Would the Tories be better for the Union?

O’Neill thinks so (sorry O!)… Though I am not sure I buy all of his reasoning, not least that little bit of futuring about being the government of four parts of the Union (getting MPs elected is not being made any more likely by the continued lack of credible candidate matches for its three target seats)… The one, apparently (the Tories have been moving around a fair amount; NHS funding for instance) point he makes is worth repeating: The modern …

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Scotland faces a long hard squeeze

Over on Brassneck, Scotland is feeling the sharp end of the collapse in some financial services. But local solutions are not much use if the bigger global picture is not tackled… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Scotland wants better policy and more devolution

If it were possible to measure the benefit of the substantial and long investment in Northern Ireland’s nascent democracy it would be in the degree of political unity of purpose observable between the First and Deputy First Minister in their responses to the recent shootings. But then that is measuring up from a very low base. In Scotland, people are struggling to put a value on the benefits devolution has brought to them: 38% of voters said they believed devolution …

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SNP get an extra billion for second Forth Road Bridge…

The Scots have had a good ten years start on Northern Ireland re fiscal management. Plus they don’t have antithetical interests endlessly competing inside the Scottish Government tent. Which may be one reason why they have a £40 million underspend whereas Northern Ireland, according to some sources, has an overspend of up to £73 million. It hasn’t stopped the SNP trying to die in the ditch for more Whitehall cash for the second Forth Road bridge. Mostly because of a …

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About that Daily Mail interview…

This article appeared in the Daily Mail last week… It’s an interview with Peter Hain, as you may never have seen him before… with one Petronella Wyatt… (I’d be scared in the unlikely event she asked me for an interview)… Much to the delight of one blogging supporter of one his rivals for the Deputy Prime Minister’s job, he accepted the invitation… Particularly with the Vice Roy comment, you have to wonder if she is a closet Brian Feeney fan…By …

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