“By putting energy into fighting in unison, this deeply unequal Union might yet die a peaceful death that enables each nation to rise from the ashes strengthened, able to shake off the soot of medieval power-hoarding and class conflict in favour of progressive, local democracy.”
Boris Johnson
“Those who ascribe sinister character to Scottish devolution say more about themselves than our current or future constitutional arrangement, and little of it is complimentary.”
Sean Bell: Boris Johnson fears political systems can determine political outcomes – with luck, we can prove him right
Devolution has been a “disaster” in Scotland, and was Tony Blair’s “biggest mistake”. Boris Johnson has only said what is almost certainly the quiet consensus in the British establishment, but it’s important that the words are now on record. I would wager that Blair thinks the same. You have to see devolution from the the […]
Johnson’s devolution comments are a sign of weakness
Some Source Direct subscribers may have a vague memory of a huge chicken following David Cameron around the UK during the 2010 General Election. The chicken had a Daily Mirror badge on, and was meant to indicate that Cameron was too chicken to answer tough questions. Fast forward a decade, and the Mirror Chicken has […]
Flew the coop
As Scotland enters its new tiered system of restrictions today, England is getting prepared to dump it. Boris Johnson’s Saturday announcement of a four-week national lockdown, only for England, came about six weeks after his SAGE advisors had argued for a two-week circuit-breaker lockdown and he offered up the tiered system. What a mess. The […]
A second lockdown will be very different
Where are we on the UK-EU trade deal, the latest saga in a long line of Brexit sagas stretching back to 24 June 2016, the day after the Leave vote (which feels like ancient history by now)? EU leaders met in Brussels yesterday for a two-day summit, and apparently got the Brexit business out the […]
Deal or No Deal?
“If the plan is to do what is best for Scotland, perhaps it’s time to recognise that following failing plans from the UK has resulted in Scotland failing almost as badly.”
Craig Dalzell: The Scottish Government cannot hide behind Boris Johnson’s strategy
“At the Conservative party conference, the new economic model is being consolidated: cycles of boom for a corporate elite without investment or growth in living standards, followed by catastrophic bust with the working population paying for the fallout.”
Analysis: 2008 Forever – Sunak confirms our new economic model
“Johnson’s march on Scotland has a campaigning feel to it. It seems like a long time since a UK Prime minster could come to Scotland simply as part of normal government business. Every venture north now comes with dangers and is embarked upon for the grim necessity to ‘save the union’.”
Analysis: Year one of Boris Johnson’s firefight
Scottish contact tracers at the ready – England’s King of Covid is crossing the border! Boris Johnson is still Prime Minister for the whole of the United Kingdom, but on Covid-19 health matters he has largely settled for governing England; badly. As restrictions ease, Boris now wants to take back control of the whole of the […]