Scottish referendum
No parallels with Ireland as a pro-union strategy in Scotland begins to emerge at last
Tweet There were risks in sending a posh English boy like George Osborne to Scotland to warn that it might be no doddle for an independent Scotland to continue using sterling as its currency. The move might yet backfire among thrawn Scots if the English try to put the frighteners on them. Like pointing out [...] more »
Referendum blues
Tweet Bad news for the Yes campaign for Scottish independence, analysed by the psephological guru of gurus John Curtice. It’s a debate worth following not only for its own sake but for how issues wider than the border itself might feed into any referendum debate in Ireland. First off, the headline: just 23% now say that “Scotland [...] more »
Bold alternative urgently needed to Scottish independence
Tweet In Scotland the Better Together campaign has deservedly come in for some stick. The pro-Union cause has so far failed to agree on devo-more, the alternative to independence many politically aware Scots seem to want. (Incidentally if it ever comes to an NI referendum, their website is not the model to follow: remarkably for a [...] more »
Independence only for the Scottish referendum – DailyTelegraph
Tweet The strongly pro Union Daily Telegraph boldly claims that Alex Salmond is about to concede that the referendum should be about the single question of independence when the details are finalised next month. This must be in part because of the difficulty in framing a clear second question about the extent to which devolution [...] more »
No breakthrough yet for either side over Scotttish independence
Tweet On opinion in favour of a separate Scottish State, the British Social Attitudes survey reports little change. The 32% who supported independence was nine points higher than in 2010 but two points lower than in 2005…. However, the research also suggested 43% of people in Scotland wanted Holyrood to make “all” decisions. The higher figure [...] more »
Gordon Brown may not have helped the Union cause
Tweet The papers have caught up with Slugger on Gordon Brown’s emergence from political purdah to join the debate over Scottish independence. Brown it will be noted isn’t claiming an Olympic effect on a referendum that’s over two years away. His argument is in two parts; first, the Better Together case. One thing I [...] more »
“it is in the public interest to know the type of information that the Ministers were taking into account”
Tweet Here’s a little referendum related snippet from Scotland. The Scottish government is reportedly “surprised” at a recent ruling by the country’s Freedom of Information Commissioner. In response to a request by Labour MEP Catherine Stihler on 30 May last year, the Scottish government had refused to confirm or deny whether it had received legal advice [...] more »
Scottish independence: Can Alistair Darling at the head of the pro-Union campaign match Alex Salmond?
Tweet Alistair Darling is to spearhead a Save the Union campaign of all the pro-union parties in Scotland, according to a Mail on Sunday scoop. The former Chancellor has just confirmed the story on the Marr show, although the BBC website has still to catch up with it.The report says the plan was hatched in true [...] more »
“The last thing the Northern Isles want is to be ruled by Glasgow trade unionists and Edinburgh lawyers…”
Tweet At the Guardian’s Scotland Blog, Severin Carrell notes the independently-minded Shetland and Orkney Lib Dem MSPs Tavish Scott and Liam McArthur’s attempt to play Alex Salmond at his own game – with a joint, “at best provocative and, in constitutional terms, at least playful”, submission to the UK government’s consultation on the independence referendum. Short [...] more »
Scotland – Ascherson still not decided on independence…
Tweet Always liked the bloke – but at 79 years old I thought he might have made his mind up….. From the New York Times. Even larger questions would loom. Would there still be a place called “Britain”? Would Scottish independence finally force the English to rediscover their own national voice, instead of hiding their [...] more »
Scottish referendum: the unionist case is still all over the place
Tweet The unionist split shows no sign of closing. The Aberdonian Tory cabinet minister and Surrey MP Michael Gove echoes my “England is sulking “ theory and delivers some pretty sharp words to his own side. …While there is a threat posed by Scottish separatism, he added, “there is also a threat, under-appreciated, from [...] more »
Scottish referendum: ‘Devo more’ could be a unionist runner
Tweet On the subject of greater powers for Holyrood, there’s something of a right wing split between the Telegraph newspapers and the darling of the Tory grass roots, blogger Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome. The Sunday Telegraph leader dealt with the subject with a knowledge of the subject that would disgrace an unpaid intern: To concede [...] more »
It’s the English question now, stupid
Tweet The Scottish media were a PhD dissertation about chippiness all unto themselves,” reflected Mr Blair in his memoirs, the Times editorial (£) recalled. By those standards, it seems Dave’s nervous apologia for the Union in Edinburgh fitted the bill after all, presentation wise. Substance was more problematical. In the Times (£) the august Scots [...] more »
Scottish referendum no further forward
Tweet “Spin” the Telgraph acidly calls it, while the home- based Herald labels it “confusion“ There are different views, of course, on the timescale that the Scottish Government has set out. I don’t think that is a serious argument any more.” However, Mr Moore later insisted that he timing question was far from settled and [...] more »
Referendum demands may be catching
Tweet In that interview trailed by Pete below, the Examiner itself highlights the DPM’s soft voiced approach to an early referendum on unity. Have Alex Salmond’s tactics found their Irish imitator? The deputy first minister believes the Democratic Unionist Party can be persuaded to agree to such a dramatic move. more »
Maybe the referendum question is not so simple
Tweet I may have spoken too soon about the clarity of Alex Salmond’s preferred referendum question : do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country? The Today programme took the trouble to ask a professor in Arizona who had never heard of Big Eck if the wording was fair. Sure, it was completely [...] more »
‘Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’
Tweet Well, the essential question proposed by Alex Salmond in his consultation paper is surely good enough to satisfy the UK government’s requirement for a clear question on independence. That’s one stumbling block out of the way, I reckon. But Westminster ‘s rival paper is clearly opposed to a second question on anything like devo max. [...] more »
Paxman: the gowk goes over the top.
Tweet Playing the man I know but needs saying: Not Newsnight’s finest hour. After a twee introduction from a whisky sampling reporter then came Paxman’s interview with the Times’s Briton of the year. You can see some of it here. Zimbabwe, Mugabe, One party State?? Opting out of the BBC? the cheek of it all. [...] more »
Scotland: Degrees of Freedom.
Tweet Devo Max (or Full Fiscal Autonomy) seems to be getting some traction. There’s been two big name proponents over the last week or so. Canon Kenyon Wright wrote to the Herald: My own view is that a straight choice between independence and the status quo effectively disenfranchises a large number of Scots who want neither. [...] more »
Another Post on Scotland…..
Tweet A few things: 1) A letter to the Scotsman from Lord Kilclooney (John Taylor): As an Ulster Scot I know there would be concern in Northern Ireland should Scotland vote to leave the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is not only geographically close to Scotland but shares more with Scotland than with any other country. When [...] more »
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Books
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Spare us a phoney row about racism, we’ve got enough on
Tweet A silly media row about racism just had to figure in the riots’ post mortem. Was the Tudor history expert David Starkey racist on Newsnight when he said: The whites have become black. A particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion. And black and white, boy and girl, operate [...] read our review »
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It’s Derry again – with London and Liverpool, commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic
Tweet From the Dalai Lama to a “ VVIP” at the weekend, Londonderry is proving quite a venue, one of three for commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic this weekend. Good to see the UK City of Culture grafting this on to the programme and the recognition given to its role as a major port [...] read our review » -
Of the Old North and other Vanished Kingdoms..
Tweet I’m currently trawling through Norman Davies’s fabulous new tome – “Vanished Kingdoms” – Five stars in the (London) Telegraph’s review from Ben Wilson: All the nations that have ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand,” writes Norman Davies. “The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the [...] read our review »
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