FWIW, I responded to that survey on Thursday 27th. It included "party satisfaction" questions and independence question with the expected 2014 voting recall follow-on.
After submitting my responses, it crossed my mind to wonder if it would've been better to give a "No" response to the 2014 question that really has no business being there.
That'll be a different poll - they wouldn't ask about independence in a GB-wide poll. Is that the first time you've answered a YouGov independence poll? They always insist that for weighting they use what the respondents told them in 2014 itself about indyref vote.
I'm new to this, I only signed-up with (joined?) YouGov five or six surveys ago. Thursday's asked about voting intention for UK and Holyrood elections. There was a question along the lines of "What motivates the Conservatives." Also, there were questions about satisfaction with the mainstream parties, though I can't remember if that included Scottish branch parties.
Green Party leader, Zac Polanski is to stand in Kier Starmer’s vacated seat. Holborn & St Pancras is one of the seats that would turn green when the results of this week’s YouGov poll are plugged into the Electoral Calculus prediction model. That’s partially unsurprising, Holborn & St Pancras is as inner, London borough as they get. The results from the seat in the last election tell another tale. Keir Starmer took 48.9% of the vote. A baw hair away from an absolute majority. That’s if you actually believe that result. Starmer was a known quantity in 2024. All that stuff about him thinking starving women and children to death was okay (just so long as they had brown skin). Highly unlikely to have gone down well in multi-ethnic inner city London. Starmer’s 48.9% is like something from Libya under Colonel Gaddafi or Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Not that the British, Permanent State would appoint a senior serving MI5 Officer as Starmer’s Chief of Staff when he was Leader of the opposition, and then rig the election to make sure he won.
There is plenty of ethnic mix in the likely list of Labour candidates. Whatever Starmer turned out to be won't be much of an issue, I suspect. Polanski will do well but will fall short would be my prediction
James, I’m a wee bit perplexed as to why you describe a poll giving a pro independence vote share of 47%, as “glad tidings”. I know we can assume that some who vote for other parties, particularly Labour, would vote Yes in a referendum, however this is at least partly countered by the fact that some Green voters won’t support independence, and vote for the Green Party on Green issues alone.
The conspiracy of the Permanent State concocting or promoting Identity Politics to damage the economic left is held by many. I don’t particularly buy it. There are many other explanations for the development and growth of socially liberal, identity politics. The death of Gloria Steinem had just been announced. In 2010, Wikileaks disclosed that long time, prominent, American feminist, Steinem was registered by the CIA as a “Change agent”. In the context of the time, feminism could be considered “identity politics”. Steinem has long been open about her having been an asset of the CIA. She actually blew the whistle herself in 1967. The scandal is probably not so much that the CIA sought to influence the left in America, but rather that they were (yet again) operating in contravention of their charter not to run domestic intelligence psyops..
Chanel 4 news broadcast a cracking under cover sting that fully exposed Farage and his team for the ugly law breaking people that they are. Farage wants to Reform the UK to turn it in to a land similar to Trump's America. Sleazy meetings openly discussing breaking the law and boasting they will not be caught over oysters and champagne in expensive restaurants in that dreadful city London. All filmed using hidden cameras. Well done the team that carried out the sting.
For once I actually agree with most of your post Ifs! The only bit I most certainly don’t agree with is “that dreadful city London”. London is one of the finest cities in the world. You will be in a very small minority on that!
Milliband Foreign secretary for colonial England says this about The Malvinas: " Their right of self determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it."
Yet he disnae want to resolutely uphold it for Scotland and Scots. Britnats - a bunch of colonial hypocrites with standards that double whenever and wherever needed.
Like all the Britnats in Westminster they cannae be bothered about international law when it comes to Israel murdering children every day of the week. Can it be all the money the " Friends " of Israel put in to their bank accounts. It's long overdue a similar undercover expose about Israel and its sprinkling of money in the direction of politicians.
London is a 3rd world shithole where you can now pick up 3rd world diseases and the exciting new antibiotic resistant ones. Old favourites like TB are also coming back. Ebola coming soon, along with cholera.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 YOU asked why London is a dreadful city KC. As usual you either don’t like the reply or ignore the reply. Why do you even bother? I know - you are a paid professional pain in the ass.
London is like Gotham in the Marvel series. Full of Britnat crooks and spies. No wonder Sturgeon feels comfortable there.
The vast majority of Scots would agree with me that London is one of the finest cities in the world. You might not like that Ifs, but it’s true! Some of the nonsense you spout is unbelievable!
KC you have no understanding of the difference between your opinion and “ the truth”. When did you commission the polling question of all Scots throughout the world. You didn’t. As said before - you are a paid to be pain in the ass on SGP.
Ifs, you’re all bluster. You still haven’t said why you think London is a “dreadful” city! Just like the last week, when you couldn’t give me any “benefits of indy”.
What a hideous comment from the anonymous plonker at 5:58pm. I’m no fan of kc, far from it, however I’m with him on this. London is one of the finest cities in the world. IfS is also out of order on this. The guy just seems to be always looking for confrontation.
I knew it would drag a comic geek away from his comics. That’s you 11.16pm. Anything else you want to say about your comics? Go on - now is your moment.
Anyone know if the Murrell's luxury motor home is still in a polis compound. It could be a good investment to buy it. Hire it out for £3 k a week and play at being Bonnie and Clyde or the Scottish version Nicola and Pete. Alternatively, go for the high volume option of a fiver for a peek inside of the notorious Murrells most extravagant purchase.
IFS, Nicola was a high-calibre SNP leader. To the extent she knew of it the motorhome was to be leveraged as a legitimate campaign delivery tool under COVID constraints. Murrell failed to maintain full information flows to her. It is only fair to isolate accountability for the purchase and handling to his operational decisions.
If Sturgeon was a “ a high calibre leader” she would not have been interviewed by the Polis for 8 hours and said no comment for eight hours. The Polis sent a report on her to COPFS.
A high calibre leader would have known it was her role to ensure the SNP Chief Exec was not stealing from the SNP.
She is either high calibre and a party to embezzlement or a useless and stupid leader. I await to read your choice anon at 7.05am.
Anon at 9.11. I said as much a few days ago. She told the executive to stop questioning SNP finances. It was self evident that there was a problem. She said the finances were sound. They were not. She is either incompetent or a liar. Which is it? The N S cult went strangely quiet when I asked them this question. They are back on today.I repeat the question. Do they have an answer? I am going for her being both.
Anon at 7.05. Take up comedy sketch writing. To the extent that she was aware of it? Is that it? Have a look at yourself. Bad enough flogging a dead horse. You are trying to shag it. Give us peace.
9.57am yeh they advise the guilty ones to stick with no comment. Innocent ones with nothing to hide ignore any such advice as they are happy to provide the evidence to show they are innocent and help the Polis with their enquiries. Of course, the liar Sturgeon claimed after the police interview that she fully cooperated with the police.
If everyone the polis interview just sit there for 8 hours saying no comment then why do they bother.
Farage - I’m a victim I have done nothing wrong.
Sturgeon - I’m a victim I have done nothing wrong.
Political leaders and their fans trying to ignore the truth. Both have been found out.
Anon at 9.57. You do know Taggart is fictional? Clients are advised to make no comment until the facts are ascertained. Beyond that point no comment can be very damaging to an innocent clients interests.
John Swinney has shown a steady hand in SNP leadership. Polls confirm rising party support under Johns calm, focused strategic direction. He has moved beyond the performative politics of the past and prioritised policy delivery. Strategic investment is leveraged in the NHS space, the education space, cost-of-living interventions and Scotland’s drugs policy challenges. Key demographic groups welcome this outcome-oriented approach. His measured, evidence-led style is rebuilding confidence and reinforcing the party’s credibility on core delivery priorities with will pay off for the SNP in the elections of coming years.
Independence for Scotland - the words missing from this blurb at 6.52am and it neatly reflects the priorities of Sturgeon’s devolution gang. This blurb is all about “ pay off for the SNP in the elections of coming years.” Sums up the SNP since 2014. Thank you for making it clear what the nuSNP priorities are.
Independence remains a core strategic dimension. Swinney’s steady hand prioritises delivery on the issues that rebuild institutional confidence. Rising poll support creates the electoral conditions required for progress. Focusing on the NHS space, the education space and cost-of-living pressures is not a retreat. It is the evidence-based foundation that strengthens the case. Competence and outcomes-oriented governance are essential to translate support into measurable results. This approach does not abandon the dimension. It equips the party to advance along this strategic pathway.
Well said anon@6:52 and 7:51. Good governance is the key, and credit should be given to John Swinney for rebuilding the SNP’s reputation. Of course independence is still to the forefront, but the SNP need to concentrate on the day job too, in order to build support and a solid case for independence, which is exactly what John is doing.
The SNP are losing support not gaining it. The gap between independence support and SNP is widening. Concentrating on health etc is the job of government not a way to prove something. He should be able to multitask and do independence at the same time as these. The problem he has is his government isn't competent.
8.37pm John the Redactor spent way too much of his career covering up wrong doing. He is still doing it. Independence has never been at the forefront since 2014. NuSNP is a devolutionist party.
Put some meat on the bones - what has Swinney done to rebuild the SNP’s reputation?
Brilliant strategy 8.54: demonstrate Scotland is ready to run an independent state by treating the competent running of Scotland as an irritating side-hustle. Health, education and public services? Mere administrative trivia! The real test of leadership is apparently how often Swinney says “independence” before breakfast. And if independence is outperforming the SNP, that rather demolishes your argument: the challenge is converting sympathetic voters into SNP voters, for which competent government might—wild thought—actually help. Still if yelling "independence" to the faithful at a rainy ill attended AUOB rally is your think go ahead.
Who removed it Anon 9.41? Westminster centralism, a relentlessly Unionist media culture and non-SNP armchair-nationalists who prefer impotent purity to governing. But congratulations on the magnificent detective work. Swinney repairs the roof, therefore Swinney caused the storm. With forensic powers like these, you will go far in the non-SNP world.
Anon 1.19. Seriously? The "arrogant" notion that independence might require winning elections rather than 83 people trudging through horizontal rain behind a tattered saltire and an AUOB banner, congratulating each other on being the “real movement” in between empty poorly-spoken speeches from has-been, never-will-be figures?
Anon 12:10 maybe you don't understand why we have elections. FYI we elect people to run the country that's their job. That's what they tell us they're going to do. So that's what I expect. So, no not an irritating side hustle - their job. Now independence on the other hand is what the SNP say they are going to deliver and as I look about me I still think I'm part of the UK no? Swinney can't deliver independence you know it. A steady hand? I don't want a steady hand. I'm not interested in the SNP. I want independence and it needs a lot more than a steady hand. Remember the steadiest hand are to be found on a corpse y'know like the SNP.
The SNP is apparently a “corpse”, yet somehow you can’t stop talking about it. Independence isn’t delivered by shouting louder, declaring everyone a sell-out and pretending Westminster and the constitutional reality don’t exist. It requires votes, organisation, credibility and sustained majority support and the SNP remains by far the strongest vehicle Scotland has for achieving it. I’ll take John's steady hand, experience and serious leadership over keyboard revolutionaries demanding instant independence without explaining how they’d actually deliver it.
I'm not a keyboard revolutionary I'm a member of this stinking party. That's over 30 years I've supported them and since Salmond they've done nothing. A steady hand doesn't move - it's dead and he and Sturgeon - who I used to rate - killed it. You are kidding yourself if you think Swinney is going to lead us to independence - maybe you should ask yourself why. Why do you delude yourself the evidence of 12 years must at least make you think.
Would-be Colonial Viceroy, Lord Malcolm Offord is offering his future subjects the chance of a second independence referendum (in the increasingly unlikely event of Reform UK forming a government). That’s awfully generous of him. The threshold to clear is that the SNP and Greens must obtain two million votes in a Holyrood election. Offord’s (corkscrew) logic is that 2,001,926 folk voted No in 2014 so we should match that benchmark. The turnout in the referendum in 2014 was 84.6%. The turnout at the last Holyrood election was 53.4%. The highest it’s ever been is 63.2%. Offord’s offer is of course a trick. John Swinney will condemn it in public but rub his hand with glee in private. Offord has just handed Swinney the juiciest bag of carrots to get out the vote he could ever have dreamed of. The problem is the target is unattainable.
