• No jobs for a generation

    No jobs for a generation

    Payday loans, underemployment and the dole queue. This is the reality for thousands of young Scots, writes JON GREENAWAY. There’s a young lad that I work with – let’s call him Jack. He’s younger than me by a few years but Jack was going to be a professional footballer. It’s not just workplace bra...

  • This IS my home, you racist swine

    This IS my home, you racist swine

    TALAT YAQOOB is many things - feminist, hilarious, cheese aficionado. Oh, and Asian, which isn't  big deal until the media mobilises to reiterate (however well-intentioned) the apparent 'otherness' of the non-white population. You know, like it did yesterday. I rarely notice that I'm Asian. That might ...

  • How not to report a tragedy

    How not to report a tragedy

    Note to Editors, from staffer JOE ANGUS Please distribute this note to all writing staff, particularly those struggling with problems such as an enthusiasm for investigative journalism, newsroom tenacity and respect for the reader. Should any member(s) of your staff seem calm, cool-headed or even reflectiv...

24 May 2013 0 Read More...
23 May 2013 8 Read More...
23 May 2013 0 Read More...

SCOTSPOLITICS INTERVIEWS

John Lamont

John Lamont

In stark contrast to the UK party, the Scottish Conservatives have struggled to make waves within the current political narrative at Holyrood. However with the on-going decline of ...

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Other Posts

Independence

  • The economic case for Scottish independence

    Scotland's economy is stronger than you'd imagine, writes ALEX JOHNSTONE. For all the talk of the independence referendum unsettling the Scottish economy, in reality the Scottish economy has been o...

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  • Votes for prisoners

    Denying prisoners a vote in the 2014 independence referendum is both wrong and detrimental to society, writes STUART CRAWFORD. A bit of a stooshie this week over whether those who will be residing ...

    0 READ MORE

  • Scotland, don't let EU uncertainty put you off independence

    ALEX JOHNSTONE explores the complicated nuances of the EU, particularly Germany's emerging role, and argues this shouldn't be enough to scare voters away from independence. The European economic cr...

    0 READ MORE

  • Better Together's short-term campaign

    Better Together are consumed by 'winning' the campaign on a week-by-week basis, writes CRAIG GALLAGHER, but a focus on negative campaigning could rot them from the inside.  The pro-independence ga...

    4 READ MORE

  • Attacking people closes down the IndyRef debate

    In the wake of the Susan Calman furore, we see that bullying people for their opinions on the independence referendum just encourages tribalism and pig-headedness, writes TALAT YAQOOB. Last week, o...

    0 READ MORE

  • It's Scotland, guys, not Scandinavia

    So far both the Yes campaign and the SNP have repeatedly suggested that an independent Scotland could look to Scandinavian nations to provide inspiration for the basis of Scotland's political, economi...

    0 READ MORE

  • Devo-max solves nothing

    Those calling for devo-max are just fooling themselves if they think it will change Scotland, writes ALEX JOHNSTONE. The UK government has never been that comfortable with allowing the unlearned an...

    1 READ MORE

  • Will anti-Tory sentiment push us into independence?

    In terms of the pro-Unionist vote, calling last week a disaster might be kind, writes COLM CURRIE. The Tories’ lack of popularity in Scotland stretches many decades into the past and the Liberal Dem...

    1 READ MORE

  • Salmond can capitalise on The Sun's abandonment

    The Scottish Sun's decision to not support the Yes Campaign could be a blessing in disguise for Alex Salmond, writes NASH RIGGINS. Rupert Murdoch’s bromance with Alex Salmond apparently came to a...

    3 READ MORE

  • Gearing up for the IndyRef

    Last week fired the starting gun for the independence campaign to begin properly, writes JON GREENAWAY. So far, so good. After the announcement of the date of the referendum (the final series!) the...

    0 READ MORE

Holyrood

  • No jobs for a generation

    Payday loans, underemployment and the dole queue. This is the reality for thousands of young Scots, writes JON GREENAWAY. There’s a young lad that I work with – let’s call him Jack. He’s yo...

    0 READ MORE

  • Deep splits between Lamont and Miliband

    Clichéd and cringe-worthy though it may be to quote Lincoln, Labour needs to remember that "a house divided against itself cannot stand," writes ANDY DAVIS. In the run-up to their Spring party con...

