Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I see BBC Scotland, and the anti-independence press, all of whom made a huge song and dance about Gordon Brown's Vow in 2014, aren't too bothered that the Tories - one of the signatories of the Vow - have just ripped it up and now want to strip powers from Holyrood. 1112681
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 06/10/2026My latest blog piece, emboldened by a lack of media accountability. The Tories like Reform and Restore, have crossed the Rubicon, destroying a key Better Together promise, and are openly calling for powers to be stripped from the Scottish Parliament. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/10/06/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe British right has Holyrood in its sightsThe Tories have crossed the Rubicon. Since the independence referendum of 2014, which Better Together won on the basis of false promises, not the least of which was the promise that the powers of t… 38267
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Burnham's crude emotional manipulation in linking the death of his father to John Swinney's claim he will be the last UK PM inadvertently revealed the poverty of Westminster's arguments against Scottish independence. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/09/30/b...weegingerdug.wordpress.comBurnham’s crude emotional manipulation reveals the poverty of Westminster’s caseThe only living politician mentioned by Andy Burnham during his jam tomorrow speech to the Labour party conference was John Swinney, and that was only in order to take a nasty, underhanded and emot… 815889
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 23/09/2026My latest blog piece. Illiberal and undemocratic, the Lib Dem, Labour and Reform UK approach to indyref2 was starkly revealed in Tuesday's Holyrood debate on the ScotGov motion asserting the right of the people of Scotland to determine Scotland's future. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/09/23/i...weegingerdug.wordpress.comIlliberal and undemocratic, the Lib Dem and Labour approach to indyref2I don’t normally mention the Lib Dems in a blog piece, for much the same reason that I don’t mention the Monster Raving Loony Party, because they’re irrelevant, although unlike th… 25042
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 16/09/2026My latest blog piece. I signed the @believeinscotland.bsky.social petition calling for a referendum and my local Labour MP replied with an email full of lies. Labour claims there was a cross-party consensus for the 2014 indyref. No such consensus existed. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/09/16/l...weegingerdug.wordpress.comLabour’s lying reply to Believe in Scotland’s petitionYou’ve probably never heard of Elaine Stewart. She’s my local MP, one of the least distinguished Labour MPs out of the undistinguished bunch of careerists and lobby fodder elected to We… 107760
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 15/09/2026You can tell the Celtic Alliance has got the Unionists rattled as they're promising to present a positive case for the Union again. This time they mean it, no honest, pinky promise. Of course their problem is that it doesn't exist. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/09/15/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe positive case for the Union will be along shortly, this time they mean it.The flag waving We’re not nationalists we’re British brigade are seriously rattled by the Celtic Alliance, although of course they’d never admit to it, they’re currently doi… 1413271
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 10/09/2026My latest blog piece, with Burnham's admission at PMQs that the trigger for a Scottish independence referendum should ber the same as the agreed process for a border poll in Northern Ireland, the independence cat is well and truly out of the bag. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/09/10/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe independence cat is out of the bagSpeaking to The National this week after Andy Burnham – perhaps inadvertently – set out the conditions for Scotland to hold an independence referendum, polling expert Professor John Cur… 36140
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 02/09/2026My latest blog post. Marra and Fagan's inability to give a coherent answer on the question of the trigger for an independence referendum shows how inept and incompetent they are. And you thought Sarwar was over-promoted? weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/09/02/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe branch office’s stagnant talent puddleThe Labour party in Scotland has got itself into a hopeless mess on the topic of another independence referendum. Actually, that previous sentence could just have stopped at the word mess. The two … 37444
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 01/09/2026My latest blog piece. Keir today, gone tomorrow, what Starmer's sudden departure from the House of Commons tells us about him and about the wreckage of the formerly centre-left - but now decidedly corporate centre-right - party he leaves in his wake. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/09/01/k...weegingerdug.wordpress.comKeir today, gone tomorrowWith intentionally spiteful timing, failed prime minister Keir Starmer announced that he’s stepping down as an MP just as his successor was due to address Parliament for the first time. With … 84834
