Just a quick note to let you know that I have an article in The National today about Keir Starmer's record-breaking journey from landslide victory in early July to deep unpopularity in the polls in late September. I'm not sure if it's in the main part of the website, but it can be found on page 8 of the print or digital edition. [UPDATE: It's now also on the main part of the website HERE.]
I used to love Record Breakers when I was growing up in the late 90s.
ReplyDeleteDid you how interesting.
DeleteNot enough being made if this cataclysmic change in popularity by the Scottish indy movement.
ReplyDeleteShould be memes, content from the likes of ross colqhoun etc being piped through every MSPs feed.
Momentum and image is huge.
It's possible the SNP needed a doing to give space for a mini resurgence in rep.
Sorry to add, instead we have Stewart Mcdonald advocating a defeat already.
DeleteDont get into marketing bud
anon 1023-- Another unionist saying the SNP need a doing thereby ensuring Independence. Aye sure.
DeleteThey already had one. What a thumping! Life long Yessers like me steering clear of that party of devolutionists.
DeleteThe party leadership is certainly doing its best to squander the opportunity for change after that lesson. Hell mend them. Get back to indy or fade away for good.
Aye brit nat pretending to be an independence purist. Are you at the brit labour conference getting a freebie? Im sure ALBANISTS or fake scotttish republican socialists will be welcomed.
DeleteThey've had a thumping, which was needed for a resurgence.
DeleteThat's all.im saying.
What's down can come up.
"What's down can come up."
DeleteUnless you have John Swinney as leader, he has a track record of making things worse.
To be fair to John Swinney, he is popular with ordinary people and has stabilized things a lot.
DeleteTo be fair to John Swinney he is like kryptonite to Scottish independence.
DeleteIncredible contempt shown to pensioners by Labour spokespeople/politicians when questioned about the removal of winter fuel allowance. Tin eared sums them up. They think they are untouchable because of their majority in the English parliament. They are now but pensioners will remember these politicians receiving thousands in freebies taking away a couple of hundred pounds from some and £350 from others at future elections - and that includes Holyrood. Note to Sarwar - that's what happens to you when you are a branch office. Serves you right for your watch my lips there will be no austerity under Labour. Even the Tories didn't take away the winter fuel allowance and of course it is a lot colder in Scotland. Being cold this winter will not be a problem for Sarwar or any of these politicians.
ReplyDeleteJust where are these sausages being held that Starmer wants returned and are they square or links sausages. Perhaps some of his rich friends can buy him some more what they cannae buy for him is charisma or empathy for pensioner plight.
More people chose not to vote in July than voted Labour. I suspect it will get worse in future as the respect for politicians continues downwards.
There shall be all hell on earth to pay until the safe return of Kier’s beloved sausages!
DeleteHell on earth in Gaza. With part 2 in Lebanon.
DeleteNote the BBC do not show hordes of Israeli citizens fleeing south to escape the war with Lebanon - just the Lebanese fleeing north. Note the Foreign Office have not issued a warning to Brits to flee Israel for their safety. Just Brits in Lebanon.
A one sided war using weapons supplied by the West.
Worth noting that the pension goes up on a triple lock which is a generous arrangement.
DeleteAnon at 5.03pm - " generous arrangement" - the UK state pension is one of the worse in the world. Away and have a look at how much the German and French pensions are. You are clearly a Britnat. A desperate Britnat even.
DeleteAnon 6.05. Is that you Mr Sarwar?
DeleteTaking away WFA from people who are financially well off shouldn’t even be contentious. It’s the clumsy way that this aim has been implemented that caused the uproar. It doesn’t indicate competence in delivery of policy. Reminds me of the greens up here. SNP and Indy movement more broadly are in a state of inertia and there’s nothing on the horizon to suggest that change will occur prior to Holyrood 2026. Depressing.
DeleteWhat's really depressing: That inertia is one man's choice. John Swinney could reignite independence as an issue if he wanted to. Announce a Citizen's Assembly for the Future of Scotland and actually see it through this time, with appropriate publicity, like Ireland had for its CA on abortion. A major event like that would wake us back up and give us hope again. Everyone starts to taste independence when the issue is live.
DeleteBut he wunnae. He's not interested taking down the carrot from the stick.
If there's one thing the "supreme court" can't ban it's us talking about independence, talking about currency, talking about the border, EU membership, EFTA, globalisation, taxation of multinational companies, and all the rest we need to work on for our independence. So do it now! Give us a focus. Give us an event.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNote the BBC do not show hordes of Israeli citizens fleeing south to escape the war with Lebanon - just the Lebanese fleeing north. Note the Foreign Office have not issued a warning to Brits to flee Israel for their safety. Just Brits in Lebanon.
DeleteThe north of Israel has been largely empty since October and the FCO do warn against travel to any part of Israel
Keaton - many thanks for the correction and clarification to my post. I would add some additional points.
Delete1. The Israelis that left the north previously did not do so under the same level of bombardment as at present being applied to the Lebanon and would not have had to flee with such short notice and no belongings etc.
2. Warning against travelling to Israel in the first place, as per your link, is not the same as telling Brits there to flee immediately as they have done for the Lebanon.
It disnae change my main point that if it can be described as a war it is a one sided war at present. Israel possesses far superior defensive and offensive weaponry.
Anon at 10.15am - but it is not just taking it away from the
Delete" financially well off ". In the current system millionaires can refuse to accept it or give it to their favourite charity.
It is not just wrong presentation it is just plain wrong and it is particularly wrong in Scotland where if you live in Scotland you will know our winters can be very harsh. The Tories didn't even do this.
The millionaires should be getting taxed more but Labour are more worried their freebies will dry up.
Hi James
ReplyDeleteI see your article on the main website now:
"Polls show Keir Starmer is severely unpopular in record time"
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24608382.polls-show-keir-starmer-severely-unpopular-record-time/
Keep the home fires burning, KC. You’ll need it this winter without your allowance.
ReplyDeleteAnd so many, many former Yessers are being swayed back to the Union thanks to all your Blighty Bollocks, KC.
