Nicola Sturgeon was arrested and then released on 11 June 2023. Two months later, despite forensic analysis of her hairbrushes, there have been no further developments, but that’s a different story.
In the 5 opinion polls before the arrest, for Holyrood voting intentions, in April and May/June, the SNP had an average lead over Labour of just over 8%.
In the next 5 polls, in June and July as the media frenzy peaked, that dropped to just over 5%.
In the most recent 5, polls the lead over Labour averages nearly 10%.
Patience.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_Scottish_Parliament_election
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
We live in interesting times.
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If there are no charges, how do Police Scotland get out of this with any kind of reputation?
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The only reputation in question and on BritNat orchestrated trial is that of Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP. I think it’s called a kangaroo court…
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It’s a bloody ridiculous farce that’s been dumped on the previous FM and instigated the Scottish public to through tantrums at each other.
Spoke with a chap in Aberdeenshire a few weeks back about the various estates that are selling off ‘their’ properties because…’it’s all that Nicola Sturgeon’s fault, changing the rules and regulations for landlords, making it not cost-efficient to let out properties. Even Dunecht Estate is stumped, with empty houses all over the Estate…’
Dunecht is in the hands of lord somebody…
Aye and uh huh…
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Dune Mc ht Estate has always had loads of empty buildings in its Aberdeenshire lands . Not interested in doing them up for rent or selling them. Rather keep properties empty to avoid the plebs getting access to their land.
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Dunecht- auto-correct!
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I see according to all the Union papers that’s it the SNP is finished independence is gone never to rise again and these are Scots writing this.
Is it possible to get a FoI from police Scotland regarding the ongoing investigation into the SNP no chance that will roll on until the next election comes along.
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I don’t think the Warren Commission investigation of the Kennedy assassination took as long as Police Scotland’s has to investigate the possible misuse of £600,000 .
Maybe they should send for Inspector Clouseau ?
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I remember once I was in a supermarket during the time when the former FM, prior to NS , as in AS who is now the Alba party leader, was all over the media during his trial.
I was standing looking at the papers next to an old guy who said ” There’s no smoke without fire”…..when he was looking at a picture of AS and a front page headline about him in the Daily Express.
I asked him “What has he actually been accused of “? (knowing full well what the charges were but wanted to hear what he, the old guy said that he knew, based on his comment to me).
He responded “Well I don’t really know all of the details but it’s all over the news so he must be guilty of something”.
So his assumed judgement was that if the media are reporting it and thus passing their judgement upon it…. then that was what he believed must then be true and factual even though he himself did not know the details……I didn’t want to chastise him too much, as he was old, but I did say to him
” Oh well you better hope that if you or yours are ever accused of doing something that you or them then don’t get in the papers because then other people will think the same thing as you have today”…….he didn’t say anything in response to that but I did hope that it might have given him a wee ‘food for thought’ that ‘trial by media’ might not always be the best and most reliable source to base your opinion upon ,especially if that source was ever to be one that was ‘closer to home’, plus I added that “of course the Daily Express is not a reliable source as they are always biased against anyone who has had any connection to the SNP”…….I then wished him a good day.
Alas that , via SOME people, is what we we are faced with and the media know it only too well hence why they do what they continue to do……but if you are ever confronted with this same ignorance, then in highlighting a “there but for the grace of God ” comment , as in ‘well I hope that does not happen to me if I were in their place’….as in being judged and assumed guilty on the front page of Newspapers…..it might just (but in some cases probably will not LOL) make them think differently about the media’s role in what they produce as supposed ‘truths and facts’ that can really NOT be relied upon….always TWO sides to a story and the side the media report is not always the accurate or full version of what’s (REALLY) what in some stories !
My above story may not , as a example, seem comparable to what has happened to NS but the point I make in telling it is that it was ONE experience as an example I was confronted with which is, I am sure, is what some other people ,like that old guy, have as a SAME reaction and opinion of, on what happened to both her, NS, and too upon the current SNP police investigation….as well as other #SNPBAD (over) promoted stories in the media.
