Tuesday, January 17, 2023

WINGS-WATCH: When someone tells you who they are, believe them


The above is a genuine tweet posted by Stuart Campbell nine hours ago in response to the question "You Yes Yet?", and let's be honest - it's not easily reconcilable with his supporters' insistent claims over recent months that he is still somehow full-bloodedly working towards independence, albeit by counter-intuitive and seemingly contradictory means.  

I would guess I speak on behalf of most readers of Scot Goes Pop when I say that I am just as Yes today as I have ever been, if not more so.  No principled dispute with the SNP / Green Government over an individual piece of legislation would ever dent my support for independence, but it appears the opposite - in fact far more than the opposite - is true for Mr Campbell.

The narrative being pushed today by Mr Campbell and certain others is that the Westminster veto of the GRR Bill is fully justified because Scotland's parliament is a second-rate, juvenile, irresponsible institution that needs to be kept on a tight leash by the altogether more sensible, seasoned and mature Westminster parliament, in the best interests of the people of Scotland. To state what should be the bleedin' obvious, that Tory-style narrative is not helping to build the case for independence. It's actually building the case for the abolition of devolution and the reintroduction of direct London rule.  And it's absolutely natural coming from someone who answers "no" to the question "You Yes Yet?" (and who goes on to say in a further tweet that his "conscience" would now prevent him from campaigning for independence).  I don't doubt the sincerity of Wings readers who have practically been mass-hypnotised into believing that by adhering to Mr Campbell's essentially unionist narrative they are somehow - God knows how - following the "only true path to independence", but that just makes it all the more vital that we at least endeavour to bring to their attention the real destination at the end of that path, before it's too late.

I've never bought into the wild conspiracy theory that Wings has been "compromised" and is now serving a new master. But I'd just note that he's currently behaving in the *exact* way that he would if that conspiracy theory were true.

Sticking to a belief in Scottish self-government, even when mistakes are being made by our parliament, is not an endorsement of the awful GRR Bill.  It's not a betrayal of women and girls.  I entirely agree with what Joanna Cherry said today - the GRR Bill is a problem made in Scotland and it should be solved in Scotland.  Solving your own problems as a country is what self-government is all about, and indeed it's what sovereign independence will be all about.  No parliament anywhere in the world gets it right 100% of the time, but the UK Parliament has done far, far more harm to Scotland over the years than the Scottish Parliament ever has.  If we didn't believe that to be true, we would have no logical reason to support independence - and it's no coincidence that Mr Campbell, who doesn't believe it to be true, apparently no longer supports independence (or to use his euphemistic language, he's "the least Yes he has ever been").  His statement today is also entirely consistent with his call for his readers not to vote for pro-independence candidates on the constituency ballot in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

If Scotland becomes independent and then passes the GRR Bill, the logic of Mr Campbell's support for the Westminster veto - which he openly admitted to in absolutely crystal-clear fashion last night - is that he would want Scotland to rejoin the United Kingdom so that the grown-ups in London can set us straight once again.  Or perhaps he'd want England to launch a White Knight Invasion and repeal the Bill to save us from ourselves.  That is not the position of an independence supporter.  If you think MSPs have got it wrong, then at the next election you elect MSPs who will put the mistake right.  That's how parliamentary democracy in any self-governing country works.

By the way, anyone concerned at the standard of MSPs such as Emma Roddick and Maggie Chapman should take a closer look at some of the Tory and Labour lobby fodder in the House of Commons before concluding that the grass is greener down in the metropolis. And although I'm certainly no admirer of Ms Roddick myself, I remain deeply concerned at the overtones of some of the attacks on her from Wings and others, which seem to imply that anyone with a diagnosed personality disorder should automatically be regarded with hostility, suspicion and derision, and should have no place in our parliament.


UPDATE: I see that Mr Campbell has deliberately misled his readers today by yet again trotting out his fraudulent and long-debunked graph which falsely claims that support for independence has remained static on 47% since Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister.  To read a detailed explanation of how and why Mr Campbell's graph is a lie, and to discover the real trend on independence support over recent years (there have actually been considerable shifts in public opinion from year to year), please click HERE

53 comments:

  1. The problem as I see it is that we don't have a fully functioning parliament.

    We are electing our representatives based on the constitutional question.

    In the case of #GRR, the SNP and Greens have, in my opinion, abused the trust of the voters.

    But they do this in the full knowledge that they are the largest independence party.

    In a functioning democracy, where people are voting on policy and not constitution, the voters would reject them at the next election, and the SNP and Green know that.