Offord never worked a day in his life, he's just a spiv; went to London, got a city job, made some deals, it worked out. Do not ascribe any intelligence or insight or humanity to this type.
Farage’s latest stunt is to promise that if Reform UK form a government, all MPs will be compelled to work a seven day week to “fix Britain”. To be clear, the majority of MPs are just lobby fodder. How will forcing them to work weekends make a nano-jot of difference to anything? The government is run by Ministers. There has been a trend across all parties to extend the ministerial payroll for years going on decades. The current state of affairs is; 125 individuals in paid ministerial posts. This exceeds the maximum limit by five. The five excess Ministers are in the HoL. Are these not paid! The reason for this exponential expansion of the ministerial payroll (in comparison to say common practice before the turn of the century) has nothing to do with delivering results for the people. Ministers and their Parliamentary Private Secretaries are compelled to vote with the government. That’s a hell of a lot of bought and paid for votes. Farage’s gimmick is so monumentally stupid even half of his fanclub can probably see through it. Nonetheless, they’ll support it to punish a political class that has abandoned them in order to pursue their own careerist interests. I feel the rage of the poor saps who have been duped by Farage, but his preposterous initiative isn’t constructive. It’s counterproductive. It is a distraction from the mounting evidence that Nigel’s project is just a Trojan horse for foreign based currency speculators and Crypto billionaires. Which would appear to be the whole purpose of this nonsense.
In reality, the SNP have just lost two council seats in Edinburgh by-elections, and came second and third. In the capitol, they are currently in danger of being beaten by the Lib Dems, and the Greens, and Labour, possibly all at the same time.
Nevermind, 2026 is the 20th anniversary of the SNP government's promise to reform council tax! And the SNP isn't corrupt anymore because they did something unspecified about it! And there is much more to come! Schoolbags! Ecocide! Bread max-price legal barney! Datacenters! Health boards! Redundancies!
This is impressively smug for someone who apparently doesn’t understand how Scottish council elections work. A single-seat by-election in a multi-member STV ward is effectively an AV contest, not a proportional STV election. The quota, transfers, tactical incentives and relationship between votes and seats are fundamentally different. So extrapolating two by-election “losses” into the SNP being overtaken across Edinburgh by Labour, Greens and Lib Dems is psephological nonsense. If you’re going to sneer quite this enthusiastically about Scottish politics, learning how Scottish elections actually work would be a good start.
Every time they use Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell as their excuses to try to sew hatred of the SNP you can smell the fetid rotting fear from the corpses of the Brits
Exactly. Every reheated invocation of Nicola and Peter reeks of an anti-SNP attitude that has run out of arguments and soiled itself in panic. They keep flinging the same political excrement, then piss themselves with excitement when it gets a headline. Beneath the stink is one unmistakable smell: fear of the SNP surviving and jealousy of its success.
Can you answer the simple question put earlier in this post. Was N S incompetent or was she a liar when it came to SNP finances. She knew there was a problem yet claimed finances were sound. She told the executive to stop talking about the problem. So which is it, liar or incompetent? Or is it both?
Neither. It’s a cheap, loaded question, sadly all too typical of armchair SNP detractors, that demands a guilty verdict before the evidence is even considered.
Nicola was an outstanding SNP leader and First Minister, and endlessly repeating “liar or incompetent” doesn’t make either accusation true. It’s political mudslinging.
so you don’t think the problem is the nuSNP promising indyref2 before each election since the 2014 referendum and doing NOTHING after the election eg 4 months after Mays 2026 election and nothing. The song remains the same.
So you don’t think the problem is the nuSNP trying to put a double rapist in a female prison.
Oh well you best blame Sturgeon’s gang because they supported Sturgeon and Murrell. They are still there stinking out the SNP and the Scottish government.
Repeating “nuSNP” and shouting “NOTHING” on internet fora isn’t an argument. Independence requires persuading a majority of Scotland not stamping your feet because Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney haven’t delivered it to your preferred timetable. But never mind perhaps another AUOB march in the back of nowhere through pouring rain, followed by furious comments about “Sturgeon’s gang” will finally break the constitutional deadlock. Some of us prefer the rather less glamorous business of actually winning votes and building majority support.
3.34pm - your comment provides evidence that you are a numpty. It wisnae my timetable. It was Sturgeon/Swinney and the rest of Sturgeon’s gang that kept promising a referendum since 2017. In fact there was a date set for Indy. A wee reminder for you as you clearly have memory problems. Save the date - 19/10/23. Get it tattooed on the back of your hand and it will help you next time when posting. It seems you prefer to post inaccurate nonsense that is not even an argument.
The only constitutional deadlock is in your mind created by the nuSNP.
So you’ve remembered a date. Unfortunately you’ve forgotten the rather larger detail that the UK Supreme Court ruled Holyrood couldn’t hold an independence referendum without Westminster’s consent. Nicola didn’t invent that constitutional barrier, and neither did John. You can call everyone “nuSNP”, “Sturgeon’s gang” and “numpties” until you are soaked through at the next AUOB event, with dreary speeches in the public park afterwards, listened to be approximately nobody, but silly slogans don’t change constitutional reality. The SNP remains the only serious political vehicle capable of turning support for independence into political power. The rest is just angry typing from the sidelines.
5.40: For crying out loud. “Absolutely caused it” and “this is a fact” are two assertions desperately searching for an argument. Sturgeon didn’t write the Scotland Act, reserve the constitution to Westminster or appoint the Supreme Court. She took the question all the way to the highest court precisely to establish whether Holyrood had the power to act without Westminster’s permission. The answer exposed the constitutional reality Scotland faces. You can dislike Sturgeon until the cows come home, but blaming her for the limits Westminster placed on devolution is potty historical revisionism with a grudge attached.
You know that's nonsense - she took it to the supreme court to lose. Remember what she did to Martin Keatings. They caught him at every turn and financially ruined him. Meanwhile on Amazon...
6.21pm you are 100% correct. Sturgeon did not want it known whether she had the legal power until it suited her. Years of collecting money on the back of promises to hold indyref2 would be ruined and she wouldn’t have had expensive hairdryers to hand out to her pals.
Anon at 3.17:pm. I am stating facts. She said what she said about the party finances being sound. Are you claiming she didn’t? Say so if you are. Are you claiming she didn’t tell the executive committee to stop discussing the problem? Say so if you are. Otherwise the only mudslinging is by you. She either lied or was so incompetent as not to understand the problem with party finances. Which is it? If you are really at the stage where you are denying recorded facts you need to have a look at yourself. It’s the type of behaviour associated with Trump and Farage.
Nicola Sturgeon did not invent the party’s financial position; she reported what the then-CEO, treasurer and auditors presented to her and the leadership. Leaders routinely rely on those charged with day-to-day control of accounts. No criminal finding has ever established that she knowingly lied or ordered a cover-up. Telling an executive committee to focus on solutions rather than endless internal recrimination is standard leadership, not obstruction. Outcomes that later proved worse than reported do not automatically equal personal dishonesty or incompetence. The Trump/Farage smear is pure projection: demanding proof of intent rather than accepting hindsight as fact is the opposite of denialism.
Anon at 10.49 pm. You are being selective. At least three senior figures resigned over lack of transparency in the finances of the SNP. Any competent leader would have ordered an investigation by independent third party auditors. N S told people to shut up. The rest, as they say, is history. Camper van you say? What camper van? I can’t see one sticking out from the side of that building. Nope. Still can’t see it.
You are recycling old claims as if they are settled facts. Senior resignations reflected internal disagreements not proven criminality by Nicola Sturgeon. She relied on the information provided by the party officers and auditors responsible for the accounts. No independent finding has ever established that she ordered a cover up or knowingly misled anyone. Telling colleagues to focus on solutions rather than endless internal argument is leadership not suppression. The camper van sneer is just cheap mockery. She has never been convicted of any offence linked to the finances. Opinions dressed up as history do not become truth.
Anon at 12.15. What an exercise in straw men. Old claims? What old claims? Do you mean the facts, evidenced by the live video of N S speaking? Or is that fake news? I made no mention of criminality. Why did you feel it necessary to raise that issue? On the matter of internal disagreements, senior office holders resigned, citing a lack of transparency, a lack of standard documentation in the financial records of the party and a refusal to make documentation available to the auditor. That is completely at odds with your suggestion that she simply relied on the information provided by the relevant officials. She was told by relevant officials that the information/documentation was not being made available to them. That is a lot more than internal disagreements. It would raise alarm bells in any competent leader. I made no mention of her carrying out a cover up. It was too late for that. She simply told the committee to stop talking about financial matters. And you end by again raising the issue of criminality. Why? Incompetence and/or lying are not in themselves criminal conduct.Your preoccupation with criminality is telling. Let’s leave it there. You can maintain blind allegiance to a former leader if you choose to. I prefer facts and observed actions. Can I suggest you read her book. It may in some limited way remove the blinkers from your eyes. N S was deeply flawed, and a preoccupation with I D politics saw her lose the ability to effectively govern. Across Health, Education, Social Services, and Infrastructure, the government went from very competent and significantly better than the other parts of the U K to being incompetent and and only marginally better than the others. That sadly is the legacy of N S. And percentage support is in the thirties accordingly. That’s another of those facts. Finally. You say I make a cheap jibe about the camper van. I made the comment about the camper van to highlight the absurdity and the denial of the N S supporters who appear to be engaged in cognitive dissonance.
Nicola’s legacy will not be rewritten by people repeating accusations until they sound like facts. She was an exceptional leader. She won election after election. She took the SNP to extraordinary heights. She gave Scotland a powerful voice. Her government set a 2045 net-zero target. Five years ahead of Westminster. She championed LGBTQIA+ equality and reforms Westminster would not match. And the attempt to brand her a liar or incompetent over SNP finances is something I reject absolutely. Concerns about accounting procedures do not prove that Sturgeon knowingly lied about the party’s financial position. Nor does repeating selective quotations establish dishonesty. If you accuse someone of lying, the burden is yours to prove deliberate deception. Suspicion is not evidence. Innuendo is not evidence. What is plain is her record, her integrity and her extraordinary contribution to Scotland, LGBTQ+ rights and early Net Zero.
How long is the former chief executive of the SNP and current husband to Nicola Sturgeon the former first minister spending in prison? Did that happen two months ago?
control freak sturgeon (self described) had a highly selective perception - not credible
the control freak also never remembered anything, nor did she keep a diary so she could remember, nor did she have someone else, like a PA, to keep a diary for her
best guess : she destroyed indy at the behest of MI5 who blackmailed her over her closet lesbianism; leslie evans was her handler and reported on her weekly
There is an anon poster simply trying to gaslight everybody about what happened over Sturgeon’s time as FM. The gaslighter ignores facts he disnae like while punting that Sturgeon had all these great achievements but disnae tell you in detail what they are. It’s like arguing with KC - pretty much a wasted effort.
On independence Sturgeon should have said at the beginning I will not be holding indyref2 unless Westminster lets me. That would have been honest. Something a person with a measure of integrity would do. But that’s not Sturgeon - she is full of deceit. A nasty piece of work.
The anon poster loves posting his letters of the alphabet but conveniently chooses to ignore Sturgeon’s alphabetties plot.
Anon at 9.06. You fail to answer the specific points raised about N S. Her legacy is as stated at 8.39. Don’t bother replying unless you are going to address the factual points made. Your blind allegiance to N S is tired and boring.
We would have been in a far better situation if, in 2015, she'd chosen to run for an Westminster seat, gone to London, become leader of the SNP group, been the voice of reason through all the brexit and COVID eras and generally been a brilliant ambassador for indy on a much bigger stage. But, she couldn't because she was obsessed with implementing her daft social engineering policies in Scotland and her husband was already baws deep in criminal activity.
Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to remain First Minister kept the most powerful platform for advancing Scottish interests and independence. From Holyrood she led Scotland’s response to Brexit and COVID, repeatedly challenged Westminster, and kept the independence case at the centre of national debate. A Westminster backbench seat would have diluted her influence, not amplified it. Her domestic agenda reflected a progressive LGBTQIA+ and Net Zero agenda on a mandate repeatedly endorsed by Scottish voters. Personal attacks on her husband are irrelevant to her record as the longest-serving and most consequential SNP leader of her generation.
10.53pm how do you know Sturgeon is a Ms and not a Mr on a Saturday? Insider info or a wild guess?
10.47pm delusional nonsense. People voted SNP for independence not a progressive ever expanding bunch of letters followed by a plus sign. Sturgeon tried to save England from Brexit rather than save Scotland from England’s Brexit by promoting independence. A chancer, a liar, a charlatan and a crook. These are my opinions and they are shared by many.
Nicola Sturgeon made independence the central purpose of her leadership. She repeatedly demanded a second referendum precisely because Brexit was imposed on Scotland against its will, arguing that only independence could protect Scotland from decisions made in London. Progressive LGBTQIA+ and Net Zero policies never replaced that goal; they formed part of a modern, inclusive case for self-government that voters repeatedly endorsed in successive elections. Calling her a liar or crook is empty invective without a single criminal conviction to support it. Her record shows a First Minister who kept independence at the forefront while winning the strongest mandates the SNP has ever achieved.
Anon at 11.28pm you are a liar just like Sturgeon. The strongest mandate was achieved by Salmond when he got an SNP majority of Holyrood MSPs. Even Swinney referenced that before the election in May.
She repeatedly promised indyref2 not demanded.
If you work for the British state you do not get convicted.
Calling someone a liar does not make the claim true. Alex Salmond in 2011 won only 45.4% of the constituency vote. Nicola later led the SNP into the 2015 UK general election, where it won 56 of Scotland’s 59 Westminster seats and 50% of the Scottish vote. The party’s highest-ever (higher than Salmond) share of Scottish seats and votes at a UK general election. And won a higher SNP share of the vote in the constituency votes in 2016 (46.5%) and 2021 (47.7%) both higher than Salmond ever got. Sturgeon achieved higher vote share in Holyrood constituency and nationwide Westminster votes. QED.
12.05am thanks for making the case against Sturgeon. She got all these votes and MPs and MSPs and did nothing about independence while her and her crooked husband were embezzling SNP monies and making a ring fenced £600k for independence disappear.
Nicola delivered real change. Scotland set a 2045 net zero target five years ahead of the UK. Renewables grew fast. Coal ended and oil was rightly challenged. Scotland beat the rest of the UK on cuts to carbon fuel. She pushed gender recognition and other LGBTQIA+ reform.
She was not charged with any wrongdoing whatsoever.
The Net Zero by 2045 five years ahead of Westminster and LGBTQIA+ laws were concrete wins.
Anonymous at 12.05 am you refer to elections not a referendum. In elections it is seats won that is the mandate not vote share. If you do not realise this then you really are a numpty or just playing games. So you are saying Swinney is a liar. For a mandate for independence it was Holyrood that counts hence the 2014 referendum happening when the SNP only had under 10 MPs but didnae happen when they had 56MPs under Sturgeon. So your QED is rubbish and you are a liar and sound more like a Britnat to me than a nicophant.
Oh dear. “Numpty”, “liar”, “Britnat”, “nicophant”. When insults do this much heavy lifting, the argument is struggling. Nicola Sturgeon didn’t “squander” 56 MPs. Westminster representation did not magically give Holyrood powers it didn’t possess in the independence space. Sturgeon repeatedly sought a lawful referendum. Westminster repeatedly refused consent. She then took the issue to the Supreme Court to establish exactly where Scotland stood in the independence space. That wasn’t betrayal. It was leadership. Blame Nicola for Westminster’s veto if you must, but she didn’t create it. And attacking loyal SNP supporters for defending our most electorally successful leader is simply laughable.
Britnat nicophant at 8.57am says: “ she was not charged with any wrongdoing whatsoever “ . Thanks again - exactly what I said. If you work for the British state you do not get convicted even when your house is full of stolen goods, you sit in the front row of Holyrood holding a stolen Mont Blanc pen and you cannae see a large luxury motorhome in a driveway.
As this anon desperately tries to gaslight us about Sturgeon England is becoming a failed state that is dragging us down with it. The UK Environment Sec has stated that food shortages are likely in the future. Scotland can feed itself no problem. It just cannae feed England as well. Remember what they did to Ireland in the past. The food will be grabbed by London and the South East. The SNP are supposed to be there to get us out of England’s grasp but 8.57am prattles on about a lot of letters being a main achievement. Sturgeon hid her personal interest in these special interests showing exactly her lack of honesty.
Still no evidence that Nicola Sturgeon was dishonest. She was arrested, questioned and released without charge. That matters. Suggesting the entire system protects her because she “works for the British state” is assertion, not proof. Nicola delivered real progressive leadership. Her government legislated for a 2045 net-zero target. Five years ahead of the UK target. Tjat took guts. She stood proudly for LGBTQIA+ rights when doing so required immense personal courage and attracted fierce opposition. She won election after election. She strengthened Scotland’s voice. You can sneer at those achievements. I won’t. Nicola’s record deserves evidence-based judgement, not camper-van insinuations, conspiracy theories and increasingly desperate personal attacks.
identity politics destroyed socialism; woke destroyed the old left and it absolutely shattered nationalism
identity politics is the leftwing of neoliberalism and balkanises society into mutually loathing groups engaged in a vicious zero sum game; there is no unifying principle (which is why class and nationalism, have to be remove)
net zero is a scam designed to destroy perfectly good infrastructure in order to provide fake demand to the markets
the worlds main polluters are USA, China, India and the pentagon on its own; they are not shutting down, and nor will the new, massive, oil and gas finds, be left in the ground
net zero is designed so that the likes of Blackrock can make more profits
heat pumps are shit in Scotland and your electric car is an unreliable POS
9.21am you are lying by omission. You forgot the evidence that the Polis passed a file on Sturgeon to COPFS which sat in their in tray for at least 6 months. You forgot the evidence that Sturgeon stated she full cooperated with the Polis at her interview and then it turns out she said no comment for 8 hours. You anon are a liar like Sturgeon.
Oh dear, we have a Sturgeon worshiper! How sad. Sturgeon was a disgrace during Covid. Attempting, day after day, to make political gain from a tragedy. Trying to make out Scotland was doing better than England, when clearly we weren’t. Waiting to see what measures Boris Johnson was going to bring in, then doing more or less the same, but always tweaking it slightly, to try and score political points. Warning people not to travel to England, etc. It was pathetic!
Ugh. Nicola faced a global pandemic and showed serious leadership when Scotland desperately needed it. Daily briefings. Clear communication. Difficult decisions. Accountability in public. But apparently protecting public health was “political gain” because Nicola occasionally dared to make different decisions from Boris Johnson. Imagine that. Scotland’s First Minister courageously governing Scotland rather than dong the easy thing and following Westminster. Perhaps she should have phoned Downing Street each morning and asked permission to think. You call her pathetic which says more about you than it does about her. Millions trusted her leadership. I’ll take Nicola’s compassion over this reheated anti-Sturgeon obsessive ranting any day.
Nicola showed courage when she stood unapologetically for LGBTQIA+ rights in a homophobic and transphobic era. She broke through these bigoted attitudes. She backed Scotland’s ambitious 2045 net-zero target despite the UK taking the easy route of 2050. In both these policy areas and many others she chose principle over convenience. Leadership means standing firm and taking a lead for Scottish people.
11.30am why don’t you just say the whole alphabet. Weirdo. What actually did Sturgeon achieve on this other than piss a lot of voters off by wanting to put rapists in women’s prisons while hiding her own personal interest in these identity matters. It’s called deceit.
The net zero target is a farce. England dictates this. Get independence and then a net zero target for Scotland can be real.
11.48am asks what planet you are on. It’s planet tranny.
Nicola Sturgeon rescued the SNP from Alex Salmond’s failures in government. Where Salmond quit and left the party, she rebuilt it into an electoral powerhouse, securing successive commanding majorities and the strongest results in SNP history better than anyone before or since. Her long tenure delivered sustained dominance Salmond never matched. More progressive than her predecessor, with a positive Net Zero and LGBTQ+ agenda, and remarkable performance in the COVID19 pandemic that made Scots of all stripes rally to her, with communications skills that contrasted with other leaders, she advanced social reform, equality and a modern vision of independence while winning repeated public mandates. That record of competence and progressive leadership is the polar opposite of the indifference the comparison by IFS tries unconvincingly to claim.
What a petty dig. Nicola Sturgeon sacrificed the best years of her life as First Minister. She sacrificed privacy family time health and any normal existence. She served the Scottish people through Brexit COVID and brought progressive values. You are sneering about fake moustaches and gay clubs which is inappropriate. She gave up so much in public service.
Anon @ 11:24pm The Holyrood election results tell a different story. SNP vote, constituency, regional, average of the two and change since last election:
So under Salmond, well up, under Sturgeon, down slightly and then down very slightly. Then after Sturgeon, Yousaf and finally Swinney - well down, nearly back to the 2007 election.
Whatever the debate about Sturgeon, the numbers how that Sturgeon inherited a very good SNP percentage, and pretty well kept it before it nosedived.
But she did not "rescued the SNP from Alex Salmond’s failures in government".
Your table carefully mixes constituency and regional votes then declares decline. The regional list is distorted by tactical votes for the Greens. That is why it is a poor measure of SNP support. You also omit every Westminster election. Under Sturgeon the SNP took 56 of 59 Scottish seats and 50 percent of the vote in 2015. That remains the party’s highest ever UK result. Her Holyrood constituency shares of 46.5 percent in 2016 and 47.7 percent in 2021 both exceeded Salmond’s best. The record on the measures that matter is clear.
6.10 am James says the regional vote is the important vote.
I’ll repeat again - in elections it is the number of MSP seats you get that counts. In referendums it is getting the most votes that counts. None of the figures you referred to are referendums. You picking your favoured figure for share of the vote is irrelevant.
“ That remains the party’s highest ever result. “ spoken like a true party person. What use was it - it got the SNP more money from the British state. Did it get a referendum - no.
For crying out loud. Nicola delivered 56 SNP MPs. Fifty-six. Apparently meaningless because Westminster still said no. And spare us the lecture about vote shares. SNP constituency support is especially significant precisely because tactical voting can distort both ballots, while successful constituency wins then heavily reduce the SNP’s chances of gaining regional seats as James points out. Funny how that little detail disappears. Nicola didn’t create Westminster’s veto in the independence space. She challenged it. Repeatedly. She sought a Section 30 order. She took the issue to the Supreme Court. She kept winning elections. Blame Westminster’s refusal. Don’t rewrite Nicola’s extraordinary electoral record unmatched before and since because the facts are inconvenient.
12.08am can’t be long before this anon says Nicola walked on water as well. She did miracles but stuck to UK law. Even helping create new UK law that says Scotland is a prisoner in the UK. A nice excuse for her doing nothing about independence while helping her husband to embezzle monies - a lot of money.
For crying out loud. Now we’ve moved from “Nicola did nothing” to accusing her of helping commit embezzlement. There is no basis for that claim. The police examined the evidence and concluded Nicola should not be charged and no further enquiries concerning her were required. Mr Murrell committed the crime. Mr Murrell pleaded guilty. Mr Murrell was jailed. Nicola has been consistent: he deceived her. Those are the facts. Inventing criminal complicity because the evidence stubbornly refuses to support your narrative is desperate. Seek help.
Anon at 6:10 am I couldn't be bothered looking up the Westminster polling for 2014 but here you are - move the tab across at the bottom of the table to get earlier polls:
In June 2014 the SNP were already at 40% - under Salmond. And in October 2014 after the referendums surge, the SNP were at 52% - BEFORE Sturgeon was installed as leader and FM in November.
