The Way Forward
As a lifelong political geek and former SNP and Alba Party member, I’ve spent years supporting Scotland’s independence movement. However, over the last few years, I’ve watched the campaign (as opposed to support for independence) wither away. Being a Scottish nationalist has become increasingly disheartening, like watching someone you love succumb to a slow, debilitating illness. In frustration, I switched off from my homeland and turned my focus to the drama of US politics.
Over the last three years I immersed myself in it, watching both left and right-wing outlets. I became so hooked and invested that I jumped on a plane to Washington DC for the 2024 election. I canvassed with DC Democrats in rural Pennsylvania (that’s me third from the left in the pic below), attended Kamala Harris’s concession rally, and went to Trump’s only watch party in DC.
My journey led me to believe that Scotland’s independence campaign could learn a great deal from Trump’s victory and the Democrats’ failure.
Many were surprised by Trump’s win, but I expected (and wanted) it. However even I was surprised he won the popular vote, the first time a Republican has done so in 20 years. The signs, however, of his huge and comprehensive triumph were there.
Trump’s victory was a masterclass in coalition-building, which should be a lesson for the Scottish independence movement. The GOP has now become the party of the working class across all racial lines, something Bernie Sanders would be envious of. Trump, however did something even more significant – he won over traditionally Dem-leaning groups, including 30 % of black men under 45 and 43% of the Latino vote.
(Largely by not antagonising it by calling it “Latinx”.)
Trump didn’t need to win the majority of the Black or Latino vote to win; he simply needed to eat into enough of the margins to weaken the Democrats’ base. His appeal wasn’t limited to just the working class but spanned education levels, age groups, and urban, suburban, and rural communities. This broad coalition of support is rare in modern politics but essential for any movement that needs to win not merely a plurality in a multi-party election, but an absolute majority of the electorate.
If Scotland’s independence movement is serious about independence, it needs to take this approach seriously. Real progress lies in reaching across demographic lines, building a broad-based coalition that can stand strong in the face of opposition and MSM attacks and being massively financially outspent, just like Trump’s did.
(Because the Yes vote will ALWAYS face those huge disadvantages.)
Polls consistently show that inflation and the cost of living were top concerns for voters. While canvassing in rural Pennsylvania, almost everyone I spoke to mentioned inflation, food prices, and illegal immigration. Working-class and middle-class voters overwhelmingly felt they were better off economically under Trump, while wealthier, college-educated voters stuck with the Democrats.
While the Dems talked about the stock market the reality is most Americans don’t have money in the stock market. They don’t care if Wall Street is thriving when they’re struggling to pay bills or buy a home. The average age of first-time homebuyers in the US is now at an all-time high of 38. Yet the Democrats focused on niche policies like student loan forgiveness, which mainly benefits wealthy college grads (ie the people that staffed the Harris campaign).
Given that over half of Americans never attend college, it’s no surprise the average voter didn’t feel those policies were for them.
Trump tapped into populism both economic and political, and this strategy should be the guiding light for Scotland’s independence campaign. If it’s ever to succeed, its message must centre on economic security for everyone. This means, for one thing, being pragmatic about oil – Scotland’s government should do everything it can to preserve the Grangemouth refinery.
(With Trump sitting in the White House, Scotland’s pitiful, voter-repelling but cripplingly expensive efforts at Net Zero become infinitely more futile than they already were. Any microscopic contribution we could make to reducing world CO2 would be dwarfed a thousand times over by the vast clouds of extra carbon belching out of his USA.)
But it’s more than oil. We need a balanced economy that fosters entrepreneurship, not just the public sector.
Populist policies which would appeal to all Scots which a smart Scottish Government could do to win back trust would be to eliminate free tuition for frivolous and pointless courses such as gender studies and sociology and instead use the money saved for business start-up grants to promote young entrepreneurship, axing air passenger duty which would lead to cheaper flights, more flight routes and economic growth (as well as putting some distance between them and the wildly unpopular Greens after the disaster of the Bute House Agreement).
The US election proved that economic populism, not technocratic solutions, gains traction. The SNP has missed this point by focusing for far too many years on narrow and toxic social policies. It needs to concentrate on the bread-and-butter issues that could win over undecided Scots across demographics.
What of another hot-button topic? When Biden took office, he swiftly reversed most of Trump’s executive orders on immigration, leading to at least 21 million undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. The Democrats downplayed the scale of the border crisis for 3 years, only proposing a weak border bill earlier this year when polls showed it had become a major issue.
Trump’s appeal on immigration was clear. Not only were border states struggling, frustrations and pressures were felt in northern Democrat sanctuary cities. The left’s response was to dismiss these concerns or label them as racist, which alienated large swathes of voters.
This out-of-touch attitude was exemplified by ABC News anchor Martha Raddatz, who downplayed the issue of Venezuelan gangs taking over areas of Colorado by saying that “only a handful of apartment complexes” were overtaken. Raddatz, like many in the media, lives in an affluent neighbourhood detached from the realities faced by working-class Americans.
The same mistakes should not be repeated in Scotland. The general political party consensus is that Scotland wants mass immigration, illegal or otherwise. But the reality is Scotland receives a disproportionately small fraction of the immigration of the UK.
If we had the same level as down south and the accompanying economic and social pressures, the liberal virtue-signalling would quickly evaporate. It’s naive to assume that Scots are somehow magically immune to the kind of backlash the US and UK have seen. Reform are already starting to make serious inroads.
That’s not to say Scotland doesn’t need immigration – and particularly skilled workers – but the real question is, why are skilled immigrants not flocking to progressive Scotland, instead choosing to stay in the supposedly far-right and bigoted England?
“Progressive” brings us neatly to another major factor. Core issues like immigration, the economy and crime were pivotal in Trump’s win, but trans issues also played a crucial role in alienating voters from the Dems, and in particular the swing voters who decide every US election, and who said Harris’ stance on gender ideology was THE most important factor that persuaded them to vote for Trump.
Most people support equal rights for trans people, but the extreme push on issues like gender self-ID and biological men in women’s sports has gone too far for the large majority of the general public, culminating in a Democrats policy that sounds like it was invented as a joke by (right-wing US satire site) The Babylon Bee – taxpayer-funded sex-change surgery for transgender illegal-immigrant prison inmates.
For many voters, such policies drove them to demand a return to “common sense” by voting for Trump, and he wasn’t slow to focus on it, devoting a huge proportion of his campaign spending to what he correctly identified as Harris’ Achilles heel.
To understand what a significant difference a 2.7-point shift is, it’s only necessary to note that Trump eventually won the popular vote by just 1.8 points.
The centrepiece of Trump’s final campaign ad was male Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, an almost pantomimic villain who perfectly encapsulated in two seconds the revulsion most voters felt about his gold medal in the women’s Olympic boxing.
(The true genius of this strategy, incidentally – a point spectacularly missed by left-wing US commentators like Jon Stewart and John Oliver – is that Harris couldn’t rebut the attacks, because talking about the policies in any way would only have drawn even more attention to how poisonously unpopular they were with voters.)
The lesson for Scotland here is that the independence campaign should avoid divisive “woke” policies—whether it’s gender, climate alarmism, radical feminism or foreign wars, all of which played terribly for Harris. Most people don’t care about these issues, and certainly don’t want them to take centre stage in a future independence movement or government agenda.
Independence should be about getting Scotland out from under Westminster’s thumb, not pushing side issues that fracture support. Politics is simple maths: it’s addition, not subtraction. Every vote lost needlessly over a fringe issue is twice as hard to win back.
Trump built a broad coalition right across racial and socioeconomic lines by addressing voters’ concerns, not by telling them they were extremist bigots. The Democrats lost because they stopped listening and hectored and lectured instead. If the SNP keeps pushing “woke” agendas that ignore the concerns of 99% of Scots, they’ll lose too.
The only “true” Indy Party is said (by many here) to be Alba, which got 1.7% of the vote in the 2021 MSP election, 0.5% of the vote in the 2024 UK election, and has averaged 1% of the vote in recent council by-elections.
I think we’re seeing a trend here….
Alba could only find one candidate to run in the next 6 upcoming council by-elections.
These are the telltale signs of a lifeless, microbe party.
The SNP is just a bunch of corrupt, inept, woke, leftist careerists, and Alba is nowhere.
And you’re a Tory.
You’re 100% wrong again, “James.”
I’ve never voted Conservative/Tory. As I’ve posted before.
BTW, shouldn’t you care more about the truth of my comment, than who is pointing out the truth?
Whereas Reform UK on the other hand, is showing a real possibility of uniting the Unionist centre right. Time will tell.
If Alba is such an insignificant microbe, why do you keep going on about it?
Alba got 8.7% in Inverclyde West.
on a 25% turnout and a few hundred votes…..a fraction higher than Reform
31% turnout, & even taking raw votes into account, almost twice as many actual votes as the local election.
Unfortunately that is exactly the way things stand at the moment so I don’t quite understand why there are so many down ticks. And before I’m also called a Tory I was a member of the SNP and have been a member of Alba since its birth.
You omit the reasons though. The SNP lies about Alba, its demand for both votes and the national media’s exclusion of Alba in the elections helped the Greens take control of the minority SNP. And simply stating that something is small now so its all useless is a pretty pointless point.
One of the problems in 2014 was that any time Sturgeon was near a microphone she’d start proclaiming, “No more Tory governments!” I thought then, as I do now, that it was a bad idea to be running a campaign where you’re telling 500,000 voters that they can GTF before they’ve even gone to the polling station.
Aside from that, while the above article is all very sensible, it’s too late for the SNP. The rot (infiltration?) is in too deep.
While it’s not what most parties really want (since they want to win, in theory), there’s a great value in them saying what they really think and damn populism. It gives voters real plurality of choice.
It might be sadly necessary for winning, but telling voters what it’s thought they want to hear is winning for its own sake, power without principle. The SNP even demonstrated this, under Sturgeon, not saying what they were really for and then enacting policies almost nobody wanted. The real wonder is that their vote held up so well, but then their opposition is all of the same cloth and in no position to capitalise.
I agree with Daley’s analysis, and yet it’s a sad, hollow agreement that serves more as an indictment of fptp electoral systems.
The great virtue of democracy is that we do messy compromises. These are a bit crap until you consider all the alternatives.
If you have a main goal then you have to prioritise the rest. And listening to voters is great way to think about those compromises. And thinking about what they really value is a great way to come to a settled position. Pragmatism is good.
