When is nationalism not nationalism? When it’s British of course. Stick a union flag on your nationalist tub thumping and as if by magic – watch, and the nationalism has gone! British nationalism, it’s the Cillit Bang of nationalisms. And that’s one of the many reasons why British nationalism is better than any other kind of nationalism, especially that of the Scottish variety. Try as you might, a saltire will never scrub away the taint of nationalism, not like the glorious red white and blue. That’s why an independence parade with its sea of saltires is a regressive display of divisive nationalism, but a Labour party waving the union flag is a positive display of patriotism which unites us all.
Today it was announced that Keir Starmer is to big up the patriotism in his first conference speech as party leader. That’s patriotism, not nationalism, because it’s British. If you can’t tell the difference it’s probably because you’re an unpatriotic nationalist separatist type who doesn’t swell with pride whenever a Vera Lynn song, our heroes, bunting, or a reference to WWII comes on the telly, as it does on the BBC at least once every fifteen minutes because the BBC is resolutely opposed to nationalism – just not to jingoism. Or possibly you’re a foreigner. Although since this is Labour nationa … sorry … patriotism and not the Tory variety it’s not a bad thing to be a foreigner. It’s just to be kind of condescended to and patronised in the same way you’d look at a cute lickle puppy with a sore paw. Because you didn’t win the war.
Labour has already started to run union flag themed adverts which are pretty much indistinguishable from Conservative party adverts. Or indeed from UKIP adverts, a party which is also opposed to membership of the EU just like Labour is these days. Yes Labour, you’re UKIP now. Over the background of a union flag, we see Keir Starmer’s words “I want this to be the best country to grow up in and the best country to grow old in.” Although in the reality of modern Britain, quite a lot of us won’t manage to grow old at all and more and more kids are being brought up in poverty. We always get this sort of thing from British nationalist politicians. Britain always has to be the best in the world. It has to be world beating. Most of us would be quite happy if it could aspire to adequacy but it can’t even manage that.
There is of course no recognition at all in Keir Starmer’s words that the constituent parts of the UK are different countries. Instead we get a unitary British nationalism where we are all to be subsumed into a Greater Englandshire. Forget the message, here’s a flag. And this is from the party whose apparatchiks always pop up on social media after a yes march or rally to sniff contemptuously that no one is persuaded to change their mind because someone waves a flag. Scottish nationalism, bad. English nationalism pretending to be British, good.
The Labour party, having lost a swath of seats in the North of England to the Conservatives, have decided to dress themselves in Tory drag in order to try and win them back again. It’s further evidence of the right wing drift of politics in the UK, and the Torification of the Labour party. It’s a lesson that those of us who are a bit longer in the tooth learned decades ago, after the long dark and bitter experience of Thatcherism. It’s what we saw with the Tombstone Teeth of Tony Blair, Labour can only ever win elections in England by apeing the Conservatives.
Despite the fact that we have the worst prime minister since the last two, and the worst government in living memory, Labour still can’t build a lead over the Tories in opinion polling. Even though we have a Conservative Government which has presided over the one of the highest death tolls from coronavirus in the world, and which has managed to combine that with the greatest damage to the economy. Even though this Conservative Government has ripped up the oven ready deal it claimed to have just a few months ago and which was the centre piece of its election campaign. Even though Johnson has already acted unlawfully and exceeded his powers and is now threatening to break international law. So now in order to try and make some sort of breakthrough in an England which is clearly in thrall to the Conservatives, Labour are turning themselves into the Tory-lite party. This is the progressive politics which they want to sell to Scotland in order to keep us in the UK.
So what does Labour have to offer Scotland? We’re not hearing much about the corpse of that full fat federalism that they keep wanting to resuscitate. That doesn’t play too well with the nationa… sorry patriotic messaging that Labour hopes will win it back the affections of voters in the red wall seats in northern England which are now a deep shade of blue. The federalism fairy is a beast that is only ever let loose in Scotland, which means that it’s just a story told to get the restless Caledonian natives to go back to sleep. But the restless natives had already worked that one out.
Keir Starmer now condescendingly tells us that should the SNP win a majority in the next Scottish elections, the question of a referendum will have to be “looked at”. The subtext here is that it’s not for the people of Scotland to decide for themselves in a democratic vote what it is that they want. The big boys and girls in Westminster will decide that for us, as though we’re children who have asked for more pocket money and to stay up past our bedtime. If the Labour party really did seek to represent the people of Scotland then there can be no question that when the people of Scotland have made their views clear in an election, no politicians who call themselves democrats should stand in their way.
