There is nothing remotely controversial in this. My Fife & Ayrshire mining grandparents, detested the Tories, my parents detested the Tories, my wife & I detest the Tories and if we have brought up our children properly, they also detest the Tories, whose values are detestable.
Nicola Sturgeon in her own words
April 2017: “I will ensure that at all times we make our case not just with passion and conviction, but with courtesy, empathy and respect”
Today: “I detest the Tories and everything they stand for”
The British state & its acolytes hate
@NicolaSturgeon
because they fear the immediate threat she poses to their hold on Scotland. They will throw everything at her, but she will prevail & deliver Scottish independence. I’m proud to know this inspirational woman
#IStandWithNicola
I watched Reporting Scotland to see how they would cover the SNP conference and
@NicolaSturgeon
’s important speech. They didn’t! Unbelievable! I can think of no other modern democracy where the leader of the major party and FM of the country would be so ignored in this way.
The distaste we feel for these outrageous attacks is because we remember the integrity & compassion she showed on a daily basis while leading us through the dark time of the pandemic. She’s also an outstanding politician with a global reputation in our struggle for independence
A common MSM conclusion to the pieces on
@NicolaSturgeon
is that despite her undoubted talent, she failed in her core mission of gaining Scottish independence. What they never say is that that situation prevails only because democracy in the UK has failed the people of Scotland.
The English reaction to
@NicolaSturgeon
doing her job today speaks volumes on the role they believe Scotland should play in the UK - that of a junior provincial partner whose leader should know her place and not get uppity or above her station. Dream on, Little Britain, dream on!
O Flower of Scotland…when will we see her like again?
Thank you
@NicolaSturgeon
. Hope to see you on the campaign trail, when we get the referendum that will win our independence 🏴
I would love to send
@NicolaSturgeon
hugs and thanks from all the good folk who support her today, yesterday and tomorrow. We’re with you and know that all will be well for you yours. All Will Be Well - Solas Festival Big Sing Choir via
@YouTube
Archie Macpherson reminiscing on Radio Scotland & feeling sorry for Ally MacLeod after Argentina. I wonder if he feels sorry for the old lady he lied to in 2014, when he told her she would lose her pension if Scotland became independent - one of Better Together’s finest hours!
“And tonight on Innuendo Scotland we’ll insinuate that the people who ran Scotland’s Covid response were every bit as corrupt and inept as the people responsible in London & find a sad victim who will relish denigrating the Scottish experts” Biased, disgraceful reporting.
Read the headline again. Do you feel that? That's anger. Anger is an energy. Anger can be used, utilised and be creative. The media and apathy are your enemy.
When the cause of independence has any kind of setback, manufactured or otherwise, I always think of these words from Hugh MacDiarmid. Keep the faith, brither an sister Scots.
For we hae faith
In Scotland’s hidden pouers,
The present’s theirs,
But a’ the past and future’s oors.
When Scotland fulfils her destiny to become an independent nation, people will look back on ludicrous front pages like this and realise how low the British state and its supine client media was prepared to go to undermine our drive to democracy.
The most vitriolic attacks on the Scottish government just now are coming from people who purport to support Scottish independence. Ignore their hysteria and focus on getting the landslide in May which will result in a referendum. Forget the factions and go for the big prize.
A photographer catches the Scottish Tories just before they disappeared under their desks. They hounded Calderwood relentlessly, but have no comments on Cumming. They are unprincipled hypocrites and part of a shamelessly sycophantic tradition of toom tabards in Scottish history.
No, David I was proud to make history an deliver a speech about social inclusion in the first language I learned at my mother’s knee in 1950s Ayrshire - the language of our greatest literature and of 1.5 million of my fellow Scots. The response has been 70% positive, 30% negative
I’d like tae address the 300 fowk that attendit the pairty in Midlothian the ither day. Ye’re glaikit gowks an gypit gomerils, ye’re bampots, numpties an twatts. Ye’re an ugsome disgrace tae yer faimily, yer kintrae an yersels. Hell mend ye.
At a conference in the Basque Country I'll try to explain Jockholm Syndrome - a particularly debilitating variant of Stockholm Syndrome, where hostage victims identified with their captors. Here, culturally colonised Scots identify with the culture of the UK and not their own.
I woke up this morning to "news" of
@NicolaSturgeon
removing her mask briefly at a funeral. At first I presumed it was a spoof in rather bad taste as I couldnae quite believe the tabloid press and their broadcasting acolytes would stoop this low. But they have, so hell mend them.
