Ian Botham, in spite of having a grandson who plays rugby for Wales, famously said that he supported Brexit because "England is an island", so it's entirely understandable if Santa assumed there was nothing but sea north of Berwick.
I know I speak for all Scot Goes Pop readers in saying that it's entirely appropriate that a former England cricketer who has never been elected by anyone should get to make laws that the people of Scotland have to obey.
After all, he can bat AND bowl.
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I walked the Cheviot Coast, you know.
ReplyDeleteTo anyone who thinks Ian Botham shouldn't be an unelected law-maker, I have this to say: aren't you forgetting THAT century at Edgbaston?
ReplyDeleteHe also made a great one-handed catch to dismiss Javed Miandad. Such a man really shouldn't have to stand for election. Not for nothing did the crowds at the Oval used to chant "BEEFY, MAKE LAWS FOR US FOR LIFE".
DeleteI for one am proud to obey Botham's Laws. Democracy is overrated.
DeleteHe also sells something to do with his legs. Obviously worth a Lordshippy thing.
DeleteIs he called Baron Botham of Revitive? Have any other ponsored celebs been elevated to glory? We've already had Baroness Moan of Mayfair Kingsize but are there any worthy newbies we should know about?
DeleteLet's face it, all budding lawmakers should be perfecting their googly. This is the modern world. It's naive to think elections are more important.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Botham, John Donne was definitely not a little Englander. "no man is an island" https://allpoetry.com/No-man-is-an-island
ReplyDeleteNot just Botham in the Lords either. Frederick 'Andy' Flintoff should be given an honorary seat in Holyrood along with Bradley Wiggins, Jessica Ennis and Lewis 'definitely not gay' Hamilton. Jonny Wilkinson for presiding officer.
ReplyDeleteThe Scotch parliament needs to be reformed to better reflect England's sporting achievements if it's to be taken seriously by the international community.
Comedy gold
DeleteWherever an Englishman sets his foot is forever England
ReplyDelete65 countries of their previous empire disagreed with that and used their own feet to kick their Arses out of their countries
In all seriousness, we have two houses of parliament with absolutely equal law-making powers (save for the effects of the Parliament Acts, which are rarely used), and Ian Botham has a seat for life in one of them because a few decades ago he was quite good at a tedious variant of rounders. Bonkers. Absolutely f***** bonkers.
ReplyDeleteBut more particularly it's because he is rabidly right wing and rubs shoulders with the grice shooting chinless wonders who get to decide who sits in the upper house.
DeleteDon't forget the bishops of the Church of England. At least none of them are the Supreme Leader which makes Westminster not as bad as Tehran.
DeleteI seem to have missed this WM Seat projection from that last Norstat poll -
ReplyDeleteSNP 44 seats (+35)
🟧 LD 6 seats (-)
🟦 CON 5 seats (-)
🟥 LAB 2 seats (
Great poll, SNP has weathered storm. Narrative will be different in 2026 but it's too bald, unpopular parties fighting over a comb.
DeleteD'you know, I could have sworn I saw a string of comments from people claiming that the House of Lords isn't a chamber of parliament, that it doesn't make laws, and that its unelected members aren't law-makers. But they seem to have all disappeared now.
ReplyDeleteI think I must have imagined it, nobody could be quite that *embarrassingly* and *persistently* wrong.
If only Labour had ever been in government over the past 100 odd years... They'd abolish it in the blink of an eye. They said so.
DeleteD'you know, I think I just saw a comment analysing the "syntax" of my own comment, but that seems to have disappeared too. I really I hope I imagined that one, because that would have been even more embarrassing.
Delete