I have been waiting a few days to write about this as my anger felt too raw and I was worried all that would come out was incoherent rage at what I saw on Sunday from Catalonia. Following the referendum there via social media was heart-breaking. Spanish state police in full riot gear, with the […]
It has been interesting to watch all the excitement building ahead of the launch of the new Queensferry Crossing. The bridge is remarkable in every way, a feat of engineering excellence that will stand the test of time and speak to all that is the best that our country can achieve. That it was a […]
Today, the day before the General Election, is #SNPBecause day. I’m looking forward to reading and watching the reasons that many people will give why they are members of the SNP. I have been a member for over twenty years and I joined because I held then, as I hold now, the firm and unwavering […]
What’s so bad about division anyway? I thought that those who want Westminster to rule Scotland would positively revel in it. In the House of Commons there are divisions practically every time it sits. There are divisions so often there that they even have a specially named bell for the purpose, to give advance warning […]
It hasn’t even been a day since Nicola Sturgeon announced her intention that there should be a new referendum on Scotland’s independence and we are already seeing the usual suspects trotting out their tired old lines about division and divisiveness. The people who tended to think of the first independence referendum in those terms were […]
One of my favourite things about the independence referendum was the amount of really decent and invigorating conversations with no voters who decided to engage on the doorsteps. It is important to find out what drives someone’s point of view, what has brought them to the point where they are willing to cast their vote […]
I hope that people are beginning to conduct opinion polls along the lines of “Which would you prefer, an independent Scotland or direct London rule?” as this is the ultimate upshot of Theresa May’s conference speech today. It may have been couched in slightly more benevolent terms but make no mistake, this is now the […]
The comments by Sadiq Khan (which were toned down in his Labour Conference speech but widely reported in the media nonetheless) show that the campaign for the new independence referendum has started in earnest and independence supporters are going to face even worse lies and smears than in 2014. Make no mistake, this wasn’t bad […]
It wasn’t by chance that Theresa May’s speech today was in front of carefully selected members of the international diplomatic corps. She wanted a relatively sombre crowd of suited and booted, serious looking individuals to lend credibility and gravitas to a situation sadly lacking in both. As the Prime Minister outlined the true meaning of […]
I’ve always known and feared that a day like this would come, when the Government of the UK abandoned all pretence of decency and showed the ugly, snarling face beneath the mask. I’ve always known it was there, layered away, momentarily dormant but virulent in potential, ready to burst forth like a fever from the […]