The 'play nice' preachers are heavy on the alliterated pontifications in The National today. Karen Adam MSP has an oozingly self-righteous piece under the headline "We must be composed and considerate for the good of the indy movement". Gerry Hassan's column, meanwhile, is titled "Confidence and candour are what’s needed to win the battle for … Continue reading Proud malcontents and other disruptors
This caused a bit of a flurry on The National's letters page. Incisive commentary by Kevin McKenna (Wings Over Scotland helps keep the SNP honest, Nov 16). It is gratifying to find a “traditional” journalist who both appreciates the value of new media and is prepared to say so. There is, however, one point about … Continue reading Wings Over Scotland
Despite the fact that it is dated three months ago, I had not previously seen the Tweet from Mhairi Hunter pictured above. As you would probably expect, Ms Hunter has blocked me ─ doubtless along with all other voices that dissent from the Sturgeon doctrine. I am grateful to Stu Campbell (Wings Over Scotland) for … Continue reading Where is the anger?
Stu Campbell has just published an article on Wings Over Scotland which despite the obvious anger and bitterness makes a very salient point about the vacuum in the SNP leadership where strategic thinking should be. I felt obliged to respond to the effect that Wings Over Scotland wasn't alone in warning of the British state's … Continue reading The wrong mindset
A regrettably rare intervention by Stu Campbell on Wings Over Scotland reminds us of two things. Firstly - and most obviously as this was the purpose of the article - it reminds us of the sickening spate of scaremongering pish that issued from the anti-independence campaign ten years ago and which continues to pour from … Continue reading When the need for illusion is deep
I have spent the last two days staring at a blank page. Blank, that is, but for the title at the top - 'What next?'. I set out to explore options for the independence movement now that the opportunity offered by the 2021 Scottish Parliament election has been squandered. It was an opportunity for Scotland's … Continue reading What next?
Why is the SNP leadership so intent on silencing or sidelining anyone who asks this kind of highly pertinent question? Why are they propagandising against bloggers who do no more than insist that the SNP does what it is elected to do while pointing out the ways in which it is failing to fulfil its role as the political arm of the independence movement?
As we prepare to dismiss Graham Campbell's diktat as some momentary silliness, a disturbing thought occurs. What if this were a serious suggestion?
Joanna Cherry cherry has earned the virulent hatred of this clique not by betraying the the principles on which the SNP was founded but for upholding them. Not for flouting the standards which the party is supposed to operate but for insisting on them. Not for a lack of integrity but for having integrity in a measure which embarrassed too many who today are responsible for managing the party's affairs. Not because she is unpopular with 'ordinary' members but because she is so detested by those jealous and fearful of that popularity.
Why would we, in one breath assert the sovereignty of the people of Scotland and in the next allow that the British state has the rightful authority to question the choices made by the sovereign people of Scotland? What kind of 'sovereignty-lite' does the Reverend Campbell envisage? Is this conditional sovereignty conceptually similar to the idea of 'managed democracy'? I think we should be told before we commit to anything.
Peter A Bell 