Few would disagree with Ruth Wishart's observation in her Sunday National column that "it's always a mistake to confuse social media with real life" but I have lately begun to suspect that the difference between the two may be rather less than it pleases us to suppose. Ruth goes on to allow that social media … Continue reading Social media and real life
The National reports today (Bid for SNP to commit to indyref2 date and define 'end of pandemic' rejected) that party managers have rejected a conference resolution which demanded that a date be set for a new referendum and a "concrete definition of what it means for the Covid-19 pandemic to have passed" be provided. This … Continue reading Two faces
Please join with me in wishing a very happy fourteenth birthday to the Scottish Government! It was on 3 September 2007 that then First Minister Alex Salmond binned the old 'Scottish Executive' title and so in effect created the first Scottish Government of the democratic era. It would be another five years before the legal … Continue reading Happy birthday Scottish Government!
A new independence referendum has always been "undeniable". The deal between the SNP/Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party alters nothing. How could mere party maneuverings have an effect on one of the most basic principles of democracy - the right of peoples and nations to choose the form of government that best serves their … Continue reading By their desires and their works you shall know them
Transcript of speech at Union No More demonstration outside Scottish Parliament 31 August 2021. This demonstration is in many ways a first. It is – or it is intended to be – the first such gathering which is entirely focused on the constitutional issue. It is meant to be free of policy agendas, ideologies, partisan … Continue reading Union no more!
Other than her commitment to the Section 30 process nothing, I would contend, better evidences the woeful lack of strategic thinking within the SNP than the statement issued by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 March 2020 in which she effectively sent a cease and desist letter to the entire Yes movement. Aye! Not just members of … Continue reading The bosses know best?
The first six polls following the vote in 2014 averaged 47% for Yes. The most recent half dozen averages 44%. That Yes hit 52% and even 53% at different points in between is irrelevant. The fact that my bank balance was once in the tens of thousands of pounds in no way alters the fact … Continue reading A gathering point
My bio says 'No attitude immutable. No conclusion final. No opinion humble.'. Responses to this statement split very sharply into two categories. People either get it, or they don't. Especially the bit about none of opinions I express being humble. You will never find me starting a sentence with the words "In my humble opinion..." … Continue reading Scotland’s cause needs no justification
I have news for those who continue to insist that the way to "win" what they apparently think of as the "prize" of independence is by using gentle persuasion and more facts and better answers to lure 'soft Nos' towards Yes. The news is that there are no conclusive answers there are no persuasive facts … Continue reading Softly! Softly! Get eaten by the f***ing monkeys!
The term "power grab", as favoured by the SNP/Scottish Government, is something of a misnomer. It suggests a sudden snatching or rapid seizing of power. In fact, what we are witnessing is more pauchle than putsch. More an insidious, creeping erosion of our Parliament's capacities than an outright coup. Dictionaries of the Scots Language defines … Continue reading The Great Pauchlin’
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Freeing Scotland from the Union
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Thinker. Listener. Talker. Reader. Writer.
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A blog by Iain Lawson
