Sceptical Scot

David Gow Memorial Archive

David Gow Memorial Archive

Writing, tributes and reflections from David Gow’s Sceptical Scot archive.

This page gathers David Gow’s work for Sceptical Scot, alongside tributes and reflections published in his memory. Over time it can also expand to include selected work from beyond the site.

Featured from the archive

A different David Gow article is highlighted each day.

Culture

Sturgeon’s diminishing timeframe for Scottish indy

August 31, 2016

Nicola Sturgeon is about to launch the SNP's much-delayed "summer" initiative to win over No voters to support independence and, maybe, #indyref2. But two books by two prominent Scottish professors, reviewed here, suggest she has a very steep hill to climb.

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David Gow on Sceptical Scot

A running archive of David’s published work on the site.

  • A quiet election for a tired and poorly Scottish parliament

    Scottish party manifestos pledge extra spending without addressing huge challenges facing the next Scottish government – likely to be SNP again despite almost 20 years of underachievement in power. John McLaren sets out four lessons to learn from the state we are in. When the last election took place, in 2021, the country was in Read article

  • What’s ‘good for Scotland’ in 2026 election?

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  • Four poems in defiance of an uneasy spring

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  • Mind the (implementation) gap: Neurodivergence in Scotland

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  • Les enfants de la patrie – but the enduring trap of populism is not unique to France

    Trump has seized on opportunities Macron and Starmer have created. Macron and Starmer. alike in their determination to ignore politicians of the left, have allowed Farage and Le Pen to set the agenda, writes Tony O’Donnell Read article

  • UK Budget 2025? Get real. The world has changed

    John McLaren explains in no uncertain terms why the UK Budget is such a disappointment, doing nothig when so much needs to be done, further eroding trust in mainstream politicians, pushing voters towards outlying parties making even wilder promises Read article

  • Enough campaigning. Is the next Scottish government prepared to govern?

    Hot on the heels of Anton Muscatelli’s hard-hitting report comes Jim Gallagher’s rigorous investigation into Scotland’s failing governance. Fixing Broken Government comes with positive recommendations for a radical re-set in time for the May 2026 elections. But will Scotland wake up in time to avert fiscal crisis? We have to, says, James Mitchell” “we cannot… Read article

  • Fraser of Allander takes another bite at the Budget

    “The proposed pay-per-mile charge raises important questions of fairness and is likely to be a source of public debate.” After the endless leaky build up, the 2025 UK Budget raises many questions and uncertainties about fairness, efficiency and effectiveness. The FAI investigates some likely outcomes. Read article

  • #MuscatelliReport: is Scotland ready for radical action on regional economic development?

    Carried out on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party but after the 2026 election the Muscatelli Report is likely to fall to an SNP Government – judging from past behaviour how successful would it be? Read article

  • Well tempered steel beneath David Gow’s jovial irreverence

    Under David’s editorship Sceptical Scot soon established itself in a crowded field, gaining a reputation for well written, thoughtful contributions to the debate. It is a testament to David’s determination that there was never really any doubt that it would do so. Read article

  • Honest, rigorous and kind: David Gow as mentor

    “As an editor David was rigorous and kind, but most of all never patronising. He would never accept a pitch out of politeness, no matter how long you’d been writing…” Read article

  • David Gow’s legacy of friendship

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  • AI, Creativity and Humanity (3): Responsibility

    “AI isn’t going anywhere. You interact with it many times a day whether you know it or not. You don’t need to fear it and I encourage you to embrace it. But you should also challenge it, and those who are developing it. Keep an open mind, balance optimism with scepticism and use creativity to… Read article

  • AI, creativity and humanity (2): Obstacles

    “As a creative producer, my team and I are able to do more, better, faster; we’re expanding and experimenting with techniques we weren’t previously able to do. Ideas I’ve never had the time, headspace or resources to realise are now coming to life.” Read article

  • AI, creativity and humanity (1)

    ‘“I resisted ChatGPT for so long because I felt it was wrong to use it. But then I caved in and now I can’t stop!” one arts organisation CEO told me. She’s hooked, having discovered the joy of drafting policy documents and analysing big data sets rapidly.”‘ Read article