The Labour branch office in Scotland is mired in infighting as its anonymous branch office manager clings on despite the plots and resentment amongst his own party members. Labour has failed to learn the lesson of the Conservatives – a party which denies democracy is a party which loses its right to represent the people. They have become an irrelevance, and the election of Keir Starmer has done nothing to improve their prospects in Scotland. The only route back to influence for the Labour party in Scotland is as a Scottish Labour party in an independent Scotland. Then perhaps the party’s appeal to solidarity might be something more than meaningless cant and a call to Scotland to sacrifice itself on the altar of England’s love for the Conservatives.
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Wee Ginger Dug 
For a little light relief, rearrange the words, INJUNCTION … JOHNSON … BORIS … SUPER and hit search.
This comes from a (admittedly convoluted) chain of degrees of separation that ends in No. 11 Downing Street.
So, THAT’S why he was sleeping in a tent in Applecross!
“Raise the scarlet standard high
Beneath its folds we’ll live and die
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer
We’ll keep the Butcher’s Apron flying here.”
Yes, I especially liked the reference to patrionising apparatchiks. But cognitive dissonance seems to come with the package for NorthBritLab diehards these days. All part of their reality-denying problem.
How about STRIVING TOWARDS
MEDIOCRITY! Sounds like a good banner for either the labourites or the tories!!
Or even adequacy? That woud be a challenge.
Extend either …
STRIVING TOWARDS MEDIOCRITY/ADEQUACY – BUT FAILING/NOT QUITE GETTING THERE
Political parties, politicians, and their loyal zombie followers can’t help themselves.
Snakes can only slither. It’s all they know. It is their nature (my apologies to snakes everywhere).
They want to rule.
Not lead, not inspire, not represent.
Rule.
I hope the constitution will have not only term limits for every office in the land, but party in power limits as well.
[…] Wee Ginger Dug Labour’s Tory drag When is nationalism not nationalism? When it’s British of course. Stick a union flag […]
Good article Paul. The bit that stood out for me was ,” Keir Starmer now condescendingly tells us that should the SNP win a majority in the next Scottish election, the question of a referendum will have to be “looked at”. Aw, in’t that nice eh.
Well SIR Keir Starmer of the red tories you can GTF. What then, you “look at it” then say no you poor wee jocks can’t have it, we have to look after you and tell you what to do. You’ve done that for ower three hunner years, how’s that worked out for you. Patronising prick, akin to a pat on the heid an a lump of sugar, on yer way sweaties.
So, no thank you very much from me and my fellow Scots, I think you will find that we can manage our own affairs perfectly well by ourselves.
See they Labour eejits, they never ever listen, and they certainly don’t learn. It’s still the voters fault for no voting fur them. No wonder they are nowhere in Scotland.
Sorry for the sweary words Paul, theses numpties make me forget that I’m a lady sometimes.
I love it when you’re angry 🙂 It needed saying and you said it well.
I second every word of that carolclark1
Well said Carol. Be angry, we all should be…
Labour ( the former People’s Party ) has clearly learned the lessons of the past few elections .
Hence SIR Keir Starmer ( Tory-lite ) has been elected to lead the party to glory by the same electorate which formerly elected the socialist Jeremy Corbyn to lead the party to glory .
Who will they turn to after this knight of the realm fails to put the ( former People’s ) Party into Government ?
Ian Murray that staunch Morningside socialist ?
Perhaps they may appeal to Tony Bliar as a last desperate effort to get elected and drop the pretence that they give a stuff about principles and morality !
When you watch a British Labour party leader moving into the space occupied by Margaret Thatcher in order to be considered left of the current Conservatives you see that it’s England that has a serious problem
The voters in England are moving to the right faster than the political parties can keep up with, they must like it or they wouldn’t vote for it, we’ve seen with the Brexit vote that the entire driver of opinion was England doesn’t like foreigners and that’s all foreigners of any description and how far right will this continue to go before the dislike of the *foreigner* demonstrates itself on the streets of England, they already don’t like we Scots because they fell for and believe the anti rhetoric spewing forth from their own politicians who continue to display this behaviour right in front of their eyes every day in the House Of Commons and it shows no sign of changing anytime soon
England I’m afraid is a spoiled nation ruined by their own self absorbent behaviour, they believe everything is about them and everything in the universe should be bespoke tailored to them, the majority seems to have little comprehension to the world as it is, the voters in England have been fed a diet of drivel about themselves for so long now that psychiatric one to one councelling for the entire nation would in all likelihood still fail
Scotland cannot allow that to prevail here in our country, because as day follows night it most certainly would and give the far right in Scotland the excuse they want to behave in far worse ways than they already do
Exactly and, as Paul says, everything in England has to be world beating, even if they cannot even manage competent. Can’t remember who wrote about English Exceptionalism first but one of the main points is that the English don’t want to be just a member of the team. This is why, once the Empire had gone, the EU didn’t work as they couldn’t be top dog and bully everyone else, hence Brexit.
