“Leadership requires a willingness to confront so much that he turned a blind eye to. A decent, able functionary, as Swinney understood when he stood down as leader in 2014, does not have the qualities required to lead a political party, far less to lead a government.”
Blind men and the elephant
‘Scottish policy making remains too top-down, centralised with bureaucrats at the centre assuming their expertise trumps all others. Disconfirmatory evidence that things are not working is often ignored. Believers find excuses, blame others while their support for their pet policy is, as in When Prophecy Fails, ‘not only unshaken, but even more convinced of the truth’ of their way.’
Starmer can’t afford to be cautious
Labour “is caught between the public policy need for bolder action and an even more sober presentational approach than that of 1997. Bold policies are not incompatible with sober campaigning. But sober campaigning may not excite and mobilise support,” says Prof Mitchell, arguing the case against ultra-caution.
Where are Orkney and Shetland?
Orkney’s leaders recently raised the prospect of secession from Scotland, prompting Prof James Mitchell to look back over half a century of constitutional musing and political leverage.
Humza Yousaf’s cakeism on indy
The SNP leadership’s power-hoarding, lack of accountability and secrecy does not augur well for the kind of independent state they wanted to achieve. The SNP has become a very British party.
Scotland’s centres of power need reform: Part 2 (Holyrood)
James Mitchell’s survey of Scotland and its centres of power ends with reflections on the glaring need for reforming Holyrood after two decades of devolution. “The Scottish Parliament is not a delicate flower that needs protection but a robust institution that required robust critiques, especially from those who support it.”
Scotland’s centres of power need reform: Part 1 (Westminster)
“No progress can be made so long as the governments – the centres – remained unreformed. No amount of new machinery of Intergovernmental Relations will work – indeed it could make matters worse – if centres are looking for a fight. Providing a gladiatorial arena for constitutional one-upmanship is counter-productive.”
The SNP’s new fundamentalism
“The SNP has dug itself into a fundamentalist hole and will need a dramatic pragmatic turn to hope to take advantage of the changing political context. Its best hope under its current fundamentalist leadership remains that the Tories win the next general election, opinion remains polarised and might finally shift decisively in favour of independence.”
Labour’s revival puts SNP on the defensive
“The process of recovery has begun for Scottish Labour. It can now focus on winning back what Anas Sarwar describes as ‘soft SNP’ voters. This will not be plain sailing. The SNP remains a formidable campaign organisation…” Prof James Mitchell on how Labour’s revival has put the SNP on the defensive.
Time for the SNP to get serious
“The issues are whether and how an independent Scotland would make the transition, at what cost, paid for by whom, over how long and, crucially, what policies would be needed to get to a position where people are at least no worse off. These are not insurmountable but they are challenging. But the SNP, as the main advocates of independence, does not appear up to the challenge.”