Alex Salmond deid.

[Jedi2]

Arguably the most important political figure in Scotland over the past 20 years. Instrumental in getting the SNP into govt for the first time, and then securing a Referendum off the back of a landslide. A formidable figure in debates and clearly a genuinely passionate supporter of Independence. 

Whatever the views of his more recent troubles, it is a sad loss. 

[HTG]

1 hour ago, GordonS said:

Not sure what you mean by "been able to continue..." though, and not sure I agree. 

 

I don't disagree that the time was right for Nicola Sturgeon. My phrasing around "been able to continue" is maybe more about continuing to hold mainstream relevance. If you look at the ways in which Obama has retained relevance in US political discourse, that's the sort of thing I'm thinking about. Of course Obama hasn't had the issues hanging over him that Alex Salmond has so maybe the comparison isn't reasonable. Which is a shame. Because the whole episode has affected Sturgeon and what she's been able to achieve. Scotland loses.

[GTee]

Was under the impression that if we voted for independence that Scotland would be ruled by the SNP under Fat King Salmond, his old wife and Nippy forever. And we would have no oil or money and stuff. Was this untrue.

[alta-pete]

Sad  news. The most charismatic politician of our generation. 

[jimmy boo]

1 hour ago, Cosmic Joe said:

What is really interesting about P&B is that once racists, homophobes etc have generally been chased, we are left with folk mostly in favour of getting the f**k out of this ridiculous union that is holding Scotland back.

To be dragged down into an oblivion of debt for decades to satisfy xenophobe face painters........really interesting.

[lichtgilphead]

15 minutes ago, jimmy boo said:

To be dragged down into an oblivion of debt for decades to satisfy xenophobe face painters........really interesting.

Is this thread really the place to make cheap political points?

Now you've started however, why not look here:

https://www.nationaldebtclock.co.uk/

[Raith2711]

7 hours ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

A vile sex pest. He won't be missed.

Enough about Throbber tho 

[bobbykdy]

1 hour ago, GTee said:

Was under the impression that if we voted for independence that Scotland would be ruled by the SNP under Fat King Salmond, his old wife and Nippy forever. And we would have no oil or money and stuff. Was this untrue.

Pretty much,. I say this as a "soft noer" that if an indepedent Scotland became a reallity that the SNP would (or should) disband as their aim has been acheived and if you take them at their word then Scottish versions of the mainstream parties would then take up their mantle.

Like anything in politics and life tbh whether any of that can actually be believed is a completely different story.

[JS_FFC]

We’ve seen the full range of views on him as a person in the thread already so I won’t add to that but just wanted to come on and say that he’s clearly the most influential Scottish politician in living memory and probably in the top 10 most significant post war political figures across the UK altogether. Thoughts with his family and friends.

[Boo Khaki]

4 hours ago, lichtgilphead said:

Is this thread really the place to make cheap political points?

Now you've started however, why not look here:

https://www.nationaldebtclock.co.uk/

The solution is obvious then. The government should just take 78 grand from every citizen, and stick the plebs who can not or will not pay into the poorhouse until they've worked off their debt. Bloody leeches.

Why they didn't do this decades ago before it got to this ridiculous stage is beyond me. We'll have the bailiffs at the door 

Edited Sunday at 04:45 by Boo Khaki

[HeartsOfficialMoaner]

5 hours ago, jimmy boo said:

To be dragged down into an oblivion of debt for decades to satisfy xenophobe face painters........really interesting.

Remember that programme that Rory Stewart presented?

He was asking Scottish people why they wanted to leave the UK.

He said that Scottish people were not ani English but anti Tory which made it difficult for him because he is a Tory. 

I thought it was quite funny. He took it well.

[Freedom Farter]

10 hours ago, Alert Mongoose said:

Am I anti English? I've pondered that question but I still can't say for certain. I get on with lots of English people who I consider friends but I despise what I concieve of the English viewpoint and how we are tarred with it whether we agree with it or not.

You should ponder why you've pondered that.

From what I've read, it came about as a backlash to the Scottish Parliament opening. More than any politician, Billy Connolly did the most to popularise it. He said this in 1999:

"It's entirely their (SNP's) fault, this new racism in Scotland, this anti-Englishness".

Earlier that same year, the murderer of Surjit Singh Chhokar was convicted merely of assault despite having stabbed Chhokar to death. Lanarkshire police had also failed to investigate whether the murder was racially aggravated. The Chhokhar family began a public campaign to highlight the injustice which was joined by Stephen Lawrence's father. A retrial eventually happened in 2016 and the murderer was given life.

Connolly said nothing about the Singh Chhokar case in 1999. His anxiety over "anti-Englishness" is a sensibility from a time before non-white people counted.

Edited Sunday at 06:37 by Freedom Farter

[SlipperyP]

[I Clavdivs]

[ICTChris]

Did he have any health problems?  I remember when he was First MInister he lost a load of weight at one point but seemed to put it back on.  I don't recall any stories about him having heart trouble or anything like that - he certainly didn't seem to slow down or retire, even when he wasn't in Parliament.

[stanton]

News reports are saying it was a suspected heart attack 

[Freedom Farter]

Recent public appearance.

He's having to lean to the side when he sits. That much fat on your core can cause a heart attack even in someone without a family history of them at that age. 

[NUMBER 7]

Alex Salmond was in the top 5 UK Politicians of my lifetime, a very smart man and always good to listen to.
To get the UK Government to give him his one shot at glory, the vote for independence was a fantastic achievement, but ultimately his arguments were flawed and he lost.
I think he only ever wanted Devo Max and the best of both worlds, and that’s what he could have got.
How he conducted himself out of politics I’ve no idea, but he won his day in court.
He’d certainly tie in knots what is currently and since 2014 fronting the SNP.

Edited Sunday at 07:45 by NUMBER 7

[Scary Bear]

He was the most popular political figure on P&B around the time of the referendum. Then he touched someones arse at Stirling Castle and he was done.

Managing to actually get a referendum is the high-water mark of the Scottish independence movement. 

He’ll be remembered as the most effective SNP leader ever. The rest have been chancers who promise much but deliver little.

[ScotiaNostra]

He seemed to understand the strategic side of politics more than any one else in Scottish politics and that was a reason he was able to move the indy movement so much further forward.