Alex Salmond launches new pro-independence party Alex Salmond launches new pro-independence party Former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond is launching a new pro-independence party which will stand in the Scottish Parliament election. Salmonds’s new Alba Party is expected to field at least four candidates in each regional list. “I’m announcing the public launch of a new political force: the Alba Party,” Salmond said in a statement broadcast on [...]
Boris must find the bandwidth to take on Sturgeon – and keep the UK united Boris must find the bandwidth to take on Sturgeon - and keep the UK united Being prime minister is not an easy job. Whether you adopt the approach of Thatcher’s four-hours-a-night, or Macmillan’s retreating to Trollope novels at moments of extreme stress, it is a position which occupies your every waking (and probably many a sleeping) moment; the situation is not helped by the fact that the vast majority of [...]
Boris Johnson in hot water after calling Scottish devolution a ‘disaster’ PM sparks anger by calling Scottish devolution a ‘disaster’ Prime Minister Boris Johnson has riled Scottish independence campaigners and some of his own party after calling the devolution of powers to Holyrood “a disaster”. The comments came during a call with around 60 English Conservative MPs, during which Johnson promised to pump money into infrastructure projects in the north. His comments were seized upon [...]
Nicola Sturgeon talks a good game, but Scottish independence would be a catastrophe July 10, 2020 For everything Boris Johnson does, you can be certain Nicola Sturgeon will announce something different. While Boris blusters, Nicola states clearly and simply why and how her policies to protect Scotland are going to happen. Where Boris is distracted, she is focused. She’s a highly effective politician, who misses no opportunity to distance Scotland from [...]
Scottish referendum revisited: Is an independent Scotland becoming inevitable? September 7, 2015 A fortnight today (18 September) will mark the first anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum – arguably the most important political event any of us in Scotland have experienced – giving pause for reflection on a year that has seen the referendum losers seem like winners, and vice versa. Despite the relatively decisive [...]
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna calls for federal UK with an English parliament during speech in Washington D.C. July 23, 2015 A federal Britain with a separate English parliament is the best way to hold the union together, says Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary. In a speech in Washington DC, he argued the best way to hold the union together is to give parts of it more autonomy, especially in light of the surge for support [...]
Against the Grain: What Yanis Varoufakis can learn from a real game theory master – Nicola Sturgeon June 23, 2015 The gracious Palladian architecture of Edinburgh has often led the city to be described as the Athens of the North. If the referendum result had gone the other way, much closer parallels would have rapidly emerged. A high spending left wing government, faced with a collapse in revenues due to the fall in the oil [...]
Nicola Sturgeon calls for devolved government leaders to have input into EU renegotiation June 19, 2015 Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland, has demanded that her views should be heard in David Cameron's renegotiation talks with the EU. As the Prime Minister continues his discussions with EU leaders in a diplomatic blitz of Europe, Sturgeon called for a "forum" which would allow the administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to [...]
SNP calls for full fiscal autonomy for Scotland but Tory minister slams it as a “shambles” June 16, 2015 The SNP is using its newly acquired Westminster clout to push for more powers to be devolved to Scotland. The party, which is now the third largest in Parliament, has sent a letter to the government's Scottish secretary David Mundell calling for more Holyrood powers. Under its plans, Scotland would be able to control corporation tax, capital [...]
Bills, bills, bills: EU referendum and Scotland bills go before parliament May 28, 2015 Just a day after the Queen's Speech confirmed what we knew the Tories would have to do, a bill has dropped into the House of Commons' in-tray aimed at clearing a path for the in-out vote to take place. The summary of the European Union Referendum Bill says its aim is “to make provision [...]