsense brings flash backs of the obstacles put by the British state in the past to stop independence and to stop devolution.
Either they are pro independence or they are not. 50%+1 votes is a democratic majority. 50%+1 seats is a majority in a parliamentary democracy and that is all what is needed. Why on earth should Scotland be an exception?
So, is ISP really a pro independence party or just another excuse to stop independence by adding unnecessary obstacles to our path?
I am losing my patience with this. Is there a single party in Scotland that actually seeks independence or all of them are after the yes votes but with no real intention to deliver?
My hatred for the current SNP is getting towards Tory hate levels and I’m an ex member. Dornan is a snivelling, cowardly Yes man brown nosing the Murrels.
“And sooner or later, whenever justice and the rule of law finally return to Scotland, everyone will get what’s coming to them.”
And so say all of us.
The wheels are coming off the woke bogie. And they don’t like it.
I think all it will take is one to break ranks. And I think that is coming . The new NEC are actually doing stuff only very slowly.
Murrell’s days are numbered. And I hope jail awaits him.
P.S. I defended Dornan. Wont do it again.
This might help eventually
“The Law Society of Scotland has set out a comprehensive programme for reform in the run up to this year’s Scottish elections, which includes measures to enhance access to justice, boost economic recovery, improve diversity and drive legislative change.
>snip<
The key policy areas are:
Protecting access to justice
Modernising regulation of legal services
Boosting economic recovery
*Shaping Scotland’s legal and constitutional future*
Enhancing the diversity of the legal profession
Driving public policy and law reform"
Re the ISP petition – I simply wont sign a change.org petition.
I suggest ISP put their petition elsewhere.
@ Eileen Carson says:
6 February, 2021 at 3:54 pm
Re
Many of you wanted ISP to make elections a plebiscite for independence. I’m a new member, so I emailed Colette explaining your views ie plebiscite/conditional working arrangements with other parties.
In her reply she explained they are still working towards that by using the petition link to plebiscite.scot started on 4th January, so you know what to do! Sign, share and share again!
They are looking to inform voters of the importance of a 2/3 SUPERmajority of independence supporting parties in the coming election.’
Eileen, well done for trying.
What ISP is doing, is a variation on what the SNP did. ‘Look we are really serious, we’ve got a petition’
Which is also a really good way of saying, we don’t have the courage of our convictions, we are going to see what way the wind is blowing and jump on the bandwagon then.
They have to lead. And this 2/3 supermajority, is PISH. It their very own version of a gold standard. What happens if they get a 55% majority HMM? Just going to give up are they and try again next time. Just one more mandate and we’ll really mean it next time, promise.
If you stand on the List seat only, you cannot get 2/3 EVER. And what other parties stand for is their business, not ISP’s to put it bluntly.
What you can do, is allow EVERY SINGLE VOTER in Scotland to express their desire for INDY by voting for an ISP Candidate on the list – who has signed up to a MANDATE for INDY.
The only Poll that matters is the Ballot Box. Remember that phrase.
Even though they cannot win outright, they can win by ESTABLISHING the concept for all Scottish voters. And the timing for that is just right given that there is a GE coming in the next 4 years.
Think what happens if they win over 2.5 million votes for list seat candidates who are standing on this mandate. It will be counted, it will be public, it will be a defacto Indy Yes Vote.
3 Months to campaign and get it on the ballot for Holyrood, get a whopping big vote, win enough seats to be a royal pain in the arse at Holyrood and a genuine kick in the balls to the corrupt SNPers, then 4 years to work on the public and convince them that we can do so much Better than Boris and all the shitty BRexits that England bestows.
I repeat – to those on the ISP committee, have a right good look at yourselves just now, because what happened to the SNP, had its seeds planted a very long time ago, and the main methods it spouted were,
we have to get established
don’t scare the horses
its too soon
it has to be legal/gold standard
Under the guise of keeping powder dry they were pulling punches and spiking the guns. And they’re doing it again.
The ISP has 3 selling points: its not the SNP, it is standing on List seats only (so those still trusting of the SNP are not conflicted) AND Plebiscite for Indy in May.
You will not survive 4 years of Brexshit Scotland if you have not secured sufficient seats and votes in May, and without Plebiscite on your manifesto (not some useless fucking petition) you’re no better than the SNP and not worth voting for.
And I’m sorry for the bad language, but sometimes FFS it really is necessary.
WON’T BE FOOLED AGAIN.
Sorry Mia I’m at a loss to understand how you think desiring a supermajority is off-putting.
I suppose the SNP had few members in 1934 but they persisted. ISP is new now, I hope they have the same persistence.
Stu,I hope he does turn up on Tuesday,even if he can’t say what he wants to say.At the very least it was would give him the opportunity to hand fabiani and the rest of the her committee their arses on a plate. By exposing for the fucking absolute joke they all are,and sturgeon and her cult for the nest of evil lying vipers they are. And hopefully he doesn’t miss all the crooked legal conspirators either.
Cath says:
“Wasn’t he about to take a major role or stake in The Scotsman just before all this conveniently prevented that happening? How different would the Scottish political and media landscape look now if that had happened five years ago instead of having an SNP dedicated to destroying AS and JC along with deliberately splitting the party over exactly the same tiny side issues Labour and the Greens have been infiltrated and split over?”
That’s probably one of the most vulgar parts of all this. Sturgeon not only deliberately ruined Salmond’s reputation, is currently seeking to drain him financially but also permanently destroyed a well-earned and deserved career progression that could have had far-reaching benefits.
All for her feeble-minded, meagre and pathetic greed for adulation.
She has achieved nothing for anyone, ruining much for many and continues to destroy years worth of progress and hard work by others.
May she fucking rot for all of it.
Ah well looks like Indy is off the cards this May and probably for my lifetime if folks want a brand new party [not one that’s been 80 years in the making] to produce indy without members or support. Ouch!
Laukat 2.17pm, i agree, Alex should tell it like it is, and dare these corrupt effers to try and take him back to court.
That would really open the eyes of those that the sleazy scottish msm tried to hoodwink.
@Cath
I have always felt this was the tipping point. The press have stood back and watched almost as if the scenario is playing out as they expected. Now and again they intervene to push things along, a la ‘Leaky Liz’.
AS could have changed the landscape with a fair press and they could not allow that. Was that the deal, they would stand back and let NS destroy AS or would they destroy them both if she did not?
The point of the 2/3 majority is that it enables the parliament to call an election at any time.
“at a loss to understand how you think desiring a supermajority is off-putting”
One thing is desiring it but being perfectly contempt and prepared to act upon a simple majority. I can live with that.
But another very different thing is to consider that supermajority as the required “standard” to be able to act. That I cannot agree with. I see it as yet another fabricated obstacle to stop Scotland’s progression to independence.
If a political party really wants independence, they would not ask for a supermajority. A simple majority suffices. If they feel they “need” a supermajority to act, then they are saying their conviction for independence needs a big boost. That does not convince me nor appeal to me. Any party asking for a supermajority will put me right off.
Thanks for the reply, appreciated.
“The point of the 2/3 majority is that it enables the parliament to call an election at any time”
We want independence, not another election.
Just finished an opinion poll from Savanta asking me for my views on indy, the Scottish Parliament election, GRA reform, the Joanna Cherry sacking and all of the current “leaders” in Scottish politics.
Great to let off a bit of steam 🙂
@Mia says:
6 February, 2021 at 5:13 pm
“We want independence, not another election.”
Could you not then dictate the terms of that other election to achieve independence?
It’s obvious that the second vote matters in the forthcoming Holyrood elections.
Why aren’t we having a Yes alliance to maximise the second vote where the party that has the strongest chance of achieving of getting elected, whether it is ISP or Solidarity?
Rev. Stuart Campbell says:
6 February, 2021 at 2:51 pm
“I am looking for some hope here. How confident are you that the guilty here will be held to account here?”
About 80% confident.
And the 20% chance of a Sturgeon victory. Does it depend on how badly behaved Sturgeon is prepared to be OR the recalcitrance of those who should be bringing forces to bear against SNP?
Could AS attend the Fabiani Inquiry meeting and say something like “I would like to answer that question but my lawyers have advised me that to do so would risk contempt of court. If you would like to rephrase your question, I will endeavour to answer it.”
I assume he will have a lawyer in attendance to indicate whether or not he can safely answer a particular question.
Terry @ 3.50pm
Class vid. Ta for sharing.
This is the same little weasel that chaired a branch meeting eating popcorn ?throughout the whole meeting acting like a wee gangster. It looks like the twittler youth are the defence barrier now to all these fraud SNP representatives and that’s why Sturgeon has gone full woke queen and why they are going to make sure they get their hate crime bill passed just to make sure they can shut down any criticism and all enjoy the tax payers jacket pot bananza’s. They are actually laughing at us all because they know many dim folk will continue to vote for them. It’s a sad state of affairs but they won’t be here forever and the woke queen is certainly on her way out!
wathater @ 3:37
“To ANY official within the ISP I just looked at your website and below the banner of ISP it STATES ” Let’s Make the May 2021 Scottish Elections a Plebiscite on Independence ” ”
It does seem ambiguous in that the ISP intention is simply to argue for another referendum, once it wins a few seats.
Solidarity is the only party proposing May’s election should be an independence plebiscite after which that majority is taken straight to the UN for recognition.
On Dornan, I used to think he was representing Scottish Labour and I still do.
I see one of the Ginger Dugs has escaped from the Wee Gingerbread Man’s Kennels.
“Who let the Dogs out?”
Finally given myself a shake. My other half and I have just joined Now Scotland, ISP and made a small contribution to Stuart’s sweetie fund. Feels good!
Dornan & co need a shock. I’m not voting SNP in either vote. Self serving bunch need to loose seats. We ain’t getting Indy under this crowd, that’s quite clear. They want to hang on to their wage and pension pot. I seriously think we all withdraw our vote to ensure they refocus their minds and stop treating us with utter contempt. I’m be remained silent giving them vote after vote but this is now too much to ignore. I’m out. Keep going Stu it appears you’re the only one holding them to account.
A two thirds majority isn’t going to be easy to achieve. I think 60% would be fairer…
Anyway, I like the press conference idea. Salmond is smart, though, he’ll work it out.
Dornan was instrumental in forcing-out the Aberdeen Doinside MSP Mark McDonald.
McDonald is standing down now. In his place, the SNP
Rev. Stuart Campbell said:
“Get what’s coming to them”!?
That kind of talk will get you a weekend in the pokey and a trip to the sheriff court in this current version of Scotland.
Dornan was instrumental in forcing-out the Aberdeen Donside MSP Mark McDonald.
McDonald is standing down now. In his place, the SNP are proposing Jackie Dunbar, who used to make the tea and do the wages in Kevin Stewart’s office in Aberdeen.
Hence, another job at Holyrood for a middle aged woman who has no real ability or talent at doing anything.
Another diligent tool of the SNP regime.
Craig Jones.5.51
You did
To paraphrase the great Martin Luther King. the SNP has given the Scots expecting a referendum a bad cheque which has come back marked insufficient funds.
That great leader knew all about the governments ability to deceive.
Don’t think we are any better off because we are not. Are we to stand idly by whilst they remove our rights and then prosecute us for complaining about it.
Some fights against injustice are worth your last breath.
Wee bit o/t but I’ve never been asked to do another uk/gov poll since I stated I would not vote for snp at next election
Gies yer 50 quid Declan
Well done Scotland a very deserved victory at Twickenham.
O/T for anyone insterested Rugby England 6 Scotland 11. Beat the buggers and at Twickers too. Oh dear, how sad, never mind.
Oops sorry for the typo interested doh.
scotlands rugby team are a credit to the nation
– and not the private school dubious anglo ("Tractor" - Ed)s who arent really scottish anyway and an embarrassment
the 9-11 score is an OMEN – collapse of the twin towers – catastrophe
oh wait : just in, under ukgov accountancy rule the 11 scottish points are credited to London, so the actual score was
20-0 and they won
According to the BBC, the game is still in progress. Says it all really.
It’s official now chaps. The BBC has finally acknowledged a Scotland victory.