ReplyDeleteStarmer knew his policies would be unpopular so I'm sure some wise adiser told him to get in front of the story and say it is part of the plan for me to be unpopular. It is a necessary evil so things get better.
ReplyDeleteNope just evil. It has been calculated that Starmer and his wife have hoovered up £170,000 worth of freebies in recent years and there he is removing a few hundred pounds from pensioners. Some people say it is not a good look. Nope it is worse than that. The guy is a Tory.
Keep the crap coming IFS.
DeleteDesperate Dan strikes again with his nonsense and bullshit. Thought I would use a couple of your favourite words KC oh wait it's Desperate Dan now.
DeleteYou got any spare sausages in your fridge you could send to Starmer he seems to have lost some - not sure how many or what type but I'm sure he'll be grateful. He may even pass on a freebie to you he disnae want.
Starmer defends accepting a £20,000 donation to provide his 16 year old son with a quiet place to study for his exams. What about the record numbers of children living in temporary accommodation without even a bed to themselves, let alone a quiet place to study? What about the record numbers of victims of the 2 Child benefit cap who will go to bed hungry, cold and ill-clad?
ReplyDeleteAre they any less important than a well-fed, well-clothed, well-housed child of a multi millionaire? The Labour Party are deluded if they think this will be forgotten. Starmer is indescribable.
Grouser
Well said Grouser.
Deletestarmer greedy. The entitlement of those pretend socialists.
ReplyDeleteAnon 3.21 . Here we go again - there's two types of NATS on here : Britnats like you and us Scot Nats that want democracy!
ReplyDeleteYou're the numpty . Go back to England if you're no there the noo.
DeleteWe can vote again at the SGE and you can do nothing about it.
ReplyDeleteVote for what?
DeleteJames,
ReplyDeleteWe parted company on twitter in not the best terms - mutual blocks.
However, I have never lost sight of your overall contribution to the Yes Movement.
IMHO, you are completely and utterly wasting your time with Alba.
Salmond's boat has not only sailed but sunk with not only most Scottish Voters, but Yessers themselves.
His hangers-on are nothing but a bunch of non-electable lightweight halfwits.
Get yourself back into the ONLY political party even remotely capable of delivering Independence and try to shape policies there - God knows we (SNP) need voices like yours in-house!
These are indeed desperate times for Scotland's future and ALL Yessers need to focus on the best political mechanism to keep our end-game alive.
That is NEVER gonna be Alba.
Delete/Publish this at your own discretion - I could not care less.
Dave Francis
And what has the SNP achieved lately?
DeleteGrow up.
DeleteThe only thing Alba will 'achieve' is more of the NOTHING it has 'achieved' so far.
It is a complete and utter nonentity with Scots.
Serious question: Has anything fundamentally changed in the SNP recently?
DeleteTens of thousands of members left the Party for a reason & from what I can see the SNP have made more attempts to hide that fact rather than address the reasons behind it.
There's been no periods of self reflection, no olive branchs, no strategic shifts. Alba may have failed but the reasons why it formed in the first place still exist.
I agree, but something has got to give. Either Alba has got to get its act together, or the SNP has got to get its act together, or a new electoral force has to emerge, but the current situation is unsustainable. It's a complete dead end no matter which way you look.
DeleteThe SNP could announce a constitutional convention tomorrow. What's stopping them?
DeleteAcknowledge that mistakes of the past have caused divisions in the Yes movement, and the best thing we can do now is come back together. Get in a room with all pro-indy parties, elected representatives, and civic society to share fresh ideas and work out a plan the whole movement can get behind.
That kind of first step would be what encourages people to reconsider rejoining the SNP. Be the grown-ups in the room and offer that olive branch.
The large gap in the polls between support for the SNP and support for independence can’t be ignored. It exposes the absurdity of thinking that simply supporting the SNP will solve everything. That frankly won’t be enough anymore. They need to be bold and put country before Party, or we risk years of hardship under a unionist government at Holyrood. That’s the reality.
Anon at 7.41
DeleteI have been an SNP Member for over 10 years and a Supporter for over 40 years.
It is the Juggernaught of Scottish Politics today and will take time to change course, even a wee bit.
There are signs that change/realism has already started on a few contentious issues and a recognition that we do NOT have all the answers on the Constitutional Question.
However, SNP MUST do more to listen to other Indy folk - particularly in relation to currency and gender issues.
The FACT remains though, that the SNP are the ONLY political force which has the sheer clout to get us even a sniff of Indyref2/Indy, so Yessers should get behind it and get engaged with its direction and policies.
Having followed Scottish Politics for half a century and having watched the MASSIVE change in perception and acceptance of Scottish Independence, I am 100% convinced that SNP are the ONLY Scottish political force WM actually fears.
If it is destroyed or massively diminished, WM will be turning summersaults and Indy will be dead for the foreseeable future.
Alba/Wings are miniscule bit-players in this in Scottish voter-terms, but might just have the ability INTERNALLY to do what Unionism has failed to do EXTERNALLY to the Yes Movement - Fragment and destroy it.
For all SNP's major flaws/mistakes/missed opportunities - it remains THE best vehicle to get us to our ultimate destination.
Alba/Wings are NOT and NEVER will be the 'answer'.
The only way to keep our end-game alive, is backing the SNP and keeping a Pro-Indy Scotgovt in 2026 at a minimum.
The defeatist and nihilistic attitude if that moron Campbell/Wings will achieve SFA. He has become nothing but a twisted shadow of his former self and will burn the entire house down to satisfy his own hatreds.
Scottish Voters wouldn't spit on him, if he was on fire.
The issue remains though that Alba etc are symptoms of a problem, not the root cause of it.
DeleteThe SNP was losing members (myself included) before Alba even came on the scene. Attempts to reform the SNP from within were also made, but were undermined. A few people have changed roles, but most of the key figures in the SNP leadership from that period are either still at the heart of the leadership or under active police investigation (which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence).
A significant amount of trust has been lost, and next to no effort has been made to regain it. It’s all very well to ask people to come back to the SNP, but for many, the party needs to make the first move and give them a reason to consider it.
Agree with almost everything you say.....
