Is this the week that in years to come historians will reference as the beginning of the end for the accursed British/English Union? There is a concept that all reality——-from physics to human behaviour can be quantified, analysed and understood through numbers and mathematical patterns; it is summarised as ”It is all in the numbers.” This perspective suggests that numbers are the foundational language of the universe, allowing us to decode natural phenomena, predict behaviours, and create, while also acknowledging that numbers sometimes require human interpretation for context.

Well, the numbers this week do not look great for the Union. The latest polling on Scottish Independence from Europe Elects shows that those in favour of independence number 53% and those opposed to independence 47%. This in itself is a quite remarkable poll. There has been no independence campaigning carried out for the last 12 years and yet there is a majority for independence. When the 2014 referendum campaign began, those in favour of independence stood at 28%. Imagine how high we could take this 53% now, if we only had an actual independence campaign?

Another poll specifically for the Holyrood Election in May shows the SNP as the largest party and on-course to win a landslide victory, although falling one short of an overall majority. What is the most interesting number in that poll, though, is that the SNP are only on 33% in the constituency vote and 31% on the list vote. The first question John Swinney and his party should be asking is why is it that 20% of those that support independence do not support our party? The second question should be: what can we do to rectify this gap in the poll numbers? The answer is, of course, very simple: John, join the unity campaign and maximise the independence vote!

The second issue the numbers bring to our attention is this,: under the form of D’Hondt used at Holyrood, if these numbers hold then the SNP will win most of the constituency seats. When that likelihood happens, the 31% of SNP List votes become a bonus for the Unionists, not the independence movement. Again, the answer to that dilemma is simple: Unity and a joint independence strategy on both the constituencies and on the list. The numbers never lie. Time to put nation before party!

Other numbers that give comfort to those of us that wish to see the union dissolved appeared in actual votes in Wales. Plaid Cymru not only won two council seats in Wales, they also, it would appear, have burst the Reform bubble. The interesting numbers in the victories of Plaid were that the rise of Reform was halted and the figures also show that the Reform vote is just a reshuffling of the existing Unionist vote. Labour down 28%, Reform up 28%. The good folk of Wales have woken up to the paucity and danger of the English Nationalist Reform Party! Reform and their sister party Restore are just new versions of the Tory party—- a different shade of blue, but the same Tory values of greed, hate and division to ensure the rich keep their status and the poor get trodden upon.

These numbers and the consequences of them were the main thrust of this week’s Through A Scottish Prism Podcast. I was joined by a panel of Allan Petrie, Eva Comrie and Phil Boswell. They interrogate the numbers and give their valued opinions on them. They also discuss the revelations that the Labour ‘think tank’ Labour Together has this week been exposed as an anti democratic and sinister organisation. Firstly we heard that they have failed to declare who funded them to the tune of £730,000. The Electoral Commission fined them a paltry £14,000 but as of today ,it would seem we still do not know where this funding came from. There is some concern it may have been donated by a foreign government or security service, and not a Chinese or Russian one!

The other concern was this think tank alerted UK security services to investigate the journalists at The Sunday Times who broke the story regarding the undeclared donation. They implied these journalists were assets of Russia. A very topical smear, but a disgusting untrue lie. That said, when it is anything to do with the British Labour Party, why would anyone be surprised at the dishonesty?

Labour Together were responsible for the anti-Semitic attacks on Jeremy Corbyn and the promotion of Keir Starmer as his successor. This is just how corrupt the UK is at all levels.

We also had the spectacle of more dodgy funding; this time, the Reform candidate in the Gorton by-election has been outed for receiving £10,000 a month from some far-right Hungarian group that allegedly has links to a Russian energy company. Of course, as soon as the word Russia is used, shouts of traitor and treason are heard from our ruling elite and their tame, corrupt media. That Israel is funding all three English registered parties and with considerable sums is not even worth a mention by our neoliberal globalists.

Let me be quite clear: IMHO ALL foreign donations of any kind from any foreign government or its NGOs should not be in UK politics. Indeed, it makes a case for state funding only of political parties and elections. The lobbyists have had too much influence on UK politics for too long. Hence why we find ourselves supporting a fascist regime in Kiev and a genocide in Palestine.

All this and much more discussed on your favourite Scottish Political Review podcast. Please like and share!