Fear and loathing in Lesmahagow: nationalists are on an ether binge

SOMETIMES we can only know in hindsight how significant events have been. Not just events but eras too. Crescendos of logos, ethos and pathos that follow one another. That there is something inherently wrong, that ...

England deserves better from Scotland

ONE OF THE MOST PERPLEXING outcomes of the ‘These Islands’ conference (first discussed here on 24 February) was the condescension or impatience displayed towards England.  England’s poorer regions have made no objections to large ...

Labour has forgotten nothing and learned nothing about its demise in Scotland

I WAS NOT FORTUNATE ENOUGH to attend the conference held by These Islands on the future of Scotland and the Union. Sometimes browsing the media can, however, be informative in a way being on the ...

First Minister’s Questions Bingo

RETIRED, unemployed, just too lazy to get out of bed, or a Scottish government civil servant with time on your hands until lunchtime? Relax! Here’s a fun game all the family can play every Thursday ...

Saying no to #indyref2 allows us to say Yes to so much more

IT TOOK SIX MONTHS from the General Election in April 1992 before the Major government imploded on Black Wednesday. Astonishingly, in just six short weeks since December's General Election, Scotland's SNP government looks beleaguered and ...

Making Scotland’s rural communities a priority

I VOTED TO LEAVE the European union and I have been unapologetically pro-Brexit because like many others I know that voting to leave the EU was a vote of confidence in our own native industries. ...

#BackingBallantyne vs. #TeamJackson – is a safe pair of hands what's needed?

THE SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE leadership contest is hotting up. 18,000 Scottish Conservative members* have been sent their ballot papers, and they have under two weeks left to choose their next leader.

Before nominations ...

Why Jackson Carlaw is worth the wait

WELL, ballot papers have landed... time for waverers and haverers to decide where to put their cross, and who’s going to lead us into next years elections... and beyond!

We’ve two strong ...

A prisoner's right to vote? Let's put victims first

MAKING ITS WAY through the legislative process at Holyrood is the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Bill. Amongst other things, it makes provisions for criminals with sentences under one year to vote in prison.

Resident Evil – Chinese communism?

WUHAN, one of China's largest cities, has been put into full quarantine by the Chinese state. Eleven million people cannot leave their city until further notice. This has been done to help control the spread ...

What can Eurosceptic Unionists bring to Scottish politics? Causality…

A TEDIOUS DRAMA has been played out in the last week or so.  Nicola Sturgeon once again went into a bar, twirled her hair and tapped her trotters against the bar, then ever so subtly ...

England - not bothered about Scotland?

CONVERSATIONS in the South of England over the festive season have convinced me of a change taking root. It’s a driven by the political re-focussing towards the needs of the North of England as an ...