Politics
Learn from Lady Macbeth’s fate, wannabe Tory leaders
“The body of the (seemingly) outgoing leader is not yet cold, but already thoughts are turning to the post-Sunak future. This is business as usual at Westminster, where an old, macabre joke has it that,…
Can the SNP win on July 4?
“With a cautious, centre-right Labour party offering six lukewarm pledges, any confident, pro-EU, pro-independence, social democrat (if the SNP still is) party should be moving ahead not sinking in the polls. Can the SNP still…
Swinney a shoo-in? Nae thanks
‘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…
SNP, Labour and the general election
“Labour’s fiscal caution and policy U-turns, not least with Starmer dumping his £28bn green investment plan, have left the door wide open for a strong, broadly social-democratic challenge from the SNP to Labour’s policies at…
Scottish devolution – time to reboot
“If this centralisation trend continues unchecked, nearly all public services will be delivered by unelected quangos or Scottish Government departments with no effective local democratic control or accountability. That would make Scotland an outlier amongst…
Devolution returns to Northern Ireland
“…there is no room for any future withdrawal from government by either veto-holding party, and if that happened, temporary steps to overcome the veto would need to be considered. Issues of longer-term institutional reform may…
Britain’s governance problem laid bare by Covid
Hoping that you can form a decent personal relationship with key Ministers in London isn’t a satisfactory basis on which to run a complex country in the middle of a crisis.Fixing the structural weaknesses revealed…
Sturgeon in the stocks
“Many people who watched or read the transcript of Nicola Sturgeon’s evidence to the Covid Inquiry may have been reminded of just what a good First Minister she was at that time. She can do…
An industrial strategy for Scotland
At the start of general election year a leading Scottish trade unionist and policy wonk reflects on the industrial strategy challenges facing both SNP and Labour.
Normalising the Far Right: Warning signals from Austria
“Those opposing the Far Right in June across Europe should focus on emphasising and protecting the liberal-democratic values for which they stand and present a compelling programme to address voters’ concerns,” writes an Austrian social…
Labour’s road to victory runs through Scotland?
“Labour once again is seeking a middle road in its pursuit of power, both north and south of the border, attempting to be the grown-up in the room, offering a coherent, united proposal, while its…
Paradiplomacy and independence in the EU: Quo Vadis Scotia?
“…can the SNP walk and chew gum at the same time? Surely, it makes most sense to focus on priority issues at home, whether in Holyrood or arguing the case at Westminster, and on the…