    The truth is they are acting like an abusive partner.

    We have no real alternative vote, unless Alba start growing, and the SNP seem in no hurry to pursue independence with anywhere near the passion that they have pursued gender reform.

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    1. What you're saying doesn't stack up, and I'll tell you why. In several countries around the world, self-ID has been smuggled in against voters' wishes, and indeed it may well happen in the UK after the 2024 general election. The distraction of a constitutional divide has not been needed in those countries for that process to occur. It's always possible for self-ID to be quietly tacked on to a manifesto when voters are mainly basing their decision on other issues, such as the economy.

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    2. It's not the distraction of a constitutional divide to smuggle it in that people object to.

      It's this distraction being used to sideline and bury holyrood electoral plebiscite attempts while simultaneously LYING to the electorate about the ability to dissolve holyrood and not have a unionist FM in place.

      We want independence. Most of us don't care about grr or whatever. I don't. SNP MPs all going mental about it under instruction from Sturgeon to cover up for their retreat on an electoral plebiscite and their lies about the inability to do it at holyrood AT ANY TIME.

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  2. Close down the fake parliaments and save money for welfare.

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    1. Are you sure we could survive without the House of Lords?

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  3. We can be grateful to Campbell for one thing, if for nothing else: he's come right out and admitted it. We no longer need to pander to the moronic pretence that he's a "pro-independence blogger".

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    1. Sadly I was a wings follower from its beginning. Now I'm very disilusioned with Stu and wish he would retire again into his comfort zone and go and penetrate himsef.

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  4. I used to read Wings at least once daily before 2014. It was great. An absolute eye-opener. The Wee Blue Book was such a boon for people who felt UK rule was corrupt and wrong but didn't know exactly how. It was also hilarious - I'll never forget the sidesplitting account of a Capt Mannering type in Kirkcudbrightshire who used his copy of Who's Who after a sherry-heavy dinner to round up local BritNats to fight for the empire. I haven't even glanced at the site in about 4 years. I stopped when it became a private (yet sadly public) wank mag.

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  5. I am absolutely convinced Campbell will tell people to abstain or vote unionist in a de facto referendum, and his excuse will be the trans thing. That's the trajectory he's on. He's a unionist now in a very literal sense.

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    1. I pointed out to Campbell that Yes was not a place on the political spectrum etc and asked what did his heart tell him re Independence?
      Among replies he mention being constrained by his 'conscience.' That did it for me... this is not the Rev. Got to be a fake account, if not the man is in a bad way.

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    2. Are you suggesting his Twitter account is fake? It's not - he's referred on Wings to content on his Twitter account within the last 24 hours.

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    3. I'll match your bet and raise. He was already ordering his readers to vote for unionists in 2021. But Lab and Lib are both pro self-ID, so the only constituency party he can endorse are the Tories.

      Alba may have to do something drastic if it doesn't want a joint endorsement from him. "Vote Tory and Alba!" Yikes.

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  6. I used to read him, till he told me to p*** off when i disagreed with him.

    Pretty sure I spotted the changed when he was outsmarted by Kezia Dugdale, when you claim to be infallible being dugdaled must be the ultimate humiliation.

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    1. There's not much doubt that his defeat to Dugdale, and particularly the SNP's stance during that incident, was the major turning point in his transition to unionism. He's torn apart with bitterness towards Dugdale, he makes snide comments about her on an almost daily basis. He even commissions spiteful opinion poll questions about her. He's not at all a well man. I wish someone who cares about him would quietly urge him to take a break from blogging while he seeks the help that he needs.

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    2. Anonymous - 10.31pm - he has already just taking an extensive break. Some of what you post is true but even the thickest of duggers can find a bone now and again. Ever thought why did Sturgeon side with a Britnat called Dugdale against an independence supporting blogger.

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    3. He's not an independence supporting blogger. He's an independence opposing blogger. He announced it on Twitter today. Do keep up.

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  7. I was sorry to see Campbell still using his flat line 47% graph once again in his latest article. Just as I am sorry to see Skier still punting his Ski slope graph. It undermines the case for independence when people like them produce stuff that is false, just like Britnats do, but claim to support independence.

    I look forward to the day Scotland is independent when being blackmailed in to voting for the SNP as the only vehicle for independence is a thing of the past. This SNP vehicle is being driven in first gear at present.

    Campbell's site is now a mixture of good, bad and ugly stuff. Nothing about this GRR mess makes me less yes or more yes. It just makes me want it sooner rather than later because it is a disgrace that people of Scotland are being taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia in their own homes and this GRR mess is a priority.

