Thursday, 20 April 2023

SNP - like a Toytown constituency branch

If the fish-woman gets arrested shortly, as is widely speculated, the SNP's humiliation will be complete.  In the major parties one sometimes encounters an apparently thriving constituency branch which completely folds when a long-time figurehead chairman departs and it transpires there was nothing else of substance there at all: the difference being that with larger parties there is genuine institutional depth, and a Head Office that can intervene to put things back on their feet.  Poor 'Mo' Yousaf** resembles the hapless constituency stooge left inheriting such a situation - but there is no Head Office by way of stability and superior resources for him to lean on; he's it!  And it'll turn out the camper van doesn't actually belong to the SNP either: so, no holiday for him. 

Other illustrative parallels suggest themselves.  In the depths of History Corner there's poor old Richard Cromwell in 1649; and more recently UKIP (remember that?) when Farage's departure made it clear that it was less of an enduring political institution with depth and significance, and more of a shallow puddle with only one rather popular fish in it.

Let's see if Starmer can strategise this one to his advantage.  It ought to be possible, but he shows every sign of being a one-trick pony, and a very wooden pony at that.  Watch for a clunky and unconvincing move towards a devo-max offering in an announcement from that quarter soon.

You'd need a heart of stone, etc etc.  Personally, I'm hoping this all assists in the noble cause of scuppering Sturgeon's "trans self-ID" legislation once and for all.  Will Yousaf really go to the wall for that, in today's circumstances?   

ND

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** There is no deeper insult than incorrectly rendering somebody's name, which indicates to the victim you've no idea who they are really; don't much care either; and are probably representative of everyone else, too.  I discovered this by accident as a journo on a student newspaper many decades ago, when a simple typo caused an absolute outpouring of distress and anger.  Sorry to say, callow and uncaring youth that I was, this then became something I deployed deliberately to offend - ten times more effective than mere abuse.  (And not even actionable!)

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with Mick - this has been such a quick destruction of the SNP.
The timing does seem suspicious though, the police investigation has allegedly been going on since 2021 but all the police action starts happening days after Sturgeon quits.

Was it simply a case that she knew what was about to come or were the police holding off until she out of power?

Wildgoose said...

Devo-Max should include full fiscal devolution and an end to the Barnett Formula for Scotland. The "It's oor Oil" crowd will love being assigned the tax receipts from Scottish waters and the SNP will hardly be in a position to complain about being given what they are demanding. (Presumably they will have to pay a population equivalent portion of Defence Spending).

That should free up some money to spend in England on English voters...

Anonymous said...

You do wonder if (very) deep state actors might not be involved here, if only in paying out the rope as needed for the leading lights to hang themselves.

Not since the BNP were getting European Parliament seats and a 'disgruntled member' put the entire membership list online to get hate mail and dog poo through their letterboxes, or Robert Kilroy Silk (remember him? See what I mean?) has there been such a vanishing of prospects.

Just as the UK is valuable to the Great Satan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier, so is Scotland, home of Scapa, Lossiemouth, and Holy Loch, also a valuable part of that carrier.

Peter MacFarlane said...

The Great Satan departed from Holy Loch many years ago, but certainly the Gareloch (almost adjacent) is pretty critical to the UK as the only base we have for our Trident boats. A bargaining counter of some sort, for someone, I do not doubt.

Peter MacFarlane said...

** your footnote reminded me of the headmaster of my old school, who had a habit of (deliberately) mis-pronouncing someone's name, or making some other very public and obvious "mistake" about them, just to show that the target was someone of no significance whatever. Very amusing it could be, too. Such as the time he read out a letter from a Frenchman, which included a reference to "My sone Jean", except that our man pronounced it as Jean as in Jean Harlow etc. Naturally nobody dared snigger.

dustybloke said...

I wonder if Plod will find out anything about “ the ferries” which would make the £600,000 and the bus look like the chicken feed the are? But I suppose the carpet will be surreptitiously lifted and the dirt swept under it. It will be interesting to watch the Jock politicians nonchalantly walking uphill across the lounge as they studiously ignore it…

Anonymous said...

A couple of years ago Private Eye wrote about how Swarco, just one of many firms providing charging points for Electric Vehicles across the UK and with no more pronounced market share in England than any other firm, mysteriously manages to have a completely dominant market share in Scotland, 75% or something, much of the business awarded by public bodies. Revolving doors stuff, etc. Allegedly. And not as if no other firm wants Scottish business because all the usual competitors are banging their heads against this mysterious wall, trying to break in.

Something in the haggis?

Anonymous said...

You should set up a Truss-style lettuce for 'Mo' Yousaf. Poor sap.

Elby the Beserk said...

Years back I called the SNP "The Toytown Political Party" :-)

Good of them to confirm this in spades, eh? Major Popcorn event

Anonymous said...

It would make more sense to severe links with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If one is a drain on resources, what does that say about the other two.

Just get rid.

E-K said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
E-K said...

As usual, Box Head was merely out-Lefting the English Leftism which has been allowed to redouble since the Brexit vote, replete with a bit of "some are more equal that others" in the form of caravan-ing" (one has to be a tent-ist to understand the sheer cuntishness of some caravanners, "Don't let your kids throw that frisbee near my rig !!!!", "Gerrorf my site, you Gypo !"

The fact is that English Leftism (modelled on American Leftism) thrives throughout the Oxbridge/Russell graduate elites running our institutions, which is why this level of wicked corruption goes under the BBC radar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_aJHLABuh4&ab_channel=RussellBrand

Truly shocking behaviour and performance by the Democrat Deputy Defense Secretary (US). There are the usual vested interests in continuous and hopeless war and $Trillions missing.

Yup. Sturgeon is a welcome side show though. It's a shame that the original method of getting her out of office was an Equalities Act which should not exist under the Tories.

Anonymous said...

Houmous Useless isn't much cop.

Has he had to have a word with the cops yet or wasn't he part of the In Crowd? Soon to be the In Jail Crowd, perhaps.

Anomalous Cowshed said...

Why would he offer Devo-Max?

It'd potentially shore up their support, thus decreasing the chances of those voters switching to Labour.

It would also potentially send the message that he's not really interested in Labour winning seats in both Holyrood and Westminster.

Anonymous said...

Given that the predecessor of Ms Sturgeon was not a man of unimpeachable moral virtue one wonders how far back the financial shenanigans go. Could Alba be no longer? Sorry terrible joke involving prep school Latin.

I am surprised McPlod acted as I thought the SNP had everyone terrified. There must be some interesting evidence for things to have got this far.

It would be very funny if someone in the SNP ended up in prison before Boris.

Insomnia is a pain.

All the best

Charles