Category Archives: Uncategorized

Like one of those self-indulgent Netflix series that hangs around one season too many, Nicola Sturgeon’s starring role has been wearing thin for some time. The First Minister’s season finale came in eight hours of deflection and obfuscation yesterday before the Holyrood committee, the inquiry into how an entire government came down with amnesia aboutContinue reading “Sturgeon speaks”

This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail column for Monday, March 1, 2021. ***** It is not often the Budget is the second item on the news agenda. Yet on Wednesday, when Chancellor Rishi Sunak rises at the despatch box to unveil his spending plans, all eyes will be on parliamentary drama 400Continue reading “Will Sturgeon survive Salmond’s nuclear strike?”

Alex Salmond appeared before the Holyrood inquiry on February 26, 2021. This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail sketch of proceedings.  ***** It has been more than six years since Alex Salmond was First Minister but he continues to haunt Scottish politics. The Ghost of Holyrood Past took physical form in Committee Room No 1, theContinue reading “The Ghost of Holyrood Past returns to haunt Sturgeon”

Nicola Sturgeon faced opposition leaders at First Minister’s Questions on February 25, 2021. This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail sketch of proceedings.  ***** First Minister’s Questions is an unpredictable affair. Sometimes Ruth Davidson gets the better of Nicola Sturgeon. Sometimes Jackie Baillie does. Sometimes Sturgeon barely has to flick open her briefing folder to brushContinue reading “‘Is saving your skin worth all the damage you’re doing?’”

The Lord Advocate appeared before the Scottish Parliament on February 24, 2021 to answer questions on the redaction of Alex Salmond’s evidence to the Holyrood inquiry. This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail sketch of proceedings.  ***** James Wolffe QC cuts a bashful, owlish figure, more suited to an academic symposium than the Holyrood bear pit.Continue reading “Witness for the prosecutors”

Nicola Sturgeon gave a Covid-19 update to the Scottish Parliament on February 23, 2021. This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail sketch of proceedings.  On hectic days like yesterday, with the Crown Office at loggerheads with Holyrood and the First Minister grilled on a much-trumpeted Covid statement, you appreciate the lilting Hebridean tones of Lewis Macdonald.  TheContinue reading “No exit”

Did you know there’s an election in 73 days’ time? I’ve been struck by how many normal people (which is to say, people who don’t watch BBC Parliament to relax) are unaware that Scotland goes to the polls on May 6. Being kept away from Holyrood by the pandemic brings all sorts of disadvantages forContinue reading “Should Scottish elections go ahead during a pandemic?”

Nicola Sturgeon faced opposition leaders at First Minister’s Questions on February 17, 2021. This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail sketch of proceedings.  Achilles had his heel, Superman his Kryptonite and Nicola Sturgeon the merest chance of accountability. Scrutiny is the First Minister’s greatest weakness. She reacts to it like Count Dracula to garlic bread. RuthContinue reading “Sturgeon reacts to scrutiny like Dracula to garlic bread”

Nicola Sturgeon gave a Covid-19 update to the Scottish Parliament on February 16, 2021. This is the text of my Scottish Daily Mail sketch of proceedings.  If you are a parent whose children will soon be going back to primary school, I can only imagine what a relief that will be,’ Nicola Sturgeon remarked yesterday, announcing a ‘phasedContinue reading “Nicola’s miracle of the open and closed churches”

In political combat, treat even your opponents’ empty threats as real. Unionists should bear this principle in mind when approaching the SNP’s sabre-rattling about securing a second independence referendum in the event of a Nationalist majority after May’s Holyrood election.  I remain of the view that Nicola Sturgeon is bluffing to pander to her diehards,Continue reading “UK has a right to protect itself from separatism”