David Gow
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
What kind of Europe for Scotland and Sturgeon?
Nicola Sturgeon has rightly spoken out against the crushing effect of yet more austerity on Greece and its people but she and the SNP have yet to spell out a clear vision of what EU…
Franco-German Social Democrat plan to revive EU
The French and German economy ministers have come up with some radical ideas to get the EU out of its trough – and offer the Tories a way out of their membership renegotiation impasse.
The abuse of social democracy
Everybody’s talking social democracy, not least in Scotland. But nobody defines what it means, recognises how it’s in crisis and sees how analysts/activists are starting to rethink it.
The Bavarian Christian Social Union: a model for Scottish Labour?
In light of discussion whether it’s time for Scottish Labour to sever formal links with the wider UK Labour Party David Gow considers whether the Bavarian Christian Social Union offers a possible model.
‘Lefties on steroids’ or pretty tame social democrats?
The SNP’s anti-austerity politics is in reality a rehash of moderate redistribution – in the tradition of post-war British Labourism
Nicola’s premature coronation
Smear or swoon. Attitudes to Nicola Sturgeon lurch between the two. The few days since the #leadersdebate on ITV have seen her vilified as a secret Tory supporter (good for a second referendum with a…
Ending the sterile row over austerity
The differences between Labour and the SNP in their plans for UK government spending and borrowing are much closer to each other’s than they are to those bequeathed by George Osborne.