    Campbell says he is less yes - that is not the same as saying he is against Scottish independence - just that he is sick of the SNP - as are many and he is letting it affect his commitment to independence.

    Can you imagine another 4 years of this until HR26 de facto - assuming of course Sturgeon doesn't find a reason to renege on it. Let's hope the SNP members have some courage and force through HR23. Another benefit of HR23 is that Sturgeon has less time to find a reason to cancel it.

    I saw Roddick on the TV today and I have to say she came across as ok unlike that bampot Chapman who wants to reduce self ID to 6 year olds. Sadly the impression given by people like Chapman is that the age reduction to 16 is just a stepping stone to 6 and that should not be acceptable to any decent person. Probably why Andy Wightman is no longer a member.

    Although I do not support this GRR horror show I do not support the colonial governor Jack and his actions. It was good to hear Hanvey stating that Salmond objected to the sect 35 when the Scotland Act was being debated. It wasn't good to hear Dewar being lauded as some sort of Scottish hero. He wasn't - just another Britnat who agreed with Blair to move Scotland's sea border to favour England's attempts to steal Scotlands oil.

    Vote Alba for independence and no more of this GRR horror show.

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    1. How is Alba going to achieve independence with no representatives currently in office and very little prospect of a voting surge anytime soon?

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    2. Well you'd better want that to change if you want an electoral test of independence to occur, a necessary requirement of delivering independence (if you actually support independence or are just an SNP trendy who pretends they do)

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    3. The 2 Alba MPs are still in office.

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    4. Anonymous - 10.44pm - that's what Britnats used to say about the SNP. As that is all you have to say about my post I guess you agree with the rest.

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    5. The guy from Conservative Home - Henry Hill sasid on Sky News last night theat there is a statue of Donald Dewar outside the Scottish Parliament. If there is it must have been painted with invisible ink.

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    6. Just for you Lomax. Enjoy.

      Vote Alba for Independence.

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    7. Here is another one for you Lomax. Enjoy.

      Vote Alba for independence.

      Vote the Sturgeon party for Scotland to win The World Can Kicking Championship.

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  8. I have long suspected that by the time another referendum eventually came around, Wings would be beating the drum for a No vote, with some gordian contortions of logic to explain why it was actually a vote for a purer form of independence. He's been diligently preparing the groundwork for that for almost half a decade now, pipelining his dwindling but committed acolytes away from the independence cause, and diverting them down a variety of rabbit holes. If anything, the only surprise for me has been that the GRR has provided him with what he sees as enough cover to abandon the pretence of seeking independence in any form at all.

    I certainly don't doubt the sincerity of his beliefs about gender reform. But his trajectory away from independence long predates the time when any talk of gender reform was part of mainstream conversation.

    How did he end up here? I think the answer is pretty banal, to be honest. I certainly never bought into all the grand conspiracy theories about Wings being compromised by the state. Primarily, because his ego is such that he never required the state to compromise him in the first place.

    For a few years I wondered if it wasn't a monetary thing - that achieving independence would be killing the goose that laid the golden fundraising returns that poured in every year. But I don't think it's even really that anymore.

    I think his ego simply could not take the twin blows of the Kezia Dugdale court case, and the crushing realisation that a Wings party wasn't set to storm all of Scotland. You could possibly even throw the response to his bumbling pro-Brexit machinations onto that pile. Anyone remember back when his genius take on the situation was to get a referendum pinky-promise from Theresa May in return for actively foisting her Brexit deal on the country? I don't imagine he enjoyed being laughed out of the room by all and sundry then. He seems the sort whose greatest fear is laughter at his own expense...

    There is a peculiar sort of person in life, who seems to let their ego dictate their politics, rather than their conscience - whose entire political outlook seems to turn on a sixpence at the shadow of an insult.

    Bath's angriest Reverend certainly seems to fall into that category. As anyone who has felt the lash of his keyboard can no doubt attest to.

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    1. "with some gordian contortions of logic to explain why it was actually a vote for a purer form of independence"

      That's the crucial bit. If anyone attacks him for voting No, his fans will say "Why are you attacking the best Yes journo we have? Stop dividing our movement! Attack unionists instead!" The depth of the collective delusion is amusing if you take a step back.

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    2. Anonymous - 11.46pm - Campbell cannae vote no - he lives in Bath. The standard of trolling is pretty low by some of these anonymites.

