Sam Taylor

@staylorish • 11,183 subscribers

Runs @These_Islands. “cannot stand the awesome reality of Scotland’s energy wealth” - Alex Salmond. Tweeting in a personal capacity.

Shorts

436,836 views

306,365 views

97,168 views

62,783 views

62,231 views

58,204 views

26,956 views

29,522 views

30,615 views

24,814 views

100,503 views

24,619 views

52,696 views

39,436 views

44,007 views

17,096 views

15,705 views

19,501 views

16,144 views

Videos

sweetdream.ai

Watch Anya Live

Anya is streaming live right now! Join her private show and enjoy exclusive content.

Private Show

Join now for exclusive access

Free preview available • Premium content

1,202,837 views • 4 months ago

505,369 views • 3 months ago

141,792 views • 3 months ago

269,657 views • 7 months ago

119,274 views • 3 months ago

384,243 views • 1 year ago

92,895 views • 3 months ago

87,001 views • 2 months ago

85,015 views • 3 months ago

158,226 views • 6 months ago

80,049 views • 3 months ago

79,535 views • 3 months ago

130,801 views • 5 months ago

71,287 views • 3 months ago

511,847 views • 2 years ago

313,601 views • 1 year ago

66,223 views • 3 months ago

189,538 views • 10 months ago

62,912 views • 3 months ago

Live Cam

Sam Taylor

Shorts

“I’m sorry, there are absolutely no fiscal requirements for joining the EU. What you are talking about is the Exchange Rate Mechanism.” Jaw-dropping ignorance from Màiri McAllan.

“I was exonerated. If there had been a shred of evidence that I had been complicit in this, or had known about what he was doing, then I wouldn’t have been cleared.” Sturgeon must know that a decision not to charge can be made despite plenty of “shreds” of evidence.

1/ Sturgeon’s claim that the “motor vehicles” item on the balance sheet could have been “the rental of motor vehicles” got a lot of attention yesterday. Initially, I was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt here. Even though “rental” would usually imply a short term…

1/ Hannah Mary Goodlad makes a blatantly false claim about the relative performance of Scotland’s economy in parliament today. The truth: between Q1 2016 and Q1 2026, real GDP growth in Scotland was 6.8% vs real GDP growth of 13.7% for the UK over the same period.

Oops. James Mitchell responds (see quoted tweet) to Ross Greer’s suggestion in parliament that the Scottish Green amendment is closest to his proposals.

Ed Miliband has his faults, but the idea that he is scheming away at Westminster to maximise the profits of huge energy companies, by denying consumers cheap energy, is utterly bonkers. A deranged conspiracy theory.

The Scottish Greens’ ill-advised attempt to imply James Mitchell’s support comes back to bite them as Jackie Baillie sums up for Scottish Labour.

John Swinney says that on day one of a new SNP government, he will request a Section 30 order transferring powers over energy to the Scottish Parliament. If this was a serious idea, you’d expect the civil service to have done some preparatory work. So… have they? Of course not.

Scotland’s energy wealth is being “siphoned off” by Westminster, says John Swinney. Populist bullshit of the highest order. #bbcdn

Màiri McAllan seems to believe that an independent Scotland would end global conflicts by “proposing peace”. If only someone had thought of this before. Actually, they have. It was Jeremy Corbyn.

“It’s not GB Energy. It’s Scotland’s energy.” It’s not like other nationalisms. It’s civic nationalism.

1/ This line, that because a Chinese company has a minority stake in Hinkley Point C, the UK Labour government must be “anti-Scottish” to have blocked the Ming Yang wind turbine factory, on national security grounds, is very easily debunked.

Stationary wind turbines which (when they do spin) produce electricity at a cost of £163/MWh (double the current wholesale price). A perfect encapsulation of the utter vacuity of SNP rhetoric on energy. Imagine if these costs could not be defrayed across all GB bill payers…

Philippa Whitford channels Emma Harper. Currency problem solved because we now have Apple Pay.

One of the SNP’s most prolifically dishonest politicians, extolling the virtues of honesty. #bbcdn

Zack Polanski believes independence will free Scotland from the dismal spectacle of PMQs. He has presumably never watched FMQs.