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 31/08/2026While it's welcome that The Record has finally woken up to the necessity of an agreed trigger for another independence referendum, the paper's proposal predictably benefits the Labour party, not Scotland as a whole. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/08/31/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe Record’s proposed trigger for Indyref2 benefits Labour not ScotlandThe first crack has appeared in the “We’re not nationalists we’re British” dam against the rising tide of support for independence and the generational shift that puts oppos… 55130
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 19/08/2026My latest blog piece. BBC Scotland's hit piece on Glasgow tells us a lot more about the agenda of the BBC in Scotland than it does about Glasgow. The BBC's great unmentionable is the link between far right protests, Loyalism & British nationalism. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/08/19/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe BBC’s Glasgow hit piece says more about the BBC than GlasgowI’ve already briefly mentioned BBC Scotland’s disgraceful hit job on Glasgow which was broadcast earlier this week, but it’s worth exploring the issues around the programme in mor… 410371
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 18/08/2026While Burnham's announcement that disabled people's bus passes in England will be valid 24 hours a day from April next year is to be welcomed, it would have been nice for the UK media to acknowledge that 60+ and disabled bus passes in Scotland have been valid 24 hours a day for years now. 19236132
Reposted by Alan Rich32Talking-up Scotland @talking-upscotland.bsky.social · 09/08/2026talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/08/09/s...talkingupscotlandtwo.comScottish Labour Councillors on the board that approved the completion of the QEUH are entirely responsible for the £170m repairs to the water supply and drainage systemGlasgow Live today: Taxpayers could face a bill of up to £170 million to repair Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus. The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and adjoining Ro… 02322
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 09/08/2026My latest blog piece. The nasty party gets nastier. Kemi Badenoch's race to the bottom with Reform UK. Former Nazis are welcome in the Tory party but not supporters of net zero or international human rights laws. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/08/09/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe nasty party gets nastierThe Tories are on a mission. Having had the title of the Nasty Party wrested away from them by Reform UK and by the even more unpleasant Restore Britain, Kemi Badenoch is determined to prove that t… 13824
Reposted by Alan Rich32Talking-up Scotland @talking-upscotland.bsky.social · 05/08/2026talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/08/05/e...talkingupscotlandtwo.comEven before today’s results Scotland’s schools narrowed attainment gaps across the board and ‘most deprived’ 14/15 year-olds made major strides in literacyThe gutter press today, above, with the same old un-educated claims. The facts: Note how the those pupils from deprived areas improved by 10% while those least deprived barely did so. From Ach… 22117
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 05/08/2026My latest blog piece. The shameful anti-SNP hysteria of the British media in Scotland even spins good news into SNPbad as we saw this week with the media response to the news that the pass rate for exams in Scotland has increased for a second year. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/08/05/e...weegingerdug.wordpress.comEven good news is spun into SNPbad by the media in ScotlandIt’s often said there are two kinds of people in the world, those who say the glass is half full, and those who say it’s half empty. This is in fact inaccurate as there is a third kind,… 511081
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 01/08/2026My latest blog piece, Burnham's mini bounce has less to do with Labour improving (spoiler alert it hasn't) and more to do with the immolation of Reform UK on a Clacton binfire of Farage's arrogance, greed and entitlement. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/08/01/b...weegingerdug.wordpress.comBurnham’s mini bounceOur visitors have left now. It was lovely to see them. As far as the blog is concerned I’m able to type again. There was a problem with the keyboard on my laptop which has now been repaired. … 35640
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Waiting for BBC Scotland to tell us in its reporting on Anas Sarwar's peerage that a couple of months ago he said he'd never accept a peerage and in 2022 said: "The House of Lords has no place in 21st century politics. It is unacceptable…to have unelected representatives wielding such power."static.klipy.comMr Bean: Rowan Atkinson WaitingAlt: Mr Bean: Rowan Atkinson Waiting 1317296
