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Wings Over Scotland


Words without meanings

Posted on October 27, 2015 by

Labour put out a press release yesterday a few hours before the tax credits fiasco. It concerned the much-ballyhooed new arrangements for Scottish Labour “autonomy”, of exactly the sort that the branch office has been telling us it already had ever since the election of Johann Lamont as leader in 2011.

murphycharge

We were excited to find out what they were, because we’re sure this time they’ve definitely happened, not like all the times when they said they had but were joking.

autolab1

Blah blah blah.

autolab2

There’s going to be lashings of extra autonomy, which will autonomously make the Scottish branch much more autonomous by greatly increasing its autonomy in totally autonomous ways. [SUB FILL IN DETAILS LATER]

autolab3

Well, yes, in the same way a football co-operates by flying into the air when you kick it. When it comes to reserved policy areas there is no such thing as “Scottish Labour”. As everyone knows, “Scottish Labour” is an Accounting Unit, not a party.

There is only one Labour Party, and it decides its position on all reserved matters. There is only one leader: Jeremy Corbyn. Kezia Dugdale is his subordinate officer and will do what she’s told at all times or face expulsion.

autolab4

Wait, Scottish Labour and UK Labour co-operating with each other is a “major change”? Either they’ve got Brian Roy writing this guff again or that’s quite an insight.

autolab5

Blah blah blah boilerplate waffle in here to fill to 500 words invoice enclosed.

We like the Vow-style signatures, but it’s a shame Labour couldn’t stretch to a nice fake-parchment background image to class it up a bit. It’d be suitable, because the statement is as hollow and void of content as The Vow itself was – it dribbles on for nine paragraphs, saying absolutely nothing other than “Scottish Labour will be more autonomous”, without a single specific example.

(Perhaps because, as we’ve already noted, if it laid out some examples people might start asking why those were being claimed as new when it’s already been supposed to be totally autonomous for four years and three leaders.)

We look forward to our fearless investigative media uncovering the fact that Scottish Labour will soon be able to order their own choice of biscuits for branch meetings and decide which shade of not-quite-red to paint the front door of their new HQ (assuming the move to Edinburgh advertised in 2011 ever actually takes place).

Everything else, we suspect, will remain very much the same.

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Bugger (the Panda)

We have made a VOW.

summary;

Just believe in better.

One_Scot

I think ‘Scottish’ Labour has had more ‘new starts’ than Sports Direct.

Quentin Quale

BtP – with Corbyn against independence for Scotland and what the first line in their Vow says, perhaps they should adopt something like, erm, Just believe in Better Together.

Another Union Dividend

Who will subsidise the North British Branch Office?

Who will tell the last Labour MP from Scotland to switch out the lights in 2020?

The UKOK media is giving unprecedented publicity to Dudgale and Davidson in a last ditch attempt to stop SNP gaining a third term in government.

When did Holyrood opposition politicians last get any coverage in National TV / Radio programmes?

Peter Jones in Hootsman this morning calling for a Unionist alliance as in Northern Ireland. Wait they tried that in May’s Westminster campaign. How did that go?

FiferJP

I think you missed the most important word in the first line of the statement: “intent”. Labour intend to make ScotLab autonomous like Labour intend to get rid of the House of Lords, like Labour intend to get rid of Zero Hour Contracts.

Incidentally, does Kezia think “MSP” is part of her name now?

bugger (the Panda)

@Quentin Quale

Spot on.

Sinky

“Labour will soon be able to order their own choice of biscuits for branch meetings and decide which shade of not-quite-red to paint the front door of their new HQ.”

Don’t hold your breathe Ian Murray has still to repaid his stickergate front door.

McBoxheid

It sums up the pretendly Scottish Labour Party completely.

Vacuous, hollow, empty promises with ablolutely no content at all.

Of course, if that’s all too much of a good new thing at one time, they have the right to abstain from using their right to be more autonomous than a Smith Commission promising near federal autonomy and a vow so full of superlative automomousness.

How many seats are you going to retake with this brainstorm, I wonder Slab? You didn’t even make it up by yourselves, you had to get party HQ’s permission before you signed up to this crap.

Sounds a bit like Loretta in the Life of Brian

Big Jock

Prove it Kezia! Have a debate in Scotland on independence. Given that 40% of your members want it and voted Yes. As they say:”And the band played on”.

