Frankly is a major political occasion which has got people talking and taking sides – either defending or defenestrating Nicola Sturgeon as a leader, politician and her legacy. Sturgeon invites strong reactions. There are those who feel loyalty, even affinity, to her and what she represents. Equally there is a significant body of opinion who regard her as divisive, out of touch … [Read more...] about Lonely at the top: Sturgeon, leadership and regrets
Longer reads
Labour’s long addiction to nuclear weapons
One of the first tasks confronting a new prime minister, after an audience with the King, is to write a “letter of last resort”. Sir Keir Starmer will be asked to write to an (unnamed) commander of a Trident missile submarine on patrol in the Atlantic. The letter might tell the commander, now uncontactable after a devastating strike on Britain, that the prime minister wished to … [Read more...] about Labour’s long addiction to nuclear weapons
Labour’s road to victory runs through Scotland?
SPEAKING TO THE Scottish Labour conference days after Scotland's longest serving first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced she was standing down, leader Anas Sarwar struck an optimistic note. He moved to reassure voters that the party, which had struggled since its ouster from government in 2007, was ‘grown up, reaching out and ready for government’.1 Scottish Labour, in … [Read more...] about Labour’s road to victory runs through Scotland?
Israel and Hamas: the debasement of discourse
The world is on fire and everything is wrong and right at the same time. Reading and watching the news, most of the phrases ring hollow, as if there were no words for what is right, no language to describe reality accurately. The horrific massacre by Hamas of more than 1,400 people, the vast majority Jewish-Israeli civilians, was immeasurable even by the standards of war … [Read more...] about Israel and Hamas: the debasement of discourse
Where are Orkney and Shetland?
Do Orcadians really want to become part of Norway? No, but Orkney Islands’ Council knows how to grab media attention by raising, provocatively, its ancient Nordic connections. The problem is that the Council’s leverage in dealings with Edinburgh and London is at its highest when Scotland’s constitutional status is top of the political news agenda. With the prospect of … [Read more...] about Where are Orkney and Shetland?