DeleteAlthough, having been in the Criminal Justice System for 30 years, I must admit that when you take a dispassionate look at what the SNP is being fully investigated for and consider the VERY public way that commenced (blue forensic tent on front lawn etc...) compared to what various other Parties have NOT been fully investigated for, the LACK of publicity and police presence and short timeframes in those cases, the SNP case looks like an outlier.
I am also of the opinion that 'memberships' are of much less importance now, than previously.
Most folk just tend to vote for, rather than be a member of, a political party nowadays.
Crucial thing is to VOTE for them and the major things they stand for, even if you do not agree with every single policy they espouse.
THAT is the bigger, far more important picture.
Absolutely right, 9:24. The SNP was already going a bad way *before* Alba started up and gave them a convenient bogeyman to blame for their dwindling support.
DeleteThere needs to be a fundamental shakeup in the party. They need to restore power to the membership (which they took away in recent years of pauchling the NEC). They need to get to grips with the fact that support from the Yes Movement is a two way street.
This won't happen under Devo Swinney. He's the architect himself!
@10:00. Wheesht for Indy, then? That's done us a world of good these last 10 years. In fact, it's precisely what led us down this cauldie.
Delete"Most folk just tend to vote for, rather than be a member of, a political party nowadays"
DeleteThough to raise another point: The large gap in the polls between support for the SNP and support for independence itself. That gap has only widened in recent years & shows no indication of shrinking.
It actually used to be the other way around: Support for the SNP being higher than support for indy. That being flipped completely on its head is yet another indication of a fundamental problem that hasn't yet been addressed by the Party.
The same argument seems to essentially boil down to:
DeletePerson 1: The SNP has lost my support.
Person 2: Who cares, you need to vote for them anyway.
Person 1: Shouldn't they try to win my support back?
Person 2: Nope, you NEED to vote for them. There's no other choice.
I'm genuinely confused as to why some can't see how terribly unconvincing that argument is.
If you think about it there was an attempt to change the SNP by getting ‘good guys’ elected back in 2020.
DeleteThere was also two new independence parties ISP and AFI, AFI in particular had very good candidates.
What was the effect of the Alba Party on the situation
1. Most of the ‘good guys’ left the SNP for Alba. Where are they now? Many have since left Alba.
Not only these higher profile people but many others that thought similarly left for Alba maybe a few thousand
What would have been the effect of the good guys had stayed in the SNP? Would Kate Forbes have been elected leader rather than Yousaf. Would good guys now be in a strong position within the party?
2. The ISP and AFI candidates were passed over by Salmond, Why? They were good candidates that had passed vetting
Instead he brought in many unknowns who turned out to be problematic and less than half remain party members
Alba as a vehicle to rehabilitate Salmond and restore his reputation has kept stirring the divisions.
If there had been no Alba party would the movement be in a better place?
I'm not sure. Salmond brought a profile to Alba which got the Party attention.
DeleteWe've seen in the past what has happened to Parties that don't really have any big names attached: Talk a big game and then disband after electoral failure like RISE, minor electoral success and then becoming insignificant like the Scottish Socialist Party or never achieving anything like the Scottish Libertarian Party.
The Brexit Party/Reform becoming popular in England is mainly down to 1 populist figure. Without Farage they likely never would have gotten off the ground.
For a Party to have any chance it needs to get itself noticed.
@11:01. The "defections to Alba cost Kate the leadership election" claim has been debunked before. Statistically untrue, as tempting as it may feel to you as an argument.
DeleteAlso: who are these well kenned AFI candidates of which you speak? Can you name some?
DeleteAlba's got MacAskill and Tasmina and that's about it, besides Eck. The ISP, meanwhile, is short of a single household name; which maybe fits its abstentionist ideology but doesn't do it much good in actual elections.
Don't forget the mighty George Kerevan! Surely an impressive figure like him kept his deposit…
DeleteAnon 8:14 I don’t see how it can be debunked Kate Forbes lost by 2142 votes Alba has at that point more than 6k members. Those members were mainly ex-SNP and would not have voted for continuity. And this doesn’t take into account the good guys might have enabled the SNP to retain more member of that ilk who left the SNP without joining another party
DeleteThe AFI candidates were Mark Hirst, Tommy Sheridan (who might have done well in Glasgow). Martin Keatings, John Wilson, Hugh Kerr, Craig Murray very male I will give you that.
From memory I think both Craig Murray and Tommy Sheridan had been lined up as AFI candidates. It's an odd thing about Salmond's relationship with Craig Murray. There was obviously no way Salmond was going to risk having Murray as an Alba candidate in 2021, and yet he still regards Murray as so indispensable that he allowed Murray to make a mockery of Alba's rules by standing for a rival party in the general election.
DeleteAs for Sheridan, it would be interesting to know why he's necer stood as an Alba candidate. Did Salmond block him? If so, why has he gone along with it and continued to back Alba? What's the deal?
"I don’t see how it can be debunked Kate Forbes lost by 2142 votes Alba has at that point more than 6k members."
DeleteThe point is not whether Forbes' losing margin was smaller than the total number of Alba members at the time. The question is how many of those people would actually have been in the SNP if Alba had not existed. A lot of those people had walked away from the SNP long before Alba was set up.
That's right, and there are two other factors. One is turnout - 30% of SNP members didn't vote in the leadership election, so there certainly wouldn't have been a 100% turnout among any 'extra' votes. Secondly, and as incredible as it might seem, I know of some Alba members who would have ranked Yousaf ahead of Forbes, because of Forbes' religious and social views. Take all those factors together and I'm fairly convinced she would still have lost, albeit by an even tighter margin.
Delete"A lot of those people had walked away from the SNP long before Alba was set up".
DeleteAs one of those people seeing Nicola Sturgeon resign and the chaos that followed including a police investigation launched into the SNP's finances wouldn't have encouraged me to re-join at that moment in time.
If anything I'd be even more turned off by the SNP and would wait to see how events unfolded.
There's also the issue of what would have happened if Kate had won by a whisker. The Greens made it shamelessly clear that they objected to her candidacy as leader of the SNP and were not happy to continue the coalition under her. So would they have eaten their words or would they have brought down the BHA a year before Humza did?
