Jimmy Halliday We are saddened to report the death of  Jimmy Halliday, Chairman and guiding light of the Scots Independent since it became a private company in 1957. He had also been the youngest Chairman ever of the SNP from 1956 to 1960. Jimmy died in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee on Thursday 3rd January 2013, aged 85. He had been in apparently good health until mid December. His obituary and tributes will be published in the February Scots Independent.   Accentuate the Positive So far this year there has been the same old negativity regarding the political discussion about our future. Was it really too muchRead More →

Today it’s all about Trident. A Westminster committee has declared that a “Yes” vote would cost Scotland 19,000, as moving British illegal weapons off the Clyde would require fewer Scots to work on them. There’s a massive moral problem with Trident – it’s a weapon that is indiscriminate about who it kills, and can kill thousands. But leave all that aside, if you can. Trident is enormously expensive. Modest estimates of how much it would cost to replace the system run from around £10bn in initial outlay to £83.5bn over the next 50 years. Obviously this varies depending on which academic, think tank or politicianRead More →

Last week I said I would publish, via the Flag, at least the editorials in the printed Scots Independent  a month or so afterwards. This week I am publishing the one for November; I usually do the Flag over the Christmas period as other Compilers may wish to have a complete break from politics, but I am too old and set in my ways to change! FIRST MINISTER’S NEW YEAR MESSAGE Monday December 31, 2012 Referendum to bring new opportunities for Scots to make own choices The First Minister’s New Year message has highlighted the restoration of free higher education as an example of theRead More →