    2 READ MORE

  • Your bigotry shouldn't keep a child from a loving home

    Thousands of children in Scotland need loving, supportive homes, writes BEN ACHESON, but somehow discrimination debates are overshadowing the central issue.  Over 16,000 children currently live in...

    0 READ MORE

  • Ian Taylor's donation is irrelevant to the IndyRef

    The provenance of donations to parties has been bandied around in the media lately, but JON GREENAWAY argues this should be irrelevant to political campaigns.  Professional politics is an idealist...

    7 READ MORE

  • Scrap Trident, feed the hungry

    A deeply unpopular Conservative Prime Minister coming to Scotland to preach about the need for nuclear weapons in light of the supposed threat from a nuclear weapon-less North Korea is almost farcical...

    0 READ MORE

  • SP's top Twitter politicians

    Hot on the heels of Colm's excellent piece discussing politicians on Twitter, ScotsPolitics presents our Top Nine elected representatives who are doing it properly. 1. Jamie Reed Not enough poli...

    0 READ MORE

  • What if Scotland says NO in 2014?

    Following Douglas Alexander's speech last weekend, ANDY DAVIS looks at the implications for Scotland if we remain within the Union.  As someone who is personally in favour of Scottish independence...

    2 READ MORE

  • Andy's FMQs roundup: 28 Feb 2013

    ANDY DAVIS ponders a rather philosophical session of First Minister's Questions. Throughout the ages, men and women have wondered about the nature of life, the point of human existence, and attempt...

    0 READ MORE

  • Left-wing Labour? Are you sure?

    When politicians start to achieve success they tend to stick with what they know works well with the electorate, writes JON GREENAWAY. After Ed Miliband achieved a small amount of positive presswhen ...

    3 READ MORE

  • Walk away, Scotland

    Scotland didn't vote for the welfare cuts, notes CRAIG GALLAGHER, so how can we stop being dragged along by Westminster's damaging decisions? Since at least 2009, when I left university full to bur...

    0 READ MORE

Culture

  • This IS my home, you racist swine

    TALAT YAQOOB is many things - feminist, hilarious, cheese aficionado. Oh, and Asian, which isn't  big deal until the media mobilises to reiterate (however well-intentioned) the apparent 'otherness' o...

    8 READ MORE

  • How not to report a tragedy

    Note to Editors, from staffer JOE ANGUS Please distribute this note to all writing staff, particularly those struggling with problems such as an enthusiasm for investigative journalism, newsroom te...

    0 READ MORE

  • Six tips for life in your mid-twenties

    IAIN CAMPBELL has some words of wisdom to pass on, so pull up a chair and sit up straight. When people ask me “how are you?” I pretty much always reply with “I’m fine, thanks, how are you?...

    1 READ MORE

  • Edinburgh welcomes UKIP

    MAX CREMA was in Edinburgh yesterday and here gives a first-hand account of UKIP leader Nigel Farage's unceremonious bum's rush out of Scotland's capital. In the tightly controlled and pre-tested w...

    8 READ MORE

  • Generation Y bother?

    Oh, you're putting the boot into the youngest generation? How original, writes JON GREENAWAY. If there is anything that commentators, politicians and cultural critics love to do its pander. Usually...

    2 READ MORE

  • Love me, love my human rights

    PAUL CRUIKSHANK brings back some love for the European Right. Well, rights.  With UKIP drawing an unnerving volume of support in England and the Conservatives repeating their intention to withdraw...

    0 READ MORE

  • The Bulgarian Myth

    Far from challenging Nigel Farage's view of Bulgaria, Channel 4 has just reinforced a tired, harmful stereotype, writes MIRELA PINCHEVA. Muddy dark streets, thriving weeds, litter, broken windows, ...

    0 READ MORE

  • Time to change the debate on contraception

    Let’s talk about sex, writes NASH RIGGINS. Earlier this week, a High Court in England effectively redefined the meaning of rape after it ruled that consensual sex between two people was no longer...

    2 READ MORE

  • Words speak louder than actions: a study of Kate Nash

    In the wake of the furore caused by Kate Nash's seemingly-careless use of 'whore' in a song title, LAUREN HOSSACK looks at whether there are 'right' and 'wrong' words to use.  A lot of the spats I...

    0 READ MORE

  • Your bigotry shouldn't keep a child from a loving home

    Thousands of children in Scotland need loving, supportive homes, writes BEN ACHESON, but somehow discrimination debates are overshadowing the central issue.  Over 16,000 children currently live in...

    0 READ MORE

OPINION MAKERS