Now the only place they can try to do that is in the UK, and only by force of numbers.
We need to escape from this, if we dont want to be cast as perpetual inferiors to be ordered about and grovel to the union flag.
Knight of the realm Keir Starmer declared what he wanted to see was fairness, that peculiar type of fairness were the elite retain their position through patronage. My problem is I don’t share his view of Britishness based on narrow nationalism of the three UK parties, I don’t even consider myself British except in the same sense as I consider myself European, a geographic statement.
Don’t be mistaken he will not repeal the IMB if he ever takes power. He will just go along with the English Votes for Scottish Laws to compliment EVEL, where MP’s from England will debate and spend Scotland’s budget (not necessarily in Scotland going by passed experience before Holyrood existed), whilst Scottish MP’s will still be barred from any input to England’s laws.
I’m trying to imagine people from any other country accepting this voluntarily, but in Scotland we actually have a large percentage clamouring in support of them. I understand the Hudson’s of this world that have reached the level of butler at Westminster and are protecting their positions but for most Scots it is demeaning.
Reblogged this on Ramblings of a now 60+ Female.
Indeed, Labour are a very pale shadow of what they were, my dear old red clydeside grandad lived long enough to see Tony Blair’s transformation of the party to one electable but devoid of principles, and was apoplectic with rage. What he would make of the current lot doesn’t bear thinking about, but I suspect the TV wouldn’t survive….
I cannot remember whose comment I read today which so wonderfully summarised the current situation (hence no link), but the essential point was that all the London parties are on the same disconnect of believing they can impose unity over something which does not and never did exist.
It reminded me of an instance where increases in Derv duty led to go-slow convoys. As I was living in Ireland the difference between British and Irish perceptions has glaring, and not better exampled by the responses. From Ahern, “ok we’re listening” (he stalled the increase), Blair “government will not be dictated to by a third party over it’s policy”.
It has forever lodged in my mind as the Irish concept of “You’re our government” and the British concept of “You’re our electorate”. Somewhere along the way the UK’s Labour lost the concept of the former and grasped the latter with both hands to be “electable” leaving the public with Circus A or B, no other options, except in Scotland.
I think its the claim that parliament is sovereign which produces this us and them mentality. Although I don’t know where it states the parliament is sovereign, certainly not in the Treaty of Union, which also doesn’t state it can’t be ended, because if we can’t end it it isn’t a treaty but an occupation.
Any Labour Party that evolves in Scotland once Scotland is independent will be a completely different Labour Party to the one at present.
The Labour Party is the British Labour Party it will have no jurisdiction in Scotland once Scotland is independent it will in effect disappear from Scotland.
Once Scotland is independent the Scottish government will not allow a political party from another country to be present in Scotland so the current political party,s Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrat Party plying their trade in Scotland will disappear back to where they came from.
England.
Once Scotland is independent we will have an immediate Scottish general election.
The government that is formed will have to write and introduce legislation that states who what and how new political party,s register and get permission to campaign and represent in Scotland.
Will there even be a Labour Party in Scotland once it’s independent ? maybe not , the name is tainted with bad taste poor representation and dishonesty can you imagine any new political party in Scotland deciding to call itself the Labour Party ?
I can’t.
Only a fool would choose that as the name of a new political party in an independent Scotland .
Maybe “ the new Labour Party nothing to do with the British Labour Party “ could be the name chosen but it’s too long a name so I think there will never ever be a Labour Party in Scotland ever again once Scotland is independent , we will hold our standards much higher , political party,s will have new names and will act on behalf of the people of Scotland what a difference it will make actually dumping political party,s and all their staff , who’s only aim is to do what’s best for ANOTHER country , England .
We will look back and wonder how we ever allowed that to happen .
To be honest, I’d expect the Scottish Labour Party to occupy about the same position as the Liberal Party (i.e. those people who refused to accept the merger with the SDP back in 1988) does in the UK. Which is to say, basically electorally irrelevant!
