In June 2012 I wrote an article speculating about what a No vote in the first independence referendum would mean for Scotland. The following now seems quite prophetic. The British political establishment will rapidly move to assert the sovereignty of…
The First Minister understates the issue. It is not merely that devolution is being challenged, but that the very existence of the Scottish Parliament is under threat. The threat is real. And it is immediate. To understand what is going…
The “Great Tory Power Grab” has been coming for some time. From a British establishment perspective, devolution has gone terribly wrong. It was never the intention that Scotland should have a real parliament. It was never envisaged that we would…
As we would expect and, indeed, as is proper for the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon does no more than hint at the threat to the Scottish Parliament. But be in no doubt that the threat is real. The…
While I’m far from convinced that British Labour’s motives in devising Scotland’s electoral system were all that ‘noble’, Eric Joyce’s phrase “a cynical abuse of a system designed for a noble purpose” does seem to perfectly describe the situation that has…
Holyrood has witnessed some unedifying sights in the ten years since the electorate chose to hand the reins of government to the SNP and the British parties responded by embarking on a petulant tantrum that continues to this day. It…
“Standing up – not standing by”! The lectern in front of John McDonnell groans under the planet-weight irony of this legend as he announces that British Labour will be “standing up” from a supine orientation. They will be “standing by”…
The question that immediately springs to mind on reading David Leask’s article is “Why?”. Why contrive all these complex immigration arrangements in order to allow Scotland only a little of the power needed to address the issue acknowledged by the…
It would be interesting to see some comparison with previous practice so as to illuminate The Herald’s claims of an SNP “power grab”. Something a conscientious journalist would do as a matter of course. If one takes the relatively small…