The independence referendum has become a straight up left/right fight
There is, of course, a left wing case for opposing Scottish independence. It is articulated best by the likes of Owen Jones – ‘we shouldn’t divide the working class’. Likewise, there is, of course, a right wing case for independence – the Scottish Enterprise Party got a handful of votes for espousing it, once upon [...]
Scottish Independence: the no campaign and how to deal with it
It is becoming clear what the strategy of the ‘no’ to independence campaign will be: confusion. So far, we’ve had a few opening shots: lines which the UK nationalists presumably hope will ricochet down the next couple of years: what will currency be? What about the Scottish army? Even, ‘who will own Rockall‘? OK, maybe [...]
The Scottish Independence Debate and England
I’ve just finished listening to a particularly unenlightening discussion of the UK’s constitutional future on BBC Radio 4 and, once again, I’m left despairing at the shallowness of the analysis. For a start, this is not just a debate about Scotland and England. There are two other nations in the United Kingdom which the BBC [...]
Sometimes We Win
After the heartbreaking defeats of several popular anti-cuts campaigns in the last few months, we can sometimes forget that campaigning isn’t always a futile activity. But yesterday, after a six-month-long campaign by local residents, the City of Edinburgh Council voted to reject proposals to privatise two major service areas. The proposals were part of an [...]
Three things about the independence referendum scrap
First: let’s get one thing straight. Nations have a right to self determination in international law. David Cameron may quibble about the devolved powers of the Holyrood Parliament under the Scotland Act. He may even, if it came to a battle in the international court, win. In my experience the arc of judicial rulings bend [...]
Privatisation and the SNP
While Alex Salmond received a hero’s welcome at the SNP conference in Inverness last weekend, controversy has been brewing back in Edinburgh. On Thursday, the City of Edinburgh Council – led by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats and SNP – will be taking the first of a series of votes on whether council services [...]
On the North Sea oil spill
So, it turns out that the Shell oil leak is anything but contained. After three days of telling no one that there was a leak in the North Sea, Shell finally fessed up. Eventually, they admitted it was the biggest in more than a decade, but claimed to have it under control. Now, it appears [...]
Save Our Services: East Edinburgh Edition
Sometimes, something happens that restores your faith in activism, and humanity in general. This week, I had one of those moments at a public meeting for Save Our Services East Edinburgh. I’ve been to a lot of meetings since the Coalition government came to power, and not all of them have been terribly interesting or [...]
On the future of food in Scotland – an interview with Pete Ritchie (part 2)
Part 1 appeared yesterday, you can read it here And thus politics comes into full focus. There is a lot that can be said about the SNP’s recent landslide in the Scottish elections, but for Pete their attitude to food is worth mentioning: “Of all the parties they are by far the strongest on both [...]
The SNP won through faith; now they must make it real
I was asked to write a contribution to the Our Kingdom debate on the Scottish Spring. This piece first appeared there. If you aren’t from Scotland, the scale of the political earthquake may be hard to understand. For me, it’s been nearly a week now. It still hasn’t sunk in. Every stop on the Clockwork [...]
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