Personally I’d expect the SNP to move leftwards somewhat, and possibly rename itself, accepting that they’ll lose both voters and members on the right hand side of the party but pick up new ones who would previously have voted Labour. Meanwhile I’d expect a new centre-right party to form out of whichever one out of the Scottish Tories and the Scottish LibDems sees the writing on the wall first. (Whichever one it is would probably well advised to change their name too.) They’d pick up the votes and members of both people who where formerly on the right hand side of the SNP, and from whichever one of them wastes too much time before making the leap.
This also IMHO explains why Labour is so hostile to both Scottish Independence and the SNP – they’ve got nowhere to go but irrelevance when independence comes about, and they know it!
I don’t see your rationale here, because the remaining people who support Labour aren’t leftists, but mostly small-c conservatives, the very ones currently still clinging on to the comfort blanket of the Union. (Think Ian Murray.)
You are right though about Labour having nowhere to go in Scotland. They have effectively dynamited their only tenable route forward!
All the MPs MSP,s etc etc in the Labour Party the Conservative party and the Lib Dem party know that once Scotland is independent their political career will be finished.
In an independent Scotland nobody is going to elect them with the background they have of being so untrustworthy .
Och, I dare say some of them will re-surface claiming they were always for independence really. Wherever there’s power, there’s always someone willing to cleave towards it.
Once they realise on which side their bread is buttered, the Tories in particular might soon enough stop looking south and start looking to their pockets. They will always be with us, I fear, rather like the common cold.
But no party, nor institution, will need any longer to append “Scottish” to its name. That will be the surest sign ever that we’ve grown into full nationhood and finally collectively sloughed-off The Cringe.
There will be no Labour Party in Free Scotland.
A new centre left movement will emerge, probably the Social Democratic Party?
There will be no place in it for the Red Tories or the Marxist Communists.
The Alice In Wonderland world of Brit colonialists and their willing Uncle and Auntie Tams will be exposed for what they are; a massive con on the 5.4 million Scots citizens. The ridiculous charade of TV and Blahs wheeling the Linesman onto their shows, or in the dire columns of the Dead Tree Scrolls, has run its course.
Ross is a bumbling fool who trots out meaningless sound bites, and Glenn Campbell nods sagely on cue.
The Big Con is over, Brits.
We, the people of Scotland, decide our own fate, not an English posh boy, with a Poundland mop head, or a Red Tory ‘Sir;.
Our politicians serve us, and it is without argument now that English politicians have no say in Scotland’s affairs.
They do our bidding, not the other way around.
And there was Barondess Davidson of Rape Clause getting a wee clip on BBC Scotland tonight being all Churchillian and frowning sincerely at the despatch box.
As Groucho, the only Marx worth listening to, quipped:-
‘You need sincerity to be a successful politician. If you can fake that, then you’ve got it made’. Or words to that effect.
Davidson cannot even fake sincerity.
She is without doubt an incredible example of the Gravy Train.
I will listen to no argument that the English have any say in Scotland’s future path.
Their Union is dead.
This is one of the times when I wish it were possible to give a ‘like’or ‘uptick’ to a comment, rather than to have to write something.
I just want to say, thanks Jack and I agree with every word.
Plus huge thanks to Paul who has kept us going through some dark times recently with his tireless good sense and moderation.
Same, such an excellent comment from Jack Collatin, in response to a most excellent article by Paul.
If you have a ‘wordpress’ account you can read and comment and ‘like’ others’ comments…
The Unionists keep banging on about *binding* our United Kingdom together, Scotland is already *gagged* in Westminster now they want us *bound* to it and by it
The victim was found bound and gagged, it’s against the law of every country if you do that to a person, but Scotland the country not so much eh
Just like to say today’s Scotgov announcements take me back to my teenage years, all the pubs shut at 10PM (unless they provided a Scotch pie or similar, then they could serve drink till 11PM). They were shut in the afternoon as well, I survived.
I, too, can remember in the 1960s when the Inverness pubs all closed at 10PM. In the minutes leading up to closing time there was a frantic rush to consume as much alcohol as possible. Then what seemed like thousands of drunks disgorged (sometimes literally) on to the streets and staggered their way to the bus station or home to their long-suffering families. I particularly remember one literally legless man. One of his mates carried his false legs while two others supported the rest of him. I’m not sure whether a universal 10PM closing-time will be a particularly Covid-safe measure.
What I found strangest actually back then was coming out into the broad daylight, as it was in Aberdeen in the summer. (And Inverness even more so, I suppose.)
Yeh, they would serve you 4 pints at 1 minute to 10 then through you out at at 10 past (drinking up time). That was in Edinburgh, don’t know if they were quite as ferocious elsewhere. Those old Edinburgh pubs, Covenantor, Alan Ramsay, White Cockade, Yellow Carvel, Lord Darnley, I don’t think there are as many pubs now named after Scottish history.