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    3. My apologies. I'll try again. He's been a Liberal Democrat-voting English resident for decades, is totally out of touch with the country he writes/rants about, and would vote No if he had a vote in Scotland but mercifully doesn't. Can we agree on that?

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    4. It seems laughable now, but in 1979 Lord Home urged Scots to vote No to devolution so that Mrs Thatcher of all people could deliver "a better version of devolution" later on. As per usual there were enough idiots and wishful thinkers who fell for the con.

      Stuart Campbell is the modern day Lord Home. (But without the charisma.)

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  9. You can always rely on the WGD site for some misinformed posts btl.

    A poster says the majority of the Scottish people do not support this bill. Some of the usual crowd of nicophants immediately pounce eg.,
    grizebard says:- " Oh jeez, give us a break. How on earth do you know what the majority of the Scottish people want? Do you possess extra sensory perception beyond that of mere mortals? "
    Alex Clark says the consultations proved the majority were in favour of the GRR Bill.
    Grizebard also says because the SNP won the election that proves the majority were in favour.

    Both seem to be happy to ignore the polls that say the significant majority are against the GRR.

    Thicko WGD poster Eilidh says: " The media are reporting many women are against GRA I wholeheartedly that is the case a few political polls with little more than 1000 taking part is not significant or appropriate evidence that many women in Scotland are against GRA. I only know one woman who is against it....."

    So polls are rubbish for Eilidh except of course when the SNP/ Sturgeon are getting good results. I wonder how many were in Eilidh's personal poll😂😂😂. Anyway Eilidh who clearly knows so much about the matter also says:- " What is GRR as opposed to GRA". Eilidh a perfect example of just agreeing with Sturgeon no matter what.

    What a bunch of WGD numpties.

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  10. Seems like the combination of reasonable revulsion at the antics of the GRR sect, political isolation from Scotland and rampant ego have bust Mr Cambell. Maybe he will rally in the future - never impossible but not vital.

    The real issue is where the current nuSNP clash with 'emptyJACKet' and his masters over this distorted priority will leave our independence movement. YES remains YES but I think that I may also join Alba.....🙄🤔

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  11. Some people get transfixed (no pun) on particular issues and have an obsessive personality. I don't think Wings has become unionist, he's become transfixed by this issue above all others. Like Graham Lenihan the Father Ted guy. Alongside an argumentative personality.

    I don't agree with the bill either but these people are sending tens of tweets a day on the subject starting from 7am. On days where nothing of real note has happened. That's an obsession.

    They'd do well to take a step back and choose their moments in my view. Does both causes no favours to look like loonies.

    in 2014, Twitter was a god send to independence. Now it's becoming a minefield. Splits has happened where people see sturgeon as a villain or a saviour and each have their own 'facts' to back it up. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

    Using that graph is a way to bait you in, in my opinion. It's really poor.

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  12. BBC Politics Live today - discussion headline - Are smart meters making us anxious? That's right blame the poor old smart meters. No its the price of energy - BBC idiots - blame the UK government. Blame the energy companies not a bit of technology that highlights how we are being ripped off.

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  13. On the last two articles by the big dug Mr Kavanagh has been asked by a poster btl whether or not he supports the HR23 option particularly since in his latest article he declares democracy is dead in Scotland.

    The big dug says:- " All Alister Jack and the Conservatives have done is to confirm that the campaign for independence really is a campaign for democracy in Scotland." As I have posted many times - Scotland has never had democracy - but it is nice to see the big dug is finally catching up with me.

    So will the big dug continue to blank the HR23 option or will he come out against it or will he go against the SNP and show he is a real independence supporter by promoting HR23.

    Loyalty is a fine quality in a person but not when it is allied with rank stupidity. That defines most of the WGD numpties.

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    1. WGD numpty Guybrush Threepwood ( name may be not 100% accurate😀) says he doesn't support a UK GE de facto as we will lose it. He also says he doesn't support HR23 as the Britnats would intervene to stop it. He says therefore it has to be the long wait till HR26. He doesn't explain why the Britnats would intervene in 23 to stop a de facto but not in 26.

      In summary, there are a lot of these muddled opinions floating about - the end result of them is kicking the can down the road for more years. Sturgeon has been kicking that can for 8 years - time she was substituted.

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    2. WGD numpty Bob Lamont says you just can't have HR23. That is the head in the sand stuff that goes on btl on WGD. No reasoning nothing.
      Do you want to be a numpty or do you want independence? That is the question SNP members need to ask themselves.

      Silence from the big dug on HR23. You would almost think these people don't want independence.