Wee Jonny

‘Scottish’ Labour will be mare autonomous right eftir the sale ends at D.F.S.

heedtracker

At least today’s rancid The Graun’s red tory coverage of new new new SLabour is both wide ranging and insightful as ever-

link to archive.is

Angra Mainyu

Radio Scotland is in meltdown because some guy came on the phone and told the truth about something…

Legerwood

The Herald has a very good cartoon in today’s edition.

Kezia swathed in tartan with Scottish Labour sash, atop a hill sword drawn, shouting ‘Fiefdom’.

Very good summation of the ‘new’ situation of the wee brothers in Scotland vis-a-vis their big brothers in London.

G H Graham

“I can’t believe it’s not better!”

Brian Powell

Strange, it took me a moment of thought to remember Jim Murphy was leader.

Alex Beveridge

It doesn’t matter what dross the Labour Party comes out with, it will still be dressed up as the greatest thing since sliced bread by the M.S.M, led of course by their cheerleader, the B.B.C.
The unionist opposition political parties in Scotland, while not completely moribund, are an irrelevance, and only kept on life support by their establishment media allies.
It’s never going to change, and my main fear is by the time Scotland becomes independent the asset stripping that has been going on for centuries, will have left our country denuded of a lot of our resources.
And while I am cautious about calling for Indy2 too soon, I feel we cannot wait too long, otherwise they will be nothing left for future generations of Scots.
Meanwhile, Westminster, because of the result last year, can treat us as their cash cow, and show complete disregard for the Scottish people, no matter how they voted in the referendum.

john king

Wee Jonny
“Scottish’ Labour will be mare autonomous right eftir the sale ends at D.F.S.”

Theres a sale at D.F.S.?
Eh ah’ll see yea’s later.

Tom Platt

The only way that they stand any chance of making a real come back is to start following the lead of the “Labour for Independence” people.

Simone

Kezia will now be allowed to decide what clothes she can wear, and in what way she can declare SNP Bad

Beyond ridiculous. I would ask how stupid they think the voters in Scotland are, but we already know the answer to that.

Big Jock

It’s a bit like Murphy with Irn Bru and a fitba strip. They thought the yes movement was all about McCowans toffee and Grannies Hieland Hame.

It’s so patronising. A bit like when an English band shout Hello Scotland at a concert in Glasgow. As if just saying the word sends us into raptures.(Well it works for some of the JK Rowlings plastic Jocks)We are far more sophisticated.

I am afraid like Murphy she doesn’t have the intelligence, wit or insight. To ever grasp why people voted yes.

Bugger (the Panda)

and, “Boy & Girls, here is one we made earlier.

look, it is even signed as well.

Ed Miliband, David Clegg, David Cameron!”

john king

anybody passed this shit onto the electoral commission for their interpretation?

Davy

I watched the new muppet show lastnight, now I’m reading the script.

heedtracker

This is nice, from last Dec, carve it on a stone, lots of stones said Jim Murphy, currently backpacking round South America.

link to theguardian.com

Libby Carrell also keeps bashing on about setting Slab indy in stone but what media can they use this time, modern dance hopefully,

“[We] will set in stone the total devolution of policy making in devolved areas. Policy will be made in Scotland, for Scotland, by our Scottish party, putting the needs of Scotland first.”

Giving Goose

It might be an idea to do some hand writing analysis on Kezia’s signature;

link to tinyurl.com

Looking at those Capitals, it suggests arrogance and dishonesty.

mealer

Kezias just havering shite again.They have no activists,no money and no policies to inspire people to get out and vote Labour.They have nothing to offer the people of Scotland.

Macart

How can you be more autonomous?

You’re either a separate entity or you’re not. You either have the freedom to make your own decisions, create and enact your own policies or you don’t. You can see where they get the waffle for their disingenuous stance on independence.

So Labour in Scotland, not really all that autonomous then.

galamcennalath

Some words have binary meaning, two states, they are are, or they are not. They usually have precise binary opposites.

Dry – something is dry, or not. Wet or not wet. Wet or dry, dry or wet.

Even when something is ‘nearly dry’ it is still quite definitely not dry, it is wet.

Autonomous is such a word,

autonomous
adjective
meaning: having the freedom to act independently.
synonyms: self-governing, independent, sovereign, free, self-ruling, self-determining

An organisation cannot be almost autonomous, or partly autonomous – it is, or it isn’t!

Labour’s Scottish branch is NOT autonomous, nor will it ever be. If the Unionists ever admitted that it should be independent and free, then that would fly in the very face of everything Unionists preach. Together is better. London rule is the best rule.

bugger (the Panda)

We need is a conversation.
Mmm, that one has stopped working on them
OK, a signed VOW.
That hasn’t run its course this cycle and they’ll probably have forgotten out.
Just dig the old Referendum one and have us pretending to sign that.

manandboy

Slab – dead wo/men walking ; dead party talking.

