Will Scotland Leave the UK?

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

The new leader is described by his family as "Naughty (been done for speeding amongst other gaffes), but nice

His friends say that people underestimate him at their peril in this 15 minute profile of him at the weekend:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001kprv

You can file this under ‘crisis PR’, the crisis being entirely of his own making.

Here’s an alternative view:

The emerging party line is that we should not underestimate Yousaf, for he may yet surprise us. This cannot be dismissed as a possibility but even a cursory glance at his record confirms it should not be thought probable. Past performance is the best available guide to future performance. Just as Boris Johnson’s spell at the foreign office bode ill for his prospects as prime minister, so Yousaf’s tour of underachievement through transport, justice and health indicates his time in Bute House is unlikely to be a triumph.
…
Yousaf was elected, though only barely, on the basis of being the safest choice but safety should not be confused with attractiveness. “Like Nicola, but not as good” was the core message of his leadership campaign and it is the premise upon which his ministry will be built too.
Nor is the new first minister any kind of fresh face. He is a well-enough known commodity and he has an approval rating of -20. That is a disagreeable place from which to begin. Voters have a sense for when a politician is busking it. They know the difference between the real thing and a phoney and they know which of these is currently occupying Bute House.

By Alex Massie, paywalled in the Times at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/y...lure-dn9n5qpsx

[GrimUpNorth]

Is todays news something to do with the recent surprise changes to the top of the SNP?

https://news.sky.com/story/man-58-ar...ances-12850333

We will never know for certain, but the funding scandal has been bubbling for some time now and it was always going to blow up at some point. To be honest Sturgeon’s skill set is presentation and party management/discipline but when it comes to devising and delivering a coherent policy programme she was hopeless. There are a raft of measures now in place or shortly to come into force that will cause one major headache after another for Humza Useless over the next few months and any or all of them may have contributed to her sense that the time had come to bail out.

Just yesterday we had the unedifying spectacle of a rapist getting community service for repeatedly attacking a 13 year old girl. The judge was compelled to go easy on him because he was 17 at the time he committed rape and thanks to the SNP the sentencing guidelines are now so heavily tilted in favour of rehabilitation rather than punishment, the judge had little choice.

In Scotland as conceived by the SNP you’re mature enough to vote in a general election at 16, you’re mature enough to decide to change legal gender at 16, but at 17 you’re not mature enough to fully understand that rape is wrong. There there now, why don’t you go and weed the community vegetable patch for a couple of weeks.

Apparently not a good day to bury bad news … not if you’re the SNP anyway, as Polis Scotland start digging up Pete & Nippy’s back garden

Wtf is going on here, police incident tents, spades and digging, this has Fred West vibes…?

[Itshim]

Originally Posted by Mick

Wtf is going on here, police incident tents, spades and digging, this has Fred West vibes…?

Buried voting slips ?

[joglynne]

A little more information in this BBC report.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65187823

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by Itshim

Buried voting slips ?

[jfman]

Looks more like investigating Peter Tobin than Peter Murrell.

[denphone]

Not good for the SNP going forward l would imagine.

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by Itshim

Buried voting slips ?

Maybe they're looking for the £600,000 that went AWOL.

Digging up the garden does seem overkill. Do they really think they buried receipts in the back garden?

Originally Posted by Damien

Digging up the garden does seem overkill. Do they really think they buried receipts in the back garden?

Well last month Sturgeon said there was nothing left in the tank. Maybe she meant the septic tank.

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by denphone

Not good for the SNP going forward l would imagine.

I think we can guarantee Scotland won't be turning to the Tories. They are sensible people. Good news for Sir Keir.

[OLD BOY]

The Scottish Conservatives are looking to the rural seats, where they will be concentrating their campaigning.