Election results:
2010 - 19.9% 2015 50.0% = + 30.1% mostly under Salmond, some Sturgeon 2017 36.9% = -13.1% under Sturgeon 2019 45.0% = +8.1% under Sturgeon 2024 30.0% = -15.0% under Sturgeon, Yousaf, some Swinney
Sturgeon built a little on Swinney's gains in percentage, had a big whoopsie in 2017, and didn't do great in 2019. Swinney went even further down in 2024 after Sturgeon and Yousaf and all the shenanigans, and his own big huge enormous mistake in not genuinely putting Independence right at the front - so losing 500,000 SNP voters.
I think Sturgeon was great during Covid, but if somehow she did make a return she'd lead the SNP to oblivion next time - less than 20%.
"The poll confirms the evidence of previous polls taken in October and November as to why Labour now finds itself in such serious difficulty.
First, the gap between Westminster and Holyrood voting intentions has almost disappeared. At 47%, support for the SNP in a Westminster election is only three points lower than it is for a Scottish Parliament one; when two years ago YouGov were asking people both their Holyrood and Westminster voting intention, the equivalent gap was more like eight points. Meanwhile, Labour’s Westminster support is actually one point lower than its Holyrood support whereas two years ago it was five points higher.
The past three months has not simply been marked by an increase in SNP support. Rather the nationalists are also benefitting from the fact that voters have apparently become more inclined to vote in a Westminster election in much the same way as they would in a Holyrood one – perhaps because in the wake of the referendum voters’ focus is still on which party they think is best for Scotland in particular rather than who is best able to govern Britain as a whole."
The Sturgeon effect much over-rated - it's more us, the voters.
It’s no wonder anon at 2.59pm is in tune with Sturgeon. They are both prolific liars.
The liar says: “ The police examined the evidence and concluded Nicola should not be charged and no further enquiries concerning her were required”. That is a blatant lie. The Polis sent a report to COPFS and they sat on it for at least 6 months before telling Police to do nothing. Like Sturgeon you just punt out lies with great ease.
“He deceived her “ says the anon liar. Sturgeon is both a high calibre leader and a daft wee wifey according to this anon liar. Surprised you didnae claim that she had missed her Specsavers appointments and that’s why she didnae see a great big luxury motorhome. £60k worth of embezzled female goods kept off the charge sheet as part of the plead guilty deal. Nobody is buying you and Sturgeon’s lies.
COPFS binned the Polis file. The Lord Advocate is in charge of COPFS. Who appointed the Lord Advocate - Sturgeon. Who does the Lord Advocate report to - John Swinney. The same Lord Advocate who just happened to be a dreadful advocate at the UK Supreme Court for the right to self determination of the Scottish people.
You need to seek help for being a pathological liar and a Britnat.
Those of us who are still around in 2040ish will get to vote in a referendum for Scotland's independence which, by then, we should win comfortably. Part of the SNP's remit in the meantime is to mitigate against Westminster's asset stripping of our resources and also building international relationships ready for when we are free to make our own decisions. We will need a lot of help initially. Short version: a decade or two before we get to vote again. A generation after that to untangle ourselves from the Union and build the framework of a great wee independent country. There's no shortcuts, the past is done. All our efforts should be towards the future.
The Holyrood government is doing a very thorough job of asset stripping of our resources. They are pretty much stripped, through the Scottish government's policies, right now, and oligarch data centers will take the rest. But it's all Westminster's fault for introducing devolution?
The Britnats used to say after the 2014 referendum no indyref2 for 10 years. 12 years on, supposed independence supporters say no indyref2 for decades. Is this progress? There are no shortcuts says David. Pity we didnae start in 2015 then. David says we should build international relationships - has the last 12 years not been long enough to do that. Or has the SNP just been focussed on what they call progressive relationships and toilets.
Any independence supporter who buys in to this independence will just happen in the future stuff is a fool. Anyone punting it is a Britnat or a fool.
I hope it's not a decade or two but you're right, all our efforts should be towards the future. IfS's total obsession with NS and constant raking over the coals is pointless and unhelpful now, and silly, too.
Anon at 8.48am Oh no it’s not. It’s the same people in charge of the SNP today as it was for the last 12 years - Sturgeon’s gang. So back in 2017 the SNP is all indyref2. Now they have convinced people like you to say “ I hope it’s not a decade or two”. You have been played. In a decade or two some other person will say let’s not rush it. We’ll get there in a decade or two. It’s been 319 years. Is that not long enough?
Ifs and KC are like for like, one is anti Scotland and the other one is so stupid to see that his anti SNP slavering is playing into the britnat hands of the other. Do you both share the one black balaclava?
Anon troll at 2.06am you should go to bed earlier you might think clearer and be less obnoxious when posting but I doubt it.
Any person or political party who punts that independence just has to go on the back burner for decades is de facto a Britnat even if they consider themselves an independence supporter.
Hard to understand any Britnat like KC who claims to be for Scotland when they are happy to be subservient, subjugated and humiliated week by week by Westminster rule. Some people are clearly happy to be on their knees before their masters - like an abused dog.
Anon troll at 12.21 if that is the best you can come up with best stay anonymous. Why this weirdo is obsessed with me only his psychiatrist probably knows. In contrast. I couldn’t care less about who you are anon.
KC is always saying he is embarrassed. I have never seen him saying he is embarrassed by supporting a Royal family who is not bothered about paedophiles in their midst.
Let’s take in the entire continent of Africa and huge chunks of Asia for good measure. How many is too many folks. Serious question. Any anons here got a figure in mind as I’d love to hear it
Secular republic of Scotland. Sounds good to me. Just hope it is secular though. Some religions don’t do secular. No doubt I will called a racist saying even though it’s undoubtedly true.
The betting markets are significantly altering their odds on Farage being gone this year or the next. It’s difficult to imagine Reform UK PLC surviving without its major shareholder. The lacquer of gold is finally coming off the base metal core of Farage. He is and always was a vehicle for financial speculators. Some of the Faragist cultists will find a home in Restore Britain, but not enough to make that vanity project electorally viable. The supporters of Reform sufficiently evolved from the swamp to contemplate a black, female PM will migrate to the Tories. If I was Burnham I would be thinking about an early election to hit the sweet spot between the dissolution of Reform and the rise of the Conservatives.
The sharp suited managerialist in the Fianna Fáil / Fina Gael coalition are hell bent on their own destruction over the building of Data Centres. These facilities are already at their highest concentration in Europe and one of the highest concentrations in the world. They consume 23% of total available energy in Ireland. They consume vast amounts of water in the east of the country that still has a months long hose pipe ban in place. Today, the eejits in the Dáil are offering cut price energy to attract more Data Centres. These career politicians must be so isolated in their neo-conservative bubbles that they are deaf to the growing rage of the people.
Scotland is vastly better equipped to house Data Centres than Ireland. We have the water and the excess energy to service them. The question is, what’s in it for us to facilitate them? The job numbers thrown around by the proponents of Data Centres are delusional, they include the construction phase. How many permanent jobs are associated with a Data Centres and how much do they pay? Ireland will gain Business Rates and Corporation Tax. A devolved Scotland would get the Business Rates, but Corporation Tax would be lodged in London. Local objections to planning permission for aesthetic reasons are legitimate. Objections to AI in general are also legitimate. I’m surprised that the current big screen adaptation of Dune hasn’t touched on the Butlerian Jihad. It would seem to capture the preeminent concern of the present, particularly amongst the younger generations.
Data Centres aren’t especially ugly in the landscape. They are big, low profile sheds. The architects can produce artists impressions of them shielded by a screen of mature trees. The issue is how many of these structures will survive long enough for the trees to grow to obscure their appearance in the landscape? The projected profits for the AI outfits are out by several orders of magnitude. There isn’t and there won’t be revenue streams sufficient to justify the number of Centres which exist or will exist in the next couple of years. At some point in the not too distant future, the AI behemoths will start negotiating for government subsidies to keep their Centres open, playing one state off against the other. Data Centres are a bandwagon best avoided. It’s headed for a cliff.
FWIW, I responded to that survey on Thursday 27th. It included "party satisfaction" questions and independence question with the expected 2014 voting recall follow-on.
ReplyDeleteAfter submitting my responses, it crossed my mind to wonder if it would've been better to give a "No" response to the 2014 question that really has no business being there.
That'll be a different poll - they wouldn't ask about independence in a GB-wide poll. Is that the first time you've answered a YouGov independence poll? They always insist that for weighting they use what the respondents told them in 2014 itself about indyref vote.
DeleteI'm new to this, I only signed-up with (joined?) YouGov five or six surveys ago. Thursday's asked about voting intention for UK and Holyrood elections. There was a question along the lines of "What motivates the Conservatives." Also, there were questions about satisfaction with the mainstream parties, though I can't remember if that included Scottish branch parties.
DeleteGreen Party leader, Zac Polanski is to stand in Kier Starmer’s vacated seat.
ReplyDeleteHolborn & St Pancras is one of the seats that would turn green when the results of this week’s YouGov poll are plugged into the Electoral Calculus prediction model.
That’s partially unsurprising, Holborn & St Pancras is as inner, London borough as they get. The results from the seat in the last election tell another tale. Keir Starmer took 48.9% of the vote. A baw hair away from an absolute majority.
That’s if you actually believe that result. Starmer was a known quantity in 2024. All that stuff about him thinking starving women and children to death was okay (just so long as they had brown skin). Highly unlikely to have gone down well in multi-ethnic inner city London.
Starmer’s 48.9% is like something from Libya under Colonel Gaddafi or Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Not that the British, Permanent State would appoint a senior serving MI5 Officer as Starmer’s Chief of Staff when he was Leader of the opposition, and then rig the election to make sure he won.
There is plenty of ethnic mix in the likely list of Labour candidates.
DeleteWhatever Starmer turned out to be won't be much of an issue, I suspect.
Polanski will do well but will fall short would be my prediction
James, I’m a wee bit perplexed as to why you describe a poll giving a pro independence vote share of 47%, as “glad tidings”.
ReplyDeleteI know we can assume that some who vote for other parties, particularly Labour, would vote Yes in a referendum, however this is at least partly countered by the fact that some Green voters won’t support independence, and vote for the Green Party on Green issues alone.
They'd vote for a unionist party - Labour - then vote for independence ? Weird.
Delete"James, I’m a wee bit perplexed..."
DeleteHi, KC.
The conspiracy of the Permanent State concocting or promoting Identity Politics to damage the economic left is held by many. I don’t particularly buy it. There are many other explanations for the development and growth of socially liberal, identity politics.
ReplyDeleteThe death of Gloria Steinem had just been announced. In 2010, Wikileaks disclosed that long time, prominent, American feminist, Steinem was registered by the CIA as a “Change agent”. In the context of the time, feminism could be considered “identity politics”.
Steinem has long been open about her having been an asset of the CIA. She actually blew the whistle herself in 1967. The scandal is probably not so much that the CIA sought to influence the left in America, but rather that they were (yet again) operating in contravention of their charter not to run domestic intelligence psyops..
And purple is the colour of the lesser-spotted kale warbler.
DeleteWell, you know yourself.
DeleteI just said that kind of thing to somebody.
DeleteChanel 4 news broadcast a cracking under cover sting that fully exposed Farage and his team for the ugly law breaking people that they are. Farage wants to Reform the UK to turn it in to a land similar to Trump's America. Sleazy meetings openly discussing breaking the law and boasting they will not be caught over oysters and champagne in expensive restaurants in that dreadful city London. All filmed using hidden cameras. Well done the team that carried out the sting.
ReplyDeleteFor once I actually agree with most of your post Ifs!
DeleteThe only bit I most certainly don’t agree with is “that dreadful city London”. London is one of the finest cities in the world. You will be in a very small minority on that!
London the home of people like EdMilliband.