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    3. Update: so the poster spells out HR23 in detail once again for numpty Lamont. The response - "no you just can't." That's it - ignore the true facts and stay loyal to Sturgeon no matter what - what a state for people to be in. The big dug and Sturgeon have clearly developed a cult.

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    4. Does that remind you of anything?

      "You just can't, Colin."

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  14. The Rev is of course a Lib Dem voter.

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  15. When the Irish Skier is fantasising about himself transitioning on WGD he claims his pronoun would be Dr as he is a Dr but they/them when he is halfway through his transition. So WGD has two numpties who call themselves Dr - Dr Jim and Dr mad liar Irish/Scottish/French Skier. The Skier who can publicly fantasise about transitioning but never posts anything about skiing. There may be a fake Rev on WOS but it sounds like there are two fake doctors on WGD.
    Dr Jim - a doctorate in sycophancy?
    Dr Skier - a doctorate in - well he claims to be an expert in so many disciplines it could be anything really - fakery perhaps?

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  16. James says self ID has been smuggled in to legislation in many countries. WGD numpty Alex Clark says the consultation for the GRR bill proved the majority supported it - it did no such thing. This consultation was pochled by Sturgeon. The only thing that was strange was that John REDACTOR MAN Swinney didn't seem to have a role in this. They didn't need to redact anything instead they just ignored the ones they didn't like.

    The GRR subject matter would have been ideal for a Citizens assembly but like all these Sturgeon initiatives they get a loud fanfare ( carrots anyone) and then eventually dropped. A citizen's assembly would have meant Sturgeon losing control and she couldn't possibly entertain that.

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  17. He's gone full Brit then - well best ignored. Glad I never donated money to his site.

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  18. Now I know that a lot of the WGD numpties are self confessed ex labour voters but posting that you want to buy Paul Sweeney, Labour of Better Together who told the usual Britnat porkies about shipbuilding promises in 2014 a pint shows that their judgement is skewed by their Labour past. They obviously learned blind loyalty to a political party throughout their Labour supporting days. No wonder it doesn't bother them that Murray Foote is now employed by the SNP.
    Named and shamed - yesindyref2 and Dr Skier - would love to buy him a pint. What is wrong with these people.

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    1. It's about time these numpties transitioned into real independence supporters, left their Britnat Labour leanings truly in the past and promoted HR23. It's still not too late for Oct 2023.

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  19. Being realistic about it, when do you think the earliest a leadership challenge against Sturgeon can be held? She is clearly now working against the prospect of independence.

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    1. I doubt if even Sturgeon could honestly say she's "the least Yes she has ever been".

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    2. She's not actively against the idea of indy, she just doesn't care - which effectively is working against it when you happen to be the SNP leader and you try to back track on any indy measure that requires courage / fight.

      I realised she was like this when she was elected leader and the word 'independence' disappeared from her (and the SNP's) vocabulary. It's just taken some years for it become evident for many.

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    3. Know her well do you Stevie?

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  20. The hatred of Nicola Sturgeon built and based on the invented myth of her immortality, plus the power those who oppose her claim she wields one minute then claim she has none the next

    Add to that Stuart Campbell and others claims of their psychic ability to read her mind, and it's a bad mind they say, cements the certainty that Westminster will win because if Scots are stupid enough to believe that drivel they'll believe anything

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    1. Hi DrJim, no need to read her mind just look at the facts/evidence. It's all there.

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  21. With regard to Stuart Campbell, I think that the end outcome of his court tussle with Kezia Dugdale inflicted a fair amount of both economic and osychological damage

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  22. With regard to Stuart Campbell, I think that the end outcome of his court tussle with Kezia Dugdale damaged him both economically and psychologically. With regard to the SNP and independence, all I can say is that it's a good job that many of the party's current critics weren't around after the 1992 general election. Back then a lot of the same criticisms now being made against Nicola Sturgeon were being made against the then leader of the SNP, who was a guy called Alex Salmond. I learned at that point that there is no 'magic bullet' to take us to independence. It took us 23 years after 1974 to get a devolved Scottish Parliament. It's been less than 9 years since the 2014 referendum- and for 3 of those years we were in the grip of a pandemic. I recognise that it's not easy but a bit of perspective and patience on the part of some of those people who purport to support independence would not be amiss.

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    1. Anonymous - Sturgeon kept promising Indyref2, got a mandate and then did SFA with the mandates. Not the same as per Salmond. Your 'perspective' seems to be twisted by blind loyalty to Sturgeon. The pandemic did not stop Sturgeon promising in 2021 Indyref2 if you voted SNP - did it!

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