Independence: What is actually useful in GERS?

The annual GERS ritual bashing of Scotland is upon us again. This year, probably because Scotland’s position has improved in GERS terms we’ve seen less bashing than usual. But this post isn’t to join the usual arguments but to highlight some facts and figures which show how much better off Scotland could be if it […]

Who Pays for Pensions in an Independent Scotland?

Recently the question of State pensions in an iScotland and more particularly who pays for them has reared its ugly head again. Claim and counter claim from Unionist and independence supporting politicians, commentators and newspaper columnists has created a great deal of uncertainty. Uncertainty tied up with the usual scaremongering will of course be welcomed […]

I Told You So

This is the first in a short series of articles exploring the ramifications of the result in the recent Scottish parliamentary elections. First the result itself. SNP 64, Conservatives 31, Labour 22, Greens 8, Lib Dems 4. On the face of it very little changed. The SNP added 1 seat to their tally from 2016. […]

Vote 1, Vote 2 What Should I Do?

May 2021. Quite simply the most important Scottish Parliament elections ever. This is crunch time for the independence movement not to mention the Scottish National Party. The aftermath of this election, assuming an independence supporting majority in parliament, is make or break. Indyref2 or bust. We’ve got two votes to cast, how should we use […]

Lessons in Democracy Part 3 (The Twilight Zone)

In this third, final and a little lengthy article, I want to lay out how I think the Scottish government should proceed to secure a new independence referendum and other possible outcomes. Firstly, we need to look at why the Scottish government has been pursuing the Section 30 route to a referendum. The reason is […]

Lessons in Democracy Part 2 (Mandate? what mandate?)

What kind of Scotland do you want? Two faces for the future. Take your pick. The second part of this article is a brief recap of what constitutes a mandate for a referendum and the legitimacy, or lack of it, in the refusal of the UK government to grant a S30 order. It’s ridiculous that […]

Lessons in Democracy Part 1 (How Covid 19 saved the SNP)

This is the first in a short series of 3 articles around the steps the Scottish government should be taking to ensure indyref2 happens, how things have developed over recent months and what I believe should happen now. Along the way I’m going to be reminding people of how parliamentary democracy works or at least […]

Labour’s Death Throes

The Labour party have kicked off the Spring conference season. Perhaps Kez or Corbyn will pack the place out but so far the conference looks sparsely attended compared to conferences of yesteryear. One of the reasons for that may be that nowhere on Labour’s conference site could I find out where the conference was actually […]

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Unsurprisingly I suppose, Tony Blairs foray into the Brexit debate has been met with opprobrium from all sides, emphasising how completely he seems to have pissed off everyone across the political spectrum including his own party. His speech to Open Britain makes the case for a second EU referendum based on the first vote being […]

Things Can Only Get Better……………..Maybe Not

Just a brief post today. Events are happening so fast it is hard to keep up and by the time I get round to placing a post things have moved on. When I say events I’m talking about the sort of issues that have emerged from the Tory party conference. The party has definitely morphed […]

Moron Of The Day 9

Here we are again with the latest in our Moron of the Day feature. Today’s lucky recipient is Neil Findlay MSP (Labour). His inclusion marks a new departure in this series. He is the first Labour MP or MSP to feature in the series. Another departure is that I normally write these pieces in a […]

Moron of The Day 8

Here we are again with our occasional series, Moron of the Day. Now to be fair had I had the time over the last couple of months I could have written a couple of dozen of these so todays recipient was just unlucky enough to come across my radar at 10pm on a Tuesday evening […]

In, Out, Round About? – A Guide to the EU Referendum for the Independent Scot

Feeling confused? Don’t know which way to turn? Is the only flag you’re waving a white one? Fear not mackisimul’s guide to voting in the EU referendum is here to lead you into the light. This ‘guide’ takes a particularly Scottish slant to the referendum because as in most things the view from Scotland, the […]

Dumb and Dumber

Kezia Dugdale Leader of the Scottish Labour Naehope Party What a choice eh? I can’t say I’m greatly engaged by the 2016 Scottish election. It’s all rather predictable.  But there are some things worth commenting on, mainly around tax policy, and I hope to have the time to do that before the election, perhaps even […]

Moron of the Day 7

Moron of the Day 6

We return with our occasional series ‘Moron of the Day’. Now to be honest we have not blogged much recently due to a shortage of time and to an extent a shortage of suitable material that hasn’t already been well covered elsewhere. But we couldn’t resist today’s subject, John Lamont MSP (Conservative, Ettrick, Roxburgh & […]

Methinks they doth protest too much

The furore over Alistair Carmichael’s non-resignation this week has served to underline the complete lack of moral compass in either our national politicians or our national press. Their repeated attempts to justify the former Secretary of State for Scotland’s behaviour and apply convoluted logic to convince the public, and indeed themselves, that he has commited […]

Renton Was Right

It is too early to analysis the referendum defeat and be able to see rational reasons to explain the failure. But expressing the immediate feelings and looking at what may come next is also valid while the emotions are still raw. Of many memories of this campaign one that stands out for me was a […]

Now’s the day an now’s the hour

As I sit down to write this last article before the referendum vote I’ve been looking back on what I wrote in my first article for Newsnetscotland. That was just after the SNP victory in the 2011 election(Keep calm and carry on, 9/5/2011). I was surprised that so much of what I wrote then had […]

Moron of the Day 5

We return with our occassional series, Moron of the Day, with a topical example as the World Cup in Brazil approaches its climax. Footie fans among you will be aware that after a lacklustre performance, from which they garnered only one point, England made an early exit (no sniggering at the back). As is the […]