DeleteHow long could Kate have lasted with a very narrow win among the members, and a parliamentary party that's uncomfortable with what she represents? I can well imagine she'd have been forced out soon enough.
Hopefully she has no such problem—and wins convincingly—in 2026 once Swinney's job is done.
Actively working against Scotland by consorting with Salmond has blotted James Kelly's political ambitions, he's now not welcome anywhere
Delete100 people in a room and 1 person demands to be in charge because they have decided that they and only them are more independent minded than the rest and should be listened too. Problem for that individual is that 99 other folk disagree.
ReplyDeleteUnless you're being deliberately vague, could we know who the 1 person in this metaphor is? Alex Salmond?
DeleteAlba Leader???
DeleteWouldn't the calls of a constitutional convention fly in the face of "demands to be in charge"?
DeleteIf anything it's the SNP to date who have insisted their way is the only way and have refused to even speak to the wider movement.
Sorry to break the consensus but I don't think Celine Gottwald is the saviour so many of you seem to imagine.
ReplyDeleteFa?
ReplyDeleteDoh, Ray, Me, ??, Soh, La, Tea, Doh.
DeleteDo I win the prize?
Quite simple really - and not at all 'confusing'.
ReplyDeleteIf you are a Scottish Independence Supporter, you should always vote for the Party which will give Scotland the best chance of getting that Independence, whether you agree with every single other of its policies, or not.
Unionists have been dogmatically doing EXACTLY that from their side of the fence for my entire life - and it worked most of the time.
In my humble opinion, Yessers need to emulate that Unionist dogmatic trait far more often.
If we don't, we will lose all of what we have gained - from the Pro-Indy Majority in our own Parliament, to the plethora of beneficial policies we presently have in Scotland, which are SO much better for our folk up here, than in any other part of these islands.
Having family south of the Border, I can definitely attest to that.
Doesn't that allow a supposed 'Party of Independence' to only talk up independence during election time to get votes and then they don't actually need to pursue it because the idiots will keep voting for them regardless giving them a free pass to do whatever they like instead?
DeleteWe've had over a decade of that already. Franky I'm tired of being marched up a hill, seeing a "Game on for #indyref2" front cover of The National and then nothing happens. All I see instead is an incompetent Government who have lost ny trust to run a bath.
It's like 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' after a certain number of times you stop believing them: You're going for #indyref2 are you? Aye... sure.
I for one don't want to be sitting here in 2034 being told yet again to give them one more chance because they definitely really mean it this time!
you must be a big Peanuts fan
Deleteremember that time Charlie Brown kicks the football held by Lucy
I don't either ...
Unionists lost every election for 14 years and the referendum with over 60% of Scots voting Yes.
DeleteI don't know about other people I am getting brassed off hearing these Britnat Labour politicians drone on time after time about the surprise £22bn deficit left by the Tories. That's your pals in Better Together you are complaining about.
ReplyDeleteBut the best laugh is that the Britnats say Scotland has a £22bn deficit so the simple solution for Labour is to say bye bye Scotland we grant you your independence take your £22bn deficit with you. Starmer's £22bn problem disappears at a stroke. Everything is rosy in England - no need to remove the winter fuel payment. Funny how none of the Britnat media haven't floated this solution to Labour.
They haven't floated this solution because Scotland having a £22bn deficit is to use one of the Britnat troll on SGP favourite words a load of bullshit. Total Britnat bullshit. You cannae believe a word these Britnats tell you.
As much as Swinney's Continuity Sturgeon SNP annoys me—squandering Scotland's chances at being free from London idiocy forever—Labour's still doing everything it takes to keep their spot atop the Numpty champions league.
DeleteStarmer: They left us a note "all the money's gone." You're going to have to freeze to death this winter, suck it up.
Delivered in a mink coat.
Aye , a free mink coat supplied by Lord Alli !
DeleteWe are very poorly served by our politicians in Scotland. As anon at 8.11am alludes its like they are racing to be the shittiest politicians in this shithouse of a UK.
DeleteSo we are back to the same old if you are an independence supporter you must vote snp. We are 5 years on from the run up to the Holyrood election in 2021. I posted that a real party of independence would make the vote in 2021 a de facto referendum not another vote for a mandate for a referendum. I was told Nicola the great would deliver a referendum if we all voted SNP just one more time at the 2021 election. There was no need to make it a de facto referendum they said while munching on their carrots.
ReplyDelete5 years on we don't even have the carrot dangling of there will be a referendum if you vote SNP. Just some anon posters going on again about the SNP being the only vehicle for independence. That vehicle failed its MOT years ago and there has been no remedial work carried out by its owners - the SNP members - yet they want us to jump aboard again. A vehicle not fit for purpose.
Utter garbage, pal.
DeleteSNP have their failings, that is for sure and have indeed gone down sime blind alleys re Independence - but, having supported that end game for over four decades, I know how difficult it will be to get there.
I also know that most of the 'this is the way we will get there quicker and easier, it's so obvious' crap which has come from sources like that twisted wee Bath-Balloon and the cretins who follow him, is just that.......utter, unadulterated crap.
As I have said previously, there is NO other political party remotely capable of even getting us a sniff at Independence - and there simply won't be in the discernable future, so Yessers are gonna have to make their minds up in 2026 whether to vote for the ONLY party who can get us that chance - warts and all - or do the unionists/MSM's job for them and start a Binfire which will burn the whole Indy-house down.
Personally, given the Tory-Lite, English Nationalist, Scotland-Hating Labour main-challenger alternative now fully on view , I hope and believe my fellow Yessers WILL vote to keep our Pro-Indy Parliament with SNP as largest party and still in Government.
By the way - Unlike you, I posted my name in my first submission and James is well aware of who I am.
The SNP has only used independence as leverage to gain support on other political issues.
DeleteThen, when an election is on the horizon, political blackmail is employed to maintain power. We're essentially held hostage in a never-changing situation that people are frankly fed up with.
When you keep relying on emotional blackmail, implying that independence will be dead if the SNP loses, it weakens the cause. People don’t respond well to being told they *have* to do something. They want a viable, positive reason to vote a certain way. If the SNP wants to win support, its leadership needs to change strategy and offer people a real reason to vote for them, instead of using threats or coercion.
