THE WEEK IN CARTOONS 20-26 FEB 2022

20.02.22 - Hajo, Cartoon Movement

20.02.22 - Ben Garrison, Grrr Graphics

20.02.22 - Elad Shmueli, Instagram

21.02.22 - AF Branco, Legal Insurrection

21.02.22 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph

21.02.22 - Vasco Gargalo, Cartoon Movement

22.02.22 - Christian Adams, Evening Standard

22.02.22 - Patrick Cross, Twitter

22.02.22 - Bob Moran, Twitter

23.02.22 - Bob Moran, Twitter

23.02.22 - Guy Venables, Metro

23.02.22 - Peter Schrank, Encompass

24.02.22 - Christian Adams, Evening Standard

24.02.22 - Dick Wright, Cagle Cartoons

24.02.22 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph

24.02.22 - Steven Camley, Herald

24.02.22 - Ruben Oppenheimer, Twitter

25.02.22 - Bob Moran, Twitter

25.02.22 - Elad Shmueli, Instagram

25.02.22 - Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph

26.02.22 - Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News

26.02.22 - Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph

26.02.22 - Mike Peters, Dayton Daily News

26.02.22 - Ben Garrison, Grrr Graphics

26.02.22 - Patrick Cross, Twitter

SALMOND THROWS IN THE TOWEL

Alex Salmond has conceded that his Alba vanity project may end up with no MSPs.  Despite a recent opinion poll suggesting the party may scrape one regional seat at Holyrood, it could yet come to pass that Alba's only achievement in this election is stopping the SNP from forming a majority.  This would be a bitter sweet result for Salmond, whose epic fall out with Nicola Sturgeon has dominated the headlines this year.  The question is: Does Alex value his own ego more than Scottish independence?

STURGEON ON COURSE

Undoubtedly the most important election taking place on Thursday will be north of the border.  The outcome of the Holyrood elections could potentially shape the future of the entire United Kingdom.  If Sturgeon and her separatist allies win a majority of seats they will push for another independence referendum, despite telling everybody in 2014 that such an event was 'once in a generation'.

According to most recent polling the SNP are projected to win an outright majority, but even if they fall short they can rely on the pro-indy Greens to back them up.  The highly respected pollster Professor John Curtice predicts that the SNP will win 68 seats, a majority of four.  The Greens would more than double their current tally of five and pick up 13 seats.  The other pro-indy party of Alex Salmond would enter Holyrood with one seat, but according to Professor Curtice it is unlikely to be Salmond who picks up that solitary seat (bit awkward).

Nicola Sturgeon has reason to be cheerful

Hapless Salmond, seen here trying to spell the name of his own party, may not be
victorious on Thursday.  The only Alba gain is likely to be Eva Comrie (far right)

Despite the mainstream media talking up Labour's new leader Anas Sarwar, his party looks set to finish third for the second consecutive election.  According to Professor Curtice, the Tories will pick up around 26 seats - down five - but will stay well clear of Labour who will lose seven seats and end up with as little as 17.

Curtice's predictions are based on the following YouGov polling.  Note that like Wales, Scottish voters get two votes - one constituency and one regional.

Holyrood Constituency Poll (YouGov, 2-4 May)

SNP 52% (+3)

Con 20% (-1)

Lab 19% (-2)

LDem 6% (-)

Green 2% (+1)

Other 1% (-1)

Holyrood Regional Poll (YouGov, 2-4 May)

SNP 38% (-1)

Con 22% (-)

Lab 16% (-1)

Green 13% (+3)

LDem 5% (-)

Alba 3% (+1)

Reform 1% (-)

Other 2% (-)

The sample size was 1,000 and changes are against YouGov's poll conducted 16-20 April.

While Sturgeon will be over the moon if these polls are reproduced on Thursday, there is less enthusiasm for her independence dream.  Polling on independence swung away from Yes last month, including a Savanta poll that gave No a seven point lead.  However, in two of the most recent polls the question has returned a dead heat.

