Category Archives: Politics

The Impotence of Being Earnest

Posted on December 8, 2019 by

Unless you have been snow-camping in the Mamores for the last month or are a fanatic for one party you will be cringing every time the word ‘election’ is mentioned. And the fervour with which the media—BBC especially—are banging on … Continue reading →

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Turkeys Vote for an Early Christmas

Posted on October 30, 2019 by

So the Brexit centipede’s final shoe has dropped and we are to endure the first General Election at Christmas for a century. Broadcast media are already hoaching with rentqaquotes from every party, burbling over their keenness to come to grips … Continue reading →

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Andy’s Not Our Only Heroic Murray

Posted on October 26, 2019 by

“Do you know that there’s hardly anyone left of last year’s Caucasian governments? I’ve tried to stop it, but in vain. Yet they can’t all be Trotskyites and traitors.” ——Lavrentiy Beria Even today, Scottish society carries the scars of decades … Continue reading →

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Why Does America Keep Shooting Itself in the Foot?

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

The United States of America: World’s Richest Country; Leader of he Free World; Land of the Free; etc. Who would dare meddle with it? Yet it does have enemies: Iran; Russia; North Korea; Venezuela. China is a rival, but more … Continue reading →

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Constitutional Constipation

Posted on October 2, 2019 by

America—regarded by many (especially Americans) as the world’s greatest democracy—is rightly proud of its Constitution. Forged at a time, before either the French or the Russians did away with them, when monarchs ruled the world it was a clarion call … Continue reading →

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Rule Without Rules

Posted on September 28, 2019 by

Many political observers, and a large chunk of the public, are variously bemused, shocked and outraged by the leaders of the two main anglophone countries on either side of the Atlantic. Rather than being “Leader of the Free World” where … Continue reading →

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Greta vs The Red Center

Posted on September 19, 2019 by

Greta Thunberg,, the immensely sensible 16-year-old who triggered mass protests at the reluctance of nations to address looming climate catastrophe, sailed across the Atlantic in a non-polluting yacht to address the UN’s Climate Summit this summer. Her message was impassioned, … Continue reading →

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In the Hands of the Irish

Posted on August 4, 2019 by

Growing up with The Troubles was not easy. In the late Sixties, you didn’t have to live in the six counties to feel their anger and grief, their passion and frustration, that sense of walking a long, dark tunnel with … Continue reading →

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£6.8bn, All in One Basket

Posted on August 1, 2019 by

For the many of us not dazzled by the Boris Johnson “Christmas in July” largesse with the fiscal war chest so carefully scraped together by Philip Hammond in the teeth of austerity, the idea that Britain can suddenly hose money … Continue reading →

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Fankle of Fearties?—Part I

Posted on July 21, 2019 by

An article in today’s Sunday Times is highly critical of the present Scottish Government and its penchant for blaming Brexit and Westminster for Scotland’s sluggish economic performance. Is this fair? Compared to the rest of the UK, Scotland is falling … Continue reading →

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