Author Archives: Editor

I wouldn’t want to be Douglas Ross. Given my knowledge of Scottish football was only recently updated with the startling information that Dundee has two teams, that is probably for the best.  But the challenges facing the latest Scottish Tory leader are more daunting than anything he has encountered on the football pitch. He assumesContinue reading “Douglas Ross must blow the whistle on Tory failings”

There is a frisson in the air around constitutional matters, an abrupt zing of urgency at Westminster about the future of the Union. After years of indolence, ministers have suddenly awoken to the scale and immediacy of the threat to the United Kingdom. The ‘resignation’ of Jackson Carlaw, the candidacy of Douglas Ross and theContinue reading “Boris needs Avengers for his Union fightback”

Jackson Carlaw’s leadership of the Scottish Conservatives will not be remembered as one of the party’s high points. But while his personal qualities as a leader, a strategist and a communicator are plainly not beyond reproach, neither do they fully explain why he is stepping down after just six months in the job. Certainly, heContinue reading “A new Act of Union is needed to save the United Kingdom”

Jackson Carlaw is a man of his party. He was forged by it, shaped by its triumphs and more often its defeats, but he carried its banner loyally and with the very best humour, even through the lean years of the 1990s. His decision to resign works that same seam of duty: party before personalContinue reading “Jackson Carlaw gave his all but it wasn’t enough”

Tony Blair won Labour three elections and one day they might forgive him for it. The former leader cuts a sombre figure these days, the Labour elder statesman few in Labour want to listen to anymore. The Conservatives would do well to perk up their ears, however, because if there is one thing Blair knowsContinue reading “How Keir Starmer can win in Scotland”

Dear Boris, Welcome back to Scotland. It’s always good to see a Prime Minister travelling north of the border, even when he isn’t convinced there is a border. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy to see you and some nationalists even think you ought to have secured permission to come here. That is absurd, though noContinue reading “Letter to a Prime Minister in more trouble than he realises”

They say the older you get the more right-wing you get but I find myself becoming more contemptuous of politicians of all stripes. Maybe this is how the education of a young idealist plays out: the faster the years pass, the greater the impatience with the failure of political promises to manifest in material change.Continue reading “That’s not a power grab, THIS is a power grab”

Poor old Boris. He’s not even been Prime Minister a full year and already his replacement is being anointed. Rishi Sunak is the heir apparent, apparently, and it is not simply because of his largesse with the national credit card. His handling of the coronavirus recession has been impressive, not least for managing to keepContinue reading “Sunak’s bailout billions mean tough choices ahead”

Patriotism can take many forms but the real dividing line is between inclusion and exclusion. Inclusive patriotism sees love of country as a uniting force, something that can transcend social, racial and religious differences to bring people together. A patriot’s admiration and sense of duty are not contained within lines on a map and heContinue reading “Stand up for the Union or lose it”

Sometimes I wonder if Nicola Sturgeon ever sleeps. Not only does she have to run the country and the campaign to set up a new country, but leading the Covid-19 response has brought her an unexpected career move: live TV host. As lunchtime talk shows go, her daily coronavirus updates are grim, repetitive, and depressing, butContinue reading “Praise be! Pubs (and churches) to re-open”