Scottish Independence Polls

Yes 45% (-) No 45% (+2) Opinium, 28 April-3 May

Yes 48% (+1) No 45% (-3) Panelbase, 28-30 April

Yes 47% (-2) No 47% (-1) BMG, 27-30 April

Yes 42% (-2) No 49% (+1) Savanta, 23-27 April

Yes 42% (-2) No 47% (+2) Survation, 23-26 April

GALLOWAY PUTS UNION FIRST

Ex-Labour and Respect lefty George Galloway has dropped a bombshell on Twitter - he will vote Conservative in the upcoming Holyrood elections.  Although he is standing for Alliance 4 Unity, Galloway says he will vote tactically in support of the Union, ensuring that his local Tory incumbent gets re-elected.

Scots get two votes in May - one to elect their constituency MSP (first past the post) and one for their regional MSP (proportional representation).  Galloway is hoping to get elected via the regional list and will vote for his own party with his second vote.

Galloway launched Alliance 4 Unity last year in an attempt to unite Scottish Unionists under one banner and help bring down the SNP.  However, the three main parties opposed to the SNP rejected Galloway's call for an alliance.  The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats refused to stand aside and as a consequence it's unlikely that his party will make a significant impact in May, leaving Sturgeon to romp home yet again.

George's decision to put aside political differences for the greater good may have raised a few eyebrows, but he has form for this.  With Brexit under serious threat he publicly backed the Brexit Party at the 2019 European elections.

The Alliance 4 Unity party boasts a diverse field of candidates, including UKIP founder Dr Alan Sked and libertarian columnist Jamie Blackett.

STURGEON'S GRIP IS SLIPPING

It's fair to say Nicola Sturgeon is having a rough time of it at the moment and it's about time.  The mainstream media have largely given her a free ride over the course of the pandemic, with scandal after scandal being brushed aside.  Her persistent absence from COBRA meetings, scientific advisor's second home trips and MP Margaret Ferrier's 800 round trip with Covid are just a few of the incidents that are rarely discussed now, yet it seems we'll be hearing rumblings about Dominic Cummings and Barnard Castle forever.

However, the Alex Salmond saga is not going away and there are plenty of signs her authority is beginning to slip.  The removal of Joanna Cherry from the SNP's frontbench at Westminster led to furious infighting and divisions in the so-called 'nationalist' party were laid bare.  Her authority has been directly challenged again by Police Scotland over her threat to effectively close the border with England, under the guise of Covid policy differences.  The deputy chief constable declared over the weekend: "We are a United Kingdom and to try to intervene with that would not be particularly effective".  That was a brutal slap down and the second time the police have refused to support her border threats.

Sturgeon is also likely to provoke a backlash when she announces her plans to ease the lockdown in Scotland.  She could easily score huge points over Westminster if she ended it more quickly, but this is a socialist we're talking about and if there's anything we know about socialists - they love control.  As with last summer, the lockdowns in Scotland (and Wales) are likely to be even more drawn out than in England.

While the SNP is still almost certain to win again in May's Holyrood elections, its lead has slipped from an all-time high of 39 points back in October, to 31 points.  Similarly, support for Scottish independence has dropped from a record 14 point lead in December to just five points.  Crucially, in the most recent poll 10 per cent were undecided.  It seems that Sturgeon's assured victory in IndyRef2 is no longer set in stone - not that it's going to happen any time soon anyway.

On that note, a huge petition has been building on the UK government's website in opposition to IndyRef2.

Nicola and her phoney nationalists would love to portray this petition as the work of the imperialist English, jam-packed with signatories from Northumberland to Devon.  However, just a cursory glance at the heat map for the petition shows that the overwhelming majority of signatures are from Scotland itself.

In another acute embarrassment for Sturgeon and comrades, the constituencies providing the most signatures are mostly SNP seats (figures correct at time of writing)...

East Renfrewshire 3,076 (SNP)

Edinburgh North & Leith 2,584 (SNP)

Edinburgh West 2,525 (Lib Dem)

East Dunbartonshire 2,428 (SNP)

East Lothian 2,314 (SNP)

Lanark & Hamilton East 2,063 (SNP)
Edinburgh South (Lab) 2,045

Ochil & South Perthshire (SNP) 2,039

Stirling 1,926 (SNP)

Aberdeen South 1,923 (SNP)
Central Ayrshire 1,842 (SNP)

The Unionist cause in Scotland is far from dead.  Long live Great Britain.