‘throw you out’, unless you left through the window.
Then there was the Railway Tavern in Bridge of Weir that had its own “pub time” clock that was exactly 10 minutes out, so that last orders was always shouted at 21:50.
This gave the somewhat more delirious time to finish up. 🙂
Yes but it wasn’t the same back then
Now all the pubs are open all day from 11am
Back then they closed in the afternoon
9.30 in Glasgow when I was a student in the 50s. Dark ages indeed!
arayner1936,
The pubs closed early as the workers had to get up for work in the yards next morning.
I recall the Lovat Arms ,on the border with Clydebank, on the Glasgow side, closing at 9.30 pm. and the punters crossing the road to the Cawdor Vaults on the Clydebank side, which closed at 10.00 pm.
There were no pubs open on Sunday, and a thirsty hopeful had to be a ‘bone fide traveller’ to get a Sunday pint in the lounge of any hotel; one of the attractions for my dear old dad, when Ma Pa and we weans went Doon The Watter to Dunoon for a fortnight at the Fair.
It is just pathetic to argue that closing licenced premises at 10.00 pm is a hardship too far.
It is clear that landlords have been shovelling as much drink down the selfish bastards’ necks as they could, ignoring the fact that it is illegal to sell drink to a drunk, with consequent drunken loutish behaviour, NHS A&E overload, police time wasted, and more deaths…
WE are at war with a mass killer.
Why don’t these idiots just grow up.
I briefly caught a BBC lass whining to Jason Leitch that she can’t visit her mother at home but meet her in the pub….
I fear that our broadcast hacks really are as thick as game soup.
This thing will kill her mother…
‘bona fide traveller’. Ed.
Hm, in NE Eng in the 70/80’s when pubs shut at 11pm, last orders at about 10.30pm, it wasn;t great. People just got absolutely pis*ed by about 10pm, no time for realxing, a few after works drinks etc. When I moved to Edinburgh 30+ years ago, some, even many pubs were open until 1am or so. Much more relaxing, no rush to chuck the drink doon within about 5 hours after work. With Covid it’s different, most people will be sensible, but the shops could be busy at 9.55pm though! I remember no off sales in Scotland on a Sunday so we’d go to the pub.
It always seemed a bit more civilised in Scotland(!) with later opening times most nights, sounds strange I know!!
Don’t be offended but I think you are Patriots as well. Should we just call ourselves that?
I know one person who detests me calling them a Brit Nat although it is alright for him to use the .. you’re a Nat. Still he is my labour cooncillor and the fact it annoys sadly is good enough for me. I’ll claim absolution in heaven. Is their a scotnat one?
Some days they just keep giving, Boris Johnson claims their virus failures is because ‘we are a freedom loving country’. But there’s more, ‘in the last 300 years we have spread freedom of speech and democracy around the world’, I presume we only invaded and looted those countries that resisted these great freedoms.
The Johnson’s of this world have certainly ‘spread’ things around the world. Nothing however that anyone would willingly want to catch!
Let’s face it, what Starmer is very evidently trying to do is to reclaim those “lost” WM constituencies in the north of England, because that’s his only route back to power. Scotland is long-lost, and whatever Labourites here might claim in public about “needing Scotland” to win, for establishment Englishman Starmer it’s just not worth the bother. He has no intention whatever of putting England through unwanted constitutional upheaval merely to appease us ingrates, so it’s vapid Union Jack sticking-plaster and nothing more. And there never will be more.
He can reinforce the Unionist holdouts up here as much as he likes, all it will achieve is the further and faster shrivelling of his Northern
branchtwig. We keep telling them that, which is not even in our best interests, but they don’t listen anyway!He didn’t exactly set the heather on fire did he? 😀
Not entirely sure he understands that many of us have heard the tired old meme of ‘we’re listening’ more than a few times either. They don’t listen. They won’t listen. They can’t listen. They’re institutionally and ideologically incapable of listening. They’re good at pigeonholing and telling you what you think. They’re also pretty well practised at telling you what to think. Listening though? Not something you’d associate with Labour, or most of the political class for that matter.
As for the recent condescending bumtrumpetry of looking at federalism or an indyref? See under carolclark1’s post above (which was well said by the by). A goodly number of folk in Scotland are pretty much sick to the back teeth of those false flegs. 😎
Time to dig these ones out from the archives. Courtesy of Mr Tickell himself; what he said of labour under Corbyn, you can rightly say of Starmer
“There will be no monarchizing from Starmer. No fear. No killing looks. As said elsewhere, it is difficult to find a policy issue where he hasn’t tacked and trimmed, compromised and accommodated himself to his many deprecators in his own party. But in Scotland? In Scotland, we must think on the increasingly hollow crown Starmer now wears, enjoy its glitter, and “come home” to Labour like good bairns”.