@Marie Clark says:
6 February, 2021 at 6:36 pm
“Oops sorry for the typo interested doh.”
I thought you meant to say “ruggers” 🙂
Hatuey,
How about 59% or 58%?
As Mia has said, we can all wish for a super majority if we like but using it as an excuse to do nothing until then is simply self defeating.
As a reminder to people a majority is 50% plus.
Enacting the Will of the majority is democracy whether you agree with that majority or not.
It is clear that not holding a referendum is anti democratic as a referendum is a measurement of the Will of the People.
How the fuck we got into this sorry mess where we are not allowed to assess the Will of the Scottish People, I lay firmly at the door of the SNP not Westminster as they should have no say in it whatsofuckingever.
So no we don’t need to tie one hand behind our back with talk of a super majority on anything.
As Mia points out, our goal is independence we not another election.
“Could you not then dictate the terms of that other election to achieve independence?”
You mean to dissolve the parliament to call that election? Why would you want to do that when you can just declare independence at which point another election will have to be called anyway?
I am sorry, I am not sure I understand what the point of this other election is when we are already having an election in 3 months’ time. It comes across to me as the equivalent of the promise of another referendum but under a different name.
If that is the case, our vote for the ISP will be like the voting for the SNP: yet another mandate to vote on something at some point in the future that may or may not happen, but that will give them all the opportunity to brush under the carpet the mandate we had already given to parliament in 2016 and that has been ignored by every single party in the UK, including the SNP, and now ISP too, it seems.
I may be stubborn and short-sighted but the way I see it, we have already passed with flying colours the stage of giving mandates for a vote on independence. We already gave that mandate, several actually. Now we want to vote. In other words, we do not need yet another mandate for a “referendum-election”. We just need to hold it and if we have the opportunity to do so in 3 months, what is the point in delaying it?
If you include in your manifesto permanently a mandate for independence as it used to be SNP policy and as I understood ISP were going to doing with theirs, the moment political parties with such mandate get a combined majority of seats, they get a mandate for independence. And that is it. You do not need neither a supermajority nor to call another election so people can vote yet again to say they want independence. They have already done so by voting on that mandate. Why would you want a supermajority to call yet another election when you can just declare independence?
If you do not win this time, you have already set a precedent that will force the SNP either to deliver the effing referendum or to include in their manifesto the mandate for independence, because there will be another GE around the corner and they will lose yes voters like a sieve if they don’t deliver.
The ISP can never get a majority if they only field candidates in the list. They need to field candidates in the constituency seats if they are to stand a chance of ever getting a majority, never mind a supermajority. If the idea the ISP has in mind is simply to combine the seats with those of the SNP to achieve the supermajority we are talking about here to call this election we are talking about, then we are back at square one, yet again with our hands tied behind our back, at the whim of Sturgeon, the booby prize or whatever other puppet the British state parachutes to “lead” the SNP. An SNP with a majority of seats is not going to want an election, so we end up screwed again. At that point, we will all be wondering if we have wasted our time and votes because may be the ISP was just a spin off from the SNP trying to hoover up the list votes to boost the SnP wins rather than challenging them and deliver independence.
Sturgeon’s SNP has been in government with a majority of pro indy seats in Holyrood, has had a mandate for indyref since 2016 and a supermajority of seats in Westminter, and what has she achieved? nothing. Nothing at all. The SNP is the party that continuously asks for referendum mandates but that never delivers any.
If the ISP is relying on the SNP to take the initiative towards independence, are not including that mandate in their manifesto because they expect the SNP to choose the strategy of how to approach independence, or they are expecting that the SNP will be willing to jump onboard calling another election when they already have largest share of the seats and any unionist seat in parliament will be opposing to that election too, then frankly I think we are wasting our time.
Confused –
You have confused yourself – the score was 6-11.
6-11.
I feel for England.
Not!!
Woo Hoo
just testing brian
I expect them to tell us we only won because of the barnett formula
O/T SNP’s Neale Hanvey sacked after backing campaign to sue Aberdeen MP Kirsty Blackman
link to thecourier.co.uk
AS “I would love to answer that question but before I answer with honesty you will need to guarantee that an honest reply does not lead to my prosecution by the Crown Office.”
According to the courier, Neale Hanvey MP has been sacked from the SNP front bench for backing Sarah Philimores’ Crowdfunder in order to take to court those who have defamed her on social media.
Link – link to archive.is
PacMan says:
6 February, 2021 at 5:37 pm
“It’s obvious that the second vote matters in the forthcoming Holyrood elections.
Why aren’t we having a Yes alliance to maximise the second vote where the party that has the strongest chance of achieving of getting elected, whether it is ISP or Solidarity?”
AFI doesn’t seem to have a website, so information is difficult to find ( I don’t do FB). As I understand it, from Twitter comments today from Martin Keatings, AFI are candidates who must vote for independence and support ScotGov on independence issues.
Other than that they can vote on other issues as they please rather than toe a party line. Unless individual candidates on AFI state their position on GRA/ hate crime or other issues you can’t be sure how they will vote. Presumably each will do so during canvassing in their own geographical area.
With ISP you will vote for a prescribed manifesto with fixed positions on GRA etc
I can’t see them coming to an accomodation to maximize strategic list voting which is a worry.
Is this election coming up really all about Independence?
We actually know it’s not because none of us on here believe for a moment the SNP with a majority would put that into action.
So what is it about? Its about tempering the ability of the SNP to do as they wish re other legislation which will affect us all.
They will not attain a super majority themselves. I believe the system will prevent that, but you cannot stand by till a party comes along that is all things to all men. That takes time. Time we do not haven right now.
@Mia
If the SNP/ISP achieved a supermajority and the SNP refused to call a plebiscite election, it would expose them even further as the unionist party that it has become.
@Sylvia says:
6 February, 2021 at 6:55 pm
“O/T SNP’s Neale Hanvey sacked after backing campaign to sue Aberdeen MP Kirsty Blackman”
The SNP are both government and opposition by the looks of things.
You couldn’t make this up. A Tom Clancy novel has less sub-plots and intrigue.
‘Avoiding scrutiny’? ‘avoiding scrutiny’??! What is Dornan on? The most scrutinised person in the whole of Scotland; and he’s accusing him of avoiding it? What an utter prick.
I’d have told the committee to take a hike right from the start – after going through the awful experience of a criminal trial as well as everything that went before – and since! – and then they want to start grilling him again – fucks sake, he’s put in tons more information than he needed to, and he’s given them all the written submissions. Alex Salmond is the VICTIM in all this, and the committee are treating him like one of the instigators of the stitch up.
I hope Salmond does tell them to shove their ‘meeting’, I think a press conference will be far more useful, and he might then announce he’s taking the whole lot of them – Sturgeon’s circle of co-conspirators – to court for defamation, or whatever works, and would anyone like to contribute to his crowdfunder.
I’m sick of court cases though, they just tie everything up for years – but how do we get any of them behind bars if the prosecutor is corrupt itself? We need suspensions and criminal investigations, but mostly that leadership needs to be gone.
I agree with Mia on the 50%+1 threshold – why any of us think it’s some sort great purity idealism to put extra obstacles in our OWN WAY when no one is even asking for it?! It’s madness! Why compromise before we’re even asked to compromise? That’s not how you negotiate anything – you ask for the ideal first, THEN tone it down IF anyone objects. We already have the weight of hundreds of years of infiltration and propaganda from the British State – why, what logic is there, making everything that much more difficult for ourselves? – keep it simple, keep it plain, and don’t compromise before anyone else says you have to.
Why are they talking about a 2/3 majority in a parliament they can’t even guarantee will be there in another 5 years anyway?
“Is this election coming up really all about Independence?”
I think it is, and we should make the SNP very clear that this election and every single one after it until the time Scotland is independent, will be.
“We actually know it’s not because none of us on here believe for a moment the SNP with a majority would put that into action”
And that is why I refuse to vote for the SNP. Why should we give a majority to a party that has refused point blank to deliver on our mandates and is in fact acting against our interests? Scrw them.
“So what is it about?”
It is about delivering to the SNP an almighty kick in the balls (metaphorically, that is). One that says: what we want is independence, so either you deliver it or you are surplus to requirements. You are no longer irreplaceable. We have better options.
We may not get what we want this time, but there is an upcoming GE in 2024 an by that time, we would have time to form a pro indy party with the end of the union permanently in the manifesto and that will directly compete with the SNP for the MP seats.
“They will not attain a super majority themselves”
If it was in my hand, they would not get even a majority. They don’t deserve it.
“you cannot stand by till a party comes along that is all things to all men”
I agree with you 100% and that is why in my opinion, if we want the SNP to listen it will have to be by including in every new party the plebiscitary election in the manifesto because that is a direct route to independence and an ultimatum: either the SNP gets on its high horse and adopts that route or they are left out of the race.
It’s always been about money with Mr Dornan . I don’t think he’s a bad guy but I think he probably compromises his moral stance with his financial ineptitude.
For Neale Hanvey, Joanna Cherry, Kenny Macaskill and all other MPs/MSPs with an ounce of decency and honesty left. Time to stand up to this corrupt tyranny. Speak out now, tell your fellow scots what has been going on. You are our future, not the criminal fraternity who rule the roost at the moment. Help us kick them out. There is still time to turn the tables before the election in May and to be rid of Sturgeon, Murrell, their acolytes in the SNP, their corrupt civil servants, a corrupt COPFS and the corrupt leadership of the police. If you stay silent then we are likely to be subservient to the dark side for many years to come.
You were elected to serve the best interests of Scotland. Please stand up and be counted now. Some things in life matter more than financial security or position in scociety.
Excellent – and much needed article by REV Stu.
The last sentence is the killer for me.
quote “And sooner or later, whenever justice and the rule of law finally return to Scotland, everyone will get what’s coming to them.”
And that is the point. Time and time again we have seen the corrupt evade justice all over the world, only for it to come-a-knocking many years later. People move on, people make new enemies, people who were once allies decide to ‘get revenge’, word gets out, and slowly, so slowly, the tide turns.
So to the corrupt behind all of this scandal and its cover up I simply say, the times are changing, and REAL justice will return to Scotland. Some folk had best keep on looking over their shoulder because one day, possibly many, many years from now, that knock of justice might, just might, be especially for them.
If I were Alex Salmond, an honourable man, if ever I saw one, I would call the press conference, and have nothing more to do with this pretendy ‘enquiry’. It is a sham investigation, a whitewash, a cover-up.
Sylvia at 655pm,
So now the SNP leadership, not content with sacking their best and most talented MP, have now sacked another.
Perhaps they should just cut to the chase, and sack the real problem, Nicola Sturgeon and her husband.
Time for the Murrels to go.
Pete Wishart today replying to George Kerevan on twitter re Now Scotland..
“Some of the sheer SNP bad from within the movement is starting to have an impact on confidence”
Just in case you thkught it was hopeless to fight.
Skip_NC at 5:43 pm
I like you think he will have a lawyer present,however I think it would be wise not to say anything without a court approval.
I am not sure that is possible , I think it is .
As for the “twa dugs” AS should if possible financially ruin them, on top of seeing them jailed. together with all involved
The solution is using legal redress, does the SNP any form of intimidation(in all forms) on members?
As for the Sturg, she’s never going to go
So SNP leadership is saying that you cannot stand against unfounded slander!
They have driven over the cliff long ago.
Where`s Senseless Dave,
he`s usually on here telling us how shi@e we are.
Get it right up ye!
For what it’s worth, as a long time reader and only recent poster here, it seems to me that we’re going to have to do it the hard way. It is the British State were up against after all. A simple referendum was at the very least going to tampered with like last time and after nearly 7yrs they’ve obviously not been sitting around doing sod all – ie look at the state of the SNP. I’d hate for it to become violent and sincerely hope it doesn’t go that way, but unless good people stand up very very soon, we won’t be seeing Independence for a good while yet and it certainly won’t be coming via the current SNP.
But we have won something here, despite how despondent it feels – we now clearly know who is and isn’t on our side and we know exactly what kind of information we need to get out to the general population who doesn’t follow politics particularly closely. This week alone I’ve shown 4 people what’s actually happening and they’re beyond livid with Sturgeon and feel utterly betrayed by the SNP. We can make a difference as individuals.