Scot Finlayson

Kezia is a modern day Toom Tabard (empty coat)

Someone without substance or conviction. Comes from the Scots Toom Tabard as a reference to King John Balliol who was appointed King of Scotland by King Edward of England in the late 13th c.

Macart

A quick litmus test for ‘autonomous’ Labour in Scotland.

How’s that stand alone policy on Trident coming along?

Meindevon

Paragraph after paragraph and not one specific way that SLAB will differ from LAB. Utter twaddle.

Also can’t believe His Lordship Foulkes on the RS phone in stating it to be true that Sturgeon did say she wanted a Tory government to the French ambassador. Does he not know someone is up in court over this?

Training Day

The airhead Dugdale: ‘We’re now more autonomous’.

The ‘Scottish’ MSM; Great, smashing, super! I’m John Mackay!’

Socrates MacSporran

Ever since The Club became Sevco, Rangers International Football Club, or whatever, I have constantly referred to the football entity which now plays its home games at Ibrox Stadium as: “The Rangers Tribute Act”: (RTA) for short.

Perhaps we might start calling SLAB “The Labour Party Tribute Act”: (LPTA).

Because, the Labour Party as we knew it, it definitely aint.

Free Scotland

Maybe they’re counting on the votes of people who never knew the meaning of autonomy.

Proud Cybernat

If it is the UK Labour Party devolving anything to their Scottish Branch Office, I just hope the Branch Office are happy with Devo-Nano. Or should that be Auto-Nano?

Boy – they really must think we are dimwits up here. Kez – away and chase yerself, hen.

gordoz

Hey Labour enough of the autonomy guff – here is an important question for you guys.
Why aren’t you screaming about this discrepancy ??

The decision not to exempt @policescotland from VAT is a political one. Police service of NI & NCA – both single services are VAT exempt – Michael Matheson MSP

ronnie anderson

How now Broon VOW. Kezia & Jeremy ah total pair of UDDERS.

Lollysmum

Autonomous is an absolute. You can’t be a bit autonomous. Either you are or you aren’t autonomous.

What this says is that SLab is still under UKLab’s thumb & will do as it’s telt.

And ‘intent’ means maybe but we’ll have bloody good reasons for it not to happen. Woolly wording with gaping holes in it.

Ken500

£60K + expenses to talk rubbish. What an outfit. Will last until next year.

mogabee

And believe me said Kez, we really, really mean it this time.

…Honest!

Cuilean

Has labour in Scotland published its membership numbers yet? No.

As an allegedly ‘autonomous’ party, that should be one of the first things, Ms Dugdale should do. I won’t hold my breath.

I asked my erstwhile MP, Katy Clark, many times, to answer this simple question. She failed each time, telling me to re-direct my question to ‘The Labour Party’. Unsurprisingly, I did not vote for her.

Slab’s blatant lying takes my breath away and is why, having recorded May’s GE tv results from 1 am to 6 pm, I never tire of re-watching the bitter, twisted, arrogant SLAB MPs faces, as they realise, one by one, that their time of lying to the Scots people has had its day. What is most telling on rewatching that programme is the rolling Labour commentators & apparatchniks, continuing their bitter lies throughout. These people just never learn. Oh & Glen Campbell & Jackie (“let’s call it devomax”) Bird’s gloomy voices & downcast faces are just the icing on the cake.

G H Graham

In summery then …

“Jeremy instructed us to be more autonomous so we’re doing exactly what he told us to do.”

lol

msean

It’s meant to look like it is separate to attract us separatists.Can’t be autonomous as then Scottish Labour would be as powerful in Westminster as the Green or the UKIP. 🙂

DerekM

just who are they trying to convince…. us ?

Or is this just another exercise of listening to their dreadful,hopeless,should be sacked spin merchants,who have come up with another one of their barnstorming brilliant(in their eyes)ideas on how to win back the Scottish public.

Got news for you Labour aint going to work,heard it all before and guess what it was all a load of pish then and is all a load of pish now.

Sharny Dubs

Here’s a thought, they know we can see through them (both Labor and Tory), but they don’t care, they know they have not a snowballs regarding us, they are aiming at the next generation. By that time all this will be a shadow in the past and the “new model world” will have come to pass, they hope!!
Keep the pressure up, we need to do this!!

galamcennalath

People have drawn attention on WoS to this before ….