REMAINERS PINE FOR BREAK-UP

Labour's Ben Bradshaw and Clive Lewis

Imagine being so sore about losing that four years on you want to burn the whole place down out of sheer spite.  That's exactly what some of the most ardent Remainers are espousing.

Two of Labour's most bitter Remainers have both expressed support for the end of the Union, linking their desire directly with our break from the EU.  Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw told a German newspaper on Sunday that 'the political class in England must recognise Scots' right to self-determination'.  Of course this issue was settled in 2014, but as we know only too well - Remainers have no respect for referendum results when they don't get the result they want.

Bradshaw is perhaps most famous for his persistent unfounded claims that 'Russian interference' was to blame not only for Brexit, but for the election of Donald Trump also.  In his latest interview, Bradshaw uses SNP logic to justify IndyRef2: "The Scots expressed in the 2016 EU referendum and in the two subsequent general elections that they did not want to leave the EU.  Understand that the UK is based on the consent of all parts of the country".

That last point is absurd.  In the 1975 referendum there was no such requirement - the UK voted as one entity, not four, and would have left or remained regardless of how individual members voted.  The 2016 referendum was no different.  Basically what he is saying is that England and Wales should have been forced to remain in the EU on the basis that Scotland and Northern Ireland didn't vote to leave.  That is not how majority referendums work.

On the same day as Bradshaw was promoting the end of Great Britain, his fellow remoaner Clive Lewis was triggered by comments made by his party leader.  In an interview with Andrew Marr, Starmer had rowed back on a pledge he had made regarding free movement with the EU.  Lewis, a member of the hard left Socialist Campaign Group, tweeted that Starmer was guilty of 'policy by diktat'.

Ironically, Clive has no problem with diktats when they are being issued by the UK government with regards to coronavirus.  Funny that.

He then added a series of tweets on the question of Scottish independence and appears to conclude that Scots would be better off outside the UK.  However, he repeats the laughable mantra of the SNP that an independent Scotland should immediately seek to rejoin the EU - thereby surrendering its independence in the process.  What a wally.

There is so much else wrong with Clive's assessment.  Asides from his absurd description of the current crop of Tories as 'hard right', he fails to grasp the concept of nationalism.  If the Tories were 'English nationalists' they wouldn't be concerned about Scotland would they?  Has Clive forgotten that at the heart of government lies the hated Michael Gove, a born and bred Scot?

As for Clive's description of the EU as having 'democratic institutions', this is possibly the most ludicrous statement in a collection of ludicrous statements.  Four years on he and his ilk still fail to grasp that one of the key reasons Britons voted Leave is that the EU is far from democratic.

BARMY BEN BACKS BREAKUP

Unhinged Labour MP Ben Bradshaw has backed IndyRef2, calling on his own party to recognise Scots' right to self-determination.  The fact that the issue was put to bed in 2014 is completely lost on Bradshaw, but then as one of Westminster's most extreme Remainers he is well versed in ignoring referendums.

“The political class in England - and this includes my own party - must very quickly recognise the Scots' right to self-determination.  I am married to a Scotsman.  All members of our family in Scotland voted against independence in the 2014 referendum.  But at the last general election in December, all of them voted for the Scottish National Party for the first time in their lives.  And they would now vote for Scotland's independence differently than in 2014.  Scotland will become independent.  For me that is one hundred percent certain".

(Ben Bradshaw)

This is not so much about his partner's relatives as it is about Brexit.  The fact he made the above statement in an interview to a German newspaper tells all.  As an exponent of Project Fear he is keen to see all the dire predictions come to fruition - including the breakup of the UK.  Ardent Remainers like Ben would rather see our country suffer than flourish post-Brexit, such is their bitterness at losing the argument in 2016.

