Indyref 2
Three factors behind the Tory ‘revival’ in NE Scotland
‘The factors behind the revival – particularly in the North-East – look to be more Unionist than conservative, with Indyref2 and Brexit, as well as SNP governing competence all significant factors’.
Give us peace: the Scottish Tories
“It is this total vacuity of devolved politics, self-consciously free from conflict and danger, that allows the spectre of Scottish Toryism to haunt us so brazenly. They can happily adopt the rhetoric of the centre-left…
The four pillars of Scottish nationalism have crumbled
‘Rural conservatives want to see an end to the instability caused by perpetual referendums and progressives want to support an authentically left-wing political party. The basis of the SNP’s support is being eroded from left…
Scottish voters rewrite a well-worn script
“If we remain fixated on the constitution and neglect to debate properly the record of the Scottish (and UK) government, why would people vote for anyone except the SNP and, to a lesser extent, the…
Why I’m voting SNP
‘When I vote tomorrow it will be for the party which will do the most to stick up for my EU friends who have made their lives here; which will argue for my children’s horizons…
The SNP’s conservative agenda
“As in 2015, the main slogan is ‘Stronger for Scotland’. The manifesto repeats the trick of running this alongside a tartanised version of the famous green leather seats in the House of Commons.” “In fact,…
What kind of Scotland?
“Yet we all still need to ask and find answers to these questions: is Scotland genuinely more egalitarian? How does Scotland tackle early mortality, poor health outcomes, rising poverty, educational under-achievement – and with what…
Tale of two referendums
“The UK government might wish this to be about the Brexit referendum and the mandate for negotiations, but there is early evidence that it’s another referendum Scottish parties want voters to have in mind –…
ScoLab’s spectacular decline, Scots Tories’ revival
“It says something about Labour’s demise in Scotland that its chief role in the 2017 election may well be as a third-party influence on contests between the SNP and the Conservatives, rather than as a…
Widening national horizons with poetry
Maybe poetry can help us clarify our thinking about some of the important issues facing Scotland, indeed the world, today? With the help of poet Christine De Luca, Sceptical Scot sets out to explore wider…
Nationalist ultras defy people’s sovereign will
“Far from denying Scots their right to decide their own destiny, Theresa May is seeing that the sovereign will of the Scottish people is upheld in defiance of the attempt by Nicola Sturgeon to thwart…
Goodbye to the UK
” If stonewalling by London continues, Edinburgh may well have a legal and democratic case for calling a referendum on its own behalf which could lead to a unilateral declaration of independence.”