When was the last time we heard anything so unequivocal from the SNP? On the basis of these words alone, everyone who has a vote should be giving Ash Regan their most serious consideration. And everyone who is committed to the restoration of Scotland's independence should be offering their support. Below is Ash Regan's statement … Continue reading Independence! Nothing less!
I have strong reservations about religionists in politics and Kate Forbes is, by her own account, unable to separate doctrinal commands of her religious faith from the secular nature of our legislature. Nonetheless, I am very concerned by the way she is being targeted by what has all the characteristics of an orchestrated campaign to … Continue reading Discrimination and religion
One of the things that happens when a political leader steps down is that everybody (and it certainly seems like it is literally everybody) turns to poring over their resignation speech dissecting and examining it looking for clues as to the real reason the politician in question is quitting. The one thing most seem to … Continue reading The reset button beckons
This morning at about half past nine, I succumbed to one of the episodes of extreme fatigue which have plagued me since I had a bout of Covid some months ago. Fellow sufferers will surely sympathise. The onset of this extraordinary tiredness can be sudden and the effects debilitating. Today's episode was undoubtedly the worst … Continue reading A Rip van Winkle moment
The question of whether the public wants Nicola Sturgeon to remain as First Minister is quite distinct from the question of whether her remaining is what best serves Scotland's cause. Or for that matter, what best serves Scotland. Clearly, there is no appetite either within the SNP or among the general public for Sturgeon to … Continue reading The question for conference
Like all calls for unity in the name of Scotland's cause, Ivan McKee's plea for cooperation among the pro-independence parties sounds like plain good sense - until one places it in the context of the roiling cauldron of fractious factionalism that is the current state of what used to be the Yes movement. At which … Continue reading The most modest of proposals
Stewart McDonald is correct when he says "A de facto referendum will not bring about Scottish independence.". Unfortunately, neither will the Section 30 referendum that he commends. The reason being the very "power imbalance" that he identifies. Quite why he imagines the British state might give its willing and honest cooperation to a process intended … Continue reading Not even close
Shona Robison portrays Alister Jack's intervention as if it was an outrage. The reality, of course, is that Jack has acted entirely within the law. So, it is not Jack's intervention that is outrageous but the law which permits it. Under Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998, the Secretary of State for Scotland needs … Continue reading What are you prepared to do?
The Sunday Times today gleefully reports that "support for the SNP, for Nicola Sturgeon and for Scottish independence has fallen sharply as the party’s crisis over transgender rights deepens" (£). A single poll doesn't tell us much, of course. But there are occasions when a sharp change in polling is so closely associated with a … Continue reading The Sturgeon effect
Stephen Noon commends precisely the 'thinking' on the constitutional issue that has left Scotland's cause abandoned up a blind alley for nearly a decade. The idea that "the butterfly campaign that got us from 30% to 45% before and can deliver a similar step change to 60% now" is plainly idiotic when support for Yes … Continue reading Protecting your baby
Peter A Bell 