Hopes for a swift path to independence in Scotland were tempered on Saturday, as the dominant Scottish nationalist party was projected to fall two seats short of a majority in the country’s Parliament. https://t.co/b39AFSnJIg
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 8, 2021
UK (Scotland) election:
— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) May 8, 2021
Final result (votes)
Pro-independence: 50.1% (+0.6)
Anti-independence: 48.2% (-1.6)
+/- vs 2016
Live blog: https://t.co/9yl3tAekXg#SP21
Elections 2021 live: SNP eyes new independence referendum; backlash within Labour after Rayner sacking https://t.co/lxrDPTpGBV
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 9, 2021
One thing is sure. Even if he blocks an independence referendum in the short term, Johnson's actions make independence more likely in the long term. It's a matter of reactance: limiting people's autonomy increases their desire to reassert autonomy when they have the chance. pic.twitter.com/8UuJ0auSKN
— Stephen Reicher (@ReicherStephen) May 8, 2021
It would be "absurd and completely outrageous" if the UK government challenged the Scottish parliament in court over legislation on another independence referendum, says Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon#Marr #BBCElections https://t.co/WkY0sdFAEd pic.twitter.com/QtHv5SATex
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 9, 2021
Hotel Caledonia
— Dli O'Doir (@dli_odoir) May 9, 2021
Labour's debacle last Thursday was less severe than their performance under Corbyn in 2019. Just a disaster, not a catastrophe.
— Edwin Hayward 🦄 🗡 (@uk_domain_names) May 9, 2021
Atom-thin silver lining, but it is something. https://t.co/sxKXBEuQMC
— Alasdair Vickers (@AliVickers7) May 7, 2021
Angela Rayner’s sacking risks reopening Labour’s wounds https://t.co/cACV4GDdRb
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 8, 2021
If you think these election results were primarily in the control of anyone in the Westminster Labour party, you are not a serious figure, and the list of people to have revealed themselves as unserious since Thursday now includes Labour's leader. https://t.co/dtKyUNccp3
— Stephen Bush (@stephenkb) May 8, 2021
Is Labour dead? My @unherd column on how the party needs to learn the lessons from Europe before it is too late https://t.co/cvJbDrgqQX
— Ian Birrell (@ianbirrell) May 7, 2021
These people in Hartlepool seem to think that their Labour MP was responsible for the closure of their court, hospital and the reduction in numbers of police. Deep rooted political illiteracy and I don't blame them for it. https://t.co/Bh3L4Mqubv
— Otto English (@Otto_English) May 9, 2021
Next year I'm going to strangle a kitten, put on a blue rosette, run for election, win, and then blame Labour for your poverty. I'll then say we should sink some French trawlers, that child refugees are a plague, and you'll re-elect me for a decade. Thanks in advance. #idiocracy
— Brendan May (@bmay) May 9, 2021
Is nowhere safe from the Tories’ culture wreckers? | Stewart Lee https://t.co/DoIGxuLIzV
— Media Guardian (@mediaguardian) May 9, 2021
Labour's Sadiq Khan wins second term as London's mayor after beating Conservative rival Shaun Bailey https://t.co/ZcaQRnS3Bd
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 8, 2021
24,775! I love you London. pic.twitter.com/muTgUGBjKu
— Count Binface (@CountBinface) May 9, 2021
Meanwhile…
NI100: No happy birthday as unionism loses another leader https://t.co/G0HhByapRb
— Gareth Gordon (@BBCGarethG) May 8, 2021
Over the last decade DUP, UUP and TUV have largely been seen as interchangeable. This presents a unique opportunity for the party to be the change so many want to see. https://t.co/KulCwd23ms
— Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (@JulieACorr) May 8, 2021
The resignation of Steve Aiken as leader of the UUP marks the second unionist leader in as many weeks resigning from their position. Political unionism, in Northern Ireland’s centenary year, is in free fall.