The SNP and the Democrats acted without taking the people with them.
A friend of mine is married to a Latin-American girl. At the time of the Referendum she was subjected to racial abuse by SNP supporters. Do you suppose for a moment that I could ever forget that? Basically the SNP is a racist organisation, the racism being directed principally against “the English”. But occasionally the dimmer supporters will let the cat out of the bag.
Don’t believe a word of that.
I was out and about like many in 2024, the only aggression came from the Unionists and most of them were OK as well
2014 not 2024
Liar.
We have receipts for extreme yoon racism directed against Scots. It is just never reported by our yoon media.
Lies are all you and your English parties have left. Apart from Sturgeon and her cabal. And they’re finished.
Excellent article and the response from ‘dearieme’ shows how effective a proper independence campaign would be.
I just hope Alba, ISP and any other indy-minded folk get their act together and we can vote Scotland United 1 and 2 in 2026.
That can safely be filed under ‘Things That Didn’t Happen’.
If it *had* happened the BBC would’ve had it on their website within hours and the DR would’ve had it plastered across their front page the following day.
Don’t You think the biggest racist by far are the colonialists English.? Is it not much more racist to hold down another country against its will then any perceived slight.
Errr…didn’t the Scots vote “no” in 2014? Grow up and listen to the bloke writing the article. Head – in – sand politics allied with racial stereotypes loses elections. Insult me as an Englishman, and you’ll make an enemy. Debate your opponents, win on the merits of your argument, and be a grown up.
No the Scots didn’t vote no , the Scots voted 52.7% FOR independence, but because our virtue signalling politicians are so desperate to be inclusive and welcoming to every Tom Dick and Harry from elsewhere on the planet calling them NEW SCOTS they GIFTED them the vote to keep our country and OUR people under the thieving and abusive engerlish government in WM
Most English people moving to Scotland despise even the thought of DIVIDING the great uk as they don’t accept that Scotland is a country and that Scots have differing opinions from their engerlish counterparts,our ideas of socialism differ radically from engerlish beliefs, we have not voted tories into power in Scotland since 1955 because we think they are greed driven self serving monsters , whereas the English love their greed driven policies and vote them in regularly
There are many reasons for english people moving to Scotland, many of them economic, with cheaper house prices and better build quality , where they can sell their properties down south for extortionate profit, buy better and larger houses and still retain some of the profit from their previous homes, when they do so they don’t want to be considered as living in a FOREIGN country with their relatives and relations still living in good ol blighty, so they will always vote AGAINST Scottish independence, because they consider that England OWNS Scotland
There is also an element of white flight from the invading hordes that Reform seems to capitalise on, but the English seem to forget that it was political parties that they ELECTED who ENCOURAGED and FACILITATED the increase of those hordes, even today the tories have elected a black woman with severe greed driven policies while Reform are gaining massive ground with their anti immigration policies
Climate change too.
Already, in the south of England, summer temperatures are becoming hostile to personal comfort and agriculture, and droughts and floods are increasing.
I was watching a gardening programme this year which was recommending that keen English gardeners should look for north facing properties. South facing are becoming too hot and too expensive to irrigate.
Well said. Truth hurts and all that.
“Errr…didn’t the Scots vote “no” in 2014?”
The Scots voted 52.7% Yes in 2014.
The non-Scots swung it the other way.
Can you provide the source?
Edinburgh University
I think he meant a link to the source material from which the image was lifted?
And how did the De Facto referendum go on 4th July 2024? Best out of 5?
It was the weight of votes from EU citizens and English born voters that swung the referendum, not the Scots vote.
Allowing foreign nationals to vote on a question of our sovereignty will go down as the biggest mistake made by Salmond,
Can you imagine the French, the Germans, the Americans allowing foreigners to vote on a question of their sovereignty? Neither should we.
Calm down Charlie, it’s not Arthurs fault.
Tell the truth and shame the devil!
Scots are racist in about the same proportion as the English, who are racist in about the same proportion as the best of the rest of the world.
Scots enthusiastically colonised and exterminated indigenous peoples around the world, in about the same proportions as the English did, and together with the Irish and Welsh, we occupied around one quarter of the world.
It’s debatable if we were any worse than the Spanish, who decimated and destroyed all of the New World’s major civilisations and advanced cultures, almost single-handed.
Many of us Scots are still in denial about all of that, as can clearly be seen by the other responses to your post.
That’s complete and utter twaddle. The SNP may be useless and appalling in many ways, but neither they, their supporters, nor Scots generally are racist. I doubt if so many posh southern English people would be so keen to study and reside in Scotland if Scotland was full of anti-English racists as you claim. Besides, the English are not a race, they are a nationality.
Having stewarded at many SNP events/conferences, there is absolutely no shortage of English voices in the SNP. I was one of them.
I was regularly wheeled out when we were chapping doors, “Hey, Steve have a word with this one; says we just hate the English.”
A crystal sub-RP accent tended to disarm that. Half our branch was English.
This is the same fiction that the referendum split families along political lines and will do the same at a future referendum.
I was in George square before the vote in 2014 with all the yes speeches. My Spanish pals were loving it.
There was no racial element to it.
This is mince.
Voters are refusing to support the SNP but for reasons that are by no means obvious, these same voters are refusing to vote for any other independence party.
Sorry, but the reasons on the contrary are very obvious and felt by the whole population of Scotland.
Remember the days of FM Alex S.
The SG/SNP was known for getting things done, building bridges, Railway lines, reform of SNHS, prescriptions, schooling, etc, etc,etc..
AND all done with the paltry monies that WM kindly gave us back from our treasure trove of taxes that we gifted to England.
The main issue was making Scotland work and be a better place to live in than before.
Anyone could live their lives as they saw fit and didn’t break the law.
Independence started to glimmer through.
All that was inherited by Nikla S. who had the chance with blockbuster majorities to continue and finish off the legacy that Alex left her.
Obviously Nikla (the mad) didn’t give a flying f. about Alex and blew up the chances by doing nothing with mandates but loved the bull s**t.
But the weirdest thing of all was the mad push for Trans Gender woo woo which crept in and pushed all of the day to day concerns of the working population out of view.
Steve Daley proves it with the USA, go woke – go broke.
Trump is a nutcase – BUT the alternative is “WTF…!”
We have our own home-made version.
The Britnats are WM loving nutcases – BUT our alternative is SNP woo woo – WTF…!
Election for election the SNP is on its way out.
I agree that SNP were incompetent and divisive. And that it wasn’t always so.
But this is a canard:
“AND all done with the paltry monies that WM kindly gave us back from our treasure trove of taxes that we gifted to England”.
There are 5-6 million of you in Scotland and if we exclude babies, old people, adolescents and the ill, that’s going to be a tiny amount of economic impact. There are 68 million of your friends in England and Wales. I accept that Wales may not be an economic powerhouse, but England ia different matter. Added to which, of course, the average Scot gets £1200 more than the average UK citizen through the formula.
No doubt I’ll get lacerated over this here, but please tell me how 2 million of you (?) can outproduce, say, 45 million of those others. Are we all working at McDonald’s? And you are all surgeons?
It’s the wind, Lee, 100 miles offshore from Scotland, it blows stronger than it does 100 miles offshore from England.
Plus we have more whisky and it’s a lot better than yours (just don’t ask your average toper to take a blind taste test).
Historically we did have oil and gas, but then we got into the habit of voting for parties that want to leave it in the ground. Far more so than the English, in fact. Now oil and gas are screwed, and don’t get me started on coal, manufacturing, financial services and fishing.
We’re ahead of you in believing we can tax our way to prosperity. Labour are catching up fast, mind, but rest assured we’ll always be ahead because we get Labour’s taxes plus our own tartan ones too.
So yes, it’s all a bit of a mess up here, but we’re not disheartened. Any day now, we’re going to raze the SNP and the Greens to the ground (hopefully Hollyrood too) and start over.
With rational, competent, pragmatic grownups next time. We’ve learned our lesson. We’ll plan our currency from Day 1, and not tell the world on the eve of the big vote we hadn’t actually thought it would matter.
Watch this space, Lee.
Prick.
Hemingwayesque prose, James.
Ask a grown-up to explain to you what that means.
Whisky is a fantastic Scottish product, but it’s only worth around £5bn in public revenue, and wind power is currently a subsidised industry (through CfD’s etc.). Maybe that will change in the future through economies of scale etc. but it’s still London’s huge professional services market that buoys the UK. If the SNP had any sense, they’d do their mightiest to get some of that industry up to Edinburgh, but instead they’ve decided to do the opposite with the highest taxes in the U.K.
If the SNP, or indeed any pro-Indy movement had any sense, they would work with the WM government to show how rUK would retain energy and military security post-Indy. Address WM’s genuine concerns, in other words.
Scottish Indy won’t result in Scotland setting sail into the Atlantic – we’ll all still be stuck on this tiny island.
Of course, for the die-hard anti-English nutjobs, it’s all about revenge for Culloden, and every sovereign Scot becoming an overnight millionaire as they cash in on the wind-powered bonanza they’ve convinced themselves they own.
So we’re stuck until we get an Indy movement that’s prepared to tell the pro-Indy supporters some pragmatic truths. And then we’re stuck longer until such time that these truths stop being denied.
And you’re right – Scotland leads the UK in pursuit of the “tax your way to prosperity” trope. I look around just about every day to see for myself how that is working out on the streets of Scotland 🙂
I agree, the wind issue is one where some parts of the Yes campaign have really tied themselves in knots. They want to be seen as progressive (so can’t be advocating pulling every drop of oil and gas out of the ground), but equally want to pretend they’ll be a huge independence dividend without it. So they have to claim that offshore wind and alternative fuels are going to provide that, a narrative which falls to pieces in seconds with even a cursory examination of the economics of those sectors. That’s not to say there is no route to economic success after independence, but it’s not going to be delivered in the short term by industries which require significant state subsidies to be commercially viable.
All in all, it has the feel of “keeping the case alive” rather than trying to persuade anybody.
London is a powerhouse.
England is not really.
Scotland is third only to London and SE England in terms of economic activity.
What does that tell you?
That is the truth of it, but, if this regional and city autonomy/devolution get off the ground, we will be in competition, for funding, with every English city and region north of the Humber.
Have you never heard of per capita in Gdp? You don’t measure by the actual nominal amount lol..
