This is how dumb they think you are
Let’s break this down, shall we?
Won’t take long.
(1) is actually a big DECREASE in housebuilding. 100,000 new homes in 11 years is 9,000 a year. But wait – there were 21,000 built in 2019, and 18,000 the year before that, and 17,000 the year before that. So you’re being offered a 50% cut.
(And of course, since the Parliament elected this coming May will only run until 2026, promising anything for 2032 is purest bullshine. 2032 is three elections away.)
(2) was actually announced last September, so that’s guff as well.
(3) is also from last year, and is a woolly piece of guff anyway.
(4) is the first we’ve heard of this idea, but is a prospect that’ll probably chill the blood of anyone who’s been following the current Scottish Government’s recent attacks on all kinds of basic freedoms, most of which are now hate crimes.
(5) is another ridiculous, meaningless promise about a date 24 years into the future. There’s arrogance and hubris and entitlement, then there’s the SNP.
(6) is a bit of vague aspirational sloganeering attached to very little in the way of concrete planning or specified funding. The idea of everyone living within a 20-minute cycle of their workplace is a lovely fantasy, but a total pipedream in a reality where few people get paid enough to live that centrally in the cities where most of them work. It would take little short of a complete revolution in society to make such a thing possible.
(7) comes amusingly bottom of the list, like a hastily-tacked-on afterthought, but makes up for it by perhaps being the most intelligence-insulting of the lot. There’s a majority for a second indyref at Holyrood right now, and there has been for the last five years. Parliament has even voted for it twice, but the SNP has done nothing to actually make it happen, just endless hollow grandstanding amounting to zip.
Not even the outfit changes.
No possible result of the election in May will give them any more power than they have now. Anything they’d be able do after the vote, they could have done last year, or in 2019, or in 2018, or in 2017. But they didn’t, so why would we believe them now?
In reality, of course, they’ll blame COVID-19 for doing nothing this year, and then the aftermath of COVID-19 for doing nothing next year, all to avoid a confrontation with a UK government which they know will simply say “No” yet again.
The SNP holds its voters in such low esteem that it thinks this half-arsed drivel will do, and it’s probably right. If you fall for it, you deserve no better.
dunks says:
15 March, 2021 at 10:25 pm
This constant SNP bashing is getting ridiculous.
No matter how bad you think they are they are not the biggest enemy within Scotland.
That’s a view but not one I adhere to.
Is that this James Dornan?…
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/politics/5323435/snp-james-dornan-msp-holyrood-election/
dunks, How bad do you think they are?
Or is it this James Dornan?…
https://www.thenational.scot/news/18621550.james-dornan-msp-blocked-holyrood-snp-nec/
SNP lies about the future. Here’s some truth about another loss to Scotland (repost)
Willie says:
15 March, 2021 at 1:12 pm
Or the Scottish legal system guaranteed under the Act of Union but with the Court of Session now reduced to a junior court to the Supreme Court.
John Cleary Says
Oh dear! Does that mean that the crown can now override nobile officium in the supreme court?
So whatever happened to the principle
“The nobile officium is a residual power of the court which can be traced to its long-standing, inherent equitable jurisdiction to see that there is no wrong without a remedy.”
She’s got rid, hasn’t she?
You’ve now got the same as the English.
Not “no wrong without a remedy”. Now you’ve got “go fuck yourself if you don’t like it” (Honi soit qui mal y pense).
Any party operating with this level of transparent dishonesty deserves ‘bashing’.
If you think they deserve better treatment simply for being the SNP, then you are validating the unionist claim that we are a cult with blind faith.
Michael B’s Sun link archived.
https://archive.is/bLuCY
He has me blocked or I would have asked what they are doing to mitigate the lack of pension for Waspi women. The SNP really don’t like older people, do they?
I think we will be able to tell how worried the SNP are in the run up to the election by how much they try to rally the independence troops.
That must be some bloody file they’ve got on Dornan
Or is he so “special” he was “chosen” to chunter this nonsense?
Who the fuck is dunks?
The SNP and Ratners – both purveyors of “total crap”.
But we knew that already.
Hellish really!
The only other party with more BS is the Tories.
And of course the Libdems
And more often “Scottish” Labour.
But the Greens say it with such holywillerish they sound, well green.
[Abridged from previous thread]
Anent this post, out of curiosity I revisited the SNP’s 2016 Manifesto this evening.
It was not an exhilarating experience for anybody hunting for a gold-plated IndyRef2 mandate.
In Nicola Sturgeon’s opening statement (page 7), no mention is made of independence at all let alone how to achieve it.
And among 35 policy pledges in “Next Steps” (pages 8-9) there’s fient a mention of IndyRef 2.
Only by Page 23 do we finally get to the punchline: “We believe that the Scottish Parliament should have the right to hold another referendum if there is clear and sustained evidence that independence has become the preferred option of a majority of
the Scottish people – or if there is a significant and material change in the circumstances that prevailed in 2014, such as Scotland being taken out of the EU against our will.”
Is that a mandate for IndyRef2? Well aye, if a half mumbled one qualified by that less than watertight commitment “we believe the SP should have the right”.
Has it been betrayed? Undoubtedly, because Scotland is out of the EU despite promises made to stand by our country’s vote to remain.
But in truth, IndyRef2 was very far from the heart of things in that manifesto.
Instead, it conveys the impression of a leader who believes that the burden of taking on the British state for Scotland’s sake has been lifted from her shoulders and punted down the years, in favour of building up responsibilities and competence under devolution.
Well, ye ken noo Nicola. With Brexit and the Internal Market Act SS Devo has sailed. The British/English nationalist government is coming after Scotland and has long since stopped pretending that it isn’t.
They fear Scottish independence as a real and present danger to all they stand for. They also recognise it is has become the dominant political issue – even if some of our own side’s captains appear to wish it otherwise.
But the SNP is out of road. Its Holyrood 2021 manifesto will have to commit to IndyRef2 and the wording and placement of that pledge as compared with the asinine 2016 version – will be crucial.
An Indy majority win will see a Referendum Act passed as the new government’s first legislation.
Scant fare I know. But it’s a whole heap better than five years of penury under crowing unionists.
Post May 6, believe me, there is a reckoning coming inside the SNP and rekindling its grassroots democratic power will be the touchpaper.
Until then we need to hold fast – and deny the unionists that which they fear most – and indy win.
How dumb would you need to be to read that and shout Yay! The Bus-pass Elvis Party have produced more credible lists in all their election campaigns
That same Tweet was being pumped out by several accounts with SNP links. It’s quite possible that the accounts are being managed by the team at HQ – I certainly know that HQ used to have dealings with any SNP affiliated Facebook pages back in 2010-2012, allowing them to post a consistent message across them.
My prediction for the SNP vote, 55 SNP MSPs I have seriously considered spread betting for a lot of money.They are not getting it. Money to be made.
Independence is off the agenda for the time being.
As long as Sturgeon and her administration have anything to do with the running of the Scottish Government, then we are going to get more of the same, plus some, over the next five years.
All their dreaded policies will become law and Holyrood will continue to be a House of Waffle.
The public will not be involved in, or notified about any other evil deeds they have planned for us.
Sturgeon needs taken out of the picture all together.
Vote Scottish Labour in Glasgow Southside.
A Grand Coalition can be organised in time for the May election.
This scenario can be repeated throughout Scotland.
Vote out these useless, corrupt SNP gangsters.
We will end up with no Party having a majority, but it will cleanse us of the stench of Sturgeon forever.
The following election (2026) can turn out like the 2011 election, with a majority of Indy Parties back in charge and pushing for indyRef2.
But first we must destroy the present SNP, who have shamelessly dragged Scotland through the mud.
This message has to be posted again until the hard of thinking actually understand what you are reading.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the new Human Right Bill centres around transwomen and is a replacement for the GRA Reform Bill
No 4 – “A New Human Rights Bill” is indeed an ominous proposal.
Will this be yet more “following best international practice” globalist guff (of which I have no recollection of Scottish citizens ever being asked for their input to influence whatever this international community ultimately came up with), or will it be more “locally produced made up shit” foisted on us by a seemingly evermore out of touch political class that just can’t stop interfering in our lives.
Of course the “Bill” might just be a monthly invoice we have to pay to cover the costs of them administrating our existing human rights.
Colin McKay giving Gove a bit of a roasting on Stv. Over the years I’ve found him to be the fairest journalists in Scotland.
Gove just said Annie wells when talking about talent, Lmao.
Very telling that items on the list are beyond the next term, so we can never (wrongly) assume that indyref is within the next term.
Watch this space. In 12 months they’ll come back and say the fully delivered on #IndyRef2. I mean, it is just a hashtag after all.
“A New Human Rights Bill”
We know what that means, don’t we folks?
“Trans rights are human rights!”
They’ll get self ID into law somehow in the next 5 years, of that I have no doubt.
With all that cash they are promising surely they could afford an extra toilet for the chix with dix so women wouldn’t have to feel afraid of “women” like Nathan Sparling and men wouldn’t have to worry about “men” like Nathan Sparling.
They could be fitted out with glory holes and bidets. Jobsa good un.
No matter how bad you think they are they are not the biggest enemy within Scotland.
We’re electing them to deliver real change by way of independence. If they’re going to do fuck all other than try to imprison the people who almost got us it while lying about wanting it, then they’re as much of one as anyone else. At least the Tories are honest about who and what they are. The SNP are very much looking like just another unionist party lying that they’re something different and that is unforgivable. In particular given what they did to Alex. I really, really want to vote for them in May but this leadership needs challenged and if there’s no one willing to do that, I’m honestly not sure I trust them enough. If their leadership is truly compromised they are more dangerous than outright unionists.
I can take gradualism, tbh. I can accept there was an argument we weren’t ready for an indyref in 2017/18, we needed to see what happened with Brexit, then covid came along and a 2020 one was out. I can accept all of that. But when you add to it stitching up Alex, sending the hard men after Joanna Cherry, pursuing deliberately divisive policies and abusing the wider yes movement it starts to look far too much like a pattern to destroy independence.
Yeah, the New Human Rights Bill is an obvious Trojan horse. It will be absolutely terrifying. I dread to think who is writing it.
“But NIKLA promised us…”
No possible result of the election in May will give them any more power than they have now.