  • Two worlds collide or stories Geoff Palmer told

    “Geoff worked tirelessly to bring the hidden world of slavery – the subjugation and the struggle – into the light and to make people aware of the connections between the unpaid labour of slaves and three centuries of Scottish history. He wanted people to know about the huge wedge of privilege and prosperity it brought… Read article

  • Israel’s biggest security threat: Netanyahu

    “Perhaps the most damning result of what is happening is the mass radicalisation of young Palestinians and of future Palestinian generations. As Israeli and US security experts have acknowledged, talk of Hamas being defeated is delusional – Hamas is as much an idea as a movement, and that idea will not only persist but will… Read article

  • Build, baby, build

    The Scottish Parliament has just passed a new housing bill that, inter alia, removes the council tax cap on second homes but we need a much more consequential approach to solve the housing polycrisis. Read article

  • Does Starmer have a vision?

    “Starmer, in his speech, said both Farage, the Tories, ‘the extremes of the left’ and the SNP want Britain to fail. But as the Prime Minister struggles on, the biggest risk is that Starmer will fail and Labour will end up where the Tories were, desperately swapping one bad leader for another. The UK does… Read article

  • Scottish education: genuine partnership or pre-election fix?

    “The Scottish educational establishment, over many decades, has been successful in resisting attempts to disturb its culture of complacency. Sadly, it may take a further decline in public confidence and trust before real change – as distinct from yet another exercise in public relations – can take place.” Read article

  • Scotland’s Glorious Thirty

    Going beyond recovery from the pandemic. In reviewing a recent book on Scotland post-Covid-19, we urge an ambitious, granular debate on the ways to transform our country and make it greener, fairer and more democratic for all. Read article

  • Pandemic and absent solidarity

    ‘…richer nations such as Scotland need to live up to their oft-repeated, much-vaunted proclamations in favour of global solidarity. So far, we’re not even talking about it in the pandemic.’ Read article

  • Scotland must look to Europe

    Now that Johnson has reverted to talking of No Deal/WTO terms, is it time for Scotland to strike out on its own in relations with the EU (and the wider world)? Read article

  • Germany’s miles better…

    ‘Germany, even if one goes as far back as Bismarck and 1871, is a relatively young country and, in its latest iteration, highly attractive to a lot of Europe’s youth. It does offer, then, a model for any nascent Scottish republic: open, tolerant, European, nationalist in a civic, secular sense. But, as its friends, including… Read article

  • But what form of independence?

    As Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP see increasingly solid pro-independence majorities in successive polls, their case for an independent Scotland has gone missing: a book review. Read article

  • Independence or bust

    John Lloyd book review: ‘What marks the book out is Lloyd’s personal transition to virtually self-hating Scot. This is not just the regular Unionist assertion that Scotland is too wee, too weak, to cut it as an independent country but a visceral assault on “Scotland’s self-serving, self-pitying, self-obsessed keening about others, mainly the English, stealing… Read article

  • Making music – and poetry

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  • A very Scottish spy

    ‘His life-story has contemporary resonances, with the resurgence of the far right and what the French call fascisant mentality along with nativist protectionism in response to both pandemic and economic collapse. From his school days, Cairncross was a firm believer in (Scottish) Enlightenment values; he remained an exemplar of Davie’s Democratic Intellect.’ Read article

  • Can Scotland meet EU economic criteria?

    ‘If (national debate about indy Scotland joining the EU) is to be meaningful, there needs to be far more active engagement by both the political class and civil society.’ Read article

  • Bitter truths in Brussels

    ‘…there may well be sympathy for the Scottish case but it is, for now, entirely irrelevant to what’s at stake now. As we know from the last 43 months, that’s even more true of Westminster and Whitehall.’ Read article

  • Can tactical voting stop Brexit?

    Millions will probably opt for tactical voting but caveat emptor! The very sites that claim to be giving sound advice based on geekish methods such as MRP are at odds with each other…. Read article

  • An industrial strategy for Europe

    The Euro elections are over; now the EU is choosing new leaders for the next five years along wioth a new focus on industrial policy. Are you in, Scotand? Read article

Tributes and reflections

Articles written in tribute to David Gow and his editorial legacy.