A gentle reminder that Reform UK is not a democratic political party. It is a private company owned 53% by Nigel Farage & 33% by Richard Tice. It has no real members; it has no democratic policy-making processes. It is an unaccountable entity & play thing of two rich men. Via
@FT
#BBC
Fiona Bruce intro & editorial at start of
#bbcqt
in Fort William: "Tonight Question Time for the first time since the SNP came off the rails in such spectacular fashion." Impossible to imagine Bruce or any BBC journo describe the UK Tories in such a manner.
@bbcquestiontime
Not a SINGLE question to Boris Johnson from any journalist on Jennifer Arcuri, having an affair & the misuse of ยฃ126,000 of public monies: our money being misappropriated to further his affair.
This is the banner that got the anti-royal protester arrested at the time of the royal proclamation in Edinburgh. One member of the public shouted as police moved in: "โLet her go, itโs free speech.โ
Slovakia has 5.4 million population. The same as Scotland. Football like politics & life is not just demographics. Denmark has 5 million; Croatia 4 million; Iceland 400,000. Football success requires investment, infrastructure & good governance: which Scotland lacks.
#EURo2024
Extreme right-winger Melanie Phillips on
#bbcqt
on Israel-Palestine conflict dismisses Israel killing 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza as "collective punishment". Well done Stephen Flynn for challenging her deranged rants.
Watching
#bbcqt
. Fiona Bruce keeps saying she can't wait for the audience to come back. Given the prog format has been tired for years I say keep this new format & add live questions. And drop the plants, dafties & racists in the audience.
Yet again the lack of knowledge of the UK & British history is absolutely stark:
"There is no such thing as a border between Scotland and England" says Boris Johnson at
#PMQs
.
FACT CHECK: There always has been a legal border between Scotland & England pre-1707 & post-1707.
This is brilliant stuff. The ultra-right Neil Oliver totally being owned & held to account for spreading crackpot conspiracy theories. And that goes for the entire
#GBNews
operation.
The real story abt The Times removing the story abt Boris Johnson trying to appoint Carrie Johnson while he was having an affair with her. Warning: this story contains a description of (Bill) Clintonesque office goings-on. HT
#PrivateEye
#Carriegate
RIP John le Carre (1931-2020). He said of
#Brexit
:
"One day somebody will explain to me why it is that, at a time when science has never been wiser, or the truth more stark, or human knowledge more available, populists and liars are in such pressing demand."
#RIPJohnleCarre
Superb profile of Tory peer Michelle Mone: an indictment of the Tories, House of Lords, PPE crony capitalism & what passes for 'business'. Well done Camilla Long: "How does someone like this end up in power? A measly criminal inquiry does not seem enough."
Am putting this photo up by popular demand: when Jacob Rees-Mogg came to Central Fife in 1997 as Tory candidate. With family nanny, chauffer & Bentley car.
Emily Maitlis just laid into the lie that
#coronavirus
hits us all equally. It does not. Rather it is abt class & inequality. Well done
@maitlis
for saying that the UK's deep-seated economic & social divisions are literally killing people.
#newsnight
Have
@BBC
&
@BBCScotland
issued an explanation & apology for this? They do for much lesser things.
"John Knox of course being your great Scottish Protestant reformer. Who cleared the Catholics out of Scotland."
The BBC calls 'Charles III: The Coronation Years' a 'documentary' when it is uncritical propaganda for the Royals. Where are the critical questions abt the tax affairs of Charles, the scandals of the Prince's Trust, or how Charles appropriated money from dead people?
"I don't think the youngsters should be having free travel. When I was young we never got it" says a
#bbcqt
audience member in Glasgow. Great argument which if you follow the logic of would mean no NHS, no welfare state, no employment rights because these once did not exist.
Superb protest banner in response to the
#UKHomeOffice
&
#UKBorderAgency
attempted forced deportations in Kenmure Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow Southside:
"If this is Team UK We Reject It."
Beyond belief that Speaker Lindsay Hoyle ignored Diane Abbott in a
#PMQs
dominated by the hate speech of Frank Hester abt Diane Abbott. In what world is it acceptable to not allow the person who has been the subject of racist & sexist abuse to speak?
