Catalonia goes to the polls next month as the pressure for independence from Madrid intensifies. Here a prominent political scientist from Barcelona University analyses the options for the future.
Archives for August 2015
Why the left is split over Europe
How has opposition to the EU changed since the Greek bail out, Cameron’s re-election and referendum pledge and the migration crisis? A professor of European Politics gives her trenchant views.
Poetically challenged: satirical lines on party leaders
Corbynmania has spawned a book of dedicated poems but what of other political figures? Fay Young casts an acerbic and affectionate eye over other political poems, including Ron Butlin’s ode to Tony Blair.
Sturgeon discovers Blairite pragmatism
Scotland’s First Minister has signalled a strictly non-ideological, flexible approach to improving education. “What works best” is a very Blairite concept.
Modernity and Hogg’s Confessions of a justified sinner
One of the highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival is undoubtedly a new production of Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, which runs between August 19 and 22.
Wer ist dieser Jeremy Corbyn? Wofür steht er?
‘Corbynmania’ has crossed the Channel, prompting a former Labour Europe Minister to examine what his ex-colleague stands for and what his prospects might be.
Corbyn has no solution for Scottish Labour
Dundee probably hasn’t seen the like since the independence referendum. The university’s main lecture hall was full to the point that the organisers had to open a large over-spill room to cope with everyone. According to one report, 700 people had come along for the evening, myself included – typical of what has been happening […]
A Very British Coup, revisited
A Very British Coup, Chris Mullin’s 1982 thriller about a radical Labour leader brought down by a fearful establishment makes for fascinating re-reading in light of Jeremy Corbyn’s unexpected success in this year’s leadership campaign.
Scottish Government’s GM crop ban could damage public health
The GM crop ban deprives a nation with a high incidence of heart disease of a potentially ready supply of Omega-3, an essential ingredient for combatting cardiovascular weakness
Scotland’s heightened role in the EU renegotiation process
Some time in the next two years, Scots will face another referendum, on whether the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union. This issue has become deeply entangled with the question of Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom. Last year’s referendum was about independence-in-Europe and since the 1980s the EU has provided a vital […]