How any self respecting Scot can identify with this charade of a democracy is beyond me. We have a vibrant alternative as an independent nation in Europe, and we have to grasp it soon for the sake of the generations to come. 🏴🇪🇺🏴🇪🇺🏴🇪🇺
Boris Johnson's former aide, Charlotte Owen becomes a peer.
She is 30, and as the oath says her peerage is literally "for her life", she could be in the Lords for SIXTY YEARS.
Son-in- law Luca just sent me this from the Italian newspaper Domani. There has never been a time in modern history when Scotland has been so much in focus, and much of it is down to this brilliant woman
@NicolaSturgeon
and the contrast with Brexit Boris Johnson
#indyref2
This borders on the unbelievable - a braying English Tory mob egging on another democracy denying demagogue with no mandate here, who openly insults the woman who has that mandate. We are in a failed State, Scotland, and we need to mobilise all our energy to get out
#Indyref2023
The first socialist in the British parliament was RB Cunninghame Graham who described it as an “Asylum for Incapables.” He went on to become a founding father of the SNP. No matter who replaces Johnson, Scotland can only flourish when we rid ourselves of Westminster.
#indyref2
British democracy at work - all of them, the presenter included, line up to interrupt and attack the man representing Scotland. I’ll reiterate the old saying, “We are too long in this condition”.
Don’t you just love the ignorance, bile & Scotophobia
@joannaccherry
’s court victory has unleashed in our precious union. For the English majority it’s the first dawning that they’re actually in a union with Scotland, and they’re no happy, whereas we’re used to being scunnered!
Another wee cringe gem came from the headmaster of a Primary School in North East Fife, when I asked if Scottish culture was taught in his school. “No,” he replied, “this is not really a very Scottish area!” Can anyone imagine such a reply in any other Country in Europe?
Could someone please tell me when it’s safe to switch on the media again? I have a very low tolerance threshold for royal sycophants - they gar me grue. There are enclaves of royal worship in Scotland but the vast, vast majority don’t give a toss, so this is quite outrageous.
Ran into
@ChrisLawSNP
at Brussels airport last night. A young English man recognised Chris as an
@theSNP
MP & emotionally thanked him for making him & his Polish wife & child welcome as new Scots. They left England because of constant abuse but feel totally at home here with us.
Across Europe now
@NicolaSturgeon
has admirable status as a revered politician who’ll achieve Scottish independence. Her speech was statesman like, measured and powerful...and that is what is required to build the substantial majority we need for
#indyref2
Keep the heid, Scotland
According to Einstein, the physicist James Clerk Maxwell changed the world forever. On a train to Heidelberg I astonished a young German physicist by telling him the genius was a Scot, and not an Engländer as he presumed. If we don’t preserve & teach our history, no one will.
In a normal country when suddenly the democratic wishes of at least 50% of the people are grouped together with extremists by the PM, it would be at the top of every news bulletin. It was totally ignored by the North British BBC’s Reporting Scotland. Get us out of here, please.
BBC News coverage of the attack on Scottish devolution by the Tories fails to mention the cross party support for the gender recognition law in order to frame it as a conflict between the SNP and the UK Government. Hope the other parties unite to defend the integrity of Holyrood
Fabulous intervention by
@EmmanuelMacron
when asked about Scottish independence. “I think Scotland will have the heart to follow its own voice & its European tendencies. Long live a European Scotland” Vive la Vieille Alliance - here’s tae the Auld Alliance. Merci M. le Président.
I remember the good old days of the UK when there was a Passport office in Glasgow with helpful humans at the end of a phone! You could go and renew on the same day. Now applications disappear for months on end into a black hole near Warrington.
Turned on TV to get the latest from Ukraine, and what I got was sycophantic royal correspondents in the Ruritanian kingdom of Ukania wittering on about the non appearance of an ancient sovereign in the bizarre ceremony which opens the parliament. Get me out of here, Scotland.
Heartfelt thanks to this great lady for all she has given to Scotland and the cause of independence. I have personal experience of the high regard in which she’s held across Europe and look forward to her advocating and negotiating for Scotland before and after independence. 🏴🇪🇺
A recent business meeting in London ended with a drink. When the young, female Scot said she was for Scottish independence, the middle aged English exec said if the Scots felt that way he would be delighted to tell them all to “fuck off! Nasty, inappropriate, visceral hatred.