Well, at the moment they don’t have an overall majority: I’d be willing to give them that, see how they use it and then walk way if they procrastinate. But if you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive…
Who’s the moron in the Jihadi mask?
Well, beyond irony that James Dornans list of banalities does not include this:
“A vote for @theSNP on 6th May will deliver”:
Independence.
How else can we vote? I won’t vote for a unionist and I won’t spoil my ballot.
Incredible how much SNP people are now openly insulting the intelligence of folk? We’ve all known what a shower of shit they’ve become in recent years, but I’m pretty sure this relentless garbage will soon be apparent even to those slow on picking up on the scam.
Robin McAlpine, from last July:
A few weeks ago, one “Sturgeon ally” was briefing unionist media that people who thought there could be a referendum in the next five years could “fuck off” (their words).
It’s patently clear now that, during the time of Sturgeon, pro-indy people are being tasked with exposing the Party of Independence – unbelievable – but not to do so is to turn your back on everything we started out to achieve. At least we know what’s taking place, whilst the slow ones, kicking, screaming, blocking and denying, will learn the hard way – fuck Dornan, and fuck them, too.
I hope that the Young Person’s Guarantee is that they won’t be pestered by SNP parliamentarians.
Apart from that, how about independence and allowing the government after that to make long term decisions using the wealth of a Scottish exchequer?
I entirely agree with Tannadice Boy.
This idea of an SNP majority is complete bollocks!!
I will bet anybody that comes on the Blog because NO CHANCE.
They will not win Edinburgh Central,if Anas Sarwar does get a clear run in Glasgow Southside then Nicola is on a right shaky peg and good!
Douglas Ross will win in Moray,Lib Dems will hold all their seats and the Labour Party will make gains and i reckon the SNP will end up somewhere close to high 50’s in number of MSP’s.
They do not deserve a Majority with all these crazy policies.
I notice from James Dornan’s leaflet no mention of Hate Crime or the GRA bill and i do not suppose it will be near the top of Angus’s priorities in Edinburgh Central.
Let’s hope that the real Independence parties can get their act together because if they do not then i am sorry but they will win no seats.
You need 1 candidate in each list Region from a joined up approach and that pretty much guarantees the Balance of Power.
Let’s do it.
Did you know that masks work only in a scrubbed clinical environment? And that surgeons wear better quality masks for shorter periods of time. Politicians in masks are trying to hoodwink us.
Allium says:
15 March, 2021 at 11:09 pm
“Yeah, the New Human Rights Bill is an obvious Trojan horse. It will be absolutely terrifying. I dread to think who is writing it.”
You can gaurantee it will be some politician with no clue of the law who won’t have the brains to run it by someone like Roddy Dunlop QC
ClanDonald @ 11.04pm
That’s a certainty imho. That’s the plan I bet. They’ll be no indy ref in next parliament wae this lot.
Wokeism is their priority, nothing else.
Cath@ 11.07pm
Am same cannae trust them. So it’s an easy decision for me come election.
“Scottish Tories plan for vote of no confidence in Nicola Sturgeon”
Tories will announce the date for the Vote tomorrow.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish-tories-plan-for-vote-of-no-confidence-in-nicola-sturgeon-3166802%3famp
Ross Kilbride.Why are you so simple minded. Politics is a business best left to mature adults. You see, it requires a certain amount of life experience a thoughtful and considered approach to the issues and most helpful although not evident in you a certain nuance in your thinking the ability to place yourself in the other chaps shoes so to speak. There you are. Do you think you can manage that? You never know you might even get a nice girlfriend when you grow up like maybe Kezia Dugdale or Hairy Black
Tommy Sheridan, Craig Murray.
I hope to hell you two have not been promised jobs in a future SNP government.
It’s very funny the timing of the two of your statements about vote SNP 1.
Tommy and Craig, please tell me I am Miles out with that accusation.
SNP = shit.
But surely unionist parties = shitter.
Any good news?
Ross Kilbride. Calm doon eh?
A new human rights bill is terrifying. I’m quite happy with the current one, but I suppose since they have already breached that with constantly changing lockdown regulations, then a new one that enshrines the removal of our human rights is needed.
Pixywine
Another Sturgeon Ultra.
“Don’t you dare say a word about ma wee Nikla”
The Sturgeon Ultras just can’t contain their rage.
They want all critisism of their Nikla to remain classified.
Next Ultra!!!
Wings: “The SNP holds its voters in such low esteem that it thinks this half-arsed drivel will do, and it’s probably right. If you fall for it, you deserve no better.”
Apart from changing the word “fall” for “vote”, the above is pretty close to perfection as far as summing these con-artists is concerned.
If you vote for them, you’re a mug. They laugh at you. They laugh at how easily they fool you. They’ll be sitting right now, sipping expensive wine, wondering what new con-trick they can play on the dumb voters…
Pixywine @ 11:15pm
In 2018 I ended up in hospital with Flu and pneumonia, the consultant on the ward would saunter about without a mask all the time while his entourage were all masked up. I asked him one day why he didn’t wear a mask and he took the time to explain that the surgical masks his troops wore wouldn’t stop transmission of the flu so were a waste of time and money. Good hand hygiene and a healthy lifestyle were his recommendations.
Now any scrap of cloth will do!
Think I read the other day that SNP Govt have built around 92000 houses do maybe their aiming to add in 8k more over quite a few years.
As Rev hibts, thus says more in what it doesnt say, principally
“We will get a referendum and after that, who knows but we will work on other wee stuff”
To contemplate heralding long term goals all within a Westminster yoke is just stupid..or outrageously honest. Probably stupid then.
The Tories will effectively shut out Holyroods influences one by one post May.. all we can look forward to is huffs and puffs in retaliation from Blackford and The Expense Posse and Nicola and the Holyrood Blame Game
The SNP have launched their election pamphlet for the 2021 Holyrood election.
It’s called,,,”Voting for Dummies”.
20 minute neighbourhoods used to be called villages & small towns.
But for decades, government has actively encouraged the development of out of town supermarkets, retail parks, leisure centres, sports complexes & amenity free housing estates so that all the local services like shops, post offices & pubs closed due to a shift in consumer behaviour, a lack of demand & corporate led, price competition.
It’s a bit rich now, to puff about how they are going to have everything we need within a 20 minute walk or cycle ride.
This is just groupthink language based on pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking.
Odd that no snp insiders are comimg out and whistleblowing. She must have made many enemies. Surely someone in the snp has some balls.
https://caltonjock.com/2017/02/26/independence-the-sweet-smell-of-success-gladdens-the-heart/
Unionist politicians at Westminster gave the impression that they recognised the new reality and reluctantly granted Scotland increases in the very limited devolution powers it already had in the belief that the measures would bring about the demise of the newly discovered national identity of a nation that had been absorbed by England in 1707 and was only recognised as a country by other nations of the World as a quaint wee place occupied by haggis eating, bagpipe playing, whisky drinking layabouts who existed only with the guarantee of financial handouts by the benign and ever generous English nation.
Well, considering no one has yet come forward with a credible alternative, a vote for anyone but the SNP is a vote for the Tories. Once we get Independence then we can begin anew, but until then, why dilute the whisky?
Do you think the SNP’s private polling is showing them what is about to happen ?
Donald Raymond asked “how else can we vote? “. Rest assured Donald if you vote for the SNP you will get genderwoowoo. And, after an SNP win, if you criticize genderwoowoo in any way then you will face 7 years in the pokey.
You will not get independence or a referendum.
I know it is very disappointing but the SNP must lose to rid the party of sturgeon and the wokeratti. Few of the present SNP MSPs stood up to the wokeratti – they deserve to lose their jobs for being cowards.
I don’t like it either – but we wont be fooled again.
P.S. I think kirsten (thanks for lumbering us with a list carpetbagger) oswald has figured out her tea’s oot at the next westmonster election.
‘New Human Rights Bill’
What’s wrong with the one we’ve got?
Any chance we could see what’s proposed for this new Bill before we vote? (Unlikely).
James dornan is the lowest if the low
We are watching the collapse of a once great and powerful beast. It isn’t apparent if you just look at the individual daily snapshots, as you would look at inanimate pictures captured and frozen in celluloid film.
Put them together in sequence, project them one after the other at a high frame rate, then you’ll see the beast teetering and starting to fall; collapsing under the inexorable force of political gravitation.
Sorry to go all Kurt Vonnegut on you.
Good things are happening.
Translated
1. 100,000 new homes = ‘affordable’ homes you need 20 years to save for a deposit or we build homes on brownfield sites.
2. £100m Green Jobs Fund = a wind turbine in every field in Scotland.
3. Young Person’s Guarantee = we promise to keep gropey MPs away from young adults
4. A New Human Rights Bill = Beardy men thinking they’re female having access to the ladies toilets. Biological men on a 6pm curfew to appease our Green friends.
5. Net-Zero by 2045 = We’re a oil producing country and that’s not going to change till the wells run dry. We’ve stuck this in as we need the support of the Greens. It’s OK we won’t be here anyway to follow this through.
6. Investment in 20 minute neighbourhoods = The local town’s near empty shopping centre is being turned into luxury flats that you can’t afford, this way we’ll meet our 100,000 new homes target.
7. IndyRef 2 = If your still reading this find it in the long grass.
@Donald Raymond
Big assumption there, bud. I think you mean: How else can “I” vote? Pointless question, when you and everybody else already knows the answer.
Now a former member of the SNP I sit here in amazement at the attempt by the SG to continue it’s con on the Scottish people. There is no doubt in my mind that they did their best to put AS in jail and that alone means that they will get no votes from me at the coming election. Even after resigning I am still receiving raffle books and postal voting papers to keep me safe. You couldn’t make it up. When independence does eventually come, hope all these Msp’s in Edinburgh who are sitting on their hands realise how many are going to get their P45’s when the London heavies move back up home.
Lost @1240, 4th point.
Been tryin not to bite these last few days at the suggestion of a 6pm male curfew. But the solution becomes obvious. We all just self id as ladeez and out we go for our evening stroll!!! This GRA actually has an upside!!!
Its so mad what Im about to say needs said, but, seems to be the times we’re in. A man attacking a woman is not on. A man attacking a man is not on. The solution is not to ban all men. A 6pm curfew just makes the pricks who do the attacking, attack at other times. Penalising innocent men because of total dickheads is ridiculous. Its as offensive and outrageous as someone saying blacks commit more crimes than whites, lets lock up all the blacks.
