“Independence supporters face the prospect of explaining and reaffirming the expanded mandate for they have won. Many will not look forward to beating their head against this particular brick wall once again, as the unionist counter-argument will only become more shrill, obstinate and unconcerned with democracy the more they are put on the defensive.”
Labour
“This isn’t just about Labourism, but a much general culture of managerialism which has helped to empty the democratic content from Scottish, British and western politics in general.”
Analysis: The Starmer school of party management comes to Scotland
After the coronavirus, many optimistically predicted that Boris Johnson’s “Red Wall” hegemony would be swept away by waves of resistance. However, Keir Starmer has been in charge for a year, and Labour is now back down at 32 percent.
Source Direct: Steer Kalmer
“We now know what the UK is going to look like in the final years before we reach those irreversible climate tipping points and the planet stops caring how fast our economy is growing. With Scottish elections and possibly another independence referendum now looming, it’s time for the various parties to show their support for an alternative future”
Analysis: UK Budget 2021
Readers have been asking about that Labour Party broadcast, infamous less for Keir Starmer’s words (nothing special) than for its mise-en-scène: the Union Jack hanging “innocently” in the background.
Source Direct: Swearin’ to the Flag
It’s difficult to reconcile the jarring contradiction between the Labour we grew up with, still regarded as synonymous with the Scottish nation, and the deflated rump we see today, pleading with Scotland not to hate them.
Source Direct: Dear Scotland, Please Don’t Hate Us
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the largest increase in military spending for 30 years, with an extra £4 billion a year being pumped in to the MoD for the next four years. He said he was announcing the Defence spending boost “in the teeth” of the pandemic because “the defence of the realm […]
Johnson’s prioritising militarism in a pandemic – who will stand against it?
You don’t have to be Jeremy Corbyn’s biggest fan to take serious issue with his suspension from the Labour party yesterday, you just have to have some commitment to basic principles of honesty, fairness and justice. The party’s General Secretary David Evans has not actually been willing to even explain to the National Executive Committee, […]
Is dissent allowed in Keir Starmer’s Labour?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s speech to the virtual Tory party conference yesterday was interesting because of the framing of his argument around public finances. “We have a sacred responsibility to future generations to leave the public finances strong, and through careful management of our economy, this Conservative Government will always balance the books,” he said. “If […]
“What is the point in us?”
Here we go again. One by one, Scottish Labour MSPs are calling for their leader, Richard Leonard, to resign. The figure is currently at four, but according to the BBC’s Glenn Campbell there’s more waiting in the wings. Leonard has responded by saying these MSPs were always opposed to his leadership and are waging an […]