In any case, regardless of what Ben's partner's family are voting for, the opinion polls in Scotland have barely shifted on independence since the 2014 referendum.  While SNP election victories are often mistakenly taken as indicators of a Yes certainty, most Scots don't vote SNP - 55 per cent voted for other parties in last month's election.  Just one opinion poll in the last two years has uncovered a majority in favour of a Yes vote, another was tied, while all other polling has a No vote still ahead from anything between 1 per cent to a whopping 23 per cent.

Still, if IndyRef2 was to proceed and independence decisively rejected again, Bradshaw could always revert to his old favourite of blaming the Russians...

SCOTTISH LABOUR DECLARE WAR

Holyrood MPs released a statement today condemning John McDonnell's declaration of support for IndyRef2.  In it they said that such a policy change was for Scottish Labour to decide and the UK party needed to accept that.  Read the full statement below (click to enlarge).

McDonnell himself has doubled down on the furore, claiming that Corbyn shares his view on allowing IndyRef2.  With a vote of no confidence looming at Westminster, a potential constitutional crisis and/or general election it's an odd time to be picking a fight with your own party, even if you are thinking ahead to forming a national coalition with the SNP.  At this rate of infighting they won't even get as far as a hung Parliament in which to form a coalition.

As you were McDonnell, you're doing a fine job.

McDONNELL SPARKS SCOTTISH BACKLASH

John McDonnell chose the Edinburgh Comedy Festival to announce that Labour would not block another Scottish independence referendum.  However, Scottish Labour were not amused.  Scottish leader Richard Leonard publicly told McDonnell today that the Scottish people do not want another referendum (aka IndyRef2) and that it was not even party policy.  Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray was furious and slammed the shadow chancellor in a series of media interviews today, demanding that he apologises to Leonard.  Murray also took exception to McDonnell's use of the term 'English Parliament', which he said was language that pandered to the SNP.

As pointed out by the interviewer, Murray's stance on IndyRef2 is a little hypocritical given that he is such a vociferous supporter of a second EU referendum.  Murray is also a signatory to the latest legal action to stop Boris Johnson proroguing Parliament.

In 2014 Scots rejected independence by a 10% margin, more than twice that of the UK's Leave mandate.  Both these votes were 'once in a generation' referenda and should be put to bed.  However, the national Labour party is eyeing up coalition partners should there be a general election and will happily accommodate SNP demands for IndyRef2 as part of the bargain.  Richard Leonard, Ian Murray and co won't be happy about that.

ANOTHER BAD DAY FOR JEZ

It's fair to say that the Great Leader is under the cosh at the moment.  The shitstorm over Chris Williamson's return is currently stealing the limelight, but the Brexit row continues adjacent to it and there were also a couple of gems lurking in the background today.  Ipsos MORI released a string of devastating polls, each delivering a blow to Corbyn and his lefty tub-thumpers.  Despite Tory woes, the Great Leader is shown to be more unpopular than Theresa May, a worse candidate for PM than both Hunt and Johnson, and ultimately the most unpopular leader of the opposition for the last 40 years (yes, he's faring worse than even Michael Foot, see below).  The Tories were also shown to have regained the lead in Parliamentary voting intention.

Click to enlarge

As if to kick him while he's down, former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale popped up to claim that Corbyn cares more about winning power than he does about the Union.  No shit.  We've been saying for months that Labour can't win a general election outright, but they'd be happy to share power with similar minded parties, namely the SNP.  However, the SNP would predictably demand a second Scottish independence referendum as part of any coalition deal.  What Kezia is saying is that Corbyn would risk the Union and entertain IndyRef2 rather than put the country before his own thirst for power.  It's a no brainer for Corbyn.  He despises our country, he has no time for it and would see it smashed to pieces if it meant he could govern what is left.

GORDON & NICOLA TAKE US FOR MORONS

David Miliband wasn't the only New Labour figure to re-emerge this week.  Gordon Brown also resurfaced to lecture us on Brexit, using the spectre of Scottish independence as his own personal Project Fear.

