Alex Salmond – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

Opening skirmish in Independence campaign

Brian Walker on May 25, 2012, 9:55 am

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On the day, the YouGov poll commissioned by Alistair Darling was quite an effective spoiler to the launch of Alex Salmond’s Independence campaign, at least for the largely pro-Union press. The YouGov poll of 1,004 people found that only 33% of Scots would opt for independence, while 57% would reject it, findings which are close to several recent surveys but show lower support for independence than others But it’s a long haul to 2014.The treatment of small countries like Greece …

DevoMax may be more disruptive to English regions than Independence…

Mick Fealty on February 23, 2012, 9:06 am

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Great piece by Mark Hennessy who digs into a part of England where they probably have a more nuanced understanding of the Scots instinct for greater autonomy than any other. …the northeast of England worries about the powers that the Scots already have, let alone the possibility that they might get powers over corporation tax rates. Last September, it emerged that online retailer Amazon chose Edinburgh rather than Newcastle for a new operation after Scottish Enterprise offered training grants the …

Will the referendum debate go two way at last today?

Brian Walker on February 16, 2012, 10:18 am

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Adds at 2pm. David Cameron’s speech ( in full here, courtesy of the Scotsman) was a constipated affair. Like Eric Morecambe and the Grieg piano concerto, he played all the right notes but not necessariily in the right order – and without enough colour and tone . He talked nervously into the middle distance, not to the single Scottish listener waiting to be lifted. What was missing was the emotional pull to counter Alex Salmond’s deft and cunning patriotism. Content wise, he sounded prepared still to …

Scottish referendum no further forward

Brian Walker on February 14, 2012, 11:55 am

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“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 said the two sides “still have some way to travel” to reach an agreement. Mr Moore said: “I am still not convinced that the people of …

Maybe the referendum question is not so simple

Brian Walker on January 26, 2012, 10:24 am

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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 loaded he said. To be fair, the question had to be balanced with a “or not “ in some form. Closer to home the Times reports …

‘Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’

Brian Walker on January 25, 2012, 4:47 pm

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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. These are two different issues, and should be considered separately. If these two questions were asked together, there would be four possible outcomes, and potentially four …

Paxman: the gowk goes over the top.

Dewi on January 25, 2012, 7:14 am

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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. Some of us might have been interested in what Alex had to say in the Hugo Young Lecture. (Worth watching the that sample video from the …

Salmond invades Dublin in pursuit of Glasgow’s Labour vote?

Mick Fealty on January 13, 2012, 5:20 pm

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A couple of years ago we took a taxi from the centre of Glasgow to a friend’s wedding in Pollockshields. I asked the driver who was a Celtic fan (Rangers fans had taken beating the night before and apparently hadn’t shown that morning) what he made of Alex Salmond. “Ah, he’s a fly *……..” Fly or canny, the SNP line has been the one coming through most clearly in the Republic’s media. Partly because that’s where Irish sentiment lies. But …

Unionist forces begin to muster

Brian Walker on January 12, 2012, 10:12 am

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So it’s game on for the early rounds of the referendum campaign. The Westminster government says Alex Salmond can have a binding referendum provided he sticks to a Yes, No question on independence. No fudging over devo max. The UK parties are uniting to save the Union, although the others would like Cameron and the Tories to take a back seat according to the Guardian, for reasons which Alex Salmond himself makes clear in the Independent. They have all but conceded …

A constitutional crisis over a Scottish referendum?

Brian Walker on January 11, 2012, 10:08 am

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Just how serious is the new stand-off between Westminster and Holyrood over a referendum on Scottish independence? I take the view that it’s largely shadow boxing. The two governments will do a deal in the end, even though there’s quite a way to go before it’s clinched. Many believe Cameron boobed badly yesterday by trying to dictate terms.The Guardian covered the other view which holds that it was a bold wheeze from the Chancellor George Osborne. Salmond picked up the gauntlet …

Cameron to Salmond: “Right, now I’ve got you right where you want me…”

Mick Fealty on January 10, 2012, 2:22 pm

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As noted here a few months back, the Conservatives are struggling to maintain relevance outside England (and to a lesser degree, Wales). It’s tough job when you barely have any elected representatives to bring some political capital to the literal party. It’s not even an English thing. For reasons not entirely within their control (aka the virtual collapse of English regional as a meaningful conduit for the expression and understanding of English regional politics), large chunks for northern England are …

Why the Tories are constitutionally all at sea in Scotland

Mick Fealty on January 6, 2012, 10:49 am

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Alex Massie is Scotland’s man in the seried ranks of Tory thinkers in London. He’s not exactly unique, but there are few Unionist commentators who, like him, get a respectful hearing amongst the increasingly confident Scots nationalist blogosphere. In response to a well meaning, but inevitably London bound leader veiw from his own paper the Spectator, he notes: Of course Alex Salmond is beatable and of course support for UN-member independence is a minority enthusiasm. This is one reason why …

Alex’s New Year Message….it’s time !

