Latest news with #Indyref
Scottish Sun
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
If the SNP DON'T get a majority at Holyrood, they must end doomed Indyref obsession for ever
The fact that a majority in a parliament and a majority of the population calling for a referendum are two very different things seems lost on our First Minister BILL LECKIE If the SNP DON'T get a majority at Holyrood, they must end doomed Indyref obsession for ever Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FULL-ON John's back yet again with his old broken record – the one about how Scotland really, really needs Independence. Why do we need it so badly? Well, if he has to explain it, we're clearly just not patriotic enough. 2 John Swinney is back with his old broken record Credit: PA All he's telling us right now is that it's mega-trega-important for the SNP to get a majority at next year's Holyrood elections so they can 'ensure' a second once-in-a-lifetime referendum. The fact that a majority in a parliament and a majority of the population calling for a referendum are two very different things seems lost on our First Minister, but let's not argue the toss while he's busy trying to get The Donald to realise he's not a wine waiter. No, for now, let's just put a deal on the table. Which says that if the Nats DON'T get the 65 seats they need for outright control come May, they shut up about their doomed obsession for ever. It rocks that we ALL have Ozzy's power to improve lives of others HIS legs wouldn't hold him up and his voice could barely carry a note. But even in the final throes of life, Ozzy Osbourne exuded enough power to light up his beloved Birmingham for a fortnight. We're talking REAL power here, not the sort that's bought and that corrupts, that steals in the name of fairness and kills in the name of peace. We're talking the power to help, to inspire, to connect, to educate, to spread limitless joy. It's just over three weeks since Ozzy took his last public bow. It's seven days since he passed away, aged 76 and racked by Parkinson's Disease. Inside Ozzy Osbourne's final days after historic last show 'took huge toll' on his health What he achieved in that final act of his, though, will live forever. The astounding £140million he raised for charity through his farewell gig will do good for so many across generations to come. What a way to leave the stage. What more could any of us ask when our own time is up? Think about it this way. Imagine if Putin or Netanyahu or Trump were to pass away tomorrow. What would their last contribution to society have been? Trying to obliterate a neighbour? Pulverising terrified hordes into submission and starvation and submission? Turning culture against culture and colour against colour? Letting basic public services crumble and rot? That's how too many of those to whom we GIVE power choose to waste it, how they choose to use it as a weapon. Not the man born John Michael Osbourne. He chose to use his as a magic wand with which to make fortunes appear in the bank accounts of those who need it more than most. He phones all his heavy metal mates — Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, you name them — and says he wants them to play at his last ever show. 2 Ozzy passed away last week aged 76 Credit: Getty Be an honour, pal, they chorus. He tells them they're not getting paid a bean. Not an issue, mate, they echo. Plus, they'll have to pay their own travel and hotel and hire their own gear. Sure, Oz, whatever you need. And by the way, you'll be putting your hands in your pockets for the cause, yeah? Goes without saying, legend. That's power. That's influence. That's respect. That's something the warmongers and the tariff-raisers and the plain old political hypocrites will never have, will never know. Maybe it's knowing how little they're truly respected that makes them so angry, so defensive, so weak — and, yes, your Putins and Netayanhus and Trumps ARE weak, because no one who possesses genuine strength needs to kill or rob or besiege to prove it. Look at the president of the United States of America, swanning around the golf course while Europe's leaders wait to tell him how his economic idiocy is bringing global business to its knees. Look at Israel's leader, unmoved by the poverty, the disease and the starvation taking hold right across the border from him, all caused by his refusal to admit when enough retribution is enough. Look at Russia's ruler, too stupidly proud to admit that the war he thought would be won in a week could grind on forever and gain him the square root of nyet. Each of them forgetting the most important thing about power: That with it comes responsibility. In his final days and weeks, Ozzy Osbourne could have acted the way they do. He could have yelled to the world about how unfair life was, settled old scores, maybe even just turned his face to the wall and waited for his last breath. Instead, he got on that phone, he pulled together one almighty wall of support and noise and energy, he sold 40,000 tickets for Villa Park, the football stadium along the road from his childhood home, he sold a deal that streamed his dream to close on six million more worldwide. It's our sworn duty to be on top TO news that would make Sir Big Yin himself yell: 'Jesus Suffering F***'. Glasgow is now second to ****ing Newcastle on the UK's swearing charts. Seriously. Official research says we're down to a p***-poor 11 Fs, Bs and Cs per 100 words, while on Tyneside they're hitting 14. And despite the fact that those no-coat-wearing b*w*a*s still can't match our 2023 record of 15 per 100, this is still no b***o*k**g use. I've genuinely always thought that Glaswegians were the best swearers on Earth. They do it naturally, almost like punctuation. There are words that in dialects can sound horribly harsh and offensive, but which when said here can come across as compliments. Then some scientist *an*ers come out with findings like these? Sorry, but as a fully-paid-up, 300 f***s a day man, I'm not ****ing well having it. So let's commit to sorting this s***show, to redressing the b***a*d**g balance. It's the duty – no, the SWORN duty – of everyone in our biggest city to go full-on Malcolm Tucker until our sweariosity is once more respected the way it ****ing well should be every ***h***u****g day of the week. From today, every knock at the door should be met with a cheery cry of: 'Come the **** in or **** the **** off!' From today, every friend should be greeted with a smile and the words: 'How's tricks, ya ****?' And, of course, from today every word with more than two syllables must automatically have a sweary word shoehorned into it. With abso-****ing-lutely no exceptions. Then he rose from a trapdoor on a leather wheelchair with skulls on its armrests, he grabbed a microphone and he rasped what few lyrics his throat could still form. He led his farewell gig from front and centre. He knew the crowd would be his voice. He knew his rock 'n' roll buddies wouldn't let him down. Most of all, he knew that when it was done, he could go back home and prepare for the end in peace, because the job had been a good 'un. That £140million, the most raised in a single day by a music event, will do untold good for his three chosen causes — Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and the Acorns hospice for terminally-ill kids — all from one afternoon and evening out of a very special man's life. As a spokesperson for Acorns said when news broke of his passing: 'On the night of the gig and ever since, thanks to Ozzy, our hospice has been embraced by people across the world. Families who so often can feel unseen have been celebrated by millions.' That, my friends, is power and how to use it. A power we ALL possess. Maybe we can't all phone Metallica and book them for our local community centre, but we can all do something to make others happier; a smile, a compliment, a phone call, a visit, a fundraising event. Each insignificant in isolation, but which come together to make the world a better place. That's all Ozzy was trying to do while he still had the chance. And it rocks.
