Scotland

Interesting comments from Ruth Davidson, the chairthing of the Scottish Conservative Party, about her fellow countrymen. Only twelve per cent of Scots, she says, contribute more to the exchequer than they take out in the form of benefits. “The rest lie around on filthy sofas in subsidised homes, watching daytime television while farting, mainlining heroin and stuffing their sad grey faces with pies full of regurgitated sheep gizzards and Windolene.” Actually, I paraphrase a bit there. She didn’t say all that stuff. She just said almost nine out of ten Scots take more in benefits than they generate in wealth. This is, she says, shocking, and the Scots have too

Jo Swinson has just given what, by my count, is her third platform speech of the conference. All of them have been competently delivered and got her message across. She has an impressive ability to carry the hall with her. One can see why so many of those around Nick Clegg view her as the solution to the Lib Dems’ women problem. At the moment, all five of the party’s Cabinet ministers are men. Given her qualities as a communicator and her age—she’s 32, one would be tempted to tip Swinson as a future leader. But her seat is a problem. Her majority in East Dunbartonshire is only a touch

In 1997 the Labour government tampered with the UK constitution. They then vetoed anyone reading the minutes of the cabinet meeting where it was agreed a parliament for Scotland would be implemented. Now Gordon Brown, one of the architects of the Scottish Parliament, is about to start spreading the Scottish nationalist view in a lecture entitled ‘Scotland and Britain in 2025′ at the Edinburgh International Book Festival today. This raises the question: is Gordon Brown a Scottish nationalist? Kim Howells’ ‘smoking’ gun statement to the McKay Commission on 24 July 2012 revealed that Labour knew they would be creating an unstable UK. He acknowledged that the party knew the West

Brian Monteith has revived his Think Scotland website and as part of all this I’m scribbling there on Tuesdays. This week I’m busy cheering the SNP’s march to sanity on defence policy. Angus Robertson, the obvious candidate to combine the jobs of Foreign and Defence Secretary should Scotland become an independent state and remain governed by the SNP, has been busy leading the party back from the brink of student union yahooism and towards some kind of sweet sanity. Hence his proposal to abandon the SNP’s longstanding anti-NATO stance. Scotia free and braw will join the alliance provided some deal is done to remove the nukes from Faslane. At some

I’ve written an article for the Scotsman today arguing that Scotland needs many more immigrants. Aside from all the usual arguments in favour of this kind of blood transfusion I should also have said that increasing the number of non-Scots in Scotland is a useful hedge against being governed by, you know, Scots should we ever get around to voting in favour of independence… Anyway, here’s the gist of the damn thing: Though polling data says Scots are about as immigrant-friendly as Londoners – and, therefore, likely to be more relaxed about immigration than people in other parts of the United Kingdom – that still means some 70 per cent

It is Armed Forces Day and army morale is low – according to the Telegraph at least. The prospect of a 20 per cent cut in personnel is provoking anger in the ranks, which the civilian can perceive dimly by looking at the posts left on the Army Rumour Service. Rumours of amalgamation and abolition have been circulating for some time in the run up to next week’s announcement. The Telegraph reports that historic English regiments are going to be remoulded, especially those that rely on foreign recruits (usually from the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands). Two of the so-called ‘Super Regiments’, the Yorkshire Regiment and the Rifles, are set lose

The Union is safe — at least if last night’s Spectator debate was anything to go by. The motion ‘It’s time to let Scotland go’ was defeated by 254 votes to 43. The SNP weren’t present (they demanded two representatives on the panel, and we refused), but independent nationalist Margo MacDonald opened the debate. I thought CoffeeHousers may be interested in a summary of proceedings.   1) Margo MacDonald (for the motion) focused on foreign misadventures: Scottish soldiers should not fight American wars with British guns that were a greater threat to their own side than to the enemy. Money saved would go to essential social security. She explained that