‘My idea is that one tries to exit this quagmire by staging Scottish (and maybe Welsh and Northern Irish) and UK elections on the same day – or perhaps staggered over several days like the upcoming European Parliament elections on June 6-9. The campaigning could last several weeks or months, enabling a full-scale, profound debate on the UK’s future to take place. Constitutional, socio-economic, geopolitical.’
Diplomatic largesse is not on the agenda
The First Minister wants to curtail Scotland’s culture of excessive alcohol. But why impose a ban on diplomats you’re trying to woo and offer them meagre fare?
Can Scottish Labour leave the branch office?
Scotland’s influence in Britain will be strongest when you have a Scottish Labour Party working with a Labour Government. If you want a Britain that places Scotland and its interests at the heart of the Westminster debate, if you want a politics that is committed to smashing the class ceiling, if you want to […]
Labour’s green gaffe plays into Far Right hands
Labour is dumping its £28bn “green prosperity plan” like farmers dumping manure outside the European Parliament: no way to save the planet, modernise the economy, take on the Far Right backlash…
Roch the wind: industrial strategy 3 – Scotland and EU
Both the SNP and Scottish Labour are bigging up industrial policy to modernise the economy as a general election issue. Our co-editor argues this won’t work fully outside Europe.
Shared links with Europe suit Scotland’s purpose
Forget David Cameron’s muscular unionism and Humza Yousaf’s sense of grievance: Scottish and UK foreign policy must go through Europe
Humza faces a hard landing
“If Sturgeon’s reputation is already being shredded, he doesn’t have one to defend. A hard rain gonna fall on him. And, more than likely, his party too.”
Scotland needs a new politics – and fresh policy options
As the SNP leadership campaign crawls to the finish post, time for a Big Debate on the political and socio-economic future in Scotland and the UK
A Labour-SNP coalition is the answer to gridlock
“What Scotland needs is something similar: a Scottish Labour-SNP pact – probably after 2024 or 2026 – with or without the Greens to deliver social and economic modernisation, including the just transition, digital transformation and local government reform, plus constitutional change.”
A new Germany?
Germany’s Social Democrats are emerging as the surprising potential winners in the general election of September 26 under Olaf Scholz. Is the EU’s most important member about to opt for seismic change?