I think we’re in a period of adjustment now. We’re probably among the first to go on the journey moving away from the current SNP – and it’s been a sore one, but if we get the info that we know of out there, when a new leader emerges, we might just hit the ground running and take advantage of the obvious weaknesses in Westminster right now.
I watched the Estonia documentary the other night by Leslie Riddoch and it was inspiring. Scotland needs to think bigger and far beyond what the U.K is. We can and should be so much more than what we currently are as a nation.
It’s been a long hard few months, but at some point the tide will turn, it always does. We just need to be ready for it and know what needs to be done when it does.
“Just in case you thkught it was hopeless to fight”
Fighting amongst ourselves is hopeless.
That much I do know.
Dividers and rulers know that of course don’t you?
Robert Louis @ 7:48
“Time for the Murrels to go” I feel the majority of Scotland would agree with that. Every day something else, people outside of Scotland must wonder what the hell is going on.
@Daak,
Your fighting to enjoy subjugation. Im fighting for liberation for all. That puts us on different planes
Well said Stuart. Cross their palms with a greasy coin and these hollow people will sell their soul and their country without a second thought.
“Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion”
I’m trying not to read T.S. Eliot’s poem as a requiem for Scotland. I really do hope justice and the rule of law can be restored. Alex Salmond has my every sympathy for the predicament he has been placed in through no fault of his own. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
Stonefree, if AS says that he cannot answer the question because the alternative is contempt of court, it gets into the public domain how useless this whole process has been. Presumably the committee has seen more information than is published on their website so they will have a greater understanding of why he has to decline an answer. (Obviously, they haven’t seen all of the information because there are still requests to various parties that have not been filled.)
I hope AS feels able to attend. Unless he is going to commit contempt of court in a press conference, I do not see what it will do that he couldn’t do at the Fabiani Inquiry.
” Im fighting for liberation for all”
Ur ye, aye,?
That’s quite a claim.
What about people who want freedom to identify as their preferred gender?
Amazing what you can find out when looking at the bio’s of people at the upper echelons of the British Establishment in Scotland, or more accurately, the dark actors who together constitute our Colonial Administrators. “Embedded” is too weak a description; dug in like Inchmurrin ticks more like!
Makes you wonder how long it’d take to clear out the Westminster controlled 5th Column post-Indy from making political mischief, whilst reporting all to their handlers at Thames House.
Even in the highly unlikely event of a Czech Republic / Republic of Slovenia style amicable divorce, I very much doubt perfidious Albion would simply shrug and leave us alone
I fear what is being exposed now with regard to the Judiciary, Civil Service, the Government and their related SPADS is just a taste of what we could expect post-Indy. Smoke, mirrors, paranoia, duplicity, treachery, scandal, all with a sprinkling of plausible denial from those responsible.
At least Daniel Defoe never tried to give the impression he was “on our side”!
Doh!
Slovakia, not Slovenia, but you get my point.
Saffron Robe
“Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow”
Ref Neale Hanvey getting sacked, just to re-cap, he was falsely accused of racism and suspended from the party without due process of their own rules… and later re-installed because of same.
He’s used his own money to assist a crowdfunder to help a woman (who is a lawyer and has published all the evidence) in a bid to take lawful actions against people who are conducting a vicious campaign against her for standing up for womans rights.
I mean she is not campaigning to have them unlawfully sacked, she is raising money to have them taken to court to have the matter sorted in a law abiding, legally fair way…
We seem to have an SNP leadership that seeks to deny women access to the law, and seeks to prevent membership from supporting rule of law actions.
What next, only those and such as those are allowed to make criminal complaints to the Police, and the SNP leadership will decide who can and who cannot?
I don’t know if there was finanacial reward for his role on the front bench, but if there was it would seem to me Mr Heaney would have grounds for unlawful dismissal.
It is a curious state of affairs where members of the SNP front bench can commit expensive examples of slander, without rebuke, in state of fact are actually financially protected when doing so, but when another one attempts to assist a person with trying to sort the matter out by legal means – he gets the sack.
We don’t even have a bus anymore folks, never mind one with wheels and driver missing.
The isp are now our life boat from the wreck that’s now the snp.
“If the SNP/ISP achieved a supermajority and the SNP refused to call a plebiscite election”
Look at the SNP right now. They even sided with Westminster in the Keatings’ court case to stop us having the referendum. They deliberately refused to deliver that referendum despite having countless mandates. They used every excuse they could find to deny us our right to self determination.
Now look at its democratic structures, all broken.
Look at the government structures of the party: all compromised and taken over by some trojan horse (I am convinced the trojan horse is a tool of the British state).
Look at their policies: actively fighting against women while still pretending to be feminist.
Look at their integrity: “We’ll sit on that and hope we never need to deploy it”;
Look at their loyalty to their own: “it would be a good time to pressurise police” , “The more fronts he is having to firefight on the better for all complainers.”
Look at how Robertson got nomination for the seat in Edinburgh. Look at what they did to Joanna and today to Hanvey: They are actively endorsing the attack on Joanna because they clearly want her out of the party and nowhere near the evidence that should have brought this FM, the SNP executive and her government down. They are deliberately protecting those who are attacking her.
Do you seriously think the SNP in the current state if given a majority will ever call a plebiscitary election when they can simply continue kicking the can down the road for another 5 years?
I don’t.
The minute you have a “crown agent” sticking his fingers in the matter and you begin to suspect the next leader is being rushed through the ranks and might have already been compromised, you know the party has fallen under the control of the British state and therefore will no longer do anything to help progressing independence because the reason it was infiltrated and taken over is precisely to stop independence.
Frankly, I do not think we need any more proof that the SNP is no longer a pro indy party. Sturgeon, Blackford, Blackman, Black, Smith, Wishart, etc have already given us plenty in the last 6 years.
We know exactly what is going to happen if the SNP gets an easy ride and wins in May: they will not lift a finger to deliver independence, they will regress even further our autonomy, entrench us even more in the union and will march full steam ahead to trash females’ rights.
So why should we even bother wasting our time? Sturgeon’s SNP has already wasted us 6 years.
We have an opportunity here to deliver the SnP a mighty shock to either resurrect what is left of the corpse or to throw the carcass the british state infiltration has left behind in the graveyard of Scottish politics together with Labour and the libdems.
Let’s not waste time. If we want to deliver that shock what we need is parties that have independence in their manifesto. No more mandates for referendums nor elections. We have already given that mandate. Let’s from now on, vote for independence in every election.
SNP is a shambles now. Sad days.
Another thing I do know is, if SNP don’t win a majority in HR election in May then in democratic terms it will mean Scotland doesn’t want independence.
All the rest is just cowboys and indians.
@Dakk,
That is pretty infantile. I do not stop people claiming any gender they wish to claim. What I do draw the line at is when they remain one sex biologically but claim the protected characteristics of another without any intention to alter that very concept
Cake and eat it springs to mind.
Daisy Walker says:
6 February, 2021 at 8:50 pm
Ref Neale Hanvey getting sacked, …
I don’t know if there was finanacial reward for his role on the front bench, but if there was it would seem to me Mr Heaney would have grounds for unlawful dismissal.
No there is no extra pay for being a front bench spokesperson.
It gives that person a wee bit extra clout though, in various ways.
Well done to Scotland in the rugby.
They were amazing to a man despite a few wee flakey moments which may have changed the trajectory.
It is frequently asked, what was it about Liz Lloyd that made her the go-to girl for Nicola, as her chief of staff.
Well, people who ask that question obviously forget that Elizabeth Lloyd is the author of the ground-breaking best-seller: The Case of the Female Orgasm
link to amazon.co.uk
How could Nicola fail to see the merits of Ms Lloyd’s literary highlights , such as
“Why women evolved to have orgasms–when most of their primate relatives don’t–is a persistent mystery among evolutionary biologists.” – not to mention a completely stupefying puzzle for the Transeratti! – and allegedly, we are told, Peter (weesht )
How could she not be intrigued by Lloyd’s totally woke finding that:
“the effect of sexist or male-centered approaches to science has been hotly debated”
and that
“Lloyd shows what damage such bias does in the study of female orgasm.”
“Lloyd also exposes a second pernicious form of bias that permeates the literature on female orgasms: a bias toward adaptationism. Here Lloyd’s critique comes alive” – and why not?
And just like her boss, “Lloyd takes on nearly everyone who has written on the subject: evolutionists, animal behaviorists, and feminists alike”. She certainly does.
On page 37 Lloyd writes
link to books.google.co.uk
: “It is true that the average female responds more slowly than the average male in coitus, but this seems to be due to the ineffectiveness of the usual coital techniques” – are you listening Pete?
And very disturbingly:
“in the single case where one can actually test the truth, the investigators themselves think it most likely that people are telling themselves and others enormous lies”
Well, we kinda knew that!
“…..They report that ONLY 5.3% of conventional Protestants, 3.3 % of fundamentalists, 2.8 %of Catholics, and 10.7 % of the nonreligious have ever had a same-sex partner…”
This is a total outrage – and tells us why Nic and Liz are on a mission to ensure that 100% of all classes of people in the New Woke Scotland will have same-sex partners – even if these partners have to self-identity in their new genders.
And that folks, in a nutshell, is why Ms Elizabeth Lloyd has become totally and utterly indispensable to the Wokest First Minister we have ever had the good fortune to have.
Bob Mack says:
6 February, 2021 at 8:58 pm
“I do not stop people claiming any gender they wish to claim. What I do draw the line at is when they remain one sex biologically but claim the protected characteristics of another without any intention to alter that very concept
Cake and eat it springs to mind. ”
Zackly
Heres an interesting little fact I learned today, justvin case somebody tells you about Scotlands deficit.
Great Britain ruled India for over a century and a half.
In every year of that rule India showed a defecit according to the Treasury books.Simultaneously over the same period British trade to India and layments earned over 45 Trillion rupees and several famous diamonds. Familiar?
Serious question.
If you draw a willie or leave your constituency vote blank, does the list vote still count.?
“What I do draw the line at”
Oh well if you have drawn your line then that’s that.
Good luck to “everyone” who wants liberation.
Trending on Twitter: #canchristiansbefeminist
Who thinks up this shit?
@Dakk,
Interesting response. Enlighten us as to why trans individuals are not liberated at the moment ? Perhaps we can help?
Scottiedog@ 9:13
Two separate ballot papers. Draw whatever you like on the Constituency and be sure to express your desire for Indy by voting ISP on the list 🙂
Mia @ 8:53
Couldn’t agree more. Can’t wait for an SNP bod to turn up at the door so I can tell them I’ve no intention of voting MI5 in May, thanks very much. (Unlikely due to COVID, but a nice thought all the same).
Garavelli Princip says:
6 February, 2021 at 9:05 pm
I take it you are being satirical and know that it isn’t the same person?
Neale Hanvey was smeared prior to the 2019 GA to the frustration of all the party members on the ground who worked to and successfully got him elected.
For the record, we are in no doubt it wasn’t another political party that done the smearing
Aye and on the SHOCKING treatment of Mark McDonald let’s never forget the 10/17 front page ”top lawyer” story, eh who NEVER appears in court, is besties with Humza Yousaf oh and I understand was in a relationship with the woman at the centre of the Mark McD stitch up, who worked for Dornan at the time, claims, this country makes me bloody sick, veramente. FFS we are no better than the worst of ”Banana Republics”, fuck and we are not even a Republic.
As for Anwar’s ”ticking time bomb” get tae honestly. Piece of shit, seriously. Aye met him twice for a ‘client’ full of utter crap.
link to archive.is
“Enlighten us as to why trans individuals are not liberated at the moment ? Perhaps we can help?”
Doesn’t matter what I think,it’s their view of liberation that matters to them.
Maybe they are not everyone.
Dakk @8.56pm.
That’s bollocks the SNP might now win a majority because of the shit they’ve stirred up and folk might be so pissed off at them that they might not vote for them. However the same folk who don’t vote for them will still want to dissolve this f*cked up union.
