David Coburn MEP – why I have resigned from UKIP

I HAVE DEVOTED my heart and soul to UKIP for 10 years, and stood in countless elections both North and South of the border, before finally being elected as the only Brexit MEP in Scotland. ...

Book review: Why we get the wrong politicians

ANYONE who has ever expressed even the most remote interest in becoming an elected politician should be forced to read this book, because it will almost certainly put them off attempting to do so. As ...

Let's celebrate both the different and common cultural streams across the UK

IN THE INDEPENDENCE DEBATE one assumption went almost unchallenged. It was that ‘Scotland’ and ‘England’ were different countries. 

Fundamental to that view is the unspoken belief that Scottish ‘culture’ and that of ...

Venezuela's tragedy: How nationalisation has brought the country to its knees

CEMENT IS A VITAL BUILDING MATERIAL that is largely unavailable in Venezuela due to the collapse of the state-owned cement industry. Venezuela’s massive cement scarcity has resulted in the ruin of the construction industry.

Why Christians should back scrapping Scotland’s blasphemy law

IT IS NOT OFTEN that I would find common cause with the Humanist Society of Scotland, but in relation to their campaign to have Scotland’s blasphemy law scrapped, that is exactly what is happening.

Universities must confront student mental health not hide it away

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH. We need to talk about Student Mental Health. 

Goodness knows, it won't talk about itself. Universities will talk about themselves, that is for sure. They will sell you this ...

Venezuela’s tragedy: state thieving of private property hurts everyone

SINCE THE ELECTION of Chavez, and the ‘Bolivarian Revolution’ that continues under Maduro, the Venezuelan private sector has been heavily damaged. Twenty years ago, there were more than 650,000 private companies in Venezuela. Today, there ...

Mike Russell exposes himself as the unprincipled opportunist he is

IT WAS NOT the best day at the office for Michael Russell. The SNP’s Constitution Secretary has never lacked self-confidence, and must have thought he was in for an easy ride when he appeared in ...

Commonwealth forces recruitment is about making the numbers up

SECRETARY OF STATE for Defence Gavin Williamson recently announced that rules regulating recruiting personnel from Commonwealth countries into the British armed services are to be relaxed. Hitherto, with various exceptions, potential recruits from Commonwealth countries ...

The wages of sin taxes and shame measures is the death of dignity

GEORGE ORWELL’S Nineteen Eighty-Four showcases to the reader a plethora of horrifying prospects. His hapless everyman protagonist, Winston Smith, lives in a world in which people are “unpersoned”, hounded by the Thought Police, and ...

The captain has gone rogue; it's time to take back control

THERE ARE FEW THINGS left to the imagination after the past 48 hours. The crew of the EUSS Compromise are sounding worried but nae fear, surely Scotty can bend the laws of reality, integrity and ...

The bastard verdict – time to ditch ‘Not Proven’?

IT WAS SIR WALTER SCOTT who described it as “that bastard verdict”. He was referring to the outcome of ‘Not Proven’ in a Scottish criminal court, prompted by a jury determining the verdict in a ...