Watched BBC UK evening news to see how they report Truss’s insulting behaviour towards the FM last night. Not one mention! Nothing to see here…who cares if the Jocks are offended, our Tory backers are in the shires and they just love Truss, so move on.
#TooLongInThisCondition
.
Watched the
@AlexSalmond
show on RT and it struck me as simply mind blowing that it is the first time we have seen a major interview with Carlos Puigdemont in English on the media. A Scottish international perspective is what we need, so gaun yersel
@AlexSalmondShow
Isn’t it remarkable how many Night Club Owners are also Eminent Virologists? Well done the BBC for finding all of these men with this exceptional skill set.
Word from a Yes voting Remainer working as a civil servant in the Bexit department in Whitehall: Be afraid, be very afraid - the chaos you’re hearing about is nothing compared to the total chaos in the department itself.
#outoftheirdepth
Think I’ll pass on the Scottish news tonight. They’ll find yet another grief stricken soul who’s lost a loved one to illness and imply that blame lies with negligence & incompetence by the Scottish government. Only in Scotland does such a bizarre distortion of news values occur.
699 years ago today the magnificent Scottish Declaration of Independence was completed in Arbroath. Today I will join thousands of Scottish Americans parading down 6th Avenue to celebrate that great day in our history...”for as long as 100 of us remain alive”
Since Nicola announced that she’ll fulfil her Referendum mandate, Twitter’s been fair hoatchin wi Little Englander democracy deniers & Jockholm Syndrome is manifestly alive & well among the North British placemen of Slab, Libdem & Tory. Fear eats their souls but they’ll no win.🏴
Just heard someone on Radio Scotland say re Brexit that Britain is a divided nation. There is no such thing as a British nation - it is a State made up of several nations. My own counry, Scotland, will very soon be once again an independent nation in Europe.
#indyref2
Wouldn’t it be amazing, if just one radio or television presenter reflected the cynicism the vast majority of us feel about the saturation coverage and virtual deification of someone as remote from our lives as the Duke of Edinburgh?
A Black Sunday, in which my nation’s democratic will to remain in the EU was thwarted by the insular Little Englanders of the British state. We are too long in this ludicrous position, brother and sister Scots. The need for independence has never been so starkly illustrated.
To people criticising Tartan Day, think of President Biden’s visit to Ireland and the global good news that brought to the country. The Scottish diaspora will be a great resource of goodwill for Scotland after independence, so in the meantime let’s continue our soft diplomacy.
3 of the Greatest Lies ever Told. 1 NicolaSturgeon told us that an indy referendum was a once in a generation event. 2 The Scottish Parliament is the most powerful devolved assembly in the world. 3 England is the home of football. (It isnae, it wis us that that invented fitba!)
Can you imagine the furore in the MSM if Nicola Sturgeon presided over such a chaotic government, or if Scotland fans celebrated a victory by dancing on ambulances and terrorising Ikea workers? Can you imagine the faux horror of it all displayed by our own parcel of rogue Tories?
Accidentally caught 25 seconds of the BBC TV coverage and trying now to unsee Lulu & Kirsty Young’s attempts to outgush each other. That and seeing the hologram in the golden carriage on Twitter reminds me of the bizarre Ruritarian parallel universe Scotland must escape from.
Just heard the wonderful
@ruth_wishart
suggest that the Tories have been guilty of political “premature ejaculation” by bringing forward their outrageous demand for
@NicolaSturgeon
to resign. The image of Tories gettin aff at the Haymarket en masse however is not one I relish.
And yet the sycophantic media will continue spouting the lie that we are into the whole charade. When we are not desperately trying to avoid it, the obsequious, fawning coverage will gie the majority of folk here the dry boak, or make them pussi seik, at the very least.
Heard the end of a phone in wi Willie Rennie on Radio Scotland. A carer called to ask how he could justify his leader Jo Swinson's decision to vote with the Tories AGAINST raising the Carer's hourly rate from £1.80 to £2.30. He couldn't...and neither could any decent
human being.
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the global spread of the Coronavirus so far...is that the North British mainstream media has not found a way to blame it all on the SNP!
Rangers just keep on being Rangers. Watch the Alex Ferguson film Never Give In. A Gers fan & player, he married a catholic girl & a club director asked him if the ceremony was in the Chapel or the Registry Office? "I should have told him to fuck off" said Sir Alex with regret.
