SNP
Brown’s hypocrisy over Lockerbie?
So far, Gordon Brown has refused to specifically comment on the Scottish Government’s decision to release Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi to Libya. Yes, we’ve heard that he was "angry and repulsed"… Continue reading
49 CommentsDelicately poised in Scotland
Despite a week of international codemnation, a YouGov poll shows that 42 per cent of Scottish voters still agree with Kenny MacAskill’s decision to release al-Megrahi, whereas 51 per cent… Continue reading
11 CommentsLockerbie & Occam’s Razor
So, I’ve got this correct, the initial reaction to Kenny MacAskill’s decision to free the Lockerbie bobmber was that this demonstrated nothing but the SNP’s provincialism. Small-toon politicians desperate to… Continue reading
21 CommentsLockerbie Decision: The Backlash Begins
I was wrong. I argued that people can disagree in good faith on the question as to whether Kenny MacAskill was correct to let Abdebaset Ali al-Megrahi return to Libya… Continue reading
21 CommentsSending the Lockerbie Bomber Home
I could have done without Kenny MacAskill talking quite so much about our values "as a people", if only because, as Fraser writes, we actually often do insist that prisoners… Continue reading
8 CommentsLatest Lockerbie Conspiracy: Megrahi is an SNP Agent!
Well, sort of. If one only paid attention to what Hillary Clinton or (some of) the relatives of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing said, you might gain the false… Continue reading
27 CommentsBig Business & Big Government, Together Again…
There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the Scottish government’s desire to set alcohol prices. Not the least of them is that, in addition to the usual health… Continue reading
3 CommentsThe SNP, Cricket and Soft Unionism
There were at least a dozen people on my flight from Edinburgh to Cardiff last week who were clearly heading to Wales to watch the test match. This was not… Continue reading
12 CommentsA Desperate Prime Minister’s Desperate Ploy
Although I’ve long felt that the Unionist parties would have been well-advised to call Alex Salmond’s bluff and have an independence referendum as soon as possible (like, er, this year),… Continue reading
1 CommentThe View from the North
Away from the BNP and the Woes of Brown (which sounds like an Aberfeldy tea-room or something) the other notable european result came in Scotland where the SNP’s handsome victory… Continue reading
4 CommentsEasy Populism
In her speech yesterday Annabel Goldie decried the cheap and easy populism that she, rightly, described as the SNP’s approach to government. Fair enough. A shame, therefore, that she resorted… Continue reading
5 CommentsThe Royal Navy vs the SNP
Alex Salmond may argue that Scotland is "two thirds" of the way towards independence (though even if Salmond is correct that doesn’t mean independence is necessarily imminent) but the Royal… Continue reading
16 CommentsAre the SNP even more deluded than Labour? Why, yes, they are!
Scottish public spending has essentially doubled (albeit in absolute terms) since Labour came to power. (To what end, you ask? To very little end, I reply.) Now the British government… Continue reading
10 CommentsSNP to World: Help!
How would the SNP have delat with the banking crisis? The FT’s Jim Pickard points out that "This is a valid question. The rescue of the Scottish banks has cost… Continue reading
10 CommentsNo Scottish Referendum?
It’s not been a great couple of weeks for Alex Salmond, has it? First there was the budget hullabaloo, then the SNP was compelled to abandon (at least for the… Continue reading
20 CommentsDavid Cameron’s Peculiar Unionism
David Cameron’s op-ed in Scotland on Sunday this week was interesting. Not because of anything that Cameron said but because it appeared at all. It’s another small indication that the… Continue reading
15 CommentsKarl Rove and the SNP
I doubt many Nationalists would welcome the comparison but facts are stubborn things and the fact is that the SNP and Mr Rove have quite a bit in common. Just… Continue reading
4 CommentsThe Scottish Tory Dilemma
Someone needs to tell Tom Harris MP that the "Unionist" in the "Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party" referred to the Union with Ireland, not that between Scotland and England. Equally,… Continue reading
0 CommentsWhy will no-one support independence?
Commenter Rab O'Ruglen doesn't have much sympathy for the crisis afflicting the Tartan press: While I have every sympathy for those who find themselves in employment difficulties through no fault… Continue reading
3 CommentsGlenrothes By-Election Stunner!
It's all very well and good getting excited about the American elections. But let's face it, they were but the appetiser before today's Westminster by-election in Glenrothes. The Kingdom of… Continue reading
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