ReplyDeleteMilliband Foreign secretary for colonial England says this about The Malvinas: " Their right of self determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it."
Yet he disnae want to resolutely uphold it for Scotland and Scots. Britnats - a bunch of colonial hypocrites with standards that double whenever and wherever needed.
Like all the Britnats in Westminster they cannae be bothered about international law when it comes to Israel murdering children every day of the week. Can it be all the money the " Friends " of Israel put in to their bank accounts. It's long overdue a similar undercover expose about Israel and its sprinkling of money in the direction of politicians.
Please explain how this makes London a “dreadful city”!!
DeletePlease explain how your reading comprehension is so poor. It's a post about Britnat hypocrisy/double standards and political corruption.
DeleteSo no explanation as to why London is a “dreadful city”!!
DeleteYou embarrass yourself when you spout this sort of stuff.
London is a 3rd world shithole where you can now pick up 3rd world diseases and the exciting new antibiotic resistant ones. Old favourites like TB are also coming back. Ebola coming soon, along with cholera.
DeleteAt least it's better than Methil.
DeleteEmbarrassing stuff from the dipstick@9:40am!
Delete🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 YOU asked why London is a dreadful city KC. As usual you either don’t like the reply or ignore the reply. Why do you even bother? I know - you are a paid professional pain in the ass.
DeleteLondon is like Gotham in the Marvel series. Full of Britnat crooks and spies. No wonder Sturgeon feels comfortable there.
The vast majority of Scots would agree with me that London is one of the finest cities in the world.
DeleteYou might not like that Ifs, but it’s true!
Some of the nonsense you spout is unbelievable!
KC you have no understanding of the difference between your opinion and “ the truth”. When did you commission the polling question of all Scots throughout the world. You didn’t. As said before - you are a paid to be pain in the ass on SGP.
DeleteIfs, you’re all bluster. You still haven’t said why you think London is a “dreadful” city! Just like the last week, when you couldn’t give me any “benefits of indy”.
DeleteWell I'm one of the vast majority of Scots and I think London is a tip.
DeleteWhat a hideous comment from the anonymous plonker at 5:58pm.
DeleteI’m no fan of kc, far from it, however I’m with him on this. London is one of the finest cities in the world.
IfS is also out of order on this. The guy just seems to be always looking for confrontation.
IFS @ 3:09 PM
DeleteThis is by far the stupidest comment ever made on this blog. Gotham is DC, not Marvel.
I knew it would drag a comic geek away from his comics. That’s you 11.16pm. Anything else you want to say about your comics? Go on - now is your moment.
Delete8.53pm is just the weirdo Britnat KC again.
So Ifs, still nothing on why London is a dreadful city?
DeleteOr any “benefits of Indy”?
Come on, you must have something!
2.5 million (26% of the population ) Londoners who are living in poverty is that reason enough?
DeleteAnyone know if the Murrell's luxury motor home is still in a polis compound. It could be a good investment to buy it. Hire it out for £3 k a week and play at being Bonnie and Clyde or the Scottish version Nicola and Pete. Alternatively, go for the high volume option of a fiver for a peek inside of the notorious Murrells most extravagant purchase.
ReplyDeleteIFS, Nicola was a high-calibre SNP leader. To the extent she knew of it the motorhome was to be leveraged as a legitimate campaign delivery tool under COVID constraints. Murrell failed to maintain full information flows to her. It is only fair to isolate accountability for the purchase and handling to his operational decisions.
DeleteCampaign delivery tool. 🤣🤣🥕🤣🥕🤣🥕. The only tools are the people who would believe this bullshit.
DeleteIf Sturgeon was a “ a high calibre leader” she would not have been interviewed by the Polis for 8 hours and said no comment for eight hours. The Polis sent a report on her to COPFS.
DeleteA high calibre leader would have known it was her role to ensure the SNP Chief Exec was not stealing from the SNP.
She is either high calibre and a party to embezzlement or a useless and stupid leader. I await to read your choice anon at 7.05am.
Anon at 9.11. I said as much a few days ago. She told the executive to stop questioning SNP finances. It was self evident that there was a problem. She said the finances were sound. They were not. She is either incompetent or a liar. Which is it? The N S cult went strangely quiet when I asked them this question. They are back on today.I repeat the question. Do they have an answer? I am going for her being both.
DeleteAnon at 7.05. Take up comedy sketch writing. To the extent that she was aware of it? Is that it? Have a look at yourself. Bad enough flogging a dead horse. You are trying to shag it. Give us peace.
DeleteLawyers almost always advise police interviewees to give no comment answers. It is standard practice and does not imply guilt.
Delete9.57am yeh they advise the guilty ones to stick with no comment. Innocent ones with nothing to hide ignore any such advice as they are happy to provide the evidence to show they are innocent and help the Polis with their enquiries. Of course, the liar Sturgeon claimed after the police interview that she fully cooperated with the police.
DeleteIf everyone the polis interview just sit there for 8 hours saying no comment then why do they bother.
Farage - I’m a victim I have done nothing wrong.
Sturgeon - I’m a victim I have done nothing wrong.
Political leaders and their fans trying to ignore the truth. Both have been found out.
Anon at 9.57. You do know Taggart is fictional? Clients are advised to make no comment until the facts are ascertained. Beyond that point no comment can be very damaging to an innocent clients interests.
DeleteJohn Swinney has shown a steady hand in SNP leadership. Polls confirm rising party support under Johns calm, focused strategic direction. He has moved beyond the performative politics of the past and prioritised policy delivery. Strategic investment is leveraged in the NHS space, the education space, cost-of-living interventions and Scotland’s drugs policy challenges. Key demographic groups welcome this outcome-oriented approach. His measured, evidence-led style is rebuilding confidence and reinforcing the party’s credibility on core delivery priorities with will pay off for the SNP in the elections of coming years.
ReplyDeleteIndependence for Scotland - the words missing from this blurb at 6.52am and it neatly reflects the priorities of Sturgeon’s devolution gang. This blurb is all about “ pay off for the SNP in the elections of coming years.” Sums up the SNP since 2014. Thank you for making it clear what the nuSNP priorities are.
DeleteIndependence remains a core strategic dimension. Swinney’s steady hand prioritises delivery on the issues that rebuild institutional confidence. Rising poll support creates the electoral conditions required for progress. Focusing on the NHS space, the education space and cost-of-living pressures is not a retreat. It is the evidence-based foundation that strengthens the case. Competence and outcomes-oriented governance are essential to translate support into measurable results. This approach does not abandon the dimension. It equips the party to advance along this strategic pathway.
DeleteWell said anon@6:52 and 7:51.
DeleteGood governance is the key, and credit should be given to John Swinney for rebuilding the SNP’s reputation. Of course independence is still to the forefront, but the SNP need to concentrate on the day job too, in order to build support and a solid case for independence, which is exactly what John is doing.
The SNP are losing support not gaining it. The gap between independence support and SNP is widening. Concentrating on health etc is the job of government not a way to prove something. He should be able to multitask and do independence at the same time as these. The problem he has is his government isn't competent.
Delete8.37pm John the Redactor spent way too much of his career covering up wrong doing. He is still doing it. Independence has never been at the forefront since 2014. NuSNP is a devolutionist party.
DeletePut some meat on the bones - what has Swinney done to rebuild the SNP’s reputation?
If you need to rebuild institutional confidence - who removed it?
DeleteBrilliant strategy 8.54: demonstrate Scotland is ready to run an independent state by treating the competent running of Scotland as an irritating side-hustle. Health, education and public services? Mere administrative trivia! The real test of leadership is apparently how often Swinney says “independence” before breakfast. And if independence is outperforming the SNP, that rather demolishes your argument: the challenge is converting sympathetic voters into SNP voters, for which competent government might—wild thought—actually help. Still if yelling "independence" to the faithful at a rainy ill attended AUOB rally is your think go ahead.
DeleteWho removed it Anon 9.41? Westminster centralism, a relentlessly Unionist media culture and non-SNP armchair-nationalists who prefer impotent purity to governing. But congratulations on the magnificent detective work. Swinney repairs the roof, therefore Swinney caused the storm. With forensic powers like these, you will go far in the non-SNP world.
Delete12.10 That comment dripping with arrogant contempt for grass roots indy supporters.
DeleteYou could be an SNP staffer.
Well said Anonymous @12-10pm Im afraid to say AUOB appears to have morphed into the Sean Clerkin fan club.
DeleteAnon 1.19. Seriously? The "arrogant" notion that independence might require winning elections rather than 83 people trudging through horizontal rain behind a tattered saltire and an AUOB banner, congratulating each other on being the “real movement” in between empty poorly-spoken speeches from has-been, never-will-be figures?
DeleteA I.
Delete2.09pm is a Britnat. Prob KC or an incredibly arrogant SNP member. Either way both are shits.
DeleteAnon 12:10 maybe you don't understand why we have elections. FYI we elect people to run the country that's their job. That's what they tell us they're going to do. So that's what I expect. So, no not an irritating side hustle - their job. Now independence on the other hand is what the SNP say they are going to deliver and as I look about me I still think I'm part of the UK no? Swinney can't deliver independence you know it. A steady hand? I don't want a steady hand. I'm not interested in the SNP. I want independence and it needs a lot more than a steady hand. Remember the steadiest hand are to be found on a corpse y'know like the SNP.
DeleteThe SNP is apparently a “corpse”, yet somehow you can’t stop talking about it. Independence isn’t delivered by shouting louder, declaring everyone a sell-out and pretending Westminster and the constitutional reality don’t exist. It requires votes, organisation, credibility and sustained majority support and the SNP remains by far the strongest vehicle Scotland has for achieving it. I’ll take John's steady hand, experience and serious leadership over keyboard revolutionaries demanding instant independence without explaining how they’d actually deliver it.
DeleteI'm not a keyboard revolutionary I'm a member of this stinking party. That's over 30 years I've supported them and since Salmond they've done nothing. A steady hand doesn't move - it's dead and he and Sturgeon - who I used to rate - killed it. You are kidding yourself if you think Swinney is going to lead us to independence - maybe you should ask yourself why. Why do you delude yourself the evidence of 12 years must at least make you think.
DeleteAh, ok, sorry - hadn't realised you were SNP. Thought you were an anti-SNP poster.
DeleteIn fairness I suppose I'm both.
DeleteWould-be Colonial Viceroy, Lord Malcolm Offord is offering his future subjects the chance of a second independence referendum (in the increasingly unlikely event of Reform UK forming a government). That’s awfully generous of him.
ReplyDeleteThe threshold to clear is that the SNP and Greens must obtain two million votes in a Holyrood election.
Offord’s (corkscrew) logic is that 2,001,926 folk voted No in 2014 so we should match that benchmark.
The turnout in the referendum in 2014 was 84.6%. The turnout at the last Holyrood election was 53.4%. The highest it’s ever been is 63.2%.
Offord’s offer is of course a trick. John Swinney will condemn it in public but rub his hand with glee in private. Offord has just handed Swinney the juiciest bag of carrots to get out the vote he could ever have dreamed of. The problem is the target is unattainable.
Offord never worked a day in his life, he's just a spiv; went to London, got a city job, made some deals, it worked out. Do not ascribe any intelligence or insight or humanity to this type.
DeleteFarage’s latest stunt is to promise that if Reform UK form a government, all MPs will be compelled to work a seven day week to “fix Britain”.
ReplyDeleteTo be clear, the majority of MPs are just lobby fodder. How will forcing them to work weekends make a nano-jot of difference to anything?
The government is run by Ministers. There has been a trend across all parties to extend the ministerial payroll for years going on decades. The current state of affairs is; 125 individuals in paid ministerial posts. This exceeds the maximum limit by five. The five excess Ministers are in the HoL. Are these not paid!
The reason for this exponential expansion of the ministerial payroll (in comparison to say common practice before the turn of the century) has nothing to do with delivering results for the people. Ministers and their Parliamentary Private Secretaries are compelled to vote with the government. That’s a hell of a lot of bought and paid for votes.
