*. *. *
With less than three months of the year to go, the 2025 Scot Goes Pop fundraiser is still short of its target figure. If you'd like to help keep the lights on during the several months it will take me to find out whether an alternative funding model is viable (realistically it could be a wait of around four months or more), card donations are welcome HERE. Or, if you prefer, direct donations can be made via PayPal. My PayPal email address is: jkellysta@yahoo.co.uk
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I wouldn't waste your time panicking James. The anti-Swinney bods are likely to have arranged some prank to drown Swinney out the minute he says anything - or there will be some performance of some kind. Already Alba affiliated bods are talking about SNP people crossing to Alba 'on the eve' of conference with others talking about Alba and others coming under another independence party 'umbrella', implying that the McEleny issue is nothing but a red herring. Who knows.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll get what you and the movement want anyway. John Swinney may just want an excuse to bow out anyway. Who the heck knows.
I have no idea what "Alba affiliated bods" are saying, but they are precisely the people who would *want* you to believe the McEleny issue is a "red herring" (which it is not), and you seem to have fallen for their propaganda hook, line and sinker.
DeleteAre you wearing a tin foil hat by any chance? Do you understand what is at stake here.? Alba are a busted flush. The danger comes from the devolutionists within the SNP. We could be set back at least a decade if the amendment is not accepted.
DeleteI fear the worst. He seems to have become a fully paid up “party before Indy” member. And the clique remains in control. I said months ago we may need a new party to draw on the support of those who see Indy as their priority, and a rebuild around that new party. We are talking at least a decade for that to gain traction. Too late for many of us. If the amendment is rejected I will be looking to cause these devolutionists the same level of damage to their cause that they have mine. There are many who feel the same.
ReplyDeleteWithout doubt, your best video blog yet.
ReplyDeleteAre you speaking at conference because somebody needs to stand up and say exactly what you have just explained.
Since JS announced his plan, and particularly since he's very obviously gone all in and taken every opportunity to dismiss alternatives, I cannot see what his motivation is. It's like a type of madness has taken hold.
That's got me wondering, and it's got me worried. Are the SNP hierarchy so completely detached, not only from the electorate but from reality that they genuinely believe the Swinney plan will work and that the awful consequences of it failing are an insignificant risk? On the face of it, the plan is the complete opposite of typical Swinney behavior. Mr Ultra conservative, incremental steps, slow progression, suddenly out of nowhere betting the house on black against overwhelming common sense. Dare I say it, but it is more like the behavior of a group who have been vociferously denying biological reality for a decade.
It's happening quietly, away from the mainstream but this is it. This is our independence and our kid's futures being decided this weekend.
I can see no basis for optimism. I fear we are well and truly fecked. Devolution is ironically the waiting room for Farage and the subsequent dismantling of devolution. 43 wasted years for me and not enough time for the new party birth we will need to take forward the Indy cause.
DeleteSound analysis - let's all try to get it done and regain a bit of momentum.
ReplyDeleteA reasonably presented case for averting disaster. There are however two leaps of logic beyond existing evidence.
ReplyDelete* To paraphrase “the leadership don’t know the damage they are doing by pursuing this course of action”. Really? Are they so stupid? What if they really no longer care about achieving independence? What if Jackson’s Entry has become an industry in itself? A career, and a lifelong comfortable sinecure. The prospect of garnering > £1 million pa in Short money (a probable outcome of the next UK GE) without responsibility to deliver change is attractive to unprincipled careerists.
*Again, to paraphrase “the cause of independence will be lost for decades”. More correctly the cause of independence under the SNP will be lost forever. That vehicle would be proven unfit for purpose for all time. The (legitimate) argument that building a new party from scratch would take a very long time becomes irrelevant. The SNP will have shown itself to be a Caledonian version of the Irish Parliamentary Party. If we are forced to plan ahead in terms of decades, then a new party is the only way forward.
Ach there's always Liberate Scotland !
DeleteOr ISP.
Delete4:16 and 7:50, joking aside, why would any serious indy supporter vote for these Micky Mouse parties?
DeleteAnon at 8.27. Why would anyone vote for the Micky mouse parties? They don’t. Except the resident idiot, who seems to be resting, although there is one particularly stupid “anon” on, sounding very like him. Cue hilarious “aye you” remark.
DeleteThis kind of reminds me of Ralph McTell:
ReplyDelete"Now if the Swinney cannot dance
In your heart you may discover
That the guy needs urging on
Or soon it'll be all over"
Is Swinney going to lead us to Indy, or is he a damp squib?
A damp squib has more going for it than Swinney.
Deletehttps://www.thenational.scot/news/25525623.john-swinney-unveil-new-scottish-independence-plans/
ReplyDeleteSee the thing is that this could be a well orchestrated plan, with perfect timing to bring it to fruition over the conference weekend, a whole wonderful umbrella of Independence fireworks cascading all over the free sky in a multitudinous cacophony of gorgeous and convincing colours. OR it could all be the damp squib of earnest but dull and hopeless desperation.
