It was typical of David's open-mindedness and intelligence that he was himself somewhat conflicted about which way to vote. 'No', he told me, though he confessed to spending some time agonising in the polling boothJustin Reynolds, a writer now living in Norwich worked with David Gow and Fay Young to set up the Sceptical Scot website in 2015 … [Read more...] about Well tempered steel beneath David Gow’s jovial irreverence
Brexit
The EU and UK under Trump 2.0
Almost a week after Donald Trump’s election victory, are European leaders any clearer on their strategic reaction to the ever-deteriorating geopolitical environment and the implications of his victory? Or, amidst EU divisions on a range of issues, is the EU – not very strategically – just waiting to see how bad Trump 2.0 proves to be? After the flurry of congratulations from … [Read more...] about The EU and UK under Trump 2.0
Ten years after: the enduring case for indy in Europe
Ten years after the 2014 referendum and Scotland is outside the EU alongside the rest of the UK. The threats in 2014 that an independent Scotland would find it difficult or impossible to rejoin the EU after independence, never valid, are now ironic indeed and have been so since the 2016 Brexit vote. Arguments over an independent Scotland joining the EU as a member state have … [Read more...] about Ten years after: the enduring case for indy in Europe
The change election: UK and Scotland
On Friday, world leaders including Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen queued up to offer congratulations to Keir Starmer on his landslide Labour victory. But Hungary’s Viktor Orbán was, outrageously and provocatively, in Moscow meeting Vladimir Putin. His pretence at representing the EU was swiftly rejected by the actual president of the European Council, … [Read more...] about The change election: UK and Scotland
Who wants to (re)join the EU?
The EU launched formal accession talks on Tuesday 25th June with Ukraine and Moldova. Along with several western Balkans candidate countries, these two states want to join the EU. According to one UK opinion poll a few days ago, 62% of the UK public also support re-joining (ironically the same figure as voted ‘remain’ in Scotland in the 2016 referendum 8 years ago). Yet, as the … [Read more...] about Who wants to (re)join the EU?