Category Archives: Daily Mail

It’s not a good sign when a sketch writer worries about a breakdown in civility at Holyrood. Parliamentary rammies are our bread and butter; a debate that goes off smoothly is a waste of good ink. Yet last week’s rancorous bout of First Minister’s Questions left me cold and, if I’m honest, troubled. I amContinueContinue reading “Poisoned, partisan – no wonder the public are tired of a tribal Holyrood”

WILLIE: You lied! NICOLA: You’re a pathetic attention seeker! KEN: Leave it out, the pair of you! Bit early for EastEnders, I thought, checking my watch. No, this was First Minister’s Questions, from the hallowed chamber of the nation’s parliament, and Nicola Sturgeon was in the middle of a slanging match that would get herContinueContinue reading “It was worse than chucking out time at the Queen Vic”

I was eight years old before I learned I was a Catholic. We went to Mass every week and the crucifix that stared down at me from above the blackboard at St Monica’s Primary School was something of a giveaway. But that just meant I was a Catholic. What was this Catholic thing all about?ContinueContinue reading “Failed Football Act was never going to rid our nation of its sectarian stain”

‘You have the right to remain silent,’ intones the detective when he finally gets his man. It’s a familiar scene from US cop shows and, from the end of the month, police in Scotland will mimic the procedure when placing suspects under arrest. If Nicola Sturgeon ever decided to pursue a criminal record — beyondContinueContinue reading “There’s been a murder… of open government”

The threat of another independence vote is becoming an annual tradition in the SNP calendar. It seems to come round earlier every year, bringing joy to the world of nationalism and a bleak midwinter to the rest of us. Nicola Sturgeon has again raised the spectre of Indyref2, telling Andrew Marr that she will decideContinueContinue reading “Hugs and puppies? Not a chance in Nicola’s bleak Brexit forecast”

MSPs returned for the inaugural First Minister’s Questions of 2018, rested and refreshed over the New Year and sporting the finest in Christmas-gift fashion.  Johann Lamont snuggled under a fetching ivory woollen scarf while a radioactive tangerine tie threatened to ignite around Jackson Carlaw’s neck. Angela Constance essayed a cranberry painter’s smock that suggested aContinueContinue reading “Poorly? Just be grateful you’re not in Wales…”

The problem with exceptionalism is that sooner or later everyone wants in on it. The Romans claimed to be exceptional and none but the most contrarian observer of history would seek to refute that. The British at the height of the Empire considered themselves a uniquely bold and industrious force, settler of far-off lands, worldContinueContinue reading “Facts are talking down Scotland again”

A two-hour drive from Tokyo, just north-west of Mount Fuji, lurks the sombre sprawl of Aokigahara forest. The Japanese call it Jukai, the ‘Sea of Trees’, for it is dense with softly swaying thickets and devouring tides of silence and solitude. Across 12 square miles of lava rock, Mongolian oaks and hinoki cypresses loom overContinueContinue reading “Two deaths and why lawless social media must now be brought to heel”

It’s resolution time again and I am resolved not to make any since I can never keep them. Last year, I pledged to get back into reading fiction but a quick skim through Derek Mackay’s Budget was more than enough for me. So this year, I have come up with some resolutions for politicians that,ContinueContinue reading “Show some resolve Nicola – don’t say ‘independence’ in 2018. Same for you, Ruth”

Like bad Christmas cracker jokes and rows with relatives, train disruptions seem to be part and parcel of the festive season. Passengers travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh yesterday morning were left stranded after a signalling fault played havoc with the timetable. On what was for many the first day back at work after the YuletideContinueContinue reading “We won’t solve rail chaos by handing SNP a new train set”