Monthly Archives: September 2019

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 ofContinueContinue reading “Corbyn and Sturgeon are not the answer to Brexit”

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 ofContinueContinue reading “Alison’s aim is true on SNP missed targets”

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 theContinueContinue reading “Should Scotland remain in the UK or leave the UK?”

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 toContinueContinue reading “Chief Mammy gets put on the naughty step”

The ongoing delay to the new Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital is a scandal but one with no ready political remedy. Ordinarily, the health secretary responsible could be expected to resign, but Nicola Sturgeon shows no sign of turning in her ticket. The First Minister was cabinet secretary for health back in 2012, when she firstContinueContinue reading “Hospitals fiasco shows how much Nationalists care about the ‘NHSNP’”

‘Egg production is another of our successful food and drink sectors that will be negatively impacted by a no-deal Brexit’. We were eagerly awaiting First Minister’s Questions when Fergus Ewing came to a boil. The Rural Economy Secretary was fielding a query from colleague Joan McAlpine and claimed the UK Government’s ‘reckless’ approach to post-BrexitContinueContinue reading “Emergency Ward When?”

The Brexit soap opera has been chock full of twists but a crossover with Prisoner Cell Block H is one no one saw coming. Lord Macdonald, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, has raised the spectre of Boris Johnson being banged up for pursuing a no-deal Brexit. The Prime Minister says he is determined theContinueContinue reading “In thwarting Brexit, Parliament risks populist backlash”

Nationalists are everywhere in political life these days but patriots much harder to find. The once prevailing belief that self-interest be sacrificed where necessary to the interests of the country may have been starchily old-fashioned but it reflected a sense of duty. It is, with varying degrees of magnitude, what Peel did on the CornContinueContinue reading “Brexit, Scexit and the future of the Union”

She made a dig at his ruddy complexion. ‘At least I’ve still got a full head of my own, uncoloured hair,’ he shot back. Not, dear reader, a provincial watering hole after one too many sherries have been taken but the hallowed chamber of the Scottish Parliament. Peggy Mitchell used to bar folk for less.ContinueContinue reading “Greta Thunberg of Govanhill turns eco-warrior for the day”

Anyone who wants my phone can have it. Ever since word dropped that Ruth Davidson intended to resign, it has been ringing, purring, buzzing and chirping non-stop, as contacts from all perches in the Scottish Tory pecking order get in touch to tell me What Must Happen Now.  Some suggestions would make for real change.ContinueContinue reading “No easy answers for leaderless Scottish Tories”