There are arseholes that need dealt with, they are disproportianally male, but banning innocent men (people) is utterly offensive. In fact, now that Im offended, this hate crime bill thing should kick in should it not?
@Pixywine says:
15 March, 2021 at 11:15 pm
“Politicians in masks are trying to hoodwink us.”
I was going to suggest gimp masks to muffle them, but I think some of them have already tried that…
The Scots should go back to Ulster where they came from and leave the the Island of Britain to us native Britons.
In my books Angus Robertson is lower than James Dornan. I had a look in on his twitter feed yesterday. He telling folks Independence in 5 years.
I think I might drop an H bomb “Figure of speech” into his Face Book & twitter pages in the run up to the election.
It’s the least I can do to kill of any chance of him being elected. It will be karma for what he did to Alex.
Jacinda Ardern should resign she is worse than Sturgeon
I remember it wasn’t too long ago the tories were talking about binning the Human Rights Act because it meant they had to give prisoners the vote and let foreign criminals stay in the country because they had a cat and other such things.
They announced that they wanted to give the UK a new “Bill of Rights” which I’m pretty sure all normal, rational people got a bit antsy about, given we all knew who would get rights and who wouldn’t
So why do the SNP think we won’t notice if they just call it, oooh let’s see, the NEW Human Rights Bill? Oh wait, yes of course – because they think we’re all stupid, I’ve answered my own question.
When’s the referendum?
Revised young person guarantee
You will still be in the union when you grow up
If you can’t find work 20 min from your house you’re on the brew
At least two of your immediate family will have been jailed under our hate crime bill
Brigantes Billy @1:14
You know there’s no archaeological evidence to support the misconception that the Scots came from Ulster in 500AD. None. Look it up.
It was invented by Scottish nobility to tie them to a genealogy to bolster their claims to land. Y’know, my dad’s dad’s dad etc was Lorn MacEirc, therefore bow down and swear your fealty peasant.
A lot of this insecurity can be traced to Edward Longshanks’ destruction of the Scottish records. No records meant no legitimacy in the eyes of the Norman-influenced nobility. Hence a quick rewriting of the records to tie in with Irish king lists.
BTW There doesn’t appear to be much significant difference between Picts and Scots in their DNA. Cultural differences along each side of Drum Alban sure. Dal Riata flourished for a long time on both sides of the Irish sea, the water being more like a bridge than a barrier back then.
But anyhoo, we’re all mongrels now Briton.
The whole of the uk is fucked , we have had incompetent brainless bastards in charge for at least a hundred years
Every new session of government whether uk or Scotland all they ever propose is attempting to fix the shite past governments have heralded as great futuristic policies
Bozo the clown today promised billions to sort out the bus companies failed routes and timetables to make them better for small villages and towns , yet these are the self same fuckers who forced deregulation on to local authority bus companies and services because private companies would do a better job and give better services
The tories done away with numerous train lines and local services under Beeching promising to streamline and make the trains more affordable and more accessible , yet they are having to spend billions to build a white elephant that benefits very few people
Now we have the SNP promising a building boom that’s less than the previous building booms
Green jobs fund which was ALREADY announced
A new human rights bill (how do you feed a family and pay a mortgage with that, and what’s new about it )is it just more wokeist pish
I could go on but what’s the point
They are now deliberately ripping the pish out of voters their contempt is palpable
Twatthater @ 3.21
It’s their system that’s failing and they can’t or won’t admit it.
They also , I suspect , have no real clue what to actually do, they were only ever taught one way.
To us there are obvious things to move towards , but they can’t risk the repercussions and will likely see the feudal / capitalism to the bitter end.
The UK system isn’t compatible with actual fair voting.
Neither are most of the western democracy’s , the US is in flux because the equal voting threatens the system as is.
What the answer is ( other than putting me in charge 🙂 ) I don’t know, but I’ll wager there’s a fair few of the ordinary people that could do better than this !
The idea of a new human rights Bill fills me with dread. WTF have the SNP morphed into?
For all this and more to come … Tee-hee
The SNP does not hold its voters in low esteem. The real problem is that the SNP politicians share one brain cell between them (not one of them can remember anything that happened more than a day ago).
In contrast their voters have not a single brain cell between them.
Net carbon zero has dropped from “by 2030” to by 2047?? Seriously? We’re even on course to achieve this by 2030. Why the change. I mean, I know ALL of it is mind numbing bullshit, but this one is pretty sinister. Makes me wonder what they have planned that will delay it by 17 years? What aren’t they telling us this time?
I’ve completely stopped with the nicities and walking on eggshells.
Fact: If you vote SNP or Green you introduce yourself to others by saying, ‘Hi, I’m X, and I hate women. I’m a danger to their status, rights and safety, and there’s a better than average chance I approve of children under the age of 10 having their heads filled with biology denying bullshit at primary school, which will lead to an explosion of confusion among children. This will be exploited to set children on paths towards life altering drugs and unnecessary life changing surgery. I’m explicitly ok with this.’
And the 20 minute thing is the sort of bullshit we openly laugh at when management have been to a seminar weekend and the emails start arriving during the week filled with the buzzwords & phrases they’ve been brainwashed with, which are utterly empty, vacuous increases in entropy which mean, change and achieve nothing.
Yeah, I’m depressed, and angry and I’m not playing any more.
Why doesn’t Dornan put on his pledge of his radical to do list, “I promise not to answer a constituents emails”. Because that’s one thing that he can deliver on and already has for a number of years. I bet Ruth Davidson has done more for her constituents than this trougher.
Independence nowhere to be seen, just a ‘referendum’. Just a vague freaking suggestion of a referendum. No plans, no mandate for change, no suggestion of HOW they will drive Scotland forward as an independent nation free of England’s unelected, undemocratic, colonial interference in Scotland’s affairs.
Do the SNP seriously not see just how tepid this kind of rubbish is? Are they now so completely divorced from what Scots want, that this is the kind of piffle they see as their goals?? Where is the passion, where is the ambition for setting Scotland free, and re-building from there? Where is the dream, for us all to share.
And this vague suggestion of a ‘referendum’??? BOTTOM OF THE LIST.
Even the Tories could inspire us more, and they are a hateful bunch of lying, criminally corrupt, murderous, selfish c****.
For heavens sake, SNP, pleeeaaase WAKE UP! At this rate Wales will be independent, Ireland will be re-united, with both back in the EU, before the SNP even get around to even planning a ‘referendum’. Independence is urgent. Mr. Dornan, independence is URGENT. What part of that do you not understand?
Lost at 1213am,
Exactly. With Humza stifling ANY dissent in his anti-free speech bill, the idea of the SNP creating a so-called’ himan rights bill’, scares the willies out of me.
Just so we know, is this new ‘human rights bill, something voted for at party conderence, or is just something the Murrells and Humza dreamt up last week??
The irony in all of this, is the current SNP leadership are devoting all their energies to bashing Scots who won’t buy into their ‘trans’ cult ideology, instead of independence.
Why don’t they call for a section 30 right now?? NOTHING is stopping them, and then when refused by England’s First Minister, we will know going into the election that any talk of indyref is hogwash.
Welcome to the NewSNP.
Hell is empty, And all the devils are here.
And so it goes. Twas ever thus. Full morph into default old labour.
As someone said earlier the GRA Bill will not have to wait. It will be top priority.
I remember Independence was once the main objective of the SNP (I’m talking pre Nicola. The real SNP, not the pretendy one).
I can even remember when James Dornan believed in that. Now it is a vague seventh on his list and probably much lower if you inserted the real priorities he conveniently left off his list.
No matter our disagreements within the YES family can you imagine any faction not having IndyRef2 as No. 1?
Scotland will never reach it’s potential as part of the Union.
The red-suited roaster has promised to deliver an indyref almost as many times now as Labour has promised devo max.
I think Dornan has just added himself to the “Not to vote for” list. Along with,,,
Sturgeon
Swinney
Robertson
Harvie
Wightman
And on and on it goes…
Glorified gangsters who even the Law can’t touch because they have our justice system in their back pocket.
Is this what you want for the next five years?
Or would you rather start with a clean slate?
Jeezo , what thin gruel,
you get the feeling that list was written by someone whilst they were sitting having a jobby,
10 mins before they were due to proclaim manifesto to media.
‘Start with a clean slate’
Why exactly is `clean`about our parliament controlled by Unionists?
Actively campaigning against the SNP weeks before a Scottish election, goodness me, never thought I would see Wings doing that.
Voters really need to think big and not retreat into old begging bowl mode.
Divide and conquer, was always the unionists best card to play, it has worked for years. Very disappointed in those who seem to have fallen for it hook line and sinker.
Well said, Graham,on
15 March, 2021 at 11:48 pm
“20 minute neighbourhoods used to be called villages & small towns.”
As for zero carbon by 2045 — NS righteously declared a “Climate Emergency” when doing so was fashionable, but she forgot about that in her desire to Get Salmond via the more interesting (to her) Me Too fashion. (What did she do to limit Leslie Evans’s regular, carbon-heavy flights to London and back to confer with her masters?)
The 2018 ScotGov “Climate Change Plan” was recently discussed by various Committees prior to an “Update”. The revised document was widely criticised by expert witnesses for being stuffed full of warm words about goals and targets without any realistic detail about how this brave new world was to be achieved. Amongst all the talk of heat pumps and electric vehicles there was no attempt to consider how the grid infrastructure was going to meet increased demand. The representative of the Royal Town Planning Institute pointed out that among the 230+ pages of fine verbiage ONE page mentioned actual planning.
As one of a group trying to do the right thing re refurbishing and heating a small, non-domestic building in Scotland I can point to zero practical help re zero carbon “targets”. Looks like it will be another gas CH system, then. Well done SNP and your fantasy targets and “Climate Emergency” posturing.
Did you know that we are England’s oldest Colony.
And guys like Dornan are paid to lead us to Independence.
Does that list above look like someone who has his priorities in the right order?
Gullaneno4 at 8am,
The issue for many folk, is that it is Nicola Sturgeon that is doing the dividing. She could unite us all today, right now, with barely a criticism, if she announced that she was seeking a section 30 from England’s First Minister, and if refused would use the upcoming May election as a vote on ending the union with England.