The SNP have up till the postal ballots are sent next out year to pull a rabbit out of the hat so as to mix up some more metaphors, but this weekend of the SNP conference should tell us - is it going to be a trade wind into the burgeoning sails of Independence, blowing us strongly and firmly onto the fair and wonderful shores of Free Nationhood? Or is it going to be a smelly stinky inward facing tornado of SNP and Indy movement apathy and ultimate mutual destruction?
Words fail me! Let's hope they don't fail the SNP ...
I see Badenoch speech is let’s get the oil and gas out of the North Sea—- just like Norway does. The fact is greedy England needs more than Scotland does - we could extract less and still make profit but the britnats want it all.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Same applies to renewables , we hae plenty tae power Scotland. We do not need to destroy the Highlands by industrialisation.
DeleteIT'S SCOTLAND ENERGY!
It's Eon Next's energy. 'Scotland' doesn't own any of it, and the SNP plan for a Scottish energy company rapidly got scrapped and has never been heard since.
DeleteAnon at 9.47. Its energy generated from Scotland’s resources, misappropriated by the English parliament and sold off to vested interests.
DeleteI have supported the SNP for 50 years and been a member for most of that time. I am also the convenor of one of the branches which supported amendment one. If both amendments fail I will leave the SNP as they will prove that they no longer believe that the people are sovereign. I don't think I ever thought it might come to this. I know of several who have already resigned membership in despair, but personally decided to wait until after conference.
ReplyDeleteps, hope you get elected
I am in precisely the same position as you and I feel the very same.
Delete2 major strategic mispositionings have already occurred:
1) the reference to once in a generation by Salmond and others. I said at the time it was a major error which would be exploited by unionists as it has been.
2) the approach to the Supreme Court to rule on whether Holyrood had the power to hold an independence Referendum. Uncertainty would have been beneficial relative to the current position
And 3) this mad plan of Swinney’s which may boost then SNP vote but will damage the cause of independence as James has outlined.
Your point two is wrong. At the time it was essential to preclude a last minute application by Westminster and retain control of timeline. Points 1 and 3 I agree with you.
DeleteMy view on point 2 is that a late blocking motion by the Westminster Government would have boosted support from independence in the medium or long term. The Supreme Court decision has emboldened any Westminster Government to move from ‘now is not the time” to “never”.
DeleteIt is a matter of law. S G had to exhaust domestic remedies before the (at that time) envisaged appeal to International bodies. Public perceptions/opinions not directly relevant to the S C part of the process.
DeleteThe LA Reference to the UKSC was given a 50-50 chance of success by some constitutional experts. And some (maybe many) disagree with the ruling - this is experts that are external to Scotland. It's also fed the claim that Scotland is denied our self-determination by the colonial power (Britain / Westminster / England).
DeleteSo far there's been no ScotGov or ScotParl follow through; on the other hand there are citizen ones (e.g. Salvo) and perhaps that's a more appropriate way, plus political party ones (SNP), to exploit the gaping wound the ruling made in Westminster's claim that the Union is voluntary. It clearly ain't, even if it was for a brief while during the Indy Ref.
More in Common, Westminster voting intention, field work 3 - 6 Oct.
ReplyDeleteUK headline; RefUK 13% lead, +3% on last week.
Scottish sub-sample (un-weighted 109)
Con 14%, Lab 18%, LibDem 10%, RefUK 24%, Green 5%, SNP 28%.
John Swinney has been on another push to win over the members today with his latest pamphlet on independence (which will never see the light of day again after conference). The BiS alliance announcement earlier this week was targeting the same group and I expect the members will have another sweetener before the weekend to help them vote the Swinney plan through.
ReplyDeleteAnother prong perhaps?
Constituency vote SNP. List vote Green. Significant Indy majority. Swinney’s plan? SNP biggest single party, but unionist majority. Why does he want that to happen? Devolutionist. So disappointing.
DeleteGod bless you for that, my darling.
DeleteLook lets cut to the chase here. John has gathered some sharp folk around him. Take Mari Mcallum. Her family are weathy land owners, have manipulated the Uk gov for grants, I've had a look at their farming, wind generation interest and how they have forged relationships into the civic stucture.
DeleteNow in and Indy Scot these are the sharpe shooters we need, the elite folk that can take on the UK empire, they are going to look after ther rest of us if wev give them the chance.
Ot -I see James Cook (yes that one) is pushing that the saltire is now used by the far right and then tries to bring in the snp to the issue by talking about 2014mall over again. As far as I can see there has been 1 or 2 numpties using our nations flag alongside the butchers apron and white supremacy. As long as we recognise rhat the far right is against Scotlnd , its Parliament and its people and have nothing to offer us. Cook is mixing it which working for the state broadcaster henmay feels his job is dependent on it. On the bbc at night the radio plays God save the King…. Let’s crush the Scots. Still good luck tonight to our football team and let’s wave the saltire high and proud.