Dewi on December 31, 2011, 12:15 am

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Super stuff from Alex. Watch it all – it ain’t long – quote below. Our universities, colleges and scientific institutions are working on cures for the illnesses that beset humankind as well as the renewable energy machines and environmental initiatives that will make human progress compatible with the future of our planet.” But he added: “If we are going to shape the future we must make some changes to the present – and that means taking more control over our …

Scotland – it’s time – why wait?

Dewi on December 11, 2011, 6:36 am

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With the latest opinion polls showing the SNP at a sensational record 51% for Holyrood, and a pretty impressive by-election win in Lanarkshire, it’s getting tempting for Alex to go for an early independence referendum. The context is key – the Scottish government and SNP are acting like history is working their way. We have: The Independent describing the SNP’s Scandinavian strategy as “Bye Bye England” ….. whilst Alex is just back from China, and the party unveils it’s £60 billion infrastructure …

“Are the Scots more the Greeks or Germans? I couldn’t possibly say.”

Pete Baker on October 24, 2011, 1:18 pm

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“It’s starting”, is it? [Whatever ‘it’ is – Ed]. The Guardian’s Michael White spots a flaw in Alex Salmond’s cunning plan. [Does it involve turnips? – Ed] Neeps. From the Guardian Politics Blog The SNP and the Tory Eurosceptics have much in common – and I don’t mean that as a compliment, decent people though so many of them are. The obvious tactic they currently share, apart from national chauvinism as a panacea for deeper problems, is the three-choice referendum …

Salmond says “the…Lib Dem(s)….cannot act as the Tories’ front men in Scotland and at the same time present themselves as Home Rulers – they have to choose.”

Dewi on September 21, 2011, 3:54 pm

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From the BBC Nick Clegg attacks the SNP’s delay on calling an independence referendum Clearly I am opposed to Alex Salmond’s ambition, which seems to be his sole ambition in Scottish government, to yank Scotland out of the United Kingdom. I think it is not good for Scotland. I believe passionately in a strong Scotland, with more powers, but in a strong United Kingdom. I think the more that the details are looked at and the less that Alex Salmond …

Devolution – the Respect Agenda

Dewi on June 1, 2011, 2:53 am

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The Devolved leaders’ statements from Scotland Alex Salmond, Carwyn Jones, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuiness set their stall for next week’s Joint Ministerial Committee meeting. There’s a bit of tension between Salmond and Jones on the next steps. To use one of those terrible business phrases it’s important to be on the same page….maybe I’m reading too much into it but unlike the FM and dFM Jones didn’t thank Salmond for his hospitality. Anyway – again from the BBC here’s …

“I’m sure the Queen, who must feel a bit constrained in her day job, will understand the tug.”

Pete Baker on May 20, 2011, 3:19 pm

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The Guardian’s Michael White covers a lot of ground in his post at the Big G’s Politics blog – including the crisis in the eurozone. But here’s a, lengthy, excerpt to start with. If Gaelic had a word for chutzpah (perhaps it does?), the Sinn Féin president, now an Irish TD (MP), would win the chutzpah prize every time. He was on his best behaviour for the Queen’s trip – even he can see it has been a modest success. …

To protect the Union, recast the Scotland Bill

Brian Walker on May 9, 2011, 10:13 pm

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A strategy for recovery for Unionism in Scotland comes from the unexpected source of John McTernan, a New Labour strategist much respected in Cameron’s Downing St. He’s here talking about a revival for the Scottish Conservatives whose low vote is actually underrepresented in both Parliaments. But he could just as easily be talking about the Lib Dems and even Labour, mutatis mutandis. The unspoken dimension of the debate about more powers for the Scottish Parliament is that Scots will be …

The psephology of Scotland (1) – Lib Dems

Dewi on May 8, 2011, 12:03 pm

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Just some facts: It is difficult to overstate the scale of the destruction of the Lib Dems in Scotland – which is of huge historical significance. 2 illustrations will suffice. 1) Glasgow is a region with 9 constituencies. The Lib Dems polled a total of 5,312 votes, 2.5%. That was less than Respect and less than half the Green Party vote. 2) In the UK Parliament the Lib Dems represent the entire Highlands and Islands region bar Na h-Eileanan an …