BY EFFIE DEANS The problem with Scottish Conservatism is structural rather than personal. Ruth Davidson is better suited to leadership than either Douglas Ross or Jackson Carlaw. But this is because she is a first rate politician. It is not because her ideas are any different from theirs. They all more or less agree about everything and the everything they agree upon is mistaken. That … Continue reading End Conservative Declinism
BY EFFIE DEANS There are four European countries with populations of about five million: Denmark 5,799,640 757 Covid deaths Finland 5,545,596 369 Covid deaths Slovakia 5,462,617 510 Covid deaths Norway 5,436,637 294 Covid deaths Scotland 5,454,000 3280 Covid deaths Scotland is not listed as a European country, because it is not an independent sovereign nation state, but rather a region of the United Kingdom that happens to be called a country for historical reasons. However, … Continue reading Scotland’s Covid Disaster
BY EFFIE DEANS In most European countries there is only a moderate amount of coverage of American politics and American elections. They are interested of course in who wins, but they are not that interested. They don’t follow all the day to day details of American political life like we do in Britain. This is partly because they don’t speak English, but it’s also because … Continue reading Biden – Lame & Late
BY EFFIE DEANS Something odd happened yesterday. No. Let’s leave to one side the peculiarities of opinion polls, the American voting system and matters across the Atlantic that don’t really concern us, no matter how excited we might get about them. The SNP lost a vote in the Scottish Parliament. Opposition parties including the usually loyal Scottish Greens united to defeat the SNP Government 63 to … Continue reading Angry Salmond Haunts the SNP
BY EFFIE DEANS Nicola Sturgeon once said that independence transcends everything else. This is the main problem with the SNP. It also explains what might appear to be otherwise unrelated issues. Humza Yousaf has explained that he wants to punish Scots for having insulting conversations at home. While we would retain the right to be offensive anyone stirring up hatred against various protected groups will … Continue reading Let’s Never Heil Humza
BY EFFIE DEANS There’s an Austrian school of economics. After Emma Harper, an SNP MSP’s confusion about what a currency is, we obviously need an SNP school too. 1. In an independent Scotland we could make money from non-existent secret oil fields even if the price of oil can turn negative. 2. Scotland already has its own currency because we have different bank notes to … Continue reading The SNP School of Economics
BY EFFIE DEANS We have all rather forgotten about Brexit in the past few months. Whatever damage Brexit might have done to the economy is trivial compared to what Covid has done. Being locked up in our homes with an illness killing thousands with no end in sight has rather put other matters in perspective. If we can manage Covid and we will have to, … Continue reading No Deal & Scotland
BY EFFIE DEANS Recently the Shetland Council declared that it would explore autonomy. Could Shetland declare independence either from the UK or from Scotland? Could it declare that it was autonomous from either? In terms of law the answer is No. Shetland is part of the UK territory and does not have a unilateral right to declare either autonomy or independence. Anyone who doubts this … Continue reading Shetland Independence?
BY EFFIE DEANS The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints has come to a halt. It cannot proceed further at the moment because of witnesses not attending and evidence not being supplied. The Committee (otherwise known as the Salmond Inquiry) is waiting for responses from the Scottish Government, SNP Chief Peter Murrell (Nicola Sturgeon’s husband) and Alex Salmond. Linda Fabiani (an SNP … Continue reading A Gun Soon To Smoke
BY EFFIE DEANS Sir Keir Starmer wants voters to believe that Labour has rediscovered its patriotism and that it loves Britain as much as everyone else. He wants us to believe that Labour is different now than it was when it was led by Jeremy Corbyn. It is clear that Starmer is a much better leader than Corbyn. He is a more moderate leader and … Continue reading New Leadership, Same Fossils
BY EFFIE DEANS How does civilisation begin? It begins with agriculture. Prior to the development of agriculture all we have is hunter gatherers in small bands living from moment to moment intent only on the bare necessities of life such as obtaining food and shelter. What enabled the transition to agriculture? It was the division of labour. In order for people to settle down and … Continue reading Casting Hume into the Flames
BY EFFIE DEANS The British Government has been attempting to maintain friendly relations with the SNP and the Scottish Government just as we have attempted to maintain friendly relations with the EU. There is clearly no point falling out with anyone unnecessarily. But cooperation and friendly relations ultimately depend on a foundation of there being the alternative of unfriendly relations. At times the UK has … Continue reading How to Defeat the SNP Forever