@ Elmac who says
Elmac says:
6 February, 2021 at 7:37 pm
For Neale Hanvey, Joanna Cherry, Kenny Macaskill and all other MPs/MSPs with an ounce of decency and honesty left. Time to stand up to this corrupt tyranny.
ALSO
You were elected to serve the best interests of Scotland.
NOT only Scotland BUT the people of Scotland, those very people who are your constituents,
YOU are not there to be complicit in ruining Scotland’s chances to be free from a corrupt WM govt , nor are you there to protect and be complicit with your silence in the destruction of justice and legality in Scotland by an amoral clique whose interests are the opposite of democracy , truth and integrity ,
WE the Scottish electorate are depending on you to expose what has been going on with Sturgeon and her twittler cabal and to RESCUE our independence from a shower of FRAUDSTERS and ("Tractor" - Ed)s
@Dakk,
Your fighting awfy hard to promote the views of folk you just admit you know nothing of.n
Look at the government structures of the party: all compromised and taken over by some trojan horse (I am convinced the trojan horse is a tool of the British state).
It’s obvious, given that Labour is infested and being torn apart by the the exact same one. Seen their new proposed definition of transphobia? It’ll be very similar to what the SNP NEC wanted to propose just last weekend. There is, of course, no definition of “trans people” so when reading it you can only read it as “Anyone who claims the name and is part of the right clique”. (It’s certainly no longer people with gender dysphoria who have transitioned, who are mostly despised by TRAs and their allies. Nor is it “gender non-conforming people as that includes most GC women, and especially lesbians like JC).
link to labourtransequality.org.uk
Why would anyone turn down the opportunity of attending an inquiry full of menopausal wimin and beta males?
@ Bob Mack
“Your fighting awfy hard to promote the views of folk you just admit you know nothing of.”
Not promoting, accepting I don’t know how bad it might feel for how many,so keeping an open mind that if it works in Ireland, Norway etc then I won’t get my y fronts in a twist about to all.
Sick of virtue signallers in Gitmo masks.
I wonder how much of the truth will be published in the media….absolutely none, the British state is full of liars thieves and clowns, sucking on the trough of the taxpayers and laughing at us.
The British government are full of self serving thieves and every moment that the SNP remains there they are doin* the same.
I have lost faith in their desire for independence they are are selling out Scotland and laughing at us.
I joined the SNP 30 years ago inspired by ALEX Salmond , I have now left and never will join again, MI6 have great soldier in Sturgeon and her cabal, she will certainly be reviled in history as a British stooge.
The SNP need to change their name to the colony of Britain party, as they are doing their utmost right now to remain so.
@Dakk,
Womens protected rights are there under European law. The SNP want to change that which would be illegal.
Normally the Europeans are quite liberal but they do see a need for sex based protections. You clearly dont and support a minority view.
DanDLion @ 8:18
Re Lesley Riddoch’s excellent documentary on Estonian independence, the final conclusions revealed what are the three key requirements for independence:
1. National identity, as without national consciousness there is no aspiration for nationhood and independence;
2. Courage, required of the people and their leaders at the time of declaring independence; and
3. Replace those running state institutions on behalf of the former colonial rulers.
Melvin and Pixywine
I know it hurts that Boris’s boys took a helluva beating early evening,but it’s only a game 🙂
The only people who wear masks when there is no need to are bank robbers and people who have something to hide.
A great piece rev.
I wholeheartedly agree that when normality returns and we have an honest independent government running this country, the corruption and lies of the worms involved in this disgusting affair should face criminal charges.
@ Bob Mack
*Normally the Europeans are quite liberal but they do see a need for sex based protections”
Eh?
Ireland and Norway have had self id for years.
Slightly OT thought of the day and in broadly general terms….Let’s say things start looking more ropey for Nicola and friends in the next week or so, to the extent that an SNP candidate feels less confident about a central Edinburgh seat being a nailed-on success, for himself specifically in the run up to May.
Is there a way that he would/could nominate a close family member as a substitution, and who would definitely be an ambitious candidate yet still a fresh face to the SNP voter in the street, and who wouldn’t face short-term flak/resistance from the wider voter base?
@Dakk,
It hasnt been challenged in court. Thats all. It would be here.
That’s bollocks the SNP might now win a majority because of the shit they’ve stirred up
Take it you meant NOT win a majority.
The irony.
What has Wings been since 2019 doing but shit stirring?
Update on Sarah Philimore case. Solicitors have exchanged letters.
“At the moment I am not inclined to settle, but of course I will take the advice you are all paying for”
How did Dornan become bankrupt? Does anyone know?
@Dakk,
What has Wings been doing?
Simply telling the truth.!
Last comment was reply to Republic of Scotland apologies.
“What has Wings been since 2019 doing but shit stirring”
Lets not feed the troll, leave it alone and it will crawl back up Daniel Reeve’s arse in Denison barracks.
S”imply telling the truth.!”
Some truth, some spin, much conjecture,and a lot of shit stirring btl.
Norway and Ireland have self-Id’s . Are transwomen put into female prisons? Can transwomen compete as a woman in all sports and athletics events?
@dakk 10.10pm
Truly if ignorance were bliss you must be in a near constant state of orgasm.
Wings, and the many who support and agree with him, didn’t:
– soft pedal on indy for 6 years
– refuse to put the question of legality of Holyrood calling a referendum without a S30 order beyond doubt
– prioritised the Pyrrhic attempt to stop brexit over independence
– promoted policies with negligible popular support like self-ID, GRA and HCB
– refused to deal with the abuse and entryism of the woke Wahhabis
– tried to frame Alex Salmond
– attempted even now to hobble the enquiry in to the cover up.
If the SNP fail to win an outright majority, they have only themselves to blame. Given their recent behaviour, anyone who really cares about democracy, open government and progressive politics shouldn’t look forward to 5 more years of Sturgeonista government.
Beaker @9.14
“Trending on Twitter: #canchristiansbefeminist
Who thinks up this shit?”
Probably the same folk at the BBC who come up with things like ‘can I still tie my shoelaces during a pandemic?’ Or ‘can lying headfirst in a dustbin help my marriage?’ …and so on. My money’s on the Beeb.
Paid my subs to NowScotland and it set me thinking. A fiver a year and ignoring the begging letters will not pay many wages for the spads and runners running the SNP AND listening to Neale Hanvey to stay or even rejoin the SNP for the sake of independence chimed with my gut feeling that we have to cleanse the Aegean Stables and fulfil our dream.
Yes! I guess that I will do that and the first online AGM at my branch will merit going viral.
John Wayne said it “ Aw,he truly is the son of God”
BTW “semitic” includes Arabs AND Jews so if the treatment of Palestinians worries you the. The
hypocrisy of the PM of Israel abusing the memory of the holocaust to attack Palestine is truly
Disgusting.
@ JSC at 10:10 pm
Simply No,
From what I saw in 2015, 16 and 17, the structure is, I’d suggest is loaded
Look at the rubbish that is being promoted
“Lets not feed the troll”
Lol
OK I’ll leave yous to the likes of Captain Yossarian and Hatuey.
“Just for a little while” mind 🙂
Jsc, who are you referring to ? Robertson the Odious? If it is he, then who do you mean as his close family member? If you mean his wife, Jennifer nee Dempsie, I heard she was trying to get herself on the list for Highland and Islands. But she used to be soft on independence apparently. Not sure she would be a convincing candidate, ambitious for sure, perhaps a wee bit too ambitious for her own good.
-Dakk-
If the SNP leadership didn’t want to be exposed as corrupt, identity-politics-obsessed closet unionists, they should have tried not being corrupt, identity-politics-obsessed closet unionists.
I do not support the union, so I do not vote for professedly nationalist but de facto unionist parties, so I won’t be voting SNP.
I do not support identity politics and transgender mania, so I don’t vote for parties who support it, so I won’t be voting SNP.
I am against corruption, so do not vote for corrupt parties, so I won’t be voting SNP.
Spare us the Kumbaya nonsense about “pulling together” and “eyes on the prize”. What prize is that? Josh Mennie entering women’s loos, and honest independence supporters being hauled up in front of the courts? Because that’s all we’re getting based on a cursory look at Sturgeon’s record. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, “when someone shows you who they are for six and a half years, believe them”.
The SNP do not own my vote, that is the Scottish Labour mentality there which is being repeated.
Example of how these folk roll. David Paislay has tweeted the SNP to ask why memers have funded Philimore.He then includes the LBGT community as a shield to protect himself Your defamation David.You own it.
Alan Mackintosh, OK thanks, I was trying to be a bit more ambiguous with the names, but I figure if the “ba’s up on the slates” in the next few weeks then people might be looking for alternative options
Looks likw James Kelly is seeking attention
James Kelly
@JamesKelly
It’s clear that, whatever happens, Wings Over Scotland is going to churn out anti-SNP propaganda until election day. Given his readership numbers, that could be pure poison if those swayed by him only have no-hoper fringe parties to vote for.
Replying to
@JamesKelly
So that’s another argument for an Alex Salmond-led list party. And if a credible alternative to the SNP existed, Wings might even start channelling his energies in a more positive direction. Winning votes and seats rather than trying to tear the house down.
-Republicofscotland-
It would be at least understandable if they were a 77th Brigade member. At least they would be cynical but not stupid. Problem is the number of gormless types who need to believe in Oor Nicola.
Here’s one that’s been bugging me for, oooooh, minutes on end –
Why is Murrell going back to the inquiry after just refusing to appear?
Was it the publication of Alex Salmond’s submission which prompted him to change his mind?
Was he given a nod/wink by someone that he could appear at the committee ‘safely’?
That’s all very conspiratorial, of course. But if it’s even close to the truth, what does Murrell expect to be asked about? Let’s forget about Alex Salmond – how can they avoid the subject of the Whatsapp messages and his claim never to have used the thing. How can they possibly do a full ‘session’ (usually between 2 and 3 hours) without asking him about that and having it cleared-up one way or another?
Or is the Whatsapp stuff part of what now cannot be discussed and, therefore, never actually happened at all?
Be fair, England’s rugby team are not “Boris’ boys” – only around 45% of England voted for that tosser!
But well done Scotland – cracking game!
P.S. Does anyone know how deep these proverbial ‘rabbit-holes’ actually go and how long it takes to get out of the fuckers?
Look, it all looks rather unlikely now BUT:
I) if the SNP fail to go into the May election making it a plebiscite and fail to act to get a referendum; AND,
II) they win but are a minority government dependent on others’ votes to get through budgets, laws etc etc, AND;
III) the next biggest party is an Indy list party and between them they have 66% of the seats, they can agree to collapse the Parliament and have another election making it a plebiscite.
Why would this happen and what other potential outcomes are there?
Well if the SNP want to get anything through they would either be held to ransom by:
I) the Indy list party, which might make a ref or some other progress towards actually asking the Indy question a condition of their support for budget etc etc. They could keep doing this till 2026 but there’s a good chance they’ll be punished as more yes supporters get angry with this arrangement and lack of progress towards Indy.
The SNP would then have only two other options available:
II) be so determined to not progress Indy that they choose to side with unionists to get budgets etc etc through. They could keep doing this till 2026 but there’s a good chance they’ll be punished as more yes supporters get angry with this arrangement and lack of progress towards Indy.
III) agree to collapse the Parliament, have another election, and see once and for all whether the Scottish people want to go for it or not.
In either ii or iii above, the SNP might as well be unionists if they take either course. The presence of a yes list party with a decent number of seats would force these moves faster than the current arrangement and make it more obvious if there is any more backsliding.
Ian Brotherhood @10:36 “Was he given a nod/wink by someone that he could appear at the committee ‘safely’?” This would appear the most likely…The way he does or doesn’t answer questions should be a giveaway.
Whups, the “they could keep doing this till 2026” section should only appear on section ii of the post-election scenarios of my comment above.
Sunday Post should be interesting tomorrow
link to twitter.com
@ Muscleguy at 10:14 pm
He was nearly Bankrupt , but that was earlier , what it appears he did was sign up to insolvency practitioner,
do a deal with the folk he owed money to via the insolvency practitioner
I expect he had a company and did a Company Voluntary Arrangement ( CVA ) to pay creditors over a fixed period.
