“Will Scottish civil society be strong enough to resist dangerous escalations, waged not in the name of the ordinary citizens of China or Scotland, but in the name of competition for wealth and power?”
British Politics
The Cummings-Johnson showdown looks likely to play out like Holyrood’s own high noon. Revelations and accusations will titillate the political class; and some authentically scandalous insights into state power will be uncovered. But the wider public may look the other way.
Source Direct: Cumm Again?
“Infamously, there are 339 local authorities across the UK, and only 32 in Scotland – making us the most centralised polity in Europe.”
Analysis: Beyond ‘SuperThursday’ – where next for the democratic crisis?
“The saddest thing about attempts to batter Northern Ireland’s distinctive and prolonged traumas into a Brexit-shaped argument groove, is the implication that things would be grand if only the boat hadn’t been rocked: we should seek to maintain the present ludicrous settlement, which has seen poverty and alienation flourish.”
David Jamieson: Northern Ireland isn’t a character in your Brexit drama
“The Scottish electorate, like the people of Liverpool, have voted against Conservative rule for generations now. There is absolutely no sound argument for democratic deficiencies to be remedied by a government mired in its own corruption scandals, in jurisdictions where it cannot win elections.”
Analysis: Direct Rule for Liverpool should worry Scots
The case for Scotland remaining in the Union will partly depend on the credibility of Westminster’s opposition. Can we even imagine a non-Conservative government?
Source Direct: Prince Charming
“In the 2012 agreement, both sides of the negotiation wanted a referendum. In any future agreement, only one side, Edinburgh, is likely to want it.”
Analysis: What pitfalls lie before the Draft Referendum Bill?
“Faced by the humiliation of Scottish democracy, we can choose either to hope that the Tories and the central British state will fail to press their advantage, or we can demand change in Scotland.”
David Jamieson: Tory attacks on Scottish democracy are cynical, but point to real problems
“Chillingly, body-bags for those lost to Britian’s world-beating excess mortality rate were being flogged to this Conservative dinner party set at 14 times the market rate.”