The National
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
If the SNP don't up their game, indy supporters may well stay at home
When will Swinney and the SNP actually commit to independence and not the dead-end of repeatedly asking London for a referendum? His previous stint as party leader was seen as a failure and he seems determined to go down this path yet again. READ MORE: A new poll puts Reform second at Holyrood – what it means for Scotland The SNP lost far too many MPs at the last election and I wouldn't be surprised to see further losses at the next Scottish election. No-one trusts the SNP to deliver independence any more, we can see that in the polls that show more support for indy than for the SNP. Swinney and his fellow devolutionists should be looking at those polls wondering why independence is more popular than the party that is meant to deliver it! The root source of all Scotland's problems is the lack of control we have over our own resources. Instead of using these to boost employment, boost our health services and other public services and eradicate poverty, the scraps we get from Westminster are wasted trying to offset the vicious Westminster regime. We need independence – not another promise of a potential referendum. There is a real danger the SNP will lose power in Holyrood simply because to the majority of indy supporters, the party has given up on independence. If the SNP don't seriously up their game then they will fall by the wayside as indy supporters stay at home. Alex Beckett Paisley THE National's front-page headline on Tuesday was 'Indyref could happen if the SNP win big'. I quickly turned to the full story on page seven, excited by the prospect that John Swinney had finally found a way to guide us forward to a second referendum. Reading the article, I was very disappointed. John, it seems, only 'suggested' that there 'could' be a route to a second independence referendum. This mythical, yet-to-be-confirmed, still-to-be-mapped-out route is apparently dependent on the SNP doing 'really well' at the 2026 Holyrood elections. READ MORE: John Swinney pours cold water on SNP holding 'independence convention' I read the full article twice in the hope that I had missed the details, or even a hint of the details as to how this second referendum could come about. There were no details, not even a rough idea on the back of the proverbial fag packet. The old cynic in me then noted that the SNP had finalised its candidate selection for the May 2026 election. It announced that very same day a mixture of familiar old faces from Holyrood, some of the old faces rejected by the voters and ejected from their Westminster seats in July 2024, and a fair-sized batch of fresh young folk, some currently employed by SNP MSPs. READ MORE: Independence 'on table' if Scotland elects Yes majority, Tories admit I managed to read all of this while hanging on the telephone for a GP appointment. I also read of John Swinney's promise of 100,000 more GP appointments. I understand there are about 3500 full-time-equivalent GPs in Scotland. If each did one extra appointment per week, this would be 3500 x 52 = 182,000 extra appointments per year. So an extra 100,000 appointments is roughly one extra per fortnight per GP – not exactly a big deal! There are now just over 360 days, and counting, until the Holyrood elections. 360 days for John Swinney and the SNP to tell us exactly 'indyref could happen if the SNP win big'. Please forgive me if I don't hold my breath. John Baird Largs IT would appear that once again the 'I' word will not be mentioned by the SNP in the run-up to the Scottish election. One can only assume it's for fear of frightening the undecideds! I'm all for Mr Swinney promoting good governance as well as restating past successes, however surely the benefits of being independent should be loudly stated to convince undecideds to vote SNP. READ MORE: How would a 2026 election win for the SNP translate into independence? It's not as if it's a difficult sell – cheapest energy in Europe, rejoining the EU, a place at the table with 190-odd other normal countries! We are caught in the devolution trap with no-one willing to open the exit door. Colin T Largs OUTLINED in the Scottish Government's recent Programme for Government is the Children and Young People (Care) Bill. This legislation aims to further support The Promise, produced by the Independent Care Review in 2020, and which is Scotland's pledge to care-experienced children and young people that they will grow up loved, safe, and respected. As a coalition, along with others, we have been advocating for care-experienced individuals, who often face complex situations alone, to have the right to lifelong, independent advocacy. This will ensure that care-experienced individuals are aware of their rights and can make informed decisions about their lives. READ MORE: Why are politicians making Holyrood elections all about Nigel Farage? With the Promise Bill now part of the legislative landscape, it is time for this fundamental right, as committed to in The Promise itself five years ago, to be enshrined in law. Too many individuals are currently missing out on the advice and support they desperately need, often when they need it most. Scotland has an opportunity to lead the way, and the Bill provides the opportunity to deliver action on advocacy. The Scottish Children's Services Coalition: Falkland House School; LOVE Learning; Spark of Genius; Young Foundations