If creditors agree, your limited company can continue trading.
If that is what happened He would have signed a legally binding agreement
If it was personal he might have had an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), same conditions would be in place
The Only advantage would he would NOT be bankrupt , but if he breached the condition he would be declared Bankrupt , after he was be taken to court prior to being declared bankrupt (and the name in the paper)
He would have paid a few quid for the service
@ian Brotherhood
Aye, all the way to the bottom. Just like the turtles.
John Digsby
“Be fair, England’s rugby team are not “Boris’ boys””
Was just apeing that Norwegian commentator’s “Maggie thatcher” moment when Norway beat England,to no great effect obviously.
The Scotland rugby team deserve fulsome praise all round for their efforts today.
Concern trolls on here now linking to the Sunday Post for their truth.
Changed days readers.
Wee Chid says:
6 February, 2021 at 9:25 pm
Garavelli Princip says:
6 February, 2021 at 9:05 pm
I take it you are being satirical and know that it isn’t the same person?
Aw Naw! She seemed such a good fit!
Seems to be chatter about Blackman/Paisley going for a fundraiser to help pay for defence against the defamation claim from Philimore?
I ain’t no lawyer but even I can see that’s a pretty desperate move.
But who can blame Blackman when she sees what her boss has been getting away with?
@Dakk,
Changed Party!!
Albert Herring says:
6 February, 2021 at 5:05 pm
“The point of the 2/3 majority is that it enables the parliament to call an election at any time”
Exactly. Which means that when the S30 route fails then that 2/3 of pro independence MSPs can dissolve Parliament and call a plebiscite election at a time of our choosing. We wouldn’t have to wait until 2026
And, should there be an ISP group of MSPs and they submit a motion to that effect the SNP would have to decide whether to support it, or side with the unionist parties.
(assuming here the the SNP will reject using the 2021 election as a plebiscite)
Ian Brotherhood @ 10.36
PM changed his mind and decided to reappear before the Inquiry when the Tories threatened to have a vote in Holyrood on the Government’s obstructionism. That’s my understanding.
For Sturgeon I guess it was simply a question of what would generate more negative attention – PM giving more evidence or a debate and vote in Holyrood…
We can assume Fabiani will make sure they don’t ask anything too difficult. She’s been doing that since the start. If it’s virtual, we can expect lots of connection issues, etc.
dakk @11:01 As I am the one who posted the Sunday post link, I presume it is me you are referring to as a troll. My understanding of a troll is a person who intentionally upsets people, which I refute. You then go on to address the readers. My understanding is you and I both have equal rights on this site. I would also ask you don’t refer to me as a troll. Thank You.
Ian Brotherhood, out of interest, I don’t know if you had a look at the post I made with the earlier today with links to stuff on the origins of Coronavirus.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
It’s interesting…
That’s assuming you believe his position was ever in doubt or it was a pathetic reuse to make the whole “bin cherry” debacle appear to be non biased. After all, despite the deflection of him being ousted too, he did appear to be reinstated super quick… “It’s ok Mr Dornan(best friend of trans cult fan and wannabe super model Rosa Zambonini) just take a hit for the the cult, it’s only temporary”.
The Scottish Rugby Team reminds me of the SNP, full of Yoons.
My heart never misses a beat whenever I see them.
I think you can go back about four generations and STILL get a game for them.
Kinda stretching the term SCOTTISH Rugby Player, are they not?
Ian Brotherhood @ 10:36pm
“Why is Murrell going back to the inquiry after just refusing to appear?”
No doubt because Alex Salmond’s statement has been rejected/supressed by the committee, even though it is now in the public domain.
Was it the publication of Alex Salmond’s submission which prompted him to change his mind?”
Yeah most likely the publication and subsequent rejection of Alex Salmond’s statement from the enquiry by the committee chairs, while it is now in the public domain I don’t know if the committee will be forced to take that fact into consideration by other committee members and actually publish it as submitted evidence so it can be used by the enquiry.
“Was he given a nod/wink by someone that he could appear at the committee ‘safely’?”
I think the proverbial nod/wink was the motion of Alex Salmonds’ evidence being rejected & supressed by the committee and Murrell getting early word of that fact that made him want to go back to the committee to attempt to untangle the web of lies he already spun to the committee under oath, with his SO giving a personal appearance at the enquiry 2 days later.
What is completely obvious at this point and has been since the start, is that this SNP-led committee is severaly compromised and have had their hands tied from the get-go, they should have the wit to hold their hands up and mandate a judge led inquiry takes over as the SG has not been forthcoming with any evidence, they should do this before their names and reputations are further damaged by their intransigence.
“Changed Party!!”
Who left it in good hands?
“Changed Party”
If you are damning snp now then unless AS comes clean and admits SNP were compromised,this damascene conversion of SNP to unionism does not compute.
Derick fae Yell
“..when the S30 route fails then that 2/3 of pro independence MSPs can dissolve Parliament and call a plebiscite election at a time of our choosing.”
The S30 route has already failed. And why depend on a 2/3 majority, which might never happen, when there is nothing stopping any party from stating in its manifesto that they are treating the forthcoming election as a plebiscite on independence, as Solidarity has proposed:
““If the SNP hierarchy is serious about independence, they can simply recognise that, include it in their Election Manifesto, and if a majority vote for Independence supporting Parties, then independence can be declared and an application to the UN can be made for international recognition. It’s that simple”! “Anything less is not good enough”!”
link to solidarity.scot
So vote for any party that has in its manifesto this May’s election as an independence plebiscite.
@Derek 3:23pm
Waited on someone making the obvious allusion to Bob’s comment… was not disappointed.
Yer showing yer age, but have a beer!
We better all wake up and set our sights 😀
11.29: Neale Hanvey MP has been sacked.
More details on Grouse Beater’s Twitter site, until Stuart loses more sleep and another Sunday publishing his account of events.
@Hatuey –
Must confess, I did see your comment with links but didn’t linger, despite a fleeting curiosity.
Is there any one you would recommend?
@Anyonymoose (11.26) –
What gets me more than anything is the sheer chutzpah.
Why are these characters so cock-sure of themselves? Who is backing them?
On reading Kafka’s “The Trial” a wee 2h8le back, in my naivety, I’d console myself throughout that it was a nightmarish work of fiction.
The horror of what is happening on our own doorstep, here in Scotland, thinking about children,our bairns, grandchildren,
is this really fkn happening under the SNP?
Yes it is.
@rob says:
6 February, 2021 at 10:35 pm
“Looks likw James Kelly is seeking attention
@JamesKelly
It’s clear that, whatever happens, Wings Over Scotland is going to churn out anti-SNP propaganda until election day”
He’s not paying attention to Twitter. The fucking SNP is churning out anti-SNP propaganda, depending on what side / faction of the SNP you sit. Some of it is so bad some people must be wondering if there are two separate parties.
Ian Brotherhood @ 11:51pm
Yeah it gets me too.
If I were in their shoes I’d be pretty shit-sure of myself too, especially if I had control of the strings of the enquiry, the Lord Advocate who is a member of the Scottish Government, the Crown Office (Scotland) who work under the Lord Advocate & ex-MI5 Crown Agent, a range of extremely well paid civil servants with some given contract extensions and 10’s of thousands of pounds in pay rises after failed policies and also working under the protection of the Scottish Government.
The entire outfit stinks.
@mia “You mean to dissolve the parliament to call that election? Why would you want to do that when you can just declare independence at which point another election will have to be called anyway?”
How does declaring independence trigger an election? Where did you get that idea?
You’d want to, because it would be unacceptable to declare independence without any form of referendum. If Scottish Parliament doesn’t have the power to call a referendum, then at least with a supermajority of Indy parties they could dissolve parliament call an election and declare unambiguously that the election is a plebiscite for independence. What are you not understanding?
I get that you hate Nicola etc. But there remains two options for everyone here.
1. Spoil our ballots, makes no practical sense whatsoever. No supermajority and no chance of calling plebiscite election for 5 years. A lacklustre Indy representation in holyrood gives SNP an excuse to do nothing.
2. Vote SNP/ISP into a supermajority and then use every means necessary to force the SNP (e.g. leadership change) to dissolve parliament and call a plebiscite election. Occupy holyrood. General strike. Phone someone, do whatever. The biggest possible pro Indy repression in holyrood is the ammunition the real yes movement needs to force the SNP to act.
Number one fucks any chance of anything. Number two at least gives us options. All the rhetoric is a waste of time unless you have an actual alternative that’s better than that.
The Elizabeth Lloyd who worked with Powell in the Blair Goverment is a different person from the SNP Liz Lloyd. – JimmyB
Bugger! I stand corrected. Bloody schoolboy mistake.
Seduced by the direct connection, too good to be true.
It’s annoying because the narrative doesn’t actually need that connection to be worthy of consideration. Look at the shit that Liz Lloyd is getting away, and look at the shit Alastair Campbell got away with. Is there any difference?
Neale Hanvey sacking
The vaccine minister goes same day as I get my vaccine letter
link to archive.is
We have more crazy news from SNP,with Neale Hanvey being dismissed from Westminster Front Bench team, just days after his appointment, as he was supporting a crowdfunder to sue MP Blackman!
While we all want SNP, and actually have no choice at present, for SNP to do well rt the upcoming Edinburgh elections, it seems some in the senor levels of SNP are doing everything to make sure they don’t get that hoped for majority!
Or maybe they don’t/can’t see what damage this is causing.
Most of us do see the damage, and we are not liking any of one wee bit.
Just came across this report in an article about possible plans to move Prince Edward to Scotland in the Metro paper.
Where has the idea of a seven year delay to an Indy ref come from?
Nicola Sturgeon’s party are predicted to win a landslide in the elections in May after she was praised for her handling of the pandemic.
It’s thought Ms Sturgeon would then push ahead with plans to hold a second independence referendum in seven years.
Wee Patrick now asking for a crowdfunder for his election campaign.
That’s a few of them asking for money. Obviously an MSPs salary isn’t enough…
Ian B, it looks like Corona was definitely around in the summer of 2019. The outbreak of a mystery illness at an old folks home in Fairfax, US, sounds exactly like coronavirus.
The role of Fort Detrick, a military biological research facility, as per the second link, rings alarm bells. It looks like something escaped their labs and they shut the place down for a few weeks right around the same time as the outbreak happened in Fairfax.
As luck would have it, the US military took part in the World Military Games which is a sort of Olympics games for people in the army and guess where they took place in the late summer of 2019? Wuhan!
I don’t suppose it matters where it came from, but if you look into it you will see that lots of people who took part in those games in Wuhan ended up very ill with the sort of symptoms we associate today with coronavirus…
Ah- maybe they mean second Indy ref within 7 years- not in 7 years time! Bad writing, sorry!
SNP literature should now have 2 banner headings:
WHAT’S THE FUCKING POINT/ FREE CARROTS
and re sackings/promotions:
HOW ELSE IS THE TEA BOY GOING TO GET EXPERIENCE
ISP – CUT N PASTE, BUT WITH A WEE BIT EDITTING + TRY TO LOOK KEEN.
Hatuey, Ian B, yep, sure I posted that link to Fort Detrick a while ago.
Another anecdote, August 2019, a unit in Helmand was about 50% understrength with Covid but it was all hushed up as obv no wish to advertise the fact that the unit was not capable of tasking. That was from troops on the ground.
Meg merrilees says:
7 February, 2021 at 12:58 am
Just came across this report in an article about possible plans to move Prince Edward to Scotland in the Metro paper.
Where has the idea of a seven year delay to an Indy ref come from?
Nicola Sturgeon’s party are predicted to win a landslide in the elections in May after she was praised for her handling of the pandemic.
It’s thought Ms Sturgeon would then push ahead with plans to hold a second independence referendum in seven years.
bIT OVER OPTOMISITC ARE THEY NOT 7 YEARS, RATHER THINK OOR NICLA IS THINKING MUCH LONGER DOWN THE LINE.
@ dERRECK FAE YELL, RE ‘Exactly. Which means that when the S30 route fails then that 2/3 of pro independence MSPs can dissolve Parliament and call a plebiscite election at a time of our choosing.