“You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.” – George W. Bush

… it keeps jumping into my mind. It seems to be the only Unionist strategy! The nonsense they spout, you think, they can’t seriously expect that to be believed?

That misses the point, the objection. They don’t expect everyone to believe it. They don’t even expect a majority to believe it. They just need enough to swing things, to believe it.

This autonomy crap is just another example.

In a callous world, it can be an effective tactic. However, it can’t be over used because that “some of the people” group will become ever smaller. If all you have left is to try to “fool” voters, you are on a downward spiral.

There needs to be vision, hope, progress, aspiration – the Union’s main agent in Scotland, the Labour Party, have long since failed to have anything positive to say. Doing nothing other than attempting to “fool” will be the death of them.

ronnie anderson

Kezia,s goat ah new record coming oot, Ah,ll Stamp Ma Feet An I,ll SCWEEM N SCWEEM by Kezia & the Automooses (dont play it again Sam)or better still, dont play it ever.

Craig Vint

From the BBC website; Ealing North MP Stephen Pound said there were no specifics from the meeting, adding “we don’t know what the plan is”
Nottinghamshire MP John Mann and Paul Flynn, the MP for Newport West, said they were in full agreement with the proposal.
Same old Labour, we agree with the plan, by the way, what is the plan? It’s beyond belief! It seems like this is all a Marx brothers or Goon show skit.

Chic McGregor

All of this was predicted as soon as the SNP landslide became clear.

Left wing Labour leader.

‘Autonomy’ for SLAB.

Orchestrated smear campaign on SNP politicians.

“SNP is a one party state.” hammered to death.

Blame the SNP for cuts.

Lie about the Scottish economy.

Raise animosity between SNP and those who loaned them their vote, (Greens, Left)

Hammer the low oil price.

The only trick missed has been the new LibDem leader not being the most anti-tory within living memory.

All will be used to try to ensure defeat for indy in 2016.

Just hope it doesn’t work.

Free Scotland

If you want to be a labour politician, there is one prerequisite which transcends all others: your brain and your mouth must be autonomous units, functioning independently of each other. Corbyn and Dugdale fit the bill perfectly.

GallusEffie

Davy@ 9:42

Aye, the Muppet script as written by Armando Ianicci and co…

Chic McGregor

OT While I am on. For I think the third time on this forum:

If a Scotland in rUK out EUref result is used to spark an immediate indyref2 WE WILL LOSE IT, even if there is a good indy poll lead at that point.

Itchybiscuit

‘Scottish (no, really) Labour will be entirely autonomous in our election campaign. We are going to rely heavily on meeja support with lots of fluff pieces in the papers and softball interviews on the telly. This is very different from The Labour Party who have the activists, political donations and fundraising money to get those doors knocked.

For my next publicity stunt I shall get my auntie JaBa to viddy me on her phone as I give a rousing rendition of ‘Nobody’s Child’ which will then feature across the entirety of social media’.

Yours Sincerely,
Dippity.

scott

O/T sorry should have been on the Tax Credit comments.
Rev on a different Tax next month Insurance Premium Tax will go up 3.5% from 6% to 9.5% not much has been said about this but this affects us all holidays,homes,car as well just another one of Browns taxes which the tories are happy to keep going.

Peter McCulloch

Whether we will ever see Labour in Scotland becoming autonomous and deciding to offer policies that are different from those of Labour in the rest of the UK.

It will still continue to face the same problem, by remaining part of the UK and it is that Westminster dictates what level the Scottish Government’s budget is set at.

Marie Clark

Slab to become autonomous from Labour. Eh! Whit!
I thought that had already happened. Did Johan and the great Murphy not already state that had happened. Mind you I seem to remember Johan recanting that bit when she resigned in high dudgeon.

Oh my, Kez hen. Who exactly do you think that you are fooling?

Duck folks, squadron of pigs now flying overhead.

May seems an awfi long way away at the moment.

farrochie

Photographers were on the scene to record the Corbyn/Dugdale signing.

Isn’t it amazing that the Daily Record couldn’t find a photographer to record Cameron, Miliband and Clegg signing the “joint historic promise”, aka the Vow.

Wonder why.

Dan Huil

What would Gordon “the Vow” Brown do? We will not sleep until he has spoken.

heedtracker

House of Lords farce yesterday, new new new SLabour today, but one Hammer of the Scots JK Rowling powerful non intervention somewhere else. UKOK media madhouse as ever and why does writing children’s stories make you any more or less, ah wtf… just don’t report Scotland anything, is the way to UKOK greatness.

link to theguardian.com

K1

The only autonomous political party in Scotland are the SNP.

