grateful as ever to the National for highlighting the important and impactful work @theseislands.bsky.social is doing to inform the constitutional debate - if you would like to support our ongoing efforts, you can donate to these Islands here > www.these-islands.co.uk/funding/d5/

a masterclass in rhetorical deception 1. that a big new wind farm “could” be built has nothing to do with current electricity bills 2. Scotland is a “renewables superpower” because the “Westminster run” energy market offers price guarantees to wind farm developers (which impact all GB bill payers)

whole lot of tension on social media comes from the fact, imo, that the Very Online are either 1) people who love The World and other people so much that IRL isn't enough and they must socialise on the computer as well 2) people who hate The World and other people IRL and only want the computer

open all borders. stop having them be closed 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@dov.bsky.social · last yr.

Can't get over the fact that the world's largest collection of people who don't cook turned up in my mentions to demand housing policy be oriented around them first yesterday. There really is something about this website where it gathers antisocial weirdos who have no idea what an abnormity they are

Who would have guessed that someone for whom all business and legal negotiation is based on bluff and bluster would have had nothing other than bluff and bluster in international affairs.

Keir Starmer’s statement is an exercise in saying as little as humanly possible. It’s three uncontentious general statements followed by a restatement of the existing UK position. Yes, it’s not a condemnation of the USA’s actions, sure. But it’s not the endorsement some are claiming it is, either.

kindly: what the everliving fuck

Jim Waterson@jim.londoncentric.media · last yr.

Today’s London Standard has a big report on how the capital “isn’t working”. It blames immigrants, especially Muslims, and the lack of “White British”. It asks “if there’s a minimum number of natives” at which London must give it up its status as the UK capital. www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/lond...

“At 15, she began seeing an older man and conceived her beloved daughter. It was years before she properly understood it as abuse. Now she is working tirelessly in parliament for other survivors.” Thanks Anna Moore for telling my story so sensitively. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘He just told me lies to have sex with a teenage girl’: Natalie Fleet MP on grooming, statutory rape and fighting back

At 15, she began seeing an older man and conceived her beloved daughter. It was years before she properly understood it as abuse. Now she is working tirelessly in parliament for other survivors

theguardian.com

Tremendous

“Can we talk?”

Pete Green@petegreensolo.com · last yr.

Quote this with your most spine-chilling three-word phrase in the English language. I bet you can't beat "replacement bus service" or "family fun day".

Did a wee stint with @hannahbardell.bsky.social on GMS this morning talking about the by-election result and what it means for Scottish politics. Felt it important to remind folk aghast at the 7000 Reform votes that a million Scots voted Leave in 2016 and have been completely ignored ever since.

trying to think of an alternate universe where women in musk/trump positions would have a soap opera fight

Thrilled to see one such example talking about how a by-election win for ‘the governing party’ is very good news for them, which is of course true but suffers from the fact that Labour are not the governing party in this context.

If you are a Westminster-based analyst who has paid no heed to Scotland since 2014, please, I beseech you, there is no need to change that pattern today.

Kate Watson is going to get this framed for her office.

George Eaton@georgeeaton.bsky.social · last yr.

Imagine Scottish Labour will savour this.

And this guy isn’t off the hook yet either.

!!!!! Absolutely *phenomenal*. Every inch of credit goes to the Scottish labour ground operation,which truly is something to behold.

Record Politics @politics.dailyrecord.co.uk · last yr.

Anas Sarwar has declared Scots have "had enough of the SNP" after Labour pulled off a shock victory in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.

Dept Q is great. Highly recommend. Hope there will be a good few more seasons to come!

Thank you so much, @heraldscotland.bsky.social, for making this into a graphic

This is quite a Trumpian way to thank Whitmer for appearing at multiple events with him, despite the extensive blowback she got from Democrats for doing so. Trump will *always* stab you in the back.

Khashoggi's Ghost@urocklive1.bsky.social · last yr.

Oh ffs. I hate this man. Trump said Wednesday he would look at pardoning the men convicted in a scheme to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and swiped at the legitimacy of the case, which was brought during the first Trump administration. www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

Also it’s a dreadful term that sorts the world into (default) white and everyone else, which is takes the problems with “ethnic minority” (which is at least factual as applied nationally) and projects them globally. It is a bad term on the merits.

YouGov@yougov.co.uk · last yr.

While campaigners are calling for the term "ethnic minorities" to be replaced with "global majority", just 7% of ethnic minority Britons say they have ever used the term - 34% say they have ever heard the term - 7% say they have ever used it yougov.co.uk/society/arti...

Former Tory MPs asking for a better safety net for when they lose jobs/go through big life changes they aren’t prepared for. I mean… www.politico.eu/article/brit...

Britain’s defeated Tory MPs struggle to adjust to civilian life

Support for fallen politicians is patchy and inconsistent, which could deter would-be legislators from entering the political arena.

politico.eu

Sectarianism in Scottish politics. Can't imagine this.

Alexander Brown@alexofbrown.bsky.social · last yr.

Nigel Farage has accused the Scottish Labour leader of "introducing sectarianism into Scottish politics". He was defending a Reform advert which claimed Anas Sarwar will "prioritise" the Pakistani community in Scotland

And, frankly, vice versa. I try to be neutral on criminal liability for speech acts. I think sentences are too inflated generally. But there is a lot clapping and cheering when the law bites the “other side” and outrage when it bites your “own side”.

Ian H@ians.chat · last yr.

There is a massive crossover in the people who don't think Lucy Connolly should have been convicted of a crime for inciting racial hatred on Xitter, but who celebrated the excessive imprisonment of people who were thinking about protesting against climate change.

I really don’t miss X/twitter but this place just hasn’t replicated the Scottish political space there. Feeling I need to go back and lurk to properly keep up with all the nitty gritty. 😕

Delighted that @digbybrown.bsky.social has been listed in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work. As a firm we strive to not only be first choice for those seeking compensation for injuries but an employer of choice. 🙌🏼🙌🏼

In murdering Yaron Lischinsky & Sarah Lynn Milgrim, Elias Rodriguez has given the Netanyahu govt a gift, one that they are of course already exploiting. That he isn't Palestinian is a weird & terrible blessing, but the impact of yelling "Free Palestine" as he shot two Jews will not be a good one. 3/

A third of private schools maintained fees, adding VAT to it. A third reduced fees to mitigate/share the financial cost of the tax & maintain participation rates at around 98%. Large increases in fees above inflation in previous decade.

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · last yr.

Notably many schools chose to reduce their fee in January when VAT came in so as not to pass on the full amount (as I said they would).

“Nevertheless, every credible, independent analysis of Scotland’s fiscal reality broadly agrees with These Islands’ analysis.” @alexmassie.bsky.social on Angus Robertson’s full fiscal stupidity, in today’s Sunday Times.