An investigation has uncovered evidence coronavirus may have been brought to Scotland during a conference of Nike employees in Edinburgh. A BBC Scotland Disclosure investigation found more than 70 Nike employees from around the world attended a conference at Edinburgh’s Hilton Carlton Hotel on February 26 and 27, before the first confirmed covid-19 case in… Continue reading The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 7
Tag: Nicola Sturgeon
The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 6
This coronavirus crisis has delivered a lesson in the power of the British state and its institutions. Rishi Sunak has added something like £60bn to public spending, and another £330bn in loan guarantees to companies. The most impressive and reassuring presences on our TV screens have been chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific… Continue reading The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 6
The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 5
Independence is itself a big idea, of course, if a somewhat blunt one. Before the pandemic struck it seemed entirely achievable, as a posh, right-wing, pro-Brexit Conservative government at Westminster moved the UK further and further away from what we might term the Scottish ideal. The trials, tribulations and revenge lust of Alex Salmond aside,… Continue reading The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 5
The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 4
The SNP likes to consider itself politically radical – an anti-establishment insurgency that would run Scotland more virtuously, more harmoniously, more Scottishly, than the British state has managed for the past 300 or so years. That the SNP has been in government for 13 years – by which time Alexander the Great had no more… Continue reading The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 4
The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 3
An SNP candidate dropped over alleged antisemitic comments has won a Westminster seat despite the party’s withdrawal of support. Neale Hanvey was the SNP candidate for the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency but was dropped in the run-up to Thursday’s poll after social media posts he made two years ago came to light. Despite his suspension,… Continue reading The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 3
The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 2
In hock to corporate lobbyists and with a record of voting with the Scottish Tories on everything from progressive taxation, outsourcing and against public ownership of rail, the SNP nonetheless appears to have convinced many London-based progressives that the politics of national identity have somehow alchemised north of the border into a vision they can… Continue reading The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 2
Apr 2020. Coronavirus in Scotland
April 2020. Nicola Sturgeon said that easing social distancing measures could see the rates of infection rise, countering the progress that has already been made. She added: “For all of our sakes, and to protect the progress that together we have made, all of the measures that are currently in place need to remain in… Continue reading Apr 2020. Coronavirus in Scotland
The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 1
The SNP Executive has almost tripled Westminster austerity cuts to local government funding, leading to a collapse in services. The “grownup” Sturgeon allows a nasty seam of anti-English xenophobia to simmer unaddressed within her party; is overseeing crises in Scotland’s devolved NHS and social care systems; and teachers and further education and university lecturers have… Continue reading The SNP Ain’t Scotland Part 1
Feb 2020. The SNP and Derek Mackay
February 2020. The deputy leader of the Scottish National party, Keith Brown, said it would be “very difficult” for Derek Mackay to remain at Holyrood after repeatedly texting a 16-year-old boy. Brown said the former finance secretary, who resigned in disgrace on Wednesday, was in an extremely serious situation after admitting he had contacted the… Continue reading Feb 2020. The SNP and Derek Mackay