Spot on, 7:47.
DeleteWithout serious, credible action on indy, the SNP is no use to Yes.
Anon at 1.32am - I very much doubt you see me as your pal and I certainly do not see you as my pal. All of what I posted is true. You just don't like it that's all.
DeleteYour aggressive reply is just the other side of the coin of the Britnat posts you can read below. Why you think this attitude will make the independence supporters who see the SNP leadership for what they are vote SNP is beyond me. A pro Indy Parliament as you call it who do nothing to achieve independence and actually vote against motions to action independence is not a pro Indy parliament.
Try reading anon at 7.47am post.
What is this obsession about me. Try sticking to the facts and arguments and not the personal insults.
James has quite rightly removed the disgusting and offensive Britnat posts I refer to in my post at 9.18am.
Delete"By the way - Unlike you, I posted my name in my first submission and James is well aware of who I am."
DeleteIs Anonymous your handle? Same as many others! Why not choose some handle so people can keep track of your postings?
Is Ifs the one person in the room with another 99 claiming I’m purer than you lot? Nah - wouldn’t be allowed in the door.
ReplyDeleteAnon troll at 9.46am. No idea what you are prattling on about but pretty sure I wouldnae want to be in any room with you. So are you a Britnat anon troll or a keep munching the carrots SNP anon troll. Hard to tell the difference. Both support Britnat parties.
DeleteThe excellent Grousebeater reports that a former minister has been convicted in Singapore for accepting gifts while being a public servant and is now facing a possible jail sentence.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if we had laws like these we might attract a better quality of politician and less of the self serving grifters. Cannae see Starmer or Swinney going for it.
Lots of differing views on here regarding the SNP.
ReplyDeleteHowever it’s stating the obvious that people are going to have to get behind the party and vote for them in the Holyrood election, otherwise it’s disaster for the independence movement.
What do you call the present state of the independence movement, then?
DeleteThen it's up to the SNP to convince people to vote for them. No Party can take peoples vote for granted and political/emotional blackmail isn't a path to victory.
DeleteIt's almost as if the plummeting turnout among Yessers was trying to say something…
DeleteNah. Surely not, John.
The SNP is not going to change any time soon if people like Capella and Legerwood keep on believing any old guff spouted by their leadership.
ReplyDeleteThis is their recent comments on the motorhome held by the polis.
Capella on WGD says:- " It was bought to help with campaigning in a referendum or election and we just had an election. "
Legerwood on WGD says:- " Unlike the SNP's camper van which was bought with party funds. "
Incredible they still believe this after all that has happened. If party funds bought the vehicle then where is the missing £600k? A ring fenced fund is not Party funds. It is held for a specific purpose.
The SNP normally lease/rent vehicles for a short period of time over the period of the election. They do not buy and park the Big bus with Sturgeon's picture on it in the driveway of Murrell's mother.
Also who in their right mind seriously believes a campervan is an effective campaigning vehicle? It's ludicrous.
Deleteyou prefer helicoptors . Know a sponsor?
DeleteJust the thought of the big Stronger For Sturgeon bus parked at the Murrell Seniors place is enough to make me chuckle! Oh aye, "party funds" and all the rest of it. Didn't donors read the small print? A ring fenced fund for whatever Nicola felt like.
DeleteThe Duggers' blindness to reality is something to behold. Any criticism whatsoever of the dear leader must be the devil's tongue! Right enough, BBC Shortbread and the Brits do exist, but do remember to think for yourselves, over in the kennel. There's dodgy characters aplenty in politics to go round.
It's actually a luxury motor home not a camper van. Clearly, Capella and Legerwood and others want to create a different image by saying it is a more down market camper van. One minute the SNP are talking about their President Mike Russell going around campaigning in an old horse box and next minute it turns out they had a brand new unused luxury motor home sitting on a driveway in Dunfermline for years that nobody in the SNP knew about, except Murrell and possibly his tame Treasurer Beattie who initially said he didn't know about it and then said he did. Not sure how you forget you paid for a luxury motor home. But hey Capella/Legerwood think that there is nothing strange about that.
DeleteThe SNP grifters don’t want indy they want a cushy tax payer funded career. How folk can’t see that is beyond belief. Indy is definitely over with the SNP in charge.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest obstical to indy is the morons that keep voting SNP!
Crikey! We Scotch Nats must be up Loch Ness without a paddle!
Delete/s
You do remember your beloved Boris winning a thumping victory in 2019, don't you? Hasn't that turned around! Funny how things keep on moving in politics. That includes your soon to be former country.
As usual on here, posters skirting around the only real issue in 2026.
ReplyDeleteYessers either vote for an SNP Led Scotgovt to keep the Indy journey alive - whether they agree with that Party on everything or not - or they split that vote among peripheral Parties who can achieve nothing whatsoever, or they stay at home and sit on their hands.
Scenarios two and three will destroy any hopes of Indy for the foreseeable future - but that doesn't seem to bother some on here who will put their own hatred of SNP before anything else.
For that mob, I have nothing but utter contempt.
As I said earlier, Unionists will simply NOT go through all this hand-wringing nonsense and will ONLY tactically vote on the constitution issue.
If Yessers cannot or will not match that unionist determination to win the BIG picture, we will lose and lose heavily.
That might please some of the peabrained idiots who see 'defeating SNP' as their number one priority, but will deny the vast majority of our Pro-Indy younger generations the chance of that Indy future they support.
I have no time for the nihilistic nonsense spouted by Wings and his wee cranially challenged cult - although some seem to have slimed their way on here.
They have absolutely NO relevance to Scotland's future.
None whatsoever.
Bottom line - however you dress it up - is you either do what unionists do and ONLY focus on the bigger picture, or you descend into squabbles and miss that picture altogether.
The rest is just flim flam,.
Well said.
DeleteYou are clearly concerned about unionists voting tactically in the Holyrood election. I share these concerns, and indeed I fear they’ll vote tactically on a scale never seen before, in order to inflict maximum damage on the SNP.
Supporters of independence need to wake up and get behind the SNP before it’s too late,
.
