I have yet to hear from any of the gentlemen addressed in this post, so today I dared to make some of what Andrew Baddon, election assistant to Bob Doris MSP, called “political social media posts.”

#bobdorismsp #patrickgradymp #councillorjohnletford #snp #princephilip #scottishpolitics #scottishblogs #censorship

—GM Stevenson

Email: contact at stevenson dot scot

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“God grant that Marshal Wade May by thy mighty aid Victory bring. May he sedition hush, And like a torrent rush Rebellious Scots to crush — God save the King.” —British National Anthem

I am a member of the Maryhill and Springburn branch of the SNP. Today I received this email:

Dear GM,

All leafleting and campaign activity was suspended yesterday afternoon following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Over the weekend, this suspension will continue and there should be no outward campaigning – this means no leafleting and no political social media posts.

Activities can resume on Monday afternoon at noon, following condolence events in the Scottish Parliament.

Yours for Scotland

Andrew Baddon

Election Agent for Bob Doris SNP Candidate for Maryhill & Springburn

As I am bald, am I exempt from having to tug my forelock?

#snp #bobdorismsp #princephillip #scottishpolitics #scottishblogs

—GM Stevenson

Email: contact at stevenson dot scot

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Prince Philip has died. The only remarkable thing about him is that he lived to the age of 99, which is less remarkable when his pampered lifestyle is considered. An unremarkable racist born into the Greek royal family, we have only heard of him because of whom he married, an equally unremarkable person born into another family institution that should have been abolished long ago.

As he never did anything anyone would have noticed had it not been for his title, it seems odd that Scotland’s political parties have taken a break from election campaigning because of his death — and bizarre that the SNP is making such a gesture for a prince of a nation it intends to leave.

#princephilip #britishmonarchy #scotland #snp #scottishpolitics #scottishblogs

—GM Stevenson

Email: contact at stevenson dot scot

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I live near a bar that is a notorious stab inn. A few years ago, there was talk that it might close, and I overheard someone walking by it say, “If they close it, where are the nutters supposed to go?”

This can be taken two ways. One is a typical Glaswegian compassion for “the nutters,” an understanding that even the most antisocial and violent people need community. The other, more practical, point is that if their hangout closes, they will migrate to other bars and make them less pleasant, safe and sane.

In the politics of Scottish independence, Alex Salmond’s new Alba party might serve the same function as the bar I shall not name. The worst bigots and other reactionaries — “the nutters” — now have a party to join, a community of their own, leaving the SNP a more pleasant, safe and sane place. The worst of the worst will join Alba, while the good and the merely bad will stay with the SNP.

#alexsalmond #albaparty #snp #scottishpolitics #scottishblogs #glasgow

—GM Stevenson

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I remember my naive bemusement back in 1992, when, with a general election impending, Alasdair Gray published his book Why Scots Should Rule Scotland. I wrote a review of the book in which I said that even though it presented a succinct cultural history of Scotland, it never even mentioned, let alone answered, the question in its title. It took a shamefully long time for me to realise that his vivid description of Scotland was all the answer to the question that was needed.

#alasdairgray #scotland #scottishindependence #scottishpolitics #scottishblogs

—GM Stevenson

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In the Holyrood inquiry as to whether Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament, the vote was along party lines, with four SNP members finding that she did not, and the other five — two Tories, one Labour, one Lib Dem and one independent — finding that she did.

Now an independent report by James Hamilton, former director of public prosecutions in the Republic of Ireland, has found that she is not in breach of the ministerial code. This will disappoint her opponents, who have been excitedly demanding that she resign if Mr Hamilton’s report had found against her.

Prior to the report’s publication, more than 15,000 people, myself included, signed a petition in support of Ms Sturgeon.

#nicolasturgeon #jameshamilton #alexsalmond #snp #scotland #scottishpolitics #scottishblogs

—GM Stevenson

Email: contact at stevenson dot scot

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“Fareweel ev'n to the Scottish name”—Burns

Boris Johnson is the Prime Minister of England, and, if you believe in democracy, it is right and fitting that he should be. In England his popularity, and that of his party, is six points ahead of the party led by Keir Starmer that no longer has any connection to its name.

There can be no democratic argument that Johnson does not represent England. The majority of English voters want him, and they have him.

The majority of Scottish voters do not want him, and we have him. And, as he continues to treat Scotland with contempt, he is proving that, until Scotland is independent, our votes do not matter. In May, Scottish people will overwhelmingly vote for Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP — and we will continue to get what England votes for. Anyone in Scotland who opposes independence opposes their own right to vote.

#borisjohnson #scotland #nicolasturgeon #snp #scottishindependence #scottishpolitics #scottishblogs

—GM Stevenson

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