The problem is the SNP currently do not see independence as a priority. Six years have been wasted, during part of it at least, many folk including myself, truly thought that come brexit the SNP would assert Scotland’s consitutional rights as an EQUAL partner in the union with England. They did not. As a result, the English executive have taken it as the green light to further dismantle devolution and thwart the Scottish parliament. You need to fight fire, with fire. All the Tories see, is retreat, retreat, retreat from the SNP leadership.
Westminster understand nothing but brute force. They will NEVER listen to Scotland unless the metphoric gun of an indepedence referendum is held at their heads. Nicola Sturgeon, has unilaterally removed that metaphoric gun, that threat, insisting that Scotland needs permsssion from the English clown First Minister, Alexander De Pfeffle Johnson, before asserting its democratic rights.
Nicola Sturgeon could demand a section 30 today. She chooses not to. I think section 30 is irrelevant. That is the divisive factor.
Scots Renewables
Don’t fuckin annoy me.
You are a fuckin pest.
WOS Diary entries: Tuesday 16th Feb.
1) SNPbad article – tick
2) SNPbad article no2 – ?
Regarding the Human Rights Bill, pretty sure Tom Arthur put something out about it on twitter and will be bringing in 4 UN charters to make Scotland the fairest country of them all. As with most things with the UN the devil is in the detail and equality and fairness are just another way of pushing their identity politics.
Living in the highlands I can only assume that the 20min guff means we’re going to stay locked in our boxes or cleared down to the cities to make way for sheds or whatever the latest central belt crap is.
If the SNP get in I can only hope that the reservation for males will be the Black Isle, couple of breweries and decent fishing.
gullaneno4
You really want to risk 5 more years, with Sturgeon & co controlling the Judiciary and Police, whilst pursuing insane policies that could put any of us in chokey if we say something they don’t like?
I’ve never before had to seriously consider the possibility of being arrested and charged for expressing an opinion, but that is where we now are.
The priority for the moment HAS TO BE removing the SNP hierarchy, and returning the party to the members.
Sturgeon is a threat to life and liberty for all Scots.
It’s a shit situation, but it’s not our fault.
@ ScotsRenewables and gullaneno4: Labour insulted the voters’ intelligence by repeatedly blaming the stupid electorate for failing to vote for them and keep them in the position of power which they believed to be theirs by right. You are suggesting that we should now vote for the SNP which has failed to secure independence and has been embarrassed to even mention the word since Sturgeon became leader, but is implementing unwanted, divisive, dictatorial policies which are irrelevant to the cause of independence. You can’t expect people to vote for policies that they don’t support. If the SNP loses in May, that will be the fault of the SNP, not the ‘stupid’ electorate.
James S at0813am,
What if the SNP is actually bad, though, and Stu Campbell is telling us the truth? What then? should we just accept the lies from the SNP leadership, the attack on an innocent man, Alex Salmond (who many indy supporters admire) ‘wheesht for indy’?
That’s the problem.
Not having a go, just asking the question.
Michael Laing at 0815am,
That is exactly the point. They are quite literally repeating ALL the very same mistakes of British Labour in Scotland. It is hard to watch.
‘you could pin a red rosette on a donkey in Scotland and it would win’ Until we all stopped voting for them.
NOW replaced with,
‘you could pin a yellow rosette on a donkey in Scotland and it would win’. The SNP is currently full of donkeys.
JamesS says:
16 March, 2021 at 8:13 am
“WOS Diary entries: Tuesday 16th Feb.
1) SNPbad article – tick
2) SNPbad article no2 – ?”
I think you will find the the Rev doesn’t actually control the shite that comes out of the SNP – he simply does a Dr Gillian McKeith and analyses and reports it. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Why the need for new housing if Scotland’s population is forecast to decline?
https://inews.co.uk/news/scotland/ivf-on-the-nhs-could-be-expanded-to-grow-population-in-scotland-915161?ITO=msn
Scotland’s politicians are all militantly pro abortion.
Might there be a connexion?
IVF? find that rather bizarre. Totally missing the point.
Encouraging immigration is effectively getting others to do the job of breeding for you.
Commodification of human beings. Quite sick!
Ross Kilbride says:
16 March, 2021 at 8:12 am
Scots Renewables
Don’t fuckin annoy me.
Or what? Sorry, but I am not going to stop calling you out while you continue your mindless crap about voting for Labour’s biggest liar.
You are using this blog to run an election campaign for Anas Sarwar.
You must think Wingers’ heads zip up the back.
We see you.
Dornan is an over paid, over fed, Chancer.
They really are in this for themselves. To see how far they can go before getting rumbled.
Well Dornan, you, Sturgeon and Co. have been well and truly rumbled.
There is a Glasgow Council by-election on Thursday to elect a new councillor for Glasgow Partick East / Kelvindale Ward.
I believe this council ward comes within the Glasgow North MP constituency of Patrick Grady, so might be interesting to see the results.
https://archive.is/zFsXh
Ottomanboi says:
“16 March, 2021 at 8:28 am
Why the need for new housing if Scotland’s population is forecast to decline?”
I’m in a Housing Association bedsit and have been trying to get a home with at least one bedroom. I’m on one list which covers three association which allocate by points and I have no points and no chance of being moved until I have a need for sheltered accommodation.
With the other association there is a bidding process. In the last few months I have bid for three homes that have become available in the area where I currently live (a village of about 500 people. I’ve never come close to getting any of the houses being, on each occasion 31st out of 47 applicants, 20th out of 22 and, currently 19th out of 18 – and that where applications are restricted to those over 59 years old.
There are a reduced number of social houses available because many were sold off and not replaced by new homes.
I sincerely hope the affordable homes they are talking about are to be social housing (which, in my opinion should go back to being council properties and not privately owned associations)and not just cheap mortgage traps that put people into debt for years forcing them to shut up about their sorry lot because they can’t afford to lose their jobs.
Gullaneno4,
I’m sorry if all this is confusing for you but it is not the Unionists that have caused the rift in the Yes Movement and amongst the SNP supporters.
Everyone here knows and expects the Unionists to do their utmost to avoid Scottish independence and they are well prepared for that.
Many people just aren’t prepared to believe that the SNP as they are will not even try to deliver independence.
A bit like a Sunday worshipper being told God does not exist.
“Very disappointed in those who seem to have fallen for it hook line and sinker”
are you now? Then you must be utterly disgusted at Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP at large for
a) being responsible for passing the most disgustingly divisive piece of legislation in Scotland’s history. A piece of legislation that completely compromises freedom of speech and alienates females because those behind it think it is fair to steal the rights from females to pass them onto a handful of males who think they must have their own rights plus those of everybody else’s too.
b) creating the biggest division in the yes movement by abusing power to go after Mr Salmond, to demonise him and smear him, to have him ejected from the SNP, to send an innocent man to jail, to eviscerate the SNP as a party of independence, to derail independence and to suppress the evidence that incriminate them. I saw no MSP or no MP bar a couple standing up to the fraud for this injustice.
c) destroying the unity of the party by allowing a political trojan horse masquerading as genderwoowoo to take over all the democratic structures of the political party, alienating the membership and blocking the access of the best candidates to seats, so mediocre ones could have a chance.
Frankly, that you now accuse us of being divisive after the fault size division this political fraud and her cronies have imposed on the SNP and the yes movement takes the biscuit.
Here is a few questions for you:
Is the COP26 being in Glasgow the reason why the political fraud and the SNP have been doing the dirty work on behalf of the British state for the last couple of years?
Is that the reason why they deliberately left our democratic mandates expire and handed over our powers to our detriment?
Is that the reason why they let the genderwoowoo take over the democratic structures of the party and block Ms Cherry from Holyrood to create division and delay independence?
Is that the reason why they undermined our popular sovereignty and let England force brexit on us?
I came across this yesterday by accident when I put in google the words Evans + Sedwill:
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/foi-eir-release/2020/05/foi-202000012689/documents/foi-202000012689-information-released—annex-a/foi-202000012689-information-released—annex-a/govscot%3Adocument/FOI-202000012689%2B-%2BInformation%2Breleased%2B-%2BAnnex%2BA.pdf
The earliest in that document that is mentioned that Glasgow could be the host of this event was June 2019. That was one month after Sturgeon brought legislation for indyref to Holyrood. So my questions are:
1. was the offer of having the COP26 in Glasgow a bribe from the UK government to stop indyref during this parliament?
2. Why there isn’t any mention in that correspondence exchange of the possibility of an independence referendum before that event when at that time we had a perfectly valid mandate for it and the excuse of COVID did not exist?
3. Was this event the reason why that legislation for indyref did not progress?
4. Are Sturgeon and Swinney so disgustingly shallow and have such contempt for democracy that they thought it was appropriate to dismiss our democratic mandate and our EU citizenship rights for the sake of a conference?
5. The nomination of Glasgow for this event was official on August 2019. On August 2019 it was accepted by the SGov. By December 2019 Sturgeon was requesting AGAIN the powers to hold an independence referendum. By that time everybody in the SGov must have known that once they accepted the nomination of Glasgow as a venue for this world-wide event, there is no way indyref was going to take before it, so was she attempting to deceive us, as she was trying to deceive us in November 2020?
Blackford said in 2 September 2019 on TV that Scotland would not be dragged out of the EU against its will. By that time, it was already known that Glasgow would be the host of this event. Was Mr Blackford misleading us too?
6. Is the policing bill being rushed through to stop the people of Scotland demonstrating at that event?
What we need is a”None of the above” option on our voters list, if that gets a majority you have to rerun the seat a month later with new candidates and if the voters repeat it again the seat goes unrepresented in the parliments, could give politics and politicians the kick up the arse they and we so badly need.
The draft referendum bill is to be published soon.
I would imagine this will indicate the level of commitment, as it will be essentially at the core of the manifesto.
I suspect we should prepare for more disappointment.
“The draft referendum bill is to be published soon”
5 years of majorities and mandates and the most we can expect from this political fraud is A DRAFT of a fckng bill?
Indyref should have been delivered by now. The bill should have been passed within the first 6 months of taking government if this woman and her cronies had any intention of delivering that mandate.
That just a draft of the bill is put at the core of their manifesto 5 years AFTER they won a mandate for a referendum in the PREVIOUS parliament is a reason to not vote for the wnkrs. What should be at the core of that manifesto is the first government of an independent Scotland.