ReplyDeleteHypothetically speaking, if the leader of the ruling clique of the SNP were personally feart of independence, wouldn't he talk it up while doing his best to scupper it by imposing an impractical threshold? What better way to keep the Yes vote with the party, while ensuring Devolution reigns supreme for him, his clique and government?
ReplyDeleteFailing to win that overall majority in 2026 *is the goal* for him. He did his best, but now wisnae the time, so let's carry on with the day job.
That's why our hypothetical indy leader is so adamantly opposed to the amendments to his plan, and why he'll throw the party rulebook at them. Forcing independence is the last responsibility he wants obliged to do.
Swinney's planned coalition with Alex Cole-Hamilton's staunch Lib Dems will give him the gold standard chance to bury independence for a generation at wee Eck's stampy footed insistence. Music to Scotland's small "c" conservative in chief. He will have finally made his mark in the history books. He will have sent us down the Swanny while his party faithful wave in bittersweet applause.
DeleteFrankly, does anyone see John Swinney as being anything else than a cheerleader for the Westminster Establishment. Like Sturgeon he is an absolute blocker to independence.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for his support of the IDF action in Gaza and the UK's military and political support for Israeli actions, I do wonder how Johncan go the church on a Sunday.
But maybe like Keir Starmer who aided the ISF with RAF spy planes, military intelligence and munitions, John Swinney can now express a profound pleasure that a ceasefire has been agreed.
Good stuff Sir Keir, your Jewish wife will be delighted. You did well helping flatten Gaza and for that we should maybe all share your profound delight at a ceasefire now being agreed.
I loathe Gauleiter Starmer as much as you do. But the "Jew" thing is not a good look, mein freund. Mass murdering civilians is already the crime against humanity to attack him on. Not his racial choice of literal bedfellows, danke.
DeleteAnd as for his support of the IDF action in Gaza and the UK's military and political support for Israeli actions
DeleteHave I missed something or is this just a hallucination from the mind of a racist troll
Swinney isnae daft. He knows the Vichy SNP's role is to administer the Scotland colony for imperial England.
ReplyDeleteHow's things in Bath?
DeleteI just think he's feart.
ReplyDeleteIs it all just part of the deal to keep himself and the Murrells out of stir?
ReplyDeleteWhy would N S be worried about going to prison? Keep up you cretin. I suspect you are IFS, but if not you are one of his pathetic wee band of followers. Away to WOS. More your style, and standard.
DeleteOch the bath man will be cheering on Engerland against Cymru. Did you not know he’s a patriot.
ReplyDeleteAll you Salmond was God anti Sturgeon misogynists make me laugh, you're as bad as the English for rewriting history
ReplyDeleteWhere was Alex Salmond in the run up to the 2007 elections? Westminster
Who was the standout performer who won the whole thing? Nicola Sturgeon
Who did Sean Connery meet many times and favour as his number 1 SNP stalwart to win elections and tear the English up? Nicola Sturgeon
Salmond sat on his fat ego Arse drinking champagne and did nothing most of the time but leave the graft to her
As one of his aides is reported in the 2 journos book, he made Nicola Sturgeon minister for the referendum 'in case anything went awry' - therefore setting her up as usual to be the scapegoat left in Scotland to take the flack whilst he planned his way back to his beloved Westminster and long lunches with the likes of Andrew Neil and the UK media chums whilst she was left, as ever, to face things out to the Scottish public. Always set up to clean up the debris Alex left behind him and conveniently always managed to walk away from.
DeleteDrJim and his late night rant.
DeleteHe is like the old drunk in the corner of the bar ranting away to nobody in particular that you feel sorry for but at the same time wonder how smelly he is.
What are you, an IFS faithful or IFS himself? give it a rest, and btw he's right Salmond was never around
Delete11.29pm hard to believe you are an independence supporter. What sort of supporter believes quotes from a book written by two of the worst Britnats in Scotland. What sort of independence supporter spends money buying such a book and putting money in these Britnats pockets. Anon at 11.29pm you are a Britnat.
DeleteBurn the books! Burn the books! I don't agree with them!
DeleteAnon 11.29 you might not have noticed but Salmond and Sturgeon were both on the same side. It was decades later that they fell out. I expect you don't think much of Flynn as he's sitting on his fat arse in Westminster - or is it only Salmond hating your into? If you want independence then you're going to have to get over your obsession with personalities and deal with the political reality of where we find ourselves now.
Delete2.39pm burning books is very bad for the climate.
DeleteIf you have a vote please use it for Amendment 1 or, failing that, Amendment 2. This weekend that's what matters.
ReplyDeleteVote for both Amendment 1 and Amendment 2. If the chair tries to stitch up the process under spurious excuses, object.
DeleteIndydelegate, you guys need to be on your toes.
DeleteExpect the party machine to confuse and distract and get the vote done when conference least expects it.
Best of luck.
Trump wonders why he didn’t get the Nobel Peace prize. Could it be because he was nominated by a wanted war criminal from Israel. That PM Netanyahu.
ReplyDeleteSatire died when they have the Nobel Peace Prize to Kissinger.
ReplyDeleteit would be "well up there" to give it to Trump.