Scotland
A democratic deficit
The campaign for a Scottish parliament was rooted in the notion of a ‘democratic deficit’. Scotland kept voting Labour but…
Scotland could become the EU’s next great problem
It is generally acknowledged, even by diehard Remainers, that the European Union’s handling of Cameron’s attempted renegotiation of the UK’s…
There is something rotten in Scottish politics
It is now two years since Nicola Sturgeon accepted the need for a parliamentary inquiry into how, and why, her…
Does the SNP really want to copy Norway’s gender revolution?
Five years ago, in June 2016, Norway allowed anyone to change their legal gender. Legislative Decree 71 was everything that…
Why Boris Johnson must say no to a second Scottish referendum
It’s hard to believe in these early weeks of 2021, when the country is grappling with an unprecedented national health…
Is the SNP prepared for Scotland’s next financial crisis?
As the world continues its fight against Covid-19, the Scottish National Party has been busy plotting Scotland’s exit from the UK. If…
The Scottish play
Scottish politics tends to go through long bouts of single-party dominance. In the 19th century, the Liberals were in charge.…
The age of de-enlightenment
Depictions of Thomas Carlyle and David Hume in the Scottish Portrait Gallery will be altered to make it clear they…
Queen of Scots
Despite her record, nothing can stop Nicola Sturgeon
Leaving the Union would harm Scotland more than Brexit
The Spectator recently ran a piece by Andrew Wilson, author of the SNP’s Sustainable Growth Commission, under the headline ‘Scotland…
Diary
I’m often asked when I’ll write a pandemic novel. I’m not sure I’d ever be tempted, though the backdrop of…
How to keep the UK united
Tory MPs are already starting to talk about May’s various elections. Boris Johnson’s first post-Covid electoral test will take place…
Scot free
Staying in the Union is now riskier than independence
Boris was right: Scottish devolution has been a disaster
Boris Johnson says devolution has been a ‘disaster’. This has the rare quality for a Boris statement of being true…
Johnson’s turnip bogle
At least in London, midwinter spring has not been entirely vanquished, and the trees are still a couple of strong…
Big Brother is listening – even at home
When Humza Yousaf, the SNP’s cabinet secretary for justice, announced that his new Hate Crime Bill would remove the ‘dwelling…
Letters
Ask the English Sir: Toby Young rightly criticises the juvenile posturing of the devolved governments of the Union over Covid-19…
Letters
State of the Union Sir: Writing in a week that an opinion poll shows 58 per cent support for independence…
Devolution is a failing halfway house
One of the things I hadn’t anticipated about the pandemic is that it would turn me into an English nationalist.…
Irritable male syndrome
By my reckoning, this is the 24th outing for John Rebus, Scotland’s best known retired police officer. One of the…
Out together
Only a ‘good’ Brexit can stop Scottish independence
Disunited Kingdom
The Covid divide is triggering political tensions
Letters
Referendum risk Sir: James Forsyth’s excellent analysis (‘To save the Union, negotiate independence’, 5 September) has one flaw: it is…
To save the Union, negotiate independence
The first cabinet meeting of the new term and Boris Johnson’s summer holiday were both dominated by one concern: how…
Scots
A teenager in North Carolina has been revealed as the creator of a fifth or even a half of the…