Andrew Marr opens
#marr
saying he has a guest the actor Brian Cox "who supports Scottish nationalism." Cox supports Scottish independence which is a different proposition.
Sunak & Braverman should resign. A major moment of national remembrance & respecting past generations who gave their lives. Far-right thugs incited by Braverman near the Cenotaph show their lack of respect for those who fought & defeated fascism.
This is the opposite of leadership. Boris Johnson in a cafe in Cornwall today. Ignoring social distancing, no masks in sight & meeting with more than two households in an indoor gathering. And apart from ignoring govt restrictions why on earth was he not in Northern Ireland?
21 year old Chloe Middleton, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is the UKโs youngest victim with no existing medical issues to die from
#coronavirus
.
The story of a 71 year old privileged man who has never formally worked in his life having the virus gains much more media.
โSomething has gone very, very wrong with the government of Scotlandโ says Tory Lord Forsyth. Very true. Voters kicked him out of office & his seat in 1997 & yet he still votes for legislation for Scotland & the rest of the UK due to his membership of the House of Lords.
#bbcqt
The racist UK
#HomeOffice
descend on Kenmure Street, Pollokshields on Glasgow Southside to engage in the forced eviction of two of my neighbours. Local police openly saying they are not in agreement as protesters block the van. And on Eid Mubarak.
#forcedeviction
This is a brilliant & daring cartoon abt the amoral institution that is the UK Royal Family & the Queen with all her prestige & position using it to protect an alleged child sex abuser who is her son (Prince Andrew) from the forces of justice. From Guy Venables in today's Metro.
What is going on in
#bbcqt
? An audience member who harangues the panel on Brexit turns out to be UKIP parliamentary candidate for the City of Chester in 2015: Stephen Ingram. Do
@MentornMedia
not have a database of parliamentary candidates? If not time to take the prog off them.
The actions of a section of Rangers fans in George Square & surrounds is totally unacceptable. Enormous pressure put on police & other services. Where is the condemnation from Rangers fans
@murdo_fraser
&
@ProfTomkins
? Step up now or never again lecture the rest of us on anything
Donald Trump visited Scotland today. The official Trump media, its apologists & a former Scottish Tory MP have tried to claim he is welcome & popular. Trump is neither of these things in Scotland.
"All this obsession about being safe all the time":
Luke Johnson, Brexit supporter & the person who crashed Patisserie Valerie, presiding over loading it with debt & which is now being investigated as a business for systematic fraud. Nice choice
#bbcqt
Am not saying the SNP do not have difficult questions to answer or are not in a difficult place but this is unacceptable framing & editorialising by the BBC. Fiona Bruce has never introduced
#bbcqt
in such a partisan way abt Tory or Labour problems.
Nigel Farage returns to his regular spot on
#bbcqt
next week. A party with no MPs, next to no support in UK opinion polls & no immediate prospects. Yet
#BBC
seem determined to offer them a permanent life-support system.
The
#GhislaineMaxwell
verdict is an indictment of the British establishment who refused to investigate her sex-trafficking. The Met; the judiciary; the Royal Family; political & media elites all have questions to answer.
The continued promotion of the hard ideological right. Emily Carver yet again on
#PoliticsLive
framed as "Columnist, Conservative Home." Ex-Head of Comms at secretly funded right-wing Institute of Economic Affairs & presenter at GB News. Fact-free, hard right ideological dogma.
Wall to wall
@RuthDavidsonMSP
these last 24. Davidson is available to make OTT attacks on the Scottish Govt, Lord Advocate & Crown Office. She is NOT available to talk abt Matt Hancock acting unlawfully, Priti Patel or 130,000 dead from
#COVID19
.
Diane Abbott is repeatedly standing to ask a question in
#PMQs
. As others cite her & talk abt her safety there is something rotten at the heart of the UK Parliament if her voice is not heard in the Commons today.
Kaye Adams complains that Nicola Sturgeon is unable to be on her prog.
