Politics
Cameron should ask Salmond to join UK Brussels team
David Cameron could save two Unions if he were to include the SNP’s Alex Salmond in his Brussels (re)negotiating team alongside George Osborne, an ex-Bank of England senior official argues.
Scottish politics and the English language
A few years ago, the word Scotland meant more or less the same for most Scots. Today two Scots might use the same word but have two entirely different things in mind. An opinion piece…
The end of the Union?
Tom Devine considers the Scottish political landscape after the rout of unionist parties and re-examines the “Scottish Question” en route to an uncertain future.
The SNP’s total but pyrrhic victory?
The 56 SNP MPs will soon get their first taste of powerlessness in Westminster as David Cameron uses his majority in Parliament to shun their demands across the board, argues Ray Perman.
Scotland’s revolutionaries: another perspective on the Yes movement
What is the Yes movement? A protest? A religion? A cult? No: with its discipline, utopianism, strategic intelligence and sense of historic agency it bears the classic hallmarks of a revolutionary movement.
Ruth Davidson for UK Tory leader?
Ruth Davidson is widely regarded as having had “a good campaign” as Scottish Tory leader. But could she lead the UK Conservative Party should Cameron fall on his sword? Alexander Smith has his doubts.
The pollsters’ Becher’s Brook
The pollsters universally predicting a SNP landslide may be heading for a fall, argues Jackie Kemp from inside the bookie’s shop.
Scotland’s growing influence on UK and EU foreign policy: an interview with Humza Yousaf
Hamza Yousaf, Minister for Europe and International Development in the Scottish government, tells Kirsty Hughes how the SNP’s influence on a policy area neglected in the election campaign is bound to grow – whatever the…
What the English think and feel about the Union
The election campaign has brought the issue of English attitudes towards their neighbours and the Union into sharp relief, with UKIP making much of socially conservative values. However, explains Michael Kenny, the reality is rather…
‘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
Trident: the real political choice on May 7
Opposition to Trident is a vote-winner but Scottish opponents of the submarine-based nuclear weapons system face an acute dilemma in how they cast their vote on May 7.
Landslide, wipeout: FPTP distorts the picture
Talk of an SNP landslide and a Labour wipeout in Scotland on May 7 simply underlines the distorting effects of the first-past-the-post voting system in Westminster elections.