Boris Johnson’s recent visit to Scotland was supposed to demonstrate the strength of the United Kingdom and the benefits of “mutual cooperation” between its constituent nations. Few people were convinced, however, of the sincerity of the messenger, or the point of the message pitched by Britain’s ‘Minister for the Union’.
Continue reading Boris Not WelcomeTag: SNP
Dundee City Council Backs Rotten Freeport Bid
Since September, discussions between Forth Ports, owner of the Port of Dundee, and Dundee City Council have progressed plans to establish a ‘freeport’ in the City.
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Tory distain for devolution boosts independence cause
The Prime Minister’s choice of words has landed him in hot water again this week, as leaked reports from a meeting with Tory MPs have him calling Scottish devolution a “disaster” and a “mistake”.
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Rifts in the SNP: How should the Left respond?
Whilst support for independence is growing, tensions within the SNP are also becoming more apparent. We’re just over half a year away from Holyrood elections where these increasing pressures will put the relatively stable dominance of the SNP to the test.
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Social housing crisis is failure of pro-market policies
In any country that claims to care about the basic needs of its citizens, and where homelessness and precarious housing is on the rise, providing homes for people ought to be a priority of the Government. This is as true for the Scottish Government as it would be for any other, yet it consistently falls short on its promises.
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SNP Side with Tories to Block Support for Tenants
By Phil Martin, IMT Edinburgh
MSPs belonging to the Scottish National Party teamed up with the Tories in the Scottish Parliament at the end of May in order to vote against measures designed to protect tenants during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Members of the parliamentary COVID-19 committee were considering amendments to emergency legislation that were put forward by Scottish Labour and the Scottish Green Party.
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Scotland: An Independent European nation?
When the results of the 2016 EU membership referendum came in, Nicola Sturgeon took to the airwaves to denounce the fact that while the rest of the UK had voted to Leave, Scottish voters had not. While this fact has been consistently used to make a democratic case for independence, the SNP policy on the EU has evolved multiple times: from “special status”, to Single Market membership, to “Stop Brexit”. As Britain has now left the EU, this process of evolution has merged the two questions, with the main SNP slogan now being “an independent European nation”: advocating that an independent Scotland would re-join the European Union.
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SNP Currency Debate: Divisions Open over Future of Indy
After the defeat of Yes in the 2014 independence referendum, many supporters saw the question of Scotland’s currency as a key weakness of the campaign. It has been a looming issue in the nearly five years since, with much of the grassroots movement demanding a bold and straightforward policy from the SNP. This came to a head in the SNP’s spring conference, where delegates clashed with the leadership over the question of a new Scottish currency.
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Scottish Labour, The National Question and The SNP
By Ross Walker
After two years of utter humiliation following the 2014 referendum, 2017 saw a gradual improvement in Scottish Labour’s fortunes. In June they increased their seats from 1 to 7 in the snap Westminster election. In November, left-winger, Richard Leonard was elected after decades of right wing leadership. The party finished the year with some polls showing them having overtaken the Tories in popularity.
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SNP Draft Budget Changes Nothing
By Harvey Dodds, IMT Edinburgh
The draft budget presented by the Scottish Government in December marked a chance for the SNP to embellish the anti-austerity credentials they have earned in recent years with a bold budget. With the tax powers that have been devolved to Holyrood, it would have been possible to significantly raise tax for the highest earners in order to fund redistributive policies, public sector pay, and investment without affecting lower earners. This, however, was not the case.