The same old Lyrics to the same old song, beaten out on the same old drum. Nothing learned. Nothing forgotten or forgiven and the same entitlement. An entitlement as big as the Ice Berg that sank the titanic.
Mr Tickell once said of labour that perhaps:
“a crushing defeat for the party in Westminster may be an essential condition for normalising the relationship between Labour in Holyrood and in Westminster, encouraging the party to put their shoulders to the same wheel, without the atmosphere of snark, recrimination and condescension.”
Quite the opposite happened. Instead we had Ian Murray, positively aglow with Britishness as he celebrated the destruction of his party. The Bain Principle it seems rules supreme. The logic of an MP who was parachuted into a seat after the retirement of Michael Martin. An MP with one of the worst attendance records on record. A non entity in every regard. And yet, Labour will fight and die on a hill called Bain. According to Murray it already it.
Starmer’s approach to Scotland will be a pointless slogan with a Union Jack on it. They have learned nothing and worse are refusing to learn. Because a feeble MP, who never even put out an election leaflet during his tenure, said it must die by in his name. And so die it will.
On his parties headstone it will be written
“Stranger! Go, tell the Conservatives,
That here obedient to Bains Principle we lie.”
Andrews Articles are here:
http://lallandspeatworrier.blogspot.com/2012/10/warning-unsupervised-triangulation-kills.html
http://lallandspeatworrier.blogspot.com/2015/02/i-see-no-ships.html
Yes British nationalism, wonderful, Scottish nationalism, nasty and divisive.
Anyone else totally weary of this? Absolutely scunnered in fact? Labour, Tory …. Tory, Labour … going round and round like the not so magic roundabout with one Zebedee leader, corrupt and oft dangerous dunderhead, after another popping up to take their turn to rule the UK roost. More so one after another, Tory or Labour leader, happy to rob Scotland blind and tell us to get back into our box. Same old sh*t for over 100 years now.
Meanwhile wee Murray, selective memory man, has been having his say at the virtual annual conference. Seemingly, ‘Keir Starmer will not be PM without winning SNP seats.” And the way to win the seats is to highlight that, “Every single public service has demonstrably got worse, waiting times in our NHS are dreadful, our transport system is creaking at the seams, local government has been starved of funding and decimated, social care is in crisis. We need to get this across to our teachers, our nurses, our police, that everything in their sphere has demonstrably got worse, and the responsibility for that lies at the top of the Scottish Government.”
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/keir-starmer-will-not-be-pm-without-winning-snp-seats-says-labours-only-scottish-mp/ar-BB19j9Fn
And the Keir Starmer statement? “I want this to be the best country to grow up in and the best country to grow old in.”
Sound familiar? Attempting to pinch something else from Nicola Sturgeon?
”And at its heart is this ambition – to make our country the best place in the world to grow up and be educated; the best place to live, work, visit and do business; the best place to be cared for in times of sickness, need or vulnerability; and the best place to grow old.”
http://www.snp.org/first-minister-nicola-sturgeon-scottish-programme-for-government/
All that fictional doom and gloom, it may perversely cheer up a few ignorant Labourites online, but it simply demonstrates to the rest of us just how rampantly miserable and unfit the whole useless shower are. And of course the predictable hoary old lie, even more predictably from Union Jack Suit, that Labour needs Scotland to win. Not even Starmer actually believes it, nor cares.
Neither do we, Plastic Tory Ian.
Petra
So Starmer is following in Corbyn’s footsteps by pinching stuff from Ms Sturgeon. Remember Corbyn’s ‘For the Many not the Few’? That was lifted directly from one of Ms Sturgeon’s speeches.
There was that of course Legerwood and there’s more besides. In fact, I reckon that they not only analyse the contents of SNP manifestos / speeches, to see what they can knock, but study Nicola Sturgeon herself. Scrutinise her closely in an attempt to figure out why she’s so popular. Their psychologists will list her influential qualities to help the Labour, Tory and Libdem numpties, such as honesty, genuine empathy and compassion, however the narcissists can’t fake it, even when they try to use tragic individual cases as per the latest ploy being used in Holyrood.
http://www.snp.org/real-progressive-radical-party/
Until their Scottish Labour MSPs stop lying and smearing the Scottish Government they will never recover the trust of the voters.