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 17/07/2026My latest blog piece before taking a break for a family visit. Silly season politics, Burnham's coronation, a Tory columnist's boredom and a desperate and inherently implausible attempt to fan the dying embers of the Murrell saga. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/07/17/s...weegingerdug.wordpress.comSilly season politicsWith Friday’s coronation of Andy Burnham as leader of the Labour party and his official accession to Ten Downing Street on Monday, the UK is now on its seventh prime minister in ten years. Me… 53528
Reposted by Alan Rich32Talking-up Scotland @talking-upscotland.bsky.social · 17/07/2026talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/07/17/w...talkingupscotlandtwo.comWill former Modern Studies teacher and Labour Junior Minister for Energy now accept this final demolition of the case for nuclear energy from the London-based top medical journal in the world and acce...I’m going to have to have a serious word with some of the 11 0000 plus folk following us on xtwitter. I posted the basic details of this earlier with a request to ‘share, share and shar… 01415
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 14/07/2026My latest blog post, Reform UK's latest front in the right wing culture wars catches Scotland's languages, Cornish, and Irish in the Anglocentric crossfire, Reform is a party of clowns which doesn't care about the consequences of its own policies. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/07/14/r...weegingerdug.wordpress.comReform UK’s attack on Scottish languagesIt’s the greatest attempted Westminster assault on Scottish culture since the Jacobite wars. Reform UK has proposed an amendment to the UK Government’s elections bill which would crimin… 26747
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 09/07/2026Spare a thought for Rupert Lowe. 16 kids and their teacher were slaughtered in Dunblane, another 15 were shot and wounded. Hundreds more were traumatised and grief stricken, but Rupert's dad had to give up his shooting hobby. There's no violin small enough. 1519088
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 09/07/2026My latest blog piece. Alister Jack's recent colonialist intervention in the Lords may have been rebuffed, but it tells us that devolution has no future in the UK. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/07/09/a...weegingerdug.wordpress.comAlister Jack’s colonialism remains a threat to ScotlandThe former colonial governor of the northern province, Alister Jack, who was given a peerage by Rishi Sunak as part of a back room deal. Jack rejected an earlier nomination by Boris Johnson in 2023… 69773
Reposted by Alan Rich32Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 06/07/2026Declassified researched two years of reporting by seven British media outlets and found only 16 mentions of the phrase Israel lobby without speech marks. Why don’t UK media mention the Israel lobby? Because they’re part of it. www.declassifieduk.org/why-dont-uk-...declassifieduk.orgWhy don’t UK media mention the Israel lobby?Because they’re part of it. 18236
Reposted by Alan Rich32Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 06/07/2026👉 NEW — Foreign minister swerves questions about Britons fighting for Israel By Phil Miller, Alex Morris & Hanna-Johara Dokal Minister Hamish Falconer ran through traffic in Whitehall when asked why his government allows British citizens to fight in Gaza www.declassifieduk.org/foreign-mini...declassifieduk.orgForeign minister swerves questions about Britons fighting for IsraelHamish Falconer ran through traffic in Whitehall when asked why his government allows British citizens to fight in Gaza 37660
Reposted by Alan Rich32Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 06/07/2026Keir Starmer is routinely saying that Britain hasn’t participated in the illegal US/Israeli war on Iran. But information suggests Britain has played an active, hidden intelligence role. 👇 www.declassifieduk.org/uk-played-hi...declassifieduk.orgUK played hidden intelligence role in Iran war, data suggestsExclusive: Ministry of Defence satellite data analysed by Declassified indicates Britain had a more active role in Iran war than ministers admit. 810462
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 26/06/2026My latest blog piece, what the recent media feeding frenzy about the Murrell case tells us about the dire state of the media and democracy in Scotland. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/06/26/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe feeding frenzyPeter Murrell was sentenced on Tuesday for a crime of which the SNP was the victim. That has not diminished the appetite of the media in Scotland to continue its witch hunt. Ever since Murrell plea… 46149
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 22/06/2026My latest blog piece, thoughts on Starmer's resignation and his replacement by Burnham. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/06/22/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe burst socks of British politicsStarmer has gone, a man whose main achievement as Prime Minister was to throw away a landslide majority in the House of Commons and make himself even more unpopular than Liz Truss. The UK is now he… 65833
Reposted by Alan Rich32David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 22/06/2026For those of us who see Palestinians as human beings, this was Starmer's defining moment. It is not sustainable to behave in this way while leading the nominally progressive party in a two party system. Starmer's unpopularity is not one of life's great mysteries. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8_s...youtube.comKeir Starmer denies saying Israel 'has the right' to withhold water and power from citizens in GazaYouTube video by LBC 7599215
