Latest News & Articles
Media Watch - Scotland’s mainstream media ignores the downside of dodgy trade deals
July 27, 2022“I have negotiated dozens of trade deals”, candidate for PM Liz Truss said in a debate on BBC TV this week. Since Brexit, the UK has rolled over existing EU deals covering 63 countries. It is not true to say that Truss negotiated these - they were already in place, negotiated by the EU, and have simply been...
Five Reasons Scotland can be confident of rejoining the EU
As Scotland reboots its independence campaign, the European situation has changed in major respects since 2014. Here are some of the factors that underlie the Yes movement’s renewed confidence over EU membership. #1 If Scotland had voted ‘Yes; in 2014, we would still be in the EU todayRewind to 2014. The Spanish Foreign Minister at the time, commented that as long...
The UK Gov's Crime Against Democracy - suppressing Scottish votes
As the candidates for the next Prime Minister continue to voice more and more extreme right-wing priorities thats are out of step with the vast majority of Scottish voters, speculation rises that there could be a general election within the next few months. But if that were to happen, almost one in ten voters could be stopped from casting their...
Ten ways the UK Government is undermining Scotland’s devolution
Since the Brexit vote, Westminster has been determined to take back control - of Scotland. It wants to go back to an old version of the power relationship that predates the era of both countries joining the EU. It is tearing up the agreed legal framework that was established on the basis of the 1997 referendum where devolution was...
"Scottish democracy can’t be a prisoner of Boris Johnson or any other Prime Minister"
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced in Parliament today that there will be a second independence referendum to be held on Thursday, October 19th, 2023. Nicola Sturgeon said the referendum has already been referred to the Supreme Court, by the Lord Advocate. She hopes it will be allowed, without a section 30 order from the UK government, but said “If it does...
The day that Britain died - rights ripped from Scotland’s devolution settlement
History may record that Britain finally died the day the UK Government decided to rip the European Convention on Human Rights from the heart of Scotland’s devolution settlement. The leader of the group which drew up the Convention, in 1950, was a Scottish lawyer, Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe. As a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, David had seen first-hand...
Why doesn’t BBC Scotland tell the truth about Brexit?
As evidence mounts that Brexit is playing a major part in the UK’s cost of living crisis, the national broadcaster appears to be avoiding reporting honestly on the subject. Why is this? One reason is that as Scotland moves towards an independence referendum, the issue of Brexit is particularly sensitive. Scotland voted against Brexit - it was foisted upon us. ...
The moral case for independence - should Scotland allow itself to be represented by lawbreakers?
The UK Government’s draft law to illegally set aside part of the Northern Ireland protocol threatens to cause reputational and economic damage to Scotland as well as to the rest of the UK. It also creates a moral argument for independence - should Scotland allow itself to be represented in foreign affairs by lawbreakers? For as long as Scotland remains...
Ten key takeaways from Nicola Sturgeon's Indyref2 scene-setter speech (4min read)
The SNP/ Green Alliance that forms the Scottish government has a cast-iron mandate to hold a new independence referendum before the end of 2023. To facilitate that they needed to fire the starting gun on the political campaign before the Holyrood recess at the end of June and fire it they did. Today the FM alongside co-leader of the...
Ten reasons Scotland can't afford to stay in the UK any longer
Campaigners for the union try to make people fear that independence somehow risks damaging Scotland’s prosperity. Indeed, it sometimes appears to be their only tactic. All the evidence suggests that Scotland has what it takes to thrive as an independent nation - it will be the most advanced and wealthiest nation ever to achieve its independence. Within the Union, Scotland...
Remaining in the UK is a threat to Scottish universities and students
English students face extortionate interest rates of 12% on their loansStudents in Scotland do not pay fees to attend university. They can borrow money for living expenses if they live away from home, but are charged much lower interest rates for repayment. Most Scottish students currently pay 1.5% interest on their loans. English-based students borrow both fees and living...
Old chestnuts from the New Statesman
The New Statesman is as Unionist as any publication in Britain despite its left-wing image. That stance is evident in articles about both Scotland and Northern Ireland.A recent issue saw the nightmarish prospect of nuclear attack by Russia in terms of the UK”s constitutional question. It argued that Scots would not wish to become independent if it meant getting rid...
Scottish election results treated as an afterthought by UK broadcasters
There is no dedicated TV show to focus on Scotland’s detailed election results they come out today. Scotland’s council voting is on the Single Transferable Vote which is more complicated to count. That is one reason why the decision was taken to do it in day-time rather than through the night. Watching votes being counted, seeing the results announced live, hearing...
Labour Lords Plot to Make an Indyref2 Illegal - key questions answered
The House of Lords contains more peers that are than it does peers who support Scottish independence. It is an out-dated antidemocratic institution packed with cronies of the UK's ruling elite.Some peers - led by Scottish Labour's Baron Foulkes - are now putting forward a new law which would make it illegal for the Scottish Government to hold an...
Why Quebec's independence dream went wrong - lessons for Scotland
Between 1990 and 2005, about 50% of people in Quebec said they wanted independence from Canada. But since then, that has fallen to a third. During the rise of the Quebec independence movement, there were two referendums. The first was in 1980 when the proposal for more sovereignty was rejected by a 59.56 percent to 40.44 percent margin. The...