S30 route has already failed multiple times.
I call May Holyrood election as Plebisctite election… that is the time of my choosing.
In fact since it is the most fundamental, central issue of Scotland continued existence I’m calling out all the major elections as defacto Indy refs. With no need for a secondary, ‘higher bar, confirmation vote.
Now, as a supposed Indy supporter, would you like to tell me why that’s not legal. Why you want to inflict higher bars to pass.
The real news is not that the SNP is carrying out ‘scorched earth’ policy…
The real news is that the catchment party – ISP, which hit the ground running with such great promise of ‘the need for May to be Plebiscite Indy Election’ does NOT have that as a MANDATE, but cleverly, it did arrange, just before the binfire, to hold a petition on the subject. Yeah. That’ll fool’em.
Look keen, talk big… carrots.
Alan Mackintosh, that’s interesting… I’ll look into that. Don’t suppose you have any links?
Daisy, it isn’t clear what you’re saying to me. I think I know, but I really shouldn’t need to use my brain to work things out…
Nope, it was told to me by a contact near Catterick, it was a signals unit. I have nothing more than what I said, as I said anecdotal, the only thing to add was they blamed the yanks for bringing it in to the unit. Again, only anecdotal…
As regards the American early cases this was the report I saw regarding the nursing home.
link to mcknights.com
From memory this is only an hour from Fort Detrick, the American bioweapons lab.
In addition this video of a Czech scientist, Sona Pekova PhD, gives an insight into the virus, particularly the later part where she decribes the “ransacking” of the virus control centre.
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmL7okhbVzU&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=LeontynkaCZ
@ Graham 12.19am and others who are unaware of a plebiscite election , this explanation by indy car Gordon Ross covers it well,worth a look
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfjIYv08zcw
sorry
link to youtube.com
John says at 1247
”Look at the shit that Liz Lloyd is getting away, and look at the shit Alastair Campbell got away with. Is there any difference?”
Yes a big difference, the horror Alastair Campbell was good at what he did, can you imagine Liz Lloyd storming into the on air studio of Kingdon FM let alone the on air Channel 4 studio?
As I have said on here before in the weeks before the 2014 vote at Yes Scotland HQ, if she was on the bat phone link from SNP HQ instead of the very capable Geoff Aberdein, we would ALL literally roll our eyes, including Kevin Pringle. She’s the person in meetings, the world over, who speaks for the sake of it and contributes zilch of any substance.
Went looking to see if the Sunday Post had put up their story on the Fabiani Inquiry and found this story instead:
NEWS SPECIAL: Insolvency expert David Whitehouse vows to put Crown Office in the dock for baseless prosecution over Rangers collapse
link to sundaypost.com
An insolvency expert shattered by a baseless prosecution has vowed to put the Crown Office and Police Scotland in the dock, saying the legal action against him should be investigated as potentially criminal.
David Whitehouse, one of several executives targeted in a fraud investigation following the deal to buy Rangers out of administration nearly 10 years ago, described his treatment as “utterly scandalous”.
In an unprecedented admission, the Crown Office has accepted there was no evidence against him and his prosecution was malicious. However, after sharing a £21 million compensation award with a colleague, who was also prosecuted without grounds, Whitehouse will go to court this week to demand evidence is released that, he believes, will help prove Scotland’s most senior prosecutors and police acted illegally.
He said: “I believe that those responsible should be held to account and I struggle with the concept that you can wilfully, intentionally and maliciously prosecute people with no evidential basis and not cross the boundary into criminality.
“I have a hearing on Thursday in which we are making an application to use the material we recovered for civil litigation to bring a criminal complaint in relation to officers of Police Scotland and Crown Office staff including the former Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland. I want to see them prosecuted. They used the full power of the state to abuse every process of the justice system and that should not be allowed to happen. If there is not an inquiry into this that will be a further scandal.”
The case against Mr Whitehouse was initiated by Mr Mulholland, now High Court judge, but was dropped months before James Wolffe succeeded him as Lord Advocate in 2016. However, the Crown fought the civil action of Mr Whitehouse for another four years. Mr Wolffe is now expected to address the Scottish Parliament on the scandal at the Crown Office.
Mr Whitehouse and his colleague Paul Clark, who also worked for corporate restructuring firm Duff & Phelps and has been awarded a share of the £21m compensation, had been charged with fraud after Rangers’ takeover by Craig Whyte in 2011 and subsequent collapse the following year. Others involved were also investigated and prosecuted but none was convicted and the compensation and costs linked to related civil actions against the Crown Office could top £100m.
Mr Whitehouse said: “What happened to me was utterly scandalous and there needs to be some form of inquiry and investigation to ensure it does not happen again.
“What needs to happen is for the Crown Office and Police Scotland to take responsibility, own up with candour over what happened and address it. What should not happen is a scattergun approach to using the public purse to just buy it off. This was not a situation where they made mistakes. They absolutely knew there was not an evidential basis for what they were doing, and they did it for an improper motive.
“Then Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland was at the pinnacle of the decision-making process and was, therefore, responsible for the prosecution. I have made my feelings on him clear to the Crown Office. I think the Lord President should be asking him to account for his conduct and should be considering whether he is a fit and proper person to sit as a judge.”
Now, Mr Whitehouse, 54, has told how his life was shattered after being investigated and charged without evidence. He was first arrested in November 2014 then again in September 2015, ahead of a court appearance where prosecutors said they were seeking further time to investigate the case.
He said: “I was taken from my house in Cheshire at 8.30am driven to Glasgow and spent six days in a police cell, with no bed and a concrete floor, at Helen Street station. I was treated worse than a terrorist.
“On the Saturday after I was arrested, I was visited in the cell by an officer who said he was obliged to tell me they had received intelligence that my family was at risk and there was material on the internet and so on. I asked to speak to my family and my lawyer and was told the duty sergeant said no.
“It was akin to torture. Why would you come into a cell to tell someone, ‘your family’s at risk but there’s nothing you can do about it’?
“They opposed bail on the basis I might flee the country and I spent six days locked up on a complete fabrication. If they had called me, I would have attended at any police station for interview. The second arrest, they turned up first thing in the morning, blocked my street with police cars and handcuffed and searched me in the street. It was just awful behaviour.”
Mr Whitehouse said Mr Mulholland must answer for the initial investigation launched without evidence but Mr Wolffe, his successor as Lord Advocate, must explain why the case was not dropped and why the Crown defended his civil action for years despite the lack of evidence against him.
He said: “The civil litigation should never have been defended in the manner it was defended. They maintained for four years that Crown Office staff were entitled to proceed and it was only when a cloak of immunity was lifted, and they had to provide the evidence to support this, that they crumbled, said they did not have the evidence and admitted a malicious prosecution.
“Had they made that admission four years ago it would have had a very different impact on me, and that sits with the current Lord Advocate. That cannot be allowed to go unchecked.
“People should be entitled to a presumption of innocence and their liberty should be respected and, indeed, sacrosanct. The effect and the strain from this, on all aspects of my life over several years, has been huge.”
Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark are understood to have received around £21m in damages and more than £3m in legal costs from the Crown Office who admitted liability, including, it is understood, for the conduct of police. It’s understood Police Scotland paid out a nominal six-figure sum over the case.
The pair were awarded the compensation after the Crown Office’s QC admitted in court their prosecution over the 2012 Rangers administration had been malicious.
Mr Whitehouse said orders granted previously for recovery of Crown Office documents limited the material’s use to the civil litigation which has now concluded. He said: “The Court of Session application is to enable me use the material for the purpose of making criminal complaints and reports in relation to conduct and, secondly, to be able to give evidence at any subsequent public inquiry.
“I am in a position where I had the means to afford litigation to bring these people to account and it begs the question of how often this kind thing happens and people can’t afford court action. It shouldn’t just be for the wealthy to achieve justice.”
Two others involved in the 2012 Rangers buy-out, former chief executive Charles Green and Imran Ahmad, also received Crown Office apologies and are seeking damages of about £20m each. Another Duff & Phelps administrator, David Grier, who was also investigated then cleared, is suing the Crown Office and Police Scotland for about £14m.
The Crown Office said: “The Lord Advocate intends to make a statement to the Scottish Parliament when the actions raised by Mr Clark and Mr Whitehouse are concluded.
“A number of ongoing related court actions will restrict the scope of this statement. However, the Lord Advocate is committed to supporting public understanding of these cases and will provide as much information as he properly can. The Justice Committee has written to the Lord Advocate on this subject and that correspondence will be responded to in due course.”
Police Scotland said: “We have reached an agreement to resolve this dispute and, as part of that agreement, will make no further comment.”
OPINION: It is unprecedented, shocking, and has to be investigated.But how? By who?
By Graeme Pearson, former head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and a former MSP
It is completely unprecedented in Scottish legal history that a prosecution would be admitted as malicious. That is not incompetence or oversight, that is someone knowingly engaging in a wrongful prosecution and that is shocking.
I am also shocked at the relative lack of comment on this matter in public life across Scotland. More than £20 million has so far been paid from the public purse in damages. The Crown Office’s entire budget last year was around £120m and there are yet more cases to come.
I would have thought the noise would have been deafening. Instead, there has almost been silence. The Justice Secretary, the Parliament and the Scottish Police Authority have said little or nothing.
In my experience as a police officer you gather evidence and, if you are unsure where it’s taking you, direction is taken from the procurator fiscal (PF). The PF acts as a devil’s advocate, challenging evidence. It helps decide if there is a case to answer.
I would have thought Crown Office would have been right in the middle of this case. Yet we arrive at the point where warrants were issued, offices searched and people were detained before someone said ahead of the trial, “whoops, this prosecution shouldn’t have been mounted” and it’s eventually declared malicious. I can’t understand how we got to that point and the system’s checks and balances didn’t close it down much earlier. It’s a legal scandal in a very real sense.
It used to be said that Scotland was a world leader in the administration of justice and the protection of human rights. It’s all the more reason to question how this situation even occurred with none of the checks and balances operating in either Police Scotland or the Crown Office.
I think the establishment could find it almost impossible to identify an appropriate office to conduct any criminal inquiry into this. The Crown Office have always seen themselves as standing above any other investigative authority in Scotland other than the courts and, more recently, perhaps, the Scottish Parliament. Strictly speaking, it’s the police’s duty to act under direction of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Therefore, if another police force is brought in to investigate, all they could do is check the administrative element of the various stages dealt with by Police Scotland officers.
In the absence of greater clarity in the future I can only imagine a senior judge-led inquiry could hope to get to the bottom of this debacle.
I was aware of some of the details mentioned above but that read gives a clearer picture altogether. Cheers for that.
It seems Mr Wolffe likes to keep shady goings on secret until he’s absolutely forced to let them out and in league with others that’s exactly what he’s doing re the harassment enquiry.
His time will come and hopefully it’ll be a long time. ‘Do some time Mr Wolffe do some time’.
From the above Sunday Post article is apparent that the whole apparatus of justice in Scotland is in crisis. A High Court judge presided over a malicious prosecution in his previous role of Lord Advocate. The current Lord Advocate defended a civil action that he knew to be indefensible for four years at great cost to the plaintiff, presumably with the intent of exhausting his financial resources forcing him to abandon the case. Fortunately David Whitehouse had deep enough pockets to prevail. As he says:
“I am in a position where I had the means to afford litigation to bring these people to account and it begs the question of how often this kind thing happens and people can’t afford court action. It shouldn’t just be for the wealthy to achieve justice.”
We have seen the current LA bring further malicious prosecutions against Salmond, Hirst and Murray, of which the latter two could perhaps not have been able to mount a competent defence without crowdfunding. How many ordinary people have been railroaded by COPFS and the Police who lacked the means to defend themselves? There is an urgent need for a Royal Commission to inquire into administration of justice in Scotland and to recommend reforms.
Why a Royal Commission? My understanding is that in the UK a Minister can stop an Inquiry by a simple order, whereas once launched a Royal Commission can not. The RC should be an eminent retired judge from outside Scotland (and preferably the UK) and supported by investigators from another police force. Its Terms of Reference should include the Rangers, Salmond, Hirst and Murray cases and a selection of other cases from the previous 10 years put forward by the legal profession.