#CallKaye
is dumbed down broadcasting & Kaye's biases often show: she once told me how she hated the SNP & indy as it would lose her London work. I told her Irish indy hadn't hurt Terry Wogan's gigs.
#GE2019
Amazing & sadly very unusual on
#bbcqt
to hear someone talk abt economics, innovation & govt who knows what they are talking abt & the limits of corporate capture crony capitalism govt whether in the UK or elsewhere: Prof. Joseph Stiglitz.
The spin of
@BBC
Scotland Editor Sarah Smith on the independent
#HamiltonReport
completely clearing Nicola Sturgeon saying this "will allow her to claim she has been vindicated." Not a good look from the BBC or Smith.
This is a very sad moment for Glasgow. The landmark restaurant & bar
@roganoglasgow
has closed for good with staff sacked & is not coming back. This is the end of an era for Glasgow: Rogano having opened in 1935. There are interested parties in buying it so here's hoping.
๐ฃ๏ธ"I just think it is a distinct lack of respect. I genuinely dislike it intensely."
Ally McCoist hits out at Scotland 'SNP fans' for booing God Save the King
๐
Prince Charles has been saying "we all need to change our behaviour" due to climate change. He means the rest of us; not him or his family. In under two weeks Prince Charles has clocked up via private air travel:
16,000 miles;
Cost ยฃ280,000;
Emitted 162 tons of CO2.
#COP26
Royal historian Kate Williams is actually on
#skynews
comparing Prince Charles getting the
#coronavirus
to Buckingham Palace being bombed in World War Two. Please just stop your royal sycophancy & insensitive WW2 comparisons. This infantilises & demeans all of us.
Douglas Ross is "not available" to comment on the chaos & infighting of the UK Govt or Boris Johnson's future. Ross has not tweeted on a single subject for FIVE DAYS. Some leadership of the Scottish Tories.
Queen's Park, Glasgow, 12 noon: supposed time of the ultra-right racist 'UK Freedom Movement' gathering. Not one sight of a fascist anywhere despite
@STVNews
uncritically promoting. Two police vans & police on the beat having to spend time policing a non-existent protest.
On 18 September 1959 at Auchengeich Colliery in Moodiesburn an underground explosion resulted in 47 miners dying. 41 women were widowed & 76 children lost their fathers. This part of Scotland's working class history should never be forgotten.
Good to see UK lies & disinformation challenged. Tory immigration minister Robert Jenrick claims the UN Convention on Refugees declares that people must seek asylum in the "first safe country."
#c4news
@krishgm
calls him out. Lesson for other media here.
#BBC
#Newsnight
Ben Chu film on Ruth Davidson opens saying abt her that: "She was an election winner with a gold dust appeal to millennials." Two facts: a) She wasnt an election winner; b) She had no major appeal to millennials in Scotland.
Royal hypocrisy on climate change of a staggering level; added to Royal hypocrisy of lecturing the rest of us while sheltering & funding an alleged sexual assaulter & aiding him preventing the process of justice.
Why is this not a huge story abt the British state? The Queen not only protecting but funding Andrew's attempt to avoid justice.
"The Queen is privately funding the Duke of Yorkโs legal fight against sex abuse allegations to the tune of millions of pounds."
This is embarrassing, demeaning & pathetic. Attention-seeker
@tomhfh
of
@GBNews
invokes cliche, caricature, wars & anti-German sentiment abt a football match. Does he have no notion how small-minded & backward looking this makes him look?
โI canโt see what weโve done wrongโ states Tory Michelle Mone admitting to serial lying saying "it is not a crime." Mone & Doug Barrowman are immoral examples of a corrupt, rotten, crony system which they gamed for financial gain.
#BBCLauraK
Boris Johnson at
#PMQs
shows his ignorance of
@theSNP
not even knowing its name:
Johnson: "There is only one party with nationalist in its name".
Ian Blackford: "The Prime Minister doesn't even know the name of our party".
"We don't hear much abt English nationalism" says
@maitlis
on
#NewsNight
. This is one of the central problems of UK politics: 1. England doesnt think its nationalism is a nationalism. 2.
#Brexit
is abt England & driven by a nationalism which refuses to see itself as such.