They are answerable to no one but the Scottish electorate.

Time people realised that distinction. Focus on what the SNP do rather than what Labour don’t do.

Vote twice for the SNP.
The only party standing free.

Glamaig

‘Blame the SNP for cuts.’

Theres going to be a lot of that coming our way, and a lot of cuts…

The Block Grant to Scotland is forecast to be cut by 10% in real terms over the next 3 years, and if SNHS spending continues to be protected, that means a 30% cut in other spending.

Source: link to fiscalaffairsscotland.co.uk

(BTW this ‘thinktank’ seems to have been set up just before the referendum and now closed due to lack of funds, don’t know its provenance but one of the trustees is Gavin Mccrone)

The more public service employees are made redundant, the less income tax take there is within Scotland, so with our super dooper new Smith control of income tax revenues but nothing else, ScotGov income drops even more.

Hello fiscal trap, and cue endless SNP bad, mismanaging the economy crap, bombarding us from radio, newspapers and TV for ever.

Come on BBC Scotland, why don’t you tell Scotland all about what’s in store for it, like 30% cuts from Tories that you voted NO for, and how those UKOK ‘broad shoulders’ that you voted NO for, seem to have disappeared?

Big Jock

Corbyn is for unilateral disarmament/ Kezia is a multilateralist.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if South of the border Labour were anti Trident, and Kezia north of the border was pro Trident.

I know it aint ver going to happen…just saying!

Dave McEwan Hill

O/T

It looks as though elements in the establishment believe that the Labour Party in Scotland is bust and it appears that it is being abandoned as the defender of the Union in some quarters. Media spin that the Scottish Tories are going to pass Labour and become the main opposition to SNP after the May election is gathering pace.

This speculative forecast is supported by “Tory gains” (in the words of an English broadsheet) at recent Scottish council by elections though there were of course no Tory gains. All that happened was that in several contests the disintegrating Labour vote resulted in a slight Tory percentage advantage to their continuing slight vote.

Thus following an appearance on HIGNFY during which she laughed a lot and got lots of camera as she did so we can expect to see lots more of Ruth Davidson.

I hesitate to describe this possible unionist tactic as stupid but it is certainly high risk. It promises to develop into a Scotland v the Tories battle and if this is the case there is only one possible outcome.

Grey Dug

Autonomy is like pregnancy. You don’t go from being not pregnant to being more pregnant, you’re either pregnant or you’re not.
Judging by Scottish Labour’s record to date, it would be foolish to expect to hear the pitter patter of tiny feet any time soon.

Helena Brown

You know I blame the Lib Dems for some of the ideas floating round the empty heads of what passes for the Labour Party. Their semantics with regard to abolishing Tuition Fees here when they simply transformed them into a Graduate Tax was the start of it.
Now Labour use this type of thing at every opportunity regardless of whether it is good for the population or not.
I have read some of the guff written in the media this morning, unfortunately caught it on the news, and the spin is in that the Tories were defeated, aye right.
I find it hilarious that the Tories are now talking about reform of the House of Lords, whit?

Helena Brown

Wee note to Kezia, if you want to run an autonomous Labour Party hen you need to have an Independent Country to run it in. The first hurdle you will fall at is you when you have to agree with your Boss in England when you go to Westminster.

Bob Mack

I remember watching a magician called David Copperfield make a Jumbo jet dissapear during a broadcast from Las Vegas. I knew two things. Either

1. The jet was never there to begin with.

2.The jet was still there ,but concealed.
What I knew for sure is that he never made a jumbo jet literally vanish into thin air.

Labour are attempting the same stroke in making themselves appear different ,but the two options still apply.

People like the idea of magic,but are always sceptical.
Neither Kezia Dugdale or Corbyn is a David Copperfield.

Liz Quinn

Maybe Jeremy is being a little clever here. When SLAB fall on their faces in May the blame will all be on Kezia.

Kenny Campbell

One thing is for sure, Jim did answer to the voters. In his own constituency and across the country……

Lollysmum

O/T
Severin Carrell just tweeted that Wings has been fined £750 for not following Electoral Commission rules.

Crowdfunder anyone?

Clarinda

So if it’s to be “more autonomous” what examples do we have of Labour in Scotland’s previous lesser autonomy? Let’s ask Kezia or Jim or Johann or Iain or Wendy or Jack or Henry … or my neighbour’s cat?

Ironic that Ms Dugdale pleads for self-governance and freedom … or is it just Devo-Kez?