Farage’s gimmick is so monumentally stupid even half of his fanclub can probably see through it. Nonetheless, they’ll support it to punish a political class that has abandoned them in order to pursue their own careerist interests. I feel the rage of the poor saps who have been duped by Farage, but his preposterous initiative isn’t constructive. It’s counterproductive.
It is a distraction from the mounting evidence that Nigel’s project is just a Trojan horse for foreign based currency speculators and Crypto billionaires. Which would appear to be the whole purpose of this nonsense.
I am sure they might offer us a second referendum, as long as they get to count the votes and all the anglos in Scotland get to vote on it as well.
Deletethey rigged the last one in 2014 by flipping the postals.
DeleteDesperate stuff from the two anons@9:43 and 9:44!
DeleteOr is it the same dipstick?
In reality, the SNP have just lost two council seats in Edinburgh by-elections, and came second and third. In the capitol, they are currently in danger of being beaten by the Lib Dems, and the Greens, and Labour, possibly all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteNevermind, 2026 is the 20th anniversary of the SNP government's promise to reform council tax! And the SNP isn't corrupt anymore because they did something unspecified about it! And there is much more to come! Schoolbags! Ecocide! Bread max-price legal barney! Datacenters! Health boards! Redundancies!
This is impressively smug for someone who apparently doesn’t understand how Scottish council elections work. A single-seat by-election in a multi-member STV ward is effectively an AV contest, not a proportional STV election. The quota, transfers, tactical incentives and relationship between votes and seats are fundamentally different. So extrapolating two by-election “losses” into the SNP being overtaken across Edinburgh by Labour, Greens and Lib Dems is psephological nonsense. If you’re going to sneer quite this enthusiastically about Scottish politics, learning how Scottish elections actually work would be a good start.
DeleteI want by the first preference votes. If you go by the final tally, the SNP came third in both wards.
DeleteEvery time they use Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell as their excuses to try to sew hatred of the SNP you can smell the fetid rotting fear from the corpses of the Brits
ReplyDeleteExactly. Every reheated invocation of Nicola and Peter reeks of an anti-SNP attitude that has run out of arguments and soiled itself in panic. They keep flinging the same political excrement, then piss themselves with excitement when it gets a headline. Beneath the stink is one unmistakable smell: fear of the SNP surviving and jealousy of its success.
DeleteCan you answer the simple question put earlier in this post. Was N S incompetent or was she a liar when it came to SNP finances. She knew there was a problem yet claimed finances were sound. She told the executive to stop talking about the problem. So which is it, liar or incompetent? Or is it both?
DeleteNeither. It’s a cheap, loaded question, sadly all too typical of armchair SNP detractors, that demands a guilty verdict before the evidence is even considered.
DeleteNicola was an outstanding SNP leader and First Minister, and endlessly repeating “liar or incompetent” doesn’t make either accusation true. It’s political mudslinging.
12.21pm
Deleteso you don’t think the problem is the nuSNP promising indyref2 before each election since the 2014 referendum and doing NOTHING after the election eg 4 months after Mays 2026 election and nothing. The song remains the same.
So you don’t think the problem is the nuSNP trying to put a double rapist in a female prison.
Oh well you best blame Sturgeon’s gang because they supported Sturgeon and Murrell. They are still there stinking out the SNP and the Scottish government.
Repeating “nuSNP” and shouting “NOTHING” on internet fora isn’t an argument. Independence requires persuading a majority of Scotland not stamping your feet because Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney haven’t delivered it to your preferred timetable. But never mind perhaps another AUOB march in the back of nowhere through pouring rain, followed by furious comments about “Sturgeon’s gang” will finally break the constitutional deadlock. Some of us prefer the rather less glamorous business of actually winning votes and building majority support.
DeleteAnon 3:34 you must be an SNP staffer
Delete3.34pm - your comment provides evidence that you are a numpty. It wisnae my timetable. It was Sturgeon/Swinney and the rest of Sturgeon’s gang that kept promising a referendum since 2017. In fact there was a date set for Indy. A wee reminder for you as you clearly have memory problems. Save the date - 19/10/23. Get it tattooed on the back of your hand and it will help you next time when posting. It seems you prefer to post inaccurate nonsense that is not even an argument.
DeleteThe only constitutional deadlock is in your mind created by the nuSNP.
So you’ve remembered a date. Unfortunately you’ve forgotten the rather larger detail that the UK Supreme Court ruled Holyrood couldn’t hold an independence referendum without Westminster’s consent. Nicola didn’t invent that constitutional barrier, and neither did John. You can call everyone “nuSNP”, “Sturgeon’s gang” and “numpties” until you are soaked through at the next AUOB event, with dreary speeches in the public park afterwards, listened to be approximately nobody, but silly slogans don’t change constitutional reality. The SNP remains the only serious political vehicle capable of turning support for independence into political power. The rest is just angry typing from the sidelines.
Delete5.16 Sturgeon absolutely caused the Supreme Court decision. This is a fact. It is part of her disastrous legacy.
Delete5.40: For crying out loud. “Absolutely caused it” and “this is a fact” are two assertions desperately searching for an argument. Sturgeon didn’t write the Scotland Act, reserve the constitution to Westminster or appoint the Supreme Court. She took the question all the way to the highest court precisely to establish whether Holyrood had the power to act without Westminster’s permission. The answer exposed the constitutional reality Scotland faces. You can dislike Sturgeon until the cows come home, but blaming her for the limits Westminster placed on devolution is potty historical revisionism with a grudge attached.
DeleteYou know that's nonsense - she took it to the supreme court to lose. Remember what she did to Martin Keatings. They caught him at every turn and financially ruined him. Meanwhile on Amazon...
Delete6.21pm you are 100% correct. Sturgeon did not want it known whether she had the legal power until it suited her. Years of collecting money on the back of promises to hold indyref2 would be ruined and she wouldn’t have had expensive hairdryers to hand out to her pals.
DeleteAnon at 3.17:pm. I am stating facts. She said what she said about the party finances being sound. Are you claiming she didn’t? Say so if you are. Are you claiming she didn’t tell the executive committee to stop discussing the problem? Say so if you are. Otherwise the only mudslinging is by you. She either lied or was so incompetent as not to understand the problem with party finances. Which is it? If you are really at the stage where you are denying recorded facts you need to have a look at yourself. It’s the type of behaviour associated with Trump and Farage.
DeleteNicola Sturgeon did not invent the party’s financial position; she reported what the then-CEO, treasurer and auditors presented to her and the leadership. Leaders routinely rely on those charged with day-to-day control of accounts. No criminal finding has ever established that she knowingly lied or ordered a cover-up. Telling an executive committee to focus on solutions rather than endless internal recrimination is standard leadership, not obstruction. Outcomes that later proved worse than reported do not automatically equal personal dishonesty or incompetence. The Trump/Farage smear is pure projection: demanding proof of intent rather than accepting hindsight as fact is the opposite of denialism.
DeleteAnon at 10.49 pm. You are being selective. At least three senior figures resigned over lack of transparency in the finances of the SNP. Any competent leader would have ordered an investigation by independent third party auditors. N S told people to shut up. The rest, as they say, is history. Camper van you say? What camper van? I can’t see one sticking out from the side of that building. Nope. Still can’t see it.
DeleteYou are recycling old claims as if they are settled facts. Senior resignations reflected internal disagreements not proven criminality by Nicola Sturgeon. She relied on the information provided by the party officers and auditors responsible for the accounts. No independent finding has ever established that she ordered a cover up or knowingly misled anyone. Telling colleagues to focus on solutions rather than endless internal argument is leadership not suppression. The camper van sneer is just cheap mockery. She has never been convicted of any offence linked to the finances. Opinions dressed up as history do not become truth.
DeleteAnon at 12.15. What an exercise in straw men. Old claims? What old claims? Do you mean the facts, evidenced by the live video of N S speaking? Or is that fake news? I made no mention of criminality. Why did you feel it necessary to raise that issue? On the matter of internal disagreements, senior office holders resigned, citing a lack of transparency, a lack of standard documentation in the financial records of the party and a refusal to make documentation available to the auditor. That is completely at odds with your suggestion that she simply relied on the information provided by the relevant officials. She was told by relevant officials that the information/documentation was not being made available to them. That is a lot more than internal disagreements. It would raise alarm bells in any competent leader. I made no mention of her carrying out a cover up. It was too late for that. She simply told the committee to stop talking about financial matters. And you end by again raising the issue of criminality. Why? Incompetence and/or lying are not in themselves criminal conduct.Your preoccupation with criminality is telling. Let’s leave it there. You can maintain blind allegiance to a former leader if you choose to. I prefer facts and observed actions. Can I suggest you read her book. It may in some limited way remove the blinkers from your eyes. N S was deeply flawed, and a preoccupation with I D politics saw her lose the ability to effectively govern. Across Health, Education, Social Services, and Infrastructure, the government went from very competent and significantly better than the other parts of the U K to being incompetent and and only marginally better than the others.
DeleteThat sadly is the legacy of N S. And percentage support is in the thirties accordingly. That’s another of those facts.
Finally. You say I make a cheap jibe about the camper van. I made the comment about the camper van to highlight the absurdity and the denial of the N S supporters who appear to be engaged in cognitive dissonance.
Nicola’s legacy will not be rewritten by people repeating accusations until they sound like facts. She was an exceptional leader. She won election after election. She took the SNP to extraordinary heights. She gave Scotland a powerful voice. Her government set a 2045 net-zero target. Five years ahead of Westminster. She championed LGBTQIA+ equality and reforms Westminster would not match. And the attempt to brand her a liar or incompetent over SNP finances is something I reject absolutely. Concerns about accounting procedures do not prove that Sturgeon knowingly lied about the party’s financial position. Nor does repeating selective quotations establish dishonesty. If you accuse someone of lying, the burden is yours to prove deliberate deception. Suspicion is not evidence. Innuendo is not evidence. What is plain is her record, her integrity and her extraordinary contribution to Scotland, LGBTQ+ rights and early Net Zero.
DeleteHow long is the former chief executive of the SNP and current husband to Nicola Sturgeon the former first minister spending in prison? Did that happen two months ago?
Deletecontrol freak sturgeon (self described) had a highly selective perception - not credible
Deletethe control freak also never remembered anything, nor did she keep a diary so she could remember, nor did she have someone else, like a PA, to keep a diary for her
best guess : she destroyed indy at the behest of MI5 who blackmailed her over her closet lesbianism; leslie evans was her handler and reported on her weekly
There is an anon poster simply trying to gaslight everybody about what happened over Sturgeon’s time as FM. The gaslighter ignores facts he disnae like while punting that Sturgeon had all these great achievements but disnae tell you in detail what they are. It’s like arguing with KC - pretty much a wasted effort.
DeleteOn independence Sturgeon should have said at the beginning I will not be holding indyref2 unless Westminster lets me. That would have been honest. Something a person with a measure of integrity would do. But that’s not Sturgeon - she is full of deceit. A nasty piece of work.
The anon poster loves posting his letters of the alphabet but conveniently chooses to ignore Sturgeon’s alphabetties plot.
Anon at 9.06. You fail to answer the specific points raised about N S. Her legacy is as stated at 8.39. Don’t bother replying unless you are going to address the factual points made. Your blind allegiance to N S is tired and boring.
DeleteCaught not caught.
ReplyDeleteFought not caught. Effing phone
ReplyDeleteWe would have been in a far better situation if, in 2015, she'd chosen to run for an Westminster seat, gone to London, become leader of the SNP group, been the voice of reason through all the brexit and COVID eras and generally been a brilliant ambassador for indy on a much bigger stage.
ReplyDeleteBut, she couldn't because she was obsessed with implementing her daft social engineering policies in Scotland and her husband was already baws deep in criminal activity.
Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to remain First Minister kept the most powerful platform for advancing Scottish interests and independence. From Holyrood she led Scotland’s response to Brexit and COVID, repeatedly challenged Westminster, and kept the independence case at the centre of national debate. A Westminster backbench seat would have diluted her influence, not amplified it. Her domestic agenda reflected a progressive LGBTQIA+ and Net Zero agenda on a mandate repeatedly endorsed by Scottish voters. Personal attacks on her husband are irrelevant to her record as the longest-serving and most consequential SNP leader of her generation.
