Invoking Section 35 isn't so much a new and shocking development as merely the latest phase in a process which was foreseen a decade ago and more. It has been evident since 2007 that the British state regards devolution as a failed experiment. What was supposed to kill the SNP 'stone dead' had instead empowered … Continue reading As it was, so shall it be
The term 'Scottish National Party Member of Parliament' is, like 'caring British Conservativism' and 'British Labour socialism', an oxymoron. Each pairing involves concepts which are incongruous or contradictory. It may be possible to be a Conservative and to care about people. It may be possible to be associated with British Labour and yet have a … Continue reading Oxymorons
I like to tell the story of the vague epiphany I underwent some years ago when, during the open discussion section of a meeting at which I was guest speaker, someone used the phrase "dissolve the Union". One of the things I most enjoyed about those speaking engagements was that I almost always came away … Continue reading Old thinking. New thinking.
Notes for speech Check against delivery I'm not quite sure why I'm here. Usually, for events like this, they want speakers who'll tell the crowd what they want to hear. That's certainly not me. I tell it the way I see it - good or bad. Right now, there's more bad than good. They usually … Continue reading AUOB March & Rally Glasgow 26/11/2022
I don't know this David Clark. He may be every bit the foreign affairs expert John Drummond says he is. But I still need to pull him up on a couple of points. The reason federalism is a "non-starter" is even more "simple and straightforward" than Mr Clark suggests. A federal settlement acceptable to the … Continue reading If you want it broken, break it!
You were warned! (UK could bypass Scottish Parliament in devolved areas, MSPs warn) Even before the first referendum it was obvious that the British establishment considered devolution to be an experiment which has not just failed but seriously backfired. There was already considerable opposition to tis experiment when it was first embarked upon in an … Continue reading Sort yourselves out!
I have spent the morning poring over Professor Sionaidh Douglas-Scott's article titled Scottish Independence And The UK Government’s Unreasonable Refusal To Negotiate published by The Centre on Constitutional Change ─ a body which, I confess, I was previously unaware of. Or had forgotten about, as happens rather a lot these days. My attention was drawn … Continue reading The ghost question
Yesterday I did something quite unusual for me. I re-blogged an article from another site. I very seldom do this because I rarely encounter articles that I consider warrant republishing. When I find what I reckon to be a piece worthy of wider notice, I share it and link to it. This is what I … Continue reading Out of the box
In common with innumerable other commentators, Richard Walker portrays the British government as having no respect for democracy. He is, of course, perfectly justified in doing so. The catalogue of reasons for stating that the British government has no regard for democratic principles and that the latest iteration of British Nationalism is overtly anti-democratic, need … Continue reading Double the thinking! Half the sense!
If indeed Liz Truss "knows indyref2 will happen", as Lesley Riddoch insists, then she knows more than we do. Assuming that by "indyref2" is meant a referendum that serves as a formal exercise of Scotland's right of self-determination, there are neither plans nor proposals for such an event. But it is likely that Lesley was … Continue reading Inadequate!
Peter A Bell 