Category Archives: Daily Mail

MSPs were heading off for their summer holidays but there was some last-minute business to attend to. Holyrood debated changes to the rules and members lined up to welcome the measures. This strongly indicated they hadn’t read them since they will allow the Presiding Officer to cut MSPs off mid-sentence when they get too long-winded.ContinueContinue reading “Nicola: The figures are wrong. Kez: Eh, they’re yours, actually.”

The referendum is dead. Long live the referendum. Nicola Sturgeon’s statement to Holyrood was billed as a ‘reset’ of her strategy on independence. She had gambled on anger at Brexit bringing her a majority for independence but the numbers did not materialise. Still, she pressed on, in some desperate hope that she could berate theContinueContinue reading “The lady’s not for turning on independence”

This is the week Nicola Sturgeon never expected to face. The First Minister is preparing to address the question of a second independence referendum. When she announced her drive for a rerun of the first plebiscite, and pushed through a vote on it at Holyrood, it looked like discontent over Brexit could carry her overContinueContinue reading “Now Sturgeon must show humility — and get on with the day job”

In fairness to Nicola Sturgeon, Kezia Dugdale started it. The Scottish Labour leader, spoiling for a fight, told First Minister’s Questions: ‘This week, the Scottish National Party unveiled plans to cut taxes for wealthy air travellers and voted to cut off puppy dogs’ tails.’ The First Minister bared her teeth. John Swinney yapped excitedly atContinueContinue reading “Watching Trump’s Twitter come to life at FMQs”

It was an act of unforgivable cruelty. On Thursday, education secretary John Swinney stood up at Holyrood and dashed the hopes of hundreds of parents and children when he announced the Scottish Government would not support the campaign to save St Joseph’s. You might not have heard of this primary school in Milngavie, East DunbartonshireContinueContinue reading “A lesson for inept politicians from parents fighting to control their school”

In 1969, the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross published her theory that, after a shocking loss, grief comes in five stages. First, there is denial, which gives way to anger, and then to an attempt to bargain away the pain. After this, comes depression and finally, when the truth can be postponed no longer, there is acceptance.ContinueContinue reading “The SNP will soon learn why denial eventually turns into grief”

If you hadn’t heard of Nick Timothy or Fiona Hill before this weekend, you are not alone. The Prime Minister’s co-chiefs of staff (the government oversees a sluggish economy but it knows how to create jobs in all the right places) have resigned their posts in the wake of Theresa May’s calamitous election result. TheContinueContinue reading “Ditch the West Wing fantasists… it’s time to embrace a new politics”

It was the night of the long claymores. One after one, the frontline of Scottish nationalism fell. Alex Salmond — gone. Angus Robertson — gone. John Nicolson — gone. The terrain of the nation’s politics has been redrawn; familiar peaks have collapsed and new ascents have risen in their place. Scottish politics has changed aContinueContinue reading “The night of the long claymores”

Ruth Davidson enjoys First Minister’s Questions beyond what is proper and decent. There are a dozen members of the public watching — half if there’s a Columbo on ITV2 — but the Scottish Tory leader puts on a show for them. How she relishes tormenting Nicola Sturgeon. Before Miss Davidson became head of the oppositionContinueContinue reading “Last time she told a whopper was a generation ago”