Venezuela’s Tragedy: no one’s on the buses in Maduro’s paradise

THE STREETS OF CARACAS can be unnaturally quiet. But this is no blissful moment of peace between mass demonstrations. Public transport in Venezuela, in common with the rest of the country, is ceasing to operate ...

SNP’s triple tax Bombshell

IT WAS BAD ENOUGH that the SNP’s draft Budget published last month widened the income tax gap between Scotland and the rest of the UK, but this week the Finance Secretary Derek MacKay went even ...

The Union cannot stand still - only change can preserve it

NOTHING ENDURES but change. “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” because each time the person and the river changes. It ...

Let the unionist waterboarding stop before it becomes self-defeating

I'VE CRACKED. I've never known my eyes to roll so often. I thought I could manage until Brexit day on March 29th but I've slipped I think and I'm not sure how to get up.

In the real world "crashing out" is the EU's problem

IN AN INTERVIEW following the hammering of Mrs May’s “deal” Jacob Rees-Mogg took Channel Four’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy to task for using the term “crashing out of the EU”.  Rees-Mogg gave him a quite robust ticking off for ...

Nationalists at War: the Scottish Disruption of 2023

…or a glimpse at our debatable future

BRITAIN’S PROTRACTED DEPARTURE from the European Union had led to a decade of upheaval in central politics. By 2031, new parties  were replacing what quickly came ...

Just leave!

I’M FED UP to the back teeth of Brexit and I suspect I’m not alone. I’m fed up to the back teeth of our elected politicians and I suspect I’m not alone.

If you want civility and decency in politics First Minister, it’s time to lead by example

WITH HOLYROOD this week entranced by the latest developments in the remarkable case of former First Minister Alex Salmond against the Scottish Government that he used to lead, in Westminster the focus was still very ...

Why is British Army recruiting in such a bad state?

THE NEW British Army recruiting campaign advertisements have caused a bit of a kerfuffle.  Apparently aimed at “millennials” and “Generation Z” it is the latest in a series of initiatives to try to boost recruiting in ...

Venezuela’s tragedy: where telecoms is about control – not communication

IN 2007 Hugo Chavez nationalised CANTV, Venezuela’s primary telecoms provider. Prior to its nationalisation CANTV had a reputation as South America’s leading telecoms operator. The company utilised the latest equipment, paid staff well, and trained ...

Venezuela’s tragedy: more than just the lights are going out

INSIDE CHAVISTA Venezuela it is not just running water that is no longer available, but electricity too.  Inadequate investment and a lack of maintenance has collapsed the electricity grid, plunging much of the country ...

Phoney Macaroni, the emperor with no clothes

THE EMPEROR  wears no clothes, not even a thin yellow jacket to keep him warm, this winter of great discontent. For the centrist President turned out to be just another centraliser. Not for many years have ...