When I first saw the photo on social media I thought it was a fake, a mock up created by some user in order to make a point about the slide of Britain into authoritarianism and outright fascism. But sadly, it was all too real. The photograph of Regent Street in…

On Sunday there were two important political developments. As the long-awaited Sue Gray report comes closer to publication following the conclusion of a police investigation which saw the Prime Law-Breaker and the Chancellor both be fined for breaking lockdown laws, and over a hundred fixed penalty notices being issued to staff…

Peter Hitchens, the conservative contrarian who hates to be called a contrarian, has decided that Brexit isn’t enough to restore greatness to England as it still leaves England encumbered with Scotland and Wales, countries which he appears to see as lesser nations which sap the glory that rightfully belongs to England…

In an earlier piece this week I remarked that the current behaviour of Satan’s little helpers the DUP, following their historic defeat in the recent Northern Irish Assembly elections demonstrated the fundamentally undemocratic nature of British nationalism in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. British nationalism is a dogma which disguises itself…

Holyrood’s resident gammonista gum-bumper has been at it again. Scottish Tory list MSP Stephen Kerr, a B-movie version of a James Bond baddie, is one of those middle class right wing British nationalist heterosexual white men who are convinced that the world is eager for their hot takes on all and…

Boris Johnson visited Northern Ireland on Monday to meet with the parties elected to Stormont after last week’s elections which saw a historic victory for Sinn Fein. For the first time since the British carved Northern Ireland out of Ireland with borders drawn in such a way as to guarantee a…

One of the most persistent and pernicious claims of opponents of independence is that the desire to see a restoration of Scottish statehood is motivated by nothing more than anti-English racism and a hatred of Scotland’s southern neighbour. It’s a claim which serves a number of purposes, which is why it…

This week we had the spectacle that is the state opening of the Westminster Parliament in which elderly men and women raided the dressing up box and bedecked themselves in fancy costumes. The vast majority of the Lords and Ladies in their ermine robes and coronets are no more lords or…

Some of you may have had the immense misfortune to witness Michael Gove’s, eh, let’s call it a “performance” on the BBC Breakfast news on Wednesday morning. Readers of a certain age may remember Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks, way back when John Cleese was still funny. The Secretary of…

There are long term and short term lessons to be drawn from last week’s elections. In the short term, there are now serious questions about the position of Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, who pins the blame for the catastrophic performance the Scottish Tories at last week’s local elections on Boris…

The Gaelic language is a crucial and integral part of the cultural heritage of everyone in Scotland – everywhere in Scotland. It is literally written into the Scottish landscape in all parts of our country. Sadly however, the Gaelic language is facing a serious threat to its continuing existence as a…

The dust is settling from last week’s local government elections, and it’s clear that they delivered very good results for the two largest pro-independence parties with both the SNP and the Greens gaining seats. Although the Labour party has been excitedly hailing its great success, the truth is that they did…

It’s the local elections tomorrow, and as with every election in Scotland over the past few years, it will be used as a proxy referendum on support for independence. However the anti-independence media and parties will as always ignore votes cast for pro-independence parties other than the SNP when they try…

While the anti-independence media in Scotland, which is to say most of it, remain fixated on ferries, the Conservatives are getting on with the dismantling of Britain’s already fragile democracy. The collection of customs, practices, and laws which collectively amount to what passes for a British constitution are already hopelessly inadequate…

On Tuesday Billy Kay, the writer, broadcaster, and advocate for the Scots language, gave an address to the Scottish Parliament, The Time for Reflection address is not meant to be partisan or party political and Billy’s eloquent speech most certainly was not. Instead he used his address to highlight the importance…