TV abuser Jeremy Kyle says that Nicola Sturgeon is "that horrible woman up north." This is just TV commentary flaunting bigotry & ignorance. And WTF are
@TalkTV
doing giving this low-life a platform debasing public life?
24 years of the Scottish Parliament & we have never had such a crisis of the governing party. When Henry McLeish resigned as FM it was over ยฃ36,000 office income; Wendy Alexander resigned as Labour leader over a ยฃ950 donation. This is of a completely different scale.
Scotland's right to decide its own future is fundamental. In the midst of a Scottish election the UK Govt is going to the UK Supreme Court to challenge 2 recent Scot Parl laws. These were passed unanimously so this is abt who has power & our right to decide our collective future.
Ultra-Brexiteer Kate Hoey says "what matters here is the people of Northern Ireland" on
@SkyNews
.
Just a reminder N Ireland voted by 56% to 44% against Brexit. And the DUP now represent a minority of a minority & only won 21.3% in the last Assembly elections (finishing 2nd).
Boris Johnson cannot even the name of the SNP right. Calls them "the Scottish Nationalist Party" on
#marr
. Expect that is deliberate & not a slip but shows disrespect to not use the proper name of your political opponents.
Kate Andrews going on abt the dangers of "red tape" with regard to worker rights. Funny such right-wingers never oppose the biggest addition of "red tape" on the UK economy since 1945: a hard Brexit putting up barriers for every UK business trading with Europe.
#PoliticsLive
The Scottish men's football team are going places. Yet Scotland games are not on terrestrial TV & for the
#EURO2024Qualifiers
on Viaplay. England games free on
@Channel4
& Welsh games on
@S4C
. Why cannot the SFA in its 150th year get behind promoting our national game?
#SCOESP
Boris Johnson has repeatedly misled the Commons & not corrected the record which is a breach of the ministerial code. Where is the accountability & investigation into Johnson?
Happy to tweet this every day if needed. 7 times Boris Johnson has misled the House of Commons. Come on
@BBCNews
@itvnews
@Channel4News
@5_News
@SkyNews
Iโve done the hard work, NOW DO YOUR JOB. Broadcast it & hold this slippery truth twister to account
Liz Truss keeps saying to
@bbclaurak
โif I am elected Prime Minister.โ She is NOT going to be elected PM. She is going to be elected leader of the Tory Party. And appointed UK PM.
#laurakuenssberg
This is very good on the Tory ultra-Brexiteers from Rafael Behr:
"English Tories are using the politics of Northern Ireland to make points about Eurosceptic theology regarding sovereignty ... Sunak should tell them where to go."
#PoliticsLive
Victoria Derbyshire is an excellent interviewer holding people to account. Superb in not taking the Tory deception, deceit & evasion from Grant Shapps. Maybe she could be a permanent replacement for Laura K.
#bbclaurak
The politics of Stephen Watson, head of Greater Manchester Police, who decided to open an investigation into Angela Rayner. He agreed to speak at a hard right-wing fringe Freedom Association meeting where he engaged in culture wars. Time for Watson to explain.
#PMQs
#PrivateEye
English Education Sec Nadhim Zahawi just said the people of Britain โhave shown the Dunkirk spiritโ on COVID. Dunkirk was a disaster & national humiliation & the result of strategic mistakes. Just like 150,000 dead from COVID.
#SundayMorning
David Mencer, Israeli Govt spokesman is a shameless political lobbyist for hire: ex-Director of Labour Friends of Israel & ex-Labour councillor. He runs Raphael Consulting, worked for David Lammy & has commendations from Brown & Blair. Now defending killing aid workers.
#c4news
Laura Kuenssberg twice today put the
#BBC
Tory spin line that Covid & Ukraine decimated UK finances & increased debt. And did not mention once the damage of a hard Brexit. Flagrant disinformation & Tory propaganda from
#bbclaurak
#bbcqt
continues its tradition of constantly platforming Nigel Farage. He is leader of a pseudo-political party which is a private company he owns 53% of the shares in. And he is not standing in this election & said the US matters more. But
@bbcquestiontime
can't stop themselves.
