Category Archives: Politics

2013 Festival of Politics IV—Public Attitudes

Posted on August 28, 2013 by davidsberry

Chaired by the respected Ian Macwhirter, this FoP session launched right into the psephology of the upcoming referendum vote, powered by a deluge of data and graphs from John Curtice and his usual enthusiasm for the subject. In illustrating the … Continue reading →

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2013 Festival of Politics III—Economics

Posted on August 27, 2013 by davidsberry

Rushing from the Europe session to this one with no time allowed in the schedule was another gripe I had for the organisers but, as with the earlier session, it was worth it. Chaired ably by Sir Jeremy Peat of … Continue reading →

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2013 Festival of Politics II—Europe

Posted on August 26, 2013 by davidsberry

For me, it had an inauspicious start. Booking places on-line went easily but the ‘ticketless’ tickets were anything but. Staff at the parly were their old surly selves and entirely not clued-in on where events were happening or when—to the … Continue reading →

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2013 Festival of Politics I

Posted on August 24, 2013 by davidsberry

After a full day trying to scoot around Holyrood from one session to the next, a myriad of ideas, questions, opinions and opportunities compete for blog coverage. But before that, the overwhelming impression with which I was left after today … Continue reading →

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Let Me Tell You How It Will Be

Posted on August 5, 2013 by davidsberry

Those who’ve been around long enough might recognise the title as the first line of “Taxman” in which Lennon/McCartney dipped their pens in vitriol and had a right go at HM Revenue & Customs the thick end of fifty years … Continue reading →

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Jebel al Toliano

Posted on July 30, 2013 by davidsberry

(in a parallel universe not far away…) Bzzz…zzzt…Ssshwweek…service of the BBC; here is the news. The confrontation on the Goodwin Sands over Sandwich Cricket Club’s insistence on playing its traditional ‘Low-Tide Annual’ cricket match there has caused another incident with … Continue reading →

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Chancellor or Chancer?

Posted on July 29, 2013 by davidsberry

Those looking for vilification of Osbo  can stop reading now. Though the poor schmuck has so far made a pigs ear of the best job he’ll ever have, it is a former holder of the post that is the subject. … Continue reading →

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The Other End of Empire

Posted on July 24, 2013 by davidsberry

Back when the British Raj was at its greatest and one fifth of any self-respecting globe was painted pink, the entire “empire on which the sun never set” was held together by a series of bases from which redcoats and … Continue reading →

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Ye Olde Schizophrenia

Posted on July 17, 2013 by davidsberry

Tuesday was a busy one for news regarding the UK’s defence posture. A Liberal Democrat-led review of alternatives to a like-for-like replacement of the UK’s nuclear arsenal has been deflected and will, according to PM Cameron, not affect government policy: the … Continue reading →

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No Future in the Past

Posted on July 15, 2013 by davidsberry

This weekend has seen a couple of unionists stick their head above the parapet with more style and conviction than seems to have been the case heretofore. In today’s Hootsmon, Brian Monteith makes the fair point that asking valid questions … Continue reading →

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