Looking at the polling for the SNP leadership election in The National, two thoughts immediately occur to me. The first is that there is clearly no unifying candidate. There is no candidate who, should they win, wouldn't be unpopular with almost as many people as favour them. What that graphic shows is pretty much the … Continue reading The poisoned chalice
Just for the record I have spoken to Nicola Sturgeon only three times in the last 20 years, have received no payment for “services rendered” yet stubbornly stand by the fact that she is a brilliant communicator who has been much less successful with strategy – on independence, land reform, centralisation, involving members via party conference … Continue reading The repair job
Kevin McKenna has done two things with his column in The National today. He has given a depressingly accurate analysis of the SNP's present dire condition and how it came to be in such a mess. And he has drawn out comments which demonstrate just how deluded the party's apologists are. Their 'argument' might be … Continue reading Death to truth!
Ash Regan "seeking clarification on what specific divisions the audience member meant" was probably the most telling point of the whole 'debate'. When asked a very general question about what they will do to "heal the divisions in Scottish society", a thoughtful person will seek clarification because a thoughtful person will immediately realise that there … Continue reading Deserve better
Nicola Sturgeon opines that social media is damaging political debate. What social media is damaging is politicians' ability to control political discourse. It is damaging their ability to dictate the terms of debate. It is damaging their ability to totally exclude and suppress the voice of dissent. The degree to which a politician detests social … Continue reading Democratic media
There is always a price to pay. Forget that, and the price can get very steep indeed. The SNP leadership and senior management came to consider themselves immune from scrutiny because for several years they were not subject to any meaningful scrutiny. Anyone who suggested more rigorous scrutiny was shouted down as a traitor not … Continue reading A failure of scrutiny
Requesting or accepting or conceding the validity of the Section 30 process is a denial of the sovereignty of Scotland’s people. It acknowledges an authority above the people – the British parliament. It is an acceptance of the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. The principles of parliamentary and popular sovereignty are mutually exclusive. They are entirely … Continue reading To reiterate…
At the moment, we’re obviously in a political stalemate where Westminster are denying the voice of Scotland being expressed, so a Section 30 order would be an obvious way to go there. Ash Regan Ash Regan just blew it! She has now stated that she is prepared to compromise the sovereignty of Scotland's people by … Continue reading None of the above!
The SNP has been following a gradualist approach to the constitutional issue since before the Scottish Parliament was reconvened. Never more gradualist than the last eight years under Sturgeon's 'leadership'. What is not generally understood even by its most ardent proponents - and certainly not by Ben Macpherson - is that the end-point of the … Continue reading Gradualism is dead! Devolution is dead!
Let me make it clear from the outset that I support Ash Regan's bid to become leader of the Scottish National Party and thence First Minister of Scotland. I have to clarify this because some of what I am about to say may be taken by some as an attempt to undermine her campaign. That … Continue reading Shoogly pillars
Peter A Bell 