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I started off this Flag with the purpose of covering the very first issue of the Scots Independent in November 1926, but the current political situation decreed I should do more, so here is a miscellany of recent events.   Brian Cox  was a surprise guest at Alex Salmond Unleashed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; he sees the arrival of Brexit  as making the second independence referendum inevitable. I met him briefly at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on the 2014 referendum night – good memories of Brian Cox, bad memories of the referendum.   His comment that the Yes campaign has to get its act togetherRead More →

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Gordon Wilson The week ending 1 July this year was a momentous one for Scotland.  At 5.30 on the morning of Sunday 25 Jun, the SNP’s former leader, Gordon Wilson, died in Roxburgh House Dundee.   He had been ill for a few short weeks. When I joined the SNP Gordon was the National Secretary, then the second most powerful person in the Party, after the Chairman.  At that time I was unaware of his colourful past as the instigator of Radio Free Scotland.  I had never seen any of the broadcasts, as they came at the closing down of the BBC for the night, butRead More →

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Slight problem with items this week, Scottish Parliament in recess, Compiler struggling with Windows 10, Word, and old age😊   Sunday 2nd July SNP WARN UK GOVERNMENT AGAINST BYPASSING PARLIAMENT ON SYRIA STRIKES The SNP’s Defence spokesperson has written to Michael Fallon warning the UK government against bypassing parliament in order to “fall blindly in line to the Trump tune,” with extended military action in Syria without approval. During Business Questions, Stewart McDonald MP raised Sir Michael Fallon’s TV interview in which the Defence Secretary stated that the UK “will fully support any US action”, reminding the UK government that any attempt to bypass parliamentRead More →

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DIVIDED LABOUR PLEDGES WHAT SNP ALREADY DELIVERS SNP LEADING UK POLICY DEBATE – AND LEADING OPPOSITION TO TORIES AT WESTMINSTER Commenting on Labour’s manifesto launch, SNP Depute Leader and candidate for Moray, Angus Robertson said: “Labour are pledging today what the SNP are already delivering for the people of Scotland. “Scrapping hospital parking charges, free tuition, publicly-owned water, ending the Bedroom Tax, increasing renewable energy and expanding free childcare will all seem familiar to voters in Scotland – because they are already happening under an SNP government. “And on Scotland, Labour can only mimic the Tories’ anti-independence obsession. “In Scotland we don’t need a poorRead More →

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Dave Thompson At the Spring Conference in Aberdeen this year I was sitting beside Veronica Thompson, wife of Dave Thompson, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch until he stepped down at the 2016 Scottish Elections.  The Conference hall was packed, and I remarked to her “Very few people in this hall will know who Dave Thompson is and what he achieved” This set me thinking and this May is the 10th Anniversary of the dramatic SNP win in May 2007, with one seat more than Labour, so I dusted down the old SI file and brought up the report from John Jappy – published inRead More →

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The die has been cast: on Tuesday 28th March the Scottish Parliament voted to ask Westminster for the authority to hold a Referendum. The SNP had 64 votes and the Greens cast their 5; the other parties had 59 votes.  I knew the Greens were going to support the SNP, but  there can be many a slip between cup and lip, and the Greens main plank is the environment, not independence.  Nevertheless they were  true to their word.  Ruth Davidson bleated protest in a quickfire fashion, I did not see Kezia Dugdale nor Willie Rennie. David Mundell burbled away as Theresa May’s stooge – nothingRead More →

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23 Mar 17 TRUST IN SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT REMAINS OVER TWICE AS HIGH AS UK GOV People in Scotland are overwhelmingly more likely to trust the Scottish Government than the UK government to work in Scotland’s best interests, new figures show. The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2016 shows that 65% of people trusted the Scottish Government to work in Scotland’s best interests, compared to 25% who trusted the UK government. This trust rating is 14% higher than when Labour left power. The survey also showed that 75% of people believe the Scottish Government should have most influence over the way Scotland is run, with only 14%Read More →

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Strange things happening today; I customarily look at Wings Over Scotland and newsnetscotland more or less every day, but have been having a few problems, no doubt due to Windows 10, Word and general auld man’s incompetence.  However today when I clicked on newsnetscotland I got a big notice  “403 –  Access to this site is forbidden.”  So I have been unable to read the thoughts of Derek Bateman;  I tried going through his website but fell at the first twitter!  Might come all right.  Wings was OK.   I returned last week from a fortnight in Lanzarote, very nice.  My eldest son and hisRead More →

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This week the Scots Independent newspaper had its 90th Birthday;  there was a well attended lunch in the Salutation Hotel on Saturday 5th November.   There were stunning displays of the SI through the years in one part of the room, and a brilliant slide show of various events and characters past and present, in the SNP and the SI – I found it overwhelming.   Our guest of honour, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, PC, MSP, presented commemorative plaques to long term SI supporters, Denholm Christie, current SI Chairman, Ken Fee, SI editor for almost 20 years, myself, Editor for three months which stretched toRead More →

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I was at the SNP Conference in Glasgow on Friday and Saturday last week and met many old friends and made some new ones.  As happened before, I feel the venue is too big, too many offshoots, but then again it is a pleasure to see so many people I do not recognise – once upon a time you would know most, but now we’re getting somewhere we have thousands of members.  It’s great.   Happily, we had no major rows, but then again, we do not wish them, the days when we could have a public dispute are largely gone, our enemies, particularly thoseRead More →