I can't say that Nicola Sturgeon is wrong in her remarks regarding the complexity of personal identity. I can't even deny that even I am British in the rather trivial sense that I live in a nation located on the Northern part of the largest of the British Isles. By a similar argument, Canadians are … Continue reading Scottish not British?
If you are considering the matter of how the Yes campaign in a new independence referendum should be managed, I wouldn't bother reading the article in today's Sunday National which purports to address that very question. If, however, you're wondering what a desert of imagination looks like then the responses to the question from "senior … Continue reading Do we need a new Yes Scotland?
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith Sometimes it's the little things that get to you. The memory from yesterday's demonstration at Perth Concert Hall that is most vividly imprinted on my mind is … Continue reading Irreconcilable differences
Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's my age. Or maybe it's the fact that I've been spending too much time online 'engaging' with people who would be best ignored were it not for the fact that the constitutional issue is so important. The aggravation and the frustration and the sense of futility are very wearing. … Continue reading Down and out
It is good to see this in the Sunday National ─ Scotland is being held back by the UK's poor economic policies. It's about bloody time the independence movement got over the foolish aversion to negative campaigning that was inculcated during the first referendum campaign ─ principally by the SNP. As a result, the Yes … Continue reading Gloves off!
I attended only the Friday panel session of the 3-day Scottish Sovereignty Research Group (SSRG) Conference which comes to an end today (Sunday). I did so reluctantly. In part, this was for personal reasons. I am distinctly uncomfortable with the thought of crowds these days, partly as a hangover from Covid precautions and partly just … Continue reading Yes Campaign
In March 2021 The National splashed a headline declaring Majority of Scots believe independence is inevitable, poll finds. In fact, the phrase 'independence is inevitable' was common parlance a year ago and more. Oddly, a search of The National's archive finds no recent examples of this phrase. Brian Cox said it. So it must be … Continue reading A good story
The following started as a response to a comment on Fecaboko about - among other things - the futility of looking back on the mistakes of the past. It's futile unless there are lessons that might stand us in good stead. The "positive reassuring" approach has been tried. Let me remind you that polling for … Continue reading Some thoughts on campaigning
A couple of people have contacted me pointing out that they are unable to access the below-the-line (BTL) comments on The National site as they don't have a subscription. Therefore, the links I post on Twitter are no use to them should they wish to see the full comment in context. So I'm trying a … Continue reading The next phase
That the Union has always been a bad deal for Scotland is not in doubt. Even in those periods of history in which a case can be made for saying Scotland has benefited from being in this purposefully grossly asymmetric political union - such as the age of the British Empire - any claimed benefits … Continue reading Our own worst enemy?
Peter A Bell 