In 1979, I opposed political devolution because I feared that Scottish politics would become bogged down in a permanent argument about “powers” rather than outcomes
At this distance in time, it is difficult to overstate the significance of Billy going ahead with the shows in Belfast. It was a terrible year of the Troubles with a steady flow of sectarian murders, internecine paramilitary killings and IRA bombings in Britain.
For anyone who wants divisions in Scotland to heal and for politics to become focused on outcomes, the first essential prerequisite is not to prop up Mr Swinney but to remove him and his colleagues at the earliest opportunity.
Out of their traps they came to assure Scotland that John Swinney really is the man for the moment. In every available studio, the clichés flowed like syrup from political allies and commentariat alike.
To be a Scottish Green, a general concern about the environment and climate change are well down the list of membership criteria
One does not wish to be a party-pooper but the “saving” of Aye Write strikes me as being as unconvincing as its original cancellation was unnecessary.
Dividing lines in relation to the ban on woodburning stoves are naturally seen as urban versus rural; policy makers in Glasgow and Edinburgh who neither know nor care about the impact on daily lives of others. There is obvious truth in that analysis. However, the more important and wide-ranging dichotomy is between rich and poor.
It would be a well-informed assumption that Robbie Drummond was made to walk the plank at Caledonian MacBrayne on orders from Edinburgh in advance of the new contract to operate west coast ferry services.
One good thing about the removal of David Tydeman as chief executive of the Ferguson shipyard at Port Glasgow is that it sets a precedent. Finally, it is possible for someone to carry the can.
Humza Yousaf’s call for Tories to be “wiped off the electoral map of Scotland” is not as bad as it sounds. It’s worse.
