AT LEAST TWO new parties will be on the ballot paper in the Scottish parliament elections of 6 May, the pro-separation Alba and the anti-separation
IN NORTHERN IRELAND, the most reliable opinion polls show consistent support for the Union with Great Britain. So why has overheated chatter about the province’s
THESE ARE STIRRING TIMES for Alex Salmond and internal critics of Nicola Sturgeon’s record as the chief custodian of the nationalist cause in Scotland. Salmond claims
THE HEADLINES were straightforward. “Scottish Church leaders celebrate as church ban ruled unlawful’. The reactions unsurprising. If you are a lockdown sceptic, you hailed the victory of
IT IS NOW A YEAR since the lockdowns began – it is not something we should be celebrating or be proud of. As long ago
LAST WEEK I pointed out the various political delusions that Scots suffer from. Believing Sturgeon can survive is perhaps another one, but that is something
IT WOULD BE deeply ironic if, in a Scottish spring that looks like being a momentous one, roles will be swopped by some of the
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.
