Author Archives: stephenjdaisley

There is something about the printing of ballot papers that sends politicians reaching for the superlatives. Barely has a single billboard gone up or a solitary postal vote settled on a weary doormat than the parties begin breaking out the apocalyptic rhetoric. ‘This is the most important election of your lifetime.’ How many times have […]

The latest education rankings have not made easy reading for Nicola Sturgeon. Standards in maths are plummeting faster than John Nicolson’s chances in Ochil and South Perthshire, while Scotland is being outperformed in science by Estonia, Slovenia and a handful of creationist Sunday schools in Alabama. Jackson Carlaw, uncharitable sort that he is, brought this […]

Boris Johnson may be too afraid to submit to 30 minutes under Andrew Neil’s frosty glare but at least the Scottish leaders are willing to tackle the tough questions. Questions like ‘Bam or no bam?’ and whether the police should have their own jet skis. Putting these searing queries was Cameron Miekelson. Imagine if Andrew […]

Nicola Sturgeon was in Scotland’s other, better capital city yesterday unveiling her party’s pledges for the General Election. Given how many wafer-thin majorities the SNP is defending there, it made sense that the manifesto launch was held in Glasgow. Except to John Nicolson, who’s still trying to work out why they chose Aberystwyth. The slogan […]

As signs of the changing times go, it’s a close-run thing in Alloa between the local MP’s street stall sharing pavement space with a Syrian minimart and that MP being a Tory. Luke Graham is the first Conservative to win Ochil and South Perthshire or its predecessor seats since James Wellwood Johnston, who wasn’t even […]

Cometh an election, cometh a debate about the merits of tactical voting. Does it work? How risky is it? Is a choice between the lesser of two evils really the best we can do? In short succession: 1) Yes, it can. 2) The greater risk is doing nothing. 3) At this stage, it’s more a […]

Nicola Sturgeon turned up for a grilling on last night’s Question Time special but basked instead in the warmth of the audience’s ignorance about Scotland. The SNP leader benefited from what appeared to be a coach-load of supporters dotted across the studio but it was the English majority, interested but not obviously clued-up about matters […]

This sketch tries not to make a habit of praising the Scottish Greens, or — in the interests of balance — any other semi-communist rabble of chickpea-fuelled turtle-worshippers. But once again Alison Johnstone, who now enjoys joint custody of the parliamentary party with shouty-angry dad Patrick Harvie, gave a masterclass in getting under Nicola Sturgeon’s […]

Stirling Tory HQ is oddly hushed for the middle of a General Election campaign. All eyes are on Sky News and most hands clamped around steaming mugs of tea. Outside a biting smirr is building to a downpour. The TV commands the room because of who is on it: Nigel Farage. He is announcing that […]

The solitary joy of election campaigns is when politicians and journalists encounter the voters, those strange creatures they shelter from in parliaments and television studios the rest of the time. The voters are an unreliable sort. They don’t conform to the message grid, ask all the wrong questions and actually expect answers. These are people […]