I listened to the start of Any Questions on Friday because Rockall Lightvessel was on. First question was about Covid19. I was stunned by the outrageous lies that streamed from that disgrace of a party leader. Even the chair was embarrassed and tried to correct him. But on he went about how the SG detest testing, the system’s in chaos, nobody can book tests, and they willfully ignore the advice of the WHO etc.
I switched off.
Here he is at approx 2 mins 50 seconds in (if you want your rage meter to go up to 11).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000mlwj
Once you’ve crossed the credibility line, as SLab did long ago, the more you rubbish things, the less you’re taken seriously. Their ultra-negativist posturing may annoy us mightily, but it’s a stupendous exercise in self-harm, so best leave them to it.
I don’t think anyone these days, of any party or none, can now imagine Rinkydink Lennon and his unmerry band of political pygmies being in charge of the Scottish Government.
We have travelled so very far in such a short time, and perhaps only a little further to go.
I agree
Labour will never again have a majority in Scotland they’re just the same as the conservatives now.
You have to sign in Capella, so I’ll give it a miss. Just as well as I reckon my blood pressure was rising dramatically just reading the contents of your post 😠. They just don’t get it do they? Can’t see that their jealousy and hatred of the SNP is absolutely decimating their party. That and the fact that they seemingly can’t conjure up a brain cell between them.
Apos – I forgot that I did once sign in. Since they can see where I live anyway I decided it doesn’t really matter.
You don’t need a licence to listen to the radio though, neither live nor on iPlayer. I don’t have a licence.
“Keir Starmer now condescendingly tells us that should the SNP win a majority in the next Scottish elections, the question of a referendum will have to be “looked at”.”
Keep looking Keir. It’s all your party is good for nowadays.
A sneering dismissive look!
Scotland took a look at Labour, a last look
Jim, it won’t be long before the Social Democratic Party of Scotland emerges from the rubble.
All the old Brit Labour stagers who have racked up 20 years of a very lucrative pension will chuck it, and perhaps follow Mags Curran’s lead and open a Tapas Bar in Spain; or perhaps not.
Labour are going to go with British Nationalism and being anti EU. Add in anti anyone not singing “Land of Hope and Glory” and a pushing a hardline on immigration. They are getting behind Trident replacement and embracing hardcore Tommy Robinson……what next?
What a vote winner for next year”
Oops bbc Scotland 9 – hells bells. Verbal attack on ProfessorJason Leitch by a nobody. Disgraceful. We than have an interview by nick Nairn complaining about the hospitality industry by the Scots govt. As you watch him at work he scrapes food of a dish with his big finger ( who knows where that’s been), coughs into the same hand then touches the pots and pans. No mask, no hand washing. Hungry? No thanks.
Cracking tele bbc scotland
Nick Nairn once of the One O’clock gang with Larry Marshall and failed restauranter in Aberdeen claimed he had been harassed out of business by nasty separatist Nats so obviously it’s why he spends his time repeating himself 24 hours a day on the freeview channel 9 flagship BBC Wow channel
Rebecca Nobody of the channel 9 practically bit the end of Jason Leitch’s nose off and earlier STVs Colin MacKay shouted so loud at the professor I thought he was going to challenge him to a fight on their news programme
This behaviour towards academics and medical experts is becoming unacceptable just because they’ve been given a job of work to do by the Scottish government they are not politicians they’re advisors, the BBC nor STV shout and ball or bully the experts they themselves bring on to refute others nor would they allow anyone to do it to them
That wee Rebecca Nobody is just dying to be Lois Lane when she grows up
Em…..I think you’re getting confused with Jimmy Nairn of the One o’clock gang Dr Jim.
I just checked Nick Nairn is Jimmy Nairn’s son who’da thunk it, so apologies to the son for the One O’clock gang thing that wasn’t him, but the restaurant thing is still on him, so 50% right, damn I’m older than I thought I was how could Nick Nairn be younger than me yet be an adult when I was young
It’s definitely the dementa the demen, my age
Jimmy Nairn…Dorothy Paul…Charlie Sim and Larry Marshall…..THE ONE O’CLOCK GANG.The show was broadcast live.. daily from The Theatre Royal /Glasgow.
Was in the audience with my Mum once (I was 8)….so stop greetin’ aboot yer age auld yin!…lol.
* Nearly forgot….The Tommy Maxwell Quartet was the house band.
That’ll be the BBC cherrypicking again Hamish. Always keen to showcase Scotland 🙄.
