BY EFFIE DEANS The SNP apparently wants “independence in the modern world” as opposed to independence in the ancient world or indeed in the world of the distant future. It wants Scotland to be wealthier, happier and fairer, but these would be changed little by independence. My wealth depends on the job that I do, what I inherit or my luck in winning a lottery. … Continue reading The Burden of Independence
BY EFFIE DEANS Nicola Sturgeon thinks that If Scots could have predicted what would happen after 2014, we would have voted for independence. In that case we would indeed have been wealthier, happier and fairer, but not for the reason she thinks. We could have bought Bitcoin when each one cost less than a pound. We could have predicted the winner of the Derby and … Continue reading O Brave New Scotland
BY EFFIE DEANS Now the Queen’s reign has reached seventy years many people will be reflecting on where we were in 1952 and where we may be going. The most important event was the end of the Cold War in 1991. This remains the case even as 2022 has seen a renewed threat from Russia and what might be called Cold War II. 1991 was … Continue reading Hope Rests with Conservatism
BY EFFIE DEANS It is expected that soon Nicola Sturgeon will announce her latest attempt to have a second independence referendum. Lots will be written about this, but it is not the most important issue facing Scotland. The most important issue is demographics, but almost nothing will be written about that. Alastair Allan SNP MSP for the Western Isles has admitted the importance of demographics. … Continue reading Voting with Our Feet
BY EFFIE DEANS If there were a Scottish independence referendum tomorrow who would win? I genuinely have no idea. I don’t think anyone does. You might as well toss a coin. But let’s ask a different question. If you asked 1000 Scottish nationalists who would win an independence referendum, 999 or more would answer that their side would win. If you asked 1000 Pro UK … Continue reading Nationalists’ Misplaced Confidence
BY EFFIE DEANS Why are there so many tales of corruption and scandal involving Scottish nationalists? Former SNP MP Natalie McGarry has just been convicted of embezzlement and will most likely be jailed. It is a sad story and each of us ought to regret the disgrace and ruin that this individual faces. She could have had a long career as an MP, instead it … Continue reading SNP Corruption Comes from the Top
BY EFFIE DEANS When the clocks change each year in Scotland each spring, I am able to see more of it. The weather may vary, but the daylight doesn’t and by June we have so much light that it is possible to go almost anywhere and get back in the same day. I take my own coffee and buy sandwiches in a supermarket so the … Continue reading Peace and Prosperity
BY EFFIE DEANS There is a tower near where I live. It was built in honour of some now forgotten landowner. The tower itself is almost forgotten and must attract few if any visitors. Yet when I turned up for the first time in many years, I discovered that it was locked by a chain and padlock. At the beginning of the pandemic, I imagine … Continue reading The Bin Elections
BY EFFIE DEANS Any measure that could conceivably be made to limit illegal immigration would be condemned by various people on the Left as godless or evil. Sending migrants to Rwanda has Ian Blackford, Nicola Sturgeon and various Scottish nationalist commentators tutting about wicked Tories showing once more why virtuous Scotland has to leave the UK. But so too would doing anything else. It might … Continue reading The SNP Rwanda Hypocrisy
BY EFFIE DEANS What happened in Bucha? The vast majority of us have no doubt that atrocities were committed. The pictures, films and reports are convincing. We still basically trust the Western media to tell the truth. Yet the Russians deny they have done anything wrong. This is a problem, not because it will convince the majority of us that the Russian forces are innocent, … Continue reading Bucha & Truth
BY EFFIE DEANS The war between Russia and Ukraine is essentially about different forms of nationalism. It is for this reason that it is relevant to Scotland. This is why the SNP is trying to create a narrative which it hopes will be helpful to its goal. After all Ukraine is the result of a successful secession movement. But it is also the victim of … Continue reading What Ukraine Teaches Us About Scottish & Irish Nationalism
BY EFFIE DEANS There is a moment in the Godfather when Vito Corleone tells his rather dense son Sonny “Never tell anybody outside the family what you’re thinking again.” He was right. The fact that Sonny revealed his opinion leads directly to an assassination attempt on Don Corleone and indirectly to Sonny’s death. I was reminded of this when Nicola Sturgeon chose to reveal her … Continue reading Having a Mayor
BY EFFIE DEANS It is difficult to write about a fast-moving conflict with limited information and much disinformation. But it is impossible to write about anything else as every other topic looks trivial. I am uninterested in the domestic politics of the UK and cannot bring myself even to notice whatever Nicola Sturgeon might be saying about it or anything else. The key with news … Continue reading Putin the Terrible
BY EFFIE DEANS Ukraine as a truly independent state has already ceased to exist. It may end up as a Russian vassal or it may largely be absorbed into Russia, but it is hard to see how it can truly regain control over its territory in the near future if ever. The Russians have taken over the second largest country in Europe. They cannot take … Continue reading We Must Defeat the USSR Again
BY EFFIE DEANS Scottish nationalism depends on the idea that nothing much would change if Scotland left the UK. It would merely involve Scottish MPs ceasing to sit on green benches in Westminster, instead of which they would go to Holyrood. Instead of being First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon would be Prime Minster, perhaps President or even Tsarina of all the Scotlands. We would no longer … Continue reading Leaving Шотландия (Scotland) Defenceless
BY EFFIE DEANS What is the greatest strategic threat facing the UK? Is it the next letter of the Greek alphabet Π [Pi] giving us a new more deadly variant of Covid? Well assuming that Π doesn’t offend the Chinese masters of the World Health Organisation like Ξ [Xi] did, it would still be no threat to the UK. An illness would have to be … Continue reading The SNP Variant
BY EFFIE DEANS When I read that Nicola Sturgeon wants to chop off the bottom of all the classroom doors in Scotland to increase ventilation my first thought was why don’t they open the windows instead? Decades from now as people wander through Scottish schools with doors like no others in the world, they might be curious about the phenomenon of the Scottish door. It … Continue reading Cutting off the Branch on Which She Sits
BY EFFIE DEANS There may have been some former Prime Ministers who were so saintly that everything they said and did in private in 10 Downing Street would have met the standards of probity set by Britain’s media, but I can’t think of one of them. Nor would I or anyone else that I have ever met want to be judged by the content of … Continue reading Mediaocracy
BY EFFIE DEANS The next General Election could be as far away as May 2nd 2024. We have all assumed that it would be sooner, but that was before the collapse in support for the Conservatives. Two and a half years ago we knew nothing about the pandemic, but instead were stuck in a Brexit stalemate with talk of a “people’s vote” and the prospect … Continue reading Will Scots Tire of Obeying Her?
BY EFFIE DEANS Who should pay for BBC TV programmes? Should it be those who watch them or everybody who owns a TV? I can remember when there were only three channels. If you owned a TV in Britain, you almost certainly watched quite a lot of BBC programmes or at least listened to the radio. The number of people who only watched ITV must … Continue reading The BBC Dines Out on Those Who Can’t
