Keir Starmer is a shallow man
Keir Starmer thinks ‘this is the time now to lower the temperature’ on the gender debate. To ‘move forward’. To…
Will Holyrood do anything about attacks on the Supreme Court?
As the independent bar in Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates is by necessity a reserved and disinterested body. It does…
Could this photo cost Mark Carney victory in Canada’s election?
Caryma Sa’d has captured the definitive image of the Canadian federal election. Over the weekend, the independent journalist posted a…
Why ‘respectable’ Tories don’t like Russell Findlay
The plight of Russell Findlay reveals a lot about how politics works. Findlay was elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives…
The Supreme Court ruling is a victory for women
The Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘woman’ in the Equality Act is a victory for women, proper statutory…
Hashem Abedi should never have been in this country
If there has been one constant in Hashem Abedi’s miserable life it has been the determined failure of the British…
Why are British lawyers acting for Hamas?
This week on Britain: The Decline Years, a firm of London solicitors has announced it is acting on behalf of Hamas…
David Lammy’s imperial overreach
With the imperial pomposity of an old colonial governor, David Lammy has ‘made clear’ to the Israelis that denying entry to Labour MPs Abtisam…
Robert Jenrick is a real conservative
Robert Jenrick’s victory over the Sentencing Council — James Heale is correct to call it that — is, more importantly,…
How could Holyrood not mourn Christina McKelvie?
A parliament is an odd place. It’s the arena where clashing worldviews come to cross swords and there’s low and…
The Alba party has a mountain to climb
Kenny MacAskill has won the leadership of Alba and just to underscore how cursed that position is, he defeated his…
Keir Starmer is a gift to Scottish nationalism
Southside Central is the kind of ward Scottish Labour needs to be winning. It’s in Glasgow, home to significant pockets…
No one will thank Liz Kendall for doing her job
There are three thankless posts in a modern Labour government. There’s the Chancellor, who has to announce the tightening of…
Why can’t the SNP attract anyone with any talent?
Here’s a political conundrum for you. You’re the SNP. You’ve been in power in Scotland since 2007. You’re 13 points…
Nicola Sturgeon wasted eight years in power
As Nicola Sturgeon announces that she is standing down from the Scottish parliament, it is worth reflecting on what a…
What would Reform be without Nigel Farage?
Barely have they abandoned the sinking ship that is HMS Tory than right-wingers are finding their liferaft taking on water.…
Trump can’t override everything
‘There are judges in Jerusalem,’ Menachem Begin is reputed to have proclaimed, following a court ruling which he believed vindicated one…
Trump is a bully but it’s a mistake to stand up to him
Everything they taught you in school is a lie. Carthage was not salted, Canute knew he couldn’t control the tide,…
What Europe can learn from the White House clash
The Trump-Zelensky summit is a geopolitical Rashomon. Some saw a lying, maniacal bully and his snarling sidekick berate a patriot…
Palestinians blew their best chance for peace
Every time the Palestinians rebuff a peace proposal, commentators reach for an observation by the Israeli diplomat Abba Eban: ‘The…
Scotland’s public sector is growing out of control
There is a perception that Scotland is a socialist basket case where a mammoth public sector is showered with English…
Parliament is embarrassing itself
Sidney Low said that ‘government in England is government by amateurs’, and parliament seems to be doing its level best…
Israelis and Palestinians will be here again, and again, and again
‘When the Lord returned the captives to Zion,’ Psalm 126 goes, ‘we were like dreamers. Our mouths were filled with…
The question that should be asked about the West Bank
In all the argle-bargle over Donald Trump’s proposal for Gaza, there have been countless questions about legality, morality and feasibility.…
Trump’s ICC sanctions will test an outdated institution
Once you get beyond trade and maritime borders, you will find that much of international law is, pace Clausewitz, the continuation of…
