As party conference speeches go, Nicola Sturgeon’s had all the force and originality of an afternoon telly repeat. And not a good series, either. We’re talking Doctors here. Highlights: Brexit? Still bad. Tories? Still evil. Scotland? Still oppressed. Even the Bay City Rollers managed new material every few years. First up was her much sought-after [...]
Derek Mackay delivers his first leader’s speech
This afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon will take to the stage in Aberdeen and deliver the second leader’s speech of SNP conference. The second, because no one who turned up for Derek Mackay’s address yesterday was in any doubt: this was a leadership pitch near-shameless in its blatancy. It was a speech perfectly calibrated to push members’ [...]
Scottish nationalists are not anti-establishment. They are the establishment
One of the most amusing tics of Scottish nationalists is their unshakeable conviction that they are in the vanguard of a daring anti-establishment movement. If you count bravely standing up to the powers that be and telling them they’re doing an absolutely smashing job, I suppose they are. The same party which came to power [...]
Rambo of Ross-shire throws red meat to rank-and-file
Seeing Ian Blackford speak is like watching as a steam engine chugs towards you. It’s a nerve-wracking experience but you assume, always with vindication, that this thundering behemoth will career off the tracks and into a ravine soon enough. Blackford is the pretendy SNP leader at Westminster, or, rather, that was the role of his [...]
Good intentions and bad laws
Ever notice how the exact same words can mean very different things depending on their context? Last week, when the Scottish Parliament passed the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) Bill, a Left-wing and a Right-wing newspaper both ran the same headline: 'Scotland becomes first UK country to ban smacking'. The implication of one was that [...]
Tears, fears… and cheers for Ruth’s revolution
Jackson Carlaw is struggling to regain his composure. I’ve had politicians break down in front of me before but none have wept so openly or so helplessly for their constituents. Last week the Tory rebuked Nicola Sturgeon for declaring herself ‘open-minded’ about an emergency government led by Jeremy Corbyn. Carlaw, whose Eastwood constituency is home [...]
Corbyn and Sturgeon are not the answer to Brexit
Think politics can’t get any more chaotic? Close your eyes and picture this scenario. TV cameras and Press photographers are camped out in Downing Street, their relentless flashbulbs sending a dazed Larry the Cat fleeing for cover. The air is tight with anticipation and Number 10 aides peer from the windows for any signs of [...]
Alison’s aim is true on SNP missed targets
Westminster may have been prorogued, unprorogued, and descended into the sort of rowdy establishment a sailor on shore leave would give a wide berth but Holyrood has it beat for the uncanny. Yesterday, we were treated to the exotic sight of the Scottish Tories cheering on the Greens, surely one of the lesser-known omens of [...]
Should Scotland remain in the UK or leave the UK?
What is the secret weapon that will win Scotland’s ongoing constitutional debate? Is it the economy? Brexit? Pensions? The answer is: none of these. The struggle over whether Scotland remains in or leaves the United Kingdom will be decided by whichever side better understands cognitive linguistics, the science of language and how it shapes the [...]
Chief Mammy gets put on the naughty step
You could tell Ken Macintosh was furious because his tone was mild disapproval. The Presiding Officer is the perennial pushover teacher but yesterday he waved his ruler menacingly in the direction of ministerial knuckles. Later on, Education Secretary John Swinney would be announcing the ditching of the Named Persons scheme. Or rather announcing it to [...]