In my life I have never voted for Labour and I never will. In the distant past a young me voted Conservative. Then I went through a period of voting for nobody. All parties were useless. Then I realised in 2006 that my problem was that they are all Brit Nats. They do not care about us. To think it took me 43 years to realise this.
Paul we are in different time’s now but your sentiments are spot on. I vote SNP as they are the only party that can give us our freedom.
Jack you talk about a Social Democratic Party. What is that? New Labour? I am confident and hopeful that in a free Scotland with the powers an independent country has that the SNP if we are lucky could be that party.
Wouldn’t it be great if Scotland managed to do away with political parties altogether who oppose each other to keep themselves in jobs and those who wished to be of service to their country were voted in on individual merit, just think of it, no politics no ideologies just clever people working together for one purpose, the welfare protection and prosperity of where we all live, what a thought eh
No jokes about flowers and peace man or I’ll choke on my organic string beans while I’m listening to my funny sounding music
Government by the people. Sounds good never sure why it was never fashionable. Ideally, in a democracy, you’d have a pool, ie the population, a bit like local councils, it’s can’t be rocket science can it?
andy, I am not advocating that a Social Democratic Party will be the democratic solution to all our ails; far from it.
I postulate that there will be room in Free Scotland for many political opinions, and that ‘Labour” will morph in to a some sort of socialist democratised ‘Party’, s’all.
AUOB does what it says on the tin.
When Scotland is free once more, it is unconscionable that any of the Brit Nat Parties, or rather the Branch Offices of English Parties will survive. England will be, indeed is, if we follow the Independence argument, a foreign country.
For the Labour ‘leader’ in Free Scotland to continue to report back to, and take orders from England is laughable. Strike that, it is treason.
You may be right, andy. The SNP may morph into the Social Democratic Party, but some members are clearly not social or democratic.
It will be the best of times regardless !
Labour the brand is dead.
That was Corbyn’s McDonnel’s, Leonard’s and Momentum’s aim. Destroy the Labour Party.
The 100,000’s of men who trudged home from the pub at 9.30 of an evening to get some shut eye before their next life sapping shift in a ‘closed shop’ ship yard or sewing machine factory had to pay their union dues, and financially backed the Old Labour party.
They had no choice in the matter.
Now that they are building Car Show Rooms on the Clyde where once great ships we sculpted from steel, there are no patsies to keep Leonard, Findlay and Kelly in their £1200 a week pointless ineffectual little jobs.
If I were a member of GMB, Unison, or EIS, I would demand that my union stop financing Labour forthwith.
We are nearing 60% of TU members supporting Self Determination, if the polls are right.
Why would my union dues end up in Jackie Baillie’s pocket?
Their is a mighty wind about to sweep through Scotland.
It’s comin’ yet for a’ that.
IMB latest:
Thanks for the support, Scotland, but with Labour abstaining we didn’t get anywhere.
Plaid criticise ‘hypocritical’ Labour after they fail to back amendment to ‘power grab’ bill
Plaid Cymru have accused Labour of “hypocrisy” after they failed to back an amendment to a bill described by the Welsh Government as a “power grab” of Wales’ powers.
The spending powers set out in the Internal Market Bill override the existing devolution settlement and will enable the UK government to spend money in Wales without asking the Wesh Government first.
[…]
Plaid Cymru said their amendment tabled today would have protected the devolution settlement by preventing the Bill from coming into force unless the devolved legislatures gave their consent.
The SNP, Liberal Democrats, Greens, SDLP and Alliance all voted with Plaid Cymru in favour, while Labour MPs decided to abstain. Conservatives voted against leading to a final result of 63 in favour and 350 against.
[…]
Source: https://nation.cymru/news/plaid-criticise-hypocritical-labour-after-they-fail-to-back-amendment-to-power-grab-bill/
There’ll always be 350 against WS, if it’s good for Wales Scotland or NI there’s no chance
… such is this so-called ‘Union’ in which we live.
Oh, to be independent and be shot of them all!
We’ll be shot of one of them soon enough. Sorry that’s Scotland not Wales, WS 😀.
Byebye Ken. Anyone know if he was ever actually elected as an MSP over the 2 decades of service that he mentions?
http://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1308314877589585920
If my memory serves, I believe Mackintosh WAS duly elected at some point in the dim and distant. However, once SLab shat in the fan (around 2012-14) and it splattered back on them, he could only slither in on a list selection. The man has made a lucrative career from mediocrity; should gain him a place in the Slabber Hall of Shame. Sorry Fame.
No, Neil, you were right the first time. (grin)
Yip bbc Scotland gave us MacKintosh, Davidson, Brown and few other unworthies. Surely we could sue them just for that?