The Australian Parliament is the most majestic prison in the world. Thirty-two hectares and A$1bn worth of isolation, Parliament House in Canberra is built into a hill in the Australian Capital Territory far away from the electorates most MPs represent. The complex operates like a city within a city, remote from the rest of theContinueContinue reading “Tricia Marwick’s kindness shows the human side of politics”
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Trident gambit tempts SNP away from the centre ground
Progressive parties win elections by promising to make things better, conservative parties by saying things used to be better and can be once again. Fittingly for a party that’s not quite left and not quite right, the SNP is trying to have it both ways. The Nationalists’ pitch to the voters ahead of May’s generalContinueContinue reading “Trident gambit tempts SNP away from the centre ground”
Scotland poised to hold UK’s future in its hands once again
“You campaign in poetry,” said the late Mario Cuomo. “You govern in prose.” The SNP campaigns with a baseball bat, relentlessly pummeling the Labour Party, now bloodied and on the floor. Wednesday’s Ipsos-MORI poll for STV saunters over to the battered party and gives it another kick in the ribs. The telephone survey, conducted amongstContinueContinue reading “Scotland poised to hold UK’s future in its hands once again”
Alex Salmond takes STV behind the scenes of his week* (*Not really)
In the week that Alex Salmond confessed he sometimes forgets he is no longer First Minister and the Sunday Herald revealed the SNP will continue to provide its former leader with a chauffeur-driven car, STV publishes the following excerpts from Mr Salmond’s diaries, with an introduction by the man himself.* Greetings, fellow sovereign Scots! You will haveContinueContinue reading “Alex Salmond takes STV behind the scenes of his week* (*Not really)”
Joan McAlpine’s stridency shows disdain for alternative views
A conspiracy operates before our eyes, its devious puppet masters conniving in plain sight. Their nefarious aim is nothing short of the destruction of parliamentary democracy in Scotland. If news of these machinations shocks you, you will not be alone. We are indebted to Joan McAlpine for alerting us to the dastardly plot. The SNPContinueContinue reading “Joan McAlpine’s stridency shows disdain for alternative views”
Is Jim Murphy trolling or is he really not a Unionist?
There is a chance — distant, I grant you — that Jim Murphy only stood for Scottish Labour leader so he could troll the cybernats. Every time he skooshes open a can of Irn-Bru or talks about football or jogs past STV in his Scotland top (hey there, handsome), Twitter is soon ablaze with 45ersContinueContinue reading “Is Jim Murphy trolling or is he really not a Unionist?”
What have we learned from the first Ashcroft poll of 2015?
We know nothing, those of us who write and talk about politics for a living. That is, of course, an overstatement but it speaks to a problem particular to the 2015 general election. Columnists, pundits, and the professionally opinionated – sometimes we call ourselves “analysts” to lend an air of science to our prognostications; justContinueContinue reading “What have we learned from the first Ashcroft poll of 2015?”
1000 reasons why Jim Murphy’s nurses pledge needs a rethink
At first glimpse, Jim Murphy’s 1000 nurses announcement bears all the hallmarks of canny policy. It’s bold, makes clear Scottish Labour’s commitment to the NHS, and shifts the focus to the SNP for a counter-offer. This is not an easy ask for the Nationalists; they do not enjoy access to the kind of resources theContinueContinue reading “1000 reasons why Jim Murphy’s nurses pledge needs a rethink”
Stephen Daisley 