There’s next to nothing between the UK average and Scotland on that basis.
Scotland has a higher GDP than France.
Correct again. Only independence can tease out the true wealth potential of Scotland. It won’t be easy for about five to ten years, but, hell, it’s not easy now.
Do what Sunak did – look at the revenues.
‘Pointless keeping the ‘Union” one week; then they showed him the books.
You obviously have no fcucking clue.
Away back to your daily express, there’s a good boy.
The only parts of the UK operating on a surplus are London and parts of the Home Counties. Everywhere else operates on a deficit, at least on paper. The old Empire colonial system still working, funnelling all trade through London..
Yes, but the first retrying we must do post independence is establish the banking sectors we need for investment and capital, and retail – and keep them separate – and, crucially, borrowing, establish real, bona fide HQs for real, bona fide Scottish manufacture and produce, invest in infrastructure such as ferry services, commercial and civilian, to the Continent, the Nordic states, and establish strong links with America and Canada, where the Scottish diaspora is large.
We need to stop privatisation as far as we can and gradually return the essential utilities to public hands with a mandate to operate to profit (again, as far as possible – some will resist, and their duty of care to Scotland should be tightened, but others will be glad to off-load at reasonable recompense or, if they have made a complete mess, at no recompense) for reinvestment, and the public travel must be an integrated system.
It will all take time, but it can be done. Above all, we need to listen to the people who know what they are about and establish a working group of public consultants on a voluntary (+ expenses) basis as a national civic duty. A mixed economy always works best for small nations.
“The old Empire colonial system still working, funnelling all trade through London”
Yes indeed, and this also relates to ‘internal colony’ Scotland today as one of the last colonial territories imperial England can feast on.
Comparing Scotland’s inordinately weak GDP-per-capita with all near neighbour countries that have less of a resource base confirms an economic leakage from Scotland of some £150+ billion/year within the UK ‘colonial corset’. Which explains why oor doun-hauder disna want tae let us go.
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
A massive vote for ALBA and ISP in the Holyrood election, even if it’s only on the list vote, would mark the start of the necessary change.
Much to agree with there, and some very interesting information that hasn’t been widely publicised. Got to ask though – why do you say you campaigned for Harris but wanted a Trump victory? Not being difficult or rhetorical here, just genuinely confused.
I had the exact same thought ; though , he does say he canvassed WITH the Dems , not FOR them . Presumably he was interested in how the Dems were canvassing , and the reaction they were getting ” on the doorstep “
I went undercover as a canavassor to find out the response they were getting in rural Pennsylvania. I wasn’t campaigning or telling anyone to vote for her.
I have to ask: if you expected & wanted Trump to win, why did you campaign with the Democrats for Harris? I can understand wanting to learn both sides of the issue, but it isn’t as if I’d go out canvassing for No if I wanted Yes to win.
Canvassing and campaigning are different things.
The picture above shows him holding a Harris / Walz placard (third from left, as stated). That is not just canvassing. There is something we are not being told. Did Daley got to the US in 2024 wanting a Trump win? If so why be in a publicity shot where you are clearly promoting Harris?
I take the points made in the article about why Trump won, but that is long way from saying you wanted Trump to win; and that is not discussed.
I was canvassing to find out how the dems were doing in swing states as opposed to listening to their media spin.
As undercover I could not refuse a photo.
There was no Trump rally anywhere near DC. I didn’t have a car. The Harris ground campaign was was much bigger. There was no Republican canvassing in DC, with the exception of Larry Hogan in which I did phone calling for
Censored post
I think you should have said this at the start of the article. So you were a Trump supporter all along. Why exactly? You like Trump and what he stands for? Do you like his picks for big posts in his administration? Kennedy Jr, Gaetz, Huckabee etc? I assume you are a strong supporter Is***l of too then given most of his team would be happy to see their neighbours either wiped out or ‘re-located’ elsewhere (things actually on record as being said)?
Sorry Steve, I posted before reading your response.
Rather obvious I thought but based on the quality of some posters on here, expect the unexpected.
He was working under cover. Jeezo!
A distinction without a difference. Canvassing is a crucial part of campaigning & election. Where was the canvassing information going, if not the Democratic Party, & what would it be used for if not campaigning?
You can’t canvas under camp but you can camp under canvas.
That is what I thought. Now that Trump’s nominees for Cabinet and other positions requiring Senate confirmation are pretty much complete, does the author still want a Trump presidency.
the Republican Party has not become the party of the working class. Instead, too many of them believed Trump’s lies. Let’s see where we are in four years. Voters have multiple identities. The working class voter can just as easily identify as black or Hispanic who lean socially conservative and feel that the Democrats have moved too far left.
Despite taking the wrong route, this piece does reach the right conclusion. We need to focus on what actually matters to voters. The Democratic Party has become lazy and have forgotten that our votes are only on loan. I did vote for Harris but, beyond that, voted Republican, Libertarian, Democratic and, in one instance, a protest vote for a Green against a Democratic incumbent who need not be near public office.
Incidentally, more than half of Americans attend college. The first two numbers in the link add up to 37%. The 15% who attend college, but did not graduate, still attended college.
Very truthfully spoken and an excellent observation based in fact. Trump didn’t need to win, he just needed the Democrats to push their own ordinary voters away, with labels and smears if they didn’t agree 100% with everything they were proposing.
The SNP, like the Democrats, see anyone that disagrees with one of they’re trans policies as right wing bigots and enemies of the party.
If by some miracle an independence vote surfaces, they’ll push yes people away by labeling them bigots and transphobic, normal people won’t vote for people that treat them as the enemy.
It’ll be doomed before starts.
The last sentence presumes the SNP are going to try for independence.
It also presumes that the SNP will actually exist by 2026. At the current rate of decline (even with misappropriated funds) the party is heading for bankruptcy.
Sadly, the corrupt, inept and woke SNP is leading in the latest poll (Nov. 1, Norstat) on voting intentions for MSPs, with 30% (constituency) and 27% (regional). Labour trails with 21%, followed by Conservative, Reform, LibDem and Greens.
Interesting article, Steve. But of course the good ‘ol USA isn’t Scotland (thankfully), one glaring difference being control of the media. Scottish Independence supporters aren’t even allowed billboards (owned by ‘UK’ companies obviously) if the owner’s don’t like the message or politics.
And the mainstream state media here is 100% biased against our cause. The UN shouldn’t allow this.
“If Scotland is to win independence, the message must centre on economic security for everyone.”
Absolutely – there’s only one answer – to everything that’s going wrong here, as long as we don’t allow the hijacking of government and it’s institutions again by carpetbaggers as she who shall not be named and her acolytes have managed previously.
“Trump’s appeal on immigration was clear. Not only were border states struggling..”
Most of Scotland’s immigration currently consists of retired people from the rUK who bring nothing but pressure to our public services and (mostly) UK jingoism.
Try visiting our ‘border states’ the Borders and D&G and see how long it takes before you hear a Scottish accent….
“The general political party consensus is that Scotland wants mass illegal or otherwise.”
I don’t think anyone is promoting illegal immigration? Or did I miss that? And of course until we’re independent we have no border controls and no say.
“That’s not to say Scotland does [not] need immigration – particularly skilled workers – but the real question is, why are skilled immigrants not not flocking to progressive Scotland, instead choosing to stay in the supposedly far-right and bigoted England?”
Maybe one of the reasons is that England likes to keep most of the new projects – and jobs – to itself? Largest wind farm in Europe off Scotland’s east coast, the main power cables – and the jobs – appear at Blyth, in Northumbria.
Grangemouth to close affecting thousands of jobs, leaving England [which doesn’t produce any oil] with five [FIVE] oil refineries and Scotland with none.
‘GB Energy’ – a brass plate in Aberdeen but the CEO
– and all the jobs – to be based in Manchester.
The proposed new ‘Great British Railway’ [lol] will be headquartered in….Derby. The list goes on….
I would say that with support at 52%+ THE ‘populist’ issue to go with is Independence – nothing less?
You need to get out more, James. I see billboards everywhere.
The law says you need planning permission to erect a fixed billboard. Businesses get around that by plastering advertising material on boards fixed to trailers, or on the side of scrapped vans or trucks – anything with wheels.
And having wheels, these billboards are not “fixed” and thus can remain where they are for years on end.
As for the MSM being opposed, Trump overcame 8 solid years of MSM opposition.
I could go on, but you’ve already given your reasons why you don’t intend to change tack, so why should I bother with you?
Ye can see billboards frae yer bedroom?
Are they owned by Maiden?
Prick.
“The UN shouldn’t allow this” – why don’t you give them a call and see if they’ll come round and close the BBC. I’m sure you’ll get a warm reception.
Honestly the state of some of the comments on here.
In important political votes such as referendums ya clown.
The Great scottish Billboard Scandal. Halfwit calls for UN investigation. Fantastic,keep it up.
FYYFC
as you would say.
The UN is currently unable to prevent the atrocities occurring in Ukraine, Gaza or Sudan. The idea then that it either has the power or the willingness to start dictating internal media coverage rules in democratic countries if for the birds.
Check out the recent New Caledonia referendum. Followed UN rules. Read it and weep.
That’s just a flat out lie, for starters there’s been four New Caledonia referendums, all of which have been organised by the French state, and the first of which was boycotted by the UN. The UN has helped facilitate a move to greater self-determination, in cooperation with the French state, but has never claimed to exercise the kind of power that would allow them to ban a French state broadcaster.
I’m actually from the Borders and what you said about the ‘border states’ is wrong. The main towns of the Borders are probably 85-90% Scots. It’s slightly different in the villages though it’s been that way for a long time but still the majority is always Scottish. I seriously doubt there’s an exception to that. Aside from retirees, a lot of immigration into the Borders has come from Edinburgh folk moving to towns like Peebles and there’s often been a lot of West Coast people moving down and not all of them are in witness protection either…
That right, aye?
Hello James.
Do you get your Charlie from the same pusher as Cokey McCokeHeid?
Aye. lol
Not a great rejoinder from someone whose argument has been demolished.
Demolished eh? Have you ever actually been in the Borders?
Indeed I have, have you? Clearly not, judging by your ignorance. I can trace my Borders roots back to the early C19 and a significant landmark in Selkirk is named after an ancestor of mine because he built it.
The well-known rugby commentator Bill Johnstone was my games teacher. I could go on and on.
