tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88435197577380424232024-03-13T02:48:37.640+00:00Oot o' the Shortbread TinOut of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.comBlogger255125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-50657483532063985902019-05-06T11:29:00.000+01:002019-05-06T11:29:21.788+01:00Keep quiet and carry onYesterday there was an article in the Sunday Herald entitled 'SNP declares war on cybernats' which was written by Neil Mackay, and in which there were quotes from Angus Robertson, Alyn Smith and Stewart MacDonald of the SNP on the subject of social media and the independence movement.
The article itself was a travesty. In the third paragraph we see this:
They described online abusers as "Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-80735628594732006752019-03-24T13:37:00.007+00:002019-03-24T13:37:50.134+00:00Division bellToday Nicola Sturgeon appeared on the Andrew Marr show to give her views on Theresa May and Brexit more generally. During the interview she stated that
Another Scottish independence referendum is going to happen. Nothing in this life is absolutely certain but I think it's as inevitable as its possible to be.
She also added
Before I set forward a path for Scotland I think it's reasonable Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-73615575323778819282018-10-31T06:16:00.001+00:002018-10-31T08:20:09.399+00:00Beating a grouseYesterday a huge argument blew up about a blogpost by Grousebeater in which he examines the role of the GMB and Rhea Wolfson in the recent strike by female employees of Glasgow City Council in pursuit of their claim for equal pay. The controversial passage was this:
In Part 1 of Mein Kampf Hitler attacks unions over an over
again. Unions are fascism’s Public Enemy Number 1. He went Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-41522597832125146852018-06-16T09:37:00.000+01:002018-06-16T09:37:04.368+01:00Eyes on the PrizeLast week the SNP announced the results of the election for Depute Leader of the party. which was won by Keith Brown. The Conservatives in Scotland were moved to tweet this in response:
At first glance, this would seem a nonsensical thing to say. The Depute Leader of the SNP supports independence for Scotland? Definitely high on the 'D'uh' scale. If you think about it, Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-32845352691424934482018-06-13T17:15:00.004+01:002018-06-13T17:15:21.943+01:00Wha daur meddle wi' meLast night the Westminster government essentially drove a coach and horses through the current devolution settlement by only permitting 15 minutes for debate on clause 11 of the EU Withdrawal Bill and filling that time with a speech from David Lidington, a Tory minister. No Scottish MPs were allowed to speak. This now means that powers being repatriated from Brussels which are Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-86774008497297105392018-05-19T08:32:00.001+01:002018-05-19T08:32:15.044+01:00Never trust a ToryToday Ruth Davidson has written an article for the Guardian entitled 'My fellow Tories, I'm afraid the crash generation just doesn't trust us'. It's been written on the back of a YouGov poll on behalf of the Centre for Policy Studies which says that
nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds say that there is zero chance of them ever voting Tory.
Honestly I'm surprised that it's as high as Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-40298576299584416462018-05-13T09:25:00.000+01:002018-05-13T09:25:08.874+01:00They walk the lineYou can't please all of the people all of the time. All you can do is try to please as many people as possible most of the time. This principle applies in all sorts of situations in life, and there's often a fine line to be walked.
The history of the Labour party is a good example of this. It was originally formed out of the trade union movement, with the intention of Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-3112952909720163122018-04-22T09:54:00.000+01:002018-04-22T09:54:26.949+01:00Divisive'Shall we have a second referendum on Scottish independence?'
'No! Divisive!' comes the loud reply from supporters of the Union.
Divisive. The reflex answer, without much thought going into it, parroted time and time again. But what does that actually mean?
The dictionary definition of 'divisive' is 'tending to cause disagreement or hostility between people'. On Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-33293279350166300332018-04-12T15:59:00.000+01:002018-04-12T15:59:33.584+01:00Alea iacta estThere continues to be a huge debate about the timing of a second Scottish independence referendum, although it would appear that most supporters of Scottish independence would prefer it to take place before the next Scottish elections in 2021. However, it remains to be seen whether the Scottish government will do so, especially with stalwarts of the Yes movement like Jim Sillars proclaimingOut of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-54638673198157358832018-04-08T13:16:00.001+01:002018-04-08T13:16:45.798+01:00Ready, steady...Recently there has been a big debate going on in the indy-supporting community as to the timing of a second referendum on Scottish independence. This has been sparked by Pete Wishart MP, who urges caution on holding a second independence referendum unless it's all but certain it will be won. This has provoked a strong reaction from people who believe that the mandate that the SNP and Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-2003894296408327552017-06-07T17:25:00.001+01:002017-06-08T06:06:44.636+01:00Sending a messageWe are about to vote in the General Election that Theresa May insisted she wasn't going to call. Here in Scotland the battle is principally between those who support independence for Scotland and those who want Scotland to remain part of the UK. Indeed both Labour in Scotland and the Tories in Scotland have staked their campaigns on it.
For those who support independence the choice Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-32930618562505125972017-05-21T13:13:00.000+01:002017-05-21T13:13:05.564+01:00Second place victoryThere is a new poll out which shows Labour gaining on the Tories, with the gap between them reduced to 9%.. This would bring the General Election closer to hung parliament territory, which would be in stark contrast to the expected Tory tsunami when Theresa May called it. The question is why would this be?
