The Scottish Government can now, as of April 1, raise its own debt – via bonds or ‘kilts’ as they’re known. But there’s been no fanfare so far and no evidence the government wants to use this new power.
Archives for May 2015
The Light Streams In
This week’s Poem of the Moment, courtesy of Scottish Poetry Library, brings a welcome flash of spring sunshine. In a country still rocked by political aftershocks, there’s relief in the imagery of The Light Streams In, though not without ambiguity – which also suits the Scottish climate.
Scottish politics and the English language
A few years ago, the word Scotland meant more or less the same for most Scots. Today two Scots might use the same word but have two entirely different things in mind. An opinion piece by German linguist Regina Erich on the use – and abuse – of language.
The end of the Union?
Tom Devine considers the Scottish political landscape after the rout of unionist parties and re-examines the “Scottish Question” en route to an uncertain future.
Four reasons why Labour lost
The post mortem over Labour’s disastrous defeat on May 7 continues. A German social democrat sets out his view of why the party lost so heavily.
The SNP’s total but pyrrhic victory?
The 56 SNP MPs will soon get their first taste of powerlessness in Westminster as David Cameron uses his majority in Parliament to shun their demands across the board, argues Ray Perman.
Five political problems with Full Fiscal Autonomy
The newly elected Conservative Government may be considering full fiscal autonomy for Scotland in a struggle for power with the resurgent SNP. Prof Paul Cairney says it may backfire and fatally undermine the Union.
No forelock-tuggers in parliament please
‘You campaign in poetry; you govern in prose,’ as the late former New York governor Mario Cuomo famously put it. A cynic might say the UK general election campaign has produced no poetry and precious little decent prose. But we’re not cynical. From today, thanks to the Scottish Poetry Library, we are delighted to add a new dimension to Sceptical Scot and it will be pure poetry. Though not necessarily free from politics.
A 50-hour week for bairns is the wrong answer
The Scottish Government wants pre-school kids to spend more and more hours away from home. But Laura Bird thinks there are other ways to get more women into work, boost the economy and enable parents to look after their bairns.
Scotland’s revolutionaries: another perspective on the Yes movement
What is the Yes movement? A protest? A religion? A cult? No: with its discipline, utopianism, strategic intelligence and sense of historic agency it bears the classic hallmarks of a revolutionary movement.