Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: andrew neil, cartoon, Paul Brookes, snp, The Times

Paul Brookes, A Cartoon, Andrew Neil And Scottish Nationalists

Political cartoons offend people. That's usually how you can tell that they are a political cartoon. Well, here's another one.

Political cartoons offend people. That's usually how you can tell that they are a political cartoon. It's generally the form to mock someone or something on the basis of their political beliefs, taking an argument to a logical conclusion, or taking a personal failing and applying it to an entire political philosophy. Britain has a long history to be proud of, going back to the likes of Gilray and Hogarth. Martin Rowson recently held a talk looking through the history of political offence from those earliest days, with emphasis on the twentieth century, as wars, religion and sex gained greater prominence in cartoons, bringing the offence they cause along with them.

Last Friday, Paul Brookes did a belter of a cartoon for the Times Newspaper, showing the three previous leaders of the Scottish National Party, the governing party of Scotland's Assembly, having been hung by the logo of their own party which could resemble a noose in the right context. The implication is that they were hung by their own petard, all responsible for their own fall or done in by their own, Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf. And now a new leader, John Swinney, was putting his own head in the noose, calling himself a continuity candidate, the implication that he would be the next to get the same fate. Then the Scottish political broadcaster for the BBC, Channel 4 and GB News, former editor of the Sunday Times and current Chairman of The Spectator, Andrew Neil reposted the cartoon, calling it "brilliant". Which gave everyone a chance to be outraged again with reports in the Scottish Daily Express and The National.

It caused initial outrage, mostly from from SNP politicians and activists, who saw it as a call for people to murder politicians, or insensitive to suicide and the pressures of life. Or specifically an anti-Scottish Nationalist hate crime.

SNP member Kelly Given wrote "Not brilliant. So many activists and elected politicians receive daily threats to their safety and security and, at times, threats to their lives. This is distasteful and should be removed and an apology issued."

Former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford added "Satire and cartoons are part of our political life and of course this can be edgy. However this crosses a line, it is offensive and does nothing to foster respectful debate. I am surprised by @thetimes who should both withdraw and apologise for this."

East Renfrewshire SNP MP Kirsten Oswald stated "This is horrific. So far beneath the bottom of the barrel. Should never have been published. Needs taken down now."

SNP councillor Allan Casey wrote: "What a disgusting image to share. Says a lot really about Andrew Neil that he finds an imagine [sic] depicting lynching or suicide 'brilliant'. Utterly shameful."

Alba general secretary Chris McEleny wrote: "Brilliant if you think suicide is funny. Crass nonsense."

In response to the National Scot article, Andrew Neil tweeted "Quite a relief to see that, unlike that Nat folk singer on the BBC earlier this week, the SNP's very own in-house Beano rag does know who I am. Phew! And now, thanks to the Beano, so do I! Tho if this is an "exclusive" it must be a VERY slow news day (the Nat Beano doesn't report news, we confect it — ed). At least it makes a change from the usual "Independence is Imminent — part 349" Beano headline. The "horrific" cartoon, by the way, was by the legendary Brookes in The Times. PS My second Scottish front page this week. Not bad for an unknown."

Which summoned forth even more outrage. The National published another article "Luckily, the Jouker is confident that journalists at The National will never heed the somewhat incomprehensible ramblings of Neil as he grows increasingly incensed that people may not agree with everything he belches out on social media."

While someone pointed out that Beano, one of the longest-running comics in the world, and also Scottish, sells 15 times what The National does, Andrew Neil replied, "I apologise. To the Beano."

But some people have stated that Andrew Neil is a hypocrite as he would strenuously object to such a cartoon being published about him. I don't think that's true, so I have used my own limited political cartooning skills to test it out. Andrew?

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