Sarwar just happens to be the candidate best placed to unseat Sturgeon.
So I will campaign for Sarwar to kick Sturgeon out of Scottish Politics for good.
If Humpty Dumpty of the Monster Raving Loony Party was best placed to take Sturgeon’s seat, then I would be campaigning for Humpty Dumpty of the Monster Raving Loony Party.
Hope that clears things up for the hard of thinking amongst us.
Same process should apply throughout Scotland.
Campaign for the candidate who has the best chance of unseating these SNP fraudsters
Or we are going to go through ANOTHER five years of torture.
True Independence politicians will come through this.
They will be the foundation of a newly cleansed Independence Party.
In my view, one of the greatest failings of the current SNP administration is to destroy the reputation of our once-revered judicial system and to pollute virtually every major public body with low-calibre leaders who serve not the country but their pay-masters.
In the latest update to the Whitehouse v Lord Advocate scandal, they are now demandng that the case be investigated by English prosecutors because (effectively) “Scotland is too corrupt and it is impossible for justice to be served.”
Think long and hard on that and on the reputational damage that has been caused to our country and our national identity.
£100m squandered on a case of malicious prosecution and, you guessed it, not one head has rolled.
The SNP have betrayed the great Scottish philosophers, the Enlightenment, our educational heritage, and the basic principles of justice that have spread across the world but which are now sadly absent from our own country.
For that they must never be forgiven.
https://www.tns2019.org/new-blog-1/2021/3/15/furthermore-mlud
https://www.tns2019.org/new-blog-1/2021/3/13/jumping-into-the-kangeroo-court
I’m defiinitely missing something in James Dornan’s tweet. When campaigning in 2014 we always emphasised that not long after independence there would be elections for a Scottish government and people could then vote for whichever candidate was supporting the policies they preferred.
According to JD’s timeline, that means that we still wouldn’t have independence by 2045 by which time, if I’m still alive, I’ll be 97 and possibly gaga!
David R says: at 8:13 am
“If the SNP get in I can only hope that the reservation for males will be the Black Isle, couple of breweries and decent fishing.”
The way things are going they should be putting that on a manifesto and it would garner more votes than some of the rest of the plans they are punting!
Beer and trout would make a nice change from the years of carrots we’ve been having to gnaw our way through.
On the subject of all men being curfewed at 6pm. That’s gonnae mean a lot of women left vulnerable at the side of the road overnight in the dark whilst they wait till daylight for a bloke to come along and change that punctured tyre.
WoS has been a pro Independence site from the beginning.
The SNP have continually been turning off the road to Independence.
Any criticism is totally justified.
Stu helped expose the corruption not only within the SNP, but also our Police, Government, and Judiciary.
The Salmond case is the most disturbing example of a litany of dirty deeds.
This manifesto of James Dornan confirms lack of talent,deficit of ideas, and Indyref2 an after thought, never mind independence.The SNP are eating themselves and at some point will disappear up their own arseholes.
Scotsrenewables @8:57
“The draft referendum bill is to be published soon.
I would imagine this will indicate the level of commitment,”
You have, in your own words and perhaps unwittingly, just indicated their “level of commitment”.
Nicola knows there is absolutely no chance of Independence anytime soon. Knowing this, she has built up her power base in Holyrood, the Judiciary, the Civil Service and the police to the extent that no one will challenge her, especially within the ranks of the jellyfish and performing seals who sit alongside and behind her in Parliament.
However, as much as she tries, she cannot control the people of Scotland. They are the only ones who can now get rid of her.
If she is not removed in May what can Scotland expect over the next 5 years? A leopard does not change its spots.
Did James Dornan actually write this incoherent rubbish?
Looks like someone’s flying a kite.
A lot of sound and fury over Gove’s comment about DRoss being the next First Minister.
That might hasten Independence.
We are not going to see Indyref2 for at least ten years, if we send back another tranche of Sturgeon-led SNP muppets to Holyrood. However, a Unionist coalition, led by DRoss, might well be the precursor to direct rule from Westminster – that’s the worst-case scenario.
They might also unleash the full horrors of Tory government on Scotlnad. And if that didn’t convince the waverers that we would be better-off Independent, nothing will.
Then, we have a massive SNP majority in the 2026 Holyrood Election, and maybe Indyref2 and Independence by 2028.
“Did James Dornan actually write this incoherent rubbish?”
Lots of them sent the exact same tweet.
You are getting desperate now! All parties put out overstated and even false election promises. No-one actually believes them,and it could be said that the bigger the lie the more it is likely to be believed (Brexit etc).
No matter what the SNP want this coming election to be about, it is going to be all about independence. And this will be the last chance for the SNP and they know it.
I find it annoying when I am told my views for voting SNP will result in a 5 year delay in Independence.
If independence supporters, by de-fault, help elect a government with a Unionist majority in May independence will be on hold for a hell of a lot longer than 5 years, maybe even forever.
Get Independence done, whatever it takes. After that you can vote support whoever you like for the rest of your life.
Worth remembering that Scotland has NEVER been in a stronger position to gain Independence.
Nearly 800000 People born in Scotland live in England. This is almost 15% of UK Scots. Will they get an Indy2 vote? I doubt it.
I wonder where Boris is thinking of keeping his extra nuclear warheads.
I expect it won’t be in his new press briefing room.
Tbh I don’t blame them. We have the most corrupt government in Western Europe, a first minister who isn’t so much as clinging on but just ignoring parliament and openly breaking the law and people are still going to vote for them. It would be interesting to know what Nicola Sturgeon would have to do for these people not to vote for her, maybe rape and murder a child on TV? But I bet some of these people would still make excuses for her. The SNP have spent years and £millions trying to condition people to support them no matter what as well as hollowing out the yes movement to the point that there is no opposition. The greens are an absolute joke, they do as they are told and have not achieved anything. They support corruption without question and they haven’t even got a cabinet role even though without them the SNP don’t have a majority. I can’t see AFI or any of the rest of them achieving anything different unless they contest the constituency seats.
Have to say I’m very disappointed with AFI, this Sturgeon shitshow has been going on for years and still they aren’t organised enough to stand in constituencies. It will be some campaign message, “vote for us but btw we are still voting for Nicola Sturgeon”. Waste of time, why bother voting for AFI if that’s what they offer, might as well cut out the middle man and vote SNP. What’s even worse is that some AFI candidates are actual victims of Nicola Sturgeon’s corruption yet they are not willing to take a stand. It doesn’t fill me with any confidence that these people will be able to achieve anything. Just be like the greens. There also doesn’t seem to be any realisation that almost all SNP seats come from the list, so if AFI doesn’t contend the constituencies the chances are they will best case scenario end up lie the greens a s worse case end up like RISE and disappear as quickly as they’ve appeared. It’s starting to look like a PR exercise.
@Wee Willie 10.07am
No, and that’s just as it should be. The people deciding the matter are those who live here and who will be affected by it, not people in the diaspora many of whom have little or no skin in the game other than an accident of birth. I lived in England for 25 years, including during #indyref1 and always argued against inclusion of Scots abroad.
As a thought experiment I always asked those supporting votes for expats if they’d agree to be bound by the result and surrender their right to a UK passport if the Yes side won. Very few seemed keen on the idea.
Not only would establishing and administering any scheme to register the “Scots born” be cumbersome and expensive, it would also look to many people like blood and soil nationalism. The logic of including a “nativist” criteria would be to exclude current residents who were not born in Scotland, or who had not lived here for a minimum period. Again that’d be a nightmare to administer and be open to attack as the very opposite of the civic nationalism we’re supposed to represent.
Finally, from a selfish Yes supporter point of view, it’s likely that a majority of the diaspora (especially those in England) are convinced unionists. In my personal experience over 25 years living there – even if subjective – pro indy Scots were very much a minority.
I don’t care who gets us independence but this site has lost the plot with the SNP bad Sturgeon evil stuff all the time. Yes they need to be held to account but it seems to be full of right wing cranks and people who have been brainwashed by this one blogger to believe everything he says his is gospel. I’ll find somewhere else to get a balanced opinion from now on and leave you to your Trump style cult. Bye!
Wee Willie says:
16 March, 2021 at 10:07 am
Nearly 800000 People born in Scotland live in England. This is almost 15% of UK Scots. Will they get an Indy2 vote? I doubt it.
No
What is the political inclination of the decisionmakers within SG?
If the SNP do not obtain a working majority in the elections, will the civil servants form an SNP Fifth Column which will always ask itself “what is going to be best for the SNP (not Scotland)?” when going about their daily work?
Andy Ellis says:
16 March, 2021 at 10:21 am
@Wee Willie 10.07am
Are you comfortable that 16 year olds might get the vote? All they have known is the SNP education and propaganda . Nicola’s bairns!
Mind how the poll tax was tried out in Scotland first?
Is it beyond the pale that that Scotland is again being used as guinea pig for UK, this time in relation to human rights and gender reforms?
In return for which the UK will offer some protection for the Scottish Government, as long as it leaves Indy alone?
@ Shocked: the reason AFI advocate SNP 1 is that the bulk of voters don’t study current politics and vote on the basis of what a party used to stand for.
So the bulk of Yes votes will still go to SNP this time. For the sake of a chance at independence action, it is best to use this inertia.
Next time the voters will have had several more years to note if the SNP is no longer a Yes party, and AFI will have entered the popular consciousness.
I speak as someone who can’t vote for crooks so unless there is a massive change in the SNP I will probably be spoiling my ballot paper in the constituency.
Mia asked…. Are Sturgeon and Swinney so disgustingly shallow and have such contempt for democracy that they thought it was appropriate to dismiss our democratic mandate and our EU citizenship rights for the sake of a conference?
Great question.
And the answer. Well yes!
Cos for Sturgeon and Swinney COP26 is nust pure Vanity Vanity and Vanity….
Imagine – Queen Nicola – being host to The Group of 77 (G77) which is every single member of the coalition of all 134 developing countries at the United Nations….
all those heads of State.. all those sefies.
The ‘Queen Nicola’ grandstand selfies….
The job offers to follow…
So, No contest…
For her F’k any ideas of iScotland..