Keep showing your idiocy by all means…
The SNP are dying as a political force. I read today they are cutting jobs in their HQ. There are court cases pending that will finish them for good. Independence will only become a reality when campaigners drop the anti English racism and can answer all the economic and constitutional questions that people who waver ask.
The majority on here have no interest in economic or constitutional questions. Did you not know that these kinds of issues will all be resolved by……………………
magic!
We have far less floating voters in this country most are entrenched in historical political past and to many people voting are doing so along the lines of the football team they support you could be offering every man women and child a million quid in certain quarters and they still would not vote for Indy . Same for many who would never vote unionist for similar reasons. The SNP have further diluted (women’s vote) an already diluted voter base add to that real Indy voters don’t trust them and they are fucked.
“Same for many who would never vote unionist…”
But why would ant Scot vote unionist?
Do tell.
Ask the 52%
Scots??
The Indy Movement has a major problem due to the D’Hondt system and the SNP voters. Holyrood will have a large SNP Party for decades to come. That Party has no interest in working with other groups.
I believe that the majority of Scots still want Independence but they fall into two camps…
a) I have to stick with the SNP and hope they change
b) I will never vote for the treacherous TransCult SNP
That division is going to continue for as long as the SNP exist. Those who designed the D’Hondt system may not have intended this bonus outcome, but the Unionists will embrace it.
Tbh I think most of us know what should be done.
But the current SNP are incapable of doing what must be done
Either by design or by default.
The current SNP are compromised.
Why do I mention them because it will take time for the other independence parties to come through.
What with Freeports and SEZ, we’re in deep shit right now
Labour are winning because independence voters are staying home not because the majority think they’re any good.
Such is the state of the SNP that their woke faction would rather lose than give an inch of ground on their toxic waco policies. It has adopted the character more of a religion in some ways, rather than a pragmatic political movement. Outside of the SNP there just isn’t a serious political movement now (rip Alex), and way too much indulgence of complete dead ends (Salvo).
I’m looking forwards to building a “broad-based coalition” on Wings BTL.
Indy support is flatlined at 45%, so Indy needs a 6% swing for a majority. By reaching out to monarchists, Atlanticists, Brexit supporters and instinctive small ‘c’ conservatives (maybe a few Tories) too, that 6% should be easy to get.
“Politics is simple maths: it’s addition, not subtraction”
Amen, brother.
Current indy support: 53%.
Prick.
Of the issues Steve correctly identifies as toxic for the Harris campaign ( which will be the same for SNP in ’26 ) and agreeing very fundamental things things like Inflation/cost of living , job security/losses were critical in the outcome – my sense is Immigration was the decisive one . And will be the defining issue in future G.Es – in England anyway .
As Steve says …..we , in Scotland , haven’t experienced anything like the same levels of immigration ( yet ) but already Reform are gaining ground here , and we can be fairly sure it is doing so on the back of this issue .
It’s probably the oldest – and often most effective – dog whistle issue used in adversarial politics .
When things are shit for most people in any given country – the product usually of the shit people they have * representing * them – the go-to deflection is to blame ” the other ” . That and war of course , ie the ultimate Weapon of Mass Distraction .
Economy in tatters due to clueless Politicians ?
Start looking for scapegoats : Foreigners are best for this purpose .
Either in their own ( ” shithole ” ) countries doing things we don’t like , eg existing .
Or ” over here ” doing things we don’t like , eg having a different skin colour .
The * beauty * of this from the POV of those espousing these views is – in the latter instance – if people are really struggling , it’s much easier to convince them the fault lies with ” all those foreigners getting everything handed to them ” than the fault lying with the Political Parties that support , promote and maintain a system that thrives on economic disequilibrium ; that needs ” losers ” that there may be ” winners ” .
The paradigmatic example of that is Thickoe Parasite Charlie 3 arriving by limousine to open another what’s euphemistically being called ” Food Distribution Centres ” aka Food Banks and being fckn applauded for doing so . To increase the serf-mentality factor even more , the loyal little subjects sang Happy Birthday to Chic The Prick as he entered the Food Bank .
The symbolism burns into the face .
All that said …..we’re long passed the time when politicians in Scotland should be addressing contentious issues like Immigration honestly ; stop ignoring people’s concerns and refusing to acknowledge that immigration has serious negatives along with whatever positives it may have : that the people directly affected by such are not ” racists ” , ” bigots ” or any the other insults that are hurled at them for expressing their dissatisfaction with what is being imposed on them by Politicians who themselves live far from the areas where immigrants typically end-up – ie the poorest , deprived areas of big cities .
I’ll take the latter seriously on the issue when they start opening Immigrant Hostels/Hotels in places like Morningside , Kelvinside , Newton Mearns etc .
I won’t be holding my breath
A lot of what the Dems did wrong mirrored what Corbyn did wrong in 2019. They didn’t engage voters outwith their core & when confronted by undecided voters were stuck in their own ideologies so you had Labour activists in 2019 calling people ‘bigots’ while telling them in some cases to vote Tory which they did.
The Harris campaign did something similar by calling Trump a dangerous lunatic (which he is) as well as slagging off his voters and guess what? They lost them and undecided voters. All of this as well seems to have made people stay away from the polls as neither candidate was cutting it with them.
Fact it people didn’t just feel poor under Biden, but letting basics like law and order collapse, the illegal immigration crisis & things like transgenderism are rotting sored created or encouraged by the Dems but when Trump used these subjects, the Dems ignored or dismissed them. However there are Venezuelan criminal gangs in NYC operating sex slavery networks, robbing people and indulging in human trafficking. There are prepubescent children having mutilating ‘gender affirming’ surgery. Men are hurting women in sport and being called progressive for it. The very concept of homosexuality is at risk, while paedophilia activists grow more brazen all the time. All under Biden’s watch.
So Americans voted against it. They want people to go to prison for robbery. They want to protect kids and women. Now, Trump is hardly a protector of women but he knew how to use those fears to win.
Meanwhile the ‘progressive’ left rage throwing around conspiracy theories, leaving Twitter for Blue-sky which has quickly become Twitter 2017-2021 and are spitting out unhinged hate at Trump voters which only helps keep these people far away from voting Democrat. Instead of reflection and admitting failure they’re digging in.
Labour in 2024 learned enough on the Trans issue to sound more in line with how most people are. It probably saved and won them votes as its an issue that’s going to be even bigger in 2026 so if a party takes a sceptical line at least it stands not to lose too many votes. The Greens will dig in of course but if the SNP do, then they’re going to be lucky to even be the 3rd largest party.
Also, the Dems using the term ‘Latinx’ lost them their traditional base and sent Latino voters to Trump. The Dems were so out of touch and patronising they pushed Latino voters to support someone who might deport them. That’s how bad the Dems were.
Indeed it did.
It’s the Latinos who voted for Trump who support his illegal immigrant/deporting policy. They saw their jobs disappearing as illegal immigrants took them for lower wages.
Insightful article.
As opposed to mimicking 10 year old American trends like a cargo culture the SNP should have taken a leaf out of the authors book and actually assessed what the results are there 10 years ahead of when we stumble blindly into the same outcomes.
So it’s always been; the curse of blinkered brainwashed social engineers.
Wake up SNP; “WOKE IS BROKE”.
Anyway, we should start a poll on the most disliked Xmas tv ad. What gets your goat more, ASDAs tranny gnome or Boots Brat culture Santa-land offfering?
Satans little helpers indeed..
Check out the EE advert highlighting data poverty at Christmas.
It’s an unfolding tragedy – some moby users reach their data limits before the end of the month and then … well, you can imagine the hardship, heartache and despair.
And you can picture the nightmare scene playing out in homes across the nation. Christmas morning, and your moby is out of minutes and texts.
I’m welling up just writing about it.
“But the reality is Scotland receives a disproportionately small fraction of the immigration of the UK.”
But it receives a much larger fraction of immigration from the UK. Call it internal immigration if you like. But there are areas in Scotland with gie few Scottish voices and a lot of pensioners who come for the better social policies here but skew our demographic balance and thus economic potential. Though it is interesting how many of the top jobs in Scotland aren’t going to Scots…
Immigration to a country is still immigration even if the people are the same colour and even if they come from the country next door. You know the one making sure we never get another referendum and pretending there is no other way to independence.
As for radical feminism being a woke policy, I’m not sure you know what radical feminism is because radfems are the ones who have been spearheading the fight back against gender ideology.
The author is correct is stating though, that we should be concentrating of attracting voters, not putting them off! And there are lessons to be learned from how Trump’s campaign got him (a man singularly unsuited to the role) re-elected. We’ll always be outspent but we need to make each penny count. An interesting article but unfortunately the SNP aren’t taking us anywhere anytime soon!
I like to call it white flight, because that’s what it is.
A savvy political movement could push policies that would appeal to these immigrants and thus advance Indy if these policies were packaged with Indy.
The fundamental common denominator for all immigrants is that they’ve uprooted themselves from everything they know to start a new life in the expectation that the new life will be better than the one they left behind.
So play to that expectation by showing these immigrants how Indy will make their lives better too.
It’s not rocket science!
You mean Tory policies? Fuck off.
“As for radical feminism being a woke policy, I’m not sure you know what radical feminism is because radfems are the ones who have been spearheading the fight back against gender ideology.”
This point raises the very pertinent question as to what and whose definition of “woke” is being applied here; along with whose doing the counting and for what purpose?
Point being that this post-modernist process labelled “woke” in which definitions are determined subjectively and individually works both ways. That’s why it’s just as easy to self-define something as “common sense” as it is to define something as “progressive” or “woke”.
Doesn’t matter what activity is being examined, the one thing you can guarantee in life – along with death and taxes – is that somewhere along the line some group, subgroup or even individual will be taking advantage to the point of kicking the arse out of it. Just like the purity spirals which took off within the original idea and definition of “woke” turned it into what we have experienced in recent times, the same purity spirals operate in the other direction.
Which can redefine anything it does not like or agree with, for example – from this article – equal rights for women/feminism (or any group for that matter); climate science; war, even, under the convenient self-definition of “woke”.
Same process, different angle.
A lazy caricature, just as guilty of the “woke” phenomena it is criticising. Particularly given that one of Trump’s key policy messages was ending Biden’s war(s).
