September 18th. The sixth anniversary of Indyref. I’m sure I am not alone among Source Direct subscribers in wondering if we will ever see as politically vibrant times again as the summer of 2014, when it felt like there wasn’t a person in Scotland who wasn’t actively engaged in shaping the country’s future. So much […]
independence movement
With the long-weekend behind us, Source Direct is coming late to the SNP bunfight. The room is being tidied up, and the National Executive Committee are nursing hangovers, as well as one or two bruises. Why did it happen, and what does it mean? First, for those of you who missed all the fun and […]
‘Cherrymandering’ may back-fire on the SNP leadership
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 […]
The “sheer might” of the UK in Scotland could look very different in six months time
Dave Thompson, a former SNP MSP and 55 year veteran of the party, who is now setting up a list vote coalition in defiance of it in the 2021 elections, has a role in one of those ‘what if?’ moments in political history. In the 2007 election, he noticed that the returning officer for the […]
Scottish politics shouldn’t fall down a D’Hondt shaped hole
“Never before have the foundations of public support for the Union looked so weak,” polling expert John Curtice has declared. His basis for this assessment is the latest poll by PanelBase showing 54 per cent in favour of Scottish independence, with 46 per cent against, which added to other previous polls over the past six […]
5 ways to build pressure for the Right to Decide
In the latest instalment of his series of essays on Scottish independence in the age of Coronavirus, Jonathon Shafi argues that anti-racism was and remains central to the politics of the indy movement, but must be re-invigorated for the new challenges upon us. I was reading recently about the ways in which Coronavirus impacts black […]
Jonathon Shafi: The indy movement and anti-racism in the Covid-19 era
“We should put a premium on building a wider independence movement – one that can involve thousands of new campaigners won to the new case for a new world. One which presents solutions to climate change and the social ills of poverty, inequality and unemployment with one hand.”
Jonathon Shafi: Addressing climate change must be central to a post-Covid case for independence
“As the virus clearly shows, such a ‘deterrent’ is totally powerless in the midst of the many threats we will face in the coming decades. We need a re-allocation of such resources to the benefit of society as a whole, and not the imperial ambitions of the ailing British state.”
Jonathon Shafi: Opposition to Trident will take on new meaning in the post-Coronavirus landscape
“In a word gripped by a pandemic, economic crisis, climate change and intensifying geopolitical rivalries, the whole conversation around the veracity of small, independent, self-sustaining nations will transform.”
Jonathon Shafi: The independence movement will rise to meet this crisis – but to do so, it must change
I BELIEVE the independence movement needs a government that is inspiring people by being bold and showing the kind of change that could be possible with independence. Most people accept that Nicola Sturgeon’s government is not that. She instead pitched her government as being about ‘competent management’ and asked that she be judged on her […]