“But as good as nobody is speaking out loud for what has always been the preferred option: EU membership as an independent country on a par with Denmark, Latvia and Slovakia.” How Scotland’s GE2017 campaign is missing a golden opportunity to confound dreary Mayism.
What kind of Scotland?
“Yet we all still need to ask and find answers to these questions: is Scotland genuinely more egalitarian? How does Scotland tackle early mortality, poor health outcomes, rising poverty, educational under-achievement – and with what instruments?” This boring binary campaign ignores all these.
A fitting place for Joan Eardley
“Joan Eardley is finally assuming the status she so richly deserves(d): a great Scottish artists who belongs to the world.” She came to Scotland at 19, died tragically young at 42 in 1963 and, half a century later, is rated among the modern greats.
Single market route to home rule
“We are going to put forward proposals, that we would hope that the UK Government would be prepared to listen to, that would allow Scotland to preserve its place in the single market and preserve aspects of its relationship with the EU.” Nicola Sturgeon opts for post-Brexit Home Rule – indy comes later…
Sturgeon’s diminishing timeframe for Scottish indy
Nicola Sturgeon is about to launch the SNP’s much-delayed “summer” initiative to win over No voters to support independence and, maybe, #indyref2. But two books by two prominent Scottish professors, reviewed here, suggest she has a very steep hill to climb.
Yes to indy Scotland in EU, No to Little England
The case for an independent Scotland within the EU just got far stronger. In an updated version of a piece written the morning news of the win for Leave broke, the author explains why he’s switching his vote for #indyref2 – and why the economic case is improved.
A new democratic settlement for Scotland
The SNP’s 2016 election manifesto commits to a new wave of decentralising power in Scotland. But is that likely from a party that is now or on the verge of becoming the predominant one in Scotland – in semi-perpetuity? A real debate on devolving power and controlling an oligarchic executive should start now.
Sturgeon’s runner-up on May 5?
Nicola Sturgeon will still be first minister on May 6. Kezia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson are vying for the role of opposition leader in the next Holyrood term but both are really positioning themselves for the 2021 poll. Here we examine the prospects for the Scottish Conservative leader.
Defeat Daesh and honour the dead
France and its people have reasserted republican values and proclaimed the primacy of love in the fight against ISIS. But how best to ensure that the 130 Daesh victims in Paris are honoured – and to prevent similar atrocities happening?
Brussels and the Left’s delusionary Brexit strategy
Parts of the British Left are openly flirting with campaigning to quit the EU. The SNP is planning its own “upbeat” campaign to stay in. But these divisions on the social democratic/socialist Left simply buttress the forces of darkness: the very unaccountable corporatism both wish to confront.