Alex Salmond says second Scottish independence referendum “inevitable” July 26, 2015 He may have failed in his attempt to lead Scotland to independence, but former First Minister and now SNP MP in Westminster Alex Salmond, believes it's not the end of the dream. He has called a second vote on Scottish independence "inevitable" speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning. "I think a [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
As Nicola Sturgeon demands more powers, is a second Scottish independence vote inevitable? May 17, 2015 Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, says Yes. The genie is out of the bottle, the toothpaste out of the tube. Pick whichever metaphor you like, but be sure of one thing: it’s a case of “when”, not “if”. The SNP is simply biding its time, waiting for its chance. [...]
Nicola Sturgeon’s EU mischief-making is a taste of the political blackmail to come April 29, 2015 Both Sinn Fein and the SNP launched their General Election manifestos last week, demanding that, in any future referendum, all four nations of the UK must agree to leave the European Union before it can happen. If ever there was a policy that claims to be about unity when it is all about fomenting division, [...]
Neverendum revisited: The break-up of the Union is more likely than ever April 26, 2015 Like some George Romero zombie film sequel, the Scottish question simply refuses to die. As I posited in September last year, the supposedly definitive referendum vote was likely to be anything but that. Rather, Scotland’s status in the Union was more likely to morph into a “Neverendum” – a huge, unsolved, existential distraction that would [...]
General Election 2015: SNP could be eyeing a second Scottish independence referendum as early as 2016 April 8, 2015 As the tension and torture of last year’s Scottish independence referendum fade away, the resurgent SNP wants to go again – perhaps as early as next year. In a TV debate between the four Scottish party leaders, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said that although the SNP candidates standing for election in Westminster in May would [...]
This is how the SNP could get another referendum, scrap trident, and get a high-speed train to Edinburgh March 22, 2015 Just how costly for England could a Labour capitulation in Scotland be? Alex Salmond, the former leader of the Scottish National Party, has suggested that a pact between Labour and the SNP could end up costing Westminster a second referendum, its Trident nuclear programme, and more cash. Some polls suggest Labour could lose all its [...]
From Greece to Scotland via BT and EE: What got us talking this week February 6, 2015 It was all Greek to us this week Specifically, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who visited London as part of a Europe-wide charm offensive to support his plan for solving the small matter of the country's giant debt. Free market think tank Adam Smith Institute gave its backing to his debt restructuring [...]
Banks dust off plans for Scottish independence as SNP coalition forecast raises referendum prospect February 4, 2015 Britain's high street banks are dusting off their contingency plans for Scottish independence, City A.M. understands, as the prospect of a coalition government including the Scottish Nationalists raises the chance of another referendum. Although the plan for Scotland to leave the UK was defeated in a vote in September, growing support for the SNP means [...]