Paul Mason, Labour Party member on Scotland & independence: "I wish my party Labour would begin to accept and prepare itself for the very exciting prospect of a socialist republic of Scotland."
#bbcqt
#indyref2
While UK Foreign Sec
@trussliz
is busy on self-promotional photo shots at every opportunity perhaps she could spend a bit of time on the day job? Spare a thought for
#Nazanin
Zaghari-Radcliffe spending her 6th xmas away from family & friends.
#FreeNazaninNow
Who can forget this musical moment? The first ever nationwide TV appearance of The Proclaimers when they appeared on Channel 4's 'The Tube' in January 1987. Paula Yates introduced 'Throw the 'R' Away'. Do other folk still remember this momentous occasion?
US authorities have demanded the UK hand over Prince Andrew to be quizzed over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The UK Royal Family should not be sheltering those who have aided sexual abuse & trafficking. And nor should they be above the law.
This is the most devastating savaging of this amoral, uncaring, dehumanising UK Govt & their willingness to play the racist, xenophobic card on asylum seekers & refugees. Why have I not heard this eloquent anger from Labour or the Lib Dems?
#bbcqt
"The hounding of Angela Rayner is outrageous: brutal, snobbish and completely out of proportion to any mistake she may (or may not) have made. The sums are tiny & the issue has always been a matter of public confusion." Matthew Parris.
The Tory Russian connection. Narayana Murty, father-in-law to
@RishiSunak
& father of Akshata. He founded Infosys which Sunak's wife has ยฃ500 million in shares in & which is still actively working in Putin's Russia. And here he is with Putin.
#ToryRussianConnection
What a small & ambitious self-governing country can achieve when it wants to. Impressive from the Faroe Islands which has a population of 54,557 people.
Today, the Faroe Islands 4. sub-sea tunnel opened.
This new sub-sea
#tunnel
connects the islands of Sandoy and Streymoy and is 11 km.
An unforgettable experience to sail the last trip between the islands today and be able to drive home.
A step forward for the
#FaroeIslands
.
The brilliant writer
@cbrookmyre
is on
#bbcqt
& summarises superbly Boris Johnson saying:
"Johnson has never faced adverse consequences for his actions; even when he's been sacked. He has continually failed upwards."
Over 35 mins into
#BBC
#Newsnight
's discussion on how the BBC reflects or doesn't reflect the diversity of the UK. Not ONE SINGLE reference by
@maitlis
or any of her guests to Scotland, Wales & N Ireland. Kind of makes the point abt how the Londoncentric BBC fails so many of us.
"Douglas Ross has repeatedly called for the resignation of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over allegations she may have broken the Ministerial Code. However, it emerged that the entire UK government is in breach of its own [Ministerial] Code."
In 2015 the Tories won the UK election with a commitment to hold a Brexit referendum with 36.9% of the vote. Four years later Boris Johnson won the UK election with a commitment to 'get Brexit done' with 43.6%. In 2021 the SNP won 47.7% of the vote on a mandate to hold
#indyref2
.
Whatever your politics in Scotland & the UK you have to feel for Humza Yousaf as a fellow human being worrying abt his family. Championing our common humanity is what is missing from too much of our politics. And why has Rishi Sunak or James Cleverly not had the decency to phone?
"I may be First Minister of Scotland, but in this situation I feel powerless"
Scotland's First Minister, Humza Yousaf, tells
@KathrynSamsonC4
he feels "helpless" watching his in-laws who are trapped in Gaza.
George Galloway was "born into poverty" in Dundee claims
#wato
wrongly. All part of the Galloway self-created myth. His father was a respected secondary school teacher & they lived in a very nice semi in St Mary's five minutes from where I lived.
The UK Royal Family have not only strayed into the Scottish independence debate but democratic politics. To add to that they have encroached into media control & as a result contributed to a bigger story. The Royals need to butt out of political life in Scotland & the UK.
Kensington Palace have said we were stopped from airing the footage we filmed of Mr Brown in the grounds of Holyrood Palace - not because of sensitivities - but because they claim
#C4News
was trespassing. Our team were in public place outside gates.