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On 13 July 2021, the BBC News website had the headline: ‘Police launch investigation over SNP donations’. The article also had this: ‘Police Scotland had previously been assessing complaints made by a member of the public. The force says that a full inquiry has now been launched.’
So an investigation had, at some level, been going on EVEN before 13 July 2021. In October 2023, c.26 months later, the PM of the UK October is able to state: “Nicola Sturgeon wanted to go down in the history books as the woman who broke up our country. Now it looks like she may go down for very different reasons!”
The link to an ongoing police investigation being implied here is clear in news coverage e.g. by the Daily Express on 4 October beneath the headline ‘Rishi Sunak slaps down Nicola Sturgeon with brutal legacy joke in conference speech’.
I’ve lost count of the number of political articles published (for example on the BBC News website) throughout the period since mid 2021 drawing attention to this police investigation. What is the intention beyond legitimate reporting of news when new information comes into the public domain – and there has been precious little of that? To sustain a ‘no smoke without fire’ sentiment?
On 26 September 2023 the Guardian published this: ‘Donald Trump case tracker: where does each investigation stand?’
Trump who was succeeded as US President in January 2021 has been CHARGED with 91 felony counts across criminal cases in New York, Florida, Washington and Georgia. There is also at least one additional civil case. The Guardian article sets out in detail the many charges – serious and, to say the least, ‘complex in character. Preliminary hearings on many have already been held and dates for full trial on some already been set. Added to this there has been congressional hearings.
All of this has been played out in the USA over a period not all that much longer than the term of the Police Scotland investigation into SNP’s (audited) finances – simple and tiny by comparison! let’s estimate this as c. 32 months in the USA against c.26 months in Scotland.
I suspect Mr Trump’s financial and other activities may be a wee bit more complex and his legal resources to slow the processes of justice may be a wee bit more powerful than anything associated with the SNP. And yet ….!
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The BBC’s newspapers website page has
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-67036350
“The Guardian says Labour will commit to a big expansion of affordable homes as a key pledge before the next general election. It comes after Labour “trounced the SNP with an overwhelming victory” in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, the paper notes.”
Their headline reads
“Labour’s new homes pledge after seismic byelection win”
The article says
“Labour is seeking to build on a historic byelection victory in Scotland by making a massive expansion of affordable homes a key pledge before the next general election.*
continues
“Angela Rayner, told the Guardian that a Labour government would oversee the biggest boost in affordable housing in England in a generation.”
Is Scotland paying for them? 🙄
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One observation,
Affordable Homes do not = Council/Association Homes for rent.
They equate to houses built to a minimum cost, rather than a standard higher than minimum building regs.
Sold at a lower price while still maintaining the profit margin.
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Yep was in E. Lothian recently, from the train a huge amount of new housing being built, looks like on what was public land and farmland. One which looked to have about 300+ new wee Stepford Wives style houses, sign said the new development included 28 council houses. Wow.
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My take for what it is worth re both the by election fallout and more generally the fall/demonisation of SNP leaders since 2014 is that we need to stop looking fpr, or expecting to set in place, charismatic leaders. Charisma has it’s place and enabled Alex S to build a movement, collective self belief and a drive to achieve independence, then Nicola to manage the failure of the indyref by giving indy supporters new hope and a vision of Scotland as a fairer more equal society
But charismatic leaders leave us vulnerable as opponents can focus on one individual who, if brought down, risks the collapse or fracture of the wider movement. However unionists appear to overestimate the importance of the individual v the the belief in the cause the leader represents since – the downfall of 2 leaders hasn’t led to a drop in indy support
So lets not write off Humza Y for one poor result a few months into the job, Lets look instead to supporting a strong team effort, supporting political representatives and listening to those who can think clearly and strategically to navigate the ever shifting political landscape rather than obsessing over popularity contests or the crowing of political opponents. We need to stop overreacting to setbacks and criticism and focus instead on what we want to achieve, Someone said to me recently he would vote for a donkey wearing an SNP rosette, not because he was a blind tribal cult member, but because this was the clearest route to winning the next indyref. I tend to agree – after that we can work out the details and hopefully establish a more collaborative political coalition
brobb
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