Only by voting SNP can inaction on independence be secured.
DeleteA vote for anyone else—or staying at home—is useless for the cause.
No the bottom line is that if the SNP want votes then they'll need to work for them.
DeleteInstead of complaining on here issuing demands and using emotional blackmail to "keep the dream alive" why don't you get the SNP to employee a strategy that'll actually make people want to vote for them?
The thing you loyalists overlook is the massive support for independence ever since 2014. That's not SNP support. That's indy support.
DeleteIt's not going away, no matter how many Cole-Hamiltons and Sarwars are braying away about His Majesty in Holyrood. They've got their work cut out for them saving this cursed Union. In fact, they might get Yessers moving like the SNP hasn't since indyref.
Anon at 11.40. We will get behind the SNP as soon as they get behind independence.
Delete@11:40. On a scale unseen before? That's exactly what they did in July. That's what unionist tactical voting looks like. It was effective because the SNP took indy off the table and nobbled their own vote.
ReplyDeleteHolyrood is PR. The SNP won't be wiped out. In fact, it's essentially impossible for them to come in worse than second place. They'll dominate the top-ups on the list, and strain the unionists who usually rely on them. I wouldn't be surprised if the Greens struggle to hold theirs.
Agree. the dont vote SNP brigade are more likely labour and the other unionists. Its what we have and we should use our vote.
ReplyDeleteStill smarting from July, eh? How does it feel? And what are you doing to prevent a repeat in 2026?
DeleteThe issue is there's a cult like mentality when it comes to the SNP.
DeleteTrump once said he could shoot someone in the middle of a crowded street and people would still support/vote for him. The SNP loyalists sound the same way to me by implying the Party can do literally anything and they'll still vote for them regardless "for indy".
But what they don't seem to understand is that the vast majority of the electorate don't think that way and need to be provided with something tangible to vote for.
12.22 The vast majority? That is simply a lie. Stick to facts. There are plenty to pick from at this point in time, showing SNP in a bad light. The broader Indy movement still sits in or around 50 %.
Delete"12.22 The vast majority? That is simply a lie. Stick to facts"
DeleteUm I think it's safe to assume the vast majority of the electorate aren't 100% committed to any one political party and will always vote for them for forever and a day.
If they believe the Party they voted for is underperforming or not implementing their manifesto they change who they vote for next time, that's usually how it works.
It’s not 2015 any more. That’s for sure.
DeleteI grew up in a VERY Staunch unionist area and actually voted that way in my first couple of Elections.
ReplyDeleteAll my family then voted unionist, mostly Labour.
My friends were unionist, I drank in unionist clubs.
I know the unionist mindset.
The vast majority are not remotely interested in policies or the minutiae of Govt.....let alone the internal spats in their own Parties.
They primarily vote to preserve their Union.
That is it.
They are 100% determined and dogmatic in that mindset.
If Yessers fail to match that determined and dogmatic mindset, we will get gubbed in 2026.
When I was in the predominantly Right Wing unionist camp, I always remember the older stalwarts telling me that the reason they were not worried about the Indy Movement was that 'those Lefties will nit pick and divide themselves to death'.
Unionism got a hell of a fright in 2014 when that didn't happen but will now be smugly sitting back watching us Lefties tear ourselves to shreds in 2024.
Waken up, for Christ sake - and do NOT do unionists jobs for them in 2026.
I think people are thinking more about NHS Waiting Times, The Cost of Living, Child Poverty, Affordable Housing, Education, Drug Deaths etc.
DeleteThings feel like shit and it's been that way for several years, and when they look to Holyrood all they've seen is scandal and incompetence. The SNP have failed to convey how all of those issues tie into the independence argument and have instead simply shown that they've incapable of running a Government.
There's still time to change the narrative but that's the reality at present, crying for Yessers to vote SNP doesn't appear to be the most productive thing to do as it's the SNP themselves who need to act and quickly.
Definitely all just the voters fault.
DeleteAnon at 1240.
ReplyDeleteOk - show me a better run Govt than Scotgovt, on these islands.
Show me a better Party to run Scotland
A better run government on these islands is Ireland for a start. The channel Islands not doing too bad either and apart from a scandal about a Chinese betting scam the Isle of Man is doing okay too. The problem is that comparing incompetences amongst governments is not a good way to assess your own - is saying "you're even more crap than us," what you're settling for?
ReplyDeleteGet real.
DeleteGive me a better Party we can actually vote for in 2026.
Well it isn't the SNP is it? Ten years and eff all? That's good enough? Loyalty of that sort belongs in football not politics. Politics changes the society we live in, it's not the place for some sort of quasi religious blind faith. They have no plan, they don't know what to do. They obey their imperial masters. They couldn't even keep clapping at WM, when told to stop they stopped. When told Now is not the time our leader said aye aw right. I will vote for them when they hold a defacto ref election nothing else because they lie.
DeleteDoubt the "Vote for us, we're the least shit option" slogan will go down well with the focus groups.
Delete“Look, we know we’re shite, but what else are you going to do?”
DeleteSwinney shrugging above that slogan on the battle bus.
Lol.
ReplyDeleteAs usual with some on here......when you ask for a better Party - chosen from the available candidates with a realistic chance of winning - to put into Scotgovt, they have NO answer.
For all its VERY numerous faults, Scotland under the SNP consistently does BETTER on most metrics than the Tories in England and Labour in Wales.
All you ever seem to get from those SNP Hating Clowns is 'We simply won't vote, or we will spoil our Ballot'
In other words.......doing the unionist parties' job for them - and then that same bunch of gormless idiots will bleat about Indy being 'further away than ever'.
That elderly unionist was absolutely spot on all those decades ago in what he said - unionists don't actually NEED to do much to win, they only need to sit back and watch Yessers tear themselves to bits and watch us NOT doing what unionists ALWAYS DO, which is to KEEP the Big Prize front and centre at all times and NEVER get distracted from your main goal.
WHY some Yessers cannot get their heads round that simple and CRUCIAL fact, is beyond me.
Abstention is also an option. Me and many, many more Yessers did it in July and we’ll keep doing it till you lot get real on independence.