Presumably, on this subjective self-definition, Trump was being “woke”. As were all those who voted for him because they are sick of these forever wars US policy is constantly involved in which, as Smedly Butler noted is a racket. A racket which is draining the economy of the US to the detriment of its populace.
Go figure.
Worse still, Steve Daley fails to join the dots between western economic foreign policy, its wars of choice and immigration.
The immigration influx is dead easy to resolve. You reduce the demand drivers. Stop impoverishing other countries and interfering in their development with the IMF Ponzi schemes, colour revolutions, and bombing anyone who does not cry “Uncle” by selling off their commons and resources to the financial parasites running the collective worst.
That way you reduce the refugee crisis which is a consequence of a failed zero-sum Western foreign policy and, by letting the global majority develop their economies as sovereign entities – a common complaint about the relationship with England BTL on this blog site (people as well as mineral and energy sources – how many Scots have emigrated over the years as a result of the impoverishment of the Scottish economy for the benefit of England? Well guess what – it’s the same for other countries across the Global South on a much worse scale, hence the number of immigrants) – the number wanting to leave and immigrate to the West will reduce.
It’s not quantum mechanics*.
*Perhaps that too is defined as “woke”?
Well said!
So without that 2.7 swing
Kamala Harris would be President-elect by the same margin that Trump is
So sweeping statements about the USA based on such fine margins are misleading
Especially if you take into account about half the adult population didn’t vote at all
“Most people support equal rights for trans people…” – what does that even mean?
Good question Moixx.
The “rights” trans and trans activists demand the rights for hairy arsed men to wander around girl’s changing rooms and beat the shit out of girls to win boxing gold medals.
Neil: those would surely be UNequal “rights.” Moixx asked about the meeting of equal rates for trans people.
My own answer would be along the lines: “same as for gay people.”
The second sentence should read, “Moixx asked about the meaning of equal rights for trans people.”
My problem with your answer Cynicus is that I know what a gay person is but I haven’t a clue what a btq+ person is or might want.
My main interest is women’s rights and there seems to be a conflict between women’s rights and ‘trans rights’.
One of the things which I felt was counter productive during the 2014 campaign was the focus on anti NATO/nuclear/Faslane issues. It was a distraction which pushed a lot of voters away. The pro Brexit campaign showed that a refusal to address individual issues is a plus rather than a negative feature.
You like the nukes? But Holyrood has voted (twice) in favour of dumping them (to the Thames I hope).
Scots don’t want them, I don’t think that’s a distraction. The myth of 6,000 jobs for the locals was the red herring.
You don’t have to, “like the nukes“ To defer a decision on them post- independence. If the YOONs mount a “Save our nukes“ campaign in a future INDYREF, they will lose more votes than they will gain.
Also, as our host here has written before, their possession post independence is a enormous bargaining chip in Scotland’s hands. On this matter, we should think strategically and not emotionally.
He only has one emotion.
Hi All, sounds like a very acurate analysis i will keep mine simple, because in the end and especially over there things are simple and binary whatever people say. In a ” religious ” country when a guy escape a murder attempt ( i wish i was a tiny wee mouse hidden behind that desk to actually watch where that scratch to the ear came from) from a guy hidden in plain sight, it is God will that he survived. He survived to show everyone the path to greatness again and whether you are a US affiliated catholic or protestant , that counts … White, black, spanish there is no better candidate than a messiah saved by the f. holly spirit… what a crazy broken world we live in.
LOL. Good one.
You are getting your erse handed to you on a plate today. Fully deserved.
What’s that like every day? You should know…
Yes, but….Trump didn’t win; the Republicans did, because the Democrats fouled their own nest by threatening women of all ages and boys as well as girls. Fear (in this case, for families and loved ones) will drive voters, and the Democrats delivered. ?
As for us: start with the price of electricity, and how Scottish power generation is saving the environment and money – for the people of England.
You haggis-wallopers can pay your higher heating bills and shut up, or we’ll take away your ability to use Britain’s oil too. On second thoughts, we’ll do that anyway. A good boost for oil piped to the mother country. And just look at that skyline in the City! Amazing, along with the glorious Queen Lizzie Line. Just as well Aberdeen didn’t get any of that, or there wouldn’t be enough grouse moorland left. You need to preserve your pristine environment. Otherwise, would you have had the NC 500? You know you’re better off looked after by your betters from Better Together.
See how it’s done? It’s an open goal.
It seemed to me from this distance that Trump the personality won the US election -very little to do with the GOP.
I would say his inclusion of non-republicans such as Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk & Robert Kennedy Jr also swung a lot of votes his way.
The split in the Senate and Congress was nowhere near as decisive as the presidential race.
Trump still has to turn the Washington insiders, will be a fascinating 4 years (may be 12 years).
The Democrats in Washington offered a corrupt, senile old man (for the second time) before switchg to another donkey. They would probably thrown in a third, useless candidate if they had another month left. They represent on-one. Parallels with Sturgeon, Yousaf, Swinney.
Lessons for Scotland-
1) choose a charismatic leader who can get things done
2) choose someone who can pull in centre, right and left people
3) strip out the corruption in the civil service
4) Listen to the ordinary man in the street, he or she will put you in power
5) Create a financial climate to create jobs
6) Lower taxes.
7) Reduce the power of government
8) Don’t waste money on frilly things
9) Embarrass the mainstream media as often as you can
There was a guy called Alex Salmond who offered a number of these for Scotland, but his jealous, small-minded enemies torpedoed him.
Trump was able to outlast the weaponside courts, but his enemies will continue to fight dirty, very dirty.
IF one of the main reasons Trump won the election and Harris lost is due to the gender woo woo pish then the snp and independence are truly fucked
It is amazing (or maybe not) that the so called experts eg spads and others are NOT reading the room ,surely given the MASSIVE revenue spend of the Democrats and the supposed political expertise of their party apparatchiks they must have had considerable feedback that their policies were going down like a bowl of vomit YET they continued unabashed
Hi, it’s Steve the author. I’ve seen comments questioning why I “campaigned” for Harris while wanting Trump to win. To clarify, I didn’t campaign. I went undercover canvassing as a Democrat supporter to gauge voter responses in rural Pennsylvania. The reason was that DC is a heavily Democrat city, and Republicans had no ground campaign there.
I did GOTV work for Republican Larry Hogan in nearby Maryland and attended one of his events but later discovered he’s a RINO. Being a MAGA Republican in DC is like being gay in Saudi Arabia. I was at the only Republican watch party in DC.
I attended Kamala’s concession speech because it was a historic moment, and I happened to be in DC. I wish I’d gone to a Trump rally, but they were held in remote locations, and I don’t drive. Hope that clears things up. 🙂
Steve, I almost posted to the effect that after you backed two losers in SNP and Alba, you must have hoped it would be third time lucky when (as I thought) you supported Harris!
We now learn that it WAS, indeed, third time lucky you were a Trumpeter all along. Your guy though, is a ringmaster who has filled his cabinet with clowns. I think the administration will fall apart in pretty short order. These guys are just not competent enough to run major departments of state in Ruritania, for less the USA. Most will be overwhelmed by their increasingly self evident inadequacies and quit -or hear the words, “you’re fired.”
You read it here first.
By the way, did someone in MAGA- land suggest you work undercover with the Democrats in Pennsylvania?
I guess we will see if the administration will fall apart. Though it sounds more like wishful thinking on your part.
I have hope regarding Tulsi, Musk, RFK jr and Vivek. Trump is no longer surrounded by Swamp creatures.
Because Joe Biden didn’t stuff his government with clowns ?
Why would someone from “MAGA-land” suggest anything to me? The Dems harmed themselves.
Immigration is the number one issue. Failure to act destroyed the tories.
Immigration remains the number one issue. Failure to act will destroy Labour.
Transgender madness played a part in the disintegration of the SNP if they don’t drop it they will suffer people don’t like it folk think it’s nonsense which it is.
Lastly people want to be comfortably off they want to afford a house and a car and a holiday it’s 2024 people should have such things.
To win elections is easy:
really aggressively tackle immigration crime.
completely stop the transgender/woke madness.
put real money in workers pockets.
lastly don’t lie to voters they have had enough of that.
finally do not copy Starmers aggressive jailing of people who should not be in jail.
Thats that sorted when do we start?
Yes, all of that plus the fact Trump is an American nationalist who puts Americans first and intends to drain the US neo-imperial swamp.
The SNP are neo-imperialists, they are part of the same swamp and part of the problem.
Conclusion: Scotland needs a Trump – a nationalist who will end woke, stop immigration, prioritise Scots, and rid us of neo-imperialism.
The problem the SNP have now concern not so much the policies but the personalities.
Policies aside, just look at them FFS… couldn’t run a frigging bath let alone a country, and as for a successful Indy campaign… not in my lifetime!
They’re the epitome of the Sadim Touch – everything they concern themselves with turns to shit.
Give the SNP an enema and you’d have nothing left but a dried out husk!
The SNP must be destroyed.
Completely and forever.
At last, some fighting talk from Zander!
Mind and report back regularly with progress updates.
Once you’ve cut off the head, take a well-earned rest – we’ll annihilate the body ourselves.
Tae hell wi fannying aboot wi “broad-based coalition for Indy” shite! It’s revenge we’re efter!
There will be plenty of time for Indy after we’ve washed our hands in the blood of our enemies – the SNP.
Although I agree with some of your analysis. The fact is Trump also appealed to some very unpleasant people and opinions. This is becoming evident in picking a man accused of raping a 17 year old girl as Attorney General and a TV host as defence secretary who does not think women should be in combat roles- tell that to the Ukrainians.
He also appeals to an increasing number of young men whose ambition outstrips their ability ,who now believe they have not got the jobs they believe should be theirs by virtue of their sex, because DEI has “locked” them out of jobs.
I agree that positive discrimination does no one any good. Harris’s appointment as VP is the best example I can think of at present, but equality for all is, I believe now under threat.
You do not mention project 2025 which will if enacted make the terms “Gender Equality” and “Reproductive Rights”be removed from all Federal Documents and programmes. This is aimed at undermining womens’ hard fought rights.
What is radical feminism – was that suffragettes chaining themselves to the railings outside number 10? Or the machinists at British Leyland striking in the early 1970s for equal pay. Or women who lose their jobs because they do not believe a man can be a woman?
“My journey led me to believe that Scotland’s independence campaign could learn a great deal from Trump’s victory and the Democrats’ failure.”