See and always has been a ‘covert narcissist’ of relatively low IQ and non existent leadership skills. High maintenance that thinks she’s low maintenance…
And with a ferocious high opinion of here ‘selfie self’
So come COP26 she was to be beans on toast. and the iScotland referendum was to be toast…
Except one thing….
One low IQ thing went wrong…
the ‘stalin sisters’ plan to keep Alex Salmond wheesht and away from COP26… first off it backfired spectaculary – and then completely blew up in her face…
Vanity Vanity and Vanity…. that is all she is.
Cenchos says: 16 March, 2021 at 10:28 am
“Mind how the poll tax was tried out in Scotland first?
Is it beyond the pale that that Scotland is again being used as guinea pig for UK, this time in relation to human rights and gender reforms?”
I feel one of my heads coming on.
So why is Blackford and the SNP in Westminster OPPOSING for the hell of it a less draconian bill going through Parliamant?
Please forget the elaborate conspiracy theories much loved by SnG activist and the loonier parts of the web and stick to the facts.
@ Alba & Erin Go snooker loopy!: Yes, please go away. You will not be missed.
That election promise is a mass release, all saying the exact same thing.
NS is such a control freak,MSPs are not even allowed to write their own leaflets.
The Human Rights thing is just more UN agenda.
NS is obsessed with pleasing the UN, she will destroy Scotland to get in with the UN crowd.
The problem is, the cowardly SNP MSPs who will support her.
The fact they all voted for the HCB, except Joan McAlpine, they are a bunch of spineless wimps, every last one of them.
I can’t believe in a few short years, that this is where we are.
O/T: Manny Singh of AUOB march fame has had his taxi licence taken from him by Glasgow Council [the people who pressed the police to charge him over the start time of the massive and peaceful march in 2019].
Manny has a crowdfunder going to raise enough to appeal the council’s decision. See gofundme “Help Manny Singh Win His Legal Battles”.
AEGB
So you rubbish this site which always prints the truth backed up with facts. You appear to be angry at that.
Now why would that be.
And Mia
Great find. The words Evans + Sedwill:
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/foi-eir-release/2020/05/foi-202000012689/documents/foi-202000012689-information-released—annex-a/foi-202000012689-information-released—annex-a/govscot%3Adocument/FOI-202000012689%2B-%2BInformation%2Breleased%2B-%2BAnnex%2BA.pdf
As this explains not only how NS was played – but why. Why she parked an iScotland referendum…
I noticed they hid Indy Ref 2 at the bottom of the list. I thought this election was all about Indy REF 2 , according to Mike Russell. Did I miss something??????????
Gullaneno4,
I believe you are missing the point.
You seem to believe that the SNP will deliver independence in the next term of government and others believe that they won’t.
Now, because it’s in the future, nobody can say for sure that the SNP will or won’t deliver independence in the next term of government so we’re going to have to make an educated guess or deduction.
This educated guess or deduction should be based on evidence and/or past actions that give an insight into what they may or may not do.
What I believe we should do when coming to any conclusion is to steer well clear of wishful thinking.
Ayemachrihanish@10.53
Seems the moles have found your link – it’s not working for me. Did you manage to take a copy of the pages or archive them?
Coming up as ‘Page not found’
Alba & Erin Go snooker loopy! There is only one political cult in Scotland, the Cult of the blessed Nicola.
What are you going to do when the Evidence surfaces about the corruption in the SNP and The Scottish Government becomes Public Knowledge, its a race between folk who actually believe in Independence to get it out as soon as possible to minimise its impact on the forthcoming election and the Unionists who are biding their time to inflict maximum damage.
The Whats App messages which prove conspiracy against Mr Salmond will no doubt see the light of day before long as well as some juicy salacious stories concerning the Sturrells. (In fact there was some interesting hints on twitter last night)
So enjoy being part of the Cult of Nicola the Blessed whilst you can, your welcome into the real world when you realise you have been conned, till then take care.
@Cudneycareless 10.28am
I’m pretty relaxed at 16 & 17 year olds having the vote. They’re no aw woke bams. If they’re old enough to pay taxes they should get a say. They’re also overwhelmingly pro indy.
How about Annie Wells as First Minster?
From shelf stacker to selfish Tory slacker!
Favourite song- If I only had a brain- Wizard of Oz
Favourite Movie- Attack of the Zombies
Favourite food- Eton Mess
Favourite Holiday Destination- Westminster
Favourite Car- Reliant Robin- It’s got a wheel missing too.
At least with Annie Wells there is a chance her incompetence will lead to indyref2.
Mark Boyle,
Because it’s Westminster.
Meg… try the original Mia link at 08:45
If that is also disabled – then yes – it’s saved as a pdf
@sarah
I presume like me you know the old SNP led by a political genius and statesman like Alex Salmond is dead and now we have the New SNP led by the narcissistic psychopath Nicola Sturgeon.
Watching their respective performances at the inquiry reminded me just how much more intelligent honest and statesmanlike Alex Salmond is compared to Nicola Sturgeon. His performance was a calm measured tour de force by someone at the top of the game, hers was an absolute train wreck. No wonder she feared him.
The thing is AFI have known like the rest of us just what a disaster Sturgeon was and how she lacked the political ability of Salmond to work with people he didn’t always agree with to get what he wanted. Politics is more than shouty ranting about TOARRIEESS! and sound bites on glossy bits of paper. Sturgeon simply doesn’t have the talent or intelligence to deliver what her arrogance claims she can. But of course as I’ve said before it is all about power for her, she has no principles behind that. She’s a disaster and until she is gone nothing will change and a few AFI list MSP’s certainly isn’t going to change anything.
I’m afraid I think it’s classic Tommy Sheridan who’s political career self destructed. They don’t seem to have a plan beyond shouty podcasts and re-electing Nicola Sturgeon. They could have been campaigning for this election for years, instead its last minute and no one appears to have a plan.
And yes spoiling ballots or simply not bothering might be the answer, tho as I’ve also said we need to decapitate the New SNP snake because until that happens nothing will change and that will require nose holding and tactical voting.
More false nuggets from the relentless stream seam of despondency and dirty tricks on here:
“IndyRef 2 = If your still reading this find it in the long grass.”
“And this vague suggestion of a ‘referendum’??? BOTTOM OF THE LIST.”
“We are not going to see Indyref2 for at least ten years.”
I fear you hoodies may be mistaken. Battle lines are being drawn at last it would seem: https://archive.ph/hzgFe
Given the above, a wee memo to Nicola: The SNP must declare “la patrie en danger”.
Take on the British Nationalist government in the knowledge that Scotland’s very existence is at stake.
And, for the sake of our country, decide there canl be no more cap in hand.
Either that, or face the prospect of a spiral of decline towards oblivion.
I mentioned yesterday that when Colin McKay (ITV) was interviewing Gove yesterday he mentioned Annie Wells as talent. Now what kind of talent that was I’m no quite sure, scullery maid lookalike or best flute lass in the renowned walks of the dammed, am nae share.
I’m sure Colin McKay was about to say,
“You’re having a laugh aren’t you Mr Gove” but he restrained himself a bit lol lol
My big question at the moment. Is how the hell Humza ever got Justice Minister gig. He is like a headmaster who has never been a teacher. Completely clueless!
Andy Ellis says:
16 March, 2021 at 11:03 am
@Cudneycareless 10.28am
I’m pretty relaxed at 16 & 17 year olds having the vote. They’re no aw woke bams. If they’re old enough to pay taxes they should get a say. They’re also overwhelmingly pro indy.
I never dared to be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old.
Robert Frost
Andy Ellis @ 10:21 am
‘Civic nationalism’ is defined as and depends on people from other countries holding a sense of ‘belonging’ to their ‘host’ country. The one million or so ‘No’ voters in 2014 holding other national identities and who rejected the offer of Scottish nationality and Scottish citizenship, and who in the process blocked that right for us Scots also, clearly hold no sense of ‘belonging’ to Scotland.
The other reason the concept of ‘civic nationalism’ fails Scotland is the fact that there can be no Scottish ‘citizenship’ until Scotland is independent; ergo, the very idea of ‘civic nationalism’ in a ‘dependent’ or colonial Scotland is premature.
As for the term ‘nationalism’, any people’s drive for national independence depends primarily on their “national consciousness, which is not nationalism” (Fanon).
The other challenge here is the irregular use of a local government election franchise for a national referendum and also for national elections in Scotland; any national referendum in other countries is restricted only to the ‘nationals’ of that country. The ‘nationals’ of a country are usually determined by parental descent, plus those who have applied for and been given national citizenship.
In other words, there seems a good deal of what the UN terms undue ‘external interference’ (which should be avoided) in the self-determination of the Scottish people, a key word here being ‘self’. This irregularity and external interference lost us our sovereign nation in 2014 and is likely to do so again if there is another referendum held on the same basis. Which is as good a reason as any to try to secure independence by democratic means other than a referendum, the latter as a matter of law not a requirement for independence in any case.
@ Shocked: I too thought Alex Salmond was a giant at the inquiry, and for Scotland. But AFI is too new to achieve a visible presence to win constituency seats this time. We needed a Yes-type party a couple of years ago for that to have a chance there.
Anyway my point is, don’t undermine AFI for what it isn’t. Support it for what it is trying to do – and has a chance of succeeding at. Having a much more pro-Scotland presence at Holyrood might give some SNP MSPs the confidence to challenge the dafter ideas within their own party.
Ayemachrihanish @ 10:36 am
Imagine – Queen Nicola – being host to The Group of 77 (G77) which is every single member of the coalition of all 134 developing countries at the United Nations…
INDEPENDENT nations, while she’s head of a toothless, tinpot administration that doesn’t have the guts to do anything about that lowly status. You’d think she’d have the decency to be embarrassed and keep out the way.
Meg Merrilees @10:59AM,
You can also go to the Wayback Machine for a search of what they have archived off the gov.scot site such as this one here. Then filter the results using the last 5 digits of the FOI request, “12689”.
@Alf Baird 11.32am
You identify the issue: there is currently no such thing as a Scottish citizen, nor will there be until we as a movement convince enough of the people currently residing in Scotland to support independence. There are many potential schemes by which you could exclude those you feel need to be excluded, but there are issues with all of them.
Although it’s true that non-Scots born voters may have swung the #indyref2 vote to No, we needed to convince more of the population as a whole to vote Yes. It really is that simple. Things have in any case moved on since 2014. Many “soft No” pro EU voters from the rest of the UK will now find it easier to vote Yes, as will many EU nationals who voted No last time.