— Emma DeSouza (@EmmandJDeSouza) May 8, 2021
Bggest challenge UUP face leading up to #AE22 is its position on NIP.
— Tommy Maguire (@RationalPanic) May 8, 2021
Will it continue to support Loyalist groups to get rid at all costs? Or take lead from manufacturing, retail, etc and fix problematic elements but retain SM inclusion?
Their Unionist identity is still unclear
Compared to what’s happening in the DUP, working out the next UUP leader is simple & straightforward. Doug Beattie is the runaway favourite. He's been his party's star player on the field for some time, & the moment has come for him to captain the team.https://t.co/H50KIQU5PT
— Suzanne Breen (@SuzyJourno) May 9, 2021
Oh, and, I guess some of our fellow citizens are just loyal to the Queen when she’s on a banknote….
An undercover investigation can disclose that Prince Michael of Kent is alleged to be secretly selling his privileged access to Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime to business clients seeking favours from the Kremlin #Royalsforhirehttps://t.co/hXYNUeQQif
— The Sunday Times (@thesundaytimes) May 8, 2021
"We wouldn't want the world to know…" https://t.co/MLTAKxlAEk
— Steve (@SteveMcGookin) May 9, 2021
***
THEY JUST CAN’T QUIT HIM
Trump has emerged from his Florida hibernation — refashioning himself as the president of the Republican States of America and reshaping the party in ways both micro and macro. https://t.co/4rY9GhhV2a
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 7, 2021
“It’s a real sickness that is infecting the party at every level. We’re just going to say that black is white now.” https://t.co/UOE0XTrFCA
— Robert Draper (@DraperRobert) May 8, 2021
Opinion | @JoyceWhiteVance: William Barr is no longer a DOJ employee and Donald Trump is no longer president, but accountability is essential to rebuilding confidence in our justice system and our democratic institutions. https://t.co/krf57JFMyW
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 9, 2021
A buried lede here: internal GOP polling in battleground districts shows that Trump's unfavorables exceed his favorables – and that he polls more negatively than Biden, Harris, the COVID stimulus bill, & the jobs/infrastructure package. https://t.co/C56ucQgw8F
— Christopher Federico (@ChrisPolPsych) May 8, 2021
The Trump-Cheney schism is scary for the country, but it should be even more frightening for the GOP https://t.co/yvJcYYd0FW
— Daily Kos (@dailykos) May 9, 2021
"Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney who think they can speak out and somehow change the party — they can't change this Republican Party. It is what it is. It has become that. They either have to leave or join another party," Matthew Dowd says about the GOP. https://t.co/vNTNZ24CY4
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 9, 2021
“[@EliseStefanik’s] transformation from Trump doubter to Trump champion is another sign of the end of ideology as a defining feature of the GOP.”
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) May 8, 2021
The decline and fall of Elise Stefanik: https://t.co/sGSprLImAg
There was a brief time when Rep. Elise Stefanik wouldn't say Donald Trump’s name. Now, the New York congresswoman is one of Trump’s fiercest defenders, and on the brink of becoming one of the most powerful women on Capitol Hill. https://t.co/MwCSX6h3mf
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 8, 2021
"I think the most important thing to point out is…this election was already conducted and audited by people with years of knowledge," Jennifer Morrell says about the GOP-led audit in Arizona. "These folks clearly don't understand how the process works." https://t.co/VHlIdrNILg
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 9, 2021
Republicans also tout a Constitution that nearly 200 of them insurrected against, so…. pic.twitter.com/0AlogDZrf2
— Impeachments* Are Forever (@OK_Dumbass) May 8, 2021
There are many ways to tell the story of how the GOP evolved into the alternative-fact loving, bullshit and white grievance factory that it is today. An undeniably key part of that story, however, involves Sarah Palin. https://t.co/hIdIGyAagS
— Seth Cotlar (@SethCotlar) May 8, 2021
The Overnight Note 