Firstly you need an indy party in your parliament – which Scotland doesn’t have, we have a Green and an SNP party – both are not interested in dissolving this illegal union – they have their own agendas, I’m hoping that their vile gender policies are their undoing in 2026, and that the ISP party makes good gains – whilst the branch office parties of their LOndon HQ’s BLiS, Tories and the Lib/Dems – are reduced to rumps.
Back in Reality Land, popularity of the WM Labour administration has already tanked. Harsh decisions and policies lie ahead – none of that will lead to a resurgence in Labour fortunes.
The smart money is on a renewed SNP mandate at HR in 2026. I expect the closed-doors deals are already being done to ensure it’s business as usual until then.
Of course, 2026 is still far enough away to allow for the creation and growth of a new pro-Indy party in Scotland, call it “Independents For Independence” say, but I guess pro-Indy activists are already busy with their Xmas and New Year plans.
That’s how things stand in Scotland, Ros. I’ve no idea what goes on in scotland, in fact, you’re the only poster claiming to know where the damn place even is.
“I’ve no idea what goes on in scotland”
You’re doing yourself a disservice.
I’m certain you’ve no idea what goes on anywhere, or Anywhere for that matter
Or should we just agree that you’ve “no idea” and leave it at that?
Should I be saying “learn to write”, or “learn to spell”? I’m in two minds.
Bottom line though, although there does appear to be a solid cadre of regular posters who believe our country is called “scotland”, I’m thinking this is more indicative of the answer to Alf’s question than anything else.
Quoting from Alf below:
“explains why today there are so few Scots professors in our uni’s, so few Scots doctors in our hospitals, and so few Scots running government departments, or large corporations here”
Maybe the English applicants give their address as “England” and in comparison, the Scottish applicants give their address as “scotland”. The place that doesn’t exist, and for those insisting it’s OK not to capitalise it, a sure-fire indicator of somebody not actually very bright. Or a Grade 1 piss taker.
Mystery solved.
An interesting article about the changing nature of celebrity involvement in American politics.
link to archive.is
Trump tried to literally steal an election,.let’s not forget.
Regardless of how how boring and patronising Harris was, Trump’s behaviour is incompatible with public office.
Can you imagine Starmer or Swinney asking Angus council’s election officials for 9000 votes? You can’t because it’s nuts and wouldnt fly in Scotland.
Astonished by this commentary to be honest.
This is what happens when you watch too much YouTube.
Is there interest in how Trump made a comeback? Yes. But anyone thinking this is a good thing need their head checked. And I do not like the Dems one bit.
Great to here from you Steve. Great article. Having pounded many a Bannockburn Street with you they were lucky to have you. What a way to have observed that election.
Thanks Lynn. Hope you are doing well
Will Trump make a good president.
That’s a good question. Maybe more appropriate is will anyone make a god president.
It’s a very similar question to here. Will Keir Starmer be any better than Rishi Sunak or Boris Johnson. And before one asks don’t bother enquiring of the local team Surgeon, the Anas Sarwar look alike or John Swinney. They are all the same, in the pocket of big business with no interest in the people they are supposed to represent.
And so we mump and moan, theorise, opine and squabble but do nothing to change things.
2014 and the Yes campaign nearly changed things. And that’s why Alex Salmond had to be taken out. And of course Jeremy Corbyn less brutally was taken down.
Will Trump be taken down. Might be reasonable to suspect so. He says he wants to stop the war whereas Biden has just apparently sanctioned deep strikes into Russia.
Ah well, Union Jack underpants on, some rousing choruses of Rule Brittannia, with the US big business interests, like the UK big business interests, we if Boris’s sentiments are accurate, will be right behind them
Dulce et decorum est in pro patria mori chaps. But to bring it down to really important issues what is our position on our all important trans community and their participation to fight.
There, ended up with an important question!
What else can we do?
Can’t answer your last question because I don’t know if men and women serve different roles in the military.
However when it comes to sport/the Olympics the trans community seem very willing to fight.
I agree with much re woo-woo, but the basic problems are: 1) it’s all the fault of Westminster/English and b) while you say that economics are paramount, you ignore economic reality.
As for the !! who think that elderly English incomers are the problem – shows the debasement of Scottish education. Be careful what you wish for – these pensioners are supporting your econoomy and benefits.
Lie, cheat, steal and fearmonger, like Trump? Surefire winner… Not! As for redeeming the SNP, even more outrageous. We need a better, simple and clear economic argument perhaps, but again not based on lies and misinformation. None of this will ever be delivered by the SNP. As for immigration, yes there are more new people appearing locally, and yes they all seem to be housed, thankfully for them. Some people seem ok with this, some seem annoyed and no-one knows who and why unless of course you ask directly. The new folks seem ok but mostly to me look nervous, even if you smile and say hello, as I do. It will get worse if this becomes a flood no doubt. Transparency as always is the answer and hopefully decent folks will see the way forward, but positive discrimination also affects people. So, all in all, not sure of where your arguments about emulating trump take us. I prefer Janey Godley’s assessment myself, and as for the US voting public, most seem to be totally ignorant of the facts and easily lead, plus some 50+ million eligible voters did not vote.
“Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.
One of the most devastating and effective pieces of political messaging I’ve ever seen.
Although I do not agree with all of Steve’s views he is surely bang on the money here:
“Independence should be about getting Scotland out from under Westminster’s thumb, not pushing side issues that fracture support. Politics is simple maths: it’s addition, not subtraction. Every vote lost needlessly over a fringe issue is twice as hard to win back……. If the SNP keeps pushing “woke” agendas that ignore the concerns of 99% of Scots, they’ll lose too.”
And they will richly deserve to.
“Independence should be about getting Scotland out from under Westminster’s thumb”
Should that not be ‘boot’? Independence is decolonization, efter aw, tho the author seems to miss that obvious reality; doesn’t he read BTL here?
And here we are now in the third phase where the ever-dwindling Scots are hopefully starting to understand their ‘colonial condition’, even if the author disnae.
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
Would you not need to explain why you would want to get out from under ‘Westminster’s thumb’ a lot of people believe we are ‘Better Together’
Would the ‘fringe issues’ ie foreign wars & gender ideology not help to do that?
Bruce Springsteen, Tougher than the Rest, and My Hometown, should be the Alba Party campaign songs.
I hope this is approved. God bless Scotland. And Alex Salmond.
Posted on the previous topic but also relevant here
twathater
Reply to Republicofscotland
21 hours ago
What would be KARMA is for one of the disgruntled staff being made redundant to become a whistleblower to EXPOSE the CORRUPTION and LIES that has been taking place over the last 10 years of Sturgeon’s, Yuseless, and Swinneys incompetence and mismanagement , one of the first things that they could expose is WHERE is the £600,000+ money that was donated and ringfenced for a independence referendum
Another avenue of interest is WHERE is ALL the very EXPENSIVE technical equipment and computer systems that cost a fortune, who bought them ,how were they paid for, who used them and where are they now
I would presume that the redundant employees would only be paid the bare redundancy terms and conditions which in this day and age is meagre and insulting , I would not like to be looking for employment in the current economic climate or paying a mortgage on a newly purchased home that was bought on the basis of ongoing employment promised at interview, and having the added burden of the most expensive energy costs in Europe especially in winter in Scotland
TBQH I would feel extremely outraged at the thought of being made redundant through no fault of my own , especially when the clowns and imbeciles that caused my misery were still being paid £70,000+ for causing the collapse of the membership and their fees which paid my salary, IF these clowns and imbeciles had done what the voters had wanted them to do INDEPENDENCE, instead of wandering aimlessly down deviant and perverted avenues ,I would still be gainfully employed and comfortable
Instead I will be unemployed and suffering extreme hardship and probably cannot not pay my mortgage whilst the hierarchy can go out and purchase £100,000+ motorhomes , expensive high end cars ,driving lessons and a 2 car family, holiday homes abroad and additional homes in Scotland
I would feel very aggrieved that having kept loyal and silent on the whole mismanagement of what was a very successful ,popular and rewarding political party that THEIR incompetence LIES and stupidity has led me to become unemployed,frightened of the future, and possible bankrupcy
REVENGE is a dish best served COLD
Excellent article. One point – the “left” in the States isn’t really on the left as we would know it, certainly if we are talking about the authoritarians known as the “Democratic Party”. There’s lots of sickening virtue-signalling etc, but the refusal to acknowledge that so many are hurting very badly economically – and it goes back to Clinton’s NAFTA – shows that the Democrats at any rate hate the working and middle classes, are neoliberal (and these days neocon) to their core, with a few lefties like AOC, who’s a fraud, and it seems one genuine leftie, Sanders, who explained why the Dems lost but was studiously ignored. ID politics is a scam that means virtually no discussion of “class issues” and the splitting of left wing movements. I suspect the SNP, increasingly illiterate when it comes to class issues – because they care as much as they do about independence – would love to be a wee Mickey Mouse version of the Democratic Party, who may have lost but as individuals will continue to be very rich. And nowhere on the left.
Not the way forward.
A certain Maya Sharma based in Manchester, England a key advisor in the Labour quest to make Wales anti-racist claims that racism is when «white people hold negative views» of other ethnicities.
link to archive.ph
link to gov.wales
The statement might be construed as an inditement of «white people», whatever that might meaningfully signify, and their singular capacity for ethnic prejudice.
In Wales 94.2% in 2021 identified as variously «white».
Race, like so called gender, is a domain full of rich pickings for the professional, seriously concerned «activist» roaming the corridors of power and academe in search of the means to profitably promote a particular hang up or grudge.
Another ‘white white white’ rant!
It’s walking dogs in the park and in the countryside that causes racism in Wales, don’tcha know.
WTAF What is happening in the uk when people like Maya Sharma on behalf of the Labour party can openly state that the race of people in Wales and other parts of the uk who are WHITE are RACIST and that WE have to be taught NOT to be racist
She states ” racism as a whole is based on a power imbalance, wherein white people, institutes and nations hold far larger amounts of power”. Zat right Maya, Well forgive us for existing in our own country, maybe Maya you should tell Pakistan, India, China , Turkey and lots of other countries around the world that THEY are RACIST, because Maya I think that you will find that in ALL of these countries the balance of power in all their institutions is predominately NON WHITE
THIS pish is exactly why parties like Reform and the EDL are becoming more popular and mainstream
HOW DARE WHITE PEOPLE progress in their own country, is MAYA related to HUMZA the racist
Ugh. There’s a lot to dislike there. It reads like a manifesto of someone who has spent too much time terminally online.