DeleteGuys move on Ms Sturgeon certainly has.
Delete10.53pm how do you know Sturgeon is a Ms and not a Mr on a Saturday? Insider info or a wild guess?
Delete10.47pm delusional nonsense. People voted SNP for independence not a progressive ever expanding bunch of letters followed by a plus sign. Sturgeon tried to save England from Brexit rather than save Scotland from England’s Brexit by promoting independence. A chancer, a liar, a charlatan and a crook. These are my opinions and they are shared by many.
Nicola Sturgeon made independence the central purpose of her leadership. She repeatedly demanded a second referendum precisely because Brexit was imposed on Scotland against its will, arguing that only independence could protect Scotland from decisions made in London. Progressive LGBTQIA+ and Net Zero policies never replaced that goal; they formed part of a modern, inclusive case for self-government that voters repeatedly endorsed in successive elections. Calling her a liar or crook is empty invective without a single criminal conviction to support it. Her record shows a First Minister who kept independence at the forefront while winning the strongest mandates the SNP has ever achieved.
DeleteAnon at 11.28pm you are a liar just like Sturgeon. The strongest mandate was achieved by Salmond when he got an SNP majority of Holyrood MSPs. Even Swinney referenced that before the election in May.
DeleteShe repeatedly promised indyref2 not demanded.
If you work for the British state you do not get convicted.
Calling someone a liar does not make the claim true. Alex Salmond in 2011 won only 45.4% of the constituency vote. Nicola later led the SNP into the 2015 UK general election, where it won 56 of Scotland’s 59 Westminster seats and 50% of the Scottish vote. The party’s highest-ever (higher than Salmond) share of Scottish seats and votes at a UK general election. And won a higher SNP share of the vote in the constituency votes in 2016 (46.5%) and 2021 (47.7%) both higher than Salmond ever got. Sturgeon achieved higher vote share in Holyrood constituency and nationwide Westminster votes. QED.
Delete12.05am thanks for making the case against Sturgeon. She got all these votes and MPs and MSPs and did nothing about independence while her and her crooked husband were embezzling SNP monies and making a ring fenced £600k for independence disappear.
DeleteNicola delivered real change. Scotland set a 2045 net zero target five years ahead of the UK. Renewables grew fast. Coal ended and oil was rightly challenged. Scotland beat the rest of the UK on cuts to carbon fuel. She pushed gender recognition and other LGBTQIA+ reform.
DeleteShe was not charged with any wrongdoing whatsoever.
The Net Zero by 2045 five years ahead of Westminster and LGBTQIA+ laws were concrete wins.
Anonymous at 12.05 am you refer to elections not a referendum. In elections it is seats won that is the mandate not vote share. If you do not realise this then you really are a numpty or just playing games. So you are saying Swinney is a liar. For a mandate for independence it was Holyrood that counts hence the 2014 referendum happening when the SNP only had under 10 MPs but didnae happen when they had 56MPs under Sturgeon. So your QED is rubbish and you are a liar and sound more like a Britnat to me than a nicophant.
DeleteOh dear. “Numpty”, “liar”, “Britnat”, “nicophant”. When insults do this much heavy lifting, the argument is struggling. Nicola Sturgeon didn’t “squander” 56 MPs. Westminster representation did not magically give Holyrood powers it didn’t possess in the independence space. Sturgeon repeatedly sought a lawful referendum. Westminster repeatedly refused consent. She then took the issue to the Supreme Court to establish exactly where Scotland stood in the independence space. That wasn’t betrayal. It was leadership. Blame Nicola for Westminster’s veto if you must, but she didn’t create it. And attacking loyal SNP supporters for defending our most electorally successful leader is simply laughable.
DeleteBritnat nicophant at 8.57am says: “ she was not charged with any wrongdoing whatsoever “ . Thanks again - exactly what I said. If you work for the British state you do not get convicted even when your house is full of stolen goods, you sit in the front row of Holyrood holding a stolen Mont Blanc pen and you cannae see a large luxury motorhome in a driveway.
DeleteAs this anon desperately tries to gaslight us about Sturgeon England is becoming a failed state that is dragging us down with it. The UK Environment Sec has stated that food shortages are likely in the future. Scotland can feed itself no problem. It just cannae feed England as well. Remember what they did to Ireland in the past. The food will be grabbed by London and the South East. The SNP are supposed to be there to get us out of England’s grasp but 8.57am prattles on about a lot of letters being a main achievement. Sturgeon hid her personal interest in these special interests showing exactly her lack of honesty.
Still no evidence that Nicola Sturgeon was dishonest. She was arrested, questioned and released without charge. That matters. Suggesting the entire system protects her because she “works for the British state” is assertion, not proof. Nicola delivered real progressive leadership. Her government legislated for a 2045 net-zero target. Five years ahead of the UK target. Tjat took guts. She stood proudly for LGBTQIA+ rights when doing so required immense personal courage and attracted fierce opposition. She won election after election. She strengthened Scotland’s voice. You can sneer at those achievements. I won’t. Nicola’s record deserves evidence-based judgement, not camper-van insinuations, conspiracy theories and increasingly desperate personal attacks.
Deleteidentity politics destroyed socialism; woke destroyed the old left and it absolutely shattered nationalism
Deleteidentity politics is the leftwing of neoliberalism and balkanises society into mutually loathing groups engaged in a vicious zero sum game; there is no unifying principle (which is why class and nationalism, have to be remove)
net zero is a scam designed to destroy perfectly good infrastructure in order to provide fake demand to the markets
Deletethe worlds main polluters are USA, China, India and the pentagon on its own; they are not shutting down, and nor will the new, massive, oil and gas finds, be left in the ground
net zero is designed so that the likes of Blackrock can make more profits
heat pumps are shit in Scotland and your electric car is an unreliable POS
9.21am you are lying by omission. You forgot the evidence that the Polis passed a file on Sturgeon to COPFS which sat in their in tray for at least 6 months. You forgot the evidence that Sturgeon stated she full cooperated with the Polis at her interview and then it turns out she said no comment for 8 hours. You anon are a liar like Sturgeon.
DeleteOh dear, we have a Sturgeon worshiper! How sad.
DeleteSturgeon was a disgrace during Covid. Attempting, day after day, to make political gain from a tragedy. Trying to make out Scotland was doing better than England, when clearly we weren’t. Waiting to see what measures Boris Johnson was going to bring in, then doing more or less the same, but always tweaking it slightly, to try and score political points. Warning people not to travel to England, etc.
It was pathetic!
Ugh. Nicola faced a global pandemic and showed serious leadership when Scotland desperately needed it. Daily briefings. Clear communication. Difficult decisions. Accountability in public. But apparently protecting public health was “political gain” because Nicola occasionally dared to make different decisions from Boris Johnson. Imagine that. Scotland’s First Minister courageously governing Scotland rather than dong the easy thing and following Westminster. Perhaps she should have phoned Downing Street each morning and asked permission to think. You call her pathetic which says more about you than it does about her. Millions trusted her leadership. I’ll take Nicola’s compassion over this reheated anti-Sturgeon obsessive ranting any day.
DeleteNicola showed courage when she stood unapologetically for LGBTQIA+ rights in a homophobic and transphobic era. She broke through these bigoted attitudes. She backed Scotland’s ambitious 2045 net-zero target despite the UK taking the easy route of 2050. In both these policy areas and many others she chose principle over convenience. Leadership means standing firm and taking a lead for Scottish people.
DeleteNicola Sturgeon is a failed politician.
DeleteWhat planet is the Sturgeon worshiper on this thread on?
Delete11.30am why don’t you just say the whole alphabet. Weirdo. What actually did Sturgeon achieve on this other than piss a lot of voters off by wanting to put rapists in women’s prisons while hiding her own personal interest in these identity matters. It’s called deceit.
DeleteThe net zero target is a farce. England dictates this. Get independence and then a net zero target for Scotland can be real.
11.48am asks what planet you are on. It’s planet tranny.
"What planet is the Sturgeon worshiper on this thread on?"
DeleteIt's obviously a parody account and it's certainly taken in a few of the usual suspects here.
Donations scandal. Reform Faragists party members response - couldn’t give a damn.
ReplyDeleteSturgeon/Murrell scandal. SNP nicophant members response- couldn’t give a damn.
Both cut from the same cloth
Nicola Sturgeon rescued the SNP from Alex Salmond’s failures in government. Where Salmond quit and left the party, she rebuilt it into an electoral powerhouse, securing successive commanding majorities and the strongest results in SNP history better than anyone before or since. Her long tenure delivered sustained dominance Salmond never matched. More progressive than her predecessor, with a positive Net Zero and LGBTQ+ agenda, and remarkable performance in the COVID19 pandemic that made Scots of all stripes rally to her, with communications skills that contrasted with other leaders, she advanced social reform, equality and a modern vision of independence while winning repeated public mandates. That record of competence and progressive leadership is the polar opposite of the indifference the comparison by IFS tries unconvincingly to claim.
Delete11.24 Hiya Nicola. How are you enjoying the London gay clubs. I guess you are not recognised when you put your false moustache on and sing YMCA.
DeleteWhat a petty dig. Nicola Sturgeon sacrificed the best years of her life as First Minister. She sacrificed privacy family time health and any normal existence. She served the Scottish people through Brexit COVID and brought progressive values. You are sneering about fake moustaches and gay clubs which is inappropriate. She gave up so much in public service.
DeleteAnon @ 11:24pm
DeleteThe Holyrood election results tell a different story. SNP vote, constituency, regional, average of the two and change since last election:
2007 - 32.9% 31.0% avg 32.0%
2011 - 45.4% 44.0% avg 44.7% = +12.7%
2016 - 46.5% 41.7% avg 44.1% = -0.6%
2021 - 47.7% 40.3% avg 44.0% = -0.1%
2026 - 38.2% 27.2% avg 32.7% = -11.3%
So under Salmond, well up, under Sturgeon, down slightly and then down very slightly. Then after Sturgeon, Yousaf and finally Swinney - well down, nearly back to the 2007 election.
Whatever the debate about Sturgeon, the numbers how that Sturgeon inherited a very good SNP percentage, and pretty well kept it before it nosedived.
But she did not "rescued the SNP from Alex Salmond’s failures in government".
Full table which for 2026 is a bit unfair to Swinney for a lot of reason, it's maybe lucky it didn't plunge to 2003 levels:
DeleteSalmond. 1999 - 28.7% 27.3% avg 28.0%
Swinney. 2003 - 23.8% 20.9% avg 22.4% = -5.6%
Salmond. 2007 - 32.9% 31.0% avg 32.0% = +9.6%
Salmond. 2011 - 45.4% 44.0% avg 44.7% = +12.7%
Sturgeon 2016 - 46.5% 41.7% avg 44.1% = -0.6%
Sturgeon 2021 - 47.7% 40.3% avg 44.0% = -0.1%
Swinney. 2026 - 38.2% 27.2% avg 32.7% = -11.3%
Your table carefully mixes constituency and regional votes then declares decline. The regional list is distorted by tactical votes for the Greens. That is why it is a poor measure of SNP support. You also omit every Westminster election. Under Sturgeon the SNP took 56 of 59 Scottish seats and 50 percent of the vote in 2015. That remains the party’s highest ever UK result. Her Holyrood constituency shares of 46.5 percent in 2016 and 47.7 percent in 2021 both exceeded Salmond’s best. The record on the measures that matter is clear.
DeleteSturgeon takes credit for the works of Salmond.
Deletemuch like protestants take credit for the achievements of catholicism
- both never did nothing other than try to wreck the operation
6.10 am James says the regional vote is the important vote.
DeleteI’ll repeat again - in elections it is the number of MSP seats you get that counts. In referendums it is getting the most votes that counts. None of the figures you referred to are referendums. You picking your favoured figure for share of the vote is irrelevant.