Rather insecure including “MSP” in her signature… unfortunately, we already know.

schrodingers cat

ot

due to the holyrood system, it is going to be almost impossible to get rid of kez and the other unionists, evin if and when the snp win a majority

the 2016 parliament is going to look pretty much as it does now

question
if the yes2 campaign relaunches and puts in place a new steering group and chooses someone to head the organization.

what could stop it from putting up candidates on the list?

would snp supporters be willing to vote snp1yes2?
if all indy supporting parties stood under YES2 banner on the list

eg
list seat 1, 8 x snp
list seat 2, 8 x sgp
list seat 3, 4 x RISE, 4 x Solidarity
list seat 4,5,6,7, 8 x YES2 chosen non affiliates, RIC, WFI, CND etc

is this a solution?

[…] Labour put out a press release yesterday a few hours before the tax credits fiasco. It concerned the much-ballyhooed new arrangements for Scottish Labour “autonomy”, of exactly the sort that the branch office has been telling us it already had ever since the election of Johann Lamont as leader in 2011.  […]

Silverytay

Glamaig @ 11.47
It’s already happening
I work for North Lanarkshire Council where 1100 jobs are at risk and there are already a couple of people spouting SNP bad , its all the fault of the nasty SNP .
In fact the council put out an email to all staff saying a lot of the cuts were down to the Scottish Government cutting their money

Bob Mack

Had to happen didn’t it ? I hear the Government are now looking at pensioner benefits to make up the shortfall from Osbornes child tax credit delay in making up the amount required for defecit reduction.

The Man in the Jar

There should be a website run by and for the remaining Labour supporters. It should be. weebuyanyoldpish.com

Bob Mack

@silvertay,

Yet we already know or should know the Scottish government had overcompensated councils for the freeze on council tax.
Therefoe the council e mail ia a downright lie.

Glamaig

O/T sorry
is this a demotion from UK wide news editor based in London, to head of backwater BBC Scotland news?
link to bbc.co.uk

Or is running BBC Scotland news now a very, very important job?

Mr MacQuarrie said: “We had a top class field to choose from but Gary’s vision and ambition for where he wants to take BBC Scotland News in future was crystal clear.

I’d love to know what that vision is.

Haggis Hunter

Labour branch in Scotland has a tradition of producing large documents that say nothing, I read their proposal for extra powers for Scotland, the first paragraph said what we can’t have, which was everything, followed by 63 pages of waffle that could be summed up as ‘you can raise taxes in Scotland but not lower them.

They have reckoned on the probability that everyone is stupid except them.

Hoss Mackintosh

autonomous
adjective:
(of a country or region) having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs.

“the federation included sixteen autonomous republics”

having the freedom to act independently.

synonyms: self-governing, independent, sovereign, free, self-ruling, self-determining, autarchic;

self-sufficient “an autonomous republic”

Autonomous republic – I like the sound of that!
🙂

Training Day

@Glamaig

Note that the latest stooge to front BBC Scotland news informs us that ‘the story of Scotland in a devolved UK is one of the most important themes of this decade’.

Getting in his subliminal Dewar-esque ‘settled will’ jibe early..

Lollysmum

@Bob Mack
Uk Govt was always going to target pensioner benefits once GE15 was done & dusted. They don’t need older voters now for another 5 years & they hate the thought of someone getting ‘something for nothing.’

The forthcoming April 2016 pension changes will also mean new pensioners may well get less than a full pension if they were contracted out as many are/were.Basically, it’s a confusing mess & many can’t get an accurate estimate on what their income will be post April.

ian

You could circle the sun several times with the quantity of empty verbiage the Labour party has spouted in the last couple of years.What have they achieved apart from scaring pensioners?Not a lot.There is no way back for them they are a dead Parrot.

schrodingers cat

soooo, kez is in favour of

autonomous autonomy….

oh good
🙂

McBoxheid

ronnie anderson says:
27 October, 2015 at 10:44 am

Kezia,s goat ah new record coming oot, Ah,ll Stamp Ma Feet An I,ll SCWEEM N SCWEEM by Kezia & the Automooses (dont play it again Sam)or better still, dont play it ever.

More like Fade to grey

rob roy

It should have been written on andrex paper.

Truth

Surely that’s not fooling anybody?

Please Scotland, come on now.

Quality deconstruction as ever Stu.

Petra

Part of an article in the Sun yesterday just sums it up … ‘Scottish Labour will be ALLOWED to decide its own policies under a deal struck by Leader Kezia Dugdale with UK boss Jeremy Corbyn”.

