Elon Musk continues on his mission to point out woke British politics, rinsing the SNP for claiming there are 24 genders. The Nats’ official guidance includes terms like “genderqueer,” for anyone who identifies as “other than male or female” or a “combination” of both, and “pangender,” for those who feel “all possible genders at once.” A creative way to look busy…

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2024

J.K. Rowling jumped into the fray on X, declaring that the “Scottish endarkenment gathers pace” in response to the long list. Elon summed it up with a “nuts” emoji. Pun intended?

After just 14 months in post the SNP’s chief executive Murray Foote has resigned this morning. Foote says that amid the party’s “substantial process of internal re-organisation and renewal” he can’t “make the necessary personal commitment to leading the delivery of these changes into 2026 and beyond.” He’s had one Foote out of the door for a while…

Foote, former Daily Record editor and SNP comms chief who resigned after miselading journalists over the party’s membership figures, is also known for such embarrassing takes as: I will bet money on there being no charges in Operation Branchform. We saw how that one turned out…

The SNP’s terminal decline continues as trust in its ability to govern hits a new low. Trust in its ability to achieve independence died a while ago…

It’s 10 years on from the Scottish vote on independence, resulting in 55% to 45% voting to stay inside the UK. Despite the clear result, the Nats are still harking on about how life would be better and everyone’s problems would be solved if the Scots were independent. Since then, senior SNP figures have been arrested four times and their popularity has plummeted. No doubt that’s the fault of being tied to Westminster…

A quick recap of the anatomy of Scottish scandals since the vote:

• Salmond accused of multiple cases of sexual misconduct (acquitted of all charges). The row continues as he’s still involved in a court case against the Scottish government over the handlings…
• Sturgeon arrested in 2023. Guido’s sure the “sorry for your arrest” flowers given to her from her MSPs softened that blow…
• Her husband and former CEO of the party, charged with embezzlement. He was arrested not once, but twice…
• SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie also arrested over the scandal.
• Unresolved questions about ‘missing’ independence funds and a luxury campervan. Parked outside a shockingly ugly house of Sturgeon… 
• Both Humza Useless and Sturgeon admit to deleting Covid WhatsApp messages.
• Humza Useless forced to resign after scrapping the SNP deal with the Greens.

Meanwhile, the SNP’s greatest achievements include their huge tax hikes and cracking down on “hate crimes” over crimes like theft. Shockingly, Scottish voters didn’t see the charm in the tax-happy, scandal-ridden SNP. They lost 81% of their seats in the last election, and lost approximately 44% of their members from its peak in 2019 of 125,000 to December of 69,000. Numbers don’t lie…

Still, all this hasn’t got SNP Leader John Swinney down. Today he spoke about the “positive impact” of these decisions in Scotland, cheerily adding “Scotland is closer to independence now than in 2014″. Guido hates to be the bearer of bad news, but the polls are actually worse, suggesting 56% would vote against an independent Scotland. Won’t stop them from crying freedom, though…

SNP Finance Minister Shona Robison has just announced much-anticipated spending cuts in the 2024/25 Scottish Government budget. £500 million getting immediately cut, including from “sustainable and active travel” spending. What will the Greens say?

Robison blames the Tory government for failing to increase Scotland’s funding settlement and Labour for imposing “austerity.” The Scottish Fiscal Commission, Scotland’s OBR, has actually placed the blame on Robison for giving out millions in unbudgeted public sector pay rise deals. Cue groans in the Holyrood chamber as Robison says this wouldn’t have happened with independence…

While European leaders huddle for photos and exchange warm words at Blenheim Palace, some less relevant politicians are feeling left out. Senior SNP MSP Clare Adamson has vocalised her Fear Of Missing Out:

“47 different countries have been invited to the European Political Community summit – they will all have the opportunity to represent their interests in key areas such as energy, defence, and migration. Scotland has a key role to play in each of these issues, yet we will have no voice at this vital summit. This is despite over half of the independent nations attending having similar or a smaller population than Scotland.“

Guido’s not sure the SNP have quite realised the criteria for attending an international summit of states. Embarrassing…

As the Welsh devolved administration implodes the Scottish Government has slipped out social attitudes research which shows just how well the SNP is being received up in Scotland. After a period of stability in the teenies, the percentage of Scots who said they trust ScotGov to work for Scotland fell from 61% in 2019 to 47% in 2023. That’s the lowest level since records began and the first year it dropped below half. The percentage who trust the UK government has been increasing in that period. So much for Boris being the ultimate Scottish bête noire…

The paper admits that trust in the Scottish administration comes almost exclusively from supporters of independence. The number of people who agree that “the Scottish Parliament gives ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed” has also shot down from around 60% to well below half last year. The percentage who thinks it gives them less say has more than doubled in the meantime. The slow-moving collapse of SNP government is finally taking its toll…