GE2017
Will Brexit destroy the UK?
‘There is a saying among global trade negotiators that the world is divided between cannibals and lunch. The UK may be finding painfully that leaving the protection of the cannibals has condemned it to become lunch.…
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Brexit
“With the UK taking Scotland in a direction that most of the public do not support, the alienation of Scotland from the rest of the UK should be of great concern – however it appears…
Scotland’s 16-17 year-olds enjoy democracy
‘young people in Scotland indeed show substantially higher levels of engagement with representative democracy (through voting) as well as other forms of political participation (such as signing petitions and taking part in demonstrations); and they…
Scottish Labour and grassroots democracy
‘If the limit of our collective ambition is to elect a media-friendly performer (like some kind of reliable weather forecaster) who can deliver a few hits in Holyrood to rally the troops, we’re underestimating the…
How Yes can remain relevant in the face of political exhaustion
‘The rest of us – Yes, No or Undecided – need to make a claim for changing Scotland regardless of its nation status. For power to reside here, rather than elsewhere. This must take the…
A “blatant power grab”? Scottish Government on EU (Withdrawal) Bill
‘At the end of the day, the UK Government and Parliament (subject, of course, to the constraints of parliamentary arithmetic) can legally have their way on what happens to repatriated power, even if any “will…
Summer of discontent in the independence movement
‘For many on the independence side this is all a bit of a let down, but instead it should be seen as a challenge and window. Scotland’s journey to greater self-government isn’t all about the…
Ruth D for leader: many rivers to cross
‘If Davidson was to be elected to Westminster via a Scottish constituency, her status as a political outsider would be cemented. Every time a piece of legislation affecting England passed through the House of Commons,…
BBC bias to right, left – and centre
‘Young people are now increasingly turning to social media as their first source of information about current events. If the BBC is to win back this section of the audience – or at least stem…
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’.
Can Corbyn keep the faith with young voters?
In both my school’s vote and the general election, one thing seemed to become clear: as far as young people were concerned, Jeremy Corbyn had won. Edinburgh 5th year student Tess Mallinder Heron investigates why…
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…