What happens when someone else come along and DISALLOWS?

So wee Jeremy (on his own with no backing from his Party or the Unions) has decided that Kezia can continue to live in cloud cuckooland and doodle about putting policies in place (policies she thinks will attract Scottish supporters) that will ALWAYS be over-rided by English policy, English politicians and English voters.

This is just another sham Vow, non-legal, intended to dupe the Scots.

The whole situation is just laughable, an absolute embarrassment in fact, and what happens when Jeremy Corbyn is seen to be totally ineffective across the whole country ….. when he gets kicked into the long grass probably sooner than later? What then? Oh aye right, the so-called Statement of Intent, totally meaningless Vow 2, gets kicked into the long grass along with him.

PS Just watched KD on Daily Politics. Ends with her doing her usual; wee nasty screwed up face talking a mile a minute cramming in as much data as she can about how Baaaaaaad the SNP are. Pathetic.

Sinky

Silverytay says @ 12.17:

Trust SNP councillors will ensure that the correct information is passed onto staff in North Lanarkshire.

Unison official also blaming Edinburgh council staff cuts on SNP Government.

All wingers should know that the independent Scottish Parliament Spice confirmed that Council Tax Freeze was fully funded.

In fact, despite having to deal with heavy reductions to its budget from Westminster (10% in real terms since 2009-10), the SNP has protected local-government funding, and indeed just days ago it was shown to have OVER-funded local authorities by £165m in compensation for its policy of freezing the Council Tax.

Bob Mack

She ( Kezia), really should listen to the Tory treasury spokesman who stated that the SNP are going to win Holyrood without doubt,and that Kezia is being set up as the fall guy because she had ( apparently) all the powers to rejuvenate Labour fortunes North of the border.

Waken up Kezia.There is a slaughterhouse waiting for you at the end of this particular garden path up which you are being led.

robert Kerr

Now that the UK’s new best friend is China I advise Kezia to ponder

link to en.wikipedia.org.

Do we WoSers do irony? Bet we do!

ArtyHetty

re; Silvertay@12.17pm

Yep I have friends working at Edinburgh council, which is to make a few thousand redundant, now some most likely compulsory. Friends are not blaming ukok, but the Scottish gov. Oh and when I spoke with friend and mentioned the Barnett formula, she looked very perplexed, did not know what it is. Hmmm. We really really need to get this whole devolution thing clear, before it is too late.

Regards Kez and Jez, the thing is, these people are being paid a nice big fat pay cheque to spout these untruths. Meanwhile labour vote for tax credits cuts and are happy to see families destitute when they said they were a party for the workers. They work only for themselves.

ArtyHetty

Re; Sinky@1.11pm

Indeed and of course the Scottish gov have had to plug the gap regards the UKOK gov cuts to council tax benefit for the poorest, which in England has to be paid out of their few pounds a week, I think it’s 15%.

How much longer can Scotgov cushion ukoks blows.

Glamaig

In the National today re ‘Scottish’ Labour’s ‘autonomy’

‘The moves are being fiercely resisted by senior figures in the UK party and will have to get approval by the hierarchy before any major changes in the organisation’s structure, policy-making processes and selection of general election candidates can take place.’

So, they can be autonomous only with the approval of the people they’re being autonomous from….

Iain More

No yee canny have the Jaffa Cakes or the Chocky Digestive, yee will have nae biscuit we yer tea here. Signed London HQ!

frankieboy

There is no Scottish Labour Party. I think that is all we need to remember.

Glamaig

Arty Hetty @ 1:16
when I spoke with friend and mentioned the Barnett formula, she looked very perplexed, did not know what it is. Hmmm. We really really need to get this whole devolution thing clear, before it is too late.

Totally agree. We shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming people know stuff which we take for granted.

We already send out constituency letters, so why not flyers about the cuts to the block grant, showing in graphs, the miracles the SNP have worked so far in government with a decreasing block grant, and making it clear where the cuts are coming from – Tory Westminster.

People won’t know unless we tell them – the media sure as hell isn’t going to. Its not enough to rely on social media etc – vaste swathes of people aren’t that interested in politics and won’t visit sites like this.

heedtracker

Mr MacQuarrie said: “We had a top class field to choose from but Gary’s vision and ambition for where he wants to take BBC Scotland News in future was crystal clear.

I’d love to know what that vision is.

