On:
In: Kay Ullrich

That is a question every Nationalist of a certain age can answer.  I wish I could tell you that I was at the Hamilton Count!  Alas, however, I was 3,000 miles away in Dover, Delaware.  I had joined the Party in Ayr two years previously – but here I was in bloody Delaware when all was happening for the SNP!  However, it was world news, and I remember NBC covering Winnie’s triumphant train journey to Westminster and the tears of joy were running down my face. I returned from exile the next year and things were still buzzing with Winnie taking Westminster on single-handedly!  IRead More →

On:
In: Steven Marwick

I know that there are a lot of people in Scotland following the latest from Catalonia and looking for parallels with our own push for independence but the situation in Catalonia is nothing like that in Scotland. In Catalonia their democratically elected government called a referendum on independence for which, unlike here, there was no prospect of agreement with the Spanish Government. This was a move long in the making and despite the brutal repression from the Spanish state on referendum day, many turned out to vote, with the turnout topping 50% once the votes that were stolen by the security forces are included. ItRead More →

On:
In: Margaret Hamilton

Europe’s oldest independently run political newspaper The other week saw us take the Scots Independent newspaper to yet another conference. Conferences are important to attend as we engage with many of our subscribers and contributors as well as meeting potential new subscribers. Conferences have become so large these days that often delegates never find their way to the exhibitors hall due to the distance between it and the auditorium. Many new delegates do not know what the exhibitors’ hall is about and those who find their way to us often say ‘never knew you existed’ or ‘never heard of you’. So this week I amRead More →

On:
In: Jim Lynch

Observing the recent scenes from Catalonia and the appalling treatment of free citizens being treated as criminals in a way that would not be tolerated under any criminal justice law, I  was disappointed at how mealy mouthed the European Union treated this disgrace. The Spanish Government made great play as to how the Catalaonians were behaving unconstitutionally; it seems that anything the Catalans want is unconstitutional. Now here’s a thought – the UK does not have a constitution, a factor the Unionists seem quite proud of, so why cannot Scotland just declare UDI?  Also in that context, they seem to like to refer to theRead More →

On:
In: Grant Thoms

It may be messy. It may be frustrating. It may even be dangerous but the Catalan government continues to progress their case for independence with guile and right on their side. From silly mistakes like allowing the King of Spain to harangue Catalans on prime telly to the very sinister and offensive actions of the Civil Guardia, the Spanish establishment led by Mariano Rajoy have become Europe’s democratic clowns, forcing other EU member states into embarrassing associations with violence against peaceful electors. Boris Johnson’s FCO and personal tweets supporting the ‘rule of law’ as justification for the use of brute force by Spanish national policeRead More →

On:
In: Maureen Forbes

In September 2013 I travelled to Barcelona for a long weekend. Staying in the Hotel Continental on Las Ramblas, the very place that Orwell penned Homage to Catalonia, I hardly slept instead sitting on the balcony for most of the night watching everything that went on below me. The speed at which the street traders switched from selling sunglasses to umbrellas was fascinating as was where they stashed their wares and the “International Street Dancers” quickly drew large crowds yet sidled away unnoticed when the first look out spotted a policeman. The weekend before Independence Day, Placa de Catalunya had stalls similar to our ownRead More →

On:
In: Store

GET YOUR COPY NOW. PRE-RELEASE ORDER It is officially launched at the SNP Conference in the SECC, Glasgow on 10 October 2017 Secure your copy by purchasing now at https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product/hamilton-1967/Read More →

On:
In: Stephen Bird

One of my big failings in life is that I’m a big fan of American political satire and comedy. I love Saturday Night Live and even more Real Time with Bill Mather. I also confess to admiring the way American political shows use video clips of statements before challenging politicians to justify their views. The “Oh, that’s not what I said” line is destroyed even before it can be reached for, because we just watched you say it! Now justify! At the start of this administration I particularly liked the way Mellissa McCarthy destroyed the hapless Sean Spicer in his role of White House PressRead More →