@Dave L
It seems we can’t blame Wolffe for the Rangers malicious prosecution, only for the cover-up afterwards. What’s really concerning is that his predecessor is now sitting as a High Court judge!
A vote for snap is not a vote for Scotland
If you could ask every SNP MP or MSP and they had to tell the truth what was the three most important things at being a MP or MSP it would be 1 Money 2 Benefits 3 keeping there other jobs. THEY DON’T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE, apart from a certain few and we all know who they are.
Well done to our rugby team, lovely job well done.
So Neil Hanvey now sacked from SNP front bench vaccine spokesperson and the blood bath of Tzar Nicola continues.
Not long to the Big Bang now and a new party.
Out with old, and in with new. It’s coming.
NS and the woke cabal use the Twitler Youth and others as their untouchable attack dogs. The SNP has now officially gone rogue.
Nicola Sturgeon is creating an SNP in her own image, and it’s not a pretty picture.
Obviously they’re not what they used to be, but the press are really going for Sturgeon this morning. A good few “SNP in crisis” headlines on the front page. The Herald even has the lese-majeste to call it “the downfall of Nicola Sturgeon”.
Tbh I’m not sure this will make much difference, but then again, once a narrative sets in, it can be hard to shift…
Was it Mulholland Drive that powered along the malicious prosecution of Whitehouse and Clark?
@Johnny 10.47pm
The SNP could “engineer” an election at Holyrood anytime it wanted simply by resigning and then making sure no FM could be elected. If that happens, then the PO is obliged to call for a new election.
This of course is another big argument in favour of ensuring the election of as many ISP (or other new “fundamentalist” pro-indy party) MSPs as possible. The SNP and Greens aren’t to be trusted, as their recent behaviour shows.
The ISP and any such new party would do well to bake it into their constitutions that any and all elections will henceforth be regarded as plebiscitary and that they will not co-operate with any party which doesn’t support that position.
They should also in my view be pushing for a root and branch reform of the Scottish judiciary to ensure proper independent oversight, “real” separation of powers between the executive and judiciary, and the institution of an independent body tasked with investigating situations like the malicious prosecutions in cases like Salmond, Rangers, Murray and Hirst. It’s simply unacceptable that the government and its cronies appear to have carte blanche to make malicious prosecutions without any method of holding those responsible to account.
Now is the time to separate the SNP from the drive for independence.
In fact, so damaging are they to the cause that a key argument that is likely to be used by our opponents is that it would be too dangerous to allow an independent nation to be governed by a party that is rotten to the core.
Virtually every aspect of civic life is now infected and their reach extends into the 3rd sector where government funding is used as a noose to tie services to the SNP philosophy.
Our justice system is now being ridiculed on the international stage, our political system (Holyrood Parish Council) a laughing stock, and the greatest achievements after 14 years of nationalist rule are a temporary bridge over the Forth, and a stack of baby boxes and tampons.
Others perceive us not as a modern progressive nation but as a country that might fit quite neatly into the former Soviet Socialist republics.
We are now at the stage where I could see Westminster intervening, and justifiably so. Just wait until the campaigning for indyref2 begins. They will attack us on the economy, currency plans, EU membership, public service performance, and now CORRUPTION.
Anyone studying commerce would recognise the need for re-branding before this happens.
New leadership, a clearly articulated vision, and a full commitment to democratic principles.
Out with the old, in with the new.
link to tns2019.org
dakk says:
6 February, 2021 at 8:47 pm
” Im fighting for liberation for all”
Ur ye, aye,?
That’s quite a claim.
What about people who want freedom to identify as their preferred gender?”
They aren’t fighting for the right to identify as their preferred gender. People have the freedom to identify however they like.
What they are fighting for is the right to compel others to accept their delusion.
under threat of prosecution.
That’s the point where sane people say fuck off.
Just went back and read the ‘ malicious prosecution’ archive especially loved this bit!
“The Lord Advocate indicated that in the event allegations are made, either criminal or disciplinary, he will involve independent external senior counsel, not previously involved in the cases to be involved “and that is to provide further confidence” in fairness and integrity.”
StuartM says at 4:49 am:
“Went looking to see if the Sunday Post had put up their story on the Fabiani Inquiry and found this story instead: “Insolvency expert David Whitehouse vows to put Crown Office in the dock for baseless prosecution over Rangers collapse”.”
That story was actually from last week’s Sunday Post. This week’s does run with the Harassment Enquiry story.
Incidentally, the Sunday Post is rather a good read these days; check it out..
For those interested in the White case (thank you Stuart for posting), the managers of a former special school are taking very similar action against John Swinney and the Care Inspectorate for ‘malicious prosecution’. I.e. the forced closure of a very safe and happy school community on the basis of false allegations by the CI. There was simply no evidential base for any action against the school.
Unblemished careers destroyed, lives shattered, and 25 vulnerable kids put at “serious risk to life, health and well being”.
Defamation appears to be the modus operandi for pushing through government policy.
link to tns2019.org
Sorry – Whitehouse
Starmer ally says Covid- the gift that keeps on
giving for lawyers!
Why did we need a Covid Crisis before Amazon’s billions
pay the appropriate tax?
On talk of U.K. vaccine passports for travel and access to
large public events- who do you think will make money from
them?
Will they need to be expensive to avoid forgeries?
With figures of effectiveness going anywhere between
33 and 90%, could a third of those with the vaccine catch
Covid at a Glastonbury or Cheltenham type event?
There are people with health conditions who are not suitable
for the vaccine.
Are they then prisoners in their own home?
Are they to receive additional benefits to live in isolation?
Probably the biggest headline that will need to be covered up
and the fake opposition wouldn’t like to mention-
U.K. exports to the EU drop by 68%!
Does that qualify as a great oven ready Brexit deal giving
England wonderful new opportunities.
Note that not only are these billions lost to the economy but
Grants to those who now cannot export may also be in billions?
When the Exports and Grants stop we then spend billions on benefits.
@TNS2019 – Best of luck to you sir.
The Swinney and Sturgeon double-act need to go before people are killed. That may sound like an over-reaction but you and I know that it isn’t an over-reaction at-all.
Tom @9:25 “the Sunday Post is rather a good read these days”
I agree 100%. Re’ Fabiani Inquiry- I find whatever the front page is on the paper version is not usually published online until later in the day. Check back after 4pm.
Captain Yossarian
Much appreciated. We will keep you updated.
TNS 2019
Why do you think that they targeted school for closure?
What motivated them?
Dave
2 reasons. The school catered for kids who did not cope in mainstream and was funded by local authorities. However, pressures were increasing on LA budgets and education cuts meant that there was an increasing flow of prospective pupils to the school which they could not stop.
So they needed rid of it for financial reasons.
Look at the key personnel in the Care Inspectorate and Perth & Kinross Council at the time.
In May 2018, the CE of the Care Inspectorate became CE of PKC, and the retiring CE of PKC joined the board of the CareInspectorate.
So it was easy to engineer a fake inspection and false allegations.
TNS2019 wrote:
“Our justice system is now being ridiculed on the international stage, our political system (Holyrood Parish Council) a laughing stock”
I wouldn’t go that far, mainly because most of the world doesn’t pay much attention to Scotland at any time. It might be helpful if they did, might get the chairwarmers on the SNP to grow a spine and kick out the Murrells.
“electoral vampire Rhiannon Spear”
😀
Funny because it’s so very true.
kapelmeister says:
7 February, 2021 at 8:53 am
Nicola Sturgeon is creating an SNP in her own image, and it’s not a pretty picture.
THat has got to be the best quote so far!
StuartM
From the above Sunday Post article is apparent that the whole apparatus of justice in Scotland is in crisis. A High Court judge presided over a malicious prosecution in his previous role of Lord Advocate. The current Lord Advocate defended a civil action that he knew to be indefensible for four years at great cost to the plaintiff, presumably with the intent of exhausting his financial resources forcing him to abandon the case.
_______
It seems the SNP has successfully created a “failed State” even before Scotland is restored as an independent State!!!!
But, I gather, there is no alternative!
“because it would be unacceptable to declare independence without any form of referendum”
Unacceptable for whom?
Take a look at the number of colonies that left the empire, how many of them had a referendum? Did Canada have a referendum? Did USA have a referendum? Did Australia have a referendum? Did New Zealand have a referendum? Did Ireland have a referendum?
Why on earth people here and elsewhere insist over and over again in demanding from Scotland a higher threshold to exercise its self determination than it has ever been required everywhere else?
Where does the subjective “need” to continuously make us jump over higher and higher barriers than it has actually ever been required, come from?
That does not make us any favours. That does not make us any better in the eyes of international law nor it makes us more democratic than everybody else. It makes us look like fools. Insecure fools who are afraid of saying out loud what they want and who seem to be asking for the blessing and their hands to be held by the political partner that has been abusing our country for the last 300 years and that is the very reason why we want to become independent.
Facilitating things to our partner to retain us in this union against our will does not make us look any better in the eyes of the international community. It makes them question if we actually want independence. Anywhere else in the world, including England, they just need to say what they want once. Why do we have to say it over 20 times before we can be taken seriously?
How can we expect others to take us seriously if we are not even taking ourselves seriously?
The only beneficiary of us putting more unnecessary obstacles in front of ourselves and delaying the process is the British state and our political partner, with clear vested interests in our preserving the union.
The question we need to ask ourselves is: do we want independence yes or not? If we want independence then we do not need a referendum nor any extra election. We gave a mandate for one referendum already, several actually, and we were denied that democratic right by the collusion of two governments, that of the British state and the one we elected to represent our interest in Scotland but that has spectacularly failed.
What we should do now is not to acquiesce to this denial of our rights and yet again ask for another mandate for a vote, but to grab those rights ourselves, and that starts for voting for independence by the means we have in front of us, whatever they are.
A new political party that does not give the opportunity for that vote but that yet again ask us for yet another mandate to hold a vote in the future is the exact same that voting for the SNP: a waste of time if what you want is independence.
We could be independent right now. Actually we SHOULD be independent right now: we have had 3 consecutive absolute majorities of nationalist MPs in Westminster elected because their party constitutional aim to achieve Scotland’s independence, which before 2000 was more than sufficient to end the union. So why is it not sufficient now? Why isn’t this even enough to grant a fckng referendum?
And where exactly does this now self-imposed “requirement” to have an independence referendum or a supermajority come from?
A referendum is not required under international law and neither is a supermajority. They never were. Any process that demonstrate the will of a non-self governing peoples to self-determine and become independent is enough. Well, we have been demonstrating that since May 2015 and we also have now around 20 polls that prove it. Including a mandate to end the union in the manifesto of some parties and voting for it, is all what we need now.
If as a party you put permanently the end of the union in your effing manifesto, THAT is a referendum in itself and you will have a referendum in every single election. What is not to like? What is the trepidation? What do you have to lose if what you really want is independence and the current route considered as “gold standard” by a fraction of the political spectrum has a padlock and a chain on the door so we cannot take it?
As a matter of fact, a referendum is not the “gold standard” unless you have the absolute certainty that the vested interests of your political partner will not attempt to interfere on it. Do we have that certainty?
The British state had that certainty with the EU: we did not see mountains of cash from the EU entering the remain campaign, nor 24/7 propaganda from the EU bombarding us in our own homes. We did not have campaigns with HQ in Brussels attempting to change our vote. We did not have European Actors and Actresses, nor EU politicians coming into the UK to campaign against Brexit. Brussels did not attempt to change the goalposts a week before the EU referendum with fake vows or anything of the sort.
Brussels did not tamper with the postal votes to ensure a win.
Now take a hard look at every aspect of indyref2014, can you honestly say that our political partner did not stick its fingers up to their armpits on it? No, you cannot. Those fingers were stuck in every possible aspect of the referendum, therefore it was not a fair referendum. If this was what we had when they were convinced they were going to win, imagine what we will have if they know they are going to lose. The exact same will happen if you dissolve parliament to hold a election-referendum. The only way to ensure this will not happen is to totally exhaust the opposition pushing it to the wall by declaring every election Holyrood or Westminster a referendum from now on.
