ON THE 7TH OF AUGUST 2012, the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act received royal assent. It was the most radical step yet taken in
WHEREVER SEPARATISM EXISTS in the UK, you can be sure that it will be nourished by a steady diet of grievance. As far as nationalists
LAST THURSDAY I led Scottish Conservative opposition to the SNP’s Hate Crime Bill and called on fellow MSPs to reject this illiberal attack on our
SCOTLAND is now the only country in the democratic world where conversations at home can bring the intervention of the thought police. Remarkably, not only
JUST OVER five years ago, I brought out a book called ‘Scotland Now: A Warning to the World’. I was chastised for the melodramatic title.
BRITAIN is being slowly strangled. The Conservative and Labour Parties have increasingly morphed into a bureaucratic establishment who tax, regulate and control with little difference between
NICOLA STURGEON’S persistent caginess about what she knew as she was questioned by the parliamentary inquiry examining her administration’s handling of the allegations made against
THE TWO MAIN opposition parties to the Tories historically have been the Liberals (later Liberal Democrats) and Labour. Their histories are full of delusions and
“Oh, what guid are the poor me’s now?” THIS IS THE EXASPERATED QUESTION Agnes Bain’s mother puts to her drunken daughter when she seeks solace
YESTERDAY’s budget was a presentational victory over substance. The Chancellor scattered more sweeties around, £60bn of them to be precise – tax rises were less than
IN BRITAIN, we are generally proud of our reputation for tolerance, fair-mindedness and moderation. These attitudes, which some people argue are under attack, can be
‘POLITICAL PARTIES are machines designed to gain, regain or retain power. The most successful ones, naturally, have the job of retaining power, which means that
