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
Whoever wrote the headline on George Kerevan's column in The National today (Cost of living horrors should be launchpad for fresh Yes push) did the man no favours. A headline suggesting a "fresh Yes push" as a reaction to the "cost of living horrors" sits uncomfortably with an article in which George is highly critical … Continue reading We and we alone!
Nicola Sturgeon insists that the process - which she has yet to identify - by which Scotland's independence is restored must be "legal and constitutional". Her view appears to be that the international community is eager to avoid recognising Scotland's status as an independent nation and that they will therefore seize on any excuse to … Continue reading The binding
What would you do? What would you have done? What is your solution? These and similar are some of the questions I am most frequently asked when I express misgivings about the SNPs approach to the constitutional issue and/or Alba Party's stance on the matter. When I point out past errors of judgement I am … Continue reading What would you do?
At last! Fully a year after I started asking questions about how Alba Party intended to honour the terms of its 2021 manifesto - far less live up to the overblown rhetoric of its more 'enthusiastic' devotees - someone giving the impression of speaking with some authority for the party has attempted some kind of … Continue reading Delusionalba!
I am inclined to be a bit wary of appeals to history in the service of the cause of restoring Scotland's independence. Events in the distant past must be of questionable relevance to a modern constitutional campaign. I'm ever mindful of the words with which L.P. Hartley opened his 1953 novel The Go-Between, "The past … Continue reading Ageless principles
The British government's action in repealing the Fixed Term Parliaments Act may be "unacceptable", but like so many such actions in the past, it will be accepted by the SNP. Brendan O’Hara will make just enough fuss to get his name in the papers so his constituents get the impression he's doing something. But not … Continue reading Accepting the unacceptable
I shall start with a couple of confessions. This article isn't really all about James Kelly. Filling an entire blog post with stuff about him would be a challenge even for someone as famously verbose as myself. I don't like the guy. That's my second confession. I'm not prone to instant dislikes. As far as … Continue reading James Kelly: Stupid or dishonest?
Ian Blackford says he wants a new constitutional referendum to take place "in a timely manner". I have to inform him that he's too late. The "timely" ship sailed in September 2018. It might just be possible to justify there being no new referendum earlier than this. But every day that has passed since September … Continue reading Big but
Peter A Bell 