This is just the right wing equivalent of the left wing woke nonsense. Its just as lazy and just as stupid. The quality control is a bit lacking here.
Trump didnt win because of his policies, he offered no policies. Trump won because he actually spoke to the working class. That’s the lesson to take here, not that we should become hard right Americans.
Quality control a bit lacking with this article imo.
It would depend on the ratio between working class & upper class.
Alex Salmond definitely spoke to the working class during the 2014 Indy Ref but still lost.
Upper class rule in the UK.
I agree. The argument that we should do nothing to reduce carbon emissions and prevent climate catastrophe just because the USA is hell-bent on destroying the planet as quickly as possible flies in the face of logic and common-sense. If we do nothing, the USA and any other country that puts corporate profit before the survival of the planet can use exactly the same argument to justify continuing to wreck the environment.
Also, the last thing we need is more air travel. That is the most polluting, destructive and inefficient form of transport. Not only in the air but on the ground. The land-take and dislocation caused by airports is gigantic compared to railways. Edinburgh Airport passengers 2022: 11,250,000. Waverley Station (occupying a tiny fraction of the land-take) passengers 2022: 18,213,000.
You need to have a word with the passengers of over 400+ private jets who winged their way to Baku, to achieve the square root of f… all.
You mean the rich billionaires that the author of this piece would have us vote for?
The author is making the mistake of thinking that American politics are universally applicable. The issues discussed, inflation, etc. are appropriate, but the mix and the concerns raised a probably unique to the USA and probably vary quite a bit across the states.
The idea of an economically-focused Yes Movement might gain some traction,but I think things will have to get quite a bit worse, before that could gain widespread support. Right now it would smell too much of what’s happening in Germany with the AfD, and would be bitterly opposed. Doubly so because a push for an independent Scotland might be too Trumpian when more European solidarity, i.e. centralisation and coalescing more power in Brussels is probably the direction for the next few years.
The Funny for today is, Stephen Flynn claims ‘Holyrood needs me’ like a whole in the head. He’s only just been elected to Westminster whats up no one in England notices you and your party now your no longer the third biggest party or is it your hoping to replace Moron Swinney which can only be done at Holyrood.
Tenuously relevant.
Catching up with some of the posts on Off-Topic Scotland.
link to offtopicscotland.com
Article is a decent read but this bit caught my eye from Alex Salmond’s speech.
“We all know Brian did a huge amount to encourage and inspire young people, particularly those from overseas, to come to Scotland and get involved in politics.
Conference, I’m therefore delighted to announce that the SNP’s internship programme in the Scottish Parliament will now be dedicated in Brian Adam’s memory.”
What’s with the thinking that a load of folk from overseas should become involved in Scottish politics and would somehow know more about what Scotland needs than oor ain fowk?
I would have thought that having people all around the world who have spent time in Scotland and know about Scotland’s political situation would be a good thing?
A better thing than having actual Scottish people , y’know those people born in Scotland to Scottish parents in those positions ?
Why do our ( so called ) ” leaders always think we need people from * elsewhere * to do the work of taking Scotland to Independence , eg the amount of attention given to cultivate the approval of that phantom phenomenon – New Scots ; seeking the permission of a foreign Gov – ie England – before we can progress our cause ?
Do they perhaps think * others * are better qualified , more astute , or do they think it ” looks good ” , less ” parochial ” to appoint Non -Scots to prominent positions within what used to be know as the Scottish Independence Movement ?
Why , finally , do they evince so little confidence in the people of this country ?
Aye Robert, this is all part and parcel of the ‘colonial condition’.
Scots have endured for decades all our best jobs being advertised mainly in the metropolitan capital, and now advertised even further afield, the remainder reserved for the privately schooled native elite.
Which explains why today there are so few Scots professors in our uni’s, so few Scots doctors in our hospitals, and so few Scots running government departments, or large corporations here. It also explains why, in a colony, the people end up with a ‘mediocre meritocracy’ (Fanon).
What we endure is ‘a cultural division of labour within the UK internal colonialism model’ (Hechter), where the native is mostly rendered ‘a bystander’ in his own land (Memmi).
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
(Hechter) enters the discourse alongside the old stalwarts (Fanon) and (Memmi).
Yes indeed, these are some of the main people behind the UN covenant on the right of colonized peoples to independence, the writers of classic texts. Which helped influence others to develop theories – such as ‘Doun-Hauden: The Socio-Political Determinants of Scottish Independence’ available from a m a z o n.
Guillaume Faye – The Colonization of Europe it seems has influenced your theories.
NOT according to Maya Sharma aligned to the Labour party , highlighted by Turabdin link above, according to Maya us WHITE people are taking up too many positions of power and we have to be edumacated out of our RACISM
IT IS absolutely SHITE being a WHITE, SCOTTISH , INDIGENOUS , HETEROSEXUAL , married working class MALE and father in non bonnie Scotland
Yes, British Labour and even the British SNP only prioritise other minority ethnic groups; they do not consider us Scots as an ethnic minority, never mind a colonised and hence oppressed ethnic minority.
But that is precisely what we are and that is why we seek independence / liberation, which is always dependent on the solidarity of the oppressed ethnic group.
This isn’t a replacement thing. It isn’t an either/or thing. Its an internship. I think you need to calm down and take a deep breath.
Do you also scream in fury when French school children come on school exchanges, rather than guid hojest Scots kids? This is hysteria.
What has school exchanges got to do with politicians ignoring and sidelining our own people , as Robert asks what makes people from other countries more suitable than our own people for jobs requiring a Scottish perspective , as Alf also points out our institutions if you care to research are riven with non Scots , is there a reason for this or are we just being paranoid, I know what I believe
I generally avoid the Wings comment section, as I get enough Unionist viewpoints from the actual yoons, but some of the insanity on here would give the Daily Mail a run for its money.
Its such an insular point of view, and its just as embarrassing as the people trying to pretend men are women. Clearly none of you have ever worked or lived internationally.
You’re just full of assumptions , aren’t you , A.A .
In my case , apart from a year in India , 5 in London , 2 in Valencia , 9 in Barcelona , almost 3 in Netherlands and extended times in France & Germany – I’ve never worked or lived abroad .
You seem prone to drama , ma man ; are you maybe a thespian , or just a bit of a am/dram ham .
Watch out ! there might be opinions lurking about on here you don’t like . Better just sticking with the National .
” Unionist viewpoints ” . HA !
If I see any I’ll give you a shout to warn you to close yr eyes 🙂
Sae there are nae “Unionist viewpoints” oan here?
Michty, ah’m Confused noo!
Who’s ” screaming in fury ” ?
If you can’t see the difference between ” French school children …..” and non-Scots being chosen over Scots in the context Dan refers to I think you need to wake-up .
” This is hysteria ” , is it aye ? Is your experience of ” hysteria ” limited to mild irritation when you’re asked yr age in the pub ?
Have you looked at our ‘Politicians’?
My personal experience was when I went ‘overseas’ and then returned to Scotland I could see very clearly what Scotland needed.
The author of this article obviously thought he could learn a lot about Scotland by going ‘overseas’ aka going ‘across the pond’
Incredible stuff. Learn from the country that, along with England, scuppered our independence vote, and smeared Alex Salmond, so they could continue to suck our oil and gas dry, and force us to house their worthless Trident flying metal dildos? Are you fucking KIDDING me?
The swill the SNP has been wrecked by came from America in the first place! FUCK AMERICA! It’s a braindead shithole that only did so well cos it never had to rebuild after WWII like everybody else, and whose soft popular culture power has convinced everybody it’s an amazing land of milk and honey. A sick, sick joke at best.
“Learn from the country that, along with England, scuppered our independence vote, and smeared Alex Salmond,”
The US smeared Alex Salmond?
If anyone voted No in 2014 because of the Obama intervention ( I am doubtful) then we probably should begin a debate on cognitive tests as a requirement to vote.
I agree that like many good and bad things the woke virus came from the States though at least let us import the cure for it.
“I agree that like many good and bad things the woke virus came from the States though at least let us import the cure for it.”
That’s a bit “too wee, too poor, too stupid” is it not.
All these supposedly great Scottish (and imported because apparently they know better than us) political minds aren’t even able to muster up oor ain policies or response to cure the imported genderwoowoo pish.
No consultancy charge required for this. HTH
#WomenDontHaveACockOrBawbag
US politics is a farcical shitfest with huge amounts of money effectively controlling the choices in a vast area with 350 million folk with very different wonts and needs.
Why not look to learn from more relevantly sized countries and political campaign developments in Europe where trends are being bucked.
Or even better, stay in Scotland and actually interact with Scots to determine a consensus on which to move forward.
Getting sick fed up of intellectuals overthinking shite and getting overly complex and pissing away time.
Political Parties are fucked, the electorate are sick of them being packed with sellouts and grifting charlatans, and the large size of national Parties allows them to be controlled and smeared by the MSM to influence vote outcomes.
Go with decent un-corruptable local independent candidates that will represent their electorate and they would be a much harder target for the powers that be to attack; And any attack launched by outsiders would likely backfire and galavanise local support around the candidate.
Look at how this played out. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
“Or even better, stay in Scotland and actually interact with Scots to determine a consensus on which to move forward.”
That would seem the safest way to avoid more damaging cultural neo-imperialism. Scots should rely on oor ain cultur, not depend on what others want to do with our society, as has been the case since 1707.
Absolutely Alf.
Every different country on the planet has their own geographical position and prevailing circumstances that meant those indigenous peoples developed their own unique ways of existing, which become traditions and cultures that facilitated those folk to endure or thrive in that specific area.
Not many cod fishing boats in Niger or Chad, likewise not many camels in Aberdeen.
Nationalism is often portrayed as a negative, but the reality is that it is the anathema of the globalists that are trying to push all manner of unwanted and unworkable pish policies on us as they try to control evermore of the world.
I’m not some closed minded jock. I’ve worked abroad plenty in Europe, and spent three summers working in the USA in Pennsylvania, and Up-State New York.
One summer bought a car and spent 6 weeks traveling 12,000 miles down the eastern seaboard to Florida, then across the Gulf states to Texas and New Mexico, then up through Kansas to Minnesota, then back east to NY.