If the end of the union is included in the manifesto, the election itself, and I mean May’s election and every other election ever since, IS the actual referendum. You do not need an extra one. What is this obsession with thinking continuously that we need yet another vote to make it democratic?
And yes, actually. You do indeed need an election after declaring independence. Why? Because currently you have UK parties in our parliament. You cannot pretend to start as an independent state when political parties that are openly protecting the interests of another country and that have their main headquarters in that other country are sitting in your effing parliament. To claim you are ready for independence but still keeping those parties in your parliament would be a complete farce.
In the same way, if Scotland declares independence, all our MPs will be immediately chucked out of Westminster or denied the opportunity to take part in votes. If you read Hansard from around 2013-2014, they were already discussing that at the time: even if there was a delay in Scotland starting as an independent state, they were wondering what would be the perceived legitimacy for a Uk gov and parliament to continue acting on behalf a country that has just rejected their legitimacy at the polls. they were also asking if after the people of Scotland had elected independence, there was a place at all for the Scottish MPs to continue in parliament.
“What are you not understanding?”
This:
1. If those parties have in their manifesto a mandate to end the union, then why the hell do you need to dissolve the parliament and call yet another election to deliver the exact same thing those parties were already voted in for in the first place: to end the union. If there is a majority of seats given to parties that have that mandate to end the union in their manifesto, that is it. You do not need to call another referendum or vote or election. THAT election that put them in the seats is the vote.
2. For as long as those small parties rely on the current infiltrated SNP left as a worthless pro indy tool, to cooperate in progressing independence, the whole thing is a complete farce and a waste of time. They will not cooperate.
3. It seems to me that what we are talking about here is those parties, and the ISP in particular dragging their heels in putting that mandate in their manifestos. In other words, what they are really after is to act as a tool to prop up the supremacy of the SNP and hand them some extra seats by the back door so the SNP can continue to kick the can of independence down the road.
So let’s start by asking the question:
Does the ISP want independence for Scotland or just a few seats to help up the SNP to continue denying us independence?
If the answer is that they want independence, then they will have to include that mandate to end the union in their manifesto. If they don’t, well, then frankly they are of as much use as the SNP in its present state, because unable to get a majority of their own, the ISP will be relying entirely on the SNP’s will to progress independence to make decisions. That is a complete waste of time and will lead us nowhere. We will be in 2026 back at square one.
Mia
I’m inclined to agree.
To me the passion, bloodymindedness, determination and committment is missing from those leaders who claim to want independence for our country.
100%Yes at 8.07am
Well done Scotland’s rugby team but would anyone actually know that we won?
I can guarantee that if England had won, the headlines for all bulletins this morning would have been along the lines of … “England thrash Scotland to win the Calcutta Cup again”
Yet, have you heard the game mentioned? Nope!
So much for an equal UK – any normal, unbiased, broadcaster would say that..
“In rugby today, Scotland has beaten England at Twickenham to regain the Calcutta Cup”
But, of course, I’m just a whingeing Jock!
MIa
“Did Australia have a referendum?”
________
Sorry, Australia is not a good model.
It was always an ardent supporter of the Empire. It never really wanted it to end!!
Australia had referrendums in the various colonies on whether to federate into one dominion during the late 1890s to 1900.
It has never had a referrendum on “leaving the Empire”, lol
It was more a case of Westminster forcing the Australian colonies to take responsibilty for their own defence etc. But defence and foreign policy was largely determined by Westminster up until the loss of Singapore in 1942.
Gradually during the 20th century the vestigal legal connections with Westminster were severed (Privy Council etc).
Then the UK left Australia and NZ in the lurch economically in the early 70’s when they joined the proto European Community.
Before that our economies, and our pounds, were tied to the UK.
Since then, sadly, we have largely become a colony of Washington.
Hopefully one day we will become independent.
100%yes 8.02
Ain’t that the truth.
@Riakli 11.27am
Also worth remembering that in 1933 the good people of Western Australia voted to secede from the Federal Commonwealth of Australia by 66% in favour to 34% against. Only six of the 50 federal districts voted No.
After a petition was sent to the British Parliament to give effect to the secession under the 1901 Constitution of Australia which had established federation, but a joint committee of the UK parliament decided that under the 1931 Statute of Westminster, the proposal required the consent of the Federal Government. It was at least arguable at that point that the UK could basically have declared Western Australia an independent state.
The British nationalists ability to intervene and legislate with effect in Australia was not ended until 1986 under the Australia Act. Interestingly the British version of that Act was passed with the request and consent of the Australian Parliament, which previously obtained the concurrence of the Parliaments of the Australian states.
link to en.wikipedia.org
Andy Ellis
The British nationalists ability to intervene and legislate with effect in Australia was not ended until 1986 under the Australia Act. Interestingly the British version of that Act was passed with the request and consent of the Australian Parliament, which previously obtained the concurrence of the Parliaments of the Australian states.
____
Indeed.
I remember in 1971 our family made a holiday trip to NZ.
On the plane back to Australia (a 707) we had a to fill in a tiny piece of paper identifying our “nationality” for immigration purposes for laning in Sydney.
I duly filled in my nationality as “British subject”, lol.
The Aussie official said to me: “we say Australian citizen now”!!!
We weresuch innocents!
@Andy Ellis
“The British nationalists ability to intervene and legislate with effect in Australia was not ended until 1986 under the Australia Act.”
That was only in theory, of more concern to lawyers than ordinary folk. The UK government hadn’t legislated for Australian affairs since before Federation on 1st January 1901.
I am increasingly beginning to think that the Rangers Malicious prosecution is even bigger than the Salmond scandal.
And just when you think it cannot get any worse, you read the above and find that the main prosecutor – Frank Mullholland – did not drift on into retirement, but has been appointed and is serving as a High Court Judge!
A six day lie down in Police cells for a financial type enquiry beggars belief. That length of detention (by Police) is nearly always and only done under emergency powers and for terrorism investigations.
What they hell were they playing at and why. I wonder if they were looking for a bribe.
What it absolutely does highlight is that there is no independent investigative body into the COPFS, or the Judiciary. None.
@ Mia at 11.07: what you say is correct. Why are so many others failing to see this obvious position – that a referendum is both an unnecessary and a foolish method to choose?
I emailed a letter to the National on Friday night [I don’t know if it was published today] pointing out that one person is stopping the people’s voice being heard – that person being the SNP Leader. She could put that right by making the May election a plebiscite – that is the democratic way.
Perhaps if you wrote to the National as well, Mia, they will start to get the message?
@Meg merrilees says:
7 February, 2021 at 11:25 am
Well done Scotland’s rugby team but would anyone actually know that we won?
I can guarantee that if England had won, the headlines for all bulletins this morning would have been along the lines of … “England thrash Scotland to win the Calcutta Cup again”
To be fair to the Observer, under the Headline “Oh Calcutta!” (which made me laugh) on the front page of the sport bit, they had, “Magnificent Scots stun England to end 38 years of Twickenham hurt”.
Sniveller.jpg
Lol
31 October 2017: Senior Holyrood based civil servants, including James Hynd, the Head of the Parliament Cabinet and Governance, attended a meeting convened by Nicola Sturgeon for the purpose of reviewing civil service procedures for the handling of workplace complaints. At that time he undertook the task to update long-standing civil service procedures on sexual harassment covering serving ministers.
Hynd told the inquiry he had acted entirely on his own initiative and without any political direction when he decided to include former government ministers in his first draft of the revised policy, because he was in charge of the Scottish government’s ministerial code and he perceived there to be a “gap” that needed to be closed. He further conceded that he had knowledge of gossip circulating within Government circles about alleged misconduct involving former First Minister, Alex Salmond, before opting to include former Government ministers in his newly revised anti-harassment policy.
08 Nov: Hynd emailed Richards and MacKinnon a (for your eyes only) copy of the first draft of the new policy “Handling of Sexual Harassment Complaints Against Former Ministers.”
16 Nov: Hynd emailed a (for your eyes only) copy of the Draft Policy on Complaints Against Former Ministers.” to Leslie Evans.
17 Nov: Hynd circulated a second draft procedure titled “Handling of Sexual Harassment Complaints Involving Current or Former Ministers” to civil service senior managers and Liz Lloyd, Special Advisor to the First Minister (at her request).
17 Nov: Liz Lloyd and John Somers, Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to the First Minister drafted a “letter of instruction” for Leslie Evans providing clarity that implementation of the uniquely new policy relating former ministers was within the scope of the Scottish Government.
Note: Meanwhile, Leslie Evans had sought the advice of the Cabinet Secretary in London who had informed her that civil service procedures pursuing complaints of harassment against former ministers had never been contemplated since it had the potential to be a political minefield and in any event such politicians were private citizens and there existed lawful means available to individuals who might wish to register complaints. Don’t do it was the message. Evidently Leslie Evans intended to heed the advice from her “Line manager” in London and cancel the “Draft Policy on Complaints Against Former Ministers.” A decision which generated the intervention of the First Minister and her “letter of instruction.”
22 Nov: Nicola Sturgeon’s “letter of instruction” was sent to Leslie. It read:
“As is clear from the continued media focus on cases of sexual harassment, in many instances, people are now making complaints regarding actions that took place some time ago. I wanted to make clear that in taking forward your review, and the new arrangements being developed, you should not be constrained by the passage of time. I would like you to consider ways in which we are able to address if necessary any concerns from staff, should any be raised, about the conduct of current Scottish Government ministers and also former ministers, including from previous administrations regardless of party. While I appreciate that the conduct of former Ministers would not be covered by the current Ministerial Code, I think it fair and reasonable that any complaints raised about their actions while they held office are considered against the standards expected of Ministers. I would be grateful for confirmation that this particular aspect is being included as part of the review you are leading.”
Note: Nicola Sturgeon’s written comment: “people are now making complaints regarding actions that took place some time ago.” This is a reference to the actively on-going gossip about the former First Minister, mentioned by James Hynd at the time of his appearance at the inquiry.
24 Nov: Lloyd, Somers, Hynd and a member of the Permanent Secretary’s office, attended a meeting to further discuss the content of the “instruction from the First Minister” and to establish and agree clear lines of responsibility between the First Minister and the Permanent Secretary. A second purpose was to re-word the second draft procedure inserting changes designed to prevent the First Minister from stopping the Permanent Secretary, who has a duty of care to civil servants, from investigating a sexual harassment complaint made by a civil servant against a minister if the Permanent Secretary judged there was something to investigate. Additional input from Liz Lloyd included the view that it was essential that the First Minister should be made aware of an investigation or allegation into a serving minister, before the event, in order to determine if, under the ministerial code, that minister could remain in post whilst an investigation was conducted. She later stipulated that on that date she had no knowledge, of any of the allegations against Alex Salmond that were subsequently investigated under the new procedure.
Afternote:
08 Sep 2020: Leslie Evans previously told the inquiry team that she would not see a “natural role” for a special advisor in the Scottish Government response to the judicial review brought by Alex Salmond. But a freedom of information response the year previous listed 17 meetings at which lawyers involved in the judicial review met with Nicola Sturgeon or senior staff, with Liz Lloyd present at three meetings in Oct and Nov 2018. Evans, faced with the facts, was forced to correct her evidence to confirm that Nicola Sturgeon’s political special advisor, Liz Lloyd, did take part in meetings at which the allegations against Alex Salmond were discussed.
Summary: So far as I was able to ascertain these events have never been raised, addressed or discussed at any meeting of the Inquiry team and I am wondering if the subject matter is simply gossip. If accurate the exchanges of correspondence would reveal much more than that which is already in the public domain.
As a Unionist this is one of things that worries me about independence at the very least at the present time, the clear corruption and unaccountability of the Scottish government. I take comfort from the fact that the British Constitution places restraints on them that appear to be lacking in Scotland, in terms of a lamentable opposition, media, toothless parliamentary committees and even if these allegations are correct the Police seem to be available for their political purposes. I am curious what feeling is amongst Yes supporters in regards to gaining independence at the present time. Do most of you feel you would still want it now even though it would grant all the more power to this unaccountable government or is general opinion that you would rather wait till this present incarnation of the SNP has moved on?