Brown was always a passionate advocate for the Union, it's one of his saving graces.  However, this speech was driven more by his hatred of Brexit, rather than love for the Union.  He bemoans the Tories for attempting to respect the 2016 result and labels them the "Conservative & Brexit Party".  Why on earth should any UK-wide party be opposed to Brexit?  The UK voted for Brexit.  We joined the single market (as it was then known) as the UK and we voted to leave it as the UK.  We will, possibly, leave the European Union and subsequently prosper as the UK.  The SNP argument that Brexit somehow subverts the will of the Scots is nonsense.  Sturgeon and her comrades are always moaning about being ruled from London, but London voted to Remain also Nicola.  Should they secede from the UK also?

Ironically in the 1975 referendum there were only two areas in the UK that voted against our continued membership and they were both in... yes, you guessed it, Scotland.  Sturgeon is clutching at straws and her crusade for so-called IndyRef2 is fatally flawed.  Despite all her posturing there is no significant polling shift towards independence.  She continually conflates Brexit with an increase in support for independence, but there is simply no evidence for it.  This was highlighted recently on the BBC's Question Time where the only Brexit supporter on the panel was also an advocate of Scottish independence - a "Leave Leave" voter you might say.  There are also "Remain Leave" voters, "Leave Remain" voters and "Remain Remain" voters.  Sturgeon's assumption that every single SNP voter is a hardcore Remainer is just plain daft.

For all his faults we shouldn't dismiss Gordon Brown altogether.  As a former British (and Scottish) Prime Minister, he is a valuable asset in the fight to maintain the Union.  However, when he conflates Brexit and Scottish independence we've got to call him out on it.  After all, we all know that the 2014 Scottish independence referendum was a 'once in a generation' event.  The SNP told us this countless times!  It's not as if there would be another Scottish referendum any time soon.  Sound familiar?

SNP OWNED ON QUESTION TIME

In Motherwell on Thursday the BBC's Question Time saw one of the greatest audience contributions of all time.  The SNP's Fiona Hyslop sat open mouthed as the man in the red tracksuit obliterated her party's record in the last two referendums.  His passionate delivery was accompanied by enthusiastic applause.  Sir, we salute you...

Let's hope Nicola was watching!

SNP THREAT LOOMS AGAIN

There has been a deafening silence from Labour both during and after the Tory conference, so much so that yesterday both the BBC and the Mirror ran a non-story that revolved around Corbyn climbing a wall in Leeds.  While all very amusing and light-hearted a vital news story was breaking north of the border.

The constant threat of a Labour/SNP coalition haunted the 2015 general election, but thankfully that terrifying prospect was kicked into the dirt by an outright Tory majority.  With the Tories now reduced to a minority government, propped up by the DUP, and with Brexit uncertainty ever present - the SNP threat level has been raised again.

The Scotsman reports that SNP defence spokesman Stewart MacDonald has offered the hand of friendship to Labour, but only if the party pledges to scrap Trident.

“On the issue of nuclear weapons of course there has to be a serious discussion that says, ‘You want to get rid of them, we want to get rid of them, let’s work out a way we can make that happen’. I hope that if Jeremy’s in the position to form a government, perhaps with an arrangement with the SNP, then that [scrapping Trident] should be one of the key planks of any discussion that we have. Because Corbyn agrees with us on this; he has a long and honourable history of agreeing with us on this.”

Stewart MacDonald, SNP defence spokesman

The prospect of a Labour/SNP coalition government is, perhaps, more horrifying than an outright Corbyn government.  While they have plenty in common - both despise our country, support open borders, oppose Brexit and would love to smash our armed forces into tiny pieces - with the SNP comes the added ingredient of a thirst for Scottish independence.  MacDonald's timing may not be a coincidence on that note.  Corbyn has recently intimated that he is 'open' to IndyRef2 if Labour got into power.  So perhaps it was in fact Corbyn that made the first move in this proposed pact.

The reality is that any move towards a second Scottish referendum is as absurd and undemocratic as the calls for a second EU referendum.  Scots voted only four years ago to maintain the Union, and by a bigger margin than Brits voted for Brexit.  So much for the 'once in a generation' pledges made by the SNP ahead of the vote.  Like Brexit, and the Miliband-Sturgeon coalition that never was, it seems to be a case of if you don't succeed at first...