Many of the criteria that those in favour of introducing your blood and soil virus into the movement would prove unpopular with many Scots who actually believe in civic nationalism as a principle. We won’t vote for a Scotland that excludes swathes of our fellow citizens. There is little point trying to disenfranchise “non natives” if doing so loses you the support of significant numbers of current supporters.
My daughter was born in Scotland, but spent hardly any time here. Is she more entitled to decide Scotland’s future than a non-native who has lived here for years, or one who moved here a few years ago? My English born wife supports independence but has lived here less than 3 years. Should she be deprived of a vote, or included because one of her grandparents was born in Scotland?
The nativist argument is obviously attractive to some, but it’s not a rabbit hole most of us are going to follow you down.
To the guy who thinks 80,000 English Scots should get a vote,
Why stop there, what about Ossie, NZ, Canada, USA, SA, and more recently Spain.
Do you now see how daft that question is.
Almost every Scot I know living in England is more Unionist than our homegrown Tories. A few others are of the “can we afford it” breed. Remember all those Corby Scots and descendants during the Referendum pleading for us to stay in the Union! It got plenty of coverage by the BBC.
Every qualifying Scot will be welcome back or can claim a passport (As Ireland). However those who live and pay taxes in Scotland are the ones to decide.
Evans Sedwill here
Or the first item in a “Evans and Sedwill” google search
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/foi-eir-release/2020/05/foi-202000012689/documents/foi-202000012689-information-released—annex-a/foi-202000012689-information-released—annex-a/govscot%3Adocument/FOI-202000012689%2B-%2BInformation%2Breleased%2B-%2BAnnex%2BA.pdf
“Well, at the moment they don’t have an overall majority”
Independence doesn’t belong to the SNP. There’s already a Parliamentary majority, and Parliament has voted for it twice.
@sarah says: 16 March, 2021 at 11:35 am
“AFI is too new to achieve a visible presence to win constituency seats this time … don’t undermine AFI for what it isn’t. Support it for what it is trying to do.”
Which is what? Like the ISP, a wing and prayer hope that enough people will be peed off enough to switch brands?
Elections aren’t like shopping where you can try out that other brand and if it sucks bin it and go back down the road for something else. It’s a four/five year long mistake to make – that’s why voters so seldom shift.
I remember the late Paddy Ashdown give a brilliant talk about elections where he said at any given British election its usually at most only a maximum of 5% overall who chop and change. The rest vote for the same old parties they always do, or simply don’t turn up.
It really takes some seismic stupidity by a party to piss off that many voters they desert en masse to elsewhere. It happened to the Liberals post-WW1 when they split into two warring factions. It happened to Labour when a new generation reached voting age having watched their parents and grandparents betrayed by troughers put Slippery Jim Murphy and co out on their ear.
But unless the alternatives offer something tangibly different, they are not going to switch. What AFI are proffering is to put Sturgeon back in under certain conditions? So what if you are someone who wants independence or at the very least increased powers for Holyrood, but wants rid of those who have let them down?
At face value, you’re no better than the Greens.
Have said it before, will say it again, too many of these “alternatives to the SNP” are behaving more like they’ve an eye for the main chance for getting on (or back on) the big money gravy train of Holyrood than being serious interested in Scots or Scotland. Stand in at least one target constituency seat per region, and people will take you a wee bit more seriously. Stand only for the lists, people will see you as just another shower of John Swinburnes.
Why does Nicola Sturgeon wear read all the time? Doesn’t she know the Scarlet Woman symbolism of that colour? The danger inferred? The, eh…Scottish Labour resonance of it? It’s weird.
And by the way. Anybody voting for the Tories needs their heads looked at, or their arses kicked.
@ Mark Boyle: there are many SNP members, and ex-SNP members, who are so disgusted by the current version of the party that we are willing to vote for AFI as AFI’s priority is independence.
I have lost count of the number of btl comments saying that they and 5,10, 20 of their family and friends will no longer vote SNP until the leadership and other problems are changed. So if the politically-aware voters change then perhaps an impact can be made.
It is far more democratic to have more than one independence party – we can all now see the dangers of all eggs in one basket. And it will help with public exposure in the media – broadcasters will have to have reps from all parties instead of 1 for indy and 3 for Union.
Andy Ellis
Scottish Franchise:
Virtually anybody with an address in Scotland has the right to block Scottish independence and hand our sovereignty to England’s Tories.
New Caledonia Franchise (UN ratified):
“The NC referendum was held using a special electoral roll. Potential voters had to be registered on the general electoral roll, AND also meet one of the secondary criteria:[10]
– Was on the electoral roll for the 1998 referendum on the Nouméa Accord;
– Qualified to be on the electoral roll for the 1998 referendum, but were not enrolled;
– Failed to meet the requirements to be on the 1998 electoral roll solely due to absence related to family, medical or professional reasons;
– Having civil customary status, or born in New Caledonia and have their material interests in the territory;
– At least one parent born in New Caledonia and have their material interests in the territory;
– At least 20 years of continuous residence in New Caledonia by 31 December 2014;
– Born before 1 January 1989 and have had their residence in New Caledonia between 1988 and 1998
– Born after 31 December 1988 and reached voting age before the referendum, with at least one parent who was on the electoral roll (or qualified to do so) for the 1998 referendum.
As a consequence of these restrictions, in the 2018 referendum 35,948 registered voters on the general list were thus excluded from the vote, equating to 17.11% out of a total of 210,105 registered voters on the general electoral roll.[11][12][13]
Vote restriction restricts the voting power of recent inhabitants—derogatively known as Zoreilles—and enlarges the voting power of native Kanaks, and was long sought after by FLNKS.[11]”
Had Scotland adopted a similar UN ratified ‘Secondary Criteria’ to the franchise we would have been free in 2014.
@Alf Baird 1.38pm
Oh, mate…..Scotland =/= New Caledonia.
How ever much you hold your breath and stamp your feet, there is no deus ex machina which will force the britnats to do what our own people lack the cojones to take for themselves.
If you think such a plan would be either feasible or accepted I have some magic beans you might be interested in.
Hey, as a transport planner, let me say something about 20 minute neighbourhoods:
1) It is a good idea that any spatial plans (transport, development, economic) should look what services people access and how they access that.
2) call that 20-minute-neighbourhoods is stupid and misleading.
As Graham says, “20 minute neighbourhoods used to be called villages & small towns”. Well yes, but there is a reason why people move to cities. Partly because services in villages & towns have been downgraded (which really should be reversed), but partly because cities offer opportunities that villages & towns never can do.
The Rev wrote that “The idea of everyone living within a 20-minute cycle of their workplace is a lovely fantasy, but a total pipedream in a reality where few people get paid enough to live that centrally in the cities where most of them work”. Actually it is even more complicated than that. What about 2-income households? Would you expect them both to find jobs within 20 minutes? What about moving to a better job? Would you expect people to change home every time?
For what it is worth, reducing your commute is probably one of the best things you can do to improve your happiness in work & live, but I just don’t think reducing that to a dumb phrase that doesn’t even fit well is helpful…
@sarah says: 16 March, 2021 at 1:34 pm
“there are many SNP members, and ex-SNP members, who are so disgusted by the current version of the party that we are willing to vote for AFI as AFI’s priority is independence.”
I’m sorry, but there is ZERO tangible evidence this is the case.
Every survey of voting intentions up until now has shown that the Others column has remained at the Not Even Registering Levels. Currently according to the most recent ones – Savanta for the Scotsman, Survation for the Record and IPSO for STV – have a grand total of TWO PERCENT in the others columns – the others have less.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2021_Scottish_Parliament_election
AFI and ISP have spent enormous amounts of time and energy bigging up their brands on here and telling much the same fairy tales Dear Leader Nic does about floods of new members, money like wine flowing in, and having wee sly digs at each other, but the reality is they’re two slapheads fighting over a comb at kindest, and both look set instead doomed to become 2021 political equivalent of Jered Threatin, thinking they can fake it till they make it.
You can get away with that in the entertainment business, but as Kilroy-Silk discovered with Veritas, when you get caught out trying that in politics, you are completely finished.
Even if some miracle of reality dawning occured and they did agree to fight a joint ticket, that leaves you still fighting another four “pro independence” parties, plus all the others. Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain will horsed in May, but they’re in poll position to take most of the “up yours!” vote from familiarity. Even the Social Democratic Party may nick a sizeable chunk of that 2% if the rumours that Neil Oliver’s going to publicly endorse them are true – Tommy Sheridan’s not the only “housewives’ favourite” out there!
What you lot are doing is sheer madness that’s only going to result in disillisionment and empty pockets. There’s a battle to be fought, but this is not the one at this time, and certainly not the way you lot are doing it.
Andy Ellis @ 1:55 pm
“How ever much you hold your breath and stamp your feet, there is no deus ex machina which will force the britnats to do what our own people lack the cojones to take for themselves.”
The point is, surely, that a significant number of what you refer to as “our own people” are actually No voting “britnats”, who understandably have little or no ‘national consciousness’ insofar as Scottish culture is concerned. Their behaviour in voting No, which is itself an ethnically determined decision, is hardly unexpected or as you put it, “deus ex machina”. It is the rather predictable behaviour (of the dominant colonizer group) which gives rise to the need for secondary criteria to protect the interest of the colonised group.
Do you not have any comment to make on the UN-ratified Secondary Criteria used for the New Caledonia independence referendum franchise? Its application in Scotland’s franchise could have a similar effect, i.e. to remove perhaps 20% of the ‘external’ No vote.
@ Mark Boyle: I do sympathise and accept up to a point your argument.
I cannot quantify exactly how many SNP members/voters are not going to vote SNP. I merely report that I have read it often on indy sites and also on SNP Members sites.
But you have your point of view and I have mine. I suspect neither of us will be influenced by the other! 🙂
People are wrong to automatically reject the 6pm curfew idea.
The idea should be thought through seriously to see what it implies and what sort of society we would end up with and whether it would be better or worse than Scotland today.
Here are some points.
1) It would mean no night shift work for men. Remember that the murder that started this debate was carried out by a man in a car, so it is no use suggesting that the curfew would only apply to pedestrians.
