Category Archives: Scottish Politics

Civil Disobedience

Posted on October 10, 2020 by

A nation betrayed Looked at dispassionately, the poor and the downtrodden of Glasgow and Dundee voted overwhelmingly Yes to improve their lives under an independent Scotland. The well off and the highly influential tended to vote No, and won, thus … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 16 Comments

Scotland’s Declaration

Posted on September 26, 2020 by

“For as long as a hundred of us remain alive, never will we, on any conditions, be subjected to the lordships of the English. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 9 Comments

Scots Versus Irish

Posted on September 19, 2020 by

Listening to Mary Lou Macdonald in a television interview, leader of the Irish social democratic party, Sinn Fein, I was struck by how unselfconsciously she used the phrase English nationalist, rather than British nationalist. She was not, after all, referring to … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 16 Comments

Scotland and UDI

Posted on August 23, 2020 by

“A referendum that has a clear legal basis, agreed to between governments, that is regulated by law and consistent with democratic and rule of law values, is the surest – perhaps the only – way to deliver a result that is fair, … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 35 Comments

BBC Black Arts

Posted on August 15, 2020 by

“Kirsty Wark is hosting a BBC documentary on the Alex Salmond case, and Dani Garavelli is presenting a ‘civil war in the SNP’ programme on BBC Radio 4. How fucking desperate are the BBC?”  Fiona Kabuki  The tweet above from … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Scottish Politics | 17 Comments

Scotland’s Health Service

Posted on August 9, 2020 by

I could begin and end with the statement that the Scottish Health Service is second to none and not bother to fill in the middle because that’s the flat-out truth. There are other nations, such as Thailand, where the health … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Scottish Politics | 28 Comments

The SNP’s Moral Stance

Posted on June 7, 2020 by

An act of resistance is a moral act. When you take a moral stance, you are acting out of conscience. Your imperative, your motivation is to attain justice for a group or an individual, not for the political or the … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 24 Comments

Churchill in Dundee

Posted on May 23, 2020 by

Whenever a journalist writes a piece on Churchill’s stint as Liberal MP for Dundee – research unearths a skip-full of identikit articles, shallow and derivative – one aspect is mentioned without fail. They begin or end with the loaded statement … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Politics | 12 Comments

The Rise of the SNP

Posted on May 16, 2020 by

I was certain we would lose the first independence referendum, so certain that I placed a £100 bet in William Hill at 7 to 1, to win the vote. I did the patriotic thing, the futile sacrifice. And why not, … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 53 Comments

Bercow Bitchin’

Posted on May 2, 2020 by

I liked John Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons. You need only compare him to Sir Lindsay Hoyle his anodyne, lugubrious, gloomy successor to see Bercow is a star. He is a guy at the opposite end of … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 4 Comments