Its “how far they can stick yer independence up yer arse” BBC Vote Slab Scotland vision.

link to derekbateman.co.uk

“One disturbing snippet delivered from his colleagues in London was his reluctance to move to Scotland. Yes, you should read that again…

He is established with family down there and it’s normal to meet resistance to moving home”

Next on BBC vote SLab Scotland tonight, SNP bad, then Rab C Nesbit, the return. Followed by some rather juicy poverty porn, where high paid BBC production crews follow benefit scroungers with nothing around all day and make you thank your lucky UKOK stars you’re not them, so vote SLabour.

Les Wilson

“There’s going to be lashings of extra autonomy, which will autonomously make the Scottish branch much more autonomous by greatly increasing its autonomy in totally autonomous ways.”

Absolutely brilliant rev, yet true!

Les Wilson

Slabs Godfathers will, like Ruthies Tories, always be in Westminster.

Andrew McLean

Not one to help my enemy when there doing a great job of dismantling themselves but!
Maybe they can look to Northern Ireland and what the Labour party have been up to there, I believe they are approximately 1,500 Labour Party members and supporters in Northern Ireland, how many are they in Scotland? I don’t suspect that the figure is much different now than 12,000, yet they don’t contest elections; well they look like they don’t here either.
They could form a new party and call it the Scottish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SSDLP) they could informally also take the Labour whip in the House of Commons even though the SDLP are a separatist party, from the UK anyway. They must be good separatists, not bad SNP separatists!

Silverytay

Many thanks to all who responded to my post at 12.17
I knew that the Scottish Government were more than compensating the councils for the freeze in council tax .
If my memory serves me right there was a report or the Rev did an article on it a few weeks back .

It would be much appreciated if someone could post me a link to the report so that I can photo copy it and leave it lying about my work .
The unionists are certainly making hay about the cuts and have managed to upset a few people where I work .
I have managed to assure these people that the cuts are not the fault of the Scottish Government .

Golfnut

Corbyn,was he not going to do things differently, open honest politics, yet here we have this so called Labour lefty doing exactly the same as the Labour right, trying to con the electorate.

Robert Peffers

I posted it before but I’ll post it again.

Here is the Concise Oxford Dictionary definition of a certain word. It has several shades of meaning : –

autonomy = 1. The right of self-government.
2. Personal freedom.
3. Freedom of will.
4. A self-governing community.

The term is similar the word, “Dead”, in that you are either alive or you are dead, common usage apart, you cannot actually be one eighth, one quarter or half dead.

Whan yer deid yer deid an whan yer alive yer alive.

Likewise you are either autonomous or you are not subservient. Not one sixteenth, five eighths nor three quarters autonomous. ye are or you ain’t autonomous.

Now I’m fairly certain that Kezia is alive and also subservient.

Robert Peffers

Arrrgh! That damned speel chooker!

That should be, “Likewise you are either autonomous or you are not subservient

velofello

“Decisions about Scottish Labour will be taken by Scottish Labour” re there any “reserved” matters? Thought so.

Jdm01

What was that they called the closure of the Motherwell Steelworks? “Mothballing” it?

Mothballing: stop using but keep it in good condition so that it can readily be used again.

i.e. What Corbyn has planned for the Scottish branch of the Labour Party!

Useless tactics, absolutely brainless. I really sometimes wonder if Labour have anyone that can think more than 3ft in front of their own eyes

Ian Brotherhood

@Bob Mack (11.50) –

Rotating stage. Everything, including the audience and curtains, is gently rotated. When the curtains are opened again, a different part of the scene (airport, horizon, whatever) is shown, but use of floodlights – before and after – obscures any detail.

There was a series of brilliant take-offs on YT by a Dutch (?) comedian, in guise of ‘Daniel Chesterfield’, but they’re no longer available. They showed, in very simple terms, how these things are done. 🙂

Sandy Henderson

Kerza – autonomy, she will ALWAYS say that SOMETIMES.

Sandy Henderson

Just an idea to get our own back on MSM. It has earlier been mentioned that fliers be printed. Now, most fliers are inserted in papers & magazines by the newsagent, possible at most times unbeknown to the publisher.
Wouldn’t it be great if this could be implemented on sporadic dates, possibly headed with the headline “What the papers don’t tell you”.
I can imagine the consternation of the publishers but cannot imagine their thought of losing sales.
Could make the press have a complete re-think.

Bill Fraser

Scottish Labor are a branch office and will remain so whilst the U.K. exists in it’s present form.When independence is eventually gained for Scotland(which is certain) there may be some thinking along socialist lines then(which is debatable).

Charles

I already knew that the Scottish Government were more than compensating the councils for the freeze in council tax but thx for the additional info.


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