What unites Thatcher’s man in Scotland Sir Malcolm Rifkind and left-wing, anti-Tory firebrand Labour MSP Neil Findlay? They’re both agreed – it’s time for a federal solution to the Scottish question. In an interview yesterday, Rifkind, who was Scottish Secretary from 1986 to 1990 and was in charge of the notorious introduction of the Poll […]
indyref
Two things are clear from the news this morning: a) there’s an election coming, and b) there’s an SNP annual conference soon. A flurry of indyref chatter always precedes these events, and this time is no different. Those of us who have seen this act play out time and time again can be forgiven for […]
The Brown and Blackford double act
What should the UK Government’s strategy be to stop Scottish independence? One would think this is the sort of thing Tory politicians and their staffers think about themselves. But no, in these days of neoliberal governance, Ministers seem happier to outsource all of their thinking to ridiculously expensive private consultancies. Bloomberg has now reported on a leaked 21-page memo […]
Preparing for a “velvet No”
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 […]
Don’t lose sight of what made 2014 special
We live in strange times where little is surprising, but George Galloway seeking to form a national coalition government with the Tories and Labour in the Scottish Parliament is still strange, and slightly surprising. I remember watching Galloway happily stand on platforms with independence supporters, including the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, to rail against the […]
Get ready for a nastier British nationalism
“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
New polls on the Scottish elections in 2021 and on support for independence have raised the question of a referendum again. The polls show the SNP on course to win 72 seats in the Holyrood election scheduled for next May, an outright majority, while support for independence is at 52 per cent. A slender lead, […]