Iain Macwhirter
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It’s not the end of the world, Gordon. Or is it?
Come on Gordon, lighten up. It isn’t the end of the world. So, the Tories are 18% ahead in the latest YouGov poll; there is a summer of industrial discontent looming; you have backbench revolts over tax bands and detention without trial; the economy is heading for recession; inflation has returned with a vengance; people … Continue reading
Scotland will become independent by stealth
So what happens if there is a referendum and Scotland says yes? This question has been hanging over Scottish politics for the last year, but no one has seriously addressed it yet in any practical sense. How exactly do you become an independent country these days? There’s no text book for this kind of thing, … Continue reading
Can Salmond make Westminster dance a Scottish jig?
Is there no end to this man’s vaulting ambition, his audacity, his arrogance? Not content with running the Scottish parliament, Alex Salmond now wants to run Westminster too. He told the SNP conference that with twenty seats at the next general election he could hold the balance of power in the House of Commons. We … Continue reading
Falling house prices are a good thing.
How often must I say it? Falling house prices are a good thing, not a bad thing. It is property madness that got us into this financial mess in the first place, and the credit crisis will not be resolved, will not begin to be resolved, until house prices start to become more rational. That … Continue reading
Why is Gordon Brown hastening the break up of Britain?
Things fall apart; the centre does not hold. Last summer most of us in the McChattering classes thought that, once ‘capability’ Gordon Brown entered Number Ten, many Scots would start to lose their infatuation with nationalism and revert to their traditional allegiance to Labour. Hasn’t happened. Indeed, the moral and political disintegration of Gordon Brown’s … Continue reading
The McChattering Classes is me!
At last it can be revealed: the name of the evil nationalist genius who leads the “McChattering classes” as demonised by the Labour minister David Cairns. For, dear reader, I can reveal that the McChatterer is…myself. Yes, I was outed by Mr Cairns during exchanges last week in the House of Commons. When asked whom … Continue reading
Scottish independence is inevitable – deal with it
This System Three poll, the first since the election to show a slim majority for independence is a wake up call for Labour. But in truth the alarm has been ringing for over a year now, had they only ears to hear it. Scots voters clearly like Alex Salmond’s assertive government, and they are now … Continue reading
Red Wendy – Don’t Believe The Hype.
Fight the cuts with Labour! Kick out the Tartan Tories! Save nursery places, and services for the elderly and children with disabilities! Andy Kerr, the former Labour health minister, told the Scottish Labour conference that the SNP are the new “Thatcherites” turning the clock back to the 1980’s. Wendy Alexander described herself as a “socialist” … Continue reading
Can Brown do a Major?
It’s a measure of how serious things have become for Gordon Brown that people are now comparing him to the former Tory Prime Minister, John Major – if he’s lucky. Like Brown, Major inherited a demoralised party from a highly charismatic leader, Margaret Thatcher. He also inherited a housing crash and an economic recession, but … Continue reading
T5 fiasco. Just send everything to Milan.
When the going gets tough the tough get going – to Milan as it happened. That’s where the beleaguered baggage handlers of London Heathrow’s Terminal Five sent thousands of pieces of luggage to be sorted because they, er, couldn’t handle them. It took twenty four hours to get them to Italy in a fleet of … Continue reading
Iain Macwhirter 