2) In consequence equality legislation would have to be amended to allow adverts for jobs involving evening work to specify that only women need apply.
3) There will be a big impact on the licensed trade, hospitality and entertainment. We will expect employment in these sectors to shrink a lot because of reduced custom.
4) There is likely to be a consequent decline on general street drunkeness except on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This would mean a lot less knife crime. In the main this will save the lives of young working class men, since most women who are murdered, are killed at home.
5) With night venues becoming impossible for meeting the opposite sex, courting will be restricted to Saturday and Sunday afternoon walks in the park, cimema matinees, perhaps saturday afternoon dances in Kelvin Park etc.
6) People will spend less on entertainment and more on consumer goods and travel.
7) Levels of drink related deaths are likely to fall.
These are all big changes in social life. But society has survived with similar arrangements in the past. Before the invention of electric or gas light evening activity in the winter used to be pretty restricted.
Weekend activity in the Highlands was also pretty narrow two generations back. My mother used to recall that all the shops were closed on Sunday and the only think you were able to do was attend Kirk or read the good book at home.
All these things could be done, the question is whether such a mode of life has advantages or disadvantages compared to our present one, and do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
@ heart of galloway 11.24am Is this the part that has got you so excited
“An application to the electoral watchdog shows the SNP has tried to register “Both Votes SNP for IndyRef2” and “Vote SNP for IndyRef2” as ways to describe themselves.”
I could try and register myself as Paddy huge shlong but it doesn’t mean that I have one, all the SNP are doing is ADVERTISING and encouraging people to give them both votes to remain in power THERE IS NO COMMITMENT OR DATE MENTIONED
BTW I have a FAINT recollection they maybe did the same thing before and LIED
@Paul Cockshott says: 16 March, 2021 at 3:48 pm
“People are wrong to automatically reject the 6pm curfew idea.”
We most certainly bloody are right when it’s been propagated by the same hobby left wankers that have been screaming “evil Tory authoritarian state” over the lockdown for the last year.
And has been already pointed out, all any male has to do is say they’re trans if out after 6pm, and that these woke clowns hoisted by their own petard.
@Alf Baird 3.16pm
“The point is, surely, that a significant number of what you refer to as “our own people” are actually No voting “britnats”, who understandably have little or no ‘national consciousness’ insofar as Scottish culture is concerned.”
Yes, there are. There are also around 50% of “native” Scots who are No voting britnats, and most of those currently planning to vote Yes next time converted at some point over the past years. Many of those “proud Scots” prioritise their British identity over their Scots identity. Some are unlikely ever to reconcile themselves to being made to chose one or the other. Of course, in the event of independence a large proportion will accept the reality. It will be interesting to see how many retain (or seek to retain) UK passports and citizenship though.
“Their behaviour in voting No, which is itself an ethnically determined decision, is hardly unexpected or as you put it, “deus ex machina”. It is the rather predictable behaviour (of the dominant colonizer group) which gives rise to the need for secondary criteria to protect the interest of the colonised group.”
It’s not only or even mainly an ethnically determined decision though is it? That’s just laughably simplistic. Folk make decisions on such matters for a whole host of reasons. Of course many “incomers” will feel British rather than Scottish, but we probably all know or have heard of English folk who are SNP members and/or staunch supporters of independence. The same goes for many immigrants from further afield. Are new Scots from Pakistan or Africa who support the union colonialists do you think? How about Poles or Italians?
The deus ex machina I was referring to was any expectation that the UN or any other body will help us: they won’t because Scotland is (rightly) seen as a different case. Despite your brave or perhaps Quixotic campaign, Scotland is not accepted as a colonial situation. There may be aspects of British nationalist rule and history which are exploitative, but positing some equivalence between our situation and that of “real” colonies is (as we’ve discussed previously) the same kind of category error as those who argued poor people in Europe were the equivalents of chattel slaves in the Caribbean colonies or the US South before the Civil War.
The problem with introducing secondary criteria to separate the electoral franchise sheep from the lambs is that you’ve yet to demonstrate a feasible plan, or one that would be acceptable to the broader Yes movement without tearing it apart over (in my mind justified) criticism that such action would represent a regressive form of blood and soil nationalism, wholly out of keeping with the last 30 years of progress toward our goal.
“Do you not have any comment to make on the UN-ratified Secondary Criteria used for the New Caledonia independence referendum franchise? Its application in Scotland’s franchise could have a similar effect, i.e. to remove perhaps 20% of the ‘external’ No vote.”
Yes, I do have a comment. It’s valid for New Caledonia, not for Scotland. Scotland is NOT New Caledonia. It is not a colony: the UN doesn’t accept it as such, and the international community will not accept it as such when it comes to exercising our self determination. Not only is the attempt to make the equivalence morally suspect, it is therefore legally spurious and of doubtful utility.
We don’t NEED people to categorise our situation as one of colonial oppression, because we have the means and the opportunity to remedy the situation ourselves. What we lack is the commitment and political balls to bring about the desired outcome. If we have to try and queer the pitch by excluding swathes of new Scots from the process, the game probably isn’t worth the candle. Our definition of Scots should include all of those who have paid us the compliment of coming here.
“In reality, of course, they’ll blame COVID-19 for doing nothing this year”
They could pass a law to backdate COVID-19 to 2016.
They are in total control, nothing is beyond them.
How can Craig Murray and Tommy Sheridan be advocating a constituency vote for these corrupt criminals?
Get them out.
Edward MacD says,
“Once we get Independence then we can begin anew, but until then, why dilute the whisky?”
It is clear to anyone with a couple of brain cells that the New SNP is not going to deliver independence in the next 5 years. All they want is comfy lucrative jobs and pensions and their leader wants power and prestige.
It is smarter to dilute the whisky now, get the corrupt criminals out and then we can begin anew – to claim Independence.
Allium says:
15 March, 2021 at 11:09 pm
Yeah, the New Human Rights Bill is an obvious Trojan horse. It will be absolutely terrifying. I dread to think who is writing it.
Might Leeze Lawrence be involved? Kirsten Oswald? Keith Brown?
(I guess it won’t be Mridul Wadhwa, who quite suddenly left the SNP late last year to join the Greens (complaining of having ‘experienced transphobia’ in the former party) and has since been volunteering help – opportunely – with the Trans Identity Workshops which are being held at various local SGP branches to address turmoil in the woke, I mean wake, of Andy Wightman’s resignation.)
https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-importance-of-kindness/
https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-great-grovelling/
Ross Kilbride says,
“Sarwar just happens to be the candidate best placed to unseat Sturgeon.
So I will campaign for Sarwar to kick Sturgeon out of Scottish Politics for good.”
Under current circumstances, that is the smartest thing to do.
Vote tactically to unseat the corrupt criminals from the constituences.
And even better if you can spare the time and money to campaign against them.
There was never a better time to deliver independence than between 2016 and 2021.
They actively sabotaged it.
As the Rev. Stuart Campbell says “This is how dumb they think you are”.
A lot of those dumb voters can be seen right here.
Just like to put on the record that this is the first time one of the major reasons for the snp turning off voters is being spoken of on wings.
That reason is housing.
Both sides have chosen to fight on the ground of trans rights because neither of them could care less about the rising rents or student flats or air bnbs or luxury flats being built across Scotland.
Whatever you think of joanna cherry’s stance on women’s rights, one look at her twitter shows she thinks vegan take aways and the odd community mural are a solution to the plight of her constituents in wester hailes.
Angus robertson couldn’t care less either, last seen threatening that the snp wouldn’t repair council houses in edinburgh.
Andy Ellis
I do enjoy these discussions and thank you for taking the time to respond.
” There are also around 50% of “native” Scots who are No voting britnats,”
This is perhaps so, but they are not a majority of Scots, and are more oriented towards the native bourgeoisie who tend to “mimick the coloniser” (Memmi) in terms of language, culture and values, and in seeking to maintain the status quo/colonialism.
“It’s not only or even mainly an ethnically determined decision though is it? That’s just laughably simplistic.”
Not according to the constituencies in Scotland which are known to have the most significant rest-UK populations and which all vote No, vote for British parties in elections, and also recorded the highest levels of EU Leave votes.
“Are new Scots from Pakistan or Africa who support the union colonialists do you think”
Would a Scot living in Pakistan be considered there a ‘new Pakistani’, or in Egypt a ‘new Egyptian’? Would a Scot living in either country be given the right to vote on whether or not their host nation exists?
“Scotland is not accepted as a colonial situation.”
The international community are more interested in the democratic and legal process used to become independent, albeit also appears ignorant of Scotland’s constitutional status, as presented to them by the British government and msm (i.e. Scotland is presented as a case of secession from UK). Nevertheless, the UN regarded Ireland as a former colony, the leader of Plaid regards Wales as a colony, whilst Prof Michael Hechter’s work describes all three Celtic nations within the UK as subject to colonialism with its resultant ‘Cultural Division of Labour’ reflecting institutionalised inequalities and backward development relative to ‘the core’ (i.e. England). Oppression takes many forms and it is a relatively straightforward matter to demonstrate colonialism exists. The UN itself regards independence and decolonisation as one and the same.
Of course, to some, constitutionally Scotland would appear to be a sovereign partner in a UK alliance by virtue of the Treaty of Union. Politically, however, the reality is that Scotland is controlled, exploited and increasingly occupied by another dominant country/people, which is colonialism, and which hinders the development of Scotland and its people. This is arguably the primary reason why all peoples’ seek independence, the desire for which is dependent on their ‘national consciousness’ (i.e. their identity formed by their own language and culture) without which there would be no motivation for national independence in the first place.
@ Big Jock 16 March, 2021 at 10:56 am
“I noticed they hid Indy Ref 2 at the bottom of the list. I thought this election was all about Indy REF 2 , according to Mike Russell. Did I miss something??????????”
Yes , that we are all being played for fools.
@Alf Baird 8.11pm
Given tonights events, I’m tempted to think that when all is said and done there is something to be said for the concept that Holyrood is indeed a “wee pretendy parliament”. Scots MSPs and MPs – but also Scots civic society and by extension all of us sadly – should be deeply ashamed that it took a Westminster Tory MP to do the right thing and show how it ought to be done.
We deserve better than this, but to some extent have only ourselves to blame.
We’ve been willing participants in the hollowing out of our institutions.