In a leafy suburb on the outskirts of Glasgow, a quiet revolution in faith schooling is under way. Pupils and teachers in Newton Mearns might be counting down the weeks till the summer holidays but come the autumn they launch a bold experiment. For around 650 youngsters will start the next school year at aContinue reading "A quiet revolution in faith schooling"
SNP facing a fight as Scots turn to Tories
Like a faded starlet spurned by the spotlight, Scotland is struggling to pull in the crowds this election season. We got used to being the centre of attention in the 2014 independence referendum and again in 2015 when it looked like Britain was heading for a hung parliament with the SNP as kingmakers. Last May,Continue reading "SNP facing a fight as Scots turn to Tories"
#FMQs sketch: Why does Murdo Fraser hate Scotland?
And so, on the eve of Scotland’s local election, it fell to Murdo Fraser, the Tories' chief Nat-baiter, to stoke the political fire. He riled the SNP by asking Nicola Sturgeon about Scotland's low rates of immigration. First Minister's Questions had been brought forward to avoid a clash with today's vote. Thoughtlessly so, since thisContinue reading "#FMQs sketch: Why does Murdo Fraser hate Scotland?"
The moral agony of the lifelong Labour voter
It’s the dilemma facing millions of moderate Labour voters: can they in good conscience support their party this time around without endorsing Jeremy Corbyn? This is no mere academic puzzler. Many are horrified at the transformation of their party from Europe’s most successful social democratic movement into a glorified protest group, and one with moreContinue reading "The moral agony of the lifelong Labour voter"
The boring mystery of Theresa May
Theresa May spent the weekend in Scotland and not even the civilised bit. The Prime Minister was posted to the wilds of Aberdeenshire, which are handsome and underpopulated but not exactly a commuter hub. Journalists grumbled about the remoteness of the location, well aware that inaccessibility was the point. May has not been campaigning inContinue reading "The boring mystery of Theresa May"
Every time Sturgeon shouts ‘Tory’ another voter decides to give them a go
I’m not saying Ruth Davidson is planning to kill your family dog but I’d keep an eye on her. I have no evidence that she is a menace to canines or anyone else, but I’ve been listening to Nicola Sturgeon’s speeches and it seems there is no depravity foreign to the Scottish Tory leader. AddressingContinue reading "Every time Sturgeon shouts ‘Tory’ another voter decides to give them a go"
The cruel hounding of Tim Farron is bloodsport for secularists
For the benefit of Sky News, standard Christian doctrine says gay sex is a sin. It’s the sin that gives sinning a good name. There ought to be a stewards’ inquiry into why it didn’t make it into the Ten Commandments. But, yes, it’s one of those trespasses we ask to be forgiven. Sky’s DarrenContinue reading "The cruel hounding of Tim Farron is bloodsport for secularists"
Rennie’s ram raid raised a laugh but his Lib Dems must be taken seriously
Denis Healey famously described a Commons jeremiad from Geoffrey Howe as ‘like being savaged by a dead sheep’. Willie Rennie has gone one better and managed to get himself savaged by a live one. The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader was doing a photo-op at a farm in Kelty, Fife last week when one of theContinue reading "Rennie’s ram raid raised a laugh but his Lib Dems must be taken seriously"
Voting Green is about feeling morally superior to lesser mortals
In this, as in all things, Paul Keating was right. It was the former Aussie Prime Minister, a Beethoven of political invective, who called his country’s Green Party ‘a bunch of opportunists and Trots hiding behind a gum tree trying to pretend they’re the Labor Party’. Keating’s acid scherzo could apply just as readily toContinue reading "Voting Green is about feeling morally superior to lesser mortals"
Len McCluskey’s hollow victory
Len McCluskey has seen off a challenge to be elected to a third term at the helm of Unite. And what a seeing off it was. When the votes starting to come in, and reportedly showed the top two contenders neck-and-neck, McCluskey’s rival was promptly suspended. Gerard Coyne was stripped of his duties as West MidlandsContinue reading "Len McCluskey’s hollow victory"
Stephen Daisley 