Why Scotland's next White Paper must do more to involve other parties And there we have the problem. It is simply assumed that because there was a White Paper for the 2014 referendum we must have one for the next referendum. No stopping to consider whether this is appropriate or advisable in the light of … Continue reading Unforgiveable folly!
What strikes me most about the comments from Linda Fabiani and Alex Neil is the extent to which their thinking about the constitutional issue appears unchanged by the passage of a decade in which everything else has changed dramatically. Their obsession with setting a date and publishing a 'prospectus' directly echoes the obsessions of the … Continue reading A poverty of imagination
I like to think of myself as one of the 'Yes bloggers' hated with such spittle-flecked fervour by the likes of Pete Wishart. I reckon I can fairly claim to be a dissenting voice within Scotland's independence movement. I would never presume to be representative of all dissent within the Yes movement. I speak only … Continue reading Dissenting voices and cloth ears
Nicola Sturgeon is careful these days to avoid explicit mention of the Section 30 process. It would be surprising if she was unaware of the growing opposition to inviting the British state to interfere in Scotland's exercise of Scotland's right of self-determination. But other than not using the actual words the rest of her language … Continue reading You’ve been conned!
Attempting to sum up the SNP/Alba false dilemma within the confines of a single Tweet I recently stated that the SNP is not currently effective in terms of restoring Scotland's independence but is the only party that can be effective within the relevant time frame. Alba Party is not currently effective in terms of restoring … Continue reading Time is tight
Gerry Hassan aspires to a "shared, pooled, dispersed version of sovereignty which cascaded power throughout Scotland, rather than hoarding it to Edinburgh" and insists that it's a mistake to suppose we can't begin to realise the aspiration this side of Scotland's independence being restored. I fear it is he who is mistaken. And it's a … Continue reading Collective strength and effective power
It's been a confusing morning so far. First I read a piece by Pete Wishart in which he actually talks sense. Then, as if that wasn't bewildering enough, I encounter Gerry Hassan's column and some perplexingly shallow thinking that all the latte-sipping lefty pomposity in all the cafe districts in all the world can't rescue. … Continue reading Ends and ends
The difference between a Unionist and a British Nationalist is that the former has never questioned the Union while the latter insists that the Union must never be questioned. I was reminded of the above apophthegm when I saw the headline on a piece in The National today - Do Unionists still think we are … Continue reading The target
I tend to react very negatively to commentators speculating or pontificating about Scotland being independent while disregarding all but totally the not so very small matter of Scotland becoming independent. The headline over Gerry Hassan's column - "UK establishment’s contemplating life after indy, Scotland must do the same" - was always going to irk me. … Continue reading The big league
It occasionally happens that as you read a newspaper story a phrase will leap off the page and smack you so hard that you are unable to focus on the remainder of the article. As you attempt to read on your mind keeps dragging your attention back to that phrase. Very occasionally a piece of … Continue reading Worrying words
Peter A Bell 