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 19/06/2026My latest blog piece. Reaction to yesterday's by elections, lessons for the SNP on energy. Labour's civil war, the wheels have come off Reform's hate-mobile, and no one really cared about the Murrell scandal despite the media hysteria. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/06/19/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThree by elections and no one cared about the Murrell affairThe Tories are celebrating their Westminster by election win in Aberdeen South today. But just as Labour celebrated its Holyrood by election win in Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse in 2025 only t… 107443
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Now that I can see again, here's my latest blog piece. Despite no interest from the Murrell obsessed media in Scotland, we need to know who commissioned an Israeli company to run a campaign of election interference in the Holyrood election. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/06/17/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe world’s crappiest whodunnitI’ve had my cataract operation, the op was a couple of days early as there was a cancellation. The recovery period is four weeks, but I already notice a massive improvement in my eyesight. Th… 48455
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 13/06/2026THIS is a much bigger political scandal than the Murrell affair. Someone hired an Israeli company to interfere in the Holyrood election, an attempt to use a foreign actor to subvert the democratic process. Yet there's near silence from the anti-indy media. www.thenational.scot/news/2619162...thenational.scotUK Government silent after Israeli firm found to have meddled in Scottish electionThe UK Government has refused to comment on the findings of a French government report stating that an Israeli firm attempted to meddle in the… 4172126
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 11/06/2026With Holyrood voting for an independent inquiry into the finances of all parties, the eagerness of Labour and the Tories to weaponise the Murrell scandal has bitten them on the arse. Anas Sarwar just got a lesson in the law of unintended consequences. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/06/11/s...weegingerdug.wordpress.comSarwar learns the law of unintended consequencesAnyone with two functioning braincells knows that the only reason the anti-independence parties and the SNP’s enemies are so keen on an inquiry into the Murrell scandal is because they seek t… 912570
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 10/06/2026We've just had race riots - again. This is no time to witter on about "legitimate concerns". It's time to take firm and decisive action against the politicians and social media platforms who whip up and incite violence then stand back and say - nothing to do with me. Stop pandering to Musk. 012557
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Starmer has just published his hand wringing response to last night's race riots on Twitter, boosting engagement and profits for a platform which more than any other pushes far right narratives and racism. At the very minimum the UK Govt should boycott Musk's hate filled sewer of racism & bigotry. 412648
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 07/06/2026My latest blog piece, the Scottish Affairs Committee's bid to hold a kangaroo court to attack the SNP is a Trumpian attempt to use the power of the state to oppress an opposition party. Meanwhile the media in Scotland has jumped the SNPbad shark. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/06/07/w...weegingerdug.wordpress.comWestminster goes Trumpian and the media in Scotland jumps the SNPbad sharkAt the behest of Tory MP Andrew Six Chips Bowie, Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee is to vote on Monday on whether to hold an inquiry into the finances of the SNP. Bowie is of course o… 010272
Reposted by Alan Rich32Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Nigel Farage Listens to the News 10449741891
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 04/06/2026My latest blog post, the media feeding frenzy in response to the Murrell scandal teaches us much more about the historic failure of the media in Scotland than it does about the failures of the SNP. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/06/04/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe historic failure of the media in ScotlandThe issues in my left eye, my better eye, seem to be getting a bit better so I’m only half blind now. Many thanks to everyone who left kind messages of support. Hopefully after 16 June when I… 69156
Reposted by Alan Rich32George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 03/06/2026If you say "I support Palestine Action", they might put you in jail. If you incite a racist riot, they put you on the news. 6743631523