This is for those sufferers of the Scottish Cringe mortally wounded by the thought of anyone outside Scotland hearing my speech in Scots. They already have...this is me speaking in Scots at the Library of Congress Burns 250 Celebration in 2009 in Washington DC. They loved it.
BBC news laying it on thick wi the Queen’s first jaunt since lockdown “showing that a pattern of life may continue”. I’m sure her obscene wealth & their royal correspondent’s obsequious sycophancy will continue...I just don’t want Scotland having anything to do with it any more.
Happy St Andrews Day tae brither an sister Scots fae Maidenkik tae Johny Groats…and tae aw their descendants in the haill wide warld. “For we hae faith in Scotland’s hidden pouers, the present’s theirs, but aw the past an future’s oors” MacDiarmid
Jist got the letter in for ma jag! Ah’m tellin ye fowk, if they’re already giein it tae young yins like me, we’re weel on the wey doon the road tae seein Covid gettin it’s erse severely skelpit!
And verily I said unto the Lord, the Nats are succeeding in their vaccine roll out and gaining more support for the Great Abomination of Independence. Bring your wrath down upon them, Lord and smother the land in snow, so that fewer are immunised & we can whine again for Britain.
Only people with a provincial mindset believe this is remotely acceptable. Any Scot with a semblance of a national identity will tak a grue at this demand for obsequious subservience. Please
@HumzaYousaf
@AngusRobertson
tell them in the politest diplomatic terms tae get tae F..k!
So how does the unelected Lords appointee David Cameron think he has any legitimacy telling the elected by constituents First Minister of Scotland who he can or can’t speak to? And who is Cameron to tell Humza what he’s allowed to say or think??? The arrogance is off the scale
In these difficult days, my heart goes out to all of the reporters and broadcasters who have to pretend that their unctuous descriptions are totally sincere…in order to keep their job in this North Ruritarian province of Ukania.
Fellow Scots. Your next PM will be chosen from a group of mediocre, incompetent men who care not a jot for your welfare, culture or economy unless it impinges on the English heartlands. He will be elected by ageing right wing tories who know and care even less.
#Indyref2
Now.
The sheer wilful ignorance at the core of this & the disdain for Scottish culture revealed, is part of an English disease rooted in cultural colonisation. English liberals can be liberal about many things, but it is rare for any of them to value, appreciate & understand Scotland.
Could someone please tell
@RealDMitchell
that Scots is a languge, not a dialect of English + that a language doesn’t die due to “natural selection” but due to oppression, discrimination and lack of protection + promotion 🤨
This video is damaging. Certainly not funny.
#scotsleid
Happy Birthday
@NicolaSturgeon
After interviewing her in 2015, I told her that I thought she would be the one to lead us to independence. I’m even more convinced of this now than I was then. She has a growing global reputation & will be a great leader of an independent Scotland.
For the linguistically & intellectually challenged monoglot English speakers among you who harass Scots speakers: The whole thrust of my work is to promote both Scots & bilingualism - because I know that being bilingual in 🏴 & 🏴 made it a lot easier for me to learn 🇫🇷🇵🇹 🇩🇪 &🇷🇺
My son in law Luca has sent me the article from the other main Italian newspaper Repubblica. The Scottish government’s charm offensive and the dislike of Johnson is swinging European opinion our way.
The self loathing minority who respond to my series with laughing emojis, are Scots provincials whose first identity is British. Scottish success makes them feel uncomfortable. Please send this link to everyone you know whose national identity is Scottish.
With sectarianism raising its ugly head can I say once again that growing up in 1950s Ayrshire in a family from the respectable working class, the tiny minority who were orange bigots were regarded as low life scum by the majority of the population.
Fellow Yessers, please remember when you're protesting outside the BBC tomorrow that there will be many inside the building, probably a majority, who are also YES supporters. So ca' canny and don't make it personal. If it's dignified you might even convert a few No supporters!
As an admirer of
@joannaccherry
I am dismayed by today’s news. However I fully expect her to play a hugely important role in the governance of Scotland post independence. We need her too in the forefront of the campaign for a majority in May & for
#indyref2
when it begins.🏴
Just had the pleasure of going on a block party after my tweet in support of
@NicolaSturgeon
. Spanish has a great word for people that are so disagreeable that you never want to be associated with them in public - impresentable. Got rid of the impresentables & feel cleansed.
