Category Archives: Politics

Do you remember a bygone era when a new appointee, be they a prime minister or football manager, would be given time to get their feet under the table before their employers started to plan their exit? The UK is in a state of full-blown economic turmoil and, following a package inflating the burgeoning balancesContinue reading “There is a Solution to this Economic Shambles“

Today is the fourth of July and many Americans will celebrate 246 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. This document, which some historians suggest leans upon our Declaration of Arbroath, declares the equality of its citizens. It also states they are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” including “life, liberty andContinue reading “Are Buffer Zones Acceptable in a Free Society?”

On Saturday, I went on my first ever independence march with 2,000 other men, women and children in Bannockburn on what was the 708th anniversary of the historic battle. This place is hallowed ground to nationalists, as it is there the journey began. However, we no longer fight with swords and shields but, in theContinue reading “Is Scotland Ready for Independence?”

Following Scottish Labour’s obliteration in the tsunami election of 2015, Scottish politics entered an interminable period of inertia. The initial buoyancy around an influx of new and untested personalities quickly wore off. Nearer to home at Holyrood, political agitators and outliers – like Dennis Canavan, Margo MacDonald, Tommy Sheridan or, more recently, Neil Findlay, AdamContinue reading “A Continuation of The Status Quo?”

In the wee hours of Friday 13 December 2019, as it became undeniably clear a Boris Johnson-led Conservative Party had driven a coach and horses through Labour’s impenetrable red wall, Andrew Neil speculated aloud whether a northern resurgence would be rewarded by northern investment. This question was answered weeks later when we entered 2020, theContinue reading “Sunak’s Budget Embraces a Spring of Despair”

Today is International Women’s Day and will be the 113th anniversary since the first recorded in 1909. It comes at an interesting juncture in our political history as Dundee City East MSP, Shona Robison, unveiled the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) bill on behalf of the Scottish Government last Thursday. Gender reform sits under the socialContinue reading “Finding a Middle Ground on Gender Reform”

What the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats share is an umbilical association to a southern patriarch which tends to hinder rather than help their electoral prospects. The late Margaret Thatcher’s early introduction of a poll tax before other devolved nations in 1989, Tony Blair’s illegal invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003Continue reading “Cutting the Cord to London”

“On Wednesday, it is five years since the vote to leave the European Union. I am still stunned it happened.” This article appeared in the print edition of the Evening Telegraph on 21/06/2021 On Wednesday, it is the five-year anniversary of the vote to leave the European Union and, although I voted to leave, I still find myselfContinue reading “Why Would an Independent Scotland Join the EU?”

“Exactly six weeks ago I handed in nomination papers to stand as a prospective parliamentary candidate for Dundee City West.” EWAN GURR: The election votes are counted, the parties are taking sides and the rest of us are heading for political purgatory – Evening Telegraph This article appeared in the print edition of the Evening Telegraph on 10/05/2021Continue reading “Lessons Learnt on the Campaign Trail”