“ That remains the party’s highest ever result. “ spoken like a true party person. What use was it - it got the SNP more money from the British state. Did it get a referendum - no.
For crying out loud. Nicola delivered 56 SNP MPs. Fifty-six. Apparently meaningless because Westminster still said no. And spare us the lecture about vote shares. SNP constituency support is especially significant precisely because tactical voting can distort both ballots, while successful constituency wins then heavily reduce the SNP’s chances of gaining regional seats as James points out. Funny how that little detail disappears. Nicola didn’t create Westminster’s veto in the independence space. She challenged it. Repeatedly. She sought a Section 30 order. She took the issue to the Supreme Court. She kept winning elections. Blame Westminster’s refusal. Don’t rewrite Nicola’s extraordinary electoral record unmatched before and since because the facts are inconvenient.
Delete12.08am can’t be long before this anon says Nicola walked on water as well. She did miracles but stuck to UK law. Even helping create new UK law that says Scotland is a prisoner in the UK. A nice excuse for her doing nothing about independence while helping her husband to embezzle monies - a lot of money.
DeleteFor crying out loud. Now we’ve moved from “Nicola did nothing” to accusing her of helping commit embezzlement. There is no basis for that claim. The police examined the evidence and concluded Nicola should not be charged and no further enquiries concerning her were required. Mr Murrell committed the crime. Mr Murrell pleaded guilty. Mr Murrell was jailed. Nicola has been consistent: he deceived her. Those are the facts. Inventing criminal complicity because the evidence stubbornly refuses to support your narrative is desperate. Seek help.
Delete2.59 Inventing criminal complicity is exactly what Sturgeon did to smear Alex Salmond after his acquittal.
DeleteWhat goes around comes around.
Anon at 6:10 am
DeleteI couldn't be bothered looking up the Westminster polling for 2014 but here you are - move the tab across at the bottom of the table to get earlier polls:
https://www.whatscotlandthinks.org/questions/how-would-you-be-likely-to-vote-in-a-uk-general-election/#line
In June 2014 the SNP were already at 40% - under Salmond. And in October 2014 after the referendums surge, the SNP were at 52% - BEFORE Sturgeon was installed as leader and FM in November.
Election results:
2010 - 19.9%
2015 50.0% = + 30.1% mostly under Salmond, some Sturgeon
2017 36.9% = -13.1% under Sturgeon
2019 45.0% = +8.1% under Sturgeon
2024 30.0% = -15.0% under Sturgeon, Yousaf, some Swinney
Sturgeon built a little on Swinney's gains in percentage, had a big whoopsie in 2017, and didn't do great in 2019. Swinney went even further down in 2024 after Sturgeon and Yousaf and all the shenanigans, and his own big huge enormous mistake in not genuinely putting Independence right at the front - so losing 500,000 SNP voters.
I think Sturgeon was great during Covid, but if somehow she did make a return she'd lead the SNP to oblivion next time - less than 20%.
And here's what Curtice thought of it in December 2014:
Deletehttps://www.whatscotlandthinks.org/2014/12/new-leader-old-troubles-labour-scotland/
"The poll confirms the evidence of previous polls taken in October and November as to why Labour now finds itself in such serious difficulty.
First, the gap between Westminster and Holyrood voting intentions has almost disappeared. At 47%, support for the SNP in a Westminster election is only three points lower than it is for a Scottish Parliament one; when two years ago YouGov were asking people both their Holyrood and Westminster voting intention, the equivalent gap was more like eight points. Meanwhile, Labour’s Westminster support is actually one point lower than its Holyrood support whereas two years ago it was five points higher.
The past three months has not simply been marked by an increase in SNP support. Rather the nationalists are also benefitting from the fact that voters have apparently become more inclined to vote in a Westminster election in much the same way as they would in a Holyrood one – perhaps because in the wake of the referendum voters’ focus is still on which party they think is best for Scotland in particular rather than who is best able to govern Britain as a whole."
The Sturgeon effect much over-rated - it's more us, the voters.
It’s no wonder anon at 2.59pm is in tune with Sturgeon. They are both prolific liars.
DeleteThe liar says: “ The police examined the evidence and concluded Nicola should not be charged and no further enquiries concerning her were required”. That is a blatant lie. The Polis sent a report to COPFS and they sat on it for at least 6 months before telling Police to do nothing. Like Sturgeon you just punt out lies with great ease.
“He deceived her “ says the anon liar. Sturgeon is both a high calibre leader and a daft wee wifey according to this anon liar. Surprised you didnae claim that she had missed her Specsavers appointments and that’s why she didnae see a great big luxury motorhome. £60k worth of embezzled female goods kept off the charge sheet as part of the plead guilty deal. Nobody is buying you and Sturgeon’s lies.
COPFS binned the Polis file. The Lord Advocate is in charge of COPFS. Who appointed the Lord Advocate - Sturgeon. Who does the Lord Advocate report to - John Swinney. The same Lord Advocate who just happened to be a dreadful advocate at the UK Supreme Court for the right to self determination of the Scottish people.
You need to seek help for being a pathological liar and a Britnat.
Those of us who are still around in 2040ish will get to vote in a referendum for Scotland's independence which, by then, we should win comfortably.
ReplyDeletePart of the SNP's remit in the meantime is to mitigate against Westminster's asset stripping of our resources and also building international relationships ready for when we are free to make our own decisions. We will need a lot of help initially.
Short version: a decade or two before we get to vote again. A generation after that to untangle ourselves from the Union and build the framework of a great wee independent country.
There's no shortcuts, the past is done. All our efforts should be towards the future.
The Holyrood government is doing a very thorough job of asset stripping of our resources. They are pretty much stripped, through the Scottish government's policies, right now, and oligarch data centers will take the rest. But it's all Westminster's fault for introducing devolution?
Deletemy life in the bush of ghosts with Eno was brilliant by the way
DeleteThe Britnats used to say after the 2014 referendum no indyref2 for 10 years. 12 years on, supposed independence supporters say no indyref2 for decades. Is this progress? There are no shortcuts says David. Pity we didnae start in 2015 then. David says we should build international relationships - has the last 12 years not been long enough to do that. Or has the SNP just been focussed on what they call progressive relationships and toilets.
DeleteAny independence supporter who buys in to this independence will just happen in the future stuff is a fool. Anyone punting it is a Britnat or a fool.
I hope it's not a decade or two but you're right, all our efforts should be towards the future. IfS's total obsession with NS and constant raking over the coals is pointless and unhelpful now, and silly, too.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 8.48am Oh no it’s not. It’s the same people in charge of the SNP today as it was for the last 12 years - Sturgeon’s gang. So back in 2017 the SNP is all indyref2. Now they have convinced people like you to say “ I hope it’s not a decade or two”. You have been played. In a decade or two some other person will say let’s not rush it. We’ll get there in a decade or two. It’s been 319 years. Is that not long enough?
DeleteIt’s not happening, ever!
DeleteSurely it’s time you lot got over it and moved on!
Ifs and KC are like for like, one is anti Scotland and the other one is so stupid to see that his anti SNP slavering is playing into the britnat hands of the other. Do you both share the one black balaclava?
DeleteI can assure anon@2:06am that I’m most certainly NOT anti Scotland. I’m proud to be Scottish and British.
DeleteI’m just strongly against independence.
Anon troll at 2.06am you should go to bed earlier you might think clearer and be less obnoxious when posting but I doubt it.
DeleteAny person or political party who punts that independence just has to go on the back burner for decades is de facto a Britnat even if they consider themselves an independence supporter.
Hard to understand any Britnat like KC who claims to be for Scotland when they are happy to be subservient, subjugated and humiliated week by week by Westminster rule. Some people are clearly happy to be on their knees before their masters - like an abused dog.
I assume everyone by this time knows that ifs is in fact...Jim fae Dundee.
DeleteEmbarrassing stuff from Ifs@12:06pm.
DeleteAnon troll at 12.21 if that is the best you can come up with best stay anonymous. Why this weirdo is obsessed with me only his psychiatrist probably knows. In contrast. I couldn’t care less about who you are anon.
DeleteKC is always saying he is embarrassed. I have never seen him saying he is embarrassed by supporting a Royal family who is not bothered about paedophiles in their midst.
Is that the best you can come up with Jim?......Dearie me!
Deleteifs 319 years ago !! Hardly like for like, is it?
ReplyDeleteAnon at 7.02pm No idea what you mean but I’m guessing you do.
DeleteYes.
DeleteEver is a big word and we’ll all probably be talking whatever language we’ll be talking in the Islamic republic of Scotlandistan
ReplyDeleteWe'll all be talking whatever language we'll be talking, you got that right.
Deleteracist and stupid. Some combination.
ReplyDeleteoh sectarian too.
ReplyDeleteLet’s take in the entire continent of Africa and huge chunks of Asia for good measure. How many is too many folks. Serious question. Any anons here got a figure in mind as I’d love to hear it
DeleteRacist, stupid and sectarian the perfect combination of a fuckwit.
ReplyDeleteOr a Reform voter. Or a Restore voter. Or a Tory voter. Or, it seems, some Labour voters. The U K is a boy of a shit hole right now.
DeleteYour got one thing right - republice. Let's have a secular republic of Scotland.
DeleteSecular republic of Scotland. Sounds good to me. Just hope it is secular though. Some religions don’t do secular. No doubt I will called a racist saying even though it’s undoubtedly true.
DeleteProbably not a furry
DeleteThe betting markets are significantly altering their odds on Farage being gone this year or the next. It’s difficult to imagine Reform UK PLC surviving without its major shareholder.
ReplyDeleteThe lacquer of gold is finally coming off the base metal core of Farage. He is and always was a vehicle for financial speculators.
Some of the Faragist cultists will find a home in Restore Britain, but not enough to make that vanity project electorally viable. The supporters of Reform sufficiently evolved from the swamp to contemplate a black, female PM will migrate to the Tories.
If I was Burnham I would be thinking about an early election to hit the sweet spot between the dissolution of Reform and the rise of the Conservatives.
Interesting one as if Farage steps down it could make it harder for Burnham. but a risk to go now.
DeleteThe sharp suited managerialist in the Fianna Fáil / Fina Gael coalition are hell bent on their own destruction over the building of Data Centres.
ReplyDeleteThese facilities are already at their highest concentration in Europe and one of the highest concentrations in the world. They consume 23% of total available energy in Ireland. They consume vast amounts of water in the east of the country that still has a months long hose pipe ban in place.
Today, the eejits in the Dáil are offering cut price energy to attract more Data Centres. These career politicians must be so isolated in their neo-conservative bubbles that they are deaf to the growing rage of the people.
Scotland is vastly better equipped to house Data Centres than Ireland. We have the water and the excess energy to service them. The question is, what’s in it for us to facilitate them?
DeleteThe job numbers thrown around by the proponents of Data Centres are delusional, they include the construction phase. How many permanent jobs are associated with a Data Centres and how much do they pay?
Ireland will gain Business Rates and Corporation Tax. A devolved Scotland would get the Business Rates, but Corporation Tax would be lodged in London.
Local objections to planning permission for aesthetic reasons are legitimate. Objections to AI in general are also legitimate.
I’m surprised that the current big screen adaptation of Dune hasn’t touched on the Butlerian Jihad. It would seem to capture the preeminent concern of the present, particularly amongst the younger generations.
Data Centres aren’t especially ugly in the landscape. They are big, low profile sheds. The architects can produce artists impressions of them shielded by a screen of mature trees.
DeleteThe issue is how many of these structures will survive long enough for the trees to grow to obscure their appearance in the landscape? The projected profits for the AI outfits are out by several orders of magnitude. There isn’t and there won’t be revenue streams sufficient to justify the number of Centres which exist or will exist in the next couple of years.
At some point in the not too distant future, the AI behemoths will start negotiating for government subsidies to keep their Centres open, playing one state off against the other.
Data Centres are a bandwagon best avoided. It’s headed for a cliff.