Scottish independence

Another Scottish independence referendum is coming

29 June 2022 12:50 am

Despite what the SNP and its supporters insist, Nicola Sturgeon did not ‘announce’ a second referendum on independence today. Far…

No, Scottish independence is not like the war in Ukraine

2 March 2022 8:43 am

Perhaps it’s the absence of any oppression of their own country that compels Scottish nationalists to latch onto the oppression…

Will Scottish independence really be 'Brexit times ten'?

18 September 2021 4:00 pm

Scottish civil servants are to start work on a ‘detailed prospectus’ for independence so the Scottish government can hold another…

Glasgow gangsters: 1979, by Val McDermid, reviewed

21 August 2021 9:00 am

Like a basking shark, Val McDermid once remarked, a crime series needs to keep moving or die. The same could…

Don’t pick a fight with the SNP

7 August 2021 9:00 am

Since the Holyrood elections in May, the campaign for Scottish independence has been noticeably quiet. But that is about to…

Nicola Sturgeon isn't serious about IndyRef2

27 June 2021 3:30 pm

The announcement reeked of desperation. Nicola Sturgeon is‘delighted’ that the SNP National Executive Committee has approved her nomination of retired…

Does this SNP politician think buses are racist?

16 June 2021 9:23 pm

One of the benefits of devolution has been giving Scots their own parliament in which the great issues of the…

Prince William won't save the Union

13 June 2021 4:15 pm

Can the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge save the Union? Officials at Buckingham Palace are reported to be drawing up…

Give the people what they think they want

5 June 2021 9:00 am

I have a mean streak. Perhaps my cruellest urge is to give people what they claim to want. When political…

The SNP's latest separation blueprint is pure project fantasy

30 May 2021 4:00 pm

‘A SNP MSP has claimed an independent Scotland could guarantee a couple with children a minimum income of more than…

The wrath of Nicola Sturgeon

15 May 2021 9:00 am

I can’t seem to find the Oracle of Delphi’s complete works. The libraries remain shut and when I go to…

The great pretender: Nicola Sturgeon’s independence bluff

15 May 2021 9:00 am

Will Boris Johnson call Nicola Sturgeon’s bluff?

Westminster must avoid the Sturgeon trap

10 May 2021 7:28 pm

The challenge for the UK government in the coming months is to make Nicola Sturgeon look like a constitutional obsessive.…

How Alex Salmond can game the loophole in Scotland's voting system

6 April 2021 5:56 pm

Two decades after devolution, the Scottish Parliament’s election system still confuses ordinary voters and seasoned political observers alike. Politicians on…

Is the SNP prepared for Scotland's next financial crisis?

7 February 2021 6:00 pm

As the world continues its fight against Covid-19, the Scottish National Party has been busy plotting Scotland’s exit from the UK. If…

Sturgeon has become the real opposition leader

9 January 2021 9:00 am

A few months ago, Tory aides spotted a suspicious pattern. If they agreed on a new Covid policy to be…

Letters: Solidarity is the best thing for Scotland

28 November 2020 9:00 am

SNP sophistry Sir: Andrew Wilson (‘Scot free’, 21 November) poses the question: ‘What if the case for independence was a…

More devolution in England could save the Union

21 November 2020 9:00 am

Tory MPs are already starting to talk about May’s various elections. Boris Johnson’s first post-Covid electoral test will take place…

Scotland can’t afford to remain part of the Union

21 November 2020 9:00 am

Staying in the Union is now riskier than independence

Devolutionary theory: How Westminster is killing the Union

21 October 2020 4:25 pm

Robert Conquest’s third law (which may not have been his third law) says that the behaviour of any bureaucratic organisation is…

To save the Union, negotiate Scotland’s independence

5 September 2020 9:00 am

The first cabinet meeting of the new term and Boris Johnson’s summer holiday were both dominated by one concern: how…

Scexit has become a matter of faith, not fact

30 August 2020 3:28 am

There is a satirical flowchart that sums up Scottish nationalism better than a thousand articles. It begins with the question:…

Here’s Nicola: can Boris Johnson stop Scottish independence?

15 August 2020 9:00 am

How can Boris deal with the looming question of IndyRef2?

Boris Johnson promises to ‘unite and level up’ the UK. Can he really achieve that?

14 December 2019 2:53 am

Boris Johnson’s victory speech in Downing Street was aimed at the voters unsure about his government, whether they be the…

Nicola Sturgeon’s threat of Indyref2 could save the Scottish Tories

30 November 2019 9:00 am

In the village of Waterfoot on the outskirts of Glasgow, a lady in her thirties is explaining to her local…