BY EFFIE DEANS There’s a long street in Aberdeen called Union Street, but the name has nothing to do with England and Scotland. It was named after the Act of Union between the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland in 1800. The Conservative Party is officially the Conservative and Unionist Party. But the Unionist bit is due to the merger in 1912 … Continue reading Union Beware
BY EFFIE DEANS In Moscow Lavrentiy Beria, Head of the NKVD, used to cruise around in his limousine looking for cute girls. When he found what he was looking for he would point her out and have her brought to his dacha. There would be wine and food and afterwards he would sleep with her. On departure the girl would be given a bouquet – … Continue reading Scotland Becoming Russia
BY EFFIE DEANS I was sleeping when we left the EU. It is a matter of complete indifference to me if a fifty pence coin turns up in my change marking the event. If something about being European trends on Twitter I feel slightly amused that some people might think that such things matter. Symbolism doesn’t matter. Reality matters. It’s already clear that nothing bad … Continue reading The Dwindling Sect of Rejoin
BY EFFIE DEANS One of the main reasons that I oppose left-wing thinking is that I want people to be treated as individuals rather than as members of a group. I have the same duty to treat everyone I come across morally no matter what they look like, where they are from or how they choose to live their lives. There isn’t a special quality … Continue reading The Path to Absurdity
BY EFFIE DEANS The Conservative manifesto promised that there would not be a second Scottish independence referendum. The Conservatives won a large majority. That should be the end of the matter. This being Scotland it isn’t. Independence is the bone, Nicola Sturgeon is the dog. Scottish nationalists will teach their toddlers that “No means No” or else raise spoilt brats. Young independence supporting women will go … Continue reading Nae
BY EFFIE DEANS The history of Britain is that of a small island that began as a collection of territories ruled by chiefs and warlords and gradually evolved into a constitutional monarchy. Most of Europe evolved up until a certain point as we did, but then diverged. Collections of territories that tended to speak similar languages first united under an absolute monarch and then with … Continue reading Let One Not Notice
BY EFFIE DEANS One of the key tasks in British politics is to stop voters voting tribally. For generations people in the north of England voted Labour automatically. The same was the case in Scotland. It didn’t matter how good or bad a Conservative Government was, these voters would vote Labour no matter what. But this has changed in the past five years. Voters in … Continue reading Scotland Ripe for Tory Surge
