‘What we are witnessing is the kind of internal bloodletting normally associated with the aftermath of a major defeat. Much is a function of frustration and an inability to manage internal debate. The SNP needs a period in opposition to sort itself out. It has no credible roadmap to anywhere other than victory at the next Holyrood elections. It hopes that a big win will restore Nicola Sturgeon’s authority. If that happens, it is likely to be short lived.’
independence
GERS and a new start
“But GERS does provide an accurate picture of where Scotland is in 2020. So, in doing so, today’s numbers set the starting point for a discussion about the choices and challenges that need to be addressed by those advocating independence or new fiscal arrangements.”
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 their birthright and smashing their culture” and/or continuous “moral superiority.”‘
Salmond, the SNP and Brexit
A contrarian view from Glasgow-born MacShane: “It will be hard for Labour or the Lib Dems to get back into the game, which suggests that the SNP is likely to win a clear majority and a large majority of Holyrood seats.”
Institutions, transition and national renewal
‘Decarbonisation should be promoted and adopted as a national mission (for Scotland),’ says the author, but this requires a change of institutional mind-set to deliver the full benefits of a net-zero carbon economy. (Part 2 of 2).
GE2019 and #indyref2
‘Surveys have shown that almost half of English voters are content to leave the matter to the Scots, with many of the rest having no opinion. There appears to be little appetite for coercing Scotland, should Scotland really want to leave.’
Crack of light in Northern Ireland
As Northern Ireland’s political plates shift, ‘of course, Johnson may not want to concede another independence referendum. But it seems certain that, one way or another, Scotland will not be able to tolerate indefinite Tories. And neither can we.’
Will no deal bring break-up of UK?
‘Given that an independence referendum is very unlikely to happen before the latter half of 2021 at the earliest, Scotland would not become an independent country any earlier than the middle years of the next decade.’
Independence and sovereignty
‘It’s being in charge of your own destiny that matters as Scotland has found out but thereafter aspects will have to be shared for political and economic advantage.’
Looking back five years on….
‘In both camps, there are those who are closer to those in the other camp than the binary choice would suggest. The challenge five years on is to allow the richness of the debate that emerged to find voice again and to play a more direct role in the next stage of Scotland’s continuing journey.’ Self-government fully debated stages a comeback? asks Prof Mitchell