DeleteNice positive case for voting SNP there 👍
DeleteGlad to hear that the SNP don't actually need to do anything to encourage people to vote for them and when they lose it'll all be the electorates fault!
“There is no alternative.” Thatcher, Blair, Cameron, Starmer. Gies peace, folk outside the party don’t zip up at the back.
DeleteWhy can't some see how backwards that reasoning is?
DeleteIt’s not the voters duty to unconditionally support any party; it’s the party’s responsibility to make a convincing case for why they deserve the vote.
If you're pissed off at the SNP not doing well in the polls be pissed off at the SNP, not the electorate.
Vote for us or indy f****n’ gets it!
DeleteAnon at 2.44pm - the better party is the SNP with a new leadership that actually wants independence and puts that above everything else. That means all of Sturgeon's gang gone. The membership had an opportunity last year but they voted for Yousaf the brief.
DeleteTurn your ire on them.
Do you really think calling people clowns will force them to vote SNP. I do hope for the SNP's sake you are not an official spokesperson because you ain't very good at selling the SNP.
What a waste of time, money and energy that self ID policy was. I forecast on SGP that the Tories would strike it down long before it happened and all it would do was lose the SNP votes and members and create division in the yes movement. Why do that? They did it because they do not want independence but you want independence supporters to vote for them. They are Britnats hiding in independence clothing. Get them out and give us a reborn SNP.
You keep saying you "don't understand " or it is "beyond you " - surprising since there have been many many posts telling you why.
Put the SNP back in the box.
DeleteSo, Professor Kezia Dugale wrote a report saying it should be the Secretary of State for (exploiting) Scotland who gets the power to call indyref2. Bless. She must have been up all night typing all of that.
ReplyDeletePlease Sir, can we have our freedom? Please! We beg of you. Well, Alyn Smith does, but it’s maybe just a sex thing.
Hard to imagine Murray calling an indyref because yes will win. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
DeleteThought-Guru Professor Doctor Kezia Dugdale gets paid for thinking in a tank.
DeleteThat's an improvement on Baroness Colonel Ruth Davidson who didn't get paid for guffawing on a tank.
Clowns to the left, Clowns to the right.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder unionism is sitting back rubbing its wee hands.
It probably cannot believe just how easily some Yessers can be persuaded to walk away from ONLY Mainstream Party in Scotland set up specifically to get what they ultimately should want.
I REPEAT, for the hard of thinking - Unionists do NOT do that on their side of the fence and THEY are the real political/constitutional enemy to be beaten and defeated - NOT the bloody SNP..........even though that Bath Tosser and his cult have, for years now, tried to invert that simple fact and have even suggested unionist parties might be 'a better option'.
It was truly sickening to watch that dross cosying-up to Murdo Fraser, Jackie Baillie & Co and then state they would NEVER vote for Indy 'as long as SNP were in charge'.
Christ sake it's up to the SNP to convince people to support them, not for the electorate to give them unconditional support.
DeleteStop blaming everyone else for their failures. If you want people to support the SNP get the SNP to make themselves worth supporting.
Grow up.
DeleteYou HONESTLY believe that is how UNIONISTS view thing on their side of the fence?
You think UNIONIST say ' 'Oh well, we are NOT gonna vote for our Unionist Parties in Scotland in 2026, because we think some of their policies are crap and we don't care if that lets the Nats win"?
Are you so utterly dim, that you cannot see how and why unionists vote the way they do?
And, given that UNIONISTS are our real enemy in relation to self determination, WHY ON EARTH would you make it easier for them?
what evidence is there, post 2014, that the SNP was trying for independence?
Deletesure it used the word, a lot, roundabout election time, but then the old Labour Party was always banging about "soshalizm" and disbanding the House of Lords (then getting stoat coats themselves)
Sturgeon will end up a Dame of the Empire one day. Count on it. For loyal service.
Jesus, the SNP have won election after election for the last decade right up until the one this year... without going down any ridiculous conspiracy theory routes explain what changed and why there's now such a large gap in the polls between support for independence and support for the SNP?
DeleteYessers have backed them in multiple elections, given them more mandates than you can shake a stick at but we're no closer to indy now than we were a decade ago (and arguable are actually in a worse position): Why?
The literal definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The SNP have squandered the last decade and from the looks of things you'd be perfectly happy for them to sqaunder the next one.
Anon 3,23 'the party set up to do it' didn't do it. That's the problem. If you look very carefully over the last ten years you'll see they never ever tried. Not once. The talking scone told us he would be ot allow Scotland to be taken out of Europe and as far as I can see we are out.sturgeon told us she was going to lead us to independence and she didn't (didn't even try) Himza said independence was just around the corner - it's a helluva big corner. Have a look you'll see they don't know what to do or how to do it - or maybe they just don't want it enough
Deleteseems the pretend yessers - who ever they are, seem to think their purer than snow. Found nirvana in 2014 and believe the SNP and its members are going to jump ship to who? Of course many them are really unionists in ALBA clothing.
DeleteSeems we have someone who thinks the SNP can do no wrong and are perfectly fine with independence being put on the back burner whilst they pursue self interest, unpopular policies and even have members suggesting coalitions with Labour...
DeleteBut as long as they say they'll get round to indy one day, whether it's tomorrow or 10 more years down the line that's perfectly fine! Their word is their bond!
Anon@5:36,
Delete“10 more years down the line”. That’s wildly optimistic for independence!
Did you not mean 100 years?
Anon at 5.29pm - 1984 stuff.
DeleteThe people who want action on independence are unionists and the people who don't want action on independence are Independence supporters says anon at 5.29pm.
40 years on the 1984 crowd are still about trying to tell you 2+2 = 5 and black is white and peace is war.
Anon at 5.36pm says sarcastically the SNP's word is their bond. You mean like 19Oct 2023. You mean like the de facto referendum.
DeleteEver asked yourselves WHY there is NO UNIONIST Site which consistently and relentlessly attacks the main Parties of Unionism in Scotland and which even encourages their fellow Unionists NOT to vote for those Unionist Parties - in the same way as Campbell and his fellow slugs do on the Yes Side?
