Stephen Daisley

We will try to get through this week’s column without mentioning the B-word. Not because our relations with Europe aren’t important but because other things are important, too. Politicians, journalists and party activists may be glued to Sky News and Twitter for the latest chat on meaningful votes and Malthouse compromises but many voters haveContinue reading "Outcomes must matter most if NHS ailments are to be remedied"

An unseasonally sunny day at Holyrood found MSPs in a breezy, end-of-term mood. Parliament goes into recess next week, or rather Brexcess, for the Presiding Officer has warned he’ll recall members in the unlikely event things don’t go to plan at Westminster and we find ourselves on the brink of no-deal Brexit. In which case,Continue reading "The melancholy eyes and drooping jowls of a Basset hound"

I don’t know about you but I’ve about had my fill of politics. I write about this horrific racket for a living but even I have been worn down by the tedium, the inertia, the grandstanding, the sanctimony and the self-serving careerism on display at Westminster. Last Friday was supposed to be Brexit’s big openingContinue reading "No April Fools — imagine Corbyn and Sturgeon running Britain"

Cyclone Brexit continues its destructive path through British politics. Wrecking careers and upturning certainties, it sends most of us fleeing for shelter every time the evening news comes on. This week, the tempest claimed the political life of Theresa May, who vowed to stand down if MPs backed her in the third meaningful vote onContinue reading "The next Prime Minister will have to fight for the Union"

Eight seconds in, the Presiding Officer called a halt to First Minister’s Questions. What sweet mercy was this? Up in the public gallery, a delegation of student environmentalists had unfurled green flags to protest climate change. A terribly polite young woman tried to ask Nicola Sturgeon for action on emissions but was cut off byContinue reading "Flag-waving oddballs. Flag-waving oddballs, everywhere"

By the time you read this, Theresa May could already be gone as Prime Minister. The Sunday papers spread out before me form a tapestry of treachery, the headlines booming with news of a fresh coup against the PM. A dozen or so Cabinet members are said to be involved in the plot, which willContinue reading "Theresa May’s successor must fight for Britain’s soul"

Flipping through my calendar over the weekend, my eye fell on this coming Sunday. There was something special about it but it wasn’t a birthday or family occasion, nor had I agreed to meet up with a source to conspire over a beer or six. Then it hit me: this would have been the thirdContinue reading "The economic case for independence will always be a loser"

In the 15 months since he became Scottish Labour leader, I have suggested Richard Leonard lacked the killer instinct needed at First Minister’s Questions. I have bemoaned his earnestness and failure to play dirty. I would now like to withdraw these scurrilous allegations. At Holyrood on Thursday, Leonard delivered a slow-burn own that will haveContinue reading "Richard Leonard: An Apology"

It was the shortest crime caper since Wile E Coyote lit the fuse on an ACME rocket then forgot to let go. Thursday morning’s papers had brought news of a speech by SNP deputy leader Keith Brown in which he hinted that Nicola Sturgeon might hold a second independence referendum even if Westminster said No.Continue reading "Sturgeon slaps down Looney Tunes by ruling out ACME independence"

It is the thorniest dilemma of the social media age: When, if ever, is it appropriate to ‘unfriend’ someone on Facebook? That rollcall on the right-hand margin of your screen is the real sidebar of shame. The school chums you looked up for a laugh, or a nosey; the university friendships that have not survivedContinue reading "Vaccine truthers going viral threatens everyone’s health"