John Swinney saying “thank goodness” for Reform. Rather pertinent this morning.

Angela Constance tells parliament that she will bravely soldier on in her role, rather than taking the easy way out by resigning. What a heroic public servant she is.

Shona Robison explains her negotiating tactics on public sector pay: if you threaten to strike, she will cave in to demands.

Videos

Watch Anya Live

Alan Cumming on how women have ruined feminism for him.

Three cheers for that audience member. And deft moderation by Stephen Jardine. “So wait a minute… we pay the supermarkets to lower their prices… is that what you’re suggesting?” An unusually entertaining and illuminating 90 seconds from last week’s #bbcdn

John Swinney loses his cool (twice) at FMQs when his personal integrity is quite legitimately questioned.

John Swinney struggles once again to explain why his government is so determined to allow men who identify as women to be housed in women’s prisons.

Well… this is awkward. John Swinney speaking here on the Sunday Show on 30th May 2021. By this stage the SNP accounts proved that the money had gone missing and Swinney had clearly looked at those accounts. John Swinney was part of the cover up operation.

Nicola Sturgeon looks annoyed when asked about the appropriateness of taking an MSP salary while devoting most of her time to writing a book. In the two and a half years since she stepped down as FM, Sturgeon has made 7 spoken contributions in parliament on matters of substance.

Two very important questions here, asked by James Cook and Simon Johnson after FMQs on Thursday, and John Swinney has no answers, only evasions. The chicanery continues. This should be getting much more attention.

Awkward. Speaking in parliament in 2022, John Swinney railed against the economic illiteracy of people suggesting he had the right to spend ringfenced money on other things.

Given its significance, just re-posting this clip of John Swinney’s 30th May 2021 appearance on the BBC Sunday Show. (This is a better quality version than the video of a TV screen that’s been floating around.)

“It would have been quite improper for me to make a whimsical or ill-informed reference to a document that I hadn’t seen before entering the chamber.” This is just bizarre.

1/ John Swinney lost his rag twice today with journalists who accurately described his position. Here, Swinney is irate with Tom Gordon for saying that it sounds like he accepts public money could “conceivably” have been part of the general pool of money from which Murrell stole.

Some good news for the SNP. Alyn Smith says the £600k ringfenced independence fund never did go missing. #bbcdn

“Our problem, when we’re independent, will be being too wealthy.” From today’s SNP conference, which is being held on another planet.

Why did I save this clip? Must have had a hunch it wouldn’t age well. Andrew Wilson sings the praises of Nicola Sturgeon on BBC Newsnight, 23rd February 2021. Peter Murrell took delivery of the motorhome on 22nd February 2021.

1/ “I’m gonna say this… and I probably shouldn’t. Because I haven’t checked it.” Dave Doogan MP tells the Scotonomics Festival of Economics that the island of Islay has greater economic output than the city of Birmingham, because of whisky excise.

If a family is wealthy enough to send their child to Fettes, why does the taxpayer pick up the tab for their university tuition? Good question! And Jenny Gilruth simply cannot answer it. #bbcgms

This answer from Swinney makes no sense. The alleged sophistication &amp; cunning of Murrell might explain why it was difficult to detect his thieving. But it doesn’t explain why the SNP failed to take legitimate questions seriously, and in fact told people to stop asking questions.

Another mauling for John Swinney on his ludicrous currency proposals. This time, all he can do is accuse Martin Geissler of being overly gloomy, and suggest that Scotland’s renewables will somehow come to the rescue. Desperate and embarrassing stuff.

1/ John Swinney here, claiming that for 20 years in which he held various senior positions in the SNP, including Deputy First Minister in an SNP government, he paid no attention whatsoever to the party finances. An incredible line. Patently untrue. #BBCSundayShow

This answer from Swinney makes no sense. The alleged sophistication & cunning of Murrell might explain why it was difficult to detect his thieving. But it doesn’t explain why the SNP failed to take legitimate questions seriously, and in fact told people to stop asking questions.