It’s not the backstop that’s at stake, it’s democracy itself

YESTERDAY Theresa May denied Parliament its vote as she knew her Withdrawal Agreement would lose. In the maelstrom of misinformation and the tangled web they weaved, when first they practiced to deceive, let us not ...

Phoney Macaroni, the emperor with no clothes

THE EMPEROR  wears no clothes, not even a thin yellow jacket to keep him warm, this winter of great discontent. For the centrist President turned out to be just another centraliser. Not for many years have ...

The Mummy Diaries: Two babies – Week 24

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK a lot like Christmas! Last week we decided to start getting organised and get into the Christmas spirit and put the decorations up. 

Well, more like everyone else ...

On Brexit - as with everything else, governing is choosing

IN THE EARLY 1950s the French Prime Minister, Pierre Mendes-France, was slightly more than a spear-carrier in the tragi-comedy of the Fourth Republic, with one lasting legacy. On 3 June 1953, he spoke to the ...

Nationalising Scotrail is a useless distraction from improving rail services

THE SCOTRAIL ALLIANCE operates around 2,300 train services each day and delivers over 93 million passenger journeys per year on about 3,000 miles of track. It is always going to be challenging to run.

David Coburn MEP – why I have resigned from UKIP

I HAVE DEVOTED my heart and soul to UKIP for 10 years, and stood in countless elections both North and South of the border, before finally being elected as the only Brexit MEP in Scotland. ...

In defence of a much-maligned Christmas classic: why ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ is wonderful

IN 1944, Frank Loesser wrote a call and response duet for he and his wife, Lynn Garland, to sing at the parties, as was expected of Hollywood celebrities. Since then the song, ‘Baby, It’s Cold ...

More Holyrood posturing, but no positive alternatives for Brexit

WHATEVER VIEW one takes of the Prime Minister’s agreed deal with the EU27 on Brexit, it is at least a substantial proposal which aims to deliver on the result of the EU Referendum, whilst maintaining ...

Andalucia exposes the hole in the heart of the European Left

THE BELEAGURED CAUSE of democratic socialism in Europe was hoping for good news from Spain. Left-wing parties have suffered a series of devastating reverses from Germany to Italy and in some countries, such as France ...

Book review: Why we get the wrong politicians

ANYONE who has ever expressed even the most remote interest in becoming an elected politician should be forced to read this book, because it will almost certainly put them off attempting to do so. As ...

Jackie Anderson's Christmas recipes: Making your own Christmas Pud!

Christmas pudding

LIKE MY Christmas cake in a few weeks back on ThinkScotland this is the favourite that I just go back to year on year, it's fail-safe and tastes delicious.

As May digs her heels in new polling demonstrates the huge unpopularity of her Withdrawal Agreement

NEW POLLING on the Withdrawal Agreement commissioned by Global Britain contains no good news for the Prime Minister. Not even a scintilla of Christmas cheer.

The headline result is that more people support ...