Saw a lot of the country and the people. Scottish accent saved my arse as a sun bleached blond surfer looking guy driving a car with NY plates pulled off freeway in the dark to get petrol near Mobile, Alabama, only to find a gang of African Americans in their pimped out cars hanging out at the gas station.
They saw me pulling in and were like /Humza mode on: WHITE! from NEW YORK!
I may have surprised them when I attempted to diffuse the situation with a bit of Scottish accented bantz, but somehow it saved me getting chibbed and dumped in a swamp, so I took that as a result, fueled up car and got the heck outta there sharpish!
That was the year I returned to Scotland and within a fortnight was taking charity aid out to Romania after the fall of Ceau?escu. Quite a cultural difference from spending 3 months looking after and teaching watersports to very well off predominantly Jewish kids at a camp and cruising around the US, then driving across Europe to spend weeks in a recently failed state.
These firsthand experiences do help one see and understand that we may all be human and scattered far and wide on this rock in space, but we also have our differences which no globalist derived policies will adequately cater for own unique needs.
According to Andrew Abel we are all
“I generally avoid the Wings comment section, as I get enough Unionist viewpoints from the actual yoons, but some of the insanity on here would give the Daily Mail a run for its money. Its such an insular point of view, and its just as embarrassing as the people trying to pretend men are women. Clearly none of you have ever worked or lived internationally.”
Lived in America for years. Fucking hellhole. Informed my views.
WHEN DID WE ALL BECOME WOMEN?
link to archive.ph
A serious overview from 2006 before «woke» went worldwide…now it’s truly culturewide.
Small wonder Trump is back and the SNP feels petulant and weepy.
This station stop Feminization,
Next station stop Infantilization.
Do beware of «toxic masculinity» guys!
WHEN DID WE ALL BECOME WOMEN?
This is a men only question surely?
Just in case it isn’t I can tell you that I became female at conception & and it was confirmed at birth. I don’t think they were doing pre-natal scans/ultrasounds back then.
Around 11-12 yrs I became a woman.
(Sorry if that is TMI, causes distress or is transphobic)
I was very embarrassed about it and most definitely didn’t want the boys to know but that was in the olden days when boys were boys and girls were girls and we had single sex toilets and such things could be kept a secret.
When did men become women?
Possible answer is when they declared that they were.
PS I didn’t read the article just the headline.
In science, we construct experiments to test theories. The environmental parameters to which the thesis is exposed are extreme in order to stress test it. Where physical tests are impractical, thought experiments are used. We are told by our superiors in the liberal, mainstream media that Trump is inevitably a disaster, is this true?
My thought experiment is a scenario where either the Democrats or Republicans win this year and retain unbroken residency in the White House for 28 years (7 Presidential terms). My metric is the fate of the native and rightful residents of the West Bank (other metrics are available, we can list them later, and the outcome of the experiment remains broadly the same).
According to my guesstimates, in both scenarios, the West Bank is fully annexed by the occupying power, and the 2018 Jewish State Law is weaponised to force the native population into exile. I estimate that this outcome would occur after 15 years of unbroken Republican administration, and 25 years of uninterrupted Democratic rule.
From the perspective of the native population of the West Bank, you don’t win with the Democrats, you just lose more slowly. But for every action, there is a reaction. By committing ethnic cleansing, the proxy, terrorist state in West Asia brings about its total isolation (from all but its terrorist sponsor) and in doing so, assures its ultimate destruction.
From this superficially thrawn viewpoint Trump is a good thing. By adopting an extreme position, he hastens the collapse of the Empire.
Other metrics where this applies are;
* the status of the Dollar as the default trade currency
* the configuration and location of the United Nations (or its successor organisation)
* the size and scope of BRICS (which by this point would include so many members that this form of acronym will be redundant)
* the diplomatic status and leverage of the US State Department in all but Western Europe, its West Asian surrogate, and Federated States of Micronesia.
15 years to wait (minimum) eh?
I guess it’s possible.
Care to tell us what will be headlining the news in 15 days time? That’s the 3rd of December.
BTW, the history books are full of states that have committed “ethnic cleansing”, some of them quite a long time ago by the metric of a human lifetime, and have yet to be destroyed. Orcland comes immediately to mind.
But I take your point. Everybody dies, eventually. Every state ceases to exist, eventually.
It has to be said though, that for a state to exist on the same geographical location for in excess of two millennia is quite something. I hope you’re not intending to hold your breath. 🙂
The rightful owners of what we call the Holy Land don’t look to me to be going anywhere any time soon. Rightful owners on religious grounds (the Bible), historical grounds (the Roman written records) and archeological grounds (new evidence being dug up year after year).
The right of the owners of the Holy Land to be there is so cast-iron and irrefutable, that by comparison, it makes us indigenous Scots look like day-trippers on a spur-of-the-moment excursion to “North Britain”.
Sounds like an Xbox game.
Robert Kennedy Junior will be brilliant for Trump. Let’s hope he takes the 15 additives out of food, and on day 1. They are morbidly obese. The Americans are ultra Processed people.
Unlike Kennedy. Sir Kier wants to give fat people the Jag, recently a nurse in Glasgow died because of the diabetic Jag being wrongly prescribed for weight loss.
It’s the food market that’s toxic. Shameful that sir Kier is promoting a drug to treat a toxic food market.
If US Democrats have their way, should really all be over by Christmas….cheers!
No self-respecting sentient human being should or would align themselves with Biden/Harris. A blot on your otherwise reasonable copy book.
If we want trade with the countries reeling from climate change we must be seen to be doing something about it. That is the diplomatic and trade reality.
Scotland cannot and should not rely on trade with the climate denying USA which is heading for a trade embargo in response to Trump’s ignoring the climate emergency.
So your dismissal of Scottish Net Zero because America will not wash with the rest of the world.
After Indy the Scandis want us in the Scandi Council, they correctly see Communitarian Scotland as a Scandinavian country. That is where our future lies not as some sort of midAtlantic mini me of the US.
What is electoral populism is in one country does not automatically transfer to a different one.
If we were to include the approx one third of Scots who never vote there are probably a majority of Scots who are pro-Trump.
Scots are not Scandinavian – even Viking culture was found to be incompatible with Scoti/Picti culture. Anglo culture is even more incompatible despite 300+ years of cultural and colonial assimilation and 500 years of armed conflict afore that.
Hence our demand for independence derives mainly from ethnic Scots whose culture is (thankfully) incompatible with other cultures, especially those that seek to dominate us and obliterate our culture.
“ethnic Scots whose culture is (thankfully) incompatible with other cultures”
Too right, Alf. The Declaration of Arbroath boasts how the Scots have:
“thrown out the Britons and completely destroyed the Picts”
I guess that after these episodes of ethnic cleansing and geno-cide, no other cultured folk will want to touch us with a bargepole.
No EU membership for us, so it’s not all bad news.
Indy means Indy!
The ethnic cleansing of Scots seems to be an ongoing theme, albeit a common feature with loss of sovereignty, also according to current and historic census data:
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
I think we had best leave that one to the Scandis. We are not inviting them to be overlords are we? We border Norway, Iceland and the Faroes so there are issues we have in common.
They use English as a lingua franca so there isn’t even a language issue.
Are you advocating an insular Scotland who joins nothing? Are we not to join the UN since our culture will be ‘incompatible’ with Nigeria or Micronesia.
The majority of Scots are pro-Trump eh? How sad. But I don’t believe you – you have literally just made this up. And what on earth do you mean by ‘thankfully . . . incompatible with other cultures’ because what that looks like it means is narrow, insular, ignorant and bigoted. Any culture that is happy to be incompatible with any others is a dead, useless one. As an Englishmen I know for a fact that to the idea English culture is ‘incompatible’ with other cultures is utter nonsense given the cultural melting pot modern England is. You really need to get out more Alf.
The only thing the “countries reeling from climate change” want to trade is their people on a one-way ticket.
Although they wouldn’t sniff at a few billion dollars in phony “reparations”. They know well that if they don’t ask, they won’t get, and that once they have a big enough population bridgehead here, with votes, they can eventually vote these reparations into reality.
Labour is in hock to the invaders, which is why when you look at their policies, you can clearly see how these will benefit the invaders to the disadvantage of the indigenous.
The abolition of the WFA for example, and just last week, the effective capitulation on fixing NHS palliative care with a plan to kill off the unwanted old and infirm instead.
The “Great Replacement Theory” is widely claimed to be a conspiracy theory, but when government policy after policy are working to that end, suddenly the penny drops.
Agree with all of this. The church needs to be broader. The tent bigger. Rod McLaren’s article on this site back in August 2015 (link to wingsoverscotland.com) made the point & Steve Daley’s article here highlights how. We need to deradicalize the party & keep our one radical policy independence itself. We need to bring some right-wing &/or conservatively minded people with us if we want independence.
During the recent US presidential election, I read or heard Reform UK say that the UK is poorer than the poorest US state. They meant the poverty level. I Googled it, and it indicated 22% in the UK compared with 18.8% of residents living in poverty in Mississippi, USA.
Other news…
BBC: Ukraine fires US-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia for first time:
“US officials confirmed use of the Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) to CBS news, the BBC’s US partner.
Russia’s defence ministry earlier said the strike targeted the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine to the north on Tuesday morning.
Five missiles were shot down and one damaged, with its fragments causing a fire at a military facility in the region, the ministry said.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov accused Washington of trying to escalate the conflict…”:
link to archive.ph
You ask why skilled immigrants are not flocking to progressive Scotland. It’s because the money is elsewhere.
Anyway, I fear the populist policies (pro growth ‘common sense’) you advocate *will* win seats at the next election, but not for any independence parties.
I stopped voting SNP because the SNP promised the world and then, like Labour, settled into power in Holyrood and Westminster and gorged at the trough. Because they attacked and tried to jail Alex Salmond. Because they attacked and tried to cancel WOS. Because their hate crime bill criminalises people for thinking and stating certain beliefs. And because they became the party of trans rights at the expense of every other policy they had. I couldn’t care less about some trans persons’ feelings but the SNP thought their feelings were more important than winning independence.
The policy they must pursue going forward in order to remain relevant is to promote the 2nd list votes to another independence party. Anything other than this is an absolute betrayal of the indy movement. All other woke policies must be rejected. If they ask for another ‘Both Votes SNP’ they need wiped out at the next elections.