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?
I suspect AUOB is about to fall foul of the idiotic tribalism which has infected the Yes movement. Getting the seal of approval (kiss of death?) from the SNP may not be the best thing that ever happened to the organisation. Being listed alongside 'friends' of the SNP such as the Scottish Green Party and … Continue reading Be careful what you wish for
Articles in The National such as that proclaiming REVEALED: The number of civil servants working on independence referendum planning are like the bell Pavlov used to elicit a predictable response from his laboratory animals. The SNP loyalists will clap and cheer and never for even the briefest moment pause to question any of it. They … Continue reading Not content!
I confess to being rather concerned on seeing the reference to "the rules" in the headline over the latest contribution from Scott Crichton Styles in the Sunday National. What rules are those, I wondered. I fervently hoped Scott Crichton Styles wasn't in the business of lending credibility to the idea that Scotland must be bound … Continue reading Lawyers or politicians
Time for another teaser, Nicola? A wee shillin' in the meter tae keep the independence pot warm on that back burner? Something 'fresh' that the faithful can point to as they shout down the doubters and the dissenters and the folk in the cheap seats who just want this pantomime to end? Behold! Verily Nicola … Continue reading Big boots!
Only 100% committed to a new referendum!? Come on, Gillian Martin! Surely you can do better than that! I'm pretty sure Keith Brown or Angus Robertson would have given us at least 110% assurance. Alyn Smith might have gone as far as 200%. But he's the guy who says 'we've never been closer to independence'. … Continue reading I do not consent!
I didn't notice a formal request from the First Minister to the British Prime Minister for a Section 30 order. But the British government has apparently rejected it anyway. Which will come as something of a relief to Nicola Sturgeon. Or at least it should. Nobody of consequence has ever accused the woman of stupidity. … Continue reading Bullet dodged
Nicola Sturgeon does good speeches. She is renowned for her communication skills. Skills which have stood her - and the nation - in good stead during a public health crisis which demanded the best of Scotland's First Minister. Her opponents-for-the-sake-of-it scoff and sneer and dismiss her role as mere presentation. Such people are stupid, of … Continue reading Leader wanted
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
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
Peter A Bell 