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In: Grant Thoms, Uncategorized

The psychodrama that has prevailed amongst a minority of the national movement derived from #MeToo, the Alex Salmond affair and slanging matches over a gender recognition bill, which is no longer on the parliamentary timetable, must now stop.  Alex Salmond is innocent of criminal activity but clearly has a tarnished reputation from activities that took place during his time as the inhabitant of Bute House. Behaviour which is unbecoming of the First Minister of Scotland. However, that is now in the past and a line must be drawn under it. Revenge, which now seems to be the priority, is a dish best served cold andRead More →

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In: Grant Thoms

A Scottish voter, with even a cursory glance at traditional or social media, could be forgiven for thinking the SNP is playing out a bizarre re-enactment of a Shakespeare tragedy. The lines they speak are particularly difficult to comprehend unless you are well versed in the lingo. The plot twists and turns and there is definitely a Macbeth or two out there with paranoid delusions. However, I write this in the aftermath of the monthly branch meeting with over forty people glued to a screen for the ubiquitous Zoom call. The agenda was skewed towards preparations and activity for the Scottish Parliament elections. Candidate wasRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms

As we approach the festive season, we are often told it’s more important to give than to receive. As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, he is the gift to Scottish independence that keeps on giving. In a private Zoom call to Northern English Tories, he pronounced that “devolution has been a disaster” and poor we Dougie Ross is left apoplectic. However, to the diehard Unionist cause, it is manna from heaven. They hate devolution and believe now that abolishing the Scottish Parliament is the answer. Meanwhile, the rumour mill over the past week has been strong on suggestions the Scottish Tories are re-shapingRead More →

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In: Grant Thoms, Uncategorized

A new poll by Progress Scotland has created a stushie with a resounding message: the vast majority of Scots want decisions about Scotland to be made in Scotland. As SNP Depute Leader, Keith Brown says: “This poll confirms that we are winning the economic argument over Scotland’s future. More and more, people across Scotland believe that independence will not only give us a stronger voice in the world but will also benefit our economy. The threat to jobs and living standards posed by Brexit has eroded any remaining confidence voters had in Westminster having control over Scotland’s finances.” So with a stronger, more compelling caseRead More →

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In: Grant Thoms

Eight months to go until the Scottish electorate (all things being safe), give their verdict on the SNP in government and the desire for a second independence referendum. Thursday 6 May 2021 should be ringed on your calendar if it hasn’t been already. We know for certain that at least a fifth of the current MSPs are not standing again and they should be rightly praised for the hard work they have done for Scottish democracy over the Scottish Parliament’s current 21-year history. Without the sterling efforts of this band of veteran parliamentarians, the Scottish Parliament would not be the primary trusted legislative body thatRead More →

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In: Grant Thoms, Uncategorized

Riding high in the polls, a political leader with a strong public approval rating, our FM in the world top 5 of women leaders, on course for a general election victory and outright independence majority, the closest we have ever been to our political goal and what could possibly go wrong? For starters, internal division. The suggestion by some independence supporters that the SNP and, by implication or direct accusation, Nicola Sturgeon are not interested in independence beggars’ belief. Polling analysis by Sir John Curtice (no ally of independence), that the sustained lead for independence is gaining momentum and the SNP-led national movement has crossedRead More →

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In: Grant Thoms

Boris is back and don’t we know it. The blunderpuss of British politics just couldn’t help himself last week when he rushed to make a point to Keir Starmer at PMQs that he would be announcing the next stage of the lockdown management in a televised address to the nation. The civil service were not ready to publish plans and messaging strategy in four days, but that didn’t stop Boris. Message-testing was through a select focus group of right-leaning journalists; just an average representative sample population! The televised address was lifted straight from a Yes Prime Minister scene. Full of contradictory rhetoric: manna from heavenRead More →

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In: Grant Thoms

For the first time in the 94 years of publishing the Scots Independent, there is no printed edition. Issue 1094 was only published online due to our printers being in lockdown. However frustrating this appears for us, especially with the beautiful cover illustration by Andrew Barr, we played our part in stopping non-essential work. The mainstream press has continued to print encouraging readers to risk travel to newsagents and supermarkets. The freedom of the press is important but when our global community has responded to novel Covid 19 by digitising our communication as much as possible, perhaps those papers need to reflect on their profit-seeking.Read More →

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In: Grant Thoms

A recent event for public relations professionals heard from three political journalists covering a tabloid, a quality broadsheet and the BBC. Their personal details are unimportant: we focus too much on personality and forget to listen to what others are actually saying, whether their argument is grounded or contestable. After 90 minutes of question and analysis, a realisation struck on how Holyrood-centric the discussion was focused. A London metropolitan-centric viewpoint has become easy to identify, label and rail against; but are we in danger of being caught in a bubble of tartan proportions? Scant mention of the asymmetric devolution mess that the UK created underRead More →

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In: Grant Thoms

There is endless commentary which questions ‘where are we going next?’ in the independence campaign. Invariably it involves second-guessing the First Minister’s strategy or pre-empting the UK Government’s response to further demands for an independence referendum, especially in light of the Prime Minister’s firm refusal to the First Minister’s request for a Section 30 Order. For some, that refusal was a litmus test for more one-sided actions such as a consultative referendum, civil disobedience, unilateral declaration of independence or even more extreme measures. Whilst all of these suggestions strike a chord with the majority of independence supporters, they are the sort of measures which willRead More →