LJS

When was the last time the top 2 leagues in Scotland were topped by teams from Ayrshire?

You shoud love them then !!! Perhap's the rise of the SNP has more to do with the Labour Party giving up 70's leftism There is no evidence of a correlation between levels of immigration & Opposition to immigration. Indeed, there is some evidence that the opposite is true. http://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-areas-with-low-immigration-voted-mainly-for-brexit-62138 Its the fear of immigration rather than the experience of it that drives opposition. Except in Scotland. I don't know why this should be. I don't believe we are intrinsically nicer people than anyone else. It might be said that the Moon is made of marzipan but without any evidence most folk would just laugh at the idea. I'd really like you to explain in what ways exactly Scotland is culturally & socially backwards.

I am constantly bemused by the notion that because I think one Union (UK) is a bad thing, I should think all unions are a bad thing. Its like saying because I think marrying Mila Kunis would be a good idea, I should also be in favour of marrying Anne Widdecombe. (just for the record, I am not recommending either) That might be a valid point if you didn't indulge in a bit of ad hom stuff yourself. Being in the EU is a bit shit i many ways but its much less shit than not being in the EU. Its not a shining beacon of democracy but then neither is Westminster.and given the depressing tendency of the population of England to keep inflicting awful Tory governments on my bit of the UK (which has never voted Tory in the 16 General elections held in my lifetime) the EU has managed to restrain some of the worst Tory excesses. As for Trump he is a Narcissistic Dick and a danger to life on this planet but I don't have time or interest to follow all the shenanigans that you and Neil get so excited about. That's what I have to say in particular. And on the sad day of the wonderful Pete Shelley's death, here's a Buzzcock's song which seems appropriate for Brexit & trump

Sounds like a crossword clue. Is the answer "lad culture: oxymoron?"

So, this is interesting... Do Scots think differently about immigration? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-46457341 At first glance, it appears to support Neil's off repeated claim that us Scots are just as opposed to immigration as the rest of the UK. You will all appreciate that this is disappointing to me, although it doesn't appear to ask how important the issue is which generally shows that it is a much less important issue for us than it is for the rest of the UK. The interesting bit is around the views held by supporters of the different political. parties. SNP supporters are way more in favour of immigration the labour or Tory voters who are even more against it than their equivalents in the rest of the UK. But we're still the divisive ones, who blame the "others" for everything.

This is, by a considerable distance, the most reasoned & sensible post I have ever seen from you. Well done.

I am anti-orange! Blue moon is lovely though!

Yeah, how inconvenient for these labour councillors to have to look after the interests of their tenants.

Social housing used to be the same as council housing. Until Thatcher decided that council housing was a bad thing. So large swathes of council housing became either private housing (through right-brained buy) or "social housing" through bargain sale of council housing to the private sector. This continued under Blair. It's hard to argue that this had any positive outcome for tenants.

The points you make are all valid and the Blair Brown government did achieve all these things. However they also funded much of the improved schools and NHS through crazy PFI schemes which mean we will be paying for these improvements for decades to come. they also failed to reverse much of the Thatcher anti- union legislation and allowed the rape of social housing to carry on unabated through the sale of council houses. so, a mixed bag... still I agree the achievements should not be ignored.

good points Comfy. Other sports that have made it work - Cricket Rugby & Tennis spring to mind - make the replays & the decision part of the spectacle, so although it may hold the game up, it adds to rather than detracts from the entertainment. Football appears not to learnt that lesson yet. According to Neil the attraction football "includes the pace at which its played, without contrived interruptions" https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40993250 At its best you are struggling to have the ball in play for 2 thirds of the time - and at its worst you are only just getting over 50%.

you're funny.

Neil, you may find this helpful, as you appear to be unaware that asking different questions in opinion polls results in different answers. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2011/10/24/why-question-wording-matters

It is meaningless if a different question is asked. You know this. The only significant shift is on the wording of the question. As that question has never been asked before, it is impossible to conclude there has been any shift. You know this. WoS polls on independence use the standard question and are therefore comparable with other similar polls. You know this. I don't know that an "extra" 5% are showing anything as we have no equivalent poll to compare it with. We are constantly told that we don't want another referendum. It was the bedrock of the Scottish Tory campaign at the last couple of elections. Hey, we agree. (Yawns) we don't hate the English. Cue: blood & soil nonsense next.