by Rab Bruce’s Spider

Politicians used to employ spin or partial truth when they wanted to make or counter arguments. It was an accepted part of politics and all but the most die-hard of voters understood this. Telling actual lies used to be a resignation or sacking offence, but things have changed, particularly in the UK and USA, where blatant lies are told with very little scrutiny from journalists. Even where such scrutiny is applied, the politicians dismiss it and carry on telling more lies. Donald Trump has pushed this so far it strains credulity that anyone could believe anything he says, but UK politicians are not very far behind him, and some are catching up fast.

However, we’ve seen a variant on this in the past few days because it seems some Scottish Tory politicians retain some lingering memory of the days when they would be required to tell the truth. David Mundell and Ruth Davidson have both been challenged on comments they have previously made about Boris Johnson, and their responses have revealed just how capable they are of switching their opinions in order to further, or at least not damage, their own careers.

The interesting thing is that, for all the mockery their statements have attracted, they have actually told the truth, albeit in a very semantic way and within a very narrow definition of the truth.

For example, Ruth Davidson says she did not call Boris Johnson a liar. Video clips of her passionate rant during the EU debate have shown she is technically correct.

She said "They lied about …" as she went on to detail several examples. Of course, she was debating Boris Johnson, so it was pretty clear that he was one of the "They" she meant. But, strictly speaking, she did not name him, nor did she use the word "liar". She said "They Lied", and she said it several times, but she can now claim she did not call Johnson a liar.

It’s rather sad that this splitting of hairs over words is what now passes for truth, but it’s even sadder that the mainstream media is unwilling to highlight the hypocrisy of the latest statements. This, however, is the Scotland we live in, where truth counts for nothing, and the media glosses over the duplicity as if it is unimportant.