BY EFFIE DEANS Few people in Scotland probably know very much about Belarus, a small landlocked country of 9 million to the east of Poland. But then again, few people in Belarus know much more about Scotland than that men wear skirts, play bagpipes and imitate Scrooge McDuck. People in Belarus are frequently blissfully unaware of the parts of the United Kingdom. They describe the … Continue reading Europe’s Penultimate Dictator?
BY EFFIE DEANS The British Government has already ruled out a second Scottish independence referendum during the course of the next Parliament. It was in the Conservative Party manifesto and the Conservative Party won a large majority. That should be the end of the matter. Constitutional matters are reserved. The Scottish Parliament should be getting on with devolved issues and using the increased powers it … Continue reading How to Stop Scottish Nationalism
BY EFFIE DEANS I remember discussions in 2014 about whether Scottish independence would create a border between Scotland and the rest of Britain. Scottish nationalists insisted vehemently that there would be no border and that we wouldn’t notice crossing from Scotland into England just as an Austrian doesn’t notice crossing into Germany. Six years later and we discover what we knew all along. The SNP … Continue reading A Scottish English Border?
BY EFFIE DEANS Where I come from in Aberdeenshire there was no such thing as sectarianism. No one in school ever asked me about religion. I neither knew nor cared which church if any anyone else went to. There were no marches here until very recently. We were able to “stand free” from all of that or so we rather smugly thought. Christianity is becoming … Continue reading Sectarianism on the Rise
BY EFFIE DEANS I think I am beginning to see a new variant of Covid or perhaps it is just a function of the lockdown. It is causing otherwise rational people to lose all perspective and behave in ways that their Pre-Covidian selves would have considered bizarre. I’ve always found Britain to be relaxed sort of a place. If you don’t do anything wrong, you … Continue reading Pot Kettle Blackford
BY EFFIE DEANS Scotland entered lockdown at exactly the same time as the other parts of Britain. We did so because we were following the advice that had been given to the British Government by the SAGE committee of scientific experts. Boris Johnson announced a very cautious easing of this lockdown some time ago, but Nicola Sturgeon decided that nothing would change in Scotland. Why? … Continue reading Jockdown
BY EFFIE DEANS The SNP has been demanding a second referendum on Scottish independence from the moment it lost the first one. We never get a break. I began writing about Scottish politics in 2012. I was willing to be magnanimous when we won in 2014. I advised people not to gloat or rub it in. That we were all Scots together and now was … Continue reading Scotching the SNP
BY EFFIE DEANS Scottish nationalists like to think of Britain as a mini European Union made up of four members and four different peoples. But their hatred of Britain is blinding them to what is happening, and I think this is why they are beginning to make a series of misjudgements. We all have different ideas about how well or how badly the Government is … Continue reading Lady MacSturgeon
BY NIGEL BEAN & PAUL READ After five years of trying to smear hunt folk with false allegations of illegal hunting up in Scotland using highly edited videos, the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) appear to have finally thrown in the towel. If you want to read an account of what happened from a newspaper that threw its weight behind the League’s tawdry campaign then … Continue reading SNP’s Toxic LACS Relationship
BY EFFIE DEANS There are essentially three positions on the lock-down: 1. We should get out sooner (Hawks). 2. We should get out later (Doves). 3. There should not be a lock down at all (Enzas). Which is correct? We just don’t know. The correct decision depends on knowing how many people have been infected with Covid 19 around the world and what percentage have … Continue reading Enza?
BY EFFIE DEANS We all remember the bit in the Great Escape when Gordon Jackson’s character gives himself away by answering “Thank You” to someone from the Gestapo wishing him “Good Luck” in English. But a modern-day Gordon Jackson QC has recently surpassed even this example of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Alex Salmond’s lawyer has disgraced himself, but I very much … Continue reading Salmond’s Great Escape
BY EFFIE DEANS The problem with Scottish politics is that we have a devolved parliament that is uninterested in devolution. Scottish politicians of all political parties pretend to be interested in those areas of life that the Scottish Parliament actually controls, but campaign primarily on issues that we don’t control. The same goes for supporters. What areas are controlled by the Scottish Government. Well here … Continue reading The SNP Whelk Stall