The Labour manifesto has been criticised for being uncosted and for reverting Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-78704253794253566702017-04-25T17:02:00.001+01:002017-04-25T17:08:11.858+01:00Gone fishing?Has Ruth Davidson's PR person gone on holiday? I ask because she has dropped a couple of real clangers in the past few days. First there was this
(From the party that brought in the rape clause)
Then there was this
(From the party that has removed disability vehicles from over 50,000 people)
I know we're used to the Tories having a tin ear with regard to their Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-38663836905824021862017-04-19T06:24:00.000+01:002017-04-19T06:24:42.122+01:00All-inTheresa May yesterday called for a snap General Election on 8th June. She has to get a vote of two-thirds of MPs in the Commons to make that happen, but since Jeremy Corbyn has announced that his MPs will be whipped to support it, it's pretty much a racing certainty that it's going to happen. So why now? I think there are several reasons.
The first and most obvious one is that Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-9882764162615508822017-03-29T16:52:00.002+01:002017-03-29T16:52:57.574+01:00Referendum the secondThe Scottish parliament yesterday voted for a second independence referendum by a margin of 69-59, after a debate stretching over two days. I watched some of the final day of the debate and was struck by the tone of the debate coming from the Unionist side. From Ruth Davidson's 'Sit Down!' directed at the First Minister to so-called jokes about the Greens' 'vegan diets' there was a Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-8123036483464212972017-03-26T09:54:00.001+01:002017-03-26T09:54:15.394+01:00DivisionIn today's Observer Kevin McKenna has an article about the 'divisiveness' of another referendum on Scotland's independence. It's a word we hear incessantly from the Scottish branches of Labour and the Conservatives, and I must admit it has always puzzled me. People never agree on anything. Some like curry, some prefer Chinese food. Some like to drink alcohol, others don't.Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-66269495026754433522017-03-14T20:36:00.001+00:002017-03-14T20:36:58.543+00:00Brexit deal ironyYesterday morning Nicola Sturgeon caught Downing Street on the hop by announcing that she would be asking the Scottish Parliament next week to approve a request for a Section 30 order, thus firing the starting pistol on a second independence referendum for Scotland. This is expected to take place sometime between autumn 2018 and spring 2019, although it could be slightly later, depending onOut of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-37466658282203720792017-03-11T10:22:00.000+00:002017-03-11T10:22:01.203+00:00Holy WullieThis weekend is the Liberal Democrats' spring conference, in which we can expect to hear lots of 'SNP bad' and 'we don't want no referendum' (isn't there a song about that?). This is also the time for their leader, Willie Rennie, to expect some coverage of his views.
Yesterday he had a somewhat disastrous interview with Gary Robertson on Good Morning Scotland, in which he was hard pressedOut of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-1462193984030106692017-03-05T18:31:00.000+00:002017-03-05T18:31:14.130+00:00Here is the newsI'm currently reading 'All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class' by Tim Shipman. It's an analysis of both the Remain and Leave campaigns and has extensive interviews with many of the backroom people as well as the frontmen from each side.
One chapter deals with the BBC coverage in the purdah period in the 30 days leading up to the referendum and whether its Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-6951504430875120102017-02-28T06:34:00.001+00:002017-02-28T06:34:47.606+00:00Following the rulesWoman deported from UK despite being married to Briton for 27 years
The non-EU workers who'll be deported for earning less than £35,000
Frail pensioner faces deportation after decade in UK to China where she knows no-one
Woman with no hands had her benefits stopped because she couldn't open a letter
DWP head denies sanctions and suicide link
Outrage at claims DWP 'Grinches' are refusing to Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-5936172017834725882017-02-26T13:31:00.000+00:002017-02-26T13:31:22.608+00:00Then you winThere is a famous quote:
First they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they fight you then you win.
It's often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, although the evidence seems to indicate that isn't the case. However, it is a neat summing up of the stages that any movement will go through, generally speaking.
It applies quite well to the Scottish independence movement. From its Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-14886489099772592832016-07-11T21:13:00.000+01:002016-07-11T21:13:08.398+01:00Don't wanna choose, I want them bothToday The Guardian carries an interview with Kezia Dugdale, in which she outlines her current thinking on the state of UK politics. The interviewer attended a speech Ms Dugdale was giving on the lessons of the EU referendum, of which he says
The promising premise of Dugdale’s speech is undermined by her fondness
for political cliche: “Here’s the thing”; “It’s in our DNA”; “Entering
Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-67379901335019451262016-05-09T06:17:00.001+01:002016-05-09T06:24:11.985+01:00Devo-not-quite-maxNow the dust of the Scottish General election is beginning to settle Labour are looking for a new role following their second humiliation at the ballot box. The market place of Scottish politics is quite crowded now, with SNP (independence, centre-left), Tory (Union, right), Green (independence, left-wing/environmental), RISE (independence, far-left) and LibDems (federalism, errrrr help me Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-32622999543423833112016-05-08T15:44:00.001+01:002016-05-08T15:44:48.944+01:00Turd polishingThis weekend has seen most of the commentary on last week's Scottish general election, and anyone unfamiliar with Scottish politics would be forgiven for thinking that Ruth Davidson and her party won it. The Guardian, long regarded as a bastion of left-wing thought, is besotted with Ms Davidson, with article after article on her and the Scottish Tories. Other papers and TV programmes Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843519757738042423.post-41199022692892679012016-04-30T09:30:00.000+01:002016-04-30T09:30:07.877+01:00Private dancerToday the Guardian carries this video of Kezia Dugdale being interviewed by Owen Jones. In it they discuss Labour's toxicity in Scotland, what it's like to be LGBT in Scotland and the perceived role of Brian Soutar in forming SNP policy.
Ms Dugdale attributes the Tories'
toxicity in Scotland to 18 years of Out of the shortbread tinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11883706772299614759noreply@blogger.com0