ReplyDeleteFor any Yesser with even a modicum of common sense, the answer is staring you in the face!
It's called the BBC
DeleteMate, instead of posting more rage filled rants how about responding to some of the several responses to your previous ones?
DeleteSorry misread your comment - on break
DeleteTrying to
DeleteAnd there's no rage. Just dispair
DeleteApologies I meant the Anon @ 4:16PM
DeleteThanks appreciated
DeleteThere are loads of them. Left foot forward, daily mail, telegraph, BBC, etc. There are hundreds, probably even thousands.
DeleteAnon at 5.11pm - correct. Anon at 4.16pm is letting his hate fog his brain.
DeleteDiddums. You seem awfully worked up over something you claim people are fed up of. If you just ignore it all you might be less overwrought and upset.
ReplyDeleteJust some caring advice.
Brit Bats like you? Please do.
ReplyDeleteIt was another excellent performance by John Swinney at FMQs today.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt he’s steadying the ship.
I thought the SNP was the vehicle for independence. Now you say it is a ship. Has the vehicle self ID as a ship?
DeleteIt's not one year or one election mandate that the SNP have not delivered on. It's 10 years of success and multiple mandates. They have now had a failure in an election. Has that changed their attitude to independence - no.
ReplyDeleteIn summary, they win many elections/mandates. They lose an election. But both scenarios they do nothing about independence. The logical conclusion is they don't want independence and will never deliver independence under the current leadership. Continuity won't cut it.
I will continue to vote for SNP to keep a Pro-Indy Scotparl and to keep some of THE best, most beneficial, most equitable, best targetted and fairest policies on these islands, for most of our citizens - best overall NHS, best treatment of the elderly, baby-boxes, Child Payment, mitigation of the cruelest WM Policies on the poorest in society, free Uni, free prescripts, free over 60 bus travel, free 16-22 bus travel, free hosp parking.......the list goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteAnd I will continue to vote for them because - whether a few insignificant unelectable fringe groups like it or not - SNP is the ONLY Political Party with the power and clout to get us to Independence itself.
And I simply do not care if some of that journey and some policies along the way are not particularly to my liking.
I want Independence WHATEVER way we get it - and have no time whatsoever for those who squeak about only wanting it 'on their terms'.
They are as bad as unionists, with that puerile, self-defeating garbage.
Yes, I want the SNP to get a good kick up the erse now and again and no, I don't think they are doing things as well as they could in a few areas - but, given the CERTAIN alternative Unionist Outcome in 2 years if I DON'T vote for them, I will vote for them.
Alba is a Dead Parrot, Salmond is is about as popular with voters as Salmonella, there is NO possibility of a new Indy Party 'coming to the rescue'.
Get used to it.
SNP, Alba, Scottish Greens, ISP all say they want independence. How do we know who is telling the truth.
DeleteAlba and ISP we don't know if they are telling the truth.
SNP on the other hand had the power and funds to do something over many years to actually progress independence and did nothing. Clear evidence that they are lying.
Scottish Greens were in power with the SNP with a clear majority in Holyrood and like the SNP did nothing. Clear evidence they are lying - not as strong evidence as against the SNP but enough in my opinion.
Ironic you mention Salmond towards the end when several of the "best, most beneficial, most equitable, best targetted and fairest policies on these islands" you listed were implemented whilst he was First Minister...
Delete"I want Independence WHATEVER way we get it"
Please detail the SNP's plan to get it. I seriously want to know.
"those who squeak about only wanting it 'on their terms'"
You mean the outrageously bold idea of moving towards independence by actually implementing a plan to achieve it?
I don't know about you but the plan of just waiting around hoping for the best hasn't worked thus far. 10 years wasted... just let that sink in... a whole decade gone with nothing accomplished. Nicola never had a secret plan & Swinney definitely doesn't.
I know you'd be perfectly happy being in the same position 10 years from now but I frankly don't want to waste another decade with nothing being achieved.
Lorna Slater outright admitting that independence wouldn't be a red line for the Greens backing a potential Labour Government at Holyrood says it all in regards to their commitment to the cause.
Deleteif alba is a dead parrot then the SNP is a corpse blocking a fire exit
DeleteSpeaking of dead animals, how about Schrödinger's cat:
DeleteWhen is a pro-indy Holyrood not pro-indy at all? When it doesnae act.
Walt
DeleteSheikh Sheikh Sheikh Yerbouti, KC.
ReplyDeleteAlways the same pish from you. Haven't you topics you actually care about, elsewhere?
You Britnats are the joke - harping on aboot our United Kingdom and GREAT Britain which most of the world despises.
ReplyDeleteLand of Dope and Tory!
Anon 9.26 = britnat . Fool Britannia!
ReplyDeleteWe feel the love from the Brit nat unionists- must be looking out their tweeds and to put some jorries in their mooth so they can be understood
ReplyDeleteA couple of Britnats have proposed in a Britnat newspaper that a Britnat Secretary of State for Scotland should decide when it is obvious that yes would win a referendum and would then grant a referendum. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 The answer would be never. Parasitic Westminster are hanging on to their colony for as long as they can.
ReplyDeleteIn a democracy rather than a colony Scots would vote for a referendum or not and the result would be ratified and implemented. Scots did vote for a referendum and the referendum didnae happen. More evidence Scotland is a colony of England. Union no more if it ever was a union.
IFS spouting his usual colony guff.
DeleteThe Britnat troll Desperate Dan formerly known as KC SPOUTING HIS USUAL ARGUMENT FREE COMMENT. Go on Dan explain why it is guff. Give us a laugh.
DeleteIFS, good to see you maintaining your sense of humour in these awful times for the independence movement 😁
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWell IFS, if there was a case for independence would more folk not be supporting it?
DeleteHave you never stopped and asked yourself, after all these years, why you remain in a minority?
The penny has to drop sometime surely!
Anon@9:58 = Scotnat .gullible fool!
ReplyDeleteSNP GAIN from Labour tonight, in Perth City North.
ReplyDeleteNice kick in the teeth for Sarwar, just after Swinney was voted Best Party Leader ahead of both Sarwar and Starmer!