The shock and faux of Bercow

LAST THURSDAY, Stephen Barclay summed up for the Government in the debate on delaying Brexit after it lost the second meaningful vote. He touched upon Chris Bryant’s Amendment J, which was intended to reinforce the ...

There is no such thing as “No Deal” – and impartial broadcasters should recognise this

THE NEXT FEW WEEKS are possibly the most important for British democracy since the UK’s referendum on European Union membership was held on 23 June 2016.

It is vitally important that the ...

Edinburgh tram extension should terminate in the City Chambers

LATER THIS MONTH, Edinburgh councillors will take a final decision on extending the city’s troubled tram project. Despite the massive cost overrun, delay, disruption and reputational damage brought by the original project, there is a principled ...

Brexit: Something's gotta give?

HAD TO JETTISON the spreadsheets after those 6,500 data points sent in the last blog were so far apparently off-piste. These were the figures arguing that May was obliged to tack to the ERG, whose ...

Politicians on a road to nowhere with trams as car use keeps growing

THE CAR IS BACK, and it is not going to go away. That was the clear message this week’s latest figures for transport use in Scotland revealed – and our politicians had better take note ...

How to decarbonise in the real world

THE UK ENERGY INDUSTRY is being exhorted to decarbonise and eliminate fossil fuels to help to reduce ‘Global Warming’.  Will there be any positive benefits or will there be only sacrifices and problems? 

The Accounts Commission and Scottish Government are condoning local council waste and largesse

OVER 150 DAYS ON from revealing results of a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests aimed at obtaining a detailed breakdown of all 32 Scottish local councils’ wasteful spending on building and running their ...

Westminster Brexit arithmetic: So now we know

DOESN'T IT just get your goat? All those reminders of Lyndon Johnson’s good ol’ boy throwaway that politicians need first to know how to count. But then again, his homespun shrewdness fairly does bear down ...

It's not just the backstop: UK Defence should not be in the Withdrawal Agreement

WHILE MOST DEBATE over the draft UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement has revolved around the so-called “backstop” ensuring no hard border is created in Ireland, the sections that seek to tie the UK into the EU’s military ...

Cuba must get out of Venezuela and reform before we reward it with our trade

IF YOU ARE a Foreign Office Minster and are praised by a Corbynista group, then surely you must know you are doing something wrong? The Cuba Solidarity Campaign is now very supportive of British foreign ...

Brexit and Hell's special places

MY REGULAR READERS have been asking what I make of current events. Last week, the President of the European Commission, Donald Tusk, stagily expressed his own frustrations with remarks about a “special place in Hell” ...

Ending import tariffs does not require smashing plates

AS CONSUMERS with choice, we should beware those who prophesy doom if the UK chooses a zero import tariff policy post-Brexit.  This, it is suggested, is being considered by the Department of International Trade.