Alex Massie 
The Philpott case is horrific; so is the attempt to hijack it for any political purpose
The sorry truth of the Philpott case is that almost nothing can be learnt from it. Everything would be so much simpler if there were clear public policy conclusions that… Continue reading
56 Comments
David Cameron’s Legacy? Preserving the Union or presiding over the Break-Up of Britain
Politics is at least partially a matter of perspective. The same object can look very different depending upon the angle from which it is viewed. Which brings me to Brother… Continue reading
36 Comments
Welfare Reform is this government’s most difficult but most popular policy.
I always enjoy Peter Oborne’s columns not least because his opinions are as entertaining, predictably unpredictable, quixotic and changeable as his cricket captaincy. This is not a bad thing. This… Continue reading
6 Comments
Independent Scotland: neoliberal nirvana or Scandinavian paradise?
So, an independent Scotland. Neoliberal nirvana or Scandinavian paradise? True, these are not the only choices available but as a useful shorthand for the size of the state and its… Continue reading
40 Comments
Happy Easter
I’m away to Jura* for the Easter weekend, so it’s improbable there will be much posting happening around here. I hope you all have a splendid weekend, especially those of… Continue reading
8 Comments
Scotland’s War on Clothes: Be Careful What You Wear
Welcome to Scotland, a land where freedoms of expression and other liberties are treated so seriously that the police and prosecuting authorities would never dream of monitoring and judging the… Continue reading
79 Comments
The Scottish Tories Cross Their Rubicon
Alea iacta est. And not before time. More than a year ago and at the outbreak of this independence referendum virus I wrote an article for this magazine arguing that,… Continue reading
23 Comments
Referendum Spin: Beware the Tory Bogeymen!
So we have our date with destiny. Scotland will march to the polls nine days after the 501st anniversary of the Battle of Flodden. September, 18th 2014. There are fewer… Continue reading
106 Comments
The Boys of the Green Brigade
Och, now’s the hour and now’s the day for the Historic Announcement of the Historic Date for Scotland’s Historic Referendum on Independence. It’s only taken the SNP the best part… Continue reading
60 Comments
A Budget That Could Have Been Delivered By Alistair Darling
Let us begin with a statement upon which everyone can agree: Aspiration Nation is a rubbish phrase that should be abandoned forthwith. Robert Colvile is correct about this. Secondly, the budget… Continue reading
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An Antediluvian Tory Press Causes Problems for David Cameron
Today’s papers make dreadful reading for anyone with an interest in modern, reformed conservatism. They are a reminder – if it were needed – that the Tory press is estranged… Continue reading
19 Comments
After Leveson and McCluskey, does Alex Salmond believe in the freedom of the press?
So, it seems some kind of torturous “deal” has been reached in London on how best to regulate the press in the future. If David Cameron’s proposals for a Royal… Continue reading
3 Comments
Nemo me impune lacessit: defending an independent Scotland
Sometimes I wish Conservative cabinet ministers would couch their arguments in favour of the Union in terms of principle, not process or drab accountancy. Philip Hammond, the unimpressive Secretary of… Continue reading
40 Comments
David Cameron won't debate Alex Salmond because televised debates are for losers.
The standard assumption about political debates is that the campaign with most to gain in all in favour of them while the candidate presumed to be the front-runner wants nothing… Continue reading
45 Comments
Death of the Two-State Solution
At the (rejuvenated) New Republic, Ben Birnbaum has a comprehensive and comprehensively-depressing survey of the last-gasp prospects for a two-state solution to the Middle East ‘peace process’. If the two-state… Continue reading
36 Comments
Liam Fox shows David Cameron how to lead the Tories to a historic defeat
I think it is fair to say that Dr Liam Fox has never been one of David Cameron’s chief chums. The former Defence Secretary has, as Paul Goodman notes, been… Continue reading
35 Comments
Ed Miliband's Convenient, Part-Time, Cowardly, Zionism
For a few hours this morning it looked as though Ed Miliband might do something uncharacteristically courageous. The Jewish Chronicle reported that the Labour leader had described himself as a… Continue reading
98 Comments
The worst idea in literary history: Sebastian Faulks is writing a "PG Wodehouse" novel
The history of literature is replete with folly but the news that Sebastian Faulks is writing a novel featuring Reginald Jeeves and Bertram Wooster knocks all other blunders into a… Continue reading
15 Comments
Hugo Chavez: A Clown Masquerading As A Threat
As would-be dictators go, Hugo Chavez was on the clownish end of the repressive spectrum. By the end, however, the joke was wearing thin. He was, as Rory Carroll aptly… Continue reading
23 Comments
The Great Defence Procurement Rip-Off, Housing Edition
There’s no business like government business. Reacting to Philip Hammond’s statement on future army basing yesterday, today’s newspapers have led on either the decision to strip the Desert Rats of… Continue reading
3 Comments