Allan Faulds

26 years into devolution and still hardly a single shit could be given about the governments responsible for e.g. the NHS or income tax rates for nearly 9 million people! This is infuriating! Every single day a new fucking Westminster poll and fuck all for Holyrood or the Senedd! Maddening!

Not to keep girning about the same thing but it occurs to me it has been a month since the Caerphilly Senedd by-election and there has been no Welsh poll and no credible Scottish poll since.

It is less than six months until the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments are elected. Complete contempt!

yes I don't really see how you can go "oh yikes these people have changed their political views incredibly quickly, mostly because of what Very Online people talk about on social media" and also think that people who went from never talking about gender to calling trans women predators are....normal

From the country that brought you "we want Nordic style public service provision with American style personal taxation", we bring you Nordic style political diversity with an American style electoral system

Sweetie darling, you didn't even use the one with the lady, you're letting the side down!

Pal am urnae even in your country this has hee haw tae dae wae you daft yank rockets

I mean for example I've hit a point where my in principle belief in the value of journalism has been completely destroyed by the actual reality the UK's media. You could announce the closure of almost any paper and I'd be like "well, serves them right". I know that's not good but it's how I feel!

On the one hand, enabling the far right to say "see! These people have been lying/had an agenda all along!" further erodes trust on that end of the spectrum, whilst on the other end a sustained assault on basic liberal values leaves many people disinclined to continue supporting those institutions

I do try not to get too alarmist but I do have an increasing concern about the possibility of a major collapse in institutional legitimacy (government, courts, media) arising from what is a pretty undeniable shift on their part to the far right positions on most social issues

There will absolutely be worse examples of how dire Chris Mason is at his job but in true chippy Scot style that's the one that I will never get over: you have to have a powerful instinct towards viewing Scottish politics as fundamentally sillier and more cringe to forget *Liz Fuckin Truss* happened

Mind when the Political Editor at the national broadcaster forgot the Conservatives gave us three PMs in three months when he said the SNP's three FMs in a year was somehow worse?

Top rate indeed

Man shocked to discover 45 minute walk in the dark less enjoyable than 45 minute cycle in the sun at lunchtime would have been (the winterposting will continue until orbital position improves, or catastrophic change in axial tilt occurs)

Seasonal reminder to people who live alone that you should buy some painkillers on your next few supermarket runs, because you WILL be struck down with a plague in the next few weeks and don't want to be caught short xoxo

I have no reasons for issuing this PSA

Mind this?

Phone goes, it's my mum:
"Are you in? I'm in the vicinity with a pal, do you want a visit?
Of course, yes, come by
"Great. Also, I have a favour to ask"
OH I SEE HOW IT IS, MOTHER

I do think it's worth addressing that the intellectual lodestar of this government is a gibbering idiot.

No you went for a half hour nap at half 1 but didn't set an alarm and now the daylight is nearly gone

The Power of Love came on in the climbing centre which is how I found out @louisewilso.bsky.social has never seen Back to the Future and I'm pretty sure the whole centre (okay it's early so not many people) heard me furiously exclaim WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BACK TO THE FUTURE

Oh we're in peak Scottish Tap Water Season now lads, that's the good stuff, crisp and cool as you like, yeah sure it's darker and colder up here but I tell you what, the English can't cup their hands under the tap and come away from it refreshed, invigorated, and bursting with national pride

It is absolutely embarrassing that the National are still treating the YouGov from earlier this week which asked people about whether they'd consider voting for parties as a poll of voting intention. My guys, when you have numbers adding up to 172%, that is very obviously not voting intention.

A screenshot of the Ballot Box Scotland website front page, showing a large "Immigrate to Canada" banner advert

My own website is serving me really pointed ads about the state of the UK right now

I don't know why Dumfries and Galloway does this to me, but after last year getting "Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale" in my head to the tune of Maria by Blondie, today I have "Stranraer and the Rhins" to the tune of Arabian Nights from Aladdin, what is going ON, why are BRAINS

Corbyn, that great mastermind of the Left, has successfully managed to piss away huge amounts of goodwill and credibility to try and get these folk inside the tent, and having pretty much fucked it already as a result, he's now already two of the four down. Masterful gambit, sir behaviour.

George Bush dot jpeg

I'm gay you evil moron

It's a large town with a deprivation profile equivalent to more urbanised parts of the country and the loss of the ferry terminal is akin to closure of mines and factories in such areas (explains Reform), but has a large rural hinterland (explains Conservative)

I am feeling very crap today but I am nonetheless very slightly perked up by Reform not winning in Stranraer.

These are people not just nasty but so *thick* they once accused a Northern Irish cat of sectarianism as he was correctly described as having orange fur! That alone should have rendered them a joke that no one gave any time to, but no, they got the Serious People treatment rather than Crank Contempt

I'm absolutely not going to change my position on this, it's a red line, and when I feel it's been crossed I won't work with folk again, but it's just... gutting to have worked so hard to grow something and make a name for myself and then have it suddenly stunted because of a bunch of bigots.

Like I do okay here on Bluesky but after last year's initial surge, it's just not the same as Twitter was - fantastic that was killed off by a fascist. And I now have a growing list of major media outlets that I refuse to work with because of their role peddling transphobia.