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 31/05/2026My latest blog piece. Seeing the path ahead clearly. I won't be blogging much over the next couple of weeks due to health issues, but the Murrell scandal does not seem to be having the effect the SNP's enemies might hope. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/05/31/s...weegingerdug.wordpress.comSeeing the path ahead clearlyI’m not going to be blogging so much over the next couple of weeks. For the past year or so I’ve had a cataract in my right eye, which has rapidly worsened over recent months such that … 128937
Reposted by Alan Rich32Talking-up Scotland @talking-upscotland.bsky.social · 31/05/2026In principle, any investigation can miss evidence but Branchform was unusually extensive, involving forensic examination of party finances, searches, arrests, and years of inquiry. To argue that it missed criminal conduct by Sturgeon, one would need some new evidence that investigators did not see.. 53620
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 27/05/2026My latest blog piece. The opening salvos have been fired in the latest stage of the independence campaign. This is just the beginning. The independence story will be the biggest in Scottish and UK politics long after Murrell has been forgotten. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/05/27/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe first salvos have been fired in the latest stage of the independence campaignOn Tuesday, the first working day of a new Scottish Parliament, with a record pro-independence majority, the fourth such majority in a row, MSPs voted by 72 to 55, a majority of 17 to adopt a motio… 16843
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 25/05/2026My latest blog post, Branchform is over and the SNP is still standing despite media attempts to smear the victims of a crime as the perpetrators. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/b...weegingerdug.wordpress.comBranchform’s over and the SNP is still standingWell, after five long years, murder tents, and over £2 million in police costs, it’s all over bar the inevitable shouting, and of course the not insignificant matter of what is likely to be a… 1417291
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 23/05/2026The anti-independence parties and press often claim the indyref was once in a generation. It was never a binding pledge, it was campaign hype to boost engagement which Westminster is weaponising to avoid being held to account for breaking its own pledges. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/05/23/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe supposed “Once in a generation” pledge is a Westminster mythOn Thursday evening’s edition of BBC Reform Time, Fiona Bruce, the completely unbiased and neutral right wing unionist host, editorialised in aid of Tory MP Harriet Cross who had insisted tha… 1811670
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 22/05/2026My latest blog post. John Swinney fires the starting gun on the push for independence. Tuesday's Holyrood motion demanding the power to hold an independence referendum be devolved to Holyrood is the opening salvo in an issue that's not going away. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/05/22/j...weegingerdug.wordpress.comJohn Swinney fires the starting gun on independence pushHe’s not mucking about. On the back of Holyrood’s record pro-independence majority, John Swinney has announced that there will be a debate and vote in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday… 38751
Reposted by Alan Rich32Talking-up Scotland @talking-upscotland.bsky.social · 20/05/2026talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/05/20/c...talkingupscotlandtwo.comCarole Ford again – some maths teacher, some educationistOn Debate Night, Reform UK’s Thomas Kerr claimed that nearly 400 000 ‘voted for us.’ It was only 365 000, not so near. Then, ‘educationist’ and former head and maths t… 089
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 20/05/2026My latest blog post. The British media is hiding the truth about the sustained level of support for independence in Scotland. The new Scottish Parliament has a record majority for independence and is the fourth in a row with such a majority. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/05/20/t...weegingerdug.wordpress.comThe British media is hiding Holyrood’s independence majoritiesSomething interesting, and entirely predictable, has been happening in the British media since the SNP comprehensively defeated the parties of Westminster rule in this month’s Holyrood electi… 010180
Reposted by Alan Rich32para-handy.bsky.social @para-handy.bsky.social · 15/05/2026BBC Scotland announce post Scottish Parliament election editorial policy The SNP are Bad as bad as bad as bad can be. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad bad, badness personified in word and deed. Therefore BBC Scotland are scrapping their politics and current affairs dept, replacing it with a SNPBAD Dept 76639
Reposted by Alan Rich32weegingerdug @weegingerdug.bsky.social · 13/05/2026My latest blog article, Labour's rigged Holyrood electoral system has bitten it on the bum. Scotland has voted a pro-independence majority to the Scottish Parliament in every Holyrood election since 2011. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/05/13/l...weegingerdug.wordpress.comLabour’s rigged electoral system has bitten it on the bumEver since the Holyrood election last week in which the SNP won a crushing victory over the dependency parties, those parties and their client media have been crowing that John Swinney must drop hi… 04935