Iain Macwhirter
independence
Lord Smith just needs to get sovereignty and subsidiarity right. The rest falls into place.
“We hold these truths to be self evident”. No, that’s been done. “So long as but one hundred of us are left alive”, Nah, too Braveheart. “There is a Wind of Change…” Sounds a bit flatulent. Across Scotland last week, concerned citizens were penning preambles to their submissions to the Smith Commission on the constitutional … Continue reading
Independence referendum. The morning after the night before.
The Dynamic Earth evolution exhibition opposite the Scottish parliament was not a very happy place to be a 6.00am on the morning of Friday 19th.. The venue of Yes Scotland’s “victory” party had presumably been chosen to suggest that a dynamic new independent Scotland was going to evolve to the next level. Instead Scotland decided … Continue reading
Salmond on a hiding to nothing.
It’s what we in the business call a hiding to nothing. Having been kicked in the currencies by George Osborne last week; and beaten around the head by Jose Manuel Barroso, who said at the weekend that it is “almost impossible” for Scotland to join the European Union, the First Minister Alex Salmond was left … Continue reading
Who’s Afraid of Plan B?
Sunday Herald It was the defining moment in referendum campaign; an event that will resonate through history; a milestone in Scotland’s relations with the rest of the UK. A Tory chancellor, George Osborne, riding into town, laying down the law, and then riding out again without even giving any TV interviews made even many unionists … Continue reading
Zombies. Can Scotland escape the economy of the living dead.
Like me, you probably don’t pay too much attention to the monthly unemployment figures, since they don’t seem to be going anywhere in particular. In fact, something quite extraordinary is happening, which is transforming the world of work, making a nonsense of government policies, like the much criticised Work Programme and turning a once prosperous … Continue reading
Independence warning: the lights will go out if Scotland votes yes.
There are many things that I don’t understand. Like why a day return rail ticket between Edinburgh and Glasgow costs £22 when we are trying to get people to stop using their cars. Or why a cup of coffee costs £2.50 when its ingredients cost 0.5p. But nothing puzzles me more than energy prices. They … Continue reading
Independence – it’s whatever you want it to be.
Sunday Herald 3/2/13 The Scottish Electoral Commissioner, John McCormick, caused a parliamentary row last week by suggesting that both the Unionists and Nationalists should get together and make a “joint statement” on what a yes vote would mean in practice. You might as well try to get the Professor Richard Dawkins and Cardinal … Continue reading
Are the Liberal Democrats more nationalist than Alex Salmond? Discuss.
First there was one option, now there is a whole raft of them. No sooner had Alex Salmond and David Cameron struck the Edinburgh Agreement, and opened the way for a single question referendum on independence for Scotland, when along come the Liberal Democrats with plans for a full-scale federal restructuring of Britain. The … Continue reading
2011. Why I think independence is inevitable.
Spare a thought for Iain Gray this festive season He was by no means a bad politician – as his party discovered when they looked to replace him. But the abiding image of the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election campaign has to be Labour’s Scottish leader seeking refuge in a “Subway” sandwich bar after being … Continue reading
Questions, questions. Just how many options does the SNP need?
Er, just how many questions is that again? Once upon a time independence was a simple matter – you just asked people whether or not they agreed that: “The Scottish Government should negotiate a settlement with the government of the UK so that Scotland becomes an independent state”. That’s how it was in the original … Continue reading
Iain Macwhirter 