The distaste we feel for these outrageous attacks is because we remember the integrity & compassion she showed on a daily basis while leading us through the dark time of the pandemic. She’s also an outstanding politician with a global reputation in our struggle for independence
One of the most obsequious examples of the Scottish cringe is when so called journalists ask if Scots are supporting a team from a neighbouring country. It wad gie ye the dry boak. My team isnae there,
@joao_kay
’s Portugal is out, so like most folk I couldnae care less who wins.
Perfect response
@HumzaYousaf
FM: I don't know why your so obsessed with who I'll be cheering on I'm not even sure if I'll be able to watch the game or not watch the game given I'm busy on Sunday but if I do get to watch the game then I wish both teams the best of luck,honestly
Jeremy Vine show, part one.
"I mean, for goodness sake, Scotland, how is it going to survive, what does it have?"
"Oil. And a monster in a lake. And?... "
So cheeky chappy Ally plans to proudly sing about being up to his knees in fenian blood with impunity - it’s just what lads like him do! They were at it in Lisbon, capital of a catholic country recently and it was vile and shameful to have the good name of Scotland thus demeaned.
🗣️ "I can guarantee you, next Sunday at Ibrox, I, along with 48,000 will be committing a breach of that hate bill."
Ally McCoist slams Scotland's controversial new hate crime laws ahead of Rangers vs Celtic
📎
One of the bizarre responses to the speech is that it was political, whereas there were equal benign references to all the parties so that they all felt included. For unionist trolls any expression of Scottish culture and identity nowadays makes them go berserk with fury.
To all my English friends and family - I hope you enjoy the match tomorrow night. To all my Italian friends and family, I hope you enjoy the match a whole lot more than my English friends and family tomorrow night. There, you can’t get fairer than that. 😇🏴🇮🇹
For Scottish folk who still need a historic reason to support Italy...well the Romans were in Scotland a good 500 years before the English got here. Just sayin. 🇮🇹🏴
Onybody else mind on gettin their claes on in the kitchen as a wean durin the cauld winter wather, as it wis the anely place wi heat afore the fire wis lit ben the hoose. Wi us it wis staunin afore a paraffin heater. In a 1950s cooncil hoose, central heatin wis a distant dream!
While it’s great to be back at the heart of Europe for a few weeks, we’ll be embraced as permanent members of the EU if the 62% of Scots who voted Remain, also vote for the SNP and demand our democratic right to independence. Vote Labour and we stagnate in a British backwater♥️🏴
When England fans sing “Fooball’s coming home”, they’re perpetuating one of their greatest myths & one of the greatest lies ever told - that they invented modern football! Talk about cultural appropriation….this is grand larceny on a global scale! It wis us that created fitba.
The last time Scots law won an English case was when John Clerk of Penicuik had an appeal case concerning a client’s land dispute. “Do you spell “watter” with two Ts in Scotland” asked the condescending English judge. “Naw, ma Lord, but we spell mainners wi twa Ns” was the reply!
In the 19th C staunch Unionists like Sir Walter Scott were still thoroughly Scottish in culture & proud of what distinguished Scotland from England. Now Unionists find any expression of Scottishness so scary and threatening, that all they can do is disparage and despise their own
Calling for the suppression of a democratically elected First Minister of Scotland is repulsive - the Tories in England and Scotland simply do not realise how repulsive this is because ultimately they do not believe in democracy for Scotland.
An SNP Cllr and MP liking a post calling an attendee of the Conservative hustings "Repulsive".
The "Nasty Nationalist" trope is in full view and not going away.
It is hard to unsee that image of the braying English Tories cheering a charlatan who is insulting Scotland’s FM, but this passage from the book dated 1548, puts it in perspective. The cultural differences have been evident for a very long time. More here:
Watching the news about the power losses and transport chaos in England & Wales - correctly no blame is being levelled at the Government. Can you imagine the reaction if it had happened here - they’d have been lining up the 3 Stooges to demand
@NicolaSturgeon
’s resignation!
The number of Yes supporters criticising the FM & SNP is outrageous. For the FM to campaign for Indy now would be obscene. However senior MPs & MSPs should be gearing up to gain an unequivocal mandate in the Scottish elections and pushing vigorously for Independence thereafter.
But pith and power